Emilia Teasdale is reporting in The Columbia Paper on the candidate forum held at Kinderhook Village Hall last week. Contenders in the village's mayoral and trustee races participated. Running for mayor are Rima Bostick, 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. Current Mayor Carol Weaver and incumbent Trustee Brian Murphy are not seeking re-election. The moderator for the event was Parry Teasdale, the editor and publisher of "The Columbia Paper." Following the candidates' opening remarks, Teasdale read questions submitted by audience members. Approximately 100 people attended the 90-minute forum. Topics discussed included the safety of village sidewalks, parking, truck traffic on local and state roads, the future of the village Department of Public Works, whether the community needs both village and town courts, economic development in the business district, the planting of trees and leaf pick-up, among other things. Bean was the only candidate not to attend the forum. The event was hosted by the Kinderhook, Niverville, Valatie Community Action Network. The election will take place Tue., Mar. 15 at the Village Hall, 6 Chatham Street, from noon to 9 p.m. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

Keshia Clukey is reporting at Politico New York U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer Wed., Mar. 9, proposed a $100 million federal grant program to help test for lead in school drinking water. The proposal comes amid the crisis in Flint, Michigan and reports of elevated lead levels found in the drinking water at 10 schools in Ithaca. School districts currently are not required to test their water supply. Schumer said given that toxic, lead-based pipes were not banned until 1986, schools should be testing. His proposal would help schools that are already testing continue to do so, and provide an incentive for those that are not. Water testing costs on average $35 per sample, but if contamination is discovered, districts could require further samples be taken, he said. If passed, the funding would be available as soon as Jan. 1, 2017, for all schools. Schumer expects to soon have a Republican co-sponsor. When asked if the testing should extend to other chemicals or contaminants, such as were found in Hoosick Falls, Schumer said they should start with lead. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential.

The Daily Freeman reports that WMHT premieres a documentary about the "Irish Catskills" at 7:30 p.m. March 10. “The Irish Catskills: Dancing At The Crossroads” airs on the public television station and online at www.wmht.org. Filmmanker Kevin Ferguson uses archival photos, home movies, dozens of interviews, and contemporary videography to trace the history of Irish-Americana in Leeds, South Cairo, Oak Hill, and East Durham from the 1950s to 1970s. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

For the first time in 40 years, New York's April presidential primary may feature a still-undecided contest on both sides. Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders by 21 points, 55-34, in the most recent Siena poll of New York voters. But Sanders came back from polls showing him behind by 20 points to win Michigan's March 8 primary. On the Republican side, Donald Trump has a 27 point lead, with 45 percent support, in the Siena poll from Feb. 28 to March 3. But Marco Rubio and John Kasich are tied at 18 percent, and Ted Cruz trails at 11 percent. Mark Weiner reports at Syracuse.com that in 1976, New York Republicans chose Gerald Ford over Ronald Reagan in the primary, and eventual presidential winner Jimmy Carter finished third in New York Democratic primary to U.S. Sen. Henry "Scoop" Jackson, of Washington state, and Rep. Morris Udall of Arizona. To register to vote for the 2016 primary election, applications must be postmarked no later than March 25 and received by a board of elections no later than March 30 to be eligible to vote in the primary. Anyone may register at the local board of elections or any state agency participating in the National Voter Registration Act by March 25. Notices of change of address from registered voters must be received by March 30.

Temperatures in the Hudson Valley reached 80 on March 9, the warmest day this winter. Meteorological winter is from Dec. 1-Feb. 29, and the National Weather Service in Albany recently released statistics for the past winter. It was 72 degrees in Albany Christmas Eve, the highest temperature of the season, with -28 on Jan. 19 the coldest of few cold spells. Albany had only eight snowy days this winter, with 33 inches of snow below average, and 48 inches fewer then last winter. The nine inches of total precipitation was over an inch more then normal, according to the National Weather Service.

Local weather forecast
Today: Scattered showers before 8 a.m., then rain, mainly after 8 a.m. High near 67. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. Thursday night, rain, mainly before 4 a.m. Low around 44. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
FRIDAY: A chance of rain, mainly before 7 a.m. Cloudy through mid-morning, then gradually clearing. High near 53. Friday night, mostly clear. Low around 31.
SATURDAY: Sunny. High near 61. Saturday night, partly cloudy. Low around 41.

