Brian Tumulty reported in the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is predicting New York farmers will like the changes contained in a five-year farm bill Congress could approve later this year. The Senate approved a new farm bill a year ago, but it was never signed. Gillibrand is a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. The committee will begin drafting the new legislation next week. Gillibrand predicts the bill will pass the Senate this year with many of the same New-York-friendly provisions she inserted into last year's failed legislation. State farm groups support the expected creation of a new income insurance program for dairy farmers, revisions to the crop insurance program to accommodate specialty crop growers, expanding broadband infrastructure in rural areas and increasing the population cutoff for communities to qualify for federal rural aid programs. Read the full story in the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin.

The National Weather Service in Albany has issued a Hazardous Weather Outlook for northwestern Connecticut, western Massachusetts, east central New York and southern Vermont for today and tonight. There is a slight chance of non-severe thunderstorms this afternoon and early evening. Any thunderstorm will be capable of producing small hail up to a half an inch in diameter. Any thunderstorm that does form will generally move from west to east at the speed of 10 mph, or less. There is also a chance of thunderstorms Friday afternoon into the evening ahead of a cold front, and again on Saturday.

Weather right now


[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="128"] Cairo: High 72F; low 48F.[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="125"] Catskill: High 72F; low 48F.[/caption]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

READ TEMPERATURE IN HUDSON: On thermometer in Studio A.
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 Hazardous Weather Outlook for northwestern Connecticut, western Massachusetts, east central New York and southern Vermont for today and tonight. There is a slight chance of non-severe thunderstorms this afternoon and early evening. Any thunderstorm will be capable of producing small hail up to a half an inch in diameter. Any thunderstorm that does form will generally move from west to east at the speed of 10 mph, or less. There is also a chance of thunderstorms Friday afternoon into the evening, ahead of a cold front, and again on Saturday.

Today: A chance of showers before 2 p.m., then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 5 p.m. Cloudy. High near 69. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent. Tonight, a chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8 p.m., then a slight chance of showers between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 48.

Forecast for the next three days:

Friday: Isolated showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. Partly sunny. High near 80. A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 9 p.m. Cloudy. Low around 59.
Saturday: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Cloudy. High near 75. Showers likely, mainly before 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 50.
Sunday: A chance of showers before noon. Partly sunny. High near 66. Mostly cloudy overnight. Low around 39.

Sunrise today: 5:39 a.m.
Sunset today: 8:04 p.m.

Length of the day: 14:24 hrs.

Town meetings

Today is the second Thursday of the month.
(WGXC suggests calling ahead to confirm time and location.)


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).
GREENE COUNTY Finance & Audit committee meets at 5 p.m. at County Building, 411 Main St., Catskill (719-3270).
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).

The day ahead on 90.7-FM

Midnight to 5:59 a.m.: Free103point9 Transmission Arts overnight

12 a.m. (midnight): Radio News: Headlines Radio and media headlines.
12:05 a.m.: Radio Stew: May Songs Songs about the month of May are explored.
1 a.m.: Selected Songs: David Bowie Songs by Bowie, on a transmission theme. "DJ," "Starman," "Space Oddity," "Station to Station," "Sound and Vision," and other songs.
2 a.m.: Raiding the 20th Century DJ Food's 20th Century mash-up.
3 a.m.: Derek Piotr Tune-in to Connecticut-based artist Derek Piotr who will be live in WGXC's studios to present Radio Mantras, an EP of extended pieces based on his track "Radimantra." Released on Piotr's solo album Airing, "Radimantra" was composed using bells and samples of a car radio. From April 14, 2012.
5 a.m. Off the Hook: Off the Hook History  Do not call during rebroadcast. Off The Hook, from the hacker zine 2600, airs every Wednesday night at 7 p.m. ET in New York City on WBAI 99.5 FM, and is rebroadcast the next morning at 5 a.m. on WGXC and free103point9 Online Radio. It is simulcast online via streaming MP3 and via shortwave on WBCQ The Planet at 5110 KHz. Join #offthehook on irc.2600.net to chat during the show. Email show at oth [at] 2600.com Do not call during the 5 a.m. rebroadcast. Special broadcast with clips of historic "Off The Hook" shows.

