The Register Star reports that unemployment rates in Columbia County rose slightly at the end of last year. The New York State Department of Labor figures released on Tue., Jan. 24, reported that unemployment rose to 7.2 percent in December, up from 6.9 in November. The numbers in Greene County also rose slightly, with the unemployment rate up from 8.4 percent to 8.8 percent and total number of unemployed from 1,900 to 2,100 from November to December. Read the article 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 Ancram, in Columbia County.
The National Weather Service predicts Ancram has a 40 percent chance of rain before 4 p.m., then a chance of rain and sleet. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 41. Thursday night there will be rain and sleet, becoming all rain after midnight. Low around 34. The weekend forecast:
• Friday: Rain likely, mainly before 10 a.m. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 48, a low around 23.
• Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 41, a low around 26.
• Sunday: A chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 39.

Town meetings today
Today is the fourth Thursday of the month.
ATHENS Athens The Town of Athens Planning Board holds a public hearing for an application for a commercial site plan review for propane bulk storage and filling on the lands of Cippitelli Brothers Realty Corp., located on Route 9W, Athens. A regular meeting of the Town of Athens Planning Board follows the public hearing for any other business which may come before the Board. 7 p.m. at Athens Village Hall, 2 First St., Athens, NY 12015
CHATHAM Village Board meeting at 7:30 p.m. at Village Hall, 77 Main Street, Chatham (392-5821).
COLUMBIA COUNTY Budget/Salary Committee at 10:00 a.m.
Public Works Committee at 6 p.m. at County Office Building, 401 State Street, Hudson.
COPAKE Zoning Board of Appeals meeting at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 230 Mt. View Road, Copake (329-1234).
GERMANTOWN The Germantown Planning Board holds a Public Hearing on proposed subdivision by boundary line adjustment of Matthew Daly, Jr. of 311 Northern Blvd. Planning Board meeting at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 50 Palatine Park Road, Germantown (537-6687).
HUDSON Historic Preservation Committee at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 520 Warren Street, Hudson (828-1030).
RENSSELAERVILLE Rensselaerville Hydrofracking Committee meets at 7 p.m. at Rensselaerville Town Hall, 87 Barger Road, Medusa, NY 12120
STUYVESANT Greenway Committee meeting at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 5 Sunset Drive, Stuyvesant (758-6248).
WINDHAM Town Board meets at 8 p.m. at Town Hall, 371 State Rt. 296, Hensonville (734-4170).

The skies above
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:12 a.m./ 5:05 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 8:37 a.m. / 8:58 p.m.

Last night/Today's big games
(Hosts: Read scores in the a.m. only, and schedules in the p.m.)
Scores
NBA: New York Knicks 81 at Cleveland Cavaliers 91, Amare Stoudemire 19 points, 14 rebounds.
NBA: New Jersey Nets 97 at Philadelphia 90, Deron Williams 34 points.
Schedules
NBA: Boston Celtics at Orlando Magic, 8 p.m. (TV: TNT)

WGXC Program Notes
Special Programming Thu. Jan. 26:
• "Tell It Like It Is," 10 a.m.: Judith Brink from the Prison Action Network discusses parole reform with host Christina Malisoff, and McKenzie Schoonmaker, the staff attorney for Riverkeeper, reports on Monday's anti=fracking rally in Albany.
• "Sound Forms," 2 p.m.: Peter Wetzler visits with Woodstock musician Fredo Viola.
• "The Jazz Disturbance," 7-9:30 p.m.: Host Cheryl K. talks with baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan.

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_20120312_fishmap.mp3

Audio headlines for top of the hour
• 5 a.m.: WGXC News 6:15 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 3:10
• 6 a.m.: WGXC News 6:15 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 3:10
• 7 a.m.: WGXC News 6:15 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 3:10
• 9 a.m.: WGXC News 6:15 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 3:10
• 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

The 2nd Annual New York Shout OUT! youth media festival took place on April 30, 2011 at The Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy. Over 40 young media makers from across New York State came together, including WGXC youth producers from the "Radio Explosion" show (Weds., 3:30 p.m.) and the Catskill Community Center. New York Shout OUT! was a day filled with hands-on media workshops and an evening youth film festival featuring the best short films produced by youth from all over the state. Please click on this link to see the "Message In A Minute" short videos produced during New York Shout OUT!: tinyurl.com/3lh3yfq WGXC's youth producers will be participating at this year's NY Shout Out, in April. If you would like to participate with WGXC in this youth media festival, contact sara@wgxc.org

