Weather right now


[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="128"] Cairo: High 85F; Low 53F.[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="125"] Catskill: High 84F; Low 55F.[/caption]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FAR LEFT: The temperature on the far left is from the Hawthorne Valley Farm Weather Page.
MIDDLE TEMP: Cairo from Weather Underground page.
FAR RIGHT: Catskill from Weather Underground page.

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

Today: Patchy fog before 10 a.m. Otherwise, sunny. High near 85. Thursday night, patchy fog after 5 a.m. Otherwise, clear. Low around 55.


Forecast for the next two days:
Friday: Patchy fog before 9 a.m. Otherwise, sunny. High near 84. Friday night, clear. Low around 57.
Saturday: Sunny. High near 82. Saturday night, a slight chance of showers. Partly cloudy. Low around 58.


Sunrise today: 6:38 a.m.
Sunset today: 7:01 p.m.
Length of the day: 12:23

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

ANCRAM Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. in Town Hall at 1416 County Rte. 7, Ancram (329-6512).
CHATHAM Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. Town Hall, 488 State Route 295, Chatham (392-3262).
COLUMBIA COUNTY Board of Supervisors Public Safety Committee meeting, 5 p.m. at 401 State Street, Hudson (828-1527).
COPAKE Land Use Review Committee meeting, 7 p.m., at Town Hall, 230 Mt. View Road, Copake (329-1234).
COXSACKIE-ATHENS Board of Education meeting, 6:30 p.m. at middle/high school, 24 Sunset Blvd., Coxsackie (731-1800).
DURHAM Town Board meeting, 7:30 p.m. in Town Building, 7309 State Rt. 81, East Durham (239-6122).
GHENT Town Board meeting, 7:30 p.m. at the Ghent Town Hall, 2306 State Route 66, Ghent (392-4644).
HUDSON Common Council Economic Development Committee meeting, 6 p.m. at City Hall, 520 Warren St., Hudson (828-1030).
KINDERHOOK Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. Town Hall, 4 Church St, Niverville (784-2233).
WINDHAM Town Board meeting, 8 p.m. at Town Hall, 371 State Rt. 296, Hensonville (734-4170).

[caption width="297" align="alignright"] From Wikipedia.[/caption]

Click here to play or download an audio version of this report.

Brian Palmer in On Earth magazine reports that the U.S. Navy has agreed to reduce sonar sounds in the Pacific that have been bombarding whales and dolphins with noise. Since 2003, activists have been winning in courts efforts to quiet the intense, high-volume sounds that can travel hundreds of miles in water. Last weekend, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the U.S. Navy reached a federal court agreement, with the navy silencing its sonar in areas around Southern California and Hawaii during certain periods of the year when marine mammal populations are most vulnerable. The agreement runs until the end of 2018, and at that point the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service should issue new environmental impact statements and authorizations regarding military exercises. Activists claim mass strandings of large marince animals sometimes coincide with nearby naval deployments. The noise is so loud, whales will do anything to avoid it, leaving the water, the theory goes. The Navy told the judge during proceedings that the proposed closures would hamper its “ability to adapt training” and “evolve as the threat emerges.” U.S. District Court Judge Susan Oki Mollway described the national-security warnings as “pure hyperbole.” The NRDC says it will challenge sonar use in the Navy's other training areas, off the Pacific Northwest, in the Gulf of Alaska, and off northern Florida.

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local headlines and weather for Wed., Sept. 16 (7:05). (Produced by Tom Roe.)

https://data.wavefarm.org/r/fp/qj/yn/WGXC_local_news_20150916.mp3

Charlie Holmes is reporting in The Daily Mail as expected, John Faso is running for Congress. The former state Assembly minority leader and 2006 gubernatorial candidate announced Tue., Sept. 15, he is running for the congressional seat currently held by fellow Kinderhook Republican Chris Gibson. Unsatisfied with Congress, Faso said he is running to help constituents of the 19th District and to make change. "For so many people, the American dream is slipping away and I am running today because I want to restore that American dream," he said. Faso made the announcement from the front porch of his Kinderhook home.

