Roger Hannigan Gilson is reporting in The Daily Mail Crossroads Brewing Company is coming to Catskill. The Athens-based brewery Mon., Jun. 6, finalized its purchase of Columbia-Greene Media's former printing building located on Water Street in the village. Crossroads will house its production facility and a tasting room at that location. Brewery co-owner Ken Landin said the Athens brew house and restaurant will stay exactly where it is, but the new location will allow the company to better supply New York with beer, with future plans to expand wholesale into surrounding states and beyond. Landin and business partner Janine Bennett purchased the former Brooks Opera House in Athens, in October of 2009, opened a seven-barrel brew house and tasting room a year later, followed by the pub in June 2011 and a full restaurant in the summer of 2012. Crossroads took first place in the 2014 World Beer Cup’s Best Foreign-Style Stout category for their Black Rock Stout, and was recently named Best Craft Beer Brewery in the Hudson Valley. Landin is an active WGXC Programmer. He hosts the "Hudson Valley Tap Show," which airs on the third Monday of each month. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Emilia Teasdale is reporting in the Columbia Paper the Kinderhook Village Board held a special meeting last week to approve several projects, including an upgrade to the Village Hall bathroom to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, a new meter for the sewer line that goes to the Valatie Sewer Plant and new equipment for village firefighters. At the May 25 meeting the board agreed to move forward with plans to make the two bathrooms at Village Hall into a unisex bathroom. The project is expected to cost $25,000. The board also approved funding for new air packs and masks for firefighters, at a cost of approximately $102,000. The board also agreed to purchase a new meter to measure sewage going from the village to the Valatie Sewer Plant. The meter currently in place has produced inaccurate readings, which has created some problems with village sewer bills. The Valatie Village Board gave the Kinderhook board until this fall to correct the metering. The cost of a new meter and insulation would be approximately $7,000, according to Mayor Jim Dunham. Dunham also indicated he would like to double the maintenance fee paid by sewer users to $10 per quarter, or $40 a year. That fee hike will be discussed at the board's next regular meeting, Wed., Jun. 8. Read the full story in the Columbia Paper.

William J. Kemble is reporting in the Daily Freeman the town of Rosendale in Ulster County has asked the state to divest its holdings in pension investments that support the Pilgrim Pipeline project. The Rosendale Town Board adopted a resolution last week in support of the withdrawal of any accounts that support the pipeline project from taxpayer-funded portfolios. Rosendale is the second municipality in Ulster County to take this action; the village of New Paltz was the first. Rosendale Town Board member Jennifer Metzger said the board wanted to get Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli thinking about the Pilgrim project and to "urge him to take a hard look at funds being used to back a crude oil pipeline project that a number of municipalities participating in the state retirement system have formally opposed. This project directly contradicts state clean energy goals and puts our local communities and resources at unnecessary risk.” Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Mon., Jun. 6, declined to comment when asked about municipalities seeking to have Pilgrim Pipeline removed from pension holdings. “I haven’t looked at it and that’s going to be up to the Comptroller,” he said. The proposed 178-mile double pipeline project would move Bakken crude from the Port of Albany to northern New Jersey, and then send refined crude back north to Albany, largely along the I-87 corridor. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Melanie Lekocevic in The Daily Mail reports that the village of Athens will decide later this month whether to renew or not renew a contract with Mid-Hudson Cable for cable service. The company wants a non-exclusive, 15-year contract so, according to Mid-Hudson Cable engineer David Fingar, "when we go to the bank for loans for projects, it shows we have a longstanding arrangement with the [village].” Fingar said a new Mid-Hudson computer server will mean faster Internet service. The village board will hold a public hearing on the contract issue in June. Read the full story in The Daily Mail. (Note: Mid-Hudson Cable is an underwriter of WGXC.)

Tim Martin is reporting in The Daily Mail the Ichabod Crane Riders' varsity softball team's 16 to 0 victory over Class B regional challenger Saranac, puts the Kinderhook team in the state Final Four championship for the second straight year. The team will face Marlboro Saturday morning, in the semifinals at Moreau Recreational Park in Fort Edward, Washington County. Depew will play Windsor in the other semifinal. The winners will play for the state title late Saturday afternoon. "It feels great to get back there," Riders coach Tracy Nytransky said. "...We're still pretty young and it's a great experience for them just to be there. We're going to ride this out as long as possible. Nothing is going to be easy from here on out." The Riders have a week to prepare for their game against Marlboro, which also is making a second straight trip to the Final Four. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

The Register-Star is reporting officials alerted Columbia County residents Mon., Jun. 6, they are conducting tests of the new public safety radio network. The testing could require personnel to access remote or off-road areas. They will be in county-owned vehicles and carrying county identification, according to Columbia County 911. The tests began Monday. They will continue from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. daily, for approximately two weeks.

