Folks in Catskill held the 10th annual Candlelight March for Peace and Justice down Main Street Saturday evening, according Rob LeDonne in The Daily Mail. New York Assemblyman Pete Lopez (R-Schoharie), Superintendent of Catskill Schools Dr. Kathleen P. Farrell, the Rev. Richard Turpin of Second Baptist Church, Mr. Albert Gasparini of the Catskill Ecumenical Council of Churches, and the Rev. Vicky Eastland of the First Reformed Church were among the speakers, and Catskill High School’s Treblaires sang three songs. On Monday, Jan. 16 at 10 a.m., the 17th annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. March for Social and Economic Justice begins at the Smith Street African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, 124 Smith St. in Poughkeepsie.

Andrea Macko in The Greenville Mountain View Pioneer (no website) reports that three students in Greenville High School's paid internship program with Ulster County's C2 Biotechnologies discovered a polymer, "with the potential to produce biodegradable plastic." Local officials, such as State Assemblyman Pete Lopez (R/C/I-Schoharie), and Congressman Chris Gibson (R-Kinderhook), were at the high school Wed., Jan. 11 to tout the program. "We went through real-world biotechnical experiments," says Travis Chicocki, one of the three students. "Activities were actually relevant to the real world." Read the full story in The Greenville Mountain View Pioneer.

Jim Planck in The Daily Mail reports that New York schools are in for significant changes to the annual state assessment tests. There will more questions on both the English Language Arts (ELA) and the math tests and more time will be set aside for them. The tests will now be administered over a three-day period and the districts are now mandated to set aside nintey minutes for each session. The new tests also feature "field test" questions that don’t count, and are only there to help the state get a better feel for designing future tests. The ELA tests will also be scored differently. Writing mechanics such as spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and usage, will now count, though specific details of how much they will factor in to scores will be in a forthcoming document from the State's Education Dept. Read about new school assessment tests in The Daily Mail. The ELA tests will be given from April 17-19, and the math ones from April 25-27. The changes are bound to play into an ongoing debate about how much time students and schools devote to standardized assessment tests. Read the Gotham Schools blog on testing for more information on the issue.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) holds public hearings next week on proposed amendments to air quality, including a 2 p.m. Wednesday meeting in the DEC's Public Assembly Room 129A, at 625 Broadway in Albany. The DEC is considering changes rules regulating diesel fuel emissions, sludge incineration, and lead in the air. Read the WGXC Newsroom for the full press release from the DEC.

DEC proposes to amend Part 248, Use of Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel Fuel and Best Available Retrofit Technology for Heavy Duty Vehicles. These amendments will continue to implement the Diesel Emission Reduction Act of 2006 (DERA) and conform Part 248 to the recent ECL Section 19-0323 changes. The amended regulation will continue to generally mitigate a potential threat to the health and well being of New Yorkers posed by diesel exhaust emissions by providing emissions reductions.

DEC also proposes to amend Part 219, Incinerators, to adopt a new Subpart 219-9, which would apply statewide to existing sewage sludge incineration (SSI) units constructed on or before October 14, 2010. Part 219 will also be amended to include new regulatory limits for nine air pollutants, an opacity limit, requirements for performance testing, operator training, recordkeeping and reporting and compliance monitoring. DEC is undertaking this rulemaking to comply with federal requirements pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA) and federal SSI guidelines. Part 200, general provisions, will also be amended to incorporate the federal requirements.

DEC is also proposing an infrastructure assessment as a SIP revision for the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for lead, as required under the CAA. Pursuant to the CAA, states are required to submit infrastructure demonstrations to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), showing that their air programs address basic SIP requirements related to the attainment of a new or revised NAAQS.

The hearings for the proposed amendments and SIP revisions will be held as follows:

* Date: Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Time: 2:00 p.m.

Location: NYSDEC Annex, Region 2, 11-15 47th Ave., Hearing Room 106, Long Island City, NY 11101

* Date: Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Time: 2:00 p.m.

