[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is pushing a new federal Farm Bill to stem the closing of family farms, which saw a 23 percent drop in five years here in New York State."][/caption]In response to the loss statewide of 23 percent of its dairy farms, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has announced a plan aimed at supporting New York’s dairy farmers, according to a piece in the Albany Business Journal. Tracey Drury reports that the plan was developed following listening sessions statewide on agricultural issues held in preparation for the 2012 Farm Bill. In the span of just five years, Gillibrand has noted, New York State lost 23 percent of its dairy farms. As of 2007, New York State is home to nearly 5,700 dairy farms, down from nearly 7,400 in 2002, according to the USDA. In 2010, the number was closer to 5,400. Gillibrand’s plan calls for overhauling the milk pricing system, giving state dairy producers fair, competitive pricing to fix a system where farmers often pay more to produce their products than they make from selling them. Other efforts include preventing cuts to the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program; bolstering the state’s dairy exports; improving cold storage inventory reporting standards to stabilize trading prices; and providing farmers with more tools and information needed to thrive.

Toll booths at local bridges to have ads
The Daily Freeman was the first to run with the press release from the state Bridge Authority, which has authorized ads on all bridge tollbooths henceforth. Who's advertising? We'll have to get back to you on that...

IDA hopeful jobs program will flourish
The Daily Mail 's Colin DeVries has a story on how the new Excelsior Jobs Program has taken up where the Empire Zone Program left off, shifting funds from tax incentives to actual job creation, and checking in with Greene County IDA Chief Sandy Mathes on how things are going.

Fierro gets community service in harassment case
Jamie Larson of the Register-Star reports that Joseph Fierro, owner of the American Glory Barbecue restaurant, was found guilty of second-degree harassment for allegedly slapping musician Alexander Turnquist in the face at the Red Dot restaurant and bar, across the street from his establishment, last October. His sentence? 25 hours of community service. Turnquist has already served community service for an Oct. 13, 2010 incident where he was caught on surveillance camera placing a bag filled with dog feces in front of American Glory.

Teacher effectiveness goes to head of class
The Times Union reports about how the state Senate narrowly approved a Republican-sponsored bill reforming "last-in, first-out" protections for New York City's teachers, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled legislation that would speed up changes to the ways teachers are evaluated across the state from seniority to effectiveness standards. The leader of the powerful New York State United Teachers union called the Senate bill "horrific."

Taylor, Jacob’s Pillow to receive the National Medal of Arts
The Berkshire Eagle complements our scoop on Columbia County's Sonny Rollins getting a National Medal of Arts by reporting that their own region's James Taylor and Jacob's Pillow dance center will also be getting awards today at the White House. Other awardees are music producer Quincy Jones and poet Donald Hall.

The National Weather Service says it is maple syrup weather, with temperatures above freezing during the day and below freezing at night. Scattered snow showers before 3 p.m., then scattered rain and snow showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 37. Breezy, with a south wind 9 to 12 mph becoming west between 22 and 25 mph. Winds could gust as high as 38 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. Wednesday night, mostly clear, with a low around 7. Wind chill values as low as -2. Northwest wind 14 to 17 mph decreasing to between 6 and 9 mph.

Town meetings tonight
CAIRO Planning Board at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.
GHENT Planning Board meeting at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, Ghent
HUDSON Arts, Entertainment & Tourism Committee at 6 p.m., Arts, Entertainment & Tourism Committee at 6:45 p.m., Fire Committee at 6:45 p.m.
LIVINGSTON Planning Board Meeting at 7:00 p.m. at Town Hall
GREENE COUNTY Meetings for Human Services, Health, Education & Special Public Safety Committees at 6 p.m.

Astronomical bodies
TIDES Hudson: High, 1:34 p.m./Low, 8:04
SUNRISE/SUNSET 6:29 a.m./5:45 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 5:09 a.m./3:57 p.m.

Birthdays
March 2 Kurt Weill, Dr. Seuss, Tom Wolfe, Lou Reed, and Karen Carpenter.


Tune in today
WGXC MORNING SHOW Board Operator: Norman Keyser; Host: Philip Grant. At 6:45 a.m. WGXC Jazz Director calls in to talk about Sonny Rollins accepting the National Medal of Arts today at the White House. At 7:15 p.m. Paul Smart calls in to discuss local news.
DEMOCRACY NOW! 8 a.m.
WGXC MORNING SHOW Tom Roe hosts. 10 a.m. hour features "Work" program from Max Goldfarb and Laura Kunreuther.
WGXC AFTERNOON SHOW Hosted by Dharma Dailey.

