Full audio of local headlines and weather for Thu., Sept. 10 (6:32). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

https://data.wavefarm.org/r/6d/cy/3d/WGXC%20DailyNews09102015.mp3

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="760"] Arrow highlights mile-long forested ridgeline in Catskill
protected by John Peckham in collaboration with Scenic Hudson.
(Photo from Scenic Hudson.)[/caption]

Charlie Holmes is reporting in The Daily Mail Scenic Hudson announced last week the owner of Peckham Industries has collaborated with Scenic Hudson to protect a mile-long forested ridgeline in Catskill as part of the organization's campaign to Save the Land That Matters Most. John Peckham donated a conservation easement on 76 acres along a ridge paralleling Route 9W and located due west of the 480-acre RamsHorn-Livingston Sanctuary. The easement permanently safeguards the "most visually sensitive portion of Catskill Quarry," including the Olana State Historic Site viewshed, according to a statement released by Scenic Hudson. Peckham also orchestrated the demolition of several large structures on the nearby riverfront. Scenic Hudson President Ned Sullivan said, “This conservation easement is a great example of how industrial landowners and environmental organizations can work together to safeguard the Hudson Valley’s most important natural resources.” Peckham Industries is a family-owned company. It has been in business in the Hudson Valley since 1924. Peckham is one of the largest suppliers of road-construction materials in the Northeast. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Today (Thu., Sept. 10) is primary day throughout New York state. Locally, voters affiliated with various political parties in Albany, Cairo, Greenport, Hudson, Kinderhook, New Baltimore, New Lebanon, Stuyvesant and Windham will go to the polls. Polls are open statewide from noon to 9 p.m. For information, contact either the Greene County Board of Elections at (518) 719-3550, or the Columbia County Board of Elections at (518) 828-3115.

Matthew Hamilton is reporting at Capitol Confidential the family of a man with bipolar disorder allegedly murdered at Fishkill Correctional Facility in Dutchess County has filed a civil rights lawsuit. The complaint, filed earlier this week by the family of Samuel Harrell, includes causes of action against the state Department of Corrections and Community Services, Office of Mental Health commissioners and the state correctional officer union, in addition to a number of employees of the two agencies. Harrell’s death was detailed in a New York Times story last month. In addition to the civil rights case, fallout from the Times report has included the replacement of the Fishkill superintendent and the initiation of an investigation by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's office. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.

The Times Union is reporting three Hudson Valley communities will benefit from more than $300,000 in government grants for projects designed to reduce flooding, improve water quality are restore aquatic habitats. The town of Ancram received $220,000 to control flooding and protect American eel and brown trout with the replacement of at least two culverts. Scenic Hudson and Ulster County also received funds. The funding for culvert-replacement projects is administered by the state Department of Environmental Conservation's Hudson River Estuary Program. Read the full story in the Times Union.

The Daily Freeman reports that voters encountering "barriers to access at their polling sites" can report issues to the state Attorney General’s Office at New York’s Election Day Hotline, (800) 771-7755, or by emailing civil.rights@ag.ny.gov. The hotline will be available from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on voting days, including the primary election Thu., Sept. 10. Polls open from noon to 9 p.m. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

Trishna Begam at News10 TV in Albany reports that the town of Lee in Massachusetts is considering a three-cent-a-gallon local tax to improve local roads and bridges. State representative Smitty Pignatelli has filed a bill to allow the town to create a municipal gas tax. “I believe if we file it for Lee, there are several other communities that would want to do the same thing,” Pignatelli said. “This tax would stay in the community with dedicated stream toward roads and bridges.” Lee officials estimate between $150,000 to $200,000 a year in revenue for the town in the Berkshires. The town has 14 bridges, which take an average of $1 million to fix. Read the full story in News10.

Timothy Knight in The Watershed Post reports that Schoharie County has hired its first administrator. On Tue., Sept. 8, the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors hired Steve Wilson as the county's first full-time administrator. He gets a $100,000 salary and begins before October 1. Town of Schoharie Supervisor Gene Milone led the effort to hire an administrator, after a 2013 investigation found widespread dysfunction in Schoharie's county government, according to the story. All but three upstate counties have a full-time administrative officer, with neighboring Delaware County also without someone in that role. Read the full story in The Watershed Post.