Jimmy Vielkind in Capitol Confidential reports that Senate Republicans are proposing a new, 63rd Senate district that includes all of Greene County, and much of Albany and Ulster counties. Vielkind writes that, "the seat is envisioned for Assemblyman George Amedore, R-Rotterdam. It’s boundaries were revealed to the Times Union by a state official; the official maps for all Senate districts will be released this week." The district has about 325,000 residents and has more Democrats than Republicans. President Barack Obama won the proposed district in 2008 by a 55-44 margin. See more for the complete list of towns in the proposed district. Read the full story in Capitol Confidential.

Towns in the proposed district:

All of Montgomery County

Parts of Schenectady County:
Towns of:
Duanesburg
Princetown
Rotterdam
Part of the City of Schenectady

Albany County
Towns of:
Guilderland
New Scotland
Coeymans
Westerlo
Rensselaerville
Knox
Berne

All of Greene County

Parts of Ulster County
Town and City of Kingston
Saugerties
Woodstock
Town of Ulster
Esopus
Hurley
Marbletown
Lloyd

"Main St. market encore favored" is the unfortunate headline on Doron Tyler Antrim's story in The Daily Mail about how Catskill officials, for the third year in a row, are going to spend a lot of time talking about where the Farmer's Market should be located. Antrim quotes only one official, Trustee Brian Kehoe, saying he wants the market to move back to Main St., where it was in 2010. He also quotes Trustee Jim Chewens, who says the businesses in Catskill do not want it there. He also quotes Village President Vincent Seeley, who says it did not work well at its 2011 location, a parking lot adjacent to Church Street. The long public argument over the location may be cut short early this year, as the Catskill Region Farmers Association meets Thursday to discuss the market’s future. They may not want to come back to a town that moves the market to a different location each year. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Jimmy Vielkind in Capitol Confidential reports that Rep. Chris Gibson (R-Kinderhook) raised $245,395 in the last fundraising quarter, and now has $702,022.21 cash on hand to fight off opponents, according to the latest Federal Elections Commission filing. Senior employees of Elliott Associates and Elliott Management, a hedge fund founded by Paul Singer, the chairman of the board of the conservative Manhattan Institute think tank, gave the most. The Congressman, who represents both Greene and Columbia counties, also received $4,000 from the PAC controlled by Goldman Sachs investment firm. Vielkind then relates an old Gibson campaign press releases from his 2010 campaign, when he complained that then-Congressman Scott Murphy accepted money from “Wall Street special interest donors” including Goldman. Gibson’s spokeswoman Stephanie Valle focused on the other half of Gibson's war chest. “We’re fortunate to receive over half of our contributions from individuals, who include seniors, small business owners, farmers and many others from all walks of life,” she told Vielkind. So far, only Dutchess County legislator, Democrat Joel Tyner, has announced an interest in taking on Gibson in the fall. Read the entire story in Capitol Confidential.

Prattsville is indeed rebuilding, after the devastating floods associated with Hurricane Irene last August. This March 3 the town is bringing in government, non-profit organizations, green building groups, mortgage lenders, historic preservationists, architects, real estate agencies, housing specialists, landscapers, and contractors in building, painting, electrical, plumbing, and masonry for a "Housing Expo & Home Improvement Show." A Housing Resource Center will open early to mid-spring to provide ongoing assistance to local homeowners. Annie Hull, the Committee Chairperson says, "the Expo will be a tremendous benefit for homeowners at all phases of rebuilding," as, "homeowners will benefit by being able to meet and discuss projects with many vendors at one time." The Housing Expo & Home Improvement Show will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 3. For more information, contact Annie Hull, Prattsville Housing Committee Chair at 518-299-3278 or email her at dadmhull@aol.com.

