Some of the stories that made the news Fri., Feb. 26 through Mon., Feb. 28:

The Hudson High School boys basketball team remained undefeated Fri., Feb. 26, defeating Glens Falls by a score of 82 to 78, in the Section II, Class B finals held at the Glens Falls Civic Center. Hudson won its first sectional title since 1974, and now heads to the regional tournament. The team is now 24-0 for the season. Four buses full of fans from Hudson traveled to Glens Galls for the game.

Brendon Lyons reported at Capitol Confidentia Taconic Plastics in Petersburgh, Rennssealer Co., first alerted the state Department of Environmental Conservation in 2005 about its discovery of a toxic chemical in the groundwater around its plant on Route 22. At that time the discovery of the toxic chemical PFOA did not result in any public notification or additional investigation by the state. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it has no record that the company or state DEC notified the federal agency about the situation at that time. The plastics company said it installed a carbon-filter system on the wells at its plant along the Little Hoosic River after it said low levels of the chemical were discovered there. State officials said Fri., Feb. 26, they did not test the water in 2014, even though a state employee privately raised the possibility of its presence in the water supply, because it was not on federal regulation lists. State director of operations Jim Malatras said at a press conference Friday officials did not act in Petersburgh because PFOA was not on a federal watch list. PFOA has been linked to kidney and testicular cancer, and to thyroid problems.

Emilia Teasdale reported in the Chatham Courier the Chatham Town Board has left open its public hearing on a proposed 12-­month extension of a moratorium that effectively blocks new construction projects along unpaved town roads. The board opened the public hearing before the regular monthly meeting Thu., Feb. 18 and will close it at the March town board meeting. During that time the county Planning Board will review the proposal. Many people at the meeting spoke in favor of the extending the moratorium and one person sent an email opposing it. The board put the moratorium in place last year to give board members time to review changes to town zoning laws. The town’s Zoning Implementation Committee just completed its review of the zoning laws and the changes it recommends are posted on the town’s website, Chatham, New York [dot] US.

Hunter Harrison reported in The Daily Mail on Sat., Feb. 27, 89 elementary, middle and high school teams from Greene, Columbia and Rensselaer counties gathered at the Coxsackie-Athens campus for the annual Odyssey of the Mind tournament. The competition was held by Questar III BOCES. Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that tests students with creative problem-solving opportunities. The problems presented are rooted in science, technology, engineering and math. Winners at the elementary level included Germantown Elementary, Scott M. Ellis Elementary in Greenville and Tamarac Elementary. In the middle school division, Holy Spirit, Troy Middle, Rensselaer Junior High, Howard L. Goff Middle and Ichabod Crane won first place. In the high school category, Hoosic Valley and Catskill took home the top honors.

John Mason reported in the Register Star Columbia County will see several road closures because of major road work involving the replacement of county bridges and culverts this summer. In addition to the two major state bridge projects on Routes 66 and 9H, work at locations in Canaan, Copake, Hillsdale, Livingston and Ghent will begin in late May or June. According to the Department of Transportation, 19.3 percent, or 47 of the county's 243 bridges are structurally deficient, the sixth highest percentage in the state. Comparatively, in Greene County, 11.4 percent, or 26 out of 227 are defective. The figure includes town and city bridges, as well as county spans.

Today is Day 3 of the Extended WGXC High Five Pledge Drive. Our winter pledge drive has been extended. Please do not delay -- go online to wgxc.org [slash] donate, or call 518.697.7400, to pledge your support. Your tax-deductible contribution will help sustain WGXC as a public platform for information, experimentation, and engagement. Thank you for supporting creative community radio in New York's Greene and Columbia counties.

Local weather forecast
Today: Scattered showers, mainly before noon. Cloudy through mid-morning, then gradual clearing. High near 49. Chance of precipitation is 50 percent. Monday night, a slight chance of rain and snow showers before 2 a.m., then a slight chance of show showers between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. Mostly clear in the early evening, then becoming mostly cloudy. Low around 27. Chance of precipitation is 20 percent.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
TUESDAY: Partly sunny. High near 41. Tuesday night, a chance of snow before 1 a.m., then rain and snow likely between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m., then rain likely after 4 a.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 32.
WEDNESDAY: Rain before 1 p.m., then occasional showers, mainly between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. High near 46. Wednesday night, scattered showers before 7 p.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 21.