Bethany Bump is reporting at Capitol Confidential teachers who do not fare well under New York’s new teacher evaluation system may be allowed to appeal their ratings. State Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch said an appeals panel is just one of several changes the state is considering as it reviews the higher standards, assessments and evaluations associated with the rollout of Common Core. Governor Andrew M. Cuomo recently ordered a comprehensive review of the Common Core implementation. One of the changes expected once the review is complete is a name change, Tisch said. Because the name "Common Core" has been so politicized, she said, "...we could call them the Empire State standards or New York's higher standards." Tisch made the comments during an interview with Capitol Pressroom's Susan Arbetter Tue., Sept. 15. In other education news, the Associated Press is reporting a new report finds New York per pupil spending averaged nearly $22,000 during the 2013-14 school year, roughly $10,000 more than the U.S. average. The analysis released Mon., Sept. 15, by the New York State Association of School Business Officials says total education spending for the 679 public school districts statewide topped $60 billion, approximately three percent more than the previous year. U.S. Department of Education statistics put the national average at $12,000 per student.

Emilia Teasdale in The Columbia Paper reports that the Ichabod Crane School Board appointed Barbara-anne Johnson-Heimroth and Michael Stead new members last week, filling the board at the coming Oct. 6 meeting. Daniel Cohn, Robert Gibbs, Johnson-Heimroth, Steven Michalek, and Mr. Stead all applied for open seats left by the resignations of Tricia Mavrides and Kyle Aschenbrenner. Both new terms expire in June 2016. Johnson-Heimroth was previously a member of the school board, until last July when she lost the May election. She runs a daycare service in the district. Stead is a 4th grade teacher in the Chatham School District. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

WNYT reports that County Legislator Bryan Clenahan announced legislation for Albany County Sept. 14 that would ban microbeads from cosmetic products. Erie County, Suffolk, and Westchester counties have also banned the tiny scrubbing agents after a state ban failed last year. The tiny plastic particles come from shampoos and toothpastes, and are too fine for wastewater treatment plants and, thus, flow into the Hudson River and other waterways. They also absorb PCBs and are eaten by fish. Read the full story in WNYT.

John Mason is reporting in the Register-Star incumbent Robert “Doc” Donahue and Priscilla Moore have secured their places on the Republican line in the November race for alderman in Hudson's 5th Ward, following a count of write-in votes cast on primary day, Thu., Sept. 10. The two candidates weathered a challenge from incumbent Alderman Bart Delaney, who fell short in his attempt to secure the backing of his former party in a bid for re-election. Donahue, a registered Democrat, and Moore were endorsed by the Hudson Republican Committee. Races in Hudson's 4th Ward, Greenport and Kinderhook will be decided after absentee votes are counted later this week. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

Matthew Hamilton is reporting at Capitol Confidential a state Supreme Court judge in Niagara County has ruled that none of the three groups wrestling over control of the Women’s Equality Party can nominate candidates to run on the party’s line this year. However, the ruling does not clearly indicate if it applies statewide, or only within Niagara County. According to Supreme Court Justice Frank Caruso election law states that if there is a question of conflict, the rule-making body that created the rules that a majority of the party's statewide candidates agreed to get to run the party. In this case, Caruso wrote, none of the three groups has a majority. The three groups vying for control of the Women's Equality Party include allies of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a contingent led by former state Sen. Cecilia Tkaczyk and a group of Republicans. Tkaczyk said she believed the ruling was the best outcome. DISCLOSURE: Tkaczyk is a WGXC programmer. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.

Weather right now


[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="128"] Cairo: High 85F; Low 55F.[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="125"] Catskill: High 84F; Low 56F.[/caption]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FAR LEFT: The temperature on the far left is from the Hawthorne Valley Farm Weather Page.
MIDDLE TEMP: Cairo from Weather Underground page.
FAR RIGHT: Catskill from Weather Underground page.

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

Today: Patchy fog before 10 a.m. Otherwise, sunny. High near 84. Wednesday night, patchy fog after 11 p.m. Otherwise, clear. Low around 56.

Forecast for the next two days:
Thursday: Patchy fog before 9 a.m. Otherwise, sunny. High near 85. Thursday night, clear. Low around 57.
Friday: Sunny. High near 83. Friday night, mostly clear. Low around 57.


Sunrise today: 6:37 a.m.
Sunset today: 7:03 p.m.
Length of the day: 12:26

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

CATSKILL Town Board meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 439 Main St., Catskill (943-2141).
COLUMBIA COUNTY Board of Supervisors Human Services Committee meeting, 5 p.m. at County Office Building, 401 State Street, Hudson (828-1527).
GERMANTOWN Board of Education meeting, 6:30 p.m. in the Elementary Music Room, Germantown School, 123 Main St., Germantown (537-6281).
GHENT Planning Board, 7 p.m., at Town Hall, 2306 State Route 66, Ghent (392-4644).
GREENE COUNTY Legislature regular meeting, 6:30 p.m. at County Building, 411 Main St., Catskill (719-3270).
HUDSON Industrial Development Agency meeting, 2 p.m. (828-0212); Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 6:30 p.m.; both meetings at City Hall, 520 Warren Street, Hudson (828-1030).
STUYVESANT Zoning Revision Committee meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 5 Sunset Dr., Stuyvesant (758-6248).
TAGHANIC town meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 909 Rte. 82, Taghkanic (851-7638).
TACONIC HILLS Board of Education meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Central Office boardroom, 73 Co. Rte. 11A, Craryville (325-2800).

