Weather right now

READ TEMPERATURE IN HUDSON: On thermometer in studio.
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 predicts Catskill will be partly sunny, with a high near 35, low around 22. The weekend forecast:
• Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 40, low around 23.
• Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 42, 30 percent chance of snow showers overnight with a low around 21.
• Saturday: Partly sunny and breezy, low around 15.
• Sunday: Partly sunny and breezy, with a high near 30.

Town meetings today
Today is the second Wednesday of the month.
VILLAGE OF ATHENS Public Hearing on local law which would override the property tax cap for the coming fiscal year. Board meets at 6:30 p.m at the Athens Community Center, 2 First St., Athens (945-1551).
CATSKILL Workshop/special meeting held in Catskill High School library. Meetings are typically webstreamed at school district website. Meeting at 7 p.m. at Catskill High School audititorium, 341 West Main St., Catskill, NY 12414. 518-943-2300
CLERMONT Planning Board meets at Town Hall at 7 p.m. at 1795 Route 9, Clermont (537-6868).
COLUMBIA COUNTY holds a full Board of Supervisors meeting at 7:30 p.m. at 401 State St. in Hudson.
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 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 skies above
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7 a.m./ 5:21 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 6:40 p.m. / 7:01 a.m.

Last night/Today's big games
(Hosts: Read scores in the a.m. only, and schedules in the p.m.)
Scores
NBA: Charlotte Bobcats 84 at Boston Celtics 94.
NBA: Cleveland Cavaliers 91 at Miami Heat 107.
Schedules
NBA: New York Knicks at Washington Wizards, 7 p.m. (TV: NBATV)
NBA: Detroit Pistons at New Jersey Nets, 7:30 p.m. (TV: YES)

WGXC Program Notes
Special Programming Wed. Feb. 8:
• "@Issue," 10-11 a.m.: Rich Volo aka Trixie Starr and other guests from the Hudson Pride Foundation discussing The Love Ball fundraiser.
• “WGXC Afternoon Show,” 4-6 p.m.: Greene County Minority Historian Charles Swain talks about the past with Matt Bua.

Audio clips for WGXC programmers
This information is not meant to be read on-air.
The information below are options of pre-recorded material hosts can choose to play.

Audio clips to play


New PSAs/STATION IDs
• A OFF PSA 20120210 Coop Ext - Maple Syrup workshop
• A_OFF_PSA_20120313_irene_lee_flood_grants

Audio headlines for top of the hour
• 5 a.m.: WGXC News 8:31 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 3:09
• 6 a.m.: WGXC News 8:31 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 3:09
• 7 a.m.: WGXC News 8:31 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 3:09
• 9 a.m.: WGXC News 8:31 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 3:09
• 4 p.m.: International Network News (INN), through Audioport
• 5 p.m.: Free Speech Radio News headlines, through fsrn.org
• Midnight: International Network News (INN), through Audioport

Audra Jornov reported in the Register-Star that a car crashed into Hudson High School, Mon. Feb. 6. No students were injured but the crash caused significant structural damage to the building at 215 Harry Howard Ave. Classes continued as scheduled. The extent of the damage to the building is unknown. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

W.T. Eckert in the Register Star writes about the eighth annual Winter Blast, the benefit held over the weekend for the Columbia Memorial Hospital and Kaaterskill Care Nursing & Rehabilitation Center. The benefit at Helsinki Hudson raised over $100,000 in ticket sales for the hospital and rehab center. The event featured ten silent auction items that ranged from a week-long stay at a private, five-bedroom African estate overlooking the Indian Ocean, and ballooning over the Hudson Valley for two, to a private "hawk walk" at Talons in Earlville, with an overnight B&B stay for two. The Glen David Andrews Band, a New Orleans jazz group played music late into the night. Columbia Memorial Hospital President Jane Ehrlich said the funding will go toward improvements in the nursing home and projects in the hospital that include expanding the psychiatric unit with a goal to offer private rooms for patients. Read about the Winter Blast benefit in the Register Star.

Weather right now

READ TEMPERATURE IN HUDSON: On thermometer in studio.
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 Chatham, in Columbia County.
The National Weather Service predicts Chatham will be partly sunny, with a high of 41, and a low around 14. The forecast for the rest of the week:
• Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 30, around 20.
• Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 36, low around 20.
• Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 41.

