Some of the stories that made the news Fri., May 13 through Sun., May 15:

Brian Nearing reported at Capitol Confidential state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office last week asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to delay action on its December 2014 approval of the 125-mile Constitution Pipeline. Last month the state Department of Environmental Conservation denied environmental permits to the project, which would bring natural gas to Schoharie County from Pennsylvania. Schneiderman also urged FERC to consider fining the company up to $1 million a day if it turns out developers encouraged landowners along the pipeline route to cut down trees before they received state permits. The Attorney General's office conducted a two-month investigation into the pipeline project, finding evidence of tree-cutting, road-building, and heavy equipment use in state-protected streams and wetlands.

Claire Hughes reported in the Times Union, as of Sunday afternoon, volunteers, forest rangers and law enforcement officers were combing the Catskills in search of a lost zebra. The five-month old animal was spooked and broke away from its owner, Richard Myer while at the Bailiwick Animal Park and Riding Stables last week. Myer said he acquired the zebra the day before, from an older gentleman whose medical issues left him unable to take care of the animal. Myer said the zebra is the size of a large pony, with the traditional black-and-white stripes. It was last seen on state hiking trails near Palenville, a couple of miles from the ranch. Greene County Sheriff Greg Seely said he hopes someone in the search party finds the zebra before an unaware hunter does. He said, "With all the turkey hunters in the woods and stuff, hopefully we can find this thing for him."

The Daily Freeman reported the Hudson Flag Day Parade will be held June 11 and organizers are seeking individuals or groups who would be interested in participating. They say they are looking for any interested groups including community groups, churches, fire companies, youth groups, and businesses. Participants can can march, enter a vehicle, or build a float. Information is available at Hudson Flag Day Parade [dot] org.

W.T. Eckert reported for Johnson News Service a St. Lawrence County jury last week returned a verdict of guilty in the sex abuse trial of former Dutchess County Legislator Michael N. Kelsey. The former Republican state Assembly candidate was found guilty of sexual abuse and attempted sexual assault, both felonies. The incident that led to the charges occurred in August 2015, when Kelsey was leading a Boy Scout troop from Fishkill on a week-long stay at a camp located between Cranberry Lake and Piercefield. Kelsey will be held in jail without bail until his July 8 sentencing.

The Daily Freeman reported Ulster County says a test of the water in a county-owned building at 50 Center Street in Ellenville last month showed no excessive level of lead. The test was conducted by Environmental Labworks Inc., the county said. News of the Ellenville test result came just days after the county reported water in 17 county-owned or leased buildings showed lead levels in water at or above the EPA cutoff mark. Sixteen of the buildings are located in the city of Kingston; one is in the town of Ulster. The county believes the lead problems reported came from pipes in the buildings, not municipal water sources.

The Zephyr Teachout campaign announced last week she and fellow Democrat Will Yandik will hold three debates next month. None of the debates will held in the immediate area. The first will be held June 7 in Woodstock with Brian Hollander of the Woodstock Times moderating; the second, on June 8 will be held in Oneonta, and be moderated by the League of Woment Voters; and, a televised debate June 15, will be broadcast on Time Warner Cable with Liz Benjamin, editor-in-chief of Time Warner's "State of Politics," as moderator. Teachout and Yandik face off in the June 28 primary for the Democratic line in the general election. The winner will compete with the winner of the Republican primary, either John Faso or Andrew Heaney, to replace U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson in the 19th Congressional District. Yandik will be a guest on "All Together Now!" on WGXC, 6 p.m. Tue., May 17.

The Register-Star reported the American Farmland Trust has announced $110,000 in grants to the Columbia Land Conservancy and five other partner organizations in the Hudson Valley Farmlink Network. The Farmlink Network was founded in 2014, and is dedicated to connecting farmers and non-farming landowners of agricultural land. In the last two years, the network has worked in collaboration with groups like the Columbia Land Conservancy to train 600 farmers and landowners in transferring farms and farm leasing, and helped more than 75 farmers find land. The new grants will enable the conservancy and its partner organization, Dutchess Land Conservancy, to work directly with farmers and landowners to facilitate the transfer of farmland to the next generation of farmers.

Greg Hudson reported in The Daily Mail more than 300 students graduated from Columbia-Greene Community College on Sat., May 14. College president James Campion conferred, and Phyllis Carito, vice president and dean of academic affairs, presented the candidates with 95 Associate in Arts degrees, 144 Associate in Science, 56 Associate in Applied Science and four Associates in Occupational Science, as well as 28 certificates. Student speaker Briana Maisenbacher told her classmates and hundreds of family members that the diversity of their journeys united them, and that their time of discovery together was meant to prepare them for a future of accomplishment.

Local weather forecast

Today: Mostly sunny. High near 61. Monday night, partly cloudy. Low around 41.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
TUESDAY: A chance of showers after 2 p.m. Partly sunny. High near 67. Tuesday night, a chance of showers mainly after 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 47.
WEDNESDAY: A chance of showers, mainly before 8 a.m. Partly sunny. High near 62. Wednesday night, partly cloudy. Low around 43.

Sunrise today: 5:31 a.m.
Sunset today: 8:11 p.m.

LENGTH OF THE DAY: 14:39 hrs.


