Rick Karlin is reporting at Capitol Confidential on Thu., Feb. 25, a state appellate court upheld the state Health Department’s 2013 order that health care workers get flu shots or wear masks around patients, once the flu is declared to be prevalent, or widespread in New York. The union representing public sector nurses and other health care providers sued, contending the rule amounted to administrative overreach on the part of the Health Department. Some of the health care workers did not like the idea of flu vaccinations or being forced to wear the masks. The court sided with the Health Department regulation. The flu this year was declared widespread in early February so the mask rule is now in effect. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.

The warm winter has wrecked havoc on the local ski industry and canceled all sorts of events. The Round Top Mountain Bike Association's "Fat Fest" this weekend at Riedlbauer's Resort is the latest casualty. "Folks we are sorry to say that due to the current inclement weather, and forecasted warm temperatures this coming weekend, we will be canceling the RTMBA Fat Fest. Hundreds of volunteer hours have been put into maintaining our trails; warm conditions, standing water, mud and a bunch of fat-tire bikes would do more harm than good at this point," organizers wrote on the event's Facebook page. As of Feb. 22, Albany has the least amount of snow in a meteorological winter (Dec. 1-Feb. 29), according to the National Weather Service.

As of Feb 22nd, #Albany New York is on track to experience the least amount of #snowfall in a meteorological winter pic.twitter.com/Okw7ATExQM

— NWS Albany (@NWSAlbany) February 22, 2016

Brian Nearing reports in The Albany Times-Union that electronics manufacturers were supposed to cover the costs of recycling waste under the 2010 e-waste law. Instead New York taxpayers are on the hook for millions. Under the law, electronics manufacturers must help pay for e-waste recycling to specific annual weight-based goals based on their current market share. But consumers have been ditching very heavy cathode ray tubes from old televisions when buying flat-screen TVs, skewing the plan. "Counties statewide are faced with an 'unsustainable choice' to pay the added CRT recycling expense, charge residents in apparent violation of the e-waste law, or refuse to accept the tubes, said Stephen Acquario, executive director of the New York State Association of Counties," Nearing writes. Eugene Leff, deputy commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, says the state will have to use taxpayer funds to reimburse local municipalities faced with the high recycling costs. Read the full story in The Albany Times-Union.

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: Mostly sunny. High near 30. Friday night, partly cloudy. Low around 16.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
SATURDAY: Sunny. High near 39. Saturday night, mostly cloudy. Low around 30.
SUNDAY: Partly sunny. High near 52. Sunday night, partly cloudy. Low around 39.

Sunrise today: 6:34 a.m.
Sunset today: 5:41 p.m.

LENGTH OF THE DAY: 11:07

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 Historic Preservation Commission meeting, 10 a.m., at City Hall, 520 Warren Street, Hudson (828-1030).

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local headlines and weather for Thu., Feb. 25 (9:15). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

Karrie Allen is reporting in the Chatham Courier the Chatham Board of Education approved a resolution approving the Alternative Veterans' Exemption following a hearing, Tue., Feb. 23. The exemption approved applies only to combat veterans. The vote was split, 5 to 4. The hearing was attended by more than 20 people, including Suzette Booy, director of the county Real Property Tax Service Agency, and Columbia County Clerk Holly Tanner. The board heard from community members speaking in favor of the resolution, and against. The exemption will result in a an additional $8.32 on a tax bill for a property assessed at $100,000 located in the Chatham district. For a veteran with a property at the same value, they will save $304, or more than 19 percent. New Lebanon is now the only school district in Columbia County that has not held a vote on the exemption. Read the full story in the Chatham Courier.