6 a.m. to 11:59 p.m.: WGXC Hands-On Community Radio

6 a.m.: Al Jazeera English
7 a.m.: WGXC Morning Show Hosted by Philip Grant. Morning news, music, interviews features and agriculture reporting. Call in with your views at 518-828-0290.
8 a.m.: Democracy Now! hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez.
9 a.m.: WGXC Morning Show: The Catskill Jazz Factory After "Democracy Now!," tune in the Catskill Jazz Factory (CJF), a program of the Catskill Mountain Foundation, hosts and unites prominent U.S. jazz musicians – Wycliffe Gordon (trombone), Brandon Lee (trumpet), Alvin Atkinson (drums), Yasushi Nakamura (bass), and CJF Artistic Director Aaron Diehl (piano) – with approximately 100 middle and high school students from the Kingston Public School District in unforgettable performances. They will do a live call-in to discuss the program with WGXC Morning Show host Phil Grant. Plus, local news, weather, and events. Call 518-828-0290 to comment during the "WGXC Morning Show."
10 a.m.: Prison Voices Project: Juvenile Justice and Hudson International Dinner New York State has some of the harshest approaches to young people who commit crimes in the country, allowing teenagers as young as 13 to be given adult-level penalties. Tune in to hear about the effects of these laws, including the stories of a young person who spent several years incarcerated at a residential facility in Claverack, and a parent of a young person who has spent most of his adolescence behind bars. During this show, you will learn more about the ways that New York's juvenile justice laws work, how they punish young people, and what you can do to help these laws to change. This will re-air an edited version of the program produced by pvp collaborators Jeremy Thal and Alexandra Cox, that aired in August of 2011. Hear coverage of Hudson's International Dinner- and the focus on Prisons and the Criminal Justice system and a special focus on Juvenile Justice. Speakers include Carline Murphy, Caroloyn Polikarpus from the Re-enty Task Force of Columbia County, Joanie Hunt, a volunteer in the Alternatives to Violence program, Jacinta Keith, Quintin Cross and Cedrick Fulton from the Staley B Keith Social Justice Center.
2 p.m.: The Passage: Lucio Pozzi Re-broadcast of a November, 2011 interview with artist Lucio Pozzi, who has an installation entitled KINGDOM, "a scattering of islands installed in a 150 x 42 feet warehouse", opening June 8, 2013 at CR10 in Linlithgo. Hosted by Richard Roth.
3 p.m.: Radio Theatre: Rambling House An anthology series of dramas and comedies for radio, produced at KSVR Studios at the radio station KSVR-FM in Mount Vernon, Washington. The actors are from the Skagit Radio Repertory Company. The producer is Joseph C McGuire. This week: "Future Past: Rambling House." Story by Frank Herbert, Adapted by Joseph McGuire and Walker Wooding. Traveling can be fun or it can be a nightmare. Here's two couples who are on the road. For both of them the journey has become a nightmare. From Pacifica Radio.
3:30 p.m.: Kids' Brain Radio live from the Catskill Community Center. Hosted by Sam Sebren and Matt Bua.
4 p.m.: WGXC Afternoon Show
6 p.m.: Al Jazeera English
6:30 p.m.: Free Speech Radio News

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="240"] (townofstockport.org)[/caption]

Nathan Mayberg reports in the Register Star the state Comptroller’s Office is wrapping up a risk assessment and audit of the Town of Stockport. The review included expenditures for fiscal years 2011 and 2012. Approximately $250,000 in town funds were reported unaccounted for last fall. As a result, water rates soared more than 300 percent for Stockport residents this year. Town Supervisor Matt Murell said the representatives of the Comptroller's Office held an exit interview with him Mon., May 6. He said the office will release its findings this summer. Murell also said the town’s accountants can now shed light on where the missing money went. Those findings are expected to be released within the next month. Read the full story in the Register Star.

John Mason reports in the Register Star newly obtained documents reveal links between the August 1 inferno that destroyed the TCI of New York plant in West Ghent and a smaller, outdoor fire that occurred on the site six months earlier, in January 2012. At the time of the first fire local officials were informed sodium was being used in the plant. Sodium is highly explosive when combined with water. The January fire was confined to three trailers located in the rear of the company's parking lot, and was quickly doused by four fire companies. The documents reveal TCI’s subcontractor Power Substation Services, or PSS, was involved in both fires. Since the second fire, TCI has severed its relationship with PSS. The August fire burned for two days, leveling the company's 30,000-square-foot facility on Falls Industrial Road. TCI is currently seeking the town's permission to rebuild the plant. Read the full story in the Register Star.

Jim Planck reports in The Daily Mail the Catskill Town Board was briefed Tues., May 7, on the Hudson Estuary Watershed Resiliency Project, an initiative to reduce the impacts of severe flooding. In the initial step, outreach sessions are conducted with selected municipalities on their existing flood response plans, eventually leading to the development of educational programs. Post-flood intervention training for municipal highway employees is already under development. Cornell Cooperative Extension of Columbia & Greene Counties Natural Resources Educator Liz Loguidice told town officials training on changes to the FEMA National Flood Insurance Program is another possibility, as is training on the FEMA rating system itself. The project is a joint effort of Cornell and the New York State Water Resources Institute at Cornell, with support from the Hudson River Estuary Program of the state Department of Environmental Conservation. NOTE: Liz Loguidice is a WGXC volunteer. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Weather right now


[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="128"] Cairo: High 75F; low 52F.[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="125"] Catskill: High 75F; low 54F.[/caption]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

READ TEMPERATURE IN HUDSON: On thermometer in Studio A.
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: Periods of showers, mainly after noon. High near 68. Tonight, showers likely, mainly before 11 p.m. Cloudy. Low around 55.

Forecast for the next three days:

Thursday: A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2 p.m. Cloudy. High near 69. A chance of showers overnight. Mostly cloudy. Low around 52.
Friday: A slight chance of showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Partly sunny. High near 76. A chance of showers, Fri. night. Cloudy. Low around 54.
Saturday: Showers likely. Cloudy. High near 70. Sat. night, showers likely. Mostly cloudy. Low around 53.

