Weather right now


[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="128"] Cairo: High 79F; low 52F.[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="125"] Catskill: High 78F; low 53F.[/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: Sunny. High near 80. Friday night, patchy fog after 3 a.m. Otherwise, mostly clear. Low around 50.

Forecast for the next two days:
Saturday: Patchy fog before 10 a.m. Otherwise, mostly sunny. High near 83. Saturday night, mostly cloudy. Low around 59.
Sunday: Mostly sunny. High near 87. Sunday night, mostly cloudy. Low around 62.

Sunrise today: 6:17 a.m.
Sunset today: 7:35 p.m.
Length of the day: 13:18

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

CLERMONT Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 1795 Route 9, Clermont (537-6868).
HUDSON Historic Preservation Commission meeting (tenative), 10 a.m., at City Hall, 520 Warren Street, Hudson (828-1030).

Full audio of local headlines and weather for Thu., Aug. 27 (6:31). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

https://data.wavefarm.org/r/q9/ze/kf/WGXC%20Daily%20News%20Thursday%2008272015.mp3

Michael Ryan is reporting in The Daily Mail embattled Windham Town Supervisor Stacy Post has formed the "Have a Voice" party. Post's name, along with the names of Laura Chase, Cynthia Bruno and Debra Sherman, will appear on that line on the November ballot. Post is seeking her second, two-year term as supervisor. Chase and Bruno are candidates for town council, and Sherman is running for town clerk. Post sought the Republican endorsement, but was rebuffed when the GOP chose to support Robert Pelham instead. She also failed to secure a repeat endorsement from the Independence Party, as well. Ryan finds "Have a Voice," the third-party name chosen by Post, ironic given the incumbent supervisor's decision to terminate all interaction with the media a year ago. Post does not speak publicly about matters related to her duties as supervisor, her political intentions or her criminal indictment and pending trial. There has been no communication from Post, Chase, Bruno or Sherman about their positions on the issues or the reasons behind the decision to seek public office. Post is currently facing felony charges over allegations that she placed audio and video recording devices in Windham Town Hall to monitor the conversations of town employees and visitors. She pleaded not guilty to the allegations and has challenged the constitutionality of a search warrant executed by state police in March 2014. The case has been pending for 18 months. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Chris Bragg is reporting at Capitol Confidential the state’s top elections watchdog quietly filed a lawsuit last month that could set a precedent curbing candidates’ ability to accept coordinated donations through the LLC loophole. The civil case pits Risa [REE-sah] Sugarman, the chief enforcement counsel for the state Board of Elections, against the campaign of Shirley Patterson, a candidate who ran unsuccessfully for a Brooklyn state Assembly seat in a May special election. Sugarman’s lawsuit challenges the idea that donations to Patterson’s campaign made through various limited liability companies allegedly controlled by the same person count separately under donations limits. Sugarman’s case does not go after Glenwood Management, the Long Island developer that has used the loophole to pour million into local elections. Glenwood has been the biggest donor to Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and other state elected officials. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.

Katie Kocijanski is reporting in the Register-Star the Columbia County Industrial Development Agency has finalized the 33-acre land transfer and financing of the proposed Ginsberg’s Foods expansion. This comes after Columbia County Judge Richard Koweek’s May ruling against the Ghent Planning Board’s decision to deny the company a special use permit for the expansion. “We have submitted all of our applications to get building permits from the towns of Ghent and Claverack, as soon as we get those, we will be breaking ground,” said John Brusie, the food service distributor's vice president of operations. “We are very excited to finally move forward on this opportunity,” he said. In a statement released last week, the company stated 225 full-tme jobs will remain in the county, and an additional 25 full-time jobs will be created as the direct result of the expansion. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

Emilia Teasdale is reporting in the Columbia Paper Kinderhook village Mayor Carol Weaver announced last week the creation of a committee in collaboration with the town of Kinderhook to explore the feasibility of sharing Department of Public Works services. The village DPW garage and most of its equipment were destroyed in a fire in May. The village board could choose to rebuild the garage and replace the equipment, or it could decide to have the town DPW take over public works in the village. Kinderhook has a similar agreement with the village of Valatie to perform DPW services, which include snowplowing, road repair and other construction projects. Weaver made the committee announcement at a village board meeting and several residents inquired about the details of the plan. The mayor stressed that the public would be informed as matters progress. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