PUBLIC MEETINGS

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

ATHENS Town Board meeting, 6:45 p.m. at Community Center, 2 First Street, Athens (945-1052).
AUSTERLITZ Comprehensive plan meeting, 7 p.m. at 812 Route 203, Austerlitz (392-3260).
CANAAN Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 1647 Route 5, Canaan (781-3144).
GREENE COUNTY Legislature special Public Works committee meeting about the Hunter tower and proposed new jail, Economic Development and Tourism, Government Operations, Finance and the Republican and Democratic caucuses at 6 p.m. at County Building, 411 Main St., Catskill (719-3270).
GREENVILLE Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Offices, corner of routes 32 and 81, Greenville (966-5055).

David Oxenford in the Broadcast Law Blog reports the Federal Commuications Commission begins requiring commercial radio stations to upload documents and make their public files available online. The requirement begins June 24, but just in the Top 50 radio markets, and only for stations with five or more full-time employees. The station has their license, public comments, records of political ads, their EEO Public Inspection File Reports, and Quarterly Issues Programs Lists, and other documents for the public can evaluate in these files. Read the full story in the Broadcast Law Blog.

The Zephyr Teachout campaign announced May 13 three debates with opponent Will Yandik, though none in the immediate area. The two will discuss issues June 7 in Woodstock with Brian Hollander of the Woodstock Times moderating, another by the League of Woment Voters June 8 in Oneonta, and a televised on Time Warner Cable June 15 with Liz Benjamin as moderator. Teachout and Yandik have a June 28 primary to face either John Faso or Andrew Heaney to replace Chris Gibson (R-Kinderhook) in the 19th Congressional District. Yandik is a guest on "All Together Now!" on WGXC at 6 p.m. Tue., May 17.

Melanie Lekocevic in the Greene County News reports that Coxsackie is the latest locality to pass a new law regulating solar energy, partially because the town itself is about to set up solar. A hearing for Coxsackie's "Local Law No. 1 of 2016: Regulation and Approval Standards for Solar Collection Systems" was held at Town Hall May 10, and the town, village, and school district, want to team up with a solar company to put panels on a property on Sunset Boulevard and Stacy Road. The new law is for both residential and commercial solar installations. “It’s more stringent for commercial uses. The larger systems really need to be looked at, and the impact they have on their neighbors,” Town Supervisor Rick Hanse said. “But at the same time, we need to be open to technology that is more friendly to our planet.” Read the full story in the Greene County News.

While the Albany Times-Union reported this week that honey production in New York increased nine percent in 2015 to more than 3.6 million pounds produced, nationally, bees are still on the decline according to this Public News Service report:

Click here to get to the audio to play or download.

Veronica Carter reports U.S. beekeepers have reported losing nearly 44 percent of their colonies over the last year, according to an annual report just out. Tiffany Finck-Haynes, food futures campaigner for Friends of the Earth, says that's too high to be sustainable for agriculture in this country. She blames the problem on climate change, loss of habitat and pesticides. Finck-Haynes says this year Maryland became the first state to pass a bill to eliminate the consumer use of popular pesticides containing neonicotinoids, and Connecticut quickly followed. Other cities and universities are also banning them, but she says it's going to take federal action. "We're seeing a lot of action at the local and state level to restrict the use of pesticides," she says. "Hopefully, that will put some much needed pressure on EPA, the USDA and our members of Congress to take significant action." The report is a collaboration between the Bee Informed Partnership, the Apiary Inspectors of America and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Finck-Haynes says people want to help but don't understand the labels on the plants they buy. "Gardeners are pretty up in arms, saying, 'Whoa, wait a second. I thought I was going to the store, and if I bought a pollinator-friendly plant, that means that it's good for bees,'" she says. "Not realizing they could be creating a poisonous environment for bees in their backyard, not the safe haven they were envisioning." Finck-Haynes says another thing consumers don't understand is that for more than 140 crops in the U.S., the seeds come pre-coated with pesticides. She says the EPA is relying on states to pass laws protecting bees, and regulatory agencies are letting the pesticide industry pull the wool over their eyes instead of seeking solutions. - See more at: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2016-05-13/endangered-species-and-wildlife/report-bees-continue-to-decline-in-u-s/a51890-1#sthash.onEZ7m0G.dpuf

Local weather forecast

Today: Scattered showers, mainly between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. are possible. Partly sunny, with a high near 49, and a low around 36.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
MONDAY: Mostly sunny, with a high near 55, and a low around 41.
MONDAY: Partly sunny, with a high near 59 and a 30 percent chance of showers.

Sunrise today: 5:32 a.m.
Sunset today: 8:10 p.m.



Brian Nearing in Capitol Confidential reports that on May 13 State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to delay action on its December 2014 approval of the 125-mile Constitution Pipeline. Last month the state Department of Environmental Conservation denied environmental permits to the project, which would bring natural gas to Schoharie County from Pennsylvania. Schneiderman also urged FERC to consider fining the company up to $1 million a day if it turns out that developers encouraged landowners along the pipeline route to cut down trees this year before receiving state permits. The Attorney General's office conducted a two-month investigation of the pipeline, finding evidence of tree-cutting, road-building, and heavy equipment use in state-protected streams and wetlands. Read the full story in Capitol Confidential, a Times-Union blog.

Martijn Comes, "Radio Oblivion"



Kristin Kontrol, "X-Communicate" (Sub Pop). Dee Dee from Dum Dum Girls performs at BSP in Kingston on June 15.



Vox Urbana, "Cuentan Los Cerros"

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local headlines for Sat., May 14 (2:52). (Produced by Tom Roe.)