Roger Hannigan is reporting in the Register-Star that the West Ghent Volunteer Fire Department has been working without a contract since Jan. 1. According to Ghent Town Supervisor Mike Benvenuto, the town and the volunteers have failed to come to an agreement because the fire department has not provided its budget and tax returns, as requested by town officials. Claverack is also served by the West Ghent and is also looking for the same information from the department. That town entered into a six-month contract to give the department time to get the needed financial information together, Claverack Town Supervisor Clifford Weigelt said. However, the Ghent Town Board offered a similar six-month arrangement in November, but the agreement was not ratified by the department. Benvenuto said he was aware the department was not happy about being offered a shorter contract. West Ghent Fire Department President Nick Tipple said he intends to contact the department's attorney before meeting with the town, and before speaking further about the matter. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

Bill Mahoney is reporting at Politico New York the 25 largest donors to New York state politicians and political parties last year included hedge fund managers, labor unions and a PAC controlled by a former leader of the Senate. Hedge fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller topped the list after writing two $500,000 checks to the state Democratic Committee's housekeeping account. He is a major supporter of charter schools and education reform groups. Others in the top five include the Trial Lawyers Association, 1199 SEIU, New York State United Teachers and the largest state affiliates of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union. The number of real estate firms at the top of the list has dropped since last year. Only one, Howard Milstein, a supporter of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, made the list in 2015. Former state Sen. Joe Bruno's Creating New York Jobs Now PAC came in at number 11 on the list. The former Senate majority leader used a portion of the $1.5 million in legal fees reimbursed to his campaign committee by the state to fund this independent PAC that existed for only five months. Read the full story at Politico New York.

Roger Hannigan Gilson is reporting in the Register-Star state police wrote nearly 4,700 tickets during the recent Super Bowl weekend in an effort to crack down on drunken driving. From 2 p.m., February 6, until midnight, February 7, troopers wrote more than 1,700 speeding tickets, 100 distracted driving tickets and arrested 93 people on driving while intoxicated charges, state police said. State troopers set up sobriety checkpoints and increased traffic patrols during this effort. During the Super Bowl crackdown last year, which lasted 12 hours, troopers wrote approximately 1,300 tickets and arrested nine people on driving while intoxicated charges. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

Matthew Hamilton is reporting at Capitol Confidential the state is moving forward with a proposal to extend mammography hours hospitals and clinics statewide. The proposal would affect 152 hospitals and 58 clinics, according to information published in the state Register released last week. Those facilities would be required to keep their doors open at least two extra hours two days per week. The rule would take effect at the end of March. This action is being taken at the direction of Gov. Andrew Cuomo. In addition to directing the state Department of Health to require hospital-based screening facilities to extend their hours, Cuomo called on private sector employers to provide four hours of leave each year to allow employees to get screened for breast cancer. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.

Today is Day 6 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

The Winter Weather Advisory issued by the National Weather Service in Albany remains in effect until 10 a.m., Tue., Feb. 16. An additional accumulation of a trace to a tenth of an inch of ice on top of the snow is possible. Freezing rain will change to rain through the morning. Hazardous travel conditions are likely Tuesday morning.


Today’s forecast is specific to Cairo, in Greene County:

Today: Rain, possibly mixed with freezing rain, becoming all rain after 8 a.m. High near 52. Chance of precipitation is 100 percent. Tuesday night, rain and snow showers likely before midnight, then a slight chance of snow showers between midnight and 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 28. chance of precipitation is 60 percent.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
WEDNESDAY: Partly sunny. High near 40. Wednesday night, mostly cloudy. Low around 23.
THURSDAY: Mostly sunny. High near 32. Thursday night, mostly clear. Low around 12.

Sunrise today: 6:49 a.m.
Sunset today: 5:29 p.m.

