Some of the stories that made the news Fri., Apr. 8 through Sun., Apr. 10:

Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and John Kasich, and Democrat Bernie Sanders all come to the Capitol Region Mon., Apr. 11. Donald Trump will be at the Times Union Center in Albany at 7 p.m., Monday. Bernie Sanders will be at the Washington Avenue Armory in Albany at 2 p.m. Ohio Governor and Republican presidential candidate John Kasich will speak at the Saratoga Springs City Center from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Kasich also holds a town hall-style event at the La Salle Institute gymnasium from 2:30 to 4 p.m. The New York presidential primary is April 19.

Melanie Lekocevic reported in the Register-Star the Hudson Area Library celebrated the grand opening of its new location at 51 N. 5th St. in Hudson, Sat., Apr. 9. The facility now houses 22,000 books, and 24 public computer stations. The 13,000-square-foot space is now outfitted for WiFi with high-speed Internet service. The library occupies the entire first floor of the former Armory, and the second floor will house the new Hudson Senior Center. The building is owned and renovated by The Galvan Foundation.

Michael Ryan reported in the Windham Journal Kevin Piccoli, chairman of the Prattsville Development Corporation, has been named the 2016 recipient of the Levine Community Service Award. The annual award is made by the New York Planning Federation and recognizes outstanding achievement in planning and zoning. During the past five years Piccoli has been instrumental in helping the town of Prattsville secure tens of millions of dollars to fund the Tropical Storm Irene recovery effort. Federation Associate Director Jonathan Kanter cited Piccoli's accomplishments in a recent press release, noting Piccoli's leadership in long-term recovery efforts, including his role in organizing and chairing the local development corporation. Kanter wrote, “Many people have worked together to bring Prattsville back...but it could not have happened without Mr. Piccoli’s dedication and hard work.” Piccoli will be formally honored at a federation luncheon in Saratoga Springs, Mon., Apr. 18.

Jim Planck is reporting in The Daily Mail the Hunter Town Board has schedule a special meeting on Tue., Apr. 12, to get feedback from business owners and residents on the town's new land-use laws. The six laws up for discussion regular mobile homes, timber harvesting, junkyards, scrap facilities, small scale mining and site plan review. Rory France, the owner of Haines Falls Auto and Northeast Recyclers, is focused on the scrap law, and he is urging the board to amend aspects of that law. France said if some changes are not made, he will file an Article 78 proceeding against the town. The law as written, he said, deprives him of a third of his scrap business. France said he received his junkyard permit from the town in 1994-95, and has operated within the law since that time. He said the new law essentially singles him out. The initial paragraphs of the scrap law say there will be no new scrap yards in the town of Hunter once the law is enacted, France said. “So, I’m the only one. The only one with a license, the only one that can now be in the town of Hunter, so basically, that whole law was written for me,” he said.

Gail Heinsohn reported in the Chatham Courier voters in the New Lebanon school district will go to the polls next month to fill four open positions on the Board of Education. Three of the seats carry three-year terms; the fourth is a two-year term. Nominating petitions are available online at www [dot] New Lebanon CSD [dot] org. Completed petitions must contain signatures from 25 qualified school district voters, and returned to district clerk Kelly McGivern at the district office by the close of business, Mon., Apr. 18. The annual school district budget vote and school board election is Tue., May 16.

The Daily Freeman reported Diane Lew-Snider, professor of nursing at Columbia-Greene Community College has been named president of the New York League for Nursing. Her duties as president include advocacy for nurse educators in New York state. A registered nurse, Lew-Snider holds a bachelor of science from SUNY College Utica/Rome, a master of science degree from Russell Sage College and a doctorate from Boston College.

Local weather forecast

Today: Showers likely, mainly between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. Cloudy. High near 55. Monday night, showers likely. Cloudy. Low around 45.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
TUESDAY: Showers likely, mainly before noon. Cloudy. High near 49. Tuesday night, partly cloudy. Low around 33.
WEDNESDAY: Mostly sunny. High near 52. Wednesday night, mostly sunny. High near 52. Wednesday night, partly cloudy. Low around 35.

Sunrise today: 6:18a.m.
Sunset today: 7:33 p.m.

