Some of the stories that made the news Fri., Aug. 14 through Sun., Aug. 16.

Audio version of this report: https://data.wavefarm.org/r/ey/3m/9h/WGXCNews_20150817.mp3

Several reports over the past week looked back at the search for escaped inmates Richard Matt and David Sweat, who eluded authorities for most of June after letting themselves out of the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York. The Albany Business Review says the search cost $41 million in overtime at the Corrections Department, and $17.6 million for the New York State Police. The million-a-day cost was close to cost estimates announced during the search. The New York Times reported that, "For days after the June prison break, corrections officers carried out what seemed like a campaign of retribution against dozens of Clinton inmates, particularly those on the honor block.... In letters reviewed by The Times, as well as prison interviews, inmates described a strikingly similar catalog of abuses, including being beaten while handcuffed, choked, and slammed against cell bars and walls."

Locally, The Albany Times-Union reported that a state appeals court increased the financial damages Rensselaer County must pay to a former female jail sergeant, a sexual harassment victim by a group of male officers at the facility. Former sergeant Lora Abbott Seabury gets $3 million, including a lump sum of up to $1.46 million from Rensselaer County for the state pension she would have received if she had stayed on the job, plus $580,995 in lost wages. A clique of jail officers known as the "Boys Club" harassed her, and sheriff's officials at the jail engaged in "deliberate inaction" about the harassment, a court previously ruled.

In Kinderhook, the Register-Star reported on who the Republican and Democratic parties nominated for town of Kinderhook elections in November. The Kinderhook Republican caucus nominated current Kinderhook Supervisor, and Chairman of the Columbia County Board of Supervisors, Patrick Grattan for a fourth term in office, plus incumbent Town Board members Deb Simonsmeier and Tim Ooms, Town Clerk Kim Pinkowski, and Columbia County District Attorney Paul Czajka. Democrats nominated Matthew Nelson for town supervisor, and Marcia Anderson and Jeffrey Ouilette for the Town Board. Pinkowski was nominated also nominated by the Democrats, along with Tax Collector Deidra Curtis, Town Justice David A. Dellehunt, and Ken Golden, for county district attorney. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

In Columbia County, John Mason reported in the Register-Star, officials are going to lease vehicles, rather than buying them, in hopes of saving $325,000 over 10 years. The county Board of Supervisors voted Aug. 12 to authorize a contract with Enterprise Fleet Management, leasing vehicles for no more than five years with the option to buy the remaining equity. Currently, Columbia County owns 124 cars but will get 24 new cars this year from Enterprise, which will take 24 of the county’s older cars and sell them.

Bert More in The Mountain Journal reports that the Delaware County Fair will allow vendors to sell items with the Confederate flag on them Aug. 17-22, after the New York State Fair and many other governments and private groups have pulled the Stars and Bars from circulation. The Delaware County Fair’s board said no to a ban, with one director saying in a public meeting, “the more flags the better.” President Ed Rossley told the paper, “We had signed contracts, legal contracts, with our vendors. We believe that the vendors have to honor their end of the contract and we have to honor our end. In all the years I have attended the fair, I have not seen one vendor selling the Confederate flag. Yes, there are belt buckles and tie clasps that have an image of the flag on them. I have seen those at the fair. But, we signed contracts before all of this took place. We will honor those contracts and hope that those who attend the fair realize we are not taking a stance on the Confederate flag. If there is a real problem, that problem will be addressed. We will also see how the fair goes and if we have to make a change, we will do so for next year’s fair."

Weather right now


[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="128"] Cairo: High 78F; low 54F.[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="125"] Catskill: High 79F; 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 dense fog before 9 a.m. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 88, and a low around 66.


Forecast for the next two days:
Tuesday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after noon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 88, and a low around 66.
Wednesday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 85.

Sunrise today: 6:05 a.m.
Sunset today: 7:53 p.m.

Public meetings

Third Monday of the month
ATHENS Town meeting at 6:45 p.m. at Town Hall, 2 First Street, Athens (734-3636).
AUSTERLITZ Comprehensive plan meeting at 7 p.m., at 812 Route 203, Austerlitz (392-3260).
CANAAN Planning board meeting at 7 p.m., at Town Hall, 1647 Route 5 South, Canaan (781-3144).
GERMANTOWN Town Board meets at 7 p.m., at Town Hall, 50 Palatine Park Road, Germantown (537-6687).
GREENE COUNTY 6 p.m. meetings of Government Ops and Finance committees, plus party caucuses at County Building, 411 Main St., Catskill (719-3270).
GREENVILLE Town Board meeting at 7:30 p.m. at Town Offices, corner of routes 32 and 81, Greenville (966-8276).

