Full audio of local headlines and weather for Fri., Jul. 10 (4:51). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

https://data.wavefarm.org/r/5s/z2/p9/WGXC%20Daily%20News%20Friday07102015.mp3

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="640"] The Black Bridge over Catskill Creek.
(Photo by jag9889 from Flickr.)[/caption]

Ryan Anglim is reporting in The Daily Mail the proposed $2.5 million Black Bridge rehabilitation project was unveiled at a meeting of the Catskill Village Board Wed., Jul. 8. The plan includes the construction of a new deck, railing and lighting system. The sewer line carried by the bridge will be temporarily supported and then reattached to the new deck system. The existing gas line will be removed and the structure repainted, as well. Once completed the 130-year-old bridge would again be open for use by pedestrians and cyclists. It was closed to the public in 2010 because of its deteriorating condition. The Black Bridge was a part of the Catskill Mountain Railway, but has not carried trains since the rail service ended in 1918. The design proposal must now receive approval by the state Department of Transportation before promised funding can be accessed. The renovation is expected to begin in April 2016. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

John Mason is reporting in the Register-Star Hudson Mayor William H. Hallenbeck Jr. has challenged presumptive Democrat candidate Tiffany Martin Hamilton to debate sometime during the month of October. Hamilton previously attempted to schedule a series of debates in July, but the two-term Republican declined, saying it was inappropriate to engage before petitions were filed. Hamilton's nominating petitions were filed with the Columbia County Board of Elections June 30. She said she favors a number of debates, and that three would be better than two. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

Jessica Bakeman is reporting at Capital New York the state Education Department will award a $44 million contract for the development of state exams to Questar Assessment, Inc., a Minneapolis-based testing company. Questar will replace the London-based education-publishing giant Pearson. The contract with Questar will run for five years and include an option for computer-based tests. The agreement requires that teachers be part of the test-development process. Questar won the contract through a competitive bid. Four companies submitted proposals to develop the tests, according to the department. The agreement with Questar must be approved by the attorney general and comptroller. Read the full story at Capital New York.

Diane Pineiro-Zucker in The Daily Freeman reports that a Columbia County sheriff’s deputy was fired for secretly taking nude photos of a woman and posting them on the Internet, the sheriff said July 9. The day before Thomas G. Bagnall, 28, of Hudson, admitted in court that he took and posted the photoes, and pleaded guilty to the felony of unlawful surveillance. Judge Jonathan Nichols issued an order of protection on behalf of the victim. Bagnall will remain free until sentencing Sept. 2, according to Columbia County Sheriff David Bartlett. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

Josefa Velasquez and Azi Paybarah reports in Capital New York that on July 8 Governor Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order naming Attorney General Eric Schneiderman special prosecutor on cases with police-involved civilian deaths. "This situation that we’re addressing is a crisis," Cuomo said during a press conference at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. "It’s a crisis in this state and it is a crisis nationwide. It is a crisis of confidence in the criminal justice system. And it is a crisis of trust. … The system does not work without trust … When a community doesn’t have trust for the fairness of the criminal justice system, it creates anarchy." Read the full story in Capital New York.

Weather right now


[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="128"] Cairo: High 83F; low 58F.[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="125"] Catskill: High 82F; low 60F.[/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 Catskill, in Greene County:

Today: Cloudy through mid-morning, then gradual clearing. High near 81. Friday night, clear. Low around 58.

Forecast for the next three days:
Saturday: Sunny. High near 85. Saturday night, clear. Low around 61.
Sunday: Sunny. High near 88. Sunday night, partly cloudy. Low around 66.
Monday: A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2 p.m. Partly sunny. High near 84. Monday night, a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy. Low around 67.

Sunrise today: 5:29 a.m.
Sunset today: 8:32 p.m.
Length of the day: 15:03 hrs.

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

HUDSON Historic Preservation Commission meeting, 10 a.m., Common Council Diversity Sub-committee, 5 p.m. at City Hall, 520 Warren Street, Hudson (828-1030).

Full audio of local headlines and weather for Thu., Jul. 9 (8:55). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

https://data.wavefarm.org/r/zt/n1/fd/WGXC%20Daily%20News%20Thursday%2007092015.mp3

Arthur Cusano is reporting in the Register-Star the Columbia County Board of Supervisors voted Wed., Jul. 8, to request the Authorities Budget Office investigate the recent lending practices of the Columbia Economic Development Corporation. The move came less than a week after Board Chairman Pat Grattan sent a letter to supervisors requesting the action be taken. A report by the ABO, released in April, found potential conflicts of interest on the part of four CEDC board members involved in the proposed Ginsberg’s deal and other related issues. The Board of Supervisors last month voted to appoint two supervisors to conduct an internal investigation that relied on the CEDC’s cooperation. Supervisor Art Bassin disagreed with the decision Wednesday to rescind that earlier decision. “This resolution simply reverses last month’s resolution without any guarantee the ABO will act, and that means there is no guarantee there will be an investigation,” Bassin said. Grattan argued the Board of Supervisors does not have the authority to investigate the CEDC. He said he believes that power rests with the ABO. Read the full story in the Register Star.

