Emilia Teasdale in The Columbia Paper reports that Kinderhook has received a grant for $285,000 from the state to connect 33 properties in the business district to the sewer in Valatie. Kinderhook Mayor Carol Weaver announced the award at the village meeting on December 14. The money is part of the nearly $63 million awarded to different municipal projects throughout the region through the Capital Region Economic Development Council. Estimates put the total cost of the project at over $700,000. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has been increasingly vocal about his desire to open state-run casinos in New York. In a year-end interview with the New York Daily News, Cuomo said he'd support a casino in New York City. "I’m not excluding any locations at this time," he told the paper, "New York City is a real location, Albany is a real location. Buffalo is a real location." There are five Indian-owned casinos currently operating in upstate New York. There are none in New York City. A recent Quinnipiac poll shows a majority of New Yorkers support casino-style gambling in the state, but the creation of state-run casinos requires a change in the state's constitution. For that to happen, two consecutive legislatures would have to agree to an amendment and put it forth to a public referendum. Read the full story in the Daily News.

The Register-Star reports that Taconic Hills Superintendent Mark Sposato announced his retirement at Wednesday's Board of Education meeting. The Star's John Mason says the announcement came as a surprise since Sposato is only three years into a five-year contract. He told the board his wife has taken a job Florida and so his family is moving. His contract requires he give two-months notice. Sposato says he will finish out the school year and his retirement will be effective September 8, 2012. Read the article in The Register-Star.

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.

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 Hudson, in Columbia County.
The National Weather Service predicts it will rain, mainly after 5 p.m. Tuesday in Hudson, with a high near 44. Tuesday night the rain continues, mainly before 1 a.m. Low around 36. The forecast for the week:
• Wednesday: Scattered rain showers before 1 p.m., then a slight chance of snow showers. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 38.
• Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 33.
• Friday: A chance of rain and snow showers. Cloudy, with a high near 40.

Town meetings today
This is the fourth Tuesday of the month.
GREENPORT Unknown "special meeting" at 11 a.m., Planning Board meeting at 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).
STUYVESANT The Town Board of the Town of Stuyvesant has rescheduled the December Town Board meeting to 7 p.m. at Stuyvesant Town Hall, 5 Sunset Drive, Stuyvesant. 518-758-6248

The skies above
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:19 a.m./ 4:35 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 9:12 a.m. / 8:08 p.m.

WGXC Program Notes
Special Programming Tue. Dec. 27:
• "4th Tuesday Opera Scene," Noon-2 p.m.: Ed Beaty surveys the opera scene.

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_20111226 Catskill High School Cat Camp.mp3


Audio headlines for top of the hour
• 5 a.m.: WGXC News 4:43 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport n/a
• 6 a.m.: WGXC News 4:43 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport n/a
• 7 a.m.: WGXC News 4:43 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport n/a
• 9 a.m.: WGXC News 4:43 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

Space.com reports that Christmas may be over, but you can expect one more show of lights tonight, as, shortly before sunset -- around 4:30 p.m. or 5 p.m. -- Venus will be shining brightly toward the west, and to the right of it will be a sliver of a crescent moon. As the sky goes black, a shadowy image of the full moon will materialize within the horns of the lunar crescent, according to NASA Science News service. This is caused by earthshine, or sunlight reflecting off the earth and onto the moon. Earthshine is also known as "The Da Vinci Glow," after Leonardo da Vinci, who is said to have first solved the mystery of the phenomenon. Jupiter will also be brightly lit tonight so Jupiter, Venus and the Moon will, in ascending order, be the three brightest objects in the sky, even piercing city lights and thin clouds according to NASA. Everyone should be able to see them where there's a clear sky. With a simple triangular sweep, you can see the clouds and moons of Jupiter, mountains and craters on the Moon, and the fat gibbous form of Venus.

Michael DeMasi in The Business Review reports that a deal for a Hannaford shopping center on Route 9 in Columbia County topped a list of real estate deals in an 11-county region around Albany in 2011. Kinderhook LLC paid $9.49 million to Widewaters Kinderhook Co. for the 19.1-acre shopping center. The report is based on information provided by the New York State Board of Real Property Tax Services. Widewaters is the company that developed Greenport Commons, the Fairview Ave. shopping center with Wal-Mart, Kohl's, and other stores. Read Demasi's article in The Business Review.