New WGXC Members
Joe and Mary Kames (Cairo) (renewal)
Katherine Montague (Athens)

QSL report
A listener in Hunter reports about the WGXC signal: "In Albany on Saturday could not pick up your signal (local?) religious station too strong (WLJH? WPGL?).... Driving south on Sunday I tuned in around Greenville. Excellent signal which continued to just outside of Windham when you started to hash/fade slightly. Between Windham and Hunter signal was gone due to WFUV.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Sonny Rollins."][/caption]

President Barack Obama awards saxophonist Sonny Rollins, who lives in Germantown, one of ten 2010 National Medal of Arts for outstanding achievements and support of the arts, at 1:45 p.m. in an East Room ceremony Wed. March 2 at the White House. Mrs. Michelle Obama will also be in attendance. "I'm very happy that jazz, the greatest American music, is being recognized through this honor, and I'm grateful to accept this award on behalf of the gods of our music," Rollins said of the award. The National Medal of Arts is a White House initiative managed by the National Endowment for the Arts. Each year, the NEA organizes and oversees the National Medal of Arts nomination process and notifies the artists of their selection to receive a medal, the nation's highest honor for artistic excellence.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Two of three men on trial for defacing a Hudson mosque last September were sentenced to jail time on March 1 in city court. Photo from YNN."][/caption]The Mid Hudson News Network reports that on March 1, two of three men involved in spray painting a City of Hudson mosque last year were sentenced in city court. Christopher Osborne, charged with a felony, was sentenced to six months in jail and five years probation by Columbia County Court Judge Jonathan Nichols. A second man, James Glover III, charged with two misdemeanors, was given 60 days in the county jail. At the time of the September incident where a racial slur was painted on a wall of the Hudson Islamic Center, authorities labeled it a hate crime.

The Times Union's Capitol Confidential reports that large crowds descended on the state capitol in Albany Tuesday afternoon, March 1, for the state budget process' annual Lobby Day, albeit worse than usual because of changed security precautions implemented by the Cuomo Administration in the Concourse area from which one enters legislative offices and the Capitol itself. Amongst those on hand: budget-anxious librarians, AFSCME, UFT, tourism professionals and members of the New York State Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Health and Human Services Network, all trying to get into the building to press their case with lawmakers. The State Street entrance to the Legislative Office Building has been closed this year, funneling more people through the Concourse. Although results of the lobbying efforts won't be known, besides surface sentiments of support, until the actual budget gets voted on and passed after negotiations, we do know that former Mayor Ed Koch of New York, "Hizzoner," as most know him, was on hand to call out politicians who signed his pledge for nonpartisan redistricting this year, something that State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and his party have made an about face on. To hear Mr. Koch, check out the below embed from YouTube...

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="The Atlantic tomcod seems to be adapting to Hudson River PCBs."][/caption]A recent story by Scott Waldman of the Times Union centers on the ramifications of a Hudson River fish, the Atlantic tomcod, is showing signs that it has genetically evolved to become partially resistant to PCBs, according to a new study conducted by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, New York University and the federal National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. The information was published in a recent issue of Science and found that changes in the fish's genes were making it more resistant to PCBs than tomcod that don't live in the Hudson. Polychlorinated biphenyls, which are suspected carcinogens, were discharged into the river for decades from General Electric plants in Fort Edward and Hudson Falls before they were banned in the 1970s. The tomcod is a common bottom-feeding fish that is not usually eaten by humans. The Hudson is currently being dredged of the GE PCBs north of Hudson in a multi-year project.

When is an intersection or a piece of road so dangerous that something has to change? Such is the question posed by reporter Francesca Olsen of the Register-Star in a new story looking at a stretch of state Route 66 in Columbia County between Fish and Game Road and the traffic light at the Healy Boulevard/Industrial Tract intersection. The big problem? that's where the Dutch Village Mobile Home Association, a mobile home park for people age 55 and up, is located with approximately 100 residents... all having trouble getting onto the highway in the "dangerous" stretch. Last July, an 81-year old Hudson resident died in a head-on collision that occurred on Route 66, right outside of Dutch Village. More commonly, seniors have trouble pulling into the mobile home park, or getting onto the highway from its driveway. Olsen notes that the issue has been brought up in Claverack town meetings, as well as through petition drives. But since Route 66 is a state road, she adds, the decision to make any change lies with the state Department of Transportation. Melissa Slater, DOT spokesperson for this region, said the DOT did a traffic study after getting a resolution and information from the town in 2009 and found the sight distance was sufficient. Claverack supervisor Robin Andrews said she’s working on a “meatier” resolution that includes a full accident report. “You have to prove there’s a reason you need it,” she said.