Katie Kocijanski in the Register-Star reports on who the Republican and Democratic parties nominated for town of Kinderhook elections in November. On July 11 the Kinderhook Republican caucus nominated current Kinderhook Supervisor and Chairman of the Columbia County Board of Supervisors Patrick Grattan for a fourth term in office, and incumbent Town Board members Deb Simonsmeier and Tim Ooms and Town Clerk Kim Pinkowski put forth, along with Columbia County District Attorney Paul Czajka. On July 25 Democrats nominated Matthew Nelson for town supervisor, and Marcia Anderson and Jeffrey Ouilette for the Town Board. Pinkowski was nominated also nominated by the Democrats, along with Tax Collector Deidra Curtis and Town Justice David A. Dellehunt also received the committee’s nomination. Attendees also endorsed Kinderhook resident, Ken Golden, for county district attorney. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

Brendan J. Lyons in the Albany Times-Union reports that a state appeals court increased the financial damages Rensselaer County must pay to a former female jail sergeant, a sexual harassment victim by a group of male officers at the facility. Former sergeant Lora Abbott Seabury gets $3 million, including a lump sum of up to $1.46 million from Rensselaer County for the state pension she would have received if she had stayed on the job, plus $580,995 in lost wages. A clique of jail officers known as the "Boys Club" harassed her, and sheriff's officials at the jail engaged in "deliberate inaction" about the harassment, a court previously ruled. Seabury left her job on disability in 2010 and was under the care of a doctor for serious emotional trauma and depression, and eventually got a job at Walmart. Read the full story in the Albany Times-Union.

Local News
Local news from Wave Farm‘s WGXC 90.7-FM in the Hudson Valley, New York for Sun., Aug. 16. PLAY AUDIO (2:23)

Local weather forecast
Today's forecast is specific to Acra, in Greene County.

• Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 85, and a low around 65.

• Monday: Sunny, with a high near 88, and a low around 65.

• Tuesday: There's a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 8 a.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 88.

Sunrise 6:04 a.m.
Sunset 7:54 p.m.
Other celestial rises/sets
Moon 7:59 A.M. 8:48 P.M.
Mercury 7:53 A.M. 8:47 P.M.
Venus 6:18 A.M. 7:10 P.M.
Mars 4:26 A.M. 7:07 P.M.
Jupiter 6:44 A.M. 8:16 P.M.
Saturn 2:08 P.M. 12:00 A.M.
Uranus 10:01 P.M. 11:03 A.M.
Neptune 8:28 P.M. 7:30 A.M.
Pluto 5:30 P.M. 2:58 A.M.

The Mid-Hudson News Network reports in The Daily Freeman that several Hudson Valley officials spoke out at a Public Service Commission public hearing Aug. 11, calling for fair distribution of broadband connectivity across all of New York state. Kingston Mayor Shayne Gallo criticized the PSC for not holding more geographically diverse hearings, saying, “I’m respectfully requesting that the Public Service Commission hold hearings over on the other side of the river.” Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther, from Sullivan County, said, “Broadband is the party line of the 21st century.... It is not a privilege or a luxury. It is a basic service that all people in the state of New York, regardless of whether they live in Sullivan or Suffolk, Westchester or Warren, have the right to have access to.” The Public Service Commission continues to accept public comment on broadband internet service through Aug. 15. Citizens may submit comments in writing to Kathleen Burgess at secretary@dps.ny.gov or may call the Public Service Commission opinion line at (800) 335-2120. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

WRIP LIVE IN HAINES FALLS The Mountain Top Historical Society holds a local history day at their campus in Haines Falls on Sat., August 15 from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. Representatives from historical organizations throughout Greene County will talk about their work and answer questions, and WRIP (97.9-FM) will be broadcast live part of the day.

WGXC LIVE IN HUDSON WGXC holds a "Meet the Programmers" outreach event and broadcast live from Hudson's Oakdale Lake from 2-4 p.m. Sun., Aug. 16. Tune in from the Oakdale Lake Beach House at 132 N. 6th St. with the crew from the “Barbershop Talks” show – Big Vern, Slay Diddy and Ranier Blue – along with special guests. They will talk about how they have translated their life interests and passions into radio and then demonstrate how that's done.

Local News
Local news from Wave Farm‘s WGXC 90.7-FM in the Hudson Valley, New York for Sat., Aug. 15. PLAY AUDIO (3:10)

Local weather forecast
Today's forecast is specific to Acra, in Greene County.