Sunrise today: 5:40 a.m.
Sunset today: 8:03 p.m.

Length of the day: 14:22 hrs.

Town meetings

Today is the second Wednesday of the month.
(WGXC suggests calling ahead to confirm time and location.)


VILLAGE OF ATHENS Board meets at 6:30 p.m at the Athens Community Center, 2 First St., Athens (945-1551).
CLERMONT Planning Board meets at Town Hall at 7 p.m. at 1795 Route 9, Clermont (537-6868).
COLUMBIA COUNTY holds a public hearing on a proposed mobile phone surcharge of 30 cents per month for all county registered mobile phone users at 7:30 p.m., immediately before the monthly meeting of the full Board of Supervisors at 401 State St., Hudson (828-1527).
COPAKE Resource Advisory Committee meeting at 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 Planning Committee (tentatively) meets at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 520 Warren Street, Hudson (828-1030).
JEWETT Town meeting at 7 p.m., at Municipal Bldg. 3547 Co. Rt. 23C (263-4626).
KINDERHOOK Town’s 9 & 9H Corridor Committee meets at 7 p.m. at 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).

The day ahead on 90.7-FM

Midnight to 5:59 a.m.: Free103point9 Transmission Arts overnight

12 a.m. (midnight): Radio News: Headlines Radio and media headlines.
12:05 a.m.: Radio Stew: Live Dizziness DJ Dizzy takes over for an audio collage with local transmissions.
1 a.m.: deComposition Sound artist Damian Catera's "deComposition" process unmixes radio sounds, Bach, live performances from other musicians, and other source material, to create unique soundscapes. This program includes studio recordings, and several live free103point9 performances.
3 a.m.: Selected Songs: Sonic Youth Songs by the New York art rockers are broadcast.
5 a.m. Shortwave/Pirates: 2013 Dayton Hamvention Preview First, "The RAIN Report," with a last-minute preview of the 2013 Hamvention coming to Dayton, OH., May 17-19 with Michael Kalter, W8CI. Then, on, "PiratesWeekm," the show about pirate FM and shortwave radio, check out the CIDX, NASWA, and MARE. Pirates in the news this week include The Big Q fiale. A pirate radio mocumentary "People Just Do Nothing" is coming to BBC3 this year, and we take a look at the FCC Activities. ‭Select postings from the Free Radio Network, HF Underground and note stations logged per the Free Radio Weekly. Off Air Recordings include the stations of: Black Cat Radio, Radio Cinco De Mayo, Shrimp Boat Radio, and the euro pirate Radio Mustang. Listen to the interview on the Low Power Hour (No. 11) with the Crow. President Obama has nominated telecom biggie Tom Wheeler to chair the Federal Communications Commission, and nervous commentaries are proliferating across the blogosphere.

6 a.m. to 11:59 p.m.: WGXC Hands-On Community Radio

6 a.m.: Al Jazeera English
7 a.m.: WGXC Morning Show Hosted by Philip Grant. Morning news, music, interviews features and agriculture reporting. Call in with your views at 518-828-0290.
8 a.m.: Democracy Now! hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez.
9 a.m.: WGXC Morning Show: Elizabeth Dunn and Samantha Cowles The morning show continues with representatives of Camp Little Notch in the Adirondack Mountains. Camp Little Notch is located on a private 80-acre lake, offering an overnight camp for girls and other community programs that invite guests to explore nature and be a part of its magical, restorative community. Plus local news, weather and Greene and Columbia county events. Call in at 518-828-0290 to join the conversation. Hosted by Philip Grant.
2 p.m.: Work: Mothers This month's Work show again looks into what's entailed in the toil involved in parenting and child care, made an art form by those who mother. Interviews are with journalist, actor and playwright Elisabeth Henry, who left her careers -- and New York City -- to raise five children, and Melissa Lasher, a single mom who works as a professional child-care specialist, a school bus monitor and full-time babysitter, while she raises three sons. Topics range from society's attitudes towards childraising as work, or its antithesis, the low pay allowed those working in these areas, the pain involved in losing a child and the glories involved in watching kids grow. Music by Jay Z, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, Sly & The Family Stone, the late George Jones, Jan Bradley and 2Pac. Hosted and produced by Paul Smart.
4 p.m.: WGXC Afternoon Show: Brenda VanDermark, Teri Weiss Brenda VanDermark and Teri Weiss from the Fortnightly Club of Catskill discuss the Rip Van Winkle Wine & Cheese Festival at Historic Catskill Point, May 11. Also, local news, previews of Greene and Columbia county events, music and more. Hosted by Ron Diamondstein.
6 p.m.: Al Jazeera English
6:30 p.m.: Free Speech Radio News

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="140"] Kaaterskill Falls[/caption]

Ariel Zangla reports in the Daily Freeman comments are being sought on a draft amendment to the Kaaterskill Wild Forest Unit Management Plan. The amendment would would allow for one mile of newly designated trails to connect state lands with the Kaaterskill Rail Trail. Once completed, the trail extension will run from the hamlet of Haines Falls to the site of the former Laurel House Hotel and then connect with trails leading to the Department of Environmental Conservation's North/South Lake Campground. In all, one mile of newly designated multiple-use trails in the Kaaterskill Wild Forest are proposed for non-motorized recreation purposes. The DEC is accepting comments on the proposed amendment until May 17. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Merry Sheils reports in the Columbia Paper the Finance Committee of the county Board of Supervisors has signed off on a number of proposals that will now go to the full board at its regular meeting, Wed., May 8. Among the measures to be considered is one that would to impose a surcharge on wireless communications services, and another that would remove a requirement for board approval before people could carry licensed firearms on county property. The proposed wireless surcharge will not exceed 30 cents per month. A public hearing on that wireless surcharge plan will be held immediately preceding the full board meeting, Wednesday. Read the full story in the Columbia Paper.

