John Mason is reporting in the Register-Star the two Republican candidates facing off in the June GOP primary for the 19th Congressional District seat have announced plans to debate in the coming weeks. Former state Assembly Minority Leader John Faso, of Kinderhook, and Dutchess County businessman Andrew Heaney, have agreed to hold at least three debates. The first meeting will take place June 8 in Cooperstown. That conversation will be moderated by the Oneonta and Cooperstown chapters of the the League of Women Voters. The second meeting will be taped on FIOS 1 on the afternoon of June 9, and then broadcast that night. The final debate will be recorded and broadcast by Time-Warner's "Capital Tonight." Heaney originally challenged Faso to six debates, but the number was trimmed to three. However, a Heaney representative said the campaign is continuing to seek out locales for additional debates. Democrats Zephyr Teachout and Will Yandik announced two weeks ago their plans to hold three debates during the same time period. On June 7 in Woodstock; June 8 in Oneonta; and a televised meeting on Time Warner Cable June 15. The primary election is Tue., Jun. 28 from noon to 9 p.m.

Brian Hubert is reporting in the Daily Freeman more than 50,000 people are expected to flock to Hunter Mountain next week for the 12th annual Mountain Jam. The four-day event will feature more than 40 acts, including Beck, Wilco and the Avett Brothers. Singer-songwriter Beck's performance Saturday night, will be his first ever in Upstate New York. Among the emerging artists scheduled to appear are Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile and Courtney Barnett. The music begins at 3 p.m. Thu., Jun. 2 and will continue through Sun., Jun. 5. Gary Chetkof, Mountain Jam founder and WDST Radio Woodstock president and principal owner, said despite the 50,000 weekend attendance estimate, the actual daily number is closer to 15,000, which gives the festival an unique intimacy. “It’s still an intimate experience. It’s not over crowded,” he said. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Matthew Hamilton is reporting in the Times Union legislation to eliminate the state tampon tax is now in the hands of Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The governor is expected to sign the measure into law. The state Senate, Wed., May 25, approved the bill that exempts all feminine hygiene products, including tampons, pads and sanitary napkins, from the four percent state sales tax. The law would essentially put an end to any country sales taxes on the products, as well. Certain medical products are already exempted from state sales tax, as are other necessities, such as certain foods and drinks. The bill's backers contend that feminine hygiene products fall into a similar category, calling them "an undeniable necessity." Five states, including Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, have ended similar taxes. Canada also scrapped its tax on feminine hygiene products in 2015. Read the full story in the Times Union.

The Public Service Commission holds public hearings on May 26 in Kingston about the state's Clean Energy Standard, which would require utility companies to buy increasing amounts of electricity from renewable and nuclear sources, among many other proposals. The PSC is accepting comments on the Clean Energy Standard proposal through June 6 and holding several public hearings, including the Kingston event with an afternoon informational session at 2 p.m., and a public hearing from 3 to 5 p.m.; an evening information session at 6 p.m., and a public hearing from 7 to 9 p.m. at Kingston City Hall, Council Chambers, 2nd Floor, 420 Broadway, in Kingston.

Greg Hudson reports in The Daily Mail that Tannersville’s first farmers market debuts Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the large municipal lot behind Last Chance Antiques and Cheese Cafe. There will be produce, flowers, crafts, goat milk, baked goods, and other farm products, according to Anne Jakubowski, executive director of the Hunter Foundation. The Foundation is also putting on the Memorial Day weekend events throughout town, such as the rubber duck races, and a carnival at Rip Van Winkle Lake.The carnival will be opens May 27 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., is open May 28-29 from noon to 11 p.m., and on Memorial Day from noon to 3 p.m. The duck race begins on Main Street at 11 a.m. on May 28, with a crazy boat race at 2 p.m. The town's Memorial Day parade is at noon Sunday on Main Street. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

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Andrea Sears reports that consumer advocates were in Albany on Tuesday, urging passage of a bill to require labeling of genetically modified foods before the legislative session ends.

Advocates have maintained that the bill has the support of a majority in the Assembly and is sponsored by almost half of the senators. Alex Beauchamp, northeast region director at Food and Water Watch, said there's no reason lawmakers shouldn't bring the bill up for a vote now.

"I think we're closer than we've ever been to passing it," he said, "but we really need a commitment from leadership to get this bill done before the legislative session ends, which is now just a few weeks away."

The food industry has opposed GMO labeling, saying the food is perfectly safe and labeling would only raise costs and confuse consumers. However, polls indicate that more than 90 percent of Americans want GMO foods to be labeled.