Phil Yeh recorded the final ride of the Hudson Trolley on Monday, February 28, including footage of veteran trolley driver Mike Pizza telling anecdotes about his decades in service on the route that started back in 1981. According to Jamie Larson of the Register-Star, the trolley’s schedule was replaced with a redesigned loop and four new stops along the Columbia County Transport Hudson-Greenport line in an attempt to save Hudson more than $100,000 a year, according to an estimate from Mayor Richard Scalera submitted at the end of 2010. Four new bus stops will be located at Columbia Memorial Hospital, the Hudson high school, the Department of Social Services and the Crosswinds housing complex. All of the existing stops on the trolley route will remain. The only other substantive change is that the routes will now begin at Crosswinds instead of the Stewart’s Shop at the intersection of Route 9 and Green Street. In addition to the new stops there will also be two new early morning loops along the route, starting at 6:45 a.m. and 7:55 a.m. Those loops will start later this week. For the full schedule, click here...

Steve Pierce of Troy-based Media Alliance has shared this video from Saturday's solidarity rally in support of Wisconsin workers facing removal of their long-treasured collective bargaining ability with their state government, once one of the most pro-Labor governments in the nation. Similar protests are being planned fo the coming weeks. We'll get you details as they emerge...

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Catskill Main Street, as seen on the Village of Catskill's website."][/caption]The major issues at Monday night's February 28 meeting of the Catskill Village trustees was basically feel-good news, from the announcement of a new bicycle sales and repair shop moving into a Main Street location once home to a longstanding local hardware store, to discussion of the village sponsoring a grant application to the National Endowment for the Arts to provide further advertising and logistical support to the new Masters on Main Street program that was successfully inaugurated on the same Saturday, February 26 that WGXC had its launch party at the Catskill Community Center. Other talk highlighted an upcoming Animal Planet show on the town's Cat'n Around Catskill annual promotions, that see the placement (and later auction sale) of artist-painted cats around town, this Saturday, March 5 at 8:00 p.m., and an upcoming e-blast to go out for the Catskill Farmers' Market, which moved from Catskill Point to Main Street last year with almost unanimous success. On a less boosterist level, there was also talk about the brownfields pollution remediation taking place at a Water Street property near the Union Mills building, set for completion in 2012, discussion of recent snow removal on sidewalks, and sidewalks needing repair by private home owners, with plans to "ramp up enforcement" by next winter. Finally, a March 14 public hearing was set for re-zoning West Main Street to reflect its more commercial character of recent years.

Bookkeeper pleads guilty
Wondering about all the cars outside the Columbia County Courthouse in Hudson yesterday? Andrew Amelinckx of the Register-Star reports that Pegeen Mulligan-Moore, the former bookkeeper for the towns of Kinderhook and Greenport, pleaded guilty Monday, Feb. 28 to 20 charges related to the theft of more than $350,000 from those municipalities. She is now facing a maximum of 98 years in prison after pleading to the entire indictment without a joint recommendation before Judge Jonathan Nichols.

A private interest in public structures
Rick Karlin of the Times Union reports on a legislative budget hearing on transportation issues held yesterday in Albany where the subject of private funding came up for the state's infrastructure needs, including repair and replacement of the Tappan Zee Bridge, which some joked about getting a new corporate name. Discussions will be continuing over the coming years...

Holcim jobless month to month
Doron Tyler Antrim of the Daily News reports that Holcim plant management met Monday, Feb. 28 with leaders of the local International Brotherhood of Boilermakers union to inform them of the decision to once again extend the layoffs that have kept them out of work since before the recent holidays - now effective until the end of March - in what’s becoming a month-to-month evaluation of the company’s financial health. Robin DeCarlo, Holcim’s vice president of corporate communications, said Monday the company, which makes cement at its Catskill Plant (formerly owned by St. Lawrence Cement) continues to face challenges as the nation’s economic recovery struggles to pick up speed. Half of their workforce, about 60, have been laid off.

