Some of the stories that made the news Fri., Mar. 11 through Sun., Mar. 13.

Hudson High School's boys varsity basketball team lost their first game of the season, Fri., Mar. 11, in the state final four Section II, Class B tournament. They were defeated by the Olean Huskies, 58 to 38 in a game played at the Glens Falls Civic Center. The loss left the Hudson Bluehawks with a record of 26 and 1 for the season winning the Section II title for only the fourth time in the school's history and winning two games in their first-ever state level tournament. Olean went on Sat., Mar. 12, to defeat Marlboro High School for the Class B title. Olean now advances to the semifinals of the Federation Tournament of Champions next weekend in Albany.

Brian Nearing reported in the Times-Union that the owners of the proposed Constitution natural gas pipeline have delayed the beginning of construction from late 2016 to the second half of 2017. The proposed pipeline still requires approvals from the state Department of Environmental Conservation, with a ruling expected before March 31. As part of the construction plan, pipeline developers are expected to cut down 1,000 acres of forest containing 700,000 trees, and 120 landowners would lose property to the gas company under eminent domain, if the project moves forward. The Constitution Pipeline as planned is a 121-mile natural gas pipeline that would bring gas from northern Pennsylvania to the Iroquois and Tennessee pipelines in Schoharie County.

The Daily Freeman reported on the village elections to be held Tue., Mar. 15, in Rhinebeck, Saugerties and Tivoli. Rhinebeck residents will choose from a field of four candidates for two Village Board seats carrying two-year terms, and two contenders running to fill the remaining year of an unexpired term. Voting will be from noon to 9 p.m. in Town Hall, 80 E. Market St. Republicans in the running include incumbent Scott Cruikshank, Sean Kemp and Sheryl Monaco. Incumbent Gary Bassett, Richard Lewit and Gina Fox are running on the Democratic line. In Saugerties, incumbents Donald Hackett, Vince Buono and Terry Parisian are running unopposed for village board. Polls will be open from noon to 9 p.m. in the village office at 43 Partition Street. The election is Tivoli is also an uncontested race. Emily Majer and Jeanann Schneider are on the ballot for the two Village Board seats they currently hold. Howard Clark is seeking to return as village justice. All three incumbents are running on the Tivoli First ballot line. Polls are open from noon to 9 p.m., Tue., Mar. 15 at the Tivoli Firehouse, 2 Tivoli Commons.

In Columbia County, Kinderhook voters will choose a new mayor on Tue., Mar. 15. Rima Bostick, is running on the Responsible Party line, and James Dunham, on the Van Buren Party line. Candidates competing for two open trustee seats are Robert Baumeister, on the People Party line; Richard Phillips, on the Van Buren Party line; as well as Stephen Bean and Peter Hunter, both on the Freedom Party line. Incumbent Village Justice David Dellehunt is running for reelection unopposed. Polls will be open at Village Hall, 6 Chatham Street, from noon to 9 p.m. Village races in Philmont and Valatie are uncontested. Two candidates are seeking the two, two-year seats open on the Philmont Village Board of Trustees. The village's former clerk/treasurer, Eilene Morris is running on the Heritage Party line. And incumbent Brian Johnson is seeking re-election to his seventh, two-year term. He is also running on the Heritage Party line. In Philmont, the polls will be open noon to 9 p.m. at Village Hall, 124 Main St. In Valatie incumbents Angelo Nero and David Williams are seeking another two-year term. Polls in Valatie are open noon to 9 p.m. at Village Hall, 3211 Church St.

Katie Kocijanski reported in The Daily Mail four candidates are competing for two open seats on the Catskill Village Board. The contenders include incumbents Vincent Seeley and Stanley Dushane. They are being challenged by Joel Shanks and Lillian Johnson. Dushane is a Republican and has served as trustee for three years. Democrat Johnson is a former member of the Catskill Central School District Board of Education. Seeley has been a member of the village board for 12 years and is its current president. He is a registered Republican, but is running on the Democrat and Independence lines. Shanks is a political newcomer. He is on the Republican and Independence lines. In Athens, three candidates are vying for two open seats on the Village Board. Incumbent village trustees Peter Alberti, a Republican, and Gail Lasher, a Democrat, are seeking re-election. They are being challenged by political newcomer Shannon Spinner, a Republican. Elections in Hunter and Tannersville are unopposed this year. In Hunter, incumbent Alan Higgins is on the ballot for a fourth three-year term as a village trustee. He is running on the Hunter Pride Party line. Polls are open from noon to 9 p.m. at Village Hall on Main Street. In Tannersville, incumbents Leigh McGunnigle and Brian Walsh are running again -- McGunnigle on the Republican line, and Walsh on the Democratic. Polls are open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Tannersville Firehouse, located on Main Street. Village elections are Tue., Mar. 15.

Hunter Harrison reported in the Register-Star some property owners in Copake are up in arms about the town's recent tax revaluation. Many of them appeared at a recent meeting of the town board. Town Supervisor Jeffrey Nayer said the town appointed an assessor to do the reval in 2011. He said from 2012 to 2014, state data collectors measured every property located in the town and found that some houses were not listed. The state released the report last fall, and town Assessor J. Craig Surprise calculated the real property tax based on that report. The tax value of the entire town increased from approximately $452 million last year to $760 million this year. Nayer said taxes went down or stayed the same for two-thirds of the community.

Local weather forecast
Today: Rain likely before 9 a.m., then periods of rain and sleet between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., then periods of rain after 3 p.m. High near 41. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. Monday night, rain likely, before 8 p.m. Cloudy. Low around 37. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
TUESDAY: A chance of rain before 8 a.m., then a chance of showers after 8 a.m. Mostly cloudy. High near 53. Tuesday night, a slight chance of showers after 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 41.
WEDNESDAY: A chance of showers, mainly after noon. Partly sunny. High near 60. Wednesday night, mostly cloudy. Low around 42.

Sunrise today:7:06 a.m.
Sunset today: 7:01 p.m.

LENGTH OF THE DAY: 11:55

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).
COLUMBIA County Board of Supervisors .1 [point one] Committee meeting, 2 p.m. at 401 Columbia St., Hudson (828-1527).
COPAKE Environmental Committee meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 230 Mt. View Road, Copake (329-1234).
GREENE COUNTY Legislature Special County Resources, County Services, Public Works, Economic Development and Tourism and Government Operations 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 budget workshop presentation, 6 p.m.; regular meeting, 7 p.m. at Hudson High School library, 215 Harry Howard Ave., Hudson (828-4360).
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).

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local headlines and weather for Sun., Mar. 13 (2:47). (Produced by Tom Roe.)