• Saturday: Scattered showers, with thunderstorms also possible after noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 84, and a low around 62.

• Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 86, and a low around 67.

• Monday: Sunny, with a high near 89.

Sunrise 6:03 a.m.
Sunset 7:56 p.m.
Other celestial rises/sets
Moon 7:01 A.M. 8:19 P.M.
Mercury 7:49 A.M. 8:48 P.M.
Venus 6:25 A.M. 7:16 P.M.
Mars 4:27 A.M. 7:09 P.M.
Jupiter 6:47 A.M. 8:20 P.M.
Saturn 2:12 P.M. 12:04 A.M.
Uranus 10:05 P.M. 11:07 A.M.
Neptune 8:32 P.M. 7:34 A.M.
Pluto 5:34 P.M. 3:02 A.M.

Public News Service reports, "New York is just one state seeing some double-digit rate hike requests from health insurers under the Affordable Care Act. Obama administration officials are urging states to cut insurers' requests for rate increases, which usually result in premium hikes for consumers. Matt Anderson, spokesman for the New York Department of Financial Services, said state officials are closely scrutinizing rate increases and also want to make sure the companies are offering consumers more affordable options. "We're focused right now on trying to move away from a fee-for-service model and more towards a value- based model, and that means rather than just reimbursing," he said. "A value-based model, you're trying to make sure you get value for what you pay for, and better results." He noted that health-insurance costs still are about 50 percent lower for individuals even after this year's increases. For 2016, on average, insurers in New York requested a 10.4 percent rate increase in the individual market, which state officials trimmed to slightly more than 7 percent. Some critics of the Affordable Care Act are citing rate and premium increases as evidence that the health-care law isn't working. But Cynthia Cox, associate director of the Kaiser Family Foundation's Program for the Study of Health Reform and Private Insurance, said rate hikes aren't uncommon for the individual market - and people still can find affordable coverage if they're aware of their options. "It's about looking more at what people's options are and also encouraging people to shop around," she said. "Just because your insurance company might be trying to raise its rate by 30 percent, that doesn't mean that there's not another, more affordable option for you." More information about the New York rate increases is online at dfs.ny.gov. - See more at: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2015-08-14/health-issues/ny-state-working-to-stem-health-insurance-rate-hikes/a47715-1#sthash.PrR41r1O.dpuf"

Ryan Anglim in The Daily Mail reports that after the State Environmental Quality Review approved the Cairo Solar Farm, there's now a 30-day public comment period. “We asked the town of Cairo to become lead agency on the environmental review,” Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden said. “Presuming there is no objection of note, then in September we would issue what’s called a negative declaration — meaning it has no real severe environmental impact and the project can be approved for construction thereafter.” Any comment can be made formally by the public by calling or submitting an e-mail to Warren Hart’s office at Greene County Economic Development, Tourism and Planning. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

William J. Kemble in The Daily Freeman reports that the state Public Service Commission on Aug. 13 voted to allow Central Hudson to update street lights to LED fixtures. "Commissioners will also allow Central Hudson to increase the number of LED street lights by setting goals for updates and passing along savings to municipalities," the report said. Read the full story at The Daily Freeman.

Rick Karlin in Capitol Confidential reports that the secretive administration of Governor Andrew Cuomo lost a court ruling Aug. 13 in a case involving Donald Trump in Albany with a pair of fake guns. State Supreme Court Justice Michael Melkonian ruled the documents pertaining to the case should be made public. It may be a compelling read. On April 1, 2014, now-presidential candidate Trump and others attended an anti-SAFE Act rally on the Empire State Plaza protesting the gun control act, where police seized two replicas of guns toted by protestors. Western New York attorney James Ostrowski is claiming that seizure is a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech, and wants documents about the Cuomo administration's involvement in the fake-gun seizure. Melkonian ruled that Governor Cuomo and other state officials have illegally withheld about 150 documents in response to a freedom of information request for documents related to the Albany Second Amendment rally in 2014. Read the full story in Capitol Confidential.

Cairo, Greenville in Greene County, and Rensselaerville in southern Albany County, are all considering zoning laws, The Greenville Pioneer reports. WGXC has an audio recording posted of the July 30 Cairo public hearing in the WGXC archive for anyone to listen to anytime. Cairo left the public hearing about the zoning proposal, but has yet to set a date for another hearing. In Greenville, the town board will listen to residents at a public hearing 6:30 p.m. Mon., Aug. 31 on zoning at Pioneer Hall. In Rensselaerville, a public hearing on zoning is scheduled for 7 p.m. Aug. 18 at town hall. There, the Albany County town is not starting from scratch, but considering replacing a law from 1991 that was last updated in 2002.