Ariel Zangla in The Daily Freeman reports that Greene County is paying an Leisure Business Advisors of Richmond, Va. something less than $10,000 of taxpayer money to audit financial prospects for the proposed Great Wolf Lodge indoor water park in New Baltimore. County Administrator Shaun Groden told Zangla that he should have a report Feb. 3 on the prospects for $115-million 400-room hotel and 80,000-square-foot indoor water park, restaurant and lounge, large conference center, arcade, and gift shop. The Greene County Industrial Development Agency wants to borrow up to $15.6 million to pay for infrastructure improvements for the Kalkberg Commerce Park in New Baltimore, where the water park would be one of many businesses. That loan would be repaid through a fee on room rentals and sales tax at the hotel. The owners of Zoom Flume, the outdoor water park in Durham, are among the projects critics. Read the entire story in The Daily Freeman.

[caption id="attachment_17225" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Barbara J. Robinson of Red Apple Realty in Claverack."][/caption]The Columbia-Greene Board of Realtors (CGBR) named Barbara J. Robinson, co-owner and Principal Broker of Red Apple Realty in Claverack, its Realtor of the Year for 2011. Robinson has been a member of the Grievance and Professional Standards committees for the CGBR for 19 years and now chairs the Education Committee and is serving a three-year term on the organization’s Board of Directors. Ted Banta, president of the CGBR and newly elected Town Supervisor in Cairo, said the honor was well deserved. “Barbara champions honesty, dedication and expertise in our local real estate industry. The award is a show of respect she has earned among her peer professionals.”

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 Earlton, in Greene County.
The National Weather Service predicts Earlton will be partly sunny, with a high near 38 on Wednesday. Wednesday night should be mostly cloudy, with a low around 23. The forecast for the rest of the week:
• Thursday: A slight chance of rain after 1 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 41, low around 35.
• Friday: Rain likely, mainly before 9 a.m., with a high near 45, low around 28.
• Saturday: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 41, low around 27.
• Sunday: A chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 37.

Town meetings today
Today is the fourth Wednesday of the month.
ATHENS Village meeting at 7 p.m. at Community Center, 2 First St., Athens (945-1551).
CATSKILL Board of Education meeting 7 p.m. in in Catskill High School library, 341 West Main St. Catskill.
COLUMBIA COUNTY Public Works Committee at 6 p.m. at County Office Building, 401 State Street, Hudson.
HUDSON Department of Public Works Committee meeting at 6 p.m.; Legal Committee meeting starts at 6:45 p.m at City Hall, 520 Warren Street, Hudson (828-1030).
KINDERHOOK Historical Committee meeting at 7 p.m., Town Hall, 4 Church St, Niverville (784-2233).

The skies above
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:13 a.m./ 5:03 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 8:10 a.m. / 7:57 p.m.

Last night/Today's big games
(Hosts: Read scores in the a.m. only, and schedules in the p.m.)
Scores
NBA: New York Knicks 111 at Charlotte Bobcats 78, Tyson Chandler had 20 points, and 17 rebounds.
Schedules
NBA: New York Knicks at Cleveland Cavaliers, 7 p.m. (TV: MSG)
NBA: New Jersey Nets at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. (TV: YES)

WGXC Program Notes
Special Programming Wed. Jan. 25:
• "The Schoemer Show," Noon-2 p.m.: All sorts of music from former Newsweek and New York Times music critic Karen Schoemer.
• "WGXC Afternoon Show," 4-6 p.m.: Live from the Catskill Community Center with Ron Diamondstein, Matt Bua, Peter Krug, Jillian Sutton, and others.

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_20120312_fishmap.mp3

Audio headlines for top of the hour
• 5 a.m.: WGXC News 7:22 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 3:04
• 6 a.m.: WGXC News 7:22 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 3:04
• 7 a.m.: WGXC News 7:22 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 3:04
• 9 a.m.: WGXC News 7:22 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 3:04
• 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

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="206" caption="Joe Temperly and Gary Smulyan, from Wikipedia."][/caption]Host Cheryl K. interviews baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan this Thursday, Jan, 26 from 7-9:30 p.m. on "The Jazz Disturbance." Smulyan has long been recognized as a major voice on baritone saxophone. Winner of the 2011 "DownBeat" Critics Poll and "Jazz Times" Readers and Critics Polls for baritone saxophone, Smulyan is known for his aggressive rhythmic sense, intelligent and creative harmonic vocabulary, and a strong and incisive wit. He's been a member of Woody Herman's Young Thundering Herd, and was part of the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra under the direction of the late Bob Brookmeyer, as well as the Mingus Big Band and the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra. He currently performs with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Joe Lovano's Nonet, the Dave Holland Octet as well as Big Band, as well as George Coleman's Octet and the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band.