Jim Planck is reporting in The Daily Mail a 36-year-old man died while in police custody at the Greene County Jail Mon., Feb. 22. Greene County Sheriff Greg Seeley said Robert C. Knisell Jr., of Saugerties, was found dead in his cell Monday night by a county corrections officer during regular rounds. According to Seeley, Knisell appeared fine earlier that evening during mail distribution and dinner. It was during the next round of cell checks that Knisell was found dead. The sheriff said there was no obvious cause of death and the investigation is ongoing. Seeley said, “I can tell you he wasn’t physically abused, and he didn’t hang himself.” Knisell was transported to St. Peter's Hospital in Albany, where an autopsy was performed Wed., Feb. 23. The results of that autopsy will be known in three or four weeks. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Jeanette Wolfberg is reporting in the Columbia Paper the possible legalization of the sale of fireworks in Columbia County dominated the county Board of Supervisors Public Safety Committee meeting last week. Supervisors heard a presentation from Vincent Szabo of Phantom Fireworks, and Wayne Lair, Jr. with Statewide Public Affairs Inc., a government relations and communications firm, on the proposed Columbia County Sparkling Device Law. Szabo explained that New York has authorized for retail sale various forms of fireworks including, party poppers, snappers and wooden sparklers. However, aerial devices, bottle rockets, firecrackers and Roman candles are still illegal. To sell fireworks, retailers typically pay $250 for a tent and $2,500 for a brick-and-mortar location, plus sales tax. Phantom's goal is to establish three tents per county. Arguing against legalization, county Fire Coordinator William Hunt presented information on the link between fireworks and fires. He also said legal, "safe and sane" fireworks caused more injuries than illegal fireworks, especially among pre-school aged children. Tom Rector, president of the Columbia County Fire Chiefs Association, concurred. Following the conversation the committee agreed to table the matter until its next meeting on March 17. At present, 35 of the state's 57 counties have legalized the retail sale of certain types of fireworks, including Dutchess, Greene, Rensselaer and Ulster. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 10,500 people were injured by fireworks countrywide in 2014. Read the full story in the Columbia Paper.

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 opponents of a proposed gas pipeline want the state to stop the project by denying a water quality certificate. The 30-inch pipeline is being built by the Constitution Pipeline Company, a joint venture of Williams Partners and Cabot Oil & Gas.

It would run 124 miles from northern Pennsylvania to Schoharie County, New York, crossing under 277 bodies of water.

According to Wes Gillingham, program director with Catskill Mountainkeeper, the Department of Environmental Conservation has been highly critical of the construction plans.

"There's a whole series of comments that DEC made to protect water and they were basically ignored by Cabot and Williams, and they put forward the same proposals," says Gillingham.

The company points out that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's environmental impact statement says the project's impact would be "less than significant" with the implementation of proposed mitigation measures.

The DEC has until April to grant or deny the water quality certificate.

Gillingham says the commission views pipelines as "public necessities," thereby empowering companies to seize private land through eminent domain.

"And they're taking New Yorkers' and Pennsylvanian's property that people have worked their lifetimes for, and they're taking it away for their own corporate interest," he says.

There are 120 landowners who would lose property to the gas company for pipeline construction.

Gillingham notes this isn't the only project. Gas and oil companies are building pipelines all over the country.

"They're pushing really hard to lock us into an infrastructure for the next 30 to 50 years when we need to be moving away from greenhouse fossil fuels and relying much more heavily on renewables," says Gillingham.

Casey Seiler in Capitol Confidential reports that Governor Andrew Cuomo continues to keep quiet on possible ethics reform in Albany. In Kingston Feb. 24 to tout his $15 minimum wage proposal, asked why he was not discussing the issue he said, "We are — it’s just in phases." But Seiler writes, "Since his State of the State address last month, Cuomo has discussed ethics in public only in response to reporter’s questions, and has often answered by saying that the public needs to reach out to their lawmakers to demand change." Many legislators in Albany have faced jail time in the past year because of ethical lapses, and it has been reported that the New York State Senate’s Ethics Committee has not met in at least five years. And New York recently scored an "F" in "ethics enforcement" from the Center for Public Integrity and Global Integrity. Read the full story in Capitol Confidential.

The Daily Freeman reports that Kingston-based radio station WGHQ (920-AM) stops airing Connecticut's "Robin Hood Radio," changing to a country music format next week. Robin Hood Radio airs on three stations in Connecticut, with National Public Radio programming. The “Kingston Community Radio” show will continue to air on WGHQ from 7 to 9 a.m. weekdays. But otherwise the station will play older country stars such as Johnny Cash and Loretta Lynn, and newer artists such as Brad Paisley, Kenny Chesney, and Miranda Lambert. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

Today is Day 15 of the WGXC High Five Pledge Drive. Tune in for a full slate of remote broadcasts, and turn out for special events. 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. Mostly cloudy, with temperatures falling to around 45 by 5 p.m. Chance of precipitation is 50 percent. Thursday night, a chance of rain showers, possibly mixing withs snow after 11 p.m., then gradually ending. Mostly cloudy. Low around 27. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
FRIDAY: Sunny. High near 30. Friday night, mostly cloudy. Low around 16.
SATURDAY: Mostly sunny. High near 38. Saturday night, mostly cloudy. Low around 29.