Location: NYSDEC, 625 Broadway, Public Assembly Room 129A, Albany, NY 12233

* Date: Thursday, January 19, 2012

Time: 2:00 p.m.

Location: NYSDEC Region 8 Office Conference Room, 6274 East Avon-Lima Road (Rts. 5 and 20), Avon, NY 14414

Requests for information and comments related to Part 248 may be obtained from James Bologna, NYSDEC Division of Air Resources, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-3255, telephone: (518) 402-8292, or email: 248DERA@gw.dec.state.ny.us.

Requests for information and comments related to Part 219 and Part 200 may be obtained from John Henkes, NYSDEC Division of Air Resources, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-3254, telephone: (518) 402-8403, or email: 219incin@gw.dec.state.ny.us.

Requests for information and comments related to the proposed SIP revision may be obtained from Scott Griffin, NYSDEC Division of Air Resources, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-3251, telephone: (518) 402-8396, or email: airsips@gw.dec.state.ny.us.

Written statements for the proposed regulatory amendments and SIP revisions may be submitted to DEC at the above addresses, until 5 p.m., January 26, 2012.

The proposed regulations, SIP revisions and associated supporting information may be obtained from the DEC Web site at http://www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/26402.html or from any of the following DEC offices:

* REGION 1, NYSDEC-Region 1, SUNY @ Stony Brook, 50 Circle Road, Stony Brook, NY 11790, Attention: Merlange Genece
* REGION 2, 1 Hunters Point Plaza, 47-40 21st Street, Long Island City, NY 11101, Attention: Samuel Lieblich
* REGION 3, 21 South Putt Corners Road, New Paltz, NY 12561, Attention: Kenneth Grzyb
* REGION 4, 1130 North Westcott Rd., Schenectady, NY 12306, Attention: Donald Spencer
* REGION 5, Hudson Street Extension, Box 220, Warrensburg, NY 12885, Attention: James Coutant
* REGION 6, Watertown State Office Bldg., 317 Washington St., Watertown, NY 13601, Attention: Thomas Morgan
* REGION 7, 615 Erie Boulevard West, Syracuse, NY 13204-2400, Attention: Reginald Parker
* REGION 8, 6274 East Avon-Lima Road, Avon, NY 14414, Attention: Thomas Marriott
* REGION 9, 270 Michigan Ave., Buffalo, NY 14203, Attention: Alfred Carlacci

Permalink: http://readme.readmedia.com/DEC-Announces-Public-Hearings-on-Proposed-Air-Quality-Regulation/3265161

John Mason in The Register Star reports that Taghkanic Supervisor Elizabeth Young was involved in a car accident Saturday that took out a power line along Route 9H. Valatie Rescue Squad, the Greenport Fire Department, and the New York State Police responded to the accident, which occurred at 11:26 a.m. Route 9H was closed while emergency personnel worked on the accident. The site was turned over to National Grid an hour later, who set about replacing a pole. Power was out to the surrounding area for several hours while the pole was replaced. State Police are investigating. An update to the story says Young's car was totaled, and that she was examined at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Hudson and his fine. Read the story in the Register-Star.

Monday is Martin Luther King Day, and The Daily Freeman reports what is closed:
• Amtrak: Holiday schedule
• Banks: Closed
• Federal offices: Closed
• Financial markets: Closed
• Greene County Transit: No service
• Mail delivery: None
• Metro-North: Saturday schedule, with additional trains
• Schools: Closed
• State offices: Closed
• Trailways: Holiday schedule

The United States observes Martin Luther King, Jr. Day today.

Weather right now
Hosts: Please announce the current temperature in Hudson, which is in Studio A in Hudson. Please properly credit any other local temperatures you announce on the air. The temperature on the far left is from the Hawthorne Valley Farm Weather Page; the two others are Cairo and Catskill Weather Underground pages.