William J. Kemble reports in the Daily Freeman CH Energy Group officials believe concerns expressed by two state administrative law judges can be overcome and the $1.5 billion takeover of the utility by Canadian-based Fortis Inc. can be completed by the end of June. CH Energy Group, the parent company of Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp., acknowledged the judges’ recommendation against the takeover. That recommendation will be considered by the Public Service Commission in its decision. Steve Lant, CH Energy's president and chairman, said he believes the judges' concerns can be successfully resolved. Lant also said the transaction is expected to close before the end of June, although Fortis has set an Aug. 20 date for the deal to be completed, without an agreement for an extension. In the recommendation issued last week, the judges wrote Fortis had proven many critics correct by being unresponsive to public concerns. They also indicated there are legitimate issues surrounding Central Hudson being owned by a company outside of the state. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Weather right now


[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="128"] Cairo: High 82F; low 46F.[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="125"] Catskill: High 84F; low 48F.[/caption]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

READ TEMPERATURE IN HUDSON: On thermometer in Studio A.
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: Sunny. High near 78. Mostly clear. Low around 54.

Forecast for the next three days:

Wednesday: Showers likely, mainly after 4 p.m. Cloudy. High near 70. Wed. night, Occasional rain and possibly a thunderstorm. Cloudy. Low around 54.
Thursday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy. High near 69. A chance of showers overnight. Mostly cloudy. Low around 51.
Friday: Scattered showers. Mostly cloudy. High near 77. Scattered showers, Fri. night. Mostly cloudy. Low around 54.

Sunrise today: 5:41 a.m.
Sunset today: 8:02 p.m.

Length of the day: 14:20 hrs.

Town meetings

Today is the first Tuesday of the month.
(WGXC suggests calling ahead to confirm time and location.)


CATSKILL Town Board meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 439 Main St., Catskill (943-2141).
COPAKE Park Commission meets at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 230 Mt. View Road, Copake (329-1234).
DURHAM Town Board meeting at 7:30 p.m. at Town Building, 7309 State Rt. 81, East Durham (239-8260).
HUDSON Hudson Common Council Youth & Aging Committee meeting, 6 p.m., and Arts, Entertainment & Tourism Committee meeting at 6:45 p.m. at City Hall, 520 Warren Street, Hudson (828-1030).
LEXINGTON Town Board meeting at 7 p.m., at Municipal building, 3542 Route 42, Lexington, (986-6303).
LIVINGSTON Zoning Board of Appeals meeting at 7 p.m., at Town Hall, County Rte. 19, Livingston (851-9441).

The day ahead on 90.7-FM

Midnight to 5:59 a.m.: Free103point9 Transmission Arts overnight

12 a.m. (midnight): Radio News: Headlines Radio and media news.
12:05 a.m.: Radio Stew: Scanner Three hours of compositions from the British transmission artist, Scanner.
3 a.m.: Golden Age of Radio: Cinco de Mayo With Orson Welles, William Conrad, Laird Cregar, Agnes Moorehead, Allen Sherman. Hosted by Max Schmid. From Pacifica Radio.
5 a.m.: PCJ Media Network Plus: 20130507 International radio and media news from Keith Perron.

6 a.m. to 11:59 p.m.: WGXC Hands-On Community Radio

6 a.m.: Al Jazeera English
7 a.m.: WGXC Morning Show Hosted by Philip Grant. Morning news, music, interviews features and agriculture reporting. Call in with your views at 518-828-0290.
8 a.m.: Democracy Now! hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez.
9 a.m.: WGXC Morning Show continues with local news, events, music and more, with host Philip Grant.
10 a.m.: Economic Update: Mayday and Labor Updates on Bangladesh tragedy, drug price gouging, CEO pay and OSHA; discussion of labor strategy then and now; comments on markets, private property and scapegoating government.
11 a.m.: 20th Century Country Music: Spike Priggen Spike Priggen of Bedazzled Radio is guest host.
12 p.m. (noon): Low Tide: Chris Bishop Vinyl Rundown host Chris Bishop covers the show this week.
4 p.m.: WGXC Afternoon Show
6 p.m.: Al Jazeera English
6:30 p.m.: Free Speech Radio News

Some of the stories that made the news, May 3 to 6:

Paula Ann Mitchell reported in the Daily Freeman divers on Friday afternoon recovered the body of a 72-year-old pilot whose plane crashed in the Hudson River, Thurs., May 2. The body of Copake resident Michael B. Braunstein  was recovered in a debris field some 20 feet below the surface of the river. Braunstein was the pilot and owner of the World War II-era reconnaissance aircraft that crashed into the river between Catskill and Germantown, some 30 minutes after taking off from a private airfield in Copake, authorities have said. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

The Register Star and Daily Mail report CROP walks were held across the Capital Region, Sun., May 5. The Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty hunger walks raise money to help stop hunger locally and around the world. In Columbia County, St. Luke’s Lutheran Church of Valatie and the Emmanuel Lutheran Parish of Stuyvesant Falls hosted the 10th annual walk at the Elks Club in Kinderhook. More than $12,000 was raised by 112 participants. In Greene County, the walk was organized by the Coxsackie-Athens Ecumenical Clergy Association, and began and ended at the Gospel Community Church on Mansion Street in Coxsackie. Nearly $2,000 was raised by 70 participants. Twenty-five percent of the funds raised will go to local food pantries and soup kitchens.

The Associated Press reported two New York administrative judges have expressed concerns about Canada-based Fortis Inc.'s planned $1.5 billion takeover of the CH Energy Group, which supplies electricity and gas to New York's Hudson River Valley. CH Energy is the parent of the Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. The two judges said in an advisory opinion the loss of local ownership of the New York utility might lead to immeasurable difficulties for customers. The judges stopped short of saying the merger should be rejected. Read the full AP story in the Wall Street Journal.

The Public News Service reported a New York Appeals Court ruled in favor of two upstate towns, Dryden and Middlefield, saying a lower court was right in upholding bans the towns placed on hydraulic fracturing, a process used to extract natural gas. Dryden passed a zoning ordinance in 2011 prohibiting oil and gas drilling, including fracking. An oil company sued the town saying the state's Department of Environmental Conservation should make the decision, not the community. A judge initially ruled in the town's favor, but Norse Energy, a Norwegian company with U.S. headquarters in Buffalo, appealed. Anti-fracking activists said the ruling will resonate statewide. Read the full story at publicnewsservice.org.

Weather right now


[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="128"] Cairo: High 73F; low 41F.[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="125"] Catskill: High 73F; low 48F.[/caption]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

READ TEMPERATURE IN HUDSON: On thermometer in Studio A.
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: Sunny. High near 71. Mostly clear overnight. Low around 44.

Forecast for the next three days:

Tuesday: Mostly sunny. High near 77. A slight chance of showers after 3 a.m. Partly cloudy. Low around 49.
Wednesday: A chance of showers, mainly after noon. Mostly cloudy. High near 73. Wed. night, a chance of showers. Cloudy. Low around 55.
Thursday: A chance of showers. Cloudy. High near 70. A chance of showers overnight. Mostly cloudy. Low around 53.

Sunrise today: 5:42 a.m.
Sunset today: 8:01 p.m.

Length of the day: 14:18 hrs.

Town meetings

Today is the first Monday of the month.
(WGXC suggests calling ahead to confirm time and location.)


ANCRAM Conservation Advisory Council at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 1416 County Rte. 7, Ancram (329-6512).
ATHENS Town meeting at 7 p.m. at 2 First Street, Athens (734-3636).
CLAVERACK Planning Board meeting at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, Church Street, Mellenville (672-7911).
CLERMONT Town Board meeting at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 1795 Route 9, Clermont (537-6868).
TAGHKANIC Town meeting at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, Route 82,West Taghkanic (851-7638).

The day ahead on 90.7-FM

Midnight to 5:59 a.m.: Free103point9 Transmission Arts overnight

12 a.m. (midnight): Radio News: Headlines Radio and media news.
12:05 a.m.: Radio Stew: Border Blasters Before the 1970s, a few radio stations on the Mexican side of the U.S. border blasted 250,000 watts, five times more powerful then the most-heard stations in the U.S. They played early country-and-western, R'n'B, and rock 'n' roll, and featured personalities such as Wolfman Jack. This show features air clips of a few border blasters, and songs by The Blasters ("Border Radio"), Wall of Voodoo ("Mexican Radio"), The Doors ("The Wasp [Texas Radio and the Big Beat]"), ZZ Top ("Heard it on the X"), The Guess Who ("Clap for the Wolfman"), Ray Stevens ("The Moonlight Special"), and others.
1 a.m.: Working Wage Part 2 Part two of Laura Hadden and Tennessee Watson's interviews with residents of Greene and Columbia counties in New York, and wages and working. This week, with just Watson hosting. Recorded from "Saturday Afternoon Show" May 4, 2013.
2 a.m.: Propaganda Chapter 4 of 'Propaganda' by Edward Bernays is held under the microscope this week in Episode 67 of the Smells Like Human Spirit Podcast. Guy Evans examines how Bernays learned from his peers - Walter Lippmann, Gustave Le Bon, Graham Wallas, and Wilfred Trotter in particular, and subsequently advised governments to exclude their people from important affairs. Instead of encouraging active political participation, he adopted new theories on mass psychology that would reduce individuals to nothing more than consumers, never happy, and never satisfied. From "Smells Like Human Spirit" show via radio4all.net.
3 a.m.: Technology Bytes Jay Lee, Peter Hughes, Dwight Silverman, Phlikted, Barret, GrooveHouse talk technology.
5 a.m.: This Week in Radio News: 20130506 Barack Obama nominates industry lobbyist, and Obama fundraiser, Tom Wheeler, to chair the Federal Communications Commission. Free Speech Radio News reports about media in Mexico, and more.

