Newt Gingrich handily won the Republican presidential primary in South Carolina Sat., Jan. 21. Mitt Romney finished second, Ron Santorum third, Ron Paul fourth, Herman Cain (who dropped out, but who let comedian Stephen Colbert run under his name) fifth, and Rick Perry, who dropped out earlier in the week, sixth. In the only vote that matters, the delegate count it is now a tie according to The New York Times, with Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich both with 19 delegates; Rick Santorum has twelve; Ron Paul, 3; and since-out Jon Huntsman has two. CNN has a different delegate count: Romney 31; Gingrich, 26 Paul, 10; Santorum, 8. They both agree it takes 1144 to win, and many of those come from party insiders, sitting politicians, and others, and not just primary and caucuses results. South Carolina was winner-take-all, but most states this year split delegates proportionally. New York voters go to the polls April 24.

Via Boing Boing, a tribute to Etta James, above. WGXC's Philip Grant hosts a tribute at 10 a.m. on WGXC 90.7-FM. Also Johnny Otis just passed away too. See below.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for all areas south of Greene and Columbia counties. Delaware, Ulster, Dutchess, and points south may get hit with up to eight inches of snow tonight, while the forecast for Greene and Columbia counties is just an inch or two.

The Daily Mail reports that the Catskill Village Police Department implement their snow emergency plan Friday, January 20, at 8 p.m. "All vehicles should be parked on the odd side of Village streets from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., vehicles should then be parked on the even side of the street from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Vehicles should continue to switch sides of the street every 12 hours, until the snow emergency has been canceled. Parking enforcement will remain in effect for a period of 72 hours for clean up purposes." The statement says there will be no parking on Main Street from Green Street to Summit Avenue beginning at 7 p.m. on January 20. Read the full announcement in The Daily Mail.

Listen to Jack Ross-Pilkington with an audio ski report here. PLAY CLIP

Meanwhile, Chris Valdez in the Windham Journal reports that at Windham Mountain this weekend, the Adaptive Sports Foundation holds its eighth annual Learn to Ski and Ride Festival for the veterans of the Wounded Warriors Project. The free festival, formerly known as Support the Troops, is a three-day event introducing disabled veterans to skiing, snowboarding, tubing and ice skating on the slope side of Windham Mountain. “It’s one more step for our vets to transition back into civilian life,” volunteer ski instructor and media coordinator Karen Feldman said. “It gives them confidence to try other things, expand their comfort zone and understand their abilities. When they see that they can do this, it empowers them to try other things.” Read the full story in the Windham Journal.

Mountain conditions
All three mountains got a few inches of snow this week. Catamount Ski in Columbia County reports 25 of 33 trails are open, with four of six lifts running, and 16-32" of snow. Windham Mountain has a snow base between 16" and 44" on 41 trails with six lifts open. Hunter Mountain has up to 12" to 50" of snow on 41 trails with six lifts.

A staff report in The Daily Mail says a third bullet was found at a local school in recent weeks on Thursday, this one at the Cairo-Durham Middle and High School. Superintendent Sally Sharkey told the newspaper there is information leading officials to believe it is a copycat of the incidents at both Catskill and Coxsackie-Athens Central School. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Hilary Hawke in the Ravena News-Herald reports that in Coeymans in Albany County, "a group of local business owners had asked for reconsideration of several issues, among them rezoning parts of [Route] 144 to industrial use." Hawke does not say what the possible industrial use might be, but does report that Town Supervisor Steve Flach is going to ask attorneys and the planning board how to proceed. Flach is also asking business owners in Coeymans to contact his office about any laws that find unfair. Flach hopes to hold a public hearing on any proposed changes in local laws in February. Read the entire story in the Ravena News-Herald.

Patricia Doxsey in The Daily Freeman reports that U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, a Democrat who represents an area just south of Greene County, will not seek re-election this fall. Hinchey, 73, was elected to a 10th two-year term in November 2010. Hours after his announcement, his wife, Allison Lee Hinchey, was charged with drunken driving for the second time in eight months in Albany. That story is also in The Daily Freeman.

Tom Casey in the Register-Star reports that the Columbia County Republican Committee backs Richard Wager of Millbrook, while Columbia County Democrats favor Didi Barrett of Millbrook to replace Marcus Molinaro for the 103rd Assembly district seat, up for special election March 20. In 2008, Wager lost a primary to Sandy Treadwell (R-Westport) for the U.S. House of Representative 20th District seat. Barrett failed to unseat New York State Senator Steve Saland in 2010. The seat in the Assembly in Albany represents Ancram, Copake, Hillsdale, Hudson, Greenport, Claverack, Stockport, Ghent, Austerlitz and Canaan in Columbia County, plus Dutchess County to the south.