The Daily Freeman rounds up holiday closings:
Here’s a rundown.
• Amtrak: Saturday schedule Monday.
• Banks: Closed Monday.
• County offices: Closed Monday.
• Federal offices: Closed Monday.
• Financial markets: Closed Monday.
• Greene County Transit: No service Monday.
• Mail delivery: None Monday.
• Metro-North: Saturday schedule on Monday.
• State offices: Closed Monday.

Boxing Day
Today is Monday, Dec. 26, and Boxing Day, a bank or public holiday in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and some other Commonwealth nations. In South Africa, Boxing Day was renamed Day of Goodwill in 1994. In Ireland it is recognized as St. Stephen's Day (Irish: Lá Fhéile Stiofáin) or the Day of the Wren (Irish: Lá an Dreoilín). In the Netherlands, Lithuania, Austria, Germany, Scandinavia and Poland, December 26 is celebrated as the Second Christmas Day. Supposedly, Good King Wenceslas, in the 10th Century, may have started a tradition of boxing goods for the poor.

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.

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 predicts it will be cloudy in Cairo through mid-morning, then there will be gradual clearing, with a high near 41. Monday night should be mostly clear, with a low around 22. The forecast for the rest of the week:
• Tuesday: A chance of rain, mainly after 4 p.m. Increasing clouds, with a high near 40. Rain overnight.
• Wednesday: Scattered snow showers, mainly before noon. Partly sunny and windy, with a high near 34.
• Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 33.
• Friday: A chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 40.

Town meetings today
This is the fourth Monday of the month. It is a holiday.

The skies above
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:18 a.m./ 4:34 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 8:37 a.m. / 7:01 p.m.

WGXC Program Notes
Special Programming Mon. Dec. 26:
• "WGXC Afternoon Show," 4-6 p.m.: Noah Reibel and Sara Kendall round up local news, international news, local interviews, 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_20111226 Catskill High School Cat Camp.mp3


Audio headlines for top of the hour
• 5 a.m.: WGXC News 4:43 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport n/a
• 6 a.m.: WGXC News 4:43 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport n/a
• 7 a.m.: WGXC News 4:43 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport n/a
• 9 a.m.: WGXC News 4:43 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

Ever wonder what's in an oil or gas drilling lease? The New York Times has posted an archive of over 100,000 of them, 3,200 of them from New York: Visit the archive of NYS oil & gas drilling leases.

WGXC is airing hourly reports from NORAD, tracking sky sleigh activity.

The Strongtree Organic Coffee shop across the street from the Amtrak station in Hudson closes for the final time at 5 p.m. Dec. 23, 2011. The owners are moving to Florida, so the coffee may still be available here via mail order.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="499" caption="Jonathan Flanders photo of a protester who had been pepper-sprayed Dec. 22 at Occupy Albany."][/caption]Occupy Albany was removed from its location near the Capitol on Thursday, as its permit ran out. Police arrested and pepper-sprayed protesters. Fox23 News in Albany reports:

"Earlier in the day Albany Police and Department of General Services workers broke up the encampment, taking down all of the tents that had littered the park for the past several months. After that happened hundreds of protesters uprooted one, final trademark Occupy Albany Information tent intact, and paraded it around the city for hours.... protesters brought that tent back to Academy Park, set it down for a minute, and then grabbed it back up while chanting in an attempt to continue parading the yellow barn-like tent around the city. Then, without warning, protesters say Albany Police began to block the large group from moving the tent back off the Academy Park property, and onto city streets. In an instant, the peaceful protest turned to chaos, fear and violence as protesters began screaming and yelling, pushing and shoving. Within moments a cloud of pepper spray filled the air, and that's when the real panic set in. With his eyes closed due to the intense burning, Occupy Protester Bradley Russell said, 'There was an officer, a mounted policeman on horse, literally riding through the crowd, just spraying, pepper spraying indiscriminately anybody who was in the crowd in front of him, it was completely flagrant.'"

Hilary Hawke in Ravena News-Herald reports that an environmental consultant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) told Town of Coeymans Highway Superintendent Albert Deering the town can't clean out the Hannacroix Creek without the proper permits. In 2007, after flooding, Coeymans won a remediation project grant for the creek that would remove trees and debris from the creek, but has never applied for the proper permits. Now, after more flooding from storms associated with Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee, folks who live off the creek are complaining the work has not been done. "Even if the town had spent the money on the creek remediation it might not have withstood the 2011 storm and there is no assurance it would have worked," DEC Environmental Analyst Andy Marcuccio told Hawke. At the end of the story, Hawke finally reveals:

"In a further development, DEC Regional Citizen Participation Specialist Rick Georgeson said during a DEC staff meeting with town officials on Friday, December 16 several trees and piles of debris had been flagged and approved for removal. The DEC extended verbal confirmation of the permit on Monday and will mail copies of the permit as well."