Weather right now


[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="128"] Cairo: High 72F; low 58F.[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="125"] Catskill: High 71F; low 59F.[/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:

The National Weather Service in Albany has issued a Hazardous Weather Outlook for the region, including Greene and Columbia counties. A widespread rainfall is expected Thu., Sept. 10, beginning in the afternoon and continuing overnight. The rain could be heavy at times, which may lead to ponding of water roadways, especially to the south and to the east of the Capital District.

Today: Showers likely, mainly after 2 p.m. Cloudy. High near 74. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent. Thursday night, shower and possibly a thunderstorm before 2 a.m., then showers likely. Cloudy. Low around 61. Chance of precipitation is 100 percent.

Forecast for the next two days:
Friday: A chance of showers, mainly before 8 a.m. Mostly cloudy. High near 77. Friday night, partly cloudy. Low around 56.
Saturday: A chance of showers, mainly after 2 p.m. Partly sunny. High near 77. Saturday night, showers likely, mainly after 8 p.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 60.

Sunrise today: 6:30 a.m.
Sunset today: 7:13 p.m.
Length of the day: 12:42

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

CHATHAM Village meeting at 7:30 p.m. at Village Hall, 77 Main Street, Chatham (392-5821).
COPAKE Town Board meeting at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 230 Mountainview Road, Copake (329-1234).
GALLATIN Town Board meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 667 Route 7, Ancram (398-7519).
KINDERHOOK Planning Board Workshop meeting at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 4 Church St, Niverville (784-2233).
LIVINGSTON Town board meets at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 119 County Route 19.
STUYVESANT Town board meets at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 5 Sunset Drive, Stuyvesant (758-6248).
TANNERSVILLE Village trustees meet at 7 p.m. in their Village Hall on Route 23A.
WINDHAM Town board meets at 8 p.m. at Town Hall, 371 State Rt. 296, Hensonville (734-4170).

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

Michele Hilmes, Professor Emerita at University of Wisconsin-Madison, reports at the Antenna blog that the Radio Preservation Task Force, a unit of the Library of Congress’s National Recording Preservation Board, holds its first national conference February 25-27, 2016, in Washington, D.C. Professor Paddy Scannell of the University of Michigan, and Sam Brylawski, former Head of the Library of Congress’s Recorded Sound Division, are among the keynote speakers. The National Recording Preservation Board began in 2014 coordinating, "a nation-wide effort to identify major collections of radio recordings and other materials that will help to raise cultural awareness of America’s rich tradition of radio-based soundwork and make it accessible to future generations." The group now includes more than 130 media studies scholars and over 350 affiliate archives, collections, and radio producing organizations across the U.S. and Canada. NPR, the Pacifica Radio Archives, the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, the Association for Cultural Equity/Alan Lomax Archive, the Paley Center for Media, the Prometheus Radio Project, the Media Ecology Project, the Studs Terkel Archive, and the Third Coast International Audio Festival, are among the involved.

Full audio of the local headlines and weather for Wed., Sept. 9 (6:55). (Produced by Tom Roe.)

https://data.wavefarm.org/r/fs/ce/0g/WGXC_local_news_20150909.mp3

Melanie Lekocevic is reporting in The Daily Mail a leak in an underground water pipe led to the shutdown of Route 385, or Washington Avenue, in the village of Athens on Tue., Sept. 8. Village officials were aware for some time of a leakage problem within the village. The New York Rural Water Association was called in to determine the severity of the problem after officials noticed the water plant was producing significantly more water than usual. Mayor Chris Pfister said about the leak that closed Route 385 Tuesday, “The size and intensity of this leak is something we just became aware of." Only a service line was affected, not the main water line, so it did not require water service to be shut off to homes or businesses. Town and village employees, and workers from VRI Environmental Services, the village’s water plant operator, collaborated on the repair job. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Voters affiliated with political parties in six voting districts in Greene County, and in 12 Columbia County districts, go to the polls Thu., Sept. 10.