Sunrise today: 6:31 a.m.
Sunset today: 5:44 p.m.

LENGTH OF THE DAY: 11:12

PUBLIC MEETINGS

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

HUDSON Industrial Development Agency meeting, 10 a.m., at City Hall, 520 Warren Street, Hudson (828-0212).

Jim O'Rourke, "Steamroom 25"



Justin Lombardi played Kanye West's new "Waves" backwards.



The Simpsons' "The Debateful Eight"

Today is Day 16 of the WGXC High Five Pledge Drive. Your tax-deductible contribution will help sustain WGXC as a public platform for information, experimentation, and engagement. Thank you for supporting creative community radio in New York's Greene and Columbia counties.

Local weather forecast
Today: Increasing clouds, with a high near 37, and a low around 31.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
SUNDAY: Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 51, and a low around 35.
MONDAY: There is a 30 percent chance of showers before 10 a.m. Then partly sunny, with a high near 44.

Sunrise today: 6:33 a.m.
Sunset today: 5:43 p.m.



The Hudson High School boys basketball team remained undefeated Feb. 26, defeating Glens Falls 82 to 78, in the Section II, Class B finals at the Glens Falls Civic Center. Hudson won its first sectional title since 1974, and now heads to the regional tournament. The team is now 24-0 for the season. Four buses full of fans from Hudson traveled to Glens Galls for the game.

Benjamin Weiserfeb in The New York Times reports that six female prisoners filed a lawsuit Feb. 25 claiming sexual abuse of females inmates is persistent in New York prisons. Corrections officers are so unlikely to be punished, the suit claims, that they disregard the “zero tolerance” policy on such behavior. The lawsuit alleges that the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision lets forcible sexual intercourse and other forms of sexual misconduct, verbal threats, and harassment and voyeurism take place, and seeks class-action status on behalf of current and future inmates at the three all-women’s prisons operated by the department: the Bedford Hills, Taconic, and Albion correctional facilities. Thomas Mailey, a DOCCS spokeperson, said the agency “takes all allegations of sexual abuse seriously,” and “thoroughly investigates each claim expeditiously to ensure that appropriate action is taken against any perpetrator in violation of the law or agency rules.” Read the full story in The New York Times.

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 city and state university faculty and staff held a "Higher Education Action Day" rally on Thursday in Albany, urging the Legislature to increase support for the university systems.

SUNY and CUNY have lost hundreds of millions of dollars in state funding since 2008. Frederick Kowal, president of United University Professions, which represents faculty on SUNY state-operated campuses, said the state needs to use part of the budget surplus to create a permanent endowment for the schools, "so that, whether the economy is booming or in decline, there will be a source of funding that can be used to continue to grow the university, to ensure that students graduate on time."

New York is one of the few states that has no endowment for its public universities.

Kowal also called on the Legislature to pass a Maintenance of Effort bill to ensure that student tuition is used for education, rather than school operating costs. According to Kowal, the share of costs coming from the state has been flat, while expenses have grown.

"Only approximately 35 percent of the cost of a SUNY education comes from state dollars," he said. "The rest is covered by tuition, and we see that as untenable in the long run."

A Maintenance of Effort bill passed overwhelmingly in the Legislature last year, but was vetoed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The educators also want lawmakers to restore an $18 million spending cut for the system's three teaching hospitals that was proposed in the Executive Budget. Kowal said those hospitals are vital assets in their communities, and key resources for SUNY's four medical schools, which produce more doctors than 45 other states.

"Those hospitals are crucial for medical care," he said, "and for the education of our future doctors."

Kowal said he believes there is strong support for increased funding for the state universities, in both the Assembly and state Senate.

More information is online at uupinfo.org.