Former health commissioner dies
Mid Hudson News Network reports that former State Health Commissioner Dr. Richard Daines, who served up until the end of 2010, died Saturday, Feb. 26 of a heart attack while taking down Christmnas decorations at his Dutchess County farm in the Town of Stanford. Daines was named state health commissioner by Eliot Spitzer in 2007.

Biz owners still reeling after sting operation
The eight Hudson business owners nabbed in an underage drinking sting operation by city police last December had their first day in court yesterday, Feb. 28. Representatives of the Warren Street establishments pointed out that because of price and style, they are NOT beacons for underage drinking. The police noted that they had received a grant for the sting operation.

Cairo man charged with attempted murder
Colin DeVries of the Daily Mail reports on the case of a 21-year old Cairo man arrested while hiding in a Hudson basement from a two county "manhunt" after he traveled to northern Vermont and beat up an ex girlfriend there.

Gas prices on steady rise
The Albany Business Journal notes that a gallon of gas was selling for an average prices of $3.545 in the region as of Monday, Feb. 28, according to figures released by the American Automobile Association. That’s up nearly 17 cents, from $3.377 a gallon a week ago. A month ago, a gallon of gas was $3.328. And a year ago, local residents were paying $2.834 a gallon.

The National Weather Service says today will be sunny. High 38F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Tonight will clear to partly cloudy. Low 26F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. On and off snow flurries are possible tomorrow, but it is warming... and the flood waters are abating.

Town meetings tonight
CATSKILL town board meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 439 Main St., Catskill.
CATSKILL SCHOOL BOARD, 6-8 p.m. at CHS Middle School.
HUDSON Police Committee at 6 p.m., Fire Committee at 6:45 p.m.
COPAKE Park Commission meets at 7 p.m.
DURHAM town meeting at 7:30 p.m. at Town Building, 7309 State Rt. 81, East Durham.
LEXINGTON town board meeting at 7:00 p.m., at Municipal building.
LIVINGSTON Zoning Board of Appeals meeting at 7 p.m., at Town Hall.
COLUMBIA COUNTY Finance Committee at 5 p.m.

Astronomical bodies
TIDES Hudson: High, 12:48 p.m./Low, 7:19 p.m.
SUNRISE/SUNSET 6:30 a.m./5:44 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 4:40 a.m./2:55 p.m.

Birthdays
March 1 Fredric Chopin, Oskar Kokoschka, Robert Lowell, Roger Daltrey and Burning Spear.


Tune in today
WGXC MORNING SHOW Jackie Thomas and Tom Roe read the news, talk agricultural news, and wake y'all up, 6 a.m.
DEMOCRACY NOW! 8 a.m.
WGXC MORNING SHOW Tom Roe interview's Ancram's Wally Hughes at 10 a.m.
WGXC AFTERNOON SHOW Tom Roe and Kaya Weidman 4-7 p.m.

WGXC volunteer P.H. Yeh recorded the final journey of the Hudson Trolley Monday, February 28, recorded by. The popular public transport is now being melded with a county bus route to incorporate more roads in Greenport. Coxsackie Transport is running the new shared service between the city and county. WGXC will upload more interviews with those who shared the final ride, and one of the trolley's intrepid drivers, who remembers its early days in the 1980s.

Mid Hudson News Network reports that the body of the pilot whose aircraft crashed into the Hudson River just north of the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge on Saturday afternoon, February 26, was recovered by divers late yesterday afternoon, February 27. Thick ice on the river made it difficult for emergency crews to get to the wreckage of the British-built BAC-167 Strikemaster military training jet that nosedived into the river killing the pilot and sole occupant, Michael Faraldi, 38, a doctor with Northern Dutchess Hospital who lived in Germantown. In order to recover the wreckage of the plane, state police said, a special helicopter was brought in to place the wreckage onto a barge where it would be transported to an undisclosed location and examined by the FAA and NTSB. The plane had initially departed from Nashville, TN en route to Columbia County Airport. FAA spokeswoman Holly Baker said the plane’s last stop prior to crashing was at Johnstown, PA airport. The single-engine, two-seater jet plane was built in 1969.