Sunrise today: 6:36 a.m.
Sunset today: 5:40 p.m.

LENGTH OF THE DAY: 11:04

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.)
ATHENS Planning Board public hearing on the site plan review and special use permit application of Primax Properties for the construction of a Dollar General store at 9718 State Route 9W, 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 2 First St., Athens (945-1551). CHATHAM Village Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 77 Main Street, Chatham (392-5821).
CHATHAM Zoning Board of Appeals public hearing, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 488 Route 295, Chatham (392-1651). COLUMBIA COUNTY Board of Supervisors Finance Committee meeting, 2 p.m. at 401 State Street, Hudson (828-1527).
COPAKE Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 230 Mt. View Road, Copake (329-1234).
HUDSON Development Corporation meeting, 12 p.m. (tentative) at 1 North Front St., Hudson (751-1044).
WINDHAM Town Board meeting, 8 p.m. at Town Hall, 371 State Rt. 296, Hensonville (734-4170).

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local headlines and weather for Wed., Feb. 24 (7:15). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

Closings and delays for Wed., Feb. 24

Cairo-Durham Central School District | Delayed two hours. No morning preschool. No morning BOCES.
Chatham Central School District | Delayed two hours. Middle school science fair postponed to Feb. 25.
Columbia Christian Academy | Delayed two hours.
Early Childhood Learning Center | Delayed two hours.
Germantown Central School District | Delayed two hours.
Germantown Public Library | Will open at 10 a.m.
Hawthorne Valley School | Delayed two hours.
Hudson City School District | Delayed two hours. No morning kindergarten. No morning pre-K. No breakfast. No morning BOCES. Tutoring Center is closed.
Hunter-Tannersville Central School District | Delayed two hours.
Pine Plains Central School District | Delayed two hours.
Questar III Columbia-Greene Education Center | Delayed two hours.
Sullivan BOCES | Delayed two hours. The adult program and offices will open at 10 a.m.
Taconic Hills Central School District | Delayed two hours.
Warren Street Academy -- The Bridge | Delayed two hours.
Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School District | Delayed two hours.

Jim Planck is reporting in The Daily Mail the Catskill Town Board is taking action to slow down speeders on Route 23 east of the hamlet. The board agreed during its February workshop meeting that the speed limit on the straightaway coming out of the hamlet may need increased enforcement. It was suggested the board draft a letter to the sheriff and the state police captain in Leeds, requesting an increase in patrols along the corridor. However, this week Catskill Town Supervisor Doreen Davis said officials have decided to hold off on sending that letter until the problem can be verified with data. Davis said. Councilman Paul Vosburgh has reached out to the village of Catskill and requested the use of its radar-based speed sign. The sign should be in place Wed., Feb. 24. Davis said the straightaway, which is about a half-mile run stretching from the Rip Van Winkle Country Club on the west, to Pennsylvania Avenue on the east, is posted at 35 mph, but few drivers travel it at that speed. Read the full story in The Daily Mail. A recording of the entire Catskill Town Board workshop meeting can be found at Wave Farm [dot] org [slash] archive. All Catskill Town Board meetings are live streamed at wgxc.org.

Jeannette Wolfberg is reporting in the Columbia Paper the Columbia County Board of Supervisors voted last week to increase the salary of the administrator of the Pine Haven Nursing and Rehabilitation Center to $100,000 a year. Supervisors Edward Cross and William Hughes of Hudson abstained from the vote, while Clermont Supervisor Ray Staats voted "no." Staats said he objected to salary hike because Pine Haven administrator David Herskowitz will not be a county employee for long. "That’s paying for the other company’s employee. He's been asking for a raise for a year. He came on when we decided to sell Pine Haven," Staats said. Premier Healthcare Management of Great Neck, has agreed to purchase the Pine Haven facility for $6.5 million. The resolution approved by the board stated the rationale for the increase was because Herskowitz "has successfully assisted in getting the nursing home to become profitable and removed it from a negative deficit." Read the full story in the Columbia Paper.