Please credit the above temperatures: From the Hawthorne Valley Farm Weather Page; and from Cairo and Catskill Weather Underground pages.
On the Hawthorne Valley Farm Weather Page, when the computer at Hawthorne Valley is turned on, the Hawthorne Valley Farm Weather Page reports weather information live from Harlemville. Check dates and times at bottom of image to see whether reports are live or from when the computer was last turned off. Please properly credit any other local temperatures you announce on the air.

Local weather forecast
Today's forecast is specific to Medusa, in Albany County.
The National Weather Service predicts for Monday in Medusa it will be mostly sunny, with a high near 29. Monday night there is a chance of snow before midnight, then snow, freezing rain, and sleet likely, with a low around 26. New ice accumulation of less than a 0.1 of an inch possible. New snow and sleet accumulation of less than one inch possible. The forecast for the rest of the week:
• Tuesday: Snow, freezing rain, and sleet likely before 8 a.m., then rain likely. Cloudy, with a high near 40. Overnight low 25.
• Wednesday: A slight chance of snow showers. Partly sunny and breezy, with a high near 25, a low around 10.
• Thursday: Partly sunny, with a high near 28.

Town meetings today
Today is the third Monday of the month.
ATHENS Town meeting at 6:45 p.m. at Town Hall, 2 First Street, Athens (734-3636).
AUSTERLITZ Comprehensive plan meeting at 7 p.m., at 812 Route 203, Austerlitz (392-3260).
CANAAN Planning board meeting at 7 p.m., at Town Hall, 1647 Route 5 South, Canaan (781-3144).
GERMANTOWN Town Board meets at 7 p.m., at Town Hall, 50 Palatine Park Road, Germantown (537-6687).
GREENE COUNTY 6 p.m. meetings of Government Ops and Finance committees, plus party caucuses at County Building, 411 Main St., Catskill (719-3270).
GREENVILLE Town Board meeting at 7:30 p.m. at Town Offices, corner of routes 32 and 81, Greenville (966-8276).

The skies above
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:19 a.m./ 4:50 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 10:03 p.m. / 9:31 a.m.

Today's big games
(Hosts: Read scores in the a.m. only, and schedules in the p.m.)
Scores
NFL: New York Giants 37 at Green Bay Packers 20. The Giants travel to San Francisco next Sunday for a chance to go to the Super Bowl.
NFL: Houston Texans 13 at Baltimore Ravens 20. The travel to New England next Sunday to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.
Schedules
NBA: Orlando Magic 102 at New York Knicks 93, 1 p.m.
NBA: New Jersey Nets at Los Angeles Clippers, 3:30 p.m.

WGXC Program Notes
Special Programming Mon. Jan. 16:
• "Eat Food or Die," 2 p.m.: Host Hugh Horner talks to Tom Holmes of Holmquest Farm in Claverack, and Josephine Proul, Executive Chef of Local 111 restaurant in Philmont.

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 4:49 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport n/a
• 6 a.m.: WGXC News 4:49 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport n/a
• 7 a.m.: WGXC News 4:49 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport n/a
• 9 a.m.: WGXC News 4:49 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport n/a
• 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 National Weather Service issued a Wind Advisory for Greene, Columbia, and all surrounding counties from 6 a.m. Friday through midnight. Winds could gust as high as 49 mph.

[caption id="attachment_16837" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Windham Mountain's first snow of 2012. From Windham Mountain website."][/caption]All three mountains got a few inches of snow Thursday morning. 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 14" and 40" on 25 trails with six lifts open. Hunter Mountain has up to 12" to 50" of snow on 39 trails with six lifts. It is a holiday weekend, so there are discounts available.

This past Tuesday, new Windham Mountain General Manager Chip Seamans joined WGXC's Nancy Marron on her "Social Graces" show and here he explained how Windham Mountain's winter has been so far. PLAY CLIP

Congressman Chris Gibson will take questions from fifth graders at Ichabod Crane Middle School, in the LGI Room, 2910 Route 9, Valatie at 8:45 a.m. Friday morning.