Weather right now


[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="128"] Cairo: High 78F; low 54F.[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="125"] Catskill: High 79F; 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: Isolated showers and thunderstorms are possible after 1 p.m. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 84, and a low around 63.


Forecast for the next two days:
Saturday: Scattered showers, with thunderstorms also possible after noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 85, and a low around 63.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 84, and a low around 65.

Sunrise today: 6:02 a.m.
Sunset today: 7:57 p.m.

Public meetings

Second Friday of the month
HUDSON Historic Preservation Commission at 10 a.m., 520 Warren Street, Hudson (828-1030).

Full audio of the local headlines and weather for Thu., Aug. 13 (6:45). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

https://data.wavefarm.org/r/kk/h1/vf/WGXC%20Daily%20News%20Thursday%2008132015.mp3

Matthew Hamilton in Capitol Confidential reports that locally, the highest opt-out percentage for students not taking the Common Core tests this spring by district was 66 percent in the Kinderhook Central School District. Statewide about 20 percent of third- through eighth-graders did not take the tests in April, although locally that number was higher, at just under 27.5 percent. The Greenville school district also had a 61 percent opt-out rate, while Hudson, in contrast, had just a 21 percent opt-out rate. Read the full story in Capitol Confidential, a Times-Union blog.

[caption width="211" align="alignleft"] Bryan Hunter owns Catskill Cycles.[/caption]Jessica Porter in The Watershed Post tracks 13 places in the Catskills to rent bicycles, including three in Greene County. The Bike Shop at Windham Mountain Outfitters offers mountain bike rentals starting at $35 for four hours or $45 for 24 hours. Catskill Cycles has bike rentals for $35 for day. In Athens, PaddleHead Boards has bike rentals for $25 per day. See the full story in The Watershed Post.

Arthur Cusano reports in the Register-Star that Greenport will replay the 2011 election for town supervisor in 2015. Edward Nabozny, of the Independence Party, is being backed by Democrats against incumbent Republican John Porreca. And Nabozny, 66, was supervisor before from 2010 to 2011, but was beat by Porreca in 2012 by eight votes. “So, every vote counts,” Nabozny said. Tim Shook will seek the Democratic nomination for supervisor. Incumbent Councilman Robert Pendergast is stepping down after a four-year term, and will become the Greenport Republican Party chairman. “It’s going to be a tough race but Porreca’s done an excellent job,” he said. “We’re hoping for a clean sweep.” John Mausholf, a corrections officer, is seeking Pendergast’s seat. Incumbern Councilman Keith Mortefolio is also running again, with 14 years already on the board. Democrats Guy Apacella and George Super are also running for town board seats. Democrats also endorsed Town Justice Francis Abitabile and incumbent Greenport Highway Superintendent Mark Gaylord, from the Independence Party. Republicans endorsed Glen Graziano for the town justice seat and Greenport Fire Department Assistant Chief John Onfrychuck for the highway superintendent seat. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

Andy Newman in The New York Times counts which county fairs are letting the Confederate flag fly this summer, after the shooting in a church in South Carolina sparked outrage over the stars and bars. At the Ulster County Fair last week, Newman recounts, one vendor who had not sold any t-shirts with the flag and the slogan "Its Heritage Not HATE" the previous year, could not keep them in stock now. “I sold out of them a month ago, in Syracuse,” said Ryan Powers, staffing the Titan Telescoping Flagpoles booth, amid stacks of American flags. “I sold 60 in one day.” He can't keep them in stock, because they aren't being made anymore, the story says. While the New York State Fair and the Otsego County Fair have banned the Confederate flag this year, the Watershed Post previously reported that other fairs -- in Ulster, Delaware, and Greene -- fair officials were either welcoming the flag or indifferent to its appearance at their events. The head of the New York Civil Liberties Union, Donna Lieberman, told The New York Times that a fair’s board could ban the flag despite the First Amendment, unless it was run by or on behalf of the government. Read the full story in The New York Times.

Brendan J. Lyons reports in The Albany Times-Union that the chairman of the Rensselaer County Legislature, Martin T. Reid, was arraigned Wed., Aug. 12 for crimes related to his receipt of more than $15,000 in state unemployment benefits while he was also collecting a government salary. Reid, a Republican, is being prosecuted in Albany County Court by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office. Democrats have called for Reid to resign for months, but Reid could not be reached for comment and did not attend the Aug. 11 meeting of the County Legislature. Now Republicans such as Assmeblymember Steve McLaughlin say Reid should resign if indicted. Read the full story in the Albany Times-Union.