Click here to download or play an audio version of this report. (1:35)

John Anderson in DIYmedia.net reports that the National Association of Broadcasters are currently lobbying the Federal Communications Commission hard to allow AM radio stations to acquire FM translators. The FCC is considering ways to revitalize the AM band, and, apparently, the commericial radio industry thinks broadcasting on FM frequencies is the best method to fix AM radio. So far, the FCC has been resistant to allowing AM stations to rebroadcast their same signals on FM translator stations, keeping those frequencies for stations creating original content. "In the last month, a motley crew of advocates for more FM translators have been making the rounds at FCC HQ. These include trade groups, individual broadcasters and other interested parties," Anderson writes, saying that existing translators have been priced out of reach for small broadcasters, who want a new translator filing window exclusively for AM broadcasters. But Anderson also points out that the industry is not offering any prohibitions on AM stations selling any valuable translator permits that would result from a new filing window. Read the full story at DIYmedia.net. (FULL DISCLOSURE: John Anderson is on Wave Farm's board.)

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local headlines and weather for Tue., Sept. 15 (6:20). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

https://data.wavefarm.org/r/7v/16/5p/WGXC%20DailyNews09152015.mp3

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="500"] Plans are underway to replace the existing Greene County Jail.
(Photo by Jimmy Emerson via Flickr)[/caption]

Jim Planck is reporting in The Daily Mail Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden last month led a contingent of county officials on a week-long seminar to learn about jail construction. Along with Groden, legislator Joseph Kozloski of Catskill, Undersheriff Steven Worth and county jail superintendent Michael Spitz attended the event held in Aurora, Colorado. The conference provided information on the process of planning and building a new jail, from land acquisition through construction. Kozloski said at the Legislative Public Safety Committee meeting, Mon., Sept. 14, the networking opportunities presented by the seminar were especially beneficial. “It worked out well,” he said. “This will move us forward on [building] the kind of jail we need for our taxpayers.” Expenses for the trip were paid for by the National Institute of Corrections. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

The Associated Press is reporting inspectors of crude oil tank cars and railroad tracks in New York have found four critical defects that required immediate fixes. Inspectors examined more than 400 crude oil tank cars, about 128 miles of track and nearly 70 switches in New York last week. A track gauge defect and worn tread on a switch transition device found along the CSX mainline between Amsterdam and Fonda was considered critical. Critical defects also were found on two guard check gauges, one along the CSX tracks between Fonda and Rome in the Mohawk Valley, and another along the CSX tracks in Marlboro, Ulster County. The state’s enhanced inspection program began in February 2014. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Bill Mahoney is reporting at Politico New York that while Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo publicly laments gender inequality, women still occupy a relatively small percentage of the top jobs in his administration. In his administration, women earn an average of 73 cents for every dollar made by men, a wider gap than the 84 cent per hour disparity that exists in the private sector. According to Mahoney, the majority of employees in the Executive Chamber, all of whom serve at the pleasure of the governor, are women. However, the 96 females working in Cuomo’s office tend to hold the lowest-paying jobs. The 52 men in the governor's office are disproportionately represented in the positions with the highest salaries and the most power. Despite the fact that nearly twice as many women as men work directly for the governor, 21 of the 30 individuals earning more than $140,000 per year are male. Of the ten individuals with the highest salaries, only two are female. Barbara Bartoletti, legislative director of the League of Women Voters of New York State, expressed some concern that the imbalance was so stark in the administration of a governor who has made gender equality a priority. “That’s certainly not a good sign for someone who has developed a Women’s Equality Party and has gone out of his way to, rhetorically at least, support women’s equality and pay equity,” she said. Cuomo made gender equality a key component of his political strategy in recent years. He made his Women’s Equality Act the linchpin of his end-of-session agenda in 2014, and gained an additional ballot line in the last election through the creation of the Women’s Equality Party. Read the full story at Politico New York.