Rick Karlin is reporting at Capitol Confidential on the ongoing effort by a group of secessionists trying to get part of upstate to break away from the existing state of New York. Karlin writes that while the idea of separating upstate and downstate is not a new one, the notion has gained momentum with the banning of fracking and passage of the SAFE Act. Proponents want to either join Pennsylvania or establish a new state called New Amsterdam. The Pennsylvania option would require the approval of both the Pennsylvania and New York legislatures, as well as the U.S. Congress. The creation of New Amsterdam could be accomplished through the state Constitutional Convention process. Supporters say succession is about reclaiming economic opportunities and restoring liberties. A rally in support of succession will be held in Bainbridge, Chenango County, Sun., Aug. 30. Organizations resented at the rally will include Americans for Restoring the Constitution, Oath Keepers, Tri-County Tea Party and We the People of New York Inc. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.

Weather right now


[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="128"] Cairo: High 75F; low 51F.[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="125"] Catskill: High 76F; low 53F.[/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: Partly sunny. High near 78. Thursday night, partly cloudy. Low around 55.

Forecast for the next two days:
Friday: Sunny. High near 80. Friday night, mostly clear. Low around 53.
Saturday: Isolated thunderstorms after 2 p.m. Mostly sunny. High near 83. Saturday night, isolated thunderstorms before 11 p.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 60.

Sunrise today: 6:16 a.m.
Sunset today: 7:37 p.m.
Length of the day: 13:21

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

CHATHAM Village Board meeting, 7:30 p.m. at Village Hall, 77 Main Street, Chatham (392-5821).
COLUMBIA COUNTY Board of Supervisors .1 [point one] Committee meeting, 1 p.m.; Finance Committee meeting, 1:30 p.m. at 401 State Street, Hudson (828-1527).
COPAKE Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 230 Mt. View Road, Copake (329-1234).
DURHAM Task Force meeting, 7 p.m., Town Building, 7309 St. Route 81, East Durham (239-8260).
GERMANTOWN Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 50 Palatine Park Road, Germantown (537-6687).
GREENVILLE Board of Education meeting, 7 p.m. at high school, Route 81, Greenville (966-5070).
HUDSON Community Development and Planning Agency board meeting, 12 p.m. at 1 N. Front St., Hudson (751-1044).
STUYVESANT Greenway Committee meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 5 Sunset Drive, Stuyvesant (758-6248).
WINDHAM Town Board meeting, 8 p.m. at Town Hall, 371 State Rt. 296, Hensonville (734-4170).

Full audio of the local headlines and weather for Wed., Aug. 26 (7:06). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

https://data.wavefarm.org/r/r7/8w/bt/WGXC%20Daily%20News%20Wednesday%2008262015.mp3

Katie Kocijanski is reporting in the Register-Star the Columbia Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors Tue., Aug. 25, elected Tony Jones of Roe Jan Publishing its new president. The board also chose David Fingar, the chief engineer for Mid-Hudson Cable, as its vice president. Jones replaces David Crawford, who retired from the board in June after 25 years of service. Hudson Supervisor Sarah Sterling will continue to serve as the CEDC board secretary and Bob Sherwood of Kinderhook Bank will remain as treasurer. Jones previously served on the CEDC board from 1997 to 2006. Along with his late wife Victoria Simons, he was the owner until 2001, of the now defunct newspaper, The Independent. Jones is an advocate for developing a concrete countywide economic development plan. Going forward, he hopes the corporation can work with the local towns on their individual economic development efforts. In addition to the election of new officers, board members were presented copies of the draft updated bylaws. Jones said the revisions will be finalized in the next couple of weeks, in advance of the board's next meeting on Sept. 29. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