Two anonymous donors helped the Hudson School District meet a goal to raise $100,000 to create an endowment for the Hudson Schools Arts and Humanities Fund. The fund is one of six such funds the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation launched over the last ten years. The Foundation received an anonymous check for $25,000 in December topping off a fundraising effort that had been underway for over a year. Berkshire Taconic’s consultant Jeffrey Levitsky, who administers the fund, said the check was a terrific vote of confidence, "in the power of the arts and humanities to bring inspiration and hope to the students of the Hudson public schools." For more information on the program, to apply for a grant, or make a donation to the fund visit the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation's webpage: www.berkshiretaconic.org

Michael Winerip argues that Obama's "Race To The Top" initiative creates a lot of paperwork and bureaucracy in the schools for a minimal investment from the Federal government. Writing in The New York Times education blog, he questions whether the Federal government's education reform program will produce any dividends in the schools. The article describes the efforts of one school administrator in Long Island to create an assessment system for music and band teachers that will comply with the new standards. Paul R. Infante, the director of fine and applied arts for the Commack School District on Long Island, tells Winerip implementing an arbitrary system will, "take so much time away from instruction to focus on the assessment.” He also says he can’t tell whether the state will be rigorous in its oversight, or do just enough to satisfy federal regulations. He feels certain about one thing: “A considerable amount of time will be spent creating a significant amount of mandated paperwork.” The article also traces the chronology of the current dispute between the state and the teachers' unions over teacher assessments. Read Winerip's critique of Race To The Top in the New York Times.

John Mason writes in the Register Star about about the Regents Reform Agenda, a plan financed through a federal grant awarded from the Race to the Top initiative. New York is one of 47 or 48 states that are moving to adopt national standards, including higher benchmarks in math and English Language Arts. Questar III administrators visited the Taconic Hills School Board last week to discuss the reform plan. Questar Superintendent James Baldwin described a four-part plan to improve the schools. The program calls for the adoption of the higher standards which it calls Common Core Standards. The second element is the incorporation of improved data systems, which will track students from kindergarten through 12th grade. The third focuses on teacher certification, making sure teachers are qualified to teach their subject area. The fourth element is a push to improve low achieving schools and hold them accountable if they fail. The state has had an accountability system in place for over a decade, but Baldwin said a lack of enforcement allowed low-performing schools to fall through the cracks. “Schools have been failing to meet the targets established for them," Baldwin said, "the state has not responded by closing them or forcing them to reconfigure. There will be much greater scrutiny.” Questar III is the local Board of Cooperative Educational Services, or BOCES, and oversees the 23 school districts in Columbia, Greene and Rensselaer counties for the state Education Department. Read about the BOCES school reform initiative in the Register Star.

Jimmy Vielkind in the Albany Times-Union reports that State Senate Republicans have a cash advantage of nearly five to one as they try to hold their slight majority later this year. The Senate Republican Campaign Committee has $4,914,003.82, compared with $305,556.71 for the Democrats. The New York Public Research Interest Group combined those central campaign committees with the accounts of individual candidates, subtracted debt, and pegged the GOP edge at $15,041,583.91 to $3,226,155.62. Read the full story in the Albany Times-Union.

An anti-high-impact hydraulic fracturing protest drew over 500 opponents of the controversial gas drilling method to Albany today, according to the Times Union. Protestors gathered this morning in the Well of the Legislative Office Building chanting "no fracking way." Rebecca Melnitsky describes some notable moments in the Times-Union's Capitol Confidential blog. They include: Julia Walsh and Claire Sandberg from Frack Action, who brought a gallon of greenish-water from hydrofracked Dimock, Pennsylvania; protestors pointing out that Bulgaria has banned hydrofracking; farmers in the rally holding locally made bread as everyone marched to the legislative offices; and Josh Fox, the director of the anti-fracking documentary "Gasland," who told protestors that every time he comes to Albany, "there’s more of you and the weather is worse." Read the full story in the Albany Times-Union.