LENGTH OF THE DAY: 10:39

PUBLIC MEETINGS

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

COLUMBIA County Board of Supervisors .1 [point one] Committee meeting, 2 p.m.; Health and Medical Committee meeting, 5:30 p.m.; both at 401 State St., Hudson (828-1527).
COLUMBIA Economic Development Corporation Governance and Nominating Committee meeting, 8:30 a.m.; Executive Committee, 9:30 a.m.; Loan Committee, 1 p.m.; at 4303 Route 9, Hudson (828-4718).
DURHAM Town Board meeting, 7:30 p.m. at Town Building, 7309 State Rt. 81, East Durham (239-8260).
GERMANTOWN Town Board meeting, 7 p.m., Town Hall, 50 Palatine Park Rd., Germantown (537-6687).
GREENE County Legislature Special Public Safety, Economic Development and Tourism, Government Operations and Finance committee meetings, plus Republican and Democratic caucuses, 6 p.m. in the Caucus Room, at 411 Main St., Catskill (719-3270).
HUDSON Common Council Finance Committee meeting, 5:30 p.m.; Formal Common Council meeting, 7 p.m. at City Hall, 520 Warren Street, Hudson (828-1030).
HUNTER Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 5748 Route 23A, Tannersville (589-6150).
PHILMONT Planning Board meeting (tentative), 7 p.m., Philmont Village Hall, 124 Main St., Philmont (672-7032).
TAGHKANIC Planning Board workshop meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, Route 82, West Taghkanic (851-7638).

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local headlines and weather for Mon., Feb. 15 (7:05). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

The National Weather Service in Albany has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for freezing rain, sleet and snow in the region from 1 p.m., Mon., Feb. 15 to 10 a.m., Tue., Feb. 16. An accumulation of one to four inches of snow and sleet, along with a tenth to a quarter of an inch of ice is forecast. Snow will develop from the south to north Monday afternoon and transition to sleet and freezing rain late Monday evening, before changing to rain Tuesday morning. Hazardous travel conditions are likely Monday night into Tuesday morning.

Some of the stories that made the news Fri., Feb. 12 through Sun., Feb. 14

Mon., Feb. 15, is President's Day, and the Daily Freeman has a rundown of how the holiday will affect various services and offices.
Amtrak: Holiday schedule
Banks: Closed
County offices: Closed
Federal offices: Closed
Greene County Transit: No service
Mail: No delivery
Metro-North: Saturday schedule, with extra cars on morning inbound and evening outbound trains
Schools: Closed
State offices: Closed
Trailways: Holiday schedule

John Mason and Roger Hannigan Gilson reported in the Register-Star the phishing scam that netted Social Security numbers for all Hudson City School District staff members has escalated. According to Superintendent Maria Suttmeier, several staff members have gone to file their taxes only to find their taxes have already been filed. The matter is being investigated by the Hudson Police Department with the assistance of the State Police Computer Crimes Unit. When contacted, police chief Edward Moore did not disclose details because the investigation is ongoing. Suttmeier said the problem is not limited to the Hudson district; she said it was widespread among school districts in the area. No student data was stolen and the district's database was not hacked. Suttmeier called it "a very unfortunate incident."

Katie Kocijanski reported in The Daily Mail Cairo officials are already at work revising the town's 10-week-old zoning laws. The rules went into effect in late 2015 following an eight-year process, yet newly elected Town Supervisor Daniel Benoit, the town board, planning board and the new Zoning Committee are "hard at work" on a rewrite. Benoit said the Zoning Committee will include business owners and members of the general public and its focus will be to simplify the laws and revise the rules to make them less restrictive for potential businesses. The current law is the first zoning law in Cairo history, adopted after an eight-year process that included 60 public meetings and a public hearing.

Rick Karlin reported at Capitol Confidential the Working Families Party has endorsed Zephyr Teachout in the 19th Congressional District race. The Working Families' endorsement of Teachout is not a surprise given Teachout's progressive, pro-labor stance, Karlin writes. In its press release, the party called the Fordham law professor "fearless, independent-minded," and said she will stand up for working families "against the big money donors and wealthy insiders who have rigged the economy in their favor." The seat is being vacated by Republican Chris Gibson. On the Republican side, John Faso and Andrew Heaney are competing for the party line. Teachout faces a primary challenge from Will Yandik of Livingston.

The Mid-Hudson News Network is reporting Millbrook businessman Andrew Heaney has won the support of the Dutchess County Republican Committee in the race for the 19th Congressional District seat. He defeated former state Assembly member John Faso of Kinderhook and Robert Bishop, a Delaware County farmer. County Republican chairman Michael McCormick said, “I believe it is, in part, the fact that Andrew has gotten around and met with a majority of the committee members and he is from Dutchess County and the committee members liked the message that Andrew is speaking about." Faso was endorsed by the Dutchess County Conservative Party, his campaign said Fri., Feb. 12. In a statement released by the Faso campaign, the Conservative Party said Faso was the "right choice for principled conservatives desperate for real leadership in Washington."