Civil Service Employees Association President Danny Donohue responded to the story reported in the WGXC Newsroom and many other outlets about the opening of Dept. of Motor Vehicle Call Center at Greene Correctional Facility in Coxsackie. Donahue represents the sort of folks who are not in prison and who might work jobs at call centers. "While not a new program, using prisoners to do the work of Department of Motor Vehicle employees is a bad idea generally and even worse considering the current economy," Donohue said in a press release. "At a time when thousands of New York families are struggling to find jobs and pay their bills, New York State has decided to help prisoners develop 'marketable skills' rather than make appropriate and necessary jobs available to law abiding citizens who would then pay their taxes, spend their paychecks and contribute in the local community. CSEA can only remain skeptical about claims of taxpayer savings from this scheme when security and close supervision costs are considered."

W.T. Eckert in The Daily Mail reports on Project Hope, which has been providing crisis counseling in the towns and villages most affected by Tropical Storm Irene since Oct. 13. The article states that Project Hope has received funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and will continue its support efforts until the one year anniversary of Tropical Storm Irene. Support groups set up by the project are currently being held at Beth’s Cafe on Main Street in Prattsville on Tuesday nights at 5:30 p. m. and the Masonic Lodge on Main Street in Windham on Thursday at 6 p.m. Anyone in need of support or interested in joining a support group, contact Project Hope team leader Phil Jackson at (518) 641-8734. Read about Project Hope's Phase Two in The Daily Mail.

Weather right now
Hosts: Please announce the current temperature in Hudson, which is in Studio A in Hudson. Please properly credit any other local temperatures you announce on the air. The temperature on the far left is from the Hawthorne Valley Farm Weather Page; the two others are Cairo and Catskill Weather Underground pages.

Please credit the above temperatures: From the Hawthorne Valley Farm Weather Page; and from Cairo and Catskill Weather Underground pages.
On the Hawthorne Valley Farm Weather Page, when the computer at Hawthorne Valley is turned on, the Hawthorne Valley Farm Weather Page reports weather information live from Harlemville. Check dates and times at bottom of image to see whether reports are live or from when the computer was last turned off. Please properly credit any other local temperatures you announce on the air.

Local weather forecast
Today's forecast is specific to Cairo, in Greene County.
The National Weather Service issued a Wind Advisory for Greene, Columbia, and all surrounding counties from 6 a.m. Friday through midnight. Winds could gust as high as 49 mph. Besides the wind, the NWS predicts Thursday in Cairo there will be rain, and snow showers before 4 p.m., then a chance of snow showers. High near 38. Friday night those snow showers should end before 9 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21. The weekend forecast is cold:
• Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 24, low around 8.
• Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 25, low around 9.
• M.L.King Day: Sunny, with a high near 30.

Town meetings today
Today is the second Friday of the month.
HUDSON Historic Preservation Commission at 10 a.m., 520 Warren Street, Hudson (828-1030).
SATURDAY MEETING
ANCRAM The Ancram Town Board holds a special meeting to review the financial control processes and the 2011 books of the Town Court, Town Building Department, and the Town Clerk/Tax Collector, and conduct any other business that comes before the Board. 10 a.m. at Ancram Town Hall, 1416 County Route 7, Ancram. 518-329-6512.

The skies above
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:19 a.m./ 4:50 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 10:03 p.m. / 9:31 a.m.

Today's big games
(Hosts: Read scores in the a.m. only, and schedules in the p.m.)
Scores
NBA: New York Knicks 83 at Memphis Grizzlies 94
Schedules
NFL SUN: New York Giants at Green Bay Packers, 4 p.m.