William J. Kemble is reporting in the Daily Freeman representatives from a dozen environmental groups will hold a forum and lead a march on Broadway in Kingston, Thu., Jul. 9, to protest the growing use of the rails and the Hudson River to transport crude oil. The march will start at 5 p.m. in front of City Hall at 420 Broadway. The forum will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Common Council chamber at City Hall. The march is being held in memory of the 47 people killed on July 6, 2013, when a crude oil train exploded in southeast Quebec. Wes Gillingham, program director for Catskill Mountainkeeper said the forum is intended to provide information on the range of threats to the Hudson Valley, including the proposed 178-mile Pilgrim Pipeline, which would carry Bakken crude from Albany to Linden, N.J., largely along the New York Thruway corridor. The dual-pipe system would carry about 8.4 million gallons per day in each direction. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

John Mason is reporting in the Register-Star the Columbia Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors has enlisted F. Michael Tucker, former head of Albany’s Center for Economic Growth, as the agency's interim executive director. CEDC Board President David Crawford said the contract with Tucker Strategies is not "a done deal," but while details are still in negotiation, he believes an agreement is imminent. Tucker is expected to serve as interim head for three to six months. He served as president and CEO of the Center for Economic Growth from March 2007 to June 2015. While there he was involved in bringing the computer chip manufacturer GlobalFoundries to the Capital Region, Crawford said. He is a director of the New York State Economic Development Council and is actively involved in the Capital Region Creative Economy initiative. Board of Supervisors Chairman Pat Grattan said of Tucker, “He’s very well-regarded, very professional, very capable, and will certainly be an asset to the CEDC." Read the full story in the Register-Star.

Dan Freedman is reporting at Capitol Confidential U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer said he would fight a Senate amendment that would possibly reduce federal funding aimed at assisting public schools with students from impoverished families. The new Title I funding formula under consideration in the Senate this week would throw 680 New York school districts “right under the school bus before the start of the academic year,’’ Schumer said. Congress is weighing the Every Child Achieves Act, a re-authorization of the LBJ-era Elementary and Secondary Education Act. That legislation, signed into law in 1965, targets Title I funds to schools in urban and rural districts that enroll significant numbers of low-income students. The act under consideration also would rewrite “No Child Left Behind,’’ the George W. Bush-era education reform legislation. According to data gathered by Schumer’s office, under the proposed rewrite 81 districts in the Capital Region would lose $12.9 million, a more than 30 percent cut from current funding. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.

David Lee in The Columbia Paper reports that 66 New York State Police, and deputy sheriffs from several counties, and local animal control officers attended the second annual Investigating Equine Cruelty and Neglect workshop in June in Old Chatham. The Balanced Innovative Teaching Strategies, Inc. (BITS) of Little Brook Farm hosted the workshop to inform local authorities about animal cruelty issues. Law enforcement was told about tell-tale signs to look for. Steve Naile, one of eight veterinarians with OakenCroft Equine Clinic of Ravena said that chewed trees may be an indicator of an underfed animal but it may also be just an indication of boredom. “It must be looked at as a part of an overall circumstance,” Naile said. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

Albany's Capitol Confidential blog writes about a spat between New York City mayor Bill de Blasio and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, describing this Cuomo quote: “'Look, the mayor was obviously frustrated he did not get everything he wanted from the legislative session,' said Cuomo, speaking slowly as if to educate a small child." That came after de Blasio accused the governor of exacting “some kind of revenge or vendetta” on those who challenge him. But Cuomo can teach de Blasio about how Albany works. “There is something that we have in Albany that you don’t have here in New York City, which is called a Republican house,” Cuomo said. But Gawker points out that, "New York has a Republican Senate in large part because — maybe, at this point, solely because — New York’s governor wants the Senate to be controlled by Republicans.... Voters have voted for a Democratic majority. Sources have told political reporters that Governor Cuomo played an integral role in arranging an alliance between Senate Republicans and a small cadre of Democratic senators who split from the party in order to ensure continued Republican control of the chamber. It’s something of an open secret in Albany that Governor Cuomo doesn’t campaign for Democratic challengers to incumbent Republican senators during election seasons. Governor Cuomo even signed off on a legislative redistricting plan designed to protect incumbent (Republican) senators by freezing their gerrymandered district lines for a decade. Republicans have managed to maintain their Senate majority (a majority they hold by one seat, at the moment) because of the extraordinary work Governor Cuomo has done on their behalf."

Weather right now


[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="128"] Cairo: High 79F; low 60F.[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="125"] Catskill: High 77F; low 62F.[/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 Catskill, in Greene County:

The National Weather Service in Albany has issued a Flash Flood Watch for the region, including Greene, Columbia, Dutchess and Ulster counties, for Thu., Jul. 9. An area of organized showers and thunderstorms will move across the watch area late Thursday afternoon through late Thursday night, producing very heavy rainfall in a relatively short period of time. Widespread rainfall amounts of one to three inches are expected with isolated amounts over four inches possible.