Albany County
Challenger Dan Egan and incumbent Dan McCoy are in the running for Albany County Executive.

Greene County
Town of Cairo: Town supervisor candidate Daniel Benoit faces a write-in challenge for his place on the Conservative line. In the three-way, Legislative District 6 race for the Independence line pits Sylvia Hasenkopf against Bill Lawrence and Harry Lennon.
Town of New Baltimore: Superintendent of Highways candidates Denis Jordan and Alan Vanwormer will vie for the Independence line.
Town of Windham: Endorsed Conservative candidates in three races face write-in primaries, including town clerk candidate Bonnie Poehmel, town supervisor candidate Robert Pelham, and town council candidates Karl Gonzalez and Donald Murray Jr.

Columbia County
City of Hudson: Both Democrat and Republican primaries are scheduled. In the First Ward, Democrats Rick Rector, Michael O'Hara and Nick Haddad face off in their pursuit of two Common Council seats. There is also a three-way race in the city's Fourth Ward among Democrats Lauren Scalera, Rich Volo and Alexis B. Keith for Common Council. Republicans have two primary races -- in the Fourth and Fifth wards. With the exception of Common Council candidate Derrick Smart in the Fourth Ward, the remaining three spots on the GOP line will be determined by the write-in vote.
Town of New Lebanon: Challenger Colleen Teal has forced a primary against incumbent town supervisor Mike Benson for the Republican line. And town clerk candidate Jen Kelly faces a write-in challenge for her spot on the Independence line.
Town of Greenport: Town supervisor candidate Tim Shook faces a write-in challenge for his place on the Working Families line. As does town supervisor candidate Ed Nabozny on the Independence Party line. Town council candidate Keith Mortefolio and a write-in candidate are also seeking a spot on the Independence line.
Town of Kinderhook: There is one Independence Party primary scheduled. Jeffrey Ouellette, Timothy Ooms and Deborah Simonsmeier are competing for two spots on the ballot in the race for town council.
Town of Stuyvesant: There is one Independence Party primary scheduled. Kelley Williams, Edson Folmsbee and Thomas Burrall are competing in a three-way race for two spots on the ballot in the race for town council.

Polls are open noon to 9 p.m.

CORRECTION: Jeff Waggoner corrected, but did not retract, his Sept. 8, 2015 story at Capitol Confidential (which WGXC summarized and included in its local headlines on Wed., Sept. 9). The full text of the correction appears below:

In a post yesterday, I wrote that a ruling by the National Labor Relations Board would allow state workers to use its work email and telephone for union work.

I was wrong. The NLRB does not cover public workers.

As a PEF member wrote in an email Wednesday morning:

The gist of the post is that State employees represented by a union can use their email to organize, etc. This belief is entirely incorrect and Mr. Waggoner’s implication to the contrary could result in our Members being disciplined.

The NLRB, as those familiar with Labor issues are well aware, only covers private sector employees. While there was a decision in December of last year which did address what Mr. Waggoner was writing about, it does not apply to PEF, CSEA or any other public sector union. For verification, you can visit the NLRB website and look at bottom of the page for the listed exceptions. A little research or due diligence would have shown to Mr. Waggoner the premise of his blog post is faulty.

Jeff Waggoner is reporting at Capitol Confidential recent rulings by the National Labor Relations Board, combined with changing technologies, make it legal for a public worker to use his or her state email and telephone to do union work. In December, the NLRB held that employees have the right to use company-provided email systems during non-working times to engage in union activities. In April, the board entitled unions to use employee phone numbers and personal e-mail addresses. Employees can now communicate anonymously about working conditions, issues, and even gather electronic signatures for a union petition. If virtual organizing takes hold, union membership could radically increase in the USA, according to Waggoner. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.