Today is Day 5 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

The National Weather Service in Albany has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for freezing rain, sleet and snow in the region from 1 p.m., Mon., Feb. 15 to 10 a.m., Tue., Feb. 16. An accumulation of one to four inches of snow and sleet, along with a tenth to a quarter of an inch of ice is forecast. Snow will develop from the south to north Monday afternoon and transition to sleet and freezing rain late Monday evening, before changing to rain Tuesday morning. Hazardous travel conditions are likely Monday night into Tuesday morning.


Today’s forecast is specific to Cairo, in Greene County:

Today: A chance of snow, mainly after 3 p.m. Increasing clouds. High near 25. Wind chill values as low as -9. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent. Monday night, snow and sleet before midnight, then sleet between midnight and 2 a.m., then freezing rain after 2 a.m. Temperature rising to around 32 by 5 a.m. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
TUESDAY: Rain. High near 46. Tuesday night, a chance of rain before 10 p.m., then a chance of rain and snow showers between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m., then a chance of snow after 11 p.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 27.
WEDNESDAY: A chance of snow showers before 10 a.m., then a chance of rain and snow showers between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., then a chance of rain showers after 1 p.m. Mostly cloudy. High near 39. Wednesday night, mostly cloudy. Low around 20.

Sunrise today: 6:50 a.m.
Sunset today: 5:28 p.m.

LENGTH OF THE DAY: 10:37

PUBLIC MEETINGS

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

ATHENS Town Board meeting, 6:45 p.m. at Community Center, 2 First Street, Athens (945-1052).
AUSTERLITZ Comprehensive plan meeting, 7 p.m. at 812 Route 203, Austerlitz (392-3260).
CAIRO special Town Board Executive meeting to discuss the Cairo Highway Department budget, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 512 Main St., Cairo (622-3120).
GREENVILLE Town Board special meeting, 6 p.m. at Town Offices, corner of routes 32 and 81, Greenville (966-5055).

Dan Udell recorded the informal Hudson Common Council meeting Feb. 8.

Rick Karlin in Capitol Confidential reports that New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker declared influenza prevalent in New York State on Feb. 11. So far, 44 counties and New York City have ported cases, with 817 flu-related hospitalizations reported. The Department of Health web page has more information at http://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/influenza/seasonal/.

Kenneth C. Crowe II reports in The Albany Times-Union that the Schodack Town Board voted unanimously Feb. 11 to restate its opposition to the Northeast Energy Direct pipeline that is proposed to pass through the town, Nassau, and Stephentown on its way through Rensselaer County into Massachusetts. Around 100 people attended the meeting, and Supervisor Dennis Dowds said the town is prepared to spend $20,000 to $40,000 in legal fees to oppose the pipeline application, currently pending from Kinder Morgan before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. "Our job is to protect to the extent that we can the residents of Schodack," Dowds said. Read the full story in The Albany Times-Union.

Lauren Stanforth in The Albany Times-Union reports that former Coeymans Supervisor Stephen Flach put himself on a 2016 staff list for a job in the town highway department after losing a re-election attempt, and after a troubling state comptroller's report about the town's finances. On Jan. 1 the town's new Democratic majority eliminated the $19-an-hour job that Flach, a Republican, wanted, and also two other jobs Flach had designated for former employees of the southern Albany County town. Instead, new Supervisor Philip Crandall put in a hiring freeze after the December comptroller's report. Flach's term was marked by other controversies including Planning Board members who resigned because they claimed they were being pressured to approve a transformer processing facility, and Flach being investigated, and cleared, by the town police chief for releasing information that allegedly gave the owner of the Port of Coeymans a leg up to win a town bid. Read the full story in The Albany Times-Union.

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local headlines and weather for Friday, Feb. 12. (8:05) (Produced by Philip Grant.)