W. T. Eckert in The Daily Mail reports that 41-year-old Brian Mattice of Gilboa, a Hunter Mountain Ski Resort staff member, died Wednesday, falling 200 feet from a ski trail. Working with snow-making equipment in the morning, Mattice slipped on ice, slid down an embankment near the Milky Way ski trail, state police said. striking a tree and rock. "Mattice was wearing a helmet and 'crampon' style foot gear attached to his boots," Eckert wrote. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

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 Cairo, in Greene County.
The National Weather Service predicts for Friday in Cairo it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 24. Friday night there is a chance of snow, mainly after 3 a.m. Increasing clouds, with a low around 13. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible. The weekend forecast:
• Saturday: Snow likely, mainly before 3 p.m. Cloudy, with a high near 28, low around 14.
• Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 32, low near 30, chance of freezing rain overnight.
• Monday: A chance of rain or freezing rain. Cloudy, with a high near 48, a low around 34.

Town meetings today
Today is the third Friday of the month, and we do not know of any town meetings today.

The skies above
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:16 a.m./ 4:57 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 4:52 a.m. / 2:28 p.m.

Last night/Today's big games
(Hosts: Read scores in the a.m. only, and schedules in the p.m.)
Scores
NBA: Los Angeles Lakers 87 at Miami Heat 98, Lebron James 31 points.
Schedules
NBA FRI: Milwaukee Bucks at New York Knicks, 7:30 p.m. (TV: MSG)
NCAABB SAT: Syracuse (1) at Notre Dame, 6 p.m. (TV: ESPN)
NFL SUN: New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers, 6 p.m. (TV: FOX)

WGXC Program Notes
Special Programming Fri. Jan. 20:
• "Imprint," 10 a.m.: Host Terry Doyle takes listeners on a tour of Hudson Valley music.
• "WGXC Afternoon Show," 4-6 p.m.: Ron Diamondstein interviews Teddy Thompson, Jack Ross-Pilkington with the Ski Report and This Day in History, music, and more.

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_20120122 Ghent Playhouse auditions

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

[caption id="attachment_10211" align="alignright" width="224" caption="Rep. Chris Gibson is not supporting SOPA/PIPA. Photo by Tom Roe at Chatham Middle School."][/caption]Anyone trying to pull up a Wikipedia entry on Wed., Jan. 18, faced a blacked-out page reading "Imagine a world without free knowledge." The site is one of many that shut down to protest two pieces of proposed legislation before congress: The House’s Stop Online Piracy Act and the Senate’s Protect IP (intellectual property) Act (SOPA/PIPA). They were designed to attack the problem of foreign Web sites that sell pirated or counterfeit goods, but tech companies see the laws as a dangerous overreach that would add burdensome costs and new rules threatening the free exchange of ideas and information on the Internet. Locally, both New York Senators, Democrats Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, support the legislation, while Republican Chris Gibson of Kinderhook, gave WGXC this statement:

"The Congressman certainly recognizes that online piracy is a significant issue, and one that needs to be addressed. That being said, as SOPA is currently proposed, he believes there are valid concerns. One of the hallmarks of the Internet has been its relative freedom from regulation, and that is something which needs to be preserved. The legislation in the House is currently at the Committee level (on a committee Congressman Gibson is not on) and has yet to be finalized - thus, before making a final decision, we'll be carefully reviewing what amendments and changes are made. But, if the bill was considered as proposed today, he would vote no."

Governor Andrew Cuomo used his budget address on Tue., Jan. 17, to unveil a series of non-budget related proposals, including a five-year plan to take over increases in Medicaid from counties, a new pension tier including a 401(k)-style option and making additional school funding contingent on adopting a teacher evaluation system — threatening that a failure to do so would jeopardize federal funding. “The equation is simple at the end of the day. No evaluation, no money, period,” Cuomo said. Carl Korn, of the New York State teachers' union NYSUT, spoke to WGXC's on Monday about the teacher evaluation dispute. Korn said politicians are blaming the unions for holding up the process, even though the state is appealing a court decision that went the unions' way. Click here to listen to an interview WGXC's Noah Reibel conducted with Korn. PLAY CLIP 8:13

The Albany Times-Union reports that Andrew Cuomo has amassed $14.4 million in campaign contributions and has posted a list of the Governor's biggest donors on its Capitol Confidential page. NYPIRG also posts the complete list of Cuomo donors. Read Capitol Confidential for the full story.

The Times-Unions' Brian Nearing writes about the bat plague "White Nose Syndrome." Since first appearing five years ago near Albany, the disease has swept through the eastern U.S. and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates its killed 6.7 million bats. "White nose" seems to be a cave-dwelling fungus causing bats to wake up early from winter hibernation and go outside and either freeze or starve in a futile search for food. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe told the paper, "Bats provide tremendous value to the U.S. economy as natural pest control for American farms and forests every year, while playing an essential role in helping to control insects that can spread disease to people." The first cases of the disease were documented in 2006 at Howe's Cave in Schoharie County. IT has since spread tothe disease has spread to 16 states and four Canadian provinces. According to the article, many hibernating bat colonies in New York and elsewhere have been completely wiped out. Researchers speculate that the fungus, which gives infected bats a distinctive fuzzy white patch around their noses and mouths, was unintentionally brought into caves by human explorers. There is no know cure or treatment for the illness, although recent research suggests a small proportion of bats survive after being infected. Read the full story in the Albany Times-Union.