Today: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 5 p.m. Cloudy. High near 76. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Thursday night, showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 11 p.m., then a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Cloudy. Low around 61. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent.

Forecast for the next three days:
Friday: Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny. High near 82. Friday night, clear. Low around 59.
Saturday: Sunny. High near 84. Saturday night, mostly clear. Low around 64.
Sunday: Mostly sunny. High near 87. Sunday night, partly cloudy. Low around 64.

Sunrise today: 5:28 a.m.
Sunset today: 8:33 p.m.
Length of the day: 15:05 hrs.

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.)

ANCRAM Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 1416 County Rte. 7, Ancram (329-6512).
ASHLAND Planning Board meeting, 6 p.m. at Town Hall, 12094 Route 23, Ashland (734-3636).
AUSTERLITZ Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 812 Route 203, Spencertown (392-3260).
COPAKE Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 230 Mt. View Road, Copake (329-1234).
COXSACKIE Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 16 Reed St., Coxsackie (731-2727).
GHENT Town Board informational planning and working session, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 2306 State Route 66, Ghent (392-4644).
HUDSON Development Corporation public hearing on Community Development Block Grant application, 7 p.m. at City Hall, 520 Warren St., Hudson (751-1044).
KINDERHOOK Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 4 Church St, Niverville (784-2233).
STUYVESANT Board meeting workshop, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 5 Sunset Dr., 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., Jul. 8 (7:06). (Produced by Tom Roe.)

https://data.wavefarm.org/r/b2/ds/qz/WGXC_local_news_20150708.mp3

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="1080"] Town of Cairo Draft Zoning Districts, Version 19 (May 2015)
(From www.townofcairo.com.)[/caption]

Kate Seckinger is reporting in The Daily Mail after more than eight years the proposed town of Cairo zoning law is scheduled for a final public hearing. A split Cairo Town Board voted Mon., Jul. 6, to set the hearing for 7 p.m., July 30 at a location to be determined. The proposed law was the product of 109 public meetings and was presented to the Cairo Town Board on July 7, 2011. Cairo Planning Board Chairman Daniel Benoit said the planning board has several issues with the proposed law, but its main concerns are that it will deter future residents from moving into Cairo and is anti-business. “What is being proposed regulates too much,” Benoit said. Town Supervisor Ted Banta said the claim that the proposed zoning law is “anti-business” couldn’t be further from the truth. “The document is definitely business-friendly,” Banta said. The proposed zoning law and other information regarding zoning in Cairo, is available at Town of Cairo [dot] com. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

The Daily Freeman is reporting Digital First Media announced Tue., Jul. 7, that Robert O’Leary has been named publisher of the company's New York cluster, which includes the Freeman, The Record of Troy, the Saratogian and The Oneida Daily Dispatch. O'Leary has been the general manager of the Freeman since February 2014. O'Leary will be responsible for all day-to-day operations, including content and advertising at all four publications. O'Leary previously worked for The Poughkeepsie Journal for more than 20 years. He and his wife live in Athens. New York City-based Digital First Media is a newspaper management company. According to its website, the company's assets include 76 daily and Sunday newspapers, 160 weekly publications and serves 75 million customers on a monthly basis. It is the second largest newspaper company in the U.S. by circulation.

Dan Goldberg is reporting at Capital New York a couple dozen advocates stood outside Governor Andrew Cuomo's office in midtown Manhattan Tue., Jul. 7, calling on the governor to sign a bill requiring the state to expedite access to medical marijuana. The governor has not announced a position on the bill three weeks after the measure was passed by the state Senate. In a statement released Tuesday, Cuomo said he is reviewing the bill within the context of implementing the Compassionate Care Act, which he signed into law one year ago. Administration officials have said in the past they are wary of expediting implementation for fear of legal challenges. The state health department is expected soon to award licenses to five medical marijuana companies that will set up 20 dispensaries around the state. The Cuomo administration maintains medical marijuana will be in patients' hands by January. Read the full story at Capital New York.

New York's first year of expanded fireworks sales went off quietly, though there were five fireworks-related deaths nationally. But that's down from 2014, when nine people died from firework accidents, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. New York Giant Jason Pierre-Paul, in Florida, was a notable victim of fireworks misuse, nearly blowing off his hand. The Greene County Legislature legalized the sale of sparklers countywide earlier this year after Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a law last year permitting counties to allow certain fireworks to be excluded from the definition of dangerous fireworks, with legal sales periods from June 1 through July 5, and from Dec. 26 through Jan. 2. State Sen. Michael Nozzolio, who sponsored the bill to legalize more fireworks, said at the time, "Industry groups estimate there will be over $50 million in sales in the first year, with New York state collecting at least $2 million in much-needed tax revenue."