Audrey Matott is reporting in The Daily Mail the town of Greenville may have at last found the answer to the dilemma of finding full-time emergency medical services at the most affordable price. The town has received an offer from Durham Ambulance to provide services for an estimated $175,000 per year. The proposal was made by Greene County EMS President Aidan O'Connor and Ron Rouse of the Greene County Rural Health Network. The Greenville Volunteer Rescue Squad has been serving the emergency medical needs of the town since 1972. In recent years the squad has struggled to answer all its calls due to lack of volunteers. In 2013, the squad responded to 54 percent of 364 calls. The plan proposed specifies that every ambulance will have a paramedic on board as well as an EMT. And a full-time staff would be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, ready to respond to calls. The Greene County Ambulance Task Force is currently presenting its plan to each town board in the county. Towns will decide in September if they will opt in to the proposed service or not. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Jeff Waggoner is reporting at Capitol Confidential after falling to an all-time low in 2009, Americans' support for labor unions has been increasing, according to Gallup, the consulting and polling company. Approval of labor unions is now at 59 percent, according to a recent report. In 2009, the approval rate was measured at 48 percent. Young adults, aged 18 to 34, are the the most supportive of all age groups. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees cheered the news, adding: “It’s a trend demonstrated in other recent polling, such as a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center. Support for labor unions grew among various groups in recent years, including millennials who are politically conservative, and women, whose approval of labor unions is 63 percent....” Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.

Paul Kirby is reporting in the Daily Freeman Columbia Memorial Hospital has agreed to pay $650,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the state Attorney General’s Office. The AG alleged Columbia Memorial was part of a scheme to defraud state taxpayers of money for inpatient detoxification programs. Following news of the settlement, the hospital issued a statement denying any wrongdoing in the case. Columbia Memorial was among seven hospitals named in a civil suit claiming millions of dollars in illegal charges had been made to the state’s Medicaid program for inpatient detoxification programs. The hospital was accused of running an unlicensed drug and alcohol rehabilitation program called New Visions, with referrals from the Missouri-based health care firm SpecialCare Management Corp. The suit claimed the hospitals illegally marketed New Visions as a legitimate program and submitted Medicaid claims for patients who did not need the treatment. The Attorney General’s Office also believes Columbia Memorial paid illegal kickbacks for referrals to SpecialCare, which has agreed to a $6 million payment to settle. The complaint also charged the inpatient detoxification services provided by the hospital were not medically necessary, and/or failed to meet professionally recognized standards of care, according to the AG's Office. “This settlement holds those institutions accountable for their scheme, and will make providers think twice before defrauding the Medicaid system,” Schneiderman said. William Van Slyke, vice president for marketing and external affairs for CMH, said “Columbia Memorial made no admission of liability as part of the settlement; we have consistently maintained that our actions in this matter were at all times appropriate. The final settlement, while imperfect, represented our best option to bring the matter to a close without incurring the time and expense of further litigation." Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

William J. Kemble is reporting in the Daily Freeman the 170th annual Dutchess County Fair openeds today (Tue., Aug. 25) for six days, and will include grandstand music highlighted by the Doobie Brothers and the Spin Doctors. The 144-acre fairgrounds will be filled with midway rides, livestock shows and local talent competitions of all kinds, including an Iron Chef cooking battle between the Dutchess County Sheriff's Department and the Rhinebeck Fire Department. Also on display this year is the 144-year-old Pleasant Valley train station, painstakingly disassembled last September and reassembled at the fairgrounds. Fair organizers expect that the 20-by-40-foot train station will be of interest to rail enthusiasts and history aficionados. For more information on the fair, including a full schedule, go to Dutchess Fair [dot] com.

Weather right now


[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="128"] Cairo: High 78F; low 53F.[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="125"] Catskill: High 78F; low 54F.[/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: Mostly sunny. High near 80. Wednesday night, mostly cloudy. Low around 55.

Forecast for the next two days:
Thursday: Mostly sunny. High near 78. Thursday night, partly cloudy. Low around 54.
Friday: Sunny. High near 80. Friday night, mostly clear. Low around 55.

Sunrise today: 6:15 a.m.
Sunset today: 7:39 p.m.
Length of the day: 13:23

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

ATHENS Village Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Community Center, 2 First St., Athens (945-1551).
CAIRO Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 512 Main St., Cairo (622-3120).
COLUMBIA County Board of Supervisors Public Works budget review meeting, 4 p.m., Public Works Committee meeting, 6 p.m. at 401 State St., Hudson (828-1527).
COPAKE Hamlet Revitalization Task Force meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 230 Mountain View Rd., Copake (329-1234).
HUDSON Common Council Public Works Committee meeting, 5:30 p.m., Legal Committee, 6:15 p.m., at City Hall, 520 Warren Street, Hudson (828-1030).
HUDSON Development Corporation meeting, 12 p.m. (noon) at 1 North Front St., Hudson (751-1044).
KINDERHOOK Historical Committee meeting, 7 p.m., Town Hall, 4 Church St, Niverville (784-2233).
PHILMONT Village Board Workshop meeting, 7 p.m., Village Hall, 124 Main St., Philmont (672-7032).