Sunrise today: 6:13 a.m.
Sunset today: 5:57 p.m.

LENGTH OF THE DAY: 11:44

PUBLIC MEETINGS

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

CAIRO-DURHAM Board of Education meeting, 7 p.m. at high school media center, 1301 Route 145, Durham (622-8543).
CHATHAM Village meeting, 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 77 Main Street, Chatham (392-5821).
COPAKE Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 230 Mountainview Road, Copake (329-1234).
GALLATIN Town Board meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 667 Route 7, Ancram (398-7519).
HUDSON Planning Board public hearing on site plan approval for an eight-unit rooming house at 258-260 State St., and regular meeting, 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 520 Warren St., Hudson (828-1030).
KINDERHOOK Planning Board workshop meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 4 Church St, Niverville (784-2233).
LIVINGSTON Town board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 119 County Route 19.
NEW BALTIMORE Planning board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 3809 County Route 51, Hannacroix (756-6671).
STUYVESANT Town board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 5 Sunset Drive, Stuyvesant (758-6248).
WINDHAM Town board meeting, 8 p.m. at Town Hall, 371 State Rt. 296, Hensonville (734-4170).

Jim Planck is reporting in The Daily Mail a proposal for a storage unit facility in an open lot behind McDonald’s and Pizza Hut on Route 9W, in the village of Catskill, was put before the village planning board Mon., Mar. 7. The site is a 4.2-acre parcel, which is accessed by a lane that runs between the two restaurants. The proposal is in the conceptual stage, and the as yet, unnamed applicants are being represented at the planning board by M.J. Engineering and Land Surveying of Clifton Park. The parcel is zoned commercial. Catskill Community Development Coordinator Nancy Richards said there are water and sewer hookups on the property, but the developers would be required to bring the sewage line out to Route 9W. Richards said the proposal calls for six standard units, each measuring 20 to 24 feet high, as well as a 12,000 square foot office building. The buildings will be made of cement block, and a six-foot high chain link fence is proposed to surround the property. Richards said the planning board has asked for certain types of lighting. The board is also to be provided a list of the applicants other storage units, to see what they look like. Richards said once the application is formally filed and the project is under review, neighboring properties owners will have opportunity to comment on the project throughout the process. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

John Mason is reporting in the Register-Star Hudson Common Council is weighing a resolution that would allow hotels to be located in the southern waterfront area of the city. The measure was placed on the aldermen's desks Mon., Mar. 7. Redburn Development Companies is looking to develop a hotel at 41 Cross St., a 40,000-square-foot building currently owned by Laura Margolis, executive director of Stageworks. The theater company has occupied the space since 2004. The hotel will contain 55 units, will be owned by Redburn, and managed by Prestige Hospitality Group of Albany. Prestige manages 26 hotels in the Northeast which manages 26 hotels in the Northeast. The group's portfolio includes such names as Hilton, Clarion Inn and Econolodge. The measure under consideration by Common Council would create a new zoning district in the southern waterfront area that would include "hotel" as a conditionally permitted use. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

Bethany Bump is reporting at Capitol Confidential state lawmakers on Tue., Mar. 8, picked three new members to serve on the Board of Regents. Luis Reyes, director of education at Hunter College’s Center for Puerto Rican Studies, Nan Mead, an education activist out of New York City, and Elizabeth Smith Hakanson, of Syracuse, were all chosen to serve on the board which sets state education policy. The board is expected to pick Bronx member and opt-out advocate Betty Rosa as its next chancellor in the coming weeks. Chancellor Merryl Tisch will vacate her seat at the end of the month. New York State United Teachers praised the choices as another step forward on the path toward ending “the era of test-and-punish.” High Achievement New York, a pro-Common Core group, also praised the selections and urged the new members to put students interests first, not politics. More than 50 New Yorkers applied for a seat on the board, and for the first time, the interview process was streamed live. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.

The mercury may reach 70 on local thermometers March 9, and the National Weather Service in Albany is not predicting any lows below freezing in the next week. While the warm February temperatures started the maple syrup season early this year, the new predictions would cut off the flow of sap from maple trees. Maple syrup season needs temperatures above freezing during the day, and below freezing at night for best sap flow.