Town meetings today
Today is the first Tuesday of the month.
CATSKILL Town Board meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 439 Main St., Catskill (943-2141).
COLUMBIA COUNTY Finance Committee meets at 5 p.m. at County Office Building, 401 State St., Hudson.
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).
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 skies above
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:01 a.m./ 5:19 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 5:29 p.m. / 6:28 a.m.
Full Moon: 4:55 p.m.

Last night/Today's big games
(Hosts: Read scores in the a.m. only, and schedules in the p.m.)
Scores
NBA: Utah Jazz 88 at New York Knicks 99. Jeremy Lin, 28 points, 8
assists for Knicks.
NBA: Chicago Bulls 108, New Jersey Nets 87. Deron Williams, 25 points for Nets.
Schedules
NBA: Charlotte Bobcats at Boston Celtics, 7:30 p.m.
NBA: Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami Heat, 7:30 p.m.

WGXC Program Notes
Special Programming Tue. Feb. 7:
• “WGXC Afternoon Show,” 4-6 p.m.: Stephanie Monseau from the
Bindlestiff Family Cirkus is a guest with Mariel Fiori.

Audio clips for WGXC programmers
This information is not meant to be read on-air.
The information below are options of pre-recorded material hosts can choose to play.

Audio clips to play


New PSAs/STATION IDs
• A OFF PSA 20120210 Coop Ext - Maple Syrup workshop
• A_OFF_PSA_20120313_irene_lee_flood_grants

Audio headlines for top of the hour
• 5 a.m.: WGXC News 2:18 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 2:58
• 6 a.m.: WGXC News 2:18 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 2:58
• 7 a.m.: WGXC News 2:18 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 2:58
• 9 a.m.: WGXC News 2:18 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 2:58
• 4 p.m.: International Network News (INN), through Audioport
• 5 p.m.: Free Speech Radio News headlines, through fsrn.org
• Midnight: International Network News (INN), through Audioport

A report in The Daily Mail says Staten Island 54-year-old Matthew Falco was killed skiing the Upper Warpath trail on Windham Mountain Sat., Feb. 4. Just above the Wall St. trail intersection, he passed through a culvert ditch and struck an embankment, police said eyewitnesses reported. The report did not note if he was wearing a helmet or not. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Rick Karlin in Capitol Confidential reports that just 127 donors gave $16.8 million to state politicians, according to the New York Public Interest Research Group. Gov. Andrew Cuomo got more money then any other politicians, and unions, real estate and finance interests, beverage bottlers, and, this year, same-sex marriage supporters, topped the lobbies with the most to give in Albany. Read the full story in Capitol Confidential, the Albany Times-Union's political blog.
Donors

Debby Mayer reports in The Columbia Paper that the Columbia County Department of Health revoked the operating permit of the Sunset Motel and Suites, 3559 Route 9, forcing out nine men the Department of Social Services (DSS) housed there. John Florio, a Greenport code enforcement officer, said the Sunset had, “numerous violations of building, property and fire codes. Complaints had come from residents of the Sunset and adjoining property owners.... They had plenty of time to correct those violations, but it hadn't been taken care of,” he said. DSS Commissioner Paul Mossman told the paper he hoped the motel could get up to code soon as, “In the absence of a temporary housing program in Columbia County we've used motels over the years, which puts further demands on our resources and doesn't provide the residents with services for transition or to prevent future homelessness,” he said. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

Weather right now

READ TEMPERATURE IN HUDSON: On thermometer in studio.
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 East Durham, in Greene County.
The National Weather Service predicts East Durham will be sunny, with a high near 45 on Monday, and mostly clear, with a low around 27 overnight. The forecast for the week:
• Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 40, low around 20.
• Wednesday: A slight chance of light snow after 1 p.m. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 34, low around 21.
• Thursday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 38, low around 23.
• Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 37.

Town meetings today
Today is the first Monday of the month.
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).
HUDSON Informal meeting of Common Council at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 520 Warren St., Hudson (828-1030).
TAGHKANIC Town meeting at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, Route 82, West Taghkanic (851-7638).

The skies above
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:02 a.m./ 5:18 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 4:21 p.m. / 5:52 a.m.