6 a.m. to 11:59 p.m.: WGXC Hands-On Community Radio

6 a.m.: Al Jazeera English
7 a.m.: WGXC Morning Show Hosted by Philip Grant. Morning news, music, interviews features and agriculture reporting. Call in with your views at 518-828-0290.
8 a.m.: Democracy Now! hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez.
9 a.m.: WGXC Morning Show The WGXC Morning Show continues local news, events, music and more.
4 p.m.: WGXC Afternoon Show
6 p.m.: Al Jazeera English
6:30 p.m.: Free Speech Radio News

[caption id="attachment_27125" align="alignright" width="275"] Jeff Friedmann, Assemblyman Pete Lopez Great Northern Catskills Chamber of Commerce; Jack Brucculeri, Owner of Papa Jack’s Pizza; Charlie Henderson, Owner of Charlie’s Angels with his wife Heather and their four daughters; Paul Macko, Town of Greenville Supervisor; and Kevin Lewis, Greene County Legislator representing Greenville, at the ice cream store opening.[/caption]Freehold in Greene County is little more than a cluster of shops at the corner of Route 32 and the Schoharie Turnpike in Greene County, but expanded a bit last week with two new businesses. Charlie’s Angels, an ice cream shop, and Papa Jack’s Pizza, opened May 1 with a ribbon cutting ceremony that included Assemblyman Pete Lopez (R,C,I-Schoharie), Greenville Supervisor Paul Macko and Greene County Legislator Kevin Lewis. Charlie Henderson, his wife Heather, and their four daughters, own the ice cream shop, and Jack Brucculeri is serving up the pizza slices in Freehold.

Weather right now


[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="128"] Cairo: High 28F; low 19F.[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="125"] Catskill: High 25F; low 18F.[/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 Acra, in Greene County:

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 71, and a low around 39.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 73, and a low around 40.
Tuesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 72, and a low around 47.

Sunrise today: 5:44 a.m.
Sunset today: 7:59 p.m.

WGXC Programming

May 4, 2013: 10 p.m. – May 5, 2013: 4 a.m.: "Tabs Out Doubleshot"
Two episodes of the cassette show, "Tabs Out.": Episode #24 | 04.14.13 | Life Partner, Pajjama, Bedroom, Caldera Lakes, Marnie Stern, Philip Marshall, Great Slave Lake, AB1, Seedge, Richard Lainhart, bbob and RRRyan, Aaron Dilloway and C Spencer Yeh, Mu, Pandelindio, Scant, The Big Ship, The David Russell Snake, and Villages. Episode #25 | 4.28.13 | THEMED EPISODE: Food & Beer | Foodman, Soup Purse, Zach Troxell, Edibles, Spinal Honey, Cow, Sugarm, Budweiser Sprite, Rambutan, White Meadows, The Nevari Butchers, Sheldon Siegel, Elfenbeinturm, Workin’ Man Noise Unit, Ghostfood, and an interview with Dan Rizer (Budweiser Sprite).

4 a.m. – 5 a.m.: "Project Censored: Press Freedom Day"
On Press Freedom Day, a look at the new documentary about U-S media, "Shadows of Liberty." Peter and Mickey speak with producer Jean-Philippe Tremblay, and air audio clips about TWA Flight 800, Gary Webb and the CIA-crack story, and more.

5 a.m. – 5:30 a.m.: "Live Inside the Radio"
Carlos Giffoni's 2004 live improvisation at free103point9's "Tune (In)))" at The Kitchen.

5:30 a.m. – 6 a.m.: "CounterSpin: Mark Hertsgaard, Jamilah King"
"CounterSpin," from Fairness And Accuracy in Reporting. This week: Mark Hertsgaard on BP Cover Up, Jamilah King on Obama Phones.

Carl Zimmer in Outside Magazine reports that scientists are conducting tests to kill disease-bearing ticks, hoping to retard transmission of Lyme disease. They are, "building contraptions that can be filled with food for deer, mice, and other tick hosts. As the animals wiggle into the devices to eat, they rub against tick-killing ointments. Other researchers have put out vaccine-laden mouse bait, which would cause the mice to kill bacteria before they can spread to new ticks. Perhaps eliminating barberry would cut down on the tick population and reduce the rate of infection. Some researchers still think that wiping out deer should be part of the solution. And others have found fungi that can kill ticks in laboratory tests," Zimmer writes. "Entomologist Kirby Stafford has overseen tests of a number of these methods in Connecticut. Some work better than others, but at this point he doesn’t expect a panacea. 'We’re never going to rid Connecticut of Lyme disease,' he says. 'That’s the reality.'" Read the full story in Outside Magazine.

