Some of the stories that made the news Fri., Apr. 1 through Sun., Apr. 3:

The Hudson Area Library closed at 5 p.m. Fri., Apr. 1, for the final time at 400 State Street, its home since 1959. The library will reopen at 10 a.m. Sat., Apr. 9 at its new home, the former Hudson Armory, located at 51 N. 5th St. The library, the Hudson Senior Center, and the Perfect Ten after-school program are all moving into the Galvan Foundation building, paying “nominal, below market rates,” according to a Galvan press release. The library has entered into a 30-year lease with the foundation, paying $1 per month.

Casey Seiler reported at Capitol Confidential the state Court of Appeals Fri., Apr. 1, refused to hear an appeal of a legal challenge to Republican Presidential candidate Ted Cruz's status as a "natural born" American citizen. A state Supreme Court justice and the Appellate Division earlier rejected the petition on grounds that the complaint was filed well past the deadline to challenge Cruz’s presence on the April 19 state primary ballot. The rejection by the state’s highest court is the end of the road for the case. Similar suits in other states have likewise been rejected.

Gail Heinsohn reported in the Chatham Courier after nearly four years of applications, regulations, construction and delays, Love’s Travel Stops and Country Store in Canaan opened last week. The nearly 12,000-square-foot facility is located on Route 22, near exit B3 of Interstate 90. The store includes a visitors center, a Subway sandwich shop and a Dunkin Donuts. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place Wed., Apr. 13.

Jimmy Vielkind reported at Politico New York a poll released Fri., Apr. 1, shows incumbent U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer with a wide lead over Republican challenger Wendy Long. A survey of nearly 1,700 New Yorkers found Democrat Schumer is leading Long by more than 40 points. The same poll showed 85 percent of the respondents had never heard of Long, making her an almost anonymous opponent in the November election. Long has criticized Schumer for failing to do more to oppose the recent U.S. agreement with Iran, and for supporting policies she believes have driven people and businesses out of New York state.

Greg Hudson reported in The Daily Mail Greene County officials discussed last week the possibility of shifting the focus of the county jail's programming from education to mental health counseling and improving employment opportunities. The conversation took place during a meeting of the new county jail programming committee, which consists of elected officials, mental health experts and jail representatives. Plans for the new facility are still in development, and the programming to be offered by the county will impact the final design decisions. Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden said, “You don’t build a building and then say okay, what can we do with it, you figure out what you want to do and then design a facility to deliver that.” Under state law, the jail must offer GED classes to incarcerated people under the age of 21 who do not hold a high school diploma, Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous programs and religious services. Implementing programs that would have a lasting impact could be a challenge because on average those detained in Greene County are at the jail for a period of 44 days. One idea under consideration is for the county and Questar III BOCES [Quess-tar three BOE-seez] to collaborate on a program that would transition individuals from the in-jail education program to a similar program in the community. The county is moving forward with plans to building a new jail in Coxsackie, on formerly state-owned land. The existing county jail located in Catskill holds 48 usable beds and is more than 100 years old.

John Mason reported in the Register-Star former Hudson Police Chief James J. Dolan Jr. has been hired as the Democratic election specialist for the Columbia County Board of Elections. Dolan, who led the Hudson Police Department in the late 1980s was indicted in 1991 on charges of bribery, coercion, hindering prosecution and compounding a crime, charges he denied. He was later convicted of interfering with drug investigations by other police agencies, and sentenced to five years' probation and fined $8,000 for obstruction of justice. Dolan also served on the Hudson Community Development and Planning Agency in the late 1990s, before moving out of state. Dolan recently relocated back to Columbia County, and is currently a member of the Greenport Democratic Committee. Dolan will work with Democratic Commissioner Virginia Martin who hired him, and Deputy Commissioner Hilary Hillman. Martin said among the more than one dozen applicants for the job, Dolan was the most qualified. The permanent, full-time position pays approximately $43,000 a year.

Local weather forecast

Today: Rain and snow before 2 p.m., then rain likely between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., then a chance of rain and snow after 5 p.m. High near 38. Chance of precipitation is 90 percent. New snow accumulation of one to three inches possible. Monday night, a chance of snow, mainly before 7 p.m. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly clear. Low around 20. Chance of precipitation is 20 percent.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
TUESDAY: Sunny. High near 35. Tuesday night, mostly clear. Low around 19.
WEDNESDAY: Partly sunny. High near 46. Wednesday night, showers likely, mainly after 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 38.

Sunrise today: 6:30 a.m.
Sunset today: 7:25 p.m.

LENGTH OF THE DAY: 12:55

PUBLIC MEETINGS

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

CAIRO Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 512 Main St., Cairo (622-3120).
DURHAM Town Board meeting, 7:30 p.m. at Town Building, 7309 State Rt. 81, East Durham (239-8260).
COEYMANS Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 18 Russell Ave., Ravena (756-6006).
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 meeting, 7 p.m., at Town Hall, County Rte. 19, Livingston (851-9441).
SCHOHARIE County Planning Commission meeting, 7 p.m. at county office building, 284 Main St., Schoharie (295-8770).
PHILMONT Village Annual Organizational meeting and budget hearing, 7 p.m. at Villlage Hall, 124 Main St., Philmont (672-7032).
TAGHKANIC Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 909 Route 82, Taghkanic (851-7638).

Rick Ostfeld, Senior Scientist at the Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies in Dutchess County, on the PBS series, Global Health Frontiers, discussing Lyme disease. and other wildlife sleuths work to unravel complex factors driving the explosive spread of Lyme disease in a yard-to-yard battle to try and turn the tide.

Casey Seiler reports in Captiol Confidential that Hillary Clinton will be campaigning in Albany April 4. The candidate's campaign did not release details of the visit, but Seiler reports Clinton will meet with the Democratic legislators at the state Capitol. Also on April 4, at noon, supporters of rival presidential candidate Bernie Sanders will hold a press conference and rally in Albany at Capitol West Park, in Albany. New York primary voters choose between Clinton and Sanders, or Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, or John Kasich on the Republican side, in the primary election April 19.

UPDATE: Clinton will visit Cohoes High School at 6:15 p.m. to “discuss her plans to raise incomes and get results for all communities, keep Americans safe, and bring the country together in the Capital Region.”

CNN is reporting that campaigns for both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are "confident" there will be a debate in New York before the April 19 primary. April 14 is one date being considered, though Sanders said on "Meet the Press" that he may be holding a rally that day. Read the full story at CNN.

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local headlines and weather for Sun., Apr. 3 (4:06). (Produced by Tom Roe.)