Price Chopper recalled some of its store-brand shredded cheese Wednesday. The recall comes amid concern there may be shredded plastic fragments mixed inside. Any 16-ounce bags of the grocery chain's "Coyote Joe's Shredded Taco Cheese" with an expiration date of April 21, 2012, can be returned to any Price Chopper store for a full refund, the company said in a statement. The cheese was sold chainwide between Jan. 4 and Jan. 17.

Bryan Fitzgerald of the Albany Times-Union reports that three Columbia County teen-agers were arrested Tuesday after they broke into a Stuyvesant Falls home, restrained a 13-year-old and robbed the house. State police said Ryan Shufelt, 18, of Chatham, and Nicholas Dodge, 17, of Kinderhook, stormed into a home on Route 25A at 5:20 p.m. One of the suspects held down the 13-year-old while the other grabbed several unidentified items from the home, they said. Alysha Narzynski, 18, of Kinderhook, accompanied Shufelt and Dodge. All three suspects were arrested together and charged with conspiracy. Shufelt and Dodge were also charged with second-degree robbery, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. All three suspects were arraigned in the town of Kinderhook court and sent to Columbia County Correctional Facility without bail. Read about the arrests in the Times-Union.

Bryan Fitzgerald of The Albany Times-Union reports that police have recovered the body of a 45-year-old Chatham man who jumped off the Normans Kill Bridge on Tuesday night. The man, whose identity has not been released, was pulled from the creek at 10:30 a.m. Wed., Jan. 18. State police Lt. Thomas Heffernan told the Times-Union the man left a note at his home indicating he was "very despondent and possibly suicidal." Read the article in the Times-Union.

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 Stuyvesant, in Columbia County.
The National Weather Service predicts for Thursday in Stuyvesant a slight chance of snow showers after 3 p.m. Increasing clouds, with a high near 29. Thursday night there's a chance of snow showers, mainly before 5 a.m., with a low around 19. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible. The weekend forecast:
• Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 27, low around 15.
• Saturday: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a high near 26, low around 18.
• Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 34, low around 26.
• Monday: A chance of rain, snow, freezing rain, and sleet. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 43.

Town meetings today
Today is the third Thursday of the month.
ANCRAM Board meeting at 7 p.m. in Town Hall at 1416 County Rte. 7, Ancram (329-6512).
CHATHAM Town Board meeting at 7 p.m. Town Hall, 488 State Route 295, Chatham (392-3262).
COLUMBIA COUNTY Public Safety Committee meeting at 6 p.m. at County Office Building, 401 State Street, Hudson.
COPAKE Comprehensive Planning Committee meeting at 7:30 p.m., at Town Hall, 230 Mt. View Road, Copake (329-1234).
DURHAM Town board meeting at 7:30 p.m. in Town Building, 7309 State Rt. 81, East Durham.
GHENT A 6:45 p.m. public hearing before the Ghent Town Board to consider the adoption of Local Law No. 1 of the year 2012 which would amend the Zoning Law in connection with the definition of the word “use.” Also, Town Board meeting at the Ghent Town Hall, 2306 State Route 66, Ghent (392-4644).
GREENE IDA The Greene County Industrial Development Agency holds their Board Meeting at 8 a.m. at Greene County IDA Office, 270 Mansion St., Coxsackie. 518-731-5500
WINDHAM Town board meets at 8 p.m. at Town Hall, 371 State Rt. 296, Hensonville (734-4170)

The skies above
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:19 a.m./ 4:49 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 8:54 p.m. / 9:01 a.m.

Last night/Today's big games
(Hosts: Read scores in the a.m. only, and schedules in the p.m.)
Scores
NBA: Golden State Warriors 100 at New Jersey Nets 107, 7:30 p.m. (TV: YES)
NBA: Phoenix Suns 91 at New York Knicks 88
Schedules
NBA: Los Angeles Lakers at Miami Heat, 8 p.m. (TV: TNT)

WGXC Program Notes
Special Programming Thu. Jan. 19:
• "Tell It Like It Is," 10 a.m.: Hosts Christina Malisoff and Kieran Riley will talk to Kathy Manley, Vice President of the New York Civil Liberties Union, about the recently-approved National Defense Authorization Act.
• "69," 9:30-midnight: The Magic Stranger celebrates Janis Joplin.

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_20120122 Ghent Playhouse auditions

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

Kinderhook Republican Supervisor Pat Grattan recently announced he wants to televise local Kinderhook town board meetings, and now that he is also the chairman of the Columbia County Board of Supervisors, he wants those meetings on local cable access channels too. During a pre-recorded interview that airs Wed., Jan. 18 at 10 a.m. on "@Issue" with host Victor Mendolia, Grattan said he hoped to make the meetings more transparent for both the public and the supervisors. Click here to listen to an mp3 audio excerpt of the interview with Pat Grattan on "@Issue." PLAY CLIP