[caption width="550" align="aligncenter"] Brooklyn record store Dope Jams relocates to Oak Hill in Greene County next month.[/caption]Dope Jams, a Brooklyn record store that closed in January, reopens in June in Oak Hill in Greene County. Resident Advisor reports, "the shop's famously grumpy proprietors Francis Englehardt and Paul Nickerson... initially said they planned to keep Dope Jams alive solely as an online mailorder site, a recent post on their Facebook page reveals that they will open a new shop at 7811 Route 81 in Oak Hill, a small town located in upstate New York. The shop will play host to an opening party on Sunday, June 9." The store's website is already hawking $20 "Kaatskills" t-shirts. Oak Hill also hosts the annual Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival in July.

Weather right now


[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="128"] Cairo: High 28F; low 19F.[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="125"] Catskill: High 25F; low 18F.[/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 Acra, in Greene County

• Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 72, and a low around 37.

• Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 71, and a low around 38.

• Monday: Sunny, with a high near 71, and a low around 41.

• Tuesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 72.

Sunrise 5:45 a.m.
Sunset 7:58 p.m.
Other celestial rises/sets
Moon 2:50 A.M. 2:48 P.M.
Mercury 5:31 A.M. 7:13 P.M.
Venus 6:17 A.M. 8:46 P.M.
Mars 5:39 A.M. 7:36 P.M.
Jupiter 7:42 A.M. 10:45 P.M.
Saturn 7:08 P.M. 5:51 A.M.
Uranus 4:30 A.M. 4:59 P.M.
Neptune 3:09 A.M. 1:58 P.M.
Pluto 12:08 A.M. 9:41 A.M.

Sunday's Meteor Shower
From Space.com: "Early Sunday (May 5), just before dawn, we'll have an opportunity to see some of the remnants of the most famous of comets briefly light up the early morning sky. The famed Halley's Comet made its last pass through the inner solar system in 1986 and is not due back until the summer of 2061. But each time Halley sweeps around the sun, it leaves behind a dusty trail — call it "cosmic litter" — that is responsible for two meteor showers on Earth each year. The first of those "shooting stars" displays, the Eta Aquarid meteor shower, will peak on Sunday."

WGXC Programming

On Saturdays free103point9 Online Radio airs on WGXC 90.7-FM, bringing transmission arts to the airwaves in the Hudson Valley, in New York. Tune in Sat., May 4:

12:05 a.m. – 1 a.m.: "Radio Stew: Can't Be Played On The Radio"
Songs that cannot be played on the radio are featured, including Monty Python's "I Bet They Won't Play This on the Radio," Eric Idle's "FCC Song," They Might Be Giants' "Hey Mr. DJ, I Thought We Had a Deal," Stiff Little Fingers' "You Can't Say Crap on the Radio," The ex-Cat Heads' "Anti-Song," Frank Zappa's "The Radio is Broken," Guided By Voices' "No Transmission," and others.

1 a.m. – 5 a.m.: "Transmission Songs"
Songs about cell phones, televisions, disc jockeys, shortwave, CB, walkie-talkies, and more.

5 a.m. – 7 a.m.: "Shortwave Hours: North Korea DXpedition?"
Two hours of shortwave radio-oriented programming, starting with solar weather, news on meteor showers and ham radio, and other reports. Other reports include:
5:15 a.m.: "The RAIN Report: "Ham radio author Don Keith/N4KC talks about his new book 'Riding the Shortwaves, Exploring the Magic of Amateur Radio.'"
5:30 a.m., "The Shortwave Report" with host Dan Roberts and international news via shortwave radio. This week's show features stories from Radio Deutsche-Welle, Radio Havana Cuba, the Voice of Russia, and NHK World Radio Japan.
6 a.m.: "Glenn Hauser's World of Radio"
6:30 a.m.: "Amateur Radio Newsline" This week: "Region One of the International Amateur Radio Union meets in Vienna; a coalition of groups announces its attempting to arrange a DXpedition to North Korea; the exemption for ham radio remains as part of Hawaii's new distracted driving law; lots more news on the upcoming Dayton Hamvention and NASA to launch mission to study Equatorial electric storm propagation."

7 a.m. – 8 a.m.: "Saturday Morning Serial: Border Blasters"
Before the 1970s, a few radio stations on the Mexican side of the U.S. border blasted 250,000 watts, five times more powerful then the most-heard stations in the U.S. They played early country-and-western, R'n'B, and rock 'n' roll, and featured personalities such as Wolfman Jack. This show features air clips of a few border blasters, and songs by The Blasters ("Border Radio"), Wall of Voodoo ("Mexican Radio"), The Doors ("The Wasp [Texas Radio and the Big Beat]"), ZZ Top ("Heard it on the X"), The Guess Who ("Clap for the Wolfman"), Ray Stevens ("The Moonlight Special"), and others.

8 a.m. – 10 a.m.: "Open Air: Pancake Preview"
"Please Assist Us With Transmission." A week before the "WGXC Open Air Pancake Breakfast" host Matt Bua previews the elongated broadcast Anyone can contribute to the show in many ways on "Open Air." Matt Bua hosts live transmission art show about local transmissions from the Catskill Community Center. You make up the show with stories, phone calls, messages, requests, further information, and more. Please help be a part of the show. Stop by the Catskill Community Center in person. Call in at 518-291-WGXC. Tweet requests @WGXC. Skype calls at WGXCfm. Talk on Channel 6 on CB radio, we are tuning in. Features include solar weather, shortwave news, and more. Call 518-219-WGXC or Skype calls at WGXCfm to talk on the air.