Last night/Today's big games
(Hosts: Read scores in the a.m. only, and schedules in the p.m.)
Scores
NFL: New York Giants 21, New England Patriots 17. Giants win Super Bowl. Ticker-tape parade planned for Tuesday morning in Manhattan.
Schedules
NBA: Utah Jazz at New York Knicks, 7:30 p.m. (TV: MSG)

WGXC Program Notes
Special Programming Mon. Feb. 4:
• "Living Lightly on the Land," 2 p.m.: Interview with members of the Columbia-Greene Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

Audio clips for WGXC programmers
This information is not meant to be read on-air.
The information below are options of pre-recorded material hosts can choose to play.

Audio clips to play


New PSAs/STATION IDs
• A OFF PSA 20120210 Coop Ext - Maple Syrup workshop
• A_OFF_PSA_20120313_irene_lee_flood_grants

Audio headlines for top of the hour
• 5 a.m.: WGXC News 3:58 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 2:58
• 6 a.m.: WGXC News 3:58 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 2:58
• 7 a.m.: WGXC News 3:58 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 2:58
• 9 a.m.: WGXC News 3:58 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 2:58
• 4 p.m.: International Network News (INN), through Audioport
• 5 p.m.: Free Speech Radio News headlines, through fsrn.org
• Midnight: International Network News (INN), through Audioport

Elaine Fernadez at her WiThePeople blog continues to interview folks about their reactions to economic conditions in the Hudson Valley, and currently features this interview with the Foreclosure Work Group of Occupy Poughkeepsie. The group has been canvassing in Poughkeepsie and Kingston to inform homeowners under foreclosure of their legal rights, and to help them keep their homes. Occupy Poughkeepsie and Kingston are using the Springfield and Boston, Mass., model known as Project No One Leaves to initiate similar actions in the Hudson Valley.

Another winter week without real snow on the mountains, and higher temperatures. Catamount Ski in Columbia County has 30 trails and four lifts open with 16-36" of snow. Windham Mountain has a snow base between 14" and 44" on 40 trails with six lifts open. Hunter Mountain has up to 18" to 72" of snow on 45 trails with seven lifts. All three mountains are offering Super Bowl-weekend specials.


(Note to hosts: 10-second Ski report bumper is available in Campcaster for intro/outro.)

Ariel Zangla in The Daily Freeman reports that Greene County took in $26.66 million in sales tax in 2011, up $1.26 million from county forecasts, according to Greene County Treasurer Peter Markou. He said the county benefited from folks repairing damage from Hurricane Irene and buying things such as lumber and new appliances, and that vehicle sales were also strong locally. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="320" caption="Baby Atlantic sturgeon, which could grow to as much as 14 feet and 800 pounds over 60 years. From Hudson Riverkeeper Facebook page."][/caption]Juliet Eilperin in The Washington Post reports that the Atlantic sturgeon made the endangered species list Wed., Feb. 1. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service listed the New York Bight, Chesapeake Bay, Carolina, and South Atlantic populations as endangered, and the Gulf of Maine population as threatened. Hudson Riverkeeper's Facebook page says there are under 1,000 of the endangered species left in the Hudson River:

"Riverkeeper commends the National Marine Fisheries Service for taking this critical step to protect one of the Hudson River’s iconic species. Atlantic sturgeon are magnificent, long-lived creatures which have been an integral part of the Hudson River ecosystem for millennia, but have suffered terribly from overfishing, habitat destruction and power plant intakes, decimating their numbers."

More of the Riverkeeper statement:
"Every effort should be made to protect the remaining population and the critical habitat it needs to survive and prosper. Riverkeeper has a long history of working to protect the Atlantic Sturgeon. Late Riverkeeper board member and legendary commercial fisherman Bob Gabrielson alerted biologists to the startling decline in Atlantic Sturgeon in the Hudson, which ultimately triggered the closure of commercial fisheries up and down the East Coast. Our Fishable River Campaign has continued Riverkeeper’s tradition of protecting and restoring our precious fisheries, by supporting state and federal efforts to protect sturgeon as well as American Shad, river herring and other key species. In 2010, Riverkeeper filed comments in support of NOAA’s proposal to list the Atlantic Sturgeon as endangered.

"This increased protection for Atlantic sturgeon has implications for many of our key issues, including the newly proposed reconstruction of the Tappan Zee Bridge, the ongoing destruction of billions of fish in the Hudson by Indian Point’s outdated, once-through cooling technology, the threat of fracking and disposal of its toxic waste, failing water and wastewater treatment infrastructure causing sewage spewing into the river, and invasive species like zebra mussels that have major impacts on the ecology of the estuary.