Paul Davies criticizes Gov. Andrew Cuomo for embracing casino gambling in an opinion column in The New York Times. Davies is a journalist and a fellow at the Institute for American Values, a socially conservative think tank. Davies writes that, if New York follows the blueprint of other states that have allowed casinos, then they'll be located in rural and working-class towns and cities that cater mainly to low rollers, not James Bond-type jet-setters. He calls state run casinos, "a regressive tax that extracts wealth from the very citizens who can least afford it." Davies also points to studies that show that, while casinos may create some jobs and generate revenue, they also produce little to no economic spinoff and in fact divert spending away from surrounding businesses like restaurants, movie theaters, and live entertainment. Read Davies Op-ed in The New York Times.

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 Livingston, in Columbia County.
The National Weather Service predicts Livingston Monday will be mostly sunny, with a high near 45. Tuesday night should be partly cloudy, with a low around 25. The forecast for the rest of the week:
• Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 39, low around 23.
• Thursday: A slight chance of rain after 1 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 41, low around 31.
• Friday: A chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 44.

Town meetings today
Today is the fourth Tuesday of the month.
CAIRO Planning Board workshop meeting at 7 p.m. at Acra Community Center, Old County Route 23, Cairo. 518-622-9898
GREENPORT Planning Board meeting, 7:30 p.m. at Greenport Town Hall, Town Hall Drive, Hudson (828-4656).
HUDSON Common Council Economic Development Committee meeting, 6 p.m. at City Hall, 520 Warren Street, Hudson (828-1030).

The skies above
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:14 a.m./ 5:02 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 7:41 a.m. / 6:53 p.m.

Last night/Today's big games
(Hosts: Read scores in the a.m. only, and schedules in the p.m.)
Scores
NBA: New Jersey Nets 95 at Chicago Bulls 110; Jordan Farmar, Richard Hamilton, 22 points each.
Schedules
NBA: New York Knicks at Charlotte Bobcats, 7 p.m. (TV: MSG)

WGXC Program Notes
Special Programming Tue. Jan. 24:
• "4th Tuesday Opera Scene," Noon-2 p.m.: Ed Beaty catches listeners up with opera.

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_20120312_fishmap.mp3

Audio headlines for top of the hour
• 5 a.m.: WGXC News 9:15 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 3:00
• 6 a.m.: WGXC News 9:15 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 3:00
• 7 a.m.: WGXC News 9:15 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 3:00
• 9 a.m.: WGXC News 9:15 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 3:00
• 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

The Fri., Jan. 20 Chatham Courier included a tribute to local musician Walter Bauer, whose body was found in a creek downstream from the Normans Kill Bridge in Delmar, Wednesday. He was 45-years-old. Police located a stranded vehicle off to the side of the bridge’s roadway, and traced it back to Bauer's residence in Chatham. When Chatham police officers arrived at his home they found a disturbing message, which led them to believe he committed suicide. Bauer belonged to many bands and performing groups, including Conehead Buddha, Chatham Airplane, and the PantoLoons of the Ghent Playhouse. Rob Caldwell, owner of Musica in Hudson, was a long time friend of Bauer's. He spoke to the Courier's Audra Jornov about the man and his music. “He approached every genre of music with reverence ... it was sacred to him,” said Caldwell. Friends and employers also mourned the loss of a talented artist and a reliable worker. Bauer was a chocolatier and beekeeper at Tierra Farm in Valatie and a yogurt producer at the Old Chatham Sheepherding Company. Bauer's sister, Sheri Bauer-Mayorga, hosts a radio show "What is Music?" every other Sunday at 9 a.m. on WGXC. Read the tribute to Walter Bauer in the Chatham Courier and Caldwell wrote about Bauer and his music in a holiday column in the Register Star in December.

Audra Jornov in the Register-Star reports 22-year-old Loudonville resident Schuyler P. Burns is in critical condition after crashing a 2011 Dodge Ram flat-bed tow truck into a tree in Kinderhook in the morning of Mon., Jan. 23. The one-car accident closed a portion of Route 9 heading north Monday morning. State Police and the Department of Transportation described the accident as serious, but could not say how many people may have been injured or to what extent. The accident occurred around 8:15 a.m. near Rapp Road and closed the northbound side of Rte. 9. The route re-opened three hours later. Read the full story in the Register-Star.