The Times Union's veteran reporter and columnist Fred LeBrun shines a light on a key element in all the state budget talks going on... New York's agricultural industry and what the Cumo cuts might do to it. "We're third in the nation in dairy production as well as in wine grape and grape juice production, second in apples, fourth in cucumbers and snap beans. We are, and have been since the American revolution, an agricultural powerhouse, if you'll forgive the seventh-grade civics lesson," Le Brun writes. "Yet, you wouldn't know it from the penny-wise approach our state government is taking with this vital industry as we careen through the budget crisis." He goes on to point out to point out the importance of tying industrial growth in all fields to ongoing research and development in universities, especially in agriculture... where for years, Cornell University's land grant college of agriculture and life sciences has been a beacon for the rest of the nation. But Le Brun quotes the New York Farm Bureau's Julie Suarez pointing out how the state's ag programs, via the Cornell Cooperative Extension and other entities, have seen up to a 90 percent decline in funding in four years that she says is "way out of proportion to other agencies and programs across government." Among things getting cut will be the state's $1 million integrated pest management program, an $800,000 pro-dairy program, which promotes profitability and competitiveness for dairy farmers, as well as funding for such organizations as the state's Apple Association, Maple Producers, Wine and Grape Foundation, Geneva Experimental Station and more. "Agriculture in this state needs a few friends to stand up and be counted, and soon," Le Brun concludes. "And by the way, there is a revolution going on, a green one: The locovore movement, stressing locally grown, locally made produce, much of it organic in the regional market place. Our farmers and wine makers, apiarists, and cheesemakers will be there, as long as we don't take their support troops away from them."

By Gus Murphy

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Government shutdown, as imagined in a now-viral image."][/caption]Billy Moore of the Times Union's Capital Confidential crew, reporting from Washington, has a great take on what this week will mean in the nation's capital, where people are wagering on whether the government ends up shut down or not by the time midnight rolls around this coming Friday, March 4. "In the four months since the November election, congressional partisans have been positioning each other to shoulder the blame for a government shutdown. By the end of this week, either an agreement will be reached on how to extend government funding for a few more weeks or the shutdown will begin of less than essential services.


Continued...

He notes that security and armed forces won't be affected but "most federal employees would be furloughed and government services closed" depending on whether the President and Senate accept $100 billion in immediate cuts for the current year being proposed by House Republicans. And that's before next year's figures get discussed... or other current matters including patent reform and repeal of a reporting requirement for small businesses, and highway funds. "The essence of the spending fight is that Republicans want to cut and Democrats want a deal that protects government services," Moore says, voicing his opinion. "The public agrees with Republicans generally and with Democrats on the specifics." He suspects there will be a band aid solution of several weeks, pushing the real decisions down the line.

The National Weather Service has declared a Flood Watch through tonight as rain in the Hudson Valley, Catskills, and Berkshire/Taconic region could dump one to two inches of rain as a warm front moves in. A second area of rain with scattered thunderstorms is then forecast to move in from the southwest in the afternoon and early evening hours. The rainfall combined with the nearly saturated grounds from the one to two inches of rain that fell on Friday, as well as remaining snow cover, will exacerbate the flood threat, the NWS said. The mild weather and rain has allowed for the formation of ice jams and the buildup of water behind them can result in flooding upstream, as well as downstream if they give way.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="A Price Chopper of the sort that developers are planning for the border between Ghent and Chatham, with public information hearings set to make the process of approval transparent."][/caption]What's happening with the new Price Chopper planned for the Route 66 corridor? The Register-Star's Fran Heaney reports that a couple of weeks ago, the town of Ghent and village of Chatham planning boards held a joint meeting on February 16 to hear updated plans for the proposed 45,000-square-foot store store, to be located on the seven-acre parcel adjacent to the existing Price Chopper. Initially, the store hoped to connect to the village of Chatham sewer system. Engineers from both Ghent and Chatham have looked at the plans, especially with the stormwater concerns associated with the site. The Army Corps of Engineers has jurisdiction over the wetland in front of the store and have approved the driveway entrance, while the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation has control of the wetlands in the rear of the building. In addition the project's developers have prepared plans for substantial stormwater drainage under the parking lot and a stormwater detention system for stormwater drainage into the two wetlands. The new building will be completed with "a palette of warm earth tones, smoked glass windows and stone base, reminiscent of a country barn." Ghent Planning Board members discussed a connection between the existing Price Chopper and the new site, which will be built on an easement owned by Francis Greenburger, the force behind Art Omi and a major New York real estate owner. While Board members voiced their desire for landscaping, Price Chopper has plans to build a 6-foot stockade fence along the property line. A new Price Chopper of a similar design is being built in Lenox, Massachusetts. The company is designing a LEED certified building based upon U.S. green building standards. The town will hold one more informational meeting on the plans, which the developers are stilling adapting to meet planners' concerns, which has not yet been set. A public hearing date will be set following the informational meeting.