William J. Kemble is reporting in the Daily Freeman the state Public Service Commission has voted to crack down on vendors that falsely claim to have lower electricity prices, violate marketing rules to contact customers and improperly switch customers to different providers. A report on the high volume of complaints was discussed during a commission meeting in Manhattan, Tue., Feb. 23. The PSC general counsel said efforts to deregulate the system have led to abuses by energy service companies. In 1998, the commission changed the rules and made it possible for customers to obtain their energy supply from an independent company. At the same time, the rule changes allowed those companies to develop pricing structures that led to higher bills based on service fees. Approximately 5,000 customers complained to the PSC about this problem in 2015. Commission Chairwoman Audrey Zibelman said last month National Grid customers paid $17 million more in one month for energy from private companies than they would have paid if they had received their energy from National Grid. The commission will consider imposing fines on offending companies, and marketing by independent providers will now be required to adhere to local, state and federal laws involving telephone calls and door-to-door sales. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Kenneth Lovett in The New York Daily News reports that though voters approved a $2 billion bond act in 2014 for schools to buy new technology, "not a dime has been spent on the effort." And only about 50 of the state's 700 school districts have submitted applications for the money. "It was clear from the beginning there was no clamor for the money," said E.J. McMahon, of the Empire Center for New York State Policy says in the Daily News story. "It was contrived (in 2014) out of the blue by the governor to serve an election-year purpose. It was basically there to create a pretense for a paragraph in the governor's campaign literature." Cuomo spokesman Richard Azzopardi said a panel will meet soon to approve the first round of funding. The story says school districts would have to spend their own money under the plan, before being paid back by the state. Read the full story in The Daily News.

Roger Hannigan Gilson in the Register-Star reports that doors are routinely left unlocked at the Brookwood Secure Facility in Claverack. The revelation that a local prison regularly leaves doors unlocked came out in a lawsuit dismissed Feb. 22 in Claverack Town Court. Ryan Quinion was accused of unlocking a door to allow three residents to beat another resident, but Claverack Town Justice Charles Hoag Jr. dismissed the charges after finding that doors were routinely left unlocked at the facility. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

Today is Day 14 of the WGXC High Five Pledge Drive. Tune in for a full slate of remote broadcasts, and turn out for special events. 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.

The National Weather Service Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect until 9 a.m., Wed., Feb. 24 for the Hudson Valley from Schenectady and Albany southward, and the central and southern Taconics and Litchfield, Conn. Light freezing rain, occasionally mixed with sleet and snow, are expected. Ice accumulations of up to one tenth of an inch and snow accumulations up to 2 inches are possible. Freezing rain and sleet will continue until temperatures rise above freezing around 9 a.m. Hazardous travel conditions are possible.

Local weather forecast
Today: Periods of light rain before 10 a.m., then periods of rain after 10 a.m. High near 42. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. Wednesday night, rain and possibly a thunderstorm. Temperature rising to around 49 by 1 a.m. Chance of precipitation is 100 percent.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
THURSDAY: Showers likely, mainly before 7 a.m. Cloudy. High new 51. Thursday night, a chance of rain and snow showers before 2 a.m., then a slight chance of snow showers between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. Cloudy. Low around 26.
FRIDAY: Mostly sunny. High near 30. Friday night, partly cloudy. Low around 17.

Sunrise today: 6:37 a.m.
Sunset today: 5:39 p.m.

LENGTH OF THE DAY: 11:01

PUBLIC MEETINGS

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

ATHENS Village Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Community Center, 2 First St., Athens (945-1551).
CATSKILL Central School District Board of Education meeting, 7 p.m. at high school, 341 Main St., Catskill (943-4696).
COLUMBIA County Board of Supervisors Public Works Committee meeting, 5 p.m. at 401 State St., Hudson (828-1527).
COPAKE Hamlet Revitalization Task Force meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 230 Mountain View Rd., Copake (329-1234).
HUDSON Common Council Public Works Committee meeting, 5:30 p.m.; Legal Committee, 6:15 p.m.; Zoning Board of Appeals public hearing and regular meeting, 7 p.m.; all at City Hall, 520 Warren Street, Hudson (828-1030).
PHILMONT Village Board Workshop meeting, 7 p.m., Village Hall, 124 Main St., Philmont (672-7032).
TACONIC Hills Central School District Board of Education meeting, 6:30 p.m. in board room, 73 County Route 11A, Craryville (325-0390).