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

Andrea Sears at Public News Service reports that the settlement of a lawsuit may start to close a loophole in New York's campaign finance law. The suit was brought by the state Board of Elections' independent enforcement counsel. It challenges campaign contributions made under a 1996 Board of Elections ruling that allows limited-liability companies or LLCs to be treated as individuals. Karen Scharff, executive director of Citizen Action of New York, says the LLC loophole has skewed the political process. "We've seen campaigns where the amount of money coming from LLCs is millions of dollars," she says. "It allows individual, wealthy people to flood elections with their money, and drown out the voices of ordinary people." According to Scharff, the vast majority of candidates for state office accept LLC donations, with the most cash going to the biggest campaigns. Details of the settlement were not immediately released but advocates say it could open the door to similar suits. Citizen Action says one billionaire used the LLC loophole to pump $4.3 million into campaigns in the last political cycle. The lawsuit challenged relatively small contributions from a real estate developer to an unsuccessful candidate for the state Assembly. Scharff calls it a good first step. "But we really need the governor and the Legislature to take action," says Scharff. "To not only close the loophole but create an alternative system of a small donor, publicly-funded matching system." So far, efforts to close the LLC loophole have failed along party lines, in both the Board of Elections and the Legislature. Read the full story at Public News Service.

The Village of Chatham holds a Public Hearing for the franchise renewal for cable television services to Charter Communications at 7 p.m. Thu., Sept. 10 at Tracy Memorial Hall. A PDF of Charter's proposal is online at http://villageofchatham.com/voc/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Charter-Village-of-Chatham-NY-Franchise-Renewal-Proposal-3-23-15-TC.pdf. A regular meeting of the Chatham Board of Trustees will immediately follow the public hearing.

Weather right now


[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="128"] Cairo: High 93F; low 62F.[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="125"] Catskill: High 92F; low 64F.[/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:

The National Weather Service in Albany has issued a Hazardous Weather Outlook for the region, including Greene and Columbia counties. Widely scattered to numerous thunderstorms are expected during the day, and into the evening, Wed., Sept. 9. A few thunderstorms may produce strong gusty winds. In addition, any thunderstorm or heavy shower which repeatedly move over the same area may produce flooding, as well as ponding of water on roadways.

Today: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. Sunny. High near 89. Chance of precipitation is 20 percent. Wednesday night, a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy. Low around 67. Chance of precipitation is 50 percent.


Forecast for the next two days:
Thursday: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Cloudy. High near 75. Thursday night, showers likely. Cloudy. Low around 59.
Friday: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy. High near 76. Friday night, partly cloudy. Low around 56.

Sunrise today: 6:29 a.m.
Sunset today: 7:15 p.m.
Length of the day: 12:45

Public meetings
Today is the second 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, 6:30 p.m at the Athens Community Center, 2 First St., Athens (945-1551).
CATSKILL Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 6 p.m. at Town Hall, 439 Main St., Catskill (943-2141).
CLERMONT Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m., at Town Hall, 1795 Route 9, Clermont (537-6868).
COLUMBIA COUNTY Board of Supervisors meeting, 7:30 p.m. at 401 State St., Hudson (828-1527).
COPAKE Hamlet Revitalization Task Force, 7 p.m.; Environmental Committee meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 230 Mt. View Road, Copake (329-1234).
GHENT Planning Board Application meeting and Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 7 p.m. both at Town Hall, 2306 State Route 66, Ghent (392-4644).
HUDSON Housing Authority Board of Commissioners meeting, 6 p.m. at Bliss Towers, 41 N. 2nd St., Hudson (822-9743).
HUDSON Planning Board meeting, 6 p.m. at City Hall, 520 Warren St., Hudson  (828-1030).
JEWETT Town Board meeting, 7 p.m., at Municipal Bldg. 3547 Co. Rt. 23C (263-4626).
KINDERHOOK Town’s 9 & 9H Corridor Committee meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 4 Church St, Niverville (784-2233).
KINDERHOOK Village Board meeting and budget hearing, 7 p.m. at 6 Chatham Street, Kinderhook (758-9882).