WGXC Program Notes
Special Programming Fri. Jan. 13:
• "Pure Moods," Noon-2 p.m.: Shannekia McIntosh plays all sorts of music.
• "Guest DJ," 7-9:30 p.m.: Chris Bishop plays 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_20120122 Ghent Playhouse auditions

Audio headlines for top of the hour
• 5 a.m.: WGXC News 9:03 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 2:56
• 6 a.m.: WGXC News 9:03 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 2:56
• 7 a.m.: WGXC News 9:03 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 2:56
• 9 a.m.: WGXC News 9:03 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 2:56
• 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 Department of Health and Human Services issued a report sharply critical of the state agency overseeing the delivery of services to the developmentally disabled, The New York Times reports.. Last year The New York Times ran a series of articles about abuse, neglect and financial mismanagement in the state’s system of caring for developmentally disabled people. Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration undertook a reform effort intended to address decades of mismanagement in the system. Danny Hakim of The Times says today's report questions its efforts to reform the Commission on Quality of Care and Advocacy for Persons With Disabilities. The commission is supposed to oversee much larger state agencies that care for the developmentally disabled and the mentally ill. The report found the Commission lacks independence from the governor’s office, failed to account for how it is spending public money and has broken several requirements of federal law. Read the article in The New York Times

Doron Tyler Antrim in The Daily Mail reports on a plan to renovate an old farm property in Round Top into a Hindu retreat. Vishwa Dharma Mandalam, an orthodox Hindu church and nonprofit religious organization based in Manhattan, presented its plan to rehab the former Winding Brook Farm at a public hearing on Tuesday. The organization has owned the farm on Hearts Content Road since 2009. The organization doesn't plan to build any new structures but it wants to renovate an existing residence and use it as a boarding house. Barns on the property would serve as a yoga studio and storage. The current septic system on the property will be upgraded to accommodate a maximum of 50 people. The site plan is currently before the Cairo Planning Board. It will have to be reviewed by the Greene County Planning Board because the property lies along a county road. Read about the plan in The Daily Mail.

Kinderhook Town Board meetings will air on the local public access TV channel, according to Barbara Reina of the Register Star. K-Town supervisor Patrick Grattan pointed out the new video camera at Tuesday night's town board meeting Monday night. He said the meetings will also soon be available on the town's website. Grattan was recently sworn in as Chairman of the new Columbia County Board of Supervisors. He told the meeting the broadcasts were part of an effort to increase public awareness of local government. He also welcomed new members Timothy Ooms, Deborah Simonsmeier to Kinderhook's town board. Read the article in the Register Star.

The Register Star's Tom Casey reports that Valatie is looking for a new Town Clerk. The board announced that it will begin accepting applications for the position, which was abruptly vacated by Donna Schneider. She resigned on December 20. Interim Clerk Jason Nastke told the paper that rumors that Schneider was forced out were not true, and that there was no “missing money or financial issues.” The deadline for applicants is Jan. 31. The board also adopted new parking fines for the Village. Valatie will impose a $10 fine for parking tickets, as well as a $30 fee charged for every 30-day period in which a ticket is not paid. Read the article in the Register Star.

Doron Tyler Antrim and Tom Casey of The Daily Mail report that police called off searching the cold waters of the Hudson River for a man who jumped from the middle of the Rip Van Winkle Bridge earlier today, but will resume the search Thursday morning. A command center was set up at the boat in Hudson. Police on the bridge said the victim jumped from the pedestrian walkway on the south side of the span. State police said this is already the third possible suicide off a New York Bridge this month. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Copake Town Councilman Robert Sacks will be in Las Vegas, Thu., Jan. 12, and will also be at the Copake Town Board meeting at 7 p.m., thanks to internet technology. Sacks will use the Skype application, an internet audio and video communicator, to attend the meeting at 230 Mountain View Road, according to a public notice in the Register-Star.

State of the City 2012


"The Hudson State of the City 2012" from Hudson Common Council President Don Moore.