"The news that there are less than a thousand adult sturgeon in the Hudson is a mixed blessing; tragic that this magnificent species has been brought so low, but hopeful that the increased protection and attention paid to their survival will allow them to recover and repopulate the Hudson River. The future survival of Atlantic Sturgeon goes to the core of what Riverkeeper represents – we fight not only for the public’s right to a clean, healthy river, but to restore the abundance of life that once led the Hudson to be called “'The Serengeti of rivers.'”

Brian Tumulty in the Politics on the Hudson blog reports that the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (Stock) Act, the bill to outlaw insider trading by members of Congress, passed the U.S. Senate 96 to 3 Thu., Feb. 2. New York Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand has championed the act, and during the "State of the Union" address, President Barack Obama asked Congress to bring it to his desk. An amendment approved by the Senate Thursday also requires lawmakers and executive branch employees to disclose information about all of the real estate mortgages they hold. House Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor plans a floor vote, and House Democrats are on board, so the bill may reach the President soon. Read the full story in Politics on the Hudson.

Super Bowl Sunday will be a busy day local bars and restaurants feeding hungry football fans and the Register-Star's John Mason does a round up of what's on tap in the area. Melino’s Pub, the 60-year-old bar on upper Columbia Street in Hudson, has 16 TVs to watch the game on; two of them have 82-inch screens. Angela’s Pizza and Pasta in Greenport offers three different game day family packs, with pizza, wings, garlic knots, salad and soda, depending on the package. They also have a three-foot sub, which needs to be ordered a day ahead of time, and family-style dinners to go. Don Conte of Bubba Bean Barbecue, at 93 Union Turnpike in Greenport, tells the paper his place has "the best (chicken) wings in the area." He'll be selling them until 6 p.m. Sunday, and then close down for the game. M.J. Sports Bar & Grill, 34 Hudson Ave., Chatham, sells seats to a private party. A ticket buys a designated seat for the game and an all-you-can-eat buffet that includes steamed clams, shrimp cocktail, chicken wings and homemade 18-inch subs. M.J.’s boasts 11 TVs, but as of Tuesday, there were only four seats left, out of 70. Park Falafel and Pizza, 11 N. Seventh St., Hudson, offers its own Super Bowl catering package, including 60 falafel balls, a quart of Jerusalem salad, a pint of humus, two pints of other salads, tahini dressing and 20 pita halves.Since it's the 46th Super Bowl, Park Falafel is offering a cheese pizza for 99 cents more to the first 46 people to order the package. Lagonia’s on Main Street in Philmont, will be doing takeout — wings and pizzas — and people can come by to watch the game on the 50-inch screen.
Read the Super Bowl bar restaurant preview in the Register-Star.

Weather right now

READ TEMPERATURE IN HUDSON: On thermometer in studio.
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 Palenville, in Greene County.
The National Weather Service predicts Palenville will be mostly sunny Friday, with a high near 40. Friday night should be partly cloudy, with a low around 21. The weekend forecast:
• Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 36, low around 19.
• Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 41, low around 25.
• Monday: Sunny, with a high near 45, low around 27.

Town meetings today
Today is the first Friday of the month. WGXC does not know about any town meetings.

The skies above
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:05 a.m./ 5:14 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 1:14 p.m. / 3:39 a.m.

Last night/Today's big games
(Hosts: Read scores in the a.m. only, and schedules in the p.m.)
Scores
NBA: Chicago Bulls 105 at New York Knicks 102; Amare Stoudemire 34 points.
Schedules
FRI NBA: New York Knicks at Boston Celtics, 8 p.m. (TV: ESPN)
SAT NBA: New Jersey Nets at New York Knicks, 7:30 p.m. (TV: YES/MSG)
SUN NFL: New York Giants and New England Patriots, 6:29 p.m. (TV: NBC)

WGXC Program Notes
Special Programming Fri. Feb. 3:
• "Pure Moods," Noon-2 p.m.: Shannekia McIntosh plays all sorts of music.

Audio clips for WGXC programmers
This information is not meant to be read on-air.
The information below are options of pre-recorded material hosts can choose to play.