LENGTH OF THE DAY: 13:14 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS

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

ASHLAND Town Board meeting, 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall, Main Street, Ashland (734-3636).
CANAAN Town Board meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 1647 Co. Rte. 5, Canaan (781-3144).
CATSKILL Village Board meeting, 7 p.m. at the Firehouse, 1 Central Ave. (behind Walgreens) (943-3830).
CLAVERACK Planning Board meeting, 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 91 Church St., Mellenville (672-7911).
COPAKE Environmental Committee meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 230 Mt. View Road, Copake (329-1234).
GREENE COUNTY Legislature County Services and Public Works committee meetings, 6 p.m. at County Building, 411 Main St., Catskill (719-3270).
GREENPORT Town Board special meeting, 5 p.m. at Town Hall, 600 Town Hall Dr., Greenport (828-4656).
GREENVILLE Town Board special meeting, 7 p.m. at Greenville Town Hall, 11159 Route 32, Greenville (966-5055).
HUDSON City School District Board of Education meeting, 7 p.m. at Hudson High School library, 215 Harry Howard Ave., Hudson (828-4360).
HUDSON Common Council Informal meeting, 7 p.m. at City Hall, 520 Warren St., Hudson (828-1030).
HUNTER Village Board meeting, 8 p.m. at Village Hall, 7955 Main St., Hudson (263-4020).
NEW BALTIMORE Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 3809 Rt. 51, Hannacroix (756-6671).
PHILMONT Village Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 124 Main St., Philmont (672-7032).
PRATTSVILLE Town meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 14517 Main St., Prattsville (299-3125).
TAGHKANIC Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 909 Route 82, Taghkanic (851-7638).

Click here to play or download an audio version of this report.

Andrea Sears reports from New York News Connection for Public News Service that education advocates say a provision buried in the new state budget allows a casino developer to take money from a fund set aside for public schools.

Billy Easton, executive director of the Alliance for Quality Education, says the provision allows Resorts World Casino at Aqueduct to withdraw up to $40 million a year from the revenue the state collects from the casino.

"And they're using that to expand their operations including building a hotel, and it's a bad bet," Easton states. "We should be funding our schools with the money that's supposed to go to our schools, not funding casino operators."

A representative for the casino's developer called Resorts World "New York's largest taxpayer" and said the budget provision will allow additional economic development in the local community.

But Easton maintains that voters were told if they approved the casino the money would flow to education, and this provision reverses that.

"This is not the type of thing we should allow," he maintains. "The schools are underfunded as it is. There's a real need for smaller class sizes, more guidance counselors and social workers and more programs for students."

State Assemblyman Gary Pretlow, chair of the Racing and Wagering Committee, has called the budget provision "a terrible idea."

Presidential candidates Donald Trump and John Kasich, Republicans, and Democrat Bernie Sanders all come to the Capitol Region Monday, April 11. Donald Trump will be at the Times Union Center in Albany at 7 p.m. April 11. Bernie Sanders will be at the Washington Avenue Armory in Albany at 2 p.m. Ohio Governor and Republican presidential candidate John Kasich will speak at the Saratoga Springs City Center from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on April 11. Kasich also holds a town hall-style event at the La Salle Institute gymnasium from 2:30 to 4 p.m. The New York presidential primary is April 19.

Greg Hudson in The Daily Mail reports about the broadband conference April 8 at Columbia-Greene Community College, where local politicians got a chance to sound off on the issue:

• Assemblywoman Didi Barrett, a Democrat who represents Dutchess and parts of Columbia counties, said high-speed Internet access should be universally available.

• Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin, a Republican who represents parts of Columbia and Albany counties, used the forum to take shots at Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Rural Broadband Program. “It’s incredibly frustrating for me that areas of Brooklyn would qualify for a state program designed to help rural parts of the state, but my own constituents don’t qualify in a truly rural area of the state,” McLaughlin said.

• Rep. Chris Gibson, a Republican who represents the area in Washington D.C. and wants to run for governor in 2018, wants to use the Universal Service Fund, or E-Rate to fund broadband projects for schools and libraries. “We hope to utilize these programs to establish a corridor of broadband infrastructure with schools and libraries, which are important fixtures in communities in our area,” Gibson said.

Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Cairo's Town Board considers a moratorium on solar energy in the town May 2. The town holds a Public Hearing on the issue before its regular town board meeting at 7 p.m. May 2 at Cairo Town Hall.

Local weather forecast

Today: Increasing clouds, with a high near 43. Sunday night there is a chance of rain showers before 1 a.m., which could become sleet later, with a low around 35.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
MONDAY: Showers likely, mainly before 2 p.m. Cloudy, with a high near 52, and a low around 40.
TUESDAY: Rain and snow likely, becoming all rain after 9 a.m. Cloudy, with a high near 45.

Sunrise today: 6:20 a.m.
Sunset today: 7:32 p.m.