Jim Planck is reporting in The Daily Mail the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services has awarded six area fire and rescue units a $150,000 grant to fund their rope rescue efforts. The six units are the Tannersville Fire Department and Rescue Squad, Haines Falls Fire Company, Palenville Fire Department, Hunter Fire Company No. 1, H.D. Lane Fire Company, and Centerville-Cedar Grove Fire Department. The rope rescue members from those units operate jointly as the Twin Cloves Technical Rescue Team. The team specializes in extricating the injured from dangerous places. The grant was announced Wed., Feb. 10, in Tannersville. The funds will be used for training and equipment. The team has seen an increase in the number and severity of calls at locales like Kaaterskill Clove. Both state Senator George Amedore and Assembly member Pete Lopez were on hand for the announcement. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Addy Baird is reporting at Politico New York a new proposal from Gov. Andrew Cuomo calls for raising the income eligibility level for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. The increases proposed by the governor will come at no cost to the state. Those changes could help 750,000 New Yorkers receive food assistance. However, the governor's action comes as 53,000 other New Yorkers are set to lose those same benefits on April 1, because of a change in federal welfare policy. Food bank executives held a press conference Wed., Feb. 10, expressing concern that they will not be able to handle the increased demand. Margarette Purvis, president and CEO of Food Bank for New York City said that when SNAP benefits were reduced in 2013, the food banks in the city were overwhelmed. Last September, 45 percent of the food pantries in her network reported having to reduce portion sizes in order to meet demand. Read the full story at Politico New York.

Michael Ryan is reporting in the Windham Journal the Catskill Watershed Corporation has awarded the town of Windham a Flood Hazard Mitigation Implementation grant to conduct a feasibility study. The funds will be combined with support already set aside by the Greene County Industrial Development Agency for the same project. The study will examine the possibility of relocating GNH Lumber from its current location, along the Batavia Kill, to an as-yet underdetermined location out of the flood plain. A potential new spot is on the site of the former Police Anchor Camp along Route 23 on the east side of town. Officials have looked at multiple locations, but believe the Police Anchor Camp site holds the greatest potential. GNH Lumber was identified as an anchor business in a Local Flood Analysis in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene. Flooding was particularly harsh in the summer of 2011, at the location GNH currently occupies. Multiple agencies would be involved in any relocation effort, including the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. The department has paid for studies in towns and villages such as Prattsville where immense infrastructure and flood mitigation improvements are underway. Read the full story in the Windham Journal.

The National Weather Service warns of bitter cold temperatures and extreme wind chills this weekend. The Albany NWS office has issued a "Special Weather Statement" and a "Wind Chill Warning" is in effect from 1 p.m. Sat., Feb. 13 through 1 p.m., Sun., Feb. 14, for the entire WGXC listening area, for a, "potentially life-threatening situation with extreme cold." Temperatures will fall into the single digits Jan. 12-Jan. 14, with wind chills between 20 and 45 degrees below zero, especially at higher terrains. "These values will result in frostbite to occur in 10 minutes or less on exposed skin," according to the National Weather Service.

Casey Seiler in the Capitol Confidential blog reports that Rensselaer County must pay $1,000 apiece to more than 800 people who were strip-searched between 1999 to 2002 at the county jail. The state Court of Appeals made the ruling, also saying the county won't have to pay $760,000 in legal fees. Two lower courts had previously ruled the county’s policy of strip-searching every prisoner at the jail regardless of their alleged crime unconstitutional. Read the full story in Capitol Confidential.

Rick Karlin in Capitol Confidential is reporting about a lawsuit filed in Columbia County Feb. 11 that claims New York is not responding so far to a Freedom of Information Law request about plans to expand broadband service across the state. “There is a crisis in New York State, caused by the systematic denial of information requests by state agencies in order to protect the Governor’s image," said Peter Henner, president of The Alliance for Environmental Renewal, which is now suing to get the information. "I want to show that it is possible for citizens, small community organizations, and media representatives to fight back; that you do not have to accept endless delays until after the information requested has lost any significance.” So far, the state Economic Development Corp. has not responded to the FOIL request about how it will spend $500 million in public tax dollars to improve broadband access across New York. So Henner's goup filed a lawsuit Feb. 11 against Empire State Development in New York State Supreme Court, in Columbia County, challenging the lack of public access to public records. Read the full story in Capitol Confidential, an Albany Times-Union blog.