10 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.: "Radia: Lisa Aalders"
Show 422: "for Stanley favoured by dust," by Lisa Aalders via CFRC in Kingston, Canada. On this edition of Radia, CFRC proudly presents: Kingston (Ontario, Canada) based artist / radio enthusiast Lisa Aalders and her experiments in guitar playing Inspired by youthful angst, dead pets and long fingernails Forgotten guitars of adolescence and a dusty kalimba are her tools Recorded in her old bedroom (listen for those background sounds of domesticity) The approach is intimate. The sound is coaxed out, squeezed out Ripped out It is ultimately the (clumsy) process of finding these sounds that is revealed to the listener.

10:30 a.m. – 11 a.m.: "Radio Wonderland: 20130504"
Live remixing of NYC radio on Hudson Valley radio via free103point9 Online Radio. Tune in to Joshua Fried's remix.

11 a.m. – noon: "Framework: Eran Sachs"
This edition of framework: ephemera features guest-selector Eran Sachs, who we met and spoke with in Jaffa, Israel. Eran has selected works for us by Alvin Curran, Trevor Wishart, Luc Ferrari, Eric La Casa with Seijiro Murayama, Chris Delaurenti, Mazen Kerbaj, and The Shadow Ring.

12:05 p.m. – 2 p.m.: "Other Music: Two Copies of the Same Record"
DJs $mall ¢hange, Donna Summer, klevervice, and others play the same song, with two-to-four vinyl copies of the record. From 2003 show at OfficeOps in Brooklyn.

2 p.m. – 3 p.m.: "Cinema Terrorisme: May 2013"
Sleep Ye Reviled Parasites Beneath the Menstrual Moon Waxing Paraffin Fallacies Amidst Plastic Fetus Plantlife.

3 p.m. – 4 p.m.: "Human Machine: 20130504"
Curated by Jeremy Kelly. Laurie Spiegel - East River Dawn; Rune Lindblad - Till Zakynthos (Op. 205); Nurse With Wound - Beware The African Mosquito; Coil - Red Birds Will Fly Out at Night and Destroy Paris in a Night.

4 p.m. – 6 p.m.: "Saturday Afternoon Show: Working Wage Update"
Laura Hadden and Tennessee Watson are at Wave Farm this spring as the 2013 season’s first Artists-in-Residence. Hadden and Watson’s project Wage/Working addresses the issues of income inequality and the concept of wage through a time-based transmission installation and a radio broadcast series on free103point9’s WGXC 90.7-FM. During their time in Greene County, these two accomplished radio producers and artists will be collecting stories and interviews with workers in Greene and Columbia counties regarding their jobs and their relationship to their work. That's all at 5 p.m. Before then, radio news, radio art, and new sound art, with host Tom Roe, live from Wave Farm.

6 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.: "CounterSpin: Mark Hertsgaard, Jamilah King"
"PiratesWeek" is off this week. After the Weekly Presidential Radio Address and Republican Response, "CounterSpin," from Fairness And Accuracy in Reporting. This week: Mark Hertsgaard on BP Cover Up, Jamilah King on Obama Phones.

7 p.m. – 8 p.m.: "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?: Up In The Air"
Mash-up of the news with Paul Fischer. This week: ""Flight" is a common theme in recent major news events...from fixing the air traffic controllers sequester...to Rand Paul's latest comments on drones...to a bunch of political "trial balloons" being floated.....all told through narration, music and soundbites."

Katie Kocijanski reports in the Chatham Courier the Chatham Village Board has adopted its new budget. The $1.14 million spending plan includes a 3.6 percent tax decrease for village taxpayers. Trustee Jay Rippel Jr. was the only board member to oppose the budget. He criticized the use of what he called inaccurate numbers. He said, “With the inaccurate numbers, we are not giving the people of Chatham the best budget possible." The new spending plan will go into effect June 1. In other business, the trustees appointed former Village Board member Joanne Del Rossi to the Zoning Board of Appeals. And the Chatham Area Business Alliance was granted approval to hold Summerfest 2013 on Sat., July 6. Read the full story in the Chatham Courier.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="192"] (dailyfreeman.com)[/caption]

William J. Kemble reports in the Daily Freeman U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer has called on the state Public Service Commission to extend the public comment period until the end of May on the takeover bid by Canadian-based Fortis Inc. of Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation’s parent company. Schumer's call came after merger opponents pledged to keep pressure on the Commission during a rally at the Ulster County Office Building in Kingston, Thurs., May 2. Opponents demanded commissioners consider how Fortis' lower credit rating and absence of long-term pledges to maintain staffing levels would hurt the status of Central Hudson as a reliable customer-centered utility. Schumer agreed the company's performance standard and rate freeze promises were inadequate. He noted that unless Fortis can adequately address all of these concerns, he will oppose the acquisition. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.