Matthew Hamilton is reporting at Capitol Confidential former state assembly member and gubernatorial candidate John Faso will announce Tue., Sept. 15, his intention to seek the 19th Congressional District seat currently held by Chris Gibson. Gibson announced in January he would not seek a fourth term. Faso will make his announcement at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, at his home in Kinderhook. “I don’t apologize for reading through budget bills while in the state Assembly – calling out and drawing attention to wasteful spending and fiscal gimmicks,” Faso’s campaign biography states. “I’ll do the same in Congress if you send me to Washington." Hamilton reports the announcement is not a surprise. It was revealed last week that Faso scheduled a fundraiser for the end of the month. His campaign website has been up at least since then. Republican state Senator Jim Seward recently said he will not run for the seat. Republican Assembly member Steve McLaughlin of Rensselaer County is currently weighing whether to run, but he has made no formal announcement. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.

The Faso campaign primer video (2:19):

Katie Kocijanski is reporting in the Register-Star Peter Cipkowski is hoping to be the next Hillsdale town supervisor. Cipkowski, 56, is a former town board member and grew up in the Roe Jan area. He decided to run after learning current town supervisor Art Baer announced he would not be seeking re-election after 12 years of service to the town. Cipkowski is a registered Democrat, but has received the endorsement of both the Democrat and Republican committees. He is the current town historian and president of the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society. Cipkowski said he is excited to be running and has his own goals if elected. “I'm someone who believes that a supervisor's first priority is to serve every resident, not to the members of his political party or to one particularly vocal town committee,” Cipkowski said. If elected, he is hoping to foster more collaboration between the supervisor and the town board. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

Weather right now


[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="128"] Cairo: High 82F; Low 54F.[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="125"] Catskill: High 82F; Low 55F.[/caption]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FAR LEFT: The temperature on the far left is from the Hawthorne Valley Farm Weather Page.
MIDDLE TEMP: Cairo from Weather Underground page.
FAR RIGHT: Catskill from Weather Underground page.

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

Today: Patchy fog before 8 a.m. Otherwise, sunny. High near 80. Tuesday night, patchy fog after 1 a.m. Otherwise, clear. Low around 52.


Forecast for the next two days:
Wednesday: Patchy fog before 9 a.m. Otherwise, sunny. High near 83. Wednesday night, clear. Low around 55.
Thursday: Sunny. High near 85. Thursday night, mostly clear. Low around 56.


Sunrise today: 6:36 a.m.
Sunset today: 7:04 p.m.
Length of the day: 12:28

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 Health and Medical Committee meeting, 4 p.m. at 401 State St., Hudson (828-1527).
DURHAM Town Board meeting, 7:30 p.m. at Town Building, 7309 State Rt. 81, East Durham (239-8260).
HILLSDALE Town Board meeting, 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall on Main Street, Hillsdale (325-5073).
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).
LEXINGTON Town Board meeting, 7 p.m., at Municipal Building, 3542 Route 42, Lexington, (986-6303).
PHILMONT Planning Board meeting, 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).

Eriq Gardner in The Hollywood Reporter writes that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Sept. 14 ruled that copyright owners must "consider" fair use before sending internet takedown letters. The case revolved around a YouTube video of a toddler dancing to a 29-second clip from Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" song. Wikipedia says fair use is, "a doctrine that permits limited use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the rights holders." Circuit judge Richard Tallman wrote in this decision, "Even if, as Universal urges, fair use is classified as an 'affirmative defense,' we hold — for the purposes of the DMCA — fair use is uniquely situated in copyright law so as to be treated differently than traditional affirmative defenses. We conclude that because 17 U.S.C. § 107 created a type of non-infringing use, fair use is 'authorized by the law' and a copyright holder must consider the existence of fair use before sending a takedown notification under § 512(c) ... " But what does "consider" mean, and can the bots that currently send take-down notices on copyright issues "consider" fair use? "To be clear, if a copyright holder ignores or neglects our unequivocal holding that it must consider fair use before sending a takedown notification, it is liable for damages under § 512(f)," writes Tallman. "If, however, a copyright holder forms a subjective good faith belief the allegedly infringing material does not constitute fair use, we are in no position to dispute the copyright holder’s belief even if we would have reached the opposite conclusion," writes Tallman, who says juries will decide those questions. And a jury will decide the baby-dancing-to-Prince issue in a new trial.

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local headlines and weather for Mon., Sept. 14 (5:14). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

https://data.wavefarm.org/r/3y/4j/m4/WeekendinReview09142015.mp3