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

The Federal Communications Commission, after cutting back its enforcement division earlier in the summer, last week instituted, “enhance[d] procedures for public safety and industry interference complaints." The new process is supposed to be a streamlined, quick-and-easy way for the commission to respond to problems, even with 13 fewer field offices around the country. Ashley Ludlow at the Communications Law Blog isn't so sure the plan will work. "Incoming complaints will be categorized as either 'high,' 'medium,' and 'low' priorities – but the notice doesn’t shed much light on how any particular complaint will be assigned to one or another category." For instance, pirate radio operations that do not interfere with any other stations, might be in one category, and pirate radio that is interfering with a news station as a storm approaches a community might be in another. Or not, Ludlow writes, as the notice is unclear. Field office representatives will respond to high priority complaints within one calendar day of filing, medium priority complaints within two business days, and low priority complaints within five business days, though "respond" and "resolve" are two very different words, she notes. Ludlow writes that if a complaintent felt unsatisfied, they can then appeal first to the Regional Director (RD), and next to the Field Director (FD). But, again, what happens next is unclear. Ludlow says that the lack of details in these new regulations does not breed confidence in the new complain system at the FCC.

Full audio of the local headlines and weather for Tue., Sept. 8 (5:05). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

https://data.wavefarm.org/r/b2/3a/np/WeekendinReview09082015.mp3

Some of the stories that made the news Fri., Sept. 4 through Mon., Sept. 7.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="211"] Photo by Momoneymoproblemz
from Wikipedia.[/caption]

Scott Waldman reported at Politico New York the groundwater in at least three upstate towns is contaminated by pollutants that General Electric dumped into the Hudson River for decades, according to a new federal report. The Hudson River Natural Resource Trustees said Thu., Sept. 3, the company's practice of dumping PCBs and volatile organic compounds into the river exceeded state groundwater standards in Hudson Falls, Fort Edward, and Stillwater over a prolonged period of time. GE may be required to compensate the public for the loss of groundwater. A spokesman for General Electric said the company already has addressed the drinking water issues. Hudson Falls and Fort Edward have not used groundwater, which tested for high levels of the cancer-causing compounds, as a drinking water source since the late 1980s. Stillwater has not used its well since 2011. The report comes as Gov. Andrew Cuomo is trying to entice General Electric to move its corporate headquarters to New York from Connecticut.

Matt Spillane is reporting at lohud [dot] com former state education commissioner Tom Sobol has died. He was 83. Sobol was born in Minneapolis and raised in Boston. A graduate of Harvard, he began his education career as a teacher at Newton High School in Massachusetts. He worked as an administrator in various New York districts before serving as education commissioner for seven years, from 1987 to 1995. He then returned to the classroom as a professor at Columbia University's Teachers College. His wife, Harriet Sobol said of her husband, "He was a very unusual man in that he was extremely modest. He knew his role was important, but he never felt important."

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="167"] Eric Feight
(From mrconservative.com)[/caption]

Robert Gavin reported in the Times Union a federal judge has agreed to delay the sentencing of a Columbia County man convicted of assisting a local member of the Ku Klux Klan in an intricate scheme to massacre Muslims. Eric Feight, of Stockport, had been scheduled to be sentenced September 17 by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Gary Sharpe. He will now be sentenced December 16. Feight's attorney was granted a 90-day delay to review transcripts of co-defendant Glendon Scott Crawford's trial, which he believes could be helpful to his client. Feight provided Crawford with a remote control device that Crawford planned to use with a mobile, radiation-emitting X-ray to quietly execute intended victims with radiation poisoning. Crawford was convicted August 21 of terrorism charges. Feight pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists in January 2014.

Charlie Holmes reported in the Register-Star the inclusion of The New York Times bestseller “Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan on the Common Core suggested reading list for English Language Arts has met with some concern by the New York State Farm Bureau. The book was the subject of a recent piece by Farm Bureau president, Dean Norton, and published in the bureau newspaper, "Grassroots." And the bureau’s managing director for the Foundation for Agriculture Education said the book paints farming in a very negative light. The bureau is not suggesting the book be removed from the list. Instead, they are advocating for the inclusion of alternative points of view. Norton has written to Governor Andrew Cuomo requesting “additional readings be added to the curriculum that enhances the way in which agriculture is examined by the students.”