As first reported by Matthew Hamilton at Capitol Confidential, Gov. Andrew Cuomo Sun., Jun. 5, directed state entities to cease doing business with, and to divest public funds from companies associated with the Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel. The executive order affects all state agencies and departments, as well as public-benefit corporations and public authorities, boards and commissions where the governor appoints the chair, chief executive and a majority of board members. The Port Authority is not subject to the order. State officials have 180 days to develop a list of institutions and companies believed to be engaged in the boycott. If a company makes the list, it would have 90 days to prove it is not participating in the activity. Cuomo’s executive order is the first of its kind for any state. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.

Today is Day 6 of the WGXC All Together Now! 2016 Summer Pledge Drive. During the next two weeks, WGXC programmers, volunteers and staff must raise $20,000 to keep WGXC Hands-on Radio on the air, live and local during the coming months. Your support will make all the difference. Call 518-697-7400 or go online to wgxc.org [slash] donate. Thank you for supporting creative community radio in New York's Greene and Columbia counties.

Local weather forecast

Today: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8 a.m., then scattered showers and thunderstorms after noon. Some of the storms could produce small hail and gusty winds. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny. High near 80. Tuesday night, Isolated showers before 1 a.m. Partly cloudy. Low around 53.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
WEDNESDAY: Scattered showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 10 a.m. Some of the storms could produce small hail and gusty winds. Partly sunny. High near 65. Wednesday night, isolated showers before midnight. Mostly cloudy. Low around 46.
THURSDAY: Partly sunny. High near 67. Thursday night, mostly clear. Low around 48.

Sunrise today: 5:19 a.m.
Sunset today: 8:30 p.m.

LENGTH OF THE DAY: 15:11 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS

Today is the first Tuesday of the month.
WGXC suggests calling ahead to confirm time and location.
All numbers are in the 518 area code unless otherwise noted.

ATHENS Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 2 First St., Athens (945-1052).
CATSKILL Town Board meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 439 Main St., Catskill (943-2141).
CLERMONT Town Board meeting (rescheduled), 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 1795 Route 9, Clermont (537-6868). DURHAM Town Board meeting, 7:30 p.m. at Town Building, 7309 State Rt. 81, East Durham (239-8260).
HILLSDALE Zoning Board meeting, 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 2609 State Route 23, Hillsdale (325-1702).
HUDSON Conservation Advisory Council meeting is cancelled (828-1030).
HUNTER Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 5748 Route 23A, Hunter (589-6150).
ICHABOD CRANE Central School District Board of Education meeting, 7 p.m. at Ichabod Crane High School, 2910 Route 9, Valatie (758-7577).
LEXINGTON Town Board meeting, 6:30 p.m., at Municipal building, 3542 Route 42, Lexington, (986-6303).
LIVINGSTON Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 7 p.m., at Town Hall, County Rte. 19, Livingston (851-9441).
TAGHKANIC Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 909 Route 82, Taghkanic (851-7638).

Israel seems to be worried about activists of the "Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions" movement, who are trying to put economic pressure on Israel to end human rights violations against Palestinians. On June 5, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo created a blacklist for his state, boycotting anyone boycotting Israel. Melanie Trimble, the director of the New York Civil Liberties Union Capital Region chapter, said that government policy, “punishing New Yorkers for engaging in political speech degrades our state’s values and traditions and violates the Constitution.” Besides lobbying New York's leaders to create a blacklist, the Israeli government may also be behind a series of online attacks against the human rights activists. A report from eQualit.ie, an online security group, found that the botnets used to attack the bdsmovement.net website were also used against another organization supporting Palestinian rights. “These latest cyber-attacks against BDS seem to be part of a full-fledged Israeli war on the movement that includes McCarthyite legal repression, use of intelligence services and yet more funding for ‘brand Israel’ propaganda,” said Mahmoud Nawajaa, general coordinator of the Palestinian BDS National Committee.