Audio clips to play


New PSAs/STATION IDs
• A OFF PSA 20120210 Coop Ext - Maple Syrup workshop
• A_OFF_PSA_20120313_irene_lee_flood_grants

Audio headlines for top of the hour
• 5 a.m.: WGXC News 3:58 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 2:58
• 6 a.m.: WGXC News 3:58 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 2:58
• 7 a.m.: WGXC News 3:58 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 2:58
• 9 a.m.: WGXC News 3:58 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 2:58
• 4 p.m.: International Network News (INN), through Audioport
• 5 p.m.: Free Speech Radio News headlines, through fsrn.org
• Midnight: International Network News (INN), through Audioport

Andrea Macko reports in the now-biweekly Greenville Mountain View Pioneer (no website) that Rensselaerville Town Supervisor, Democrat Marie Dermody, quit Jan. 24, citing the "political culture" in the town was making it "impossible" to get anything done. In November elections, Democrats lost control of the Town Board. Deputy Supervisor Victor La Plante also resigned. At an emergency meeting the next day, the board appointed Valerie Lounsbury deputy supervisor. The board will appoint a supervisor, and another election will be held in November to fill the seat. At that meeting, Conservative Robert Bolte ripped the yellow tape line off the floor, where Dermody made anyone speaking to the board stand at meetings.

Ariel Zangla in The Daily Freeman reports that Greene County lawmakers will borrow up to $20 million to pay for repairs to the county’s infrastructure as a result of Tropical Storm Irene. At a special meeting Wed., Feb. 1, the Legislature voted to issue $20 million in bonds. The Federal Emergency Management Agency should reimburse 75 percent of costs to municipalities under a disaster declaration, and the state should cover another 12.5 percent of those costs. “We’re going to have a cash flow problem,” County Administrator Shaun Groden said. “So, this whole issue right now is just to get us through cash flow issues. As soon as FEMA makes reimbursements to us, we use that money to pay down these bonds and hopefully by year end, they go away.” Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Joseph Spector in the Politics on the Hudson blog reports that Senate Democrats sued in state court Tuesday challenging the creation of a new Senate seat by the task force drawing district lines. The plaintiffs, who include Senate Democrats and citizens, allege that Republicans violated the state constitution when they created a 63rd district to bolster their narrow hold on the chamber. Republicans hold a slim 32-29 seat majority in the state Senate with one vacancy. The new seat covers all of Greene County, parts of Ulster, Albany, and Montgomery counties. The lawsuit will complicate matters for the state Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment, which is trying to finalize 213 legislative lines. New Yorkers are still waiting to see the boundaries for the 27 seats in the U.S. House of Representative. Read Politics on the Hudson for more on the suit over the 63rd.

Lisa D. Connell reports in the Register-Star that Attorney Cheryl A. Roberts has resigned from her elected position as Town Justice in Austerlitz. She told the paper she made the decision to step down after she learned of a possible conflict of interest with her current job as lead corporate council for the City of Hudson, although the article does not go into detail about the nature of the conflict. Town Supervisor Jeff Braley said the town is seeking resumes and hopes to have a candidate in place before training for the position begins in March. An interim appointee will serve until a special election is held to fill the remainder of the two-year position. Read the article in the Register-Star.

A bill to expand the state's DNA database passed the state Senate on Tuesday but Democrats, who control the Assembly, have expressed concern about whether the law will do enough to help the wrongfully convicted. Law enforcement groups as well as legislators from both parties agree with Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposal to take DNA samples from people convicted of any crime. But Democrats in the Assembly want defense attorneys to have greater access to the DNA database, and they want the state to adopt other criminal justice reforms. Governor Andrew Cuomo appears to support the bill, S5560A, sponsored by Republican Sen. Steve Saland (R-Poughkeepsie), who represents much of Columbia County in Albany. Senator James L. Seward (R/C/I – Oneonta), who represents Greene County also supported the bill. It passed in the Senate by a 50 to 10 vote, and Cuomo released a statement Tuesday, calling it "an important step in protecting New Yorkers and modernizing the state’s criminal justice system.” Barry C. Scheck, a founder of the Innocence Project, said that if supporters of DNA expansion were serious about preventing wrongful convictions, they should promote measures like requiring videotaping of interrogations or changing the way lineups are done. Read about the DNA database bill in the Times Union.