Full audio of the local headlines and weather for Tue., Aug. 25 (6:45). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

https://data.wavefarm.org/r/j9/28/3d/WGXC%20Daily%20News%20Tuesday%2008252015.mp3

Jim Planck is reporting in The Daily Mail officials in the town of Catskill are considering the creation of additional, and better defined no-parking zones. The proposal was prompted by concerns raised by residents in the hamlet of Palenville about cars parked at swimming holes, and blocking pedestrian pathways where there are no sidewalks. Drivers are also reported to have removed 'no parking' signs and homeowners are confronted by illegally parked vehicles on their property. At a meeting of the town board last week town attorney Michael Smith said the wording of two Catskill local laws cause difficulty with enforcement. Smith suggested that for the board to correct the two laws, input from the public would be appropriate. “We need to have the folks in Palenville identify the streets where there should be no parking,” Smith said. Resident Crane Davis said residents would review the roads and work up a list of potential no-parking areas to be included in the proposed new law. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Debby Mayer is reporting for the Columbia Paper new interim executive director of the Columbia Economic Development Corporation F. Michael Tucker reported to the county Board of Supervisors Economic Development Committee last week on his review of CEDC operations. Earlier this year the board cut off CEDC funding, budgeted at more than $400,000 per year, pending a review along the lines of the one Tucker unveiled at the meeting. During his presentation, Tucker reviewed the status of 26 loans made by the corporation, totaling $1.1 million, since 2009. Tucker said between January 2010 and June 2015, 56 businesses applied for loans from the CEDC and 43 were approved. He asked the board restore CEDC’s funding for this year and continue its support in 2016, proposing the corporation reimburse the county $116,000 for the land sold to Ginsberg’s Institutional Foods for $1. Tucker noted the CEDC had made some 50 small business loans in the last five years. “These are loans that no one else makes,” he said, and “most got in and out and paid their bill.” He said he now wants to help the CEDC focus on attracting new business and preparing the region for growth. Read the full story in the Columbia Paper.

Keshia Clukey is reporting at Politico New York state education commissioner MaryEllen Elia [EH-lee-uh] has begun a battle to stop the rapidly growing opt-out movement before the state exams next year, reaching out to department attorneys and meeting with superintendents. Elia said, “We’re trying to pull together a tool kit...to support superintendents in how we can communicate in a much more effective way to people across the state." That kit will include legal information, she said. Educators are hoping the toolkit will include guidelines on what is and what is not ethical for teachers or school administrators to say publicly about the exams, an issue that has become controversial across the state. In April, 20 percent of the 1.1. million eligible third through eighth graders statewide refused to take the state math and English language arts exams. At an Educators 4 Excellence event last week Elia said she believed opt out was “unreasonable,” and called it “unethical” for teachers to participate. The commissioner plans to have the toolkit in place before the tests next April. Read the full story at Politico New York.

Columbia County officials and Premier Healthcare Management have come to an agreement on the terms of the sale of Pine Haven Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. In a statement released Mon., Aug. 24, Columbia County Board of Supervisors Chairman Patrick Grattan said the details have been finalized and the contract signed. Premier has agreed to pay $6.5 million for all property and the facility's assets, with the exception of a 60-foot fire tower and a monument bell and plaque, which will be removed. Once Premier takes possession the facility will undergo significant capital and service improvements. “Pine Haven will be run by experts with a track record of successfully managing and improving nursing homes rather than by the county, for whom it is not a core skill,” Grattan said. “This is a very positive development for the facility residents and its employees, as well as our taxpayers," he said. Premier is based in Great Neck, Long Island, and owns several facilities in the mid-Hudson region, including a nursing home in Kaaterskill and a traumatic brain injury treatment center in Great Barrington, Mass. An official Certificate of Need will now be sent to the state for approval. The transfer of ownership could be completed as soon as February or March.