Connecticut and Maine have passed GMO labeling laws, but they only go into effect when neighboring states pass similar laws. Now, Beauchamp said, the pivotal state in the push for labeling laws is Vermont.

"They passed a GMO labeling law that goes into effect this July, and that's really kind of changed the game," he said. "I think you see momentum on our side and more and more people speaking up and taking action."

Some food producers, such as Campbell's soups, are voluntarily labeling their products that contain genetically modified organisms.

According to Beauchamp, the New York bill, like the law in Vermont, would allow producers and retailers to use "GMO" or "genetically engineered" on packaging to meet the labeling requirements.

"The key thing is just that consumers have the ability to choose and say, 'OK, this is genetically engineered, and this product over here isn't.' And right now that's really lacking in the marketplace," he said.

The current legislative session comes to an end on June 16.

The legislation, A.617/S.485, is online at nysenate.gov.

Casey Seiler in The Albany Times-Union reports that Gov. Andrew Cuomo made something of a political stunt May 24. At the end of the legislative session without any ethics action, but with the recent prison sentencing of the former leaders of the Assembly and Senate, Cuomo proposed eight bills that would, in varying degrees, close the so-called LLC loophole, which lets limited liability companies make far larger political donations then individuals or corporations. "The point I'm trying to make is, I propose closing the LLC loophole for everyone — every elected office, Republican Party, Democratic Party," Cuomo said, while taking questions from reporters outside his office. " ... I've proposed it before, it's gone nowhere. So now I'm saying, 'OK — any of the above.' ... If you're unwilling to do it for yourself, do it just for me." Senate Republican leader John Flanagan, who is the majority leader even though there are more Democrats in the Senate, said in a statement that the governor's proposal, "fails to fundamentally address the root cause of the problems that exist within our campaign finance system, most notably a lack of enforcement, a lack of transparency, and a lack of full and honest disclosure." Read the full story in The Albany Times-Union.

Local weather forecast

Today: Mostly sunny. High near 85. Thursday night, a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 64.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
FRIDAY: A slight chance of showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11 a.m. Partly sunny. High near 87. Friday night, a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 8 p.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 64.
SATURDAY: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1 p.m. Partly sunny. High near 88. Saturday night, a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 8 p.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 67.

Sunrise today: 5:24 a.m.
Sunset today: 8:21 p.m.

LENGTH OF THE DAY: 14:57 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS

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

ANCRAM Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 7:30 p.m., Town Hall, 1416 County Route 7, Ancram (329-6512).
CHATHAM Village Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 77 Main Street, Chatham (392-5821).
CHATHAM Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 488 Route 295, Chatham (392-1651).
COPAKE Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 230 Mt. View Road, Copake (329-1234).
HUDSON Community Development and Planning Agency meeting cancelled (751-1044).
HUNTER Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 7955 Main St., Hunter (589-6150).
WINDHAM Town Board meeting, 8 p.m. at Town Hall, 371 State Rt. 296, Hensonville (734-4170).

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Net neutrality may be an issue that's never settled. Courts have struck versions down in the past, and they may again in the future. The U.S. House of Representatives just passed the "No Rate Regulation of Broadband Internet Access Act," which would undermine the FCC's ability to enforce net neutrality rules, and is now in the U.S. Senate. The law is currently in effect, supposedly equalizing the internet for both home users and giant corporations, but the telecom companies have already found a way around it. Zero-rating is the latest loophole used by telecom companies to get around net neutrality rules with carriers exempting certain services, such as Spotify or Netflix, from a customer’s data plan. Net neutrality advocates say this gives certain types of data priority over others, when net neutrality is meant to create an even playing field for all. “Widely embraced, zero-rating threatens to rewrite the rules upon which the internet was built,” Electronic Frontier Foundation legal director Corynne McSherry told Gizmodo. “Zero-rating helps transform the internet from a permission-less environment... into one in which developers effectively need to seek approval from ISPs before deploying their latest groundbreaking technology.” This week 58 tech companies, -- Reddit, Yelp, Kickstarter, among them -- sent a letter to the FCC asking for an open discussion about zero-rating, as the agency is looking at the practice, but not holding public hearings.

Hudson Mayor Tiffany Martin Hamilton spoke about several current issues at the Paul and Clara Kellner Café at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Hudson on May 25 with WGXC's Philip Grant, Holly Tanner, and Justin Weaver. Click here to play or download the interview.

Dan Udell recorded and uploaded this performance from the 2016 Music Mentors Project in Hudson schools.

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local headlines for Wed., May 25 (9:23). (Produced by Philip Grant.)