Doron Tyler Antrim in The Daily Mail reports that New York Spring Water, a bottled water company in Halcott, is getting a $264,000 loan and grant package for new machinery and equipment and will add a third shift, according to the Greene County Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Planning. The expansion creates 23 new jobs in manufacturing, shipping, and sales for the largest manufacturer within the Catskill Park in Greene County. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Congressional Republicans came around to local representative Chris Gibson's way of thinking and extended the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits. Previously, all House Republicans except the Kinderhook Republican and six others, voted against a similar proposal. Gibson, still, is unsatisfied with the measure:

“As the President and leaders of both parties in the House and Senate have previously stated, we need an agreement to extend the payroll tax [cut] for at least a year. In the House, I voted for a comprehensive bill that did just that and reformed and extended unemployment insurance while fixing the reimbursement rate for Medicare providers.... I was disappointed that the Senate chose a 60-day measure instead, but I believe it is the right course of action to enact this stop-gap measure to ensure hardworking American families do not see a tax increase on January 1.”

The Windham Theatre, closed since late August due to flooding from the storms associated with Hurricane Irene, reopens this weekend, according to their Facebook page. "Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol," "The Adventures of Tintin," and "Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows" are the three movies playing this weekend. According to the theatre's web page, the laundromat attached to the theatre will reopen in February with all new machines.

Catamount Ski in Columbia County opened last weekend, and will be back open this weekend in Hillsdale with 8" to 20" snow base on 15 trails with four lifts. On Windham Mountain's second weekend open, more than 200 Santas on skis raised more than $2000 for the local food pantry at Hope Restoration Church in Windham on Sun., Dec. 18. Windham Mountain has an artificial snow base between 6" and 25" on 14 trails with three lifts open. Hunter Mountain has up to 44" of mostly artificial snow on 23 trails with five lifts.

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.

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 Maplecrest, in Greene County.
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for western Greene County Friday morning. The NWS says rain overnight turned to snow on the mountain in Greene County early Friday morning. There will be patchy fog in the morning, and a low around 31. Total nighttime snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible on the mountain in Greene County. Friday: Rain in most areas and snow on higher elevations before 1 p.m., high near 34. Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 14. The weekend forecast:
• Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 30.
• Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 17.
• Christmas Day: Partly sunny, with a high near 33.
• Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 31.

Town meetings today
This is the fourth Friday of the month. No meetings today.

The skies above
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:17 a.m./ 4:32 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 6:05 a.m. / 3:39 p.m.

WGXC Program Notes
Special Programming Fri. Dec. 23:
• "Guest DJ: Tony Fallon," 7 p.m.: Tony Fallon, who hosts "The Irish Show" Sundays at 8 p.m. on WGXC, plays another holiday set until 9:30 p.m.

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
• Roundup of New Year's Eve events in Greene and Columbia counties. Produced by Ron Diamondstein. PLAY CLIP 2:05
• Kellie Darling, Executive Director of the Catskill Community Center, discusses the center's annual Christmas Dinner. Interview by Ron Diamondstein. PLAY CLIP 3:27
• Peter Krug and Matt Bua duet of "Angels We Have Heard on High." Recorded on WGXC Afternoon Show. PLAY CLIP 2:59
• Catskill's Lydia Daniels performs "O Holy Night" at Catskill Community Center. Recorded by Matt Bua on WGXC Afternoon Show. PLAY CLIP 4:31
• Brian Dewan plays two holiday songs at 'Live from the Red Dot Open Mic' holiday sing-a-long, "Hard the Herald Angels Sing," and an original composition, "Mistletoe." Hosted by Rob Johanson. PLAY CLIP 6:21
• Stephen Bluhm sings 'Blue Christmas' at 'Live from the Red Dot Open Mic.' PLAY CLIP 2:04

New PSAs/STATION IDs
• A_OFF_PSA_20111226 Catskill High School Cat Camp.mp3


Audio headlines for top of the hour
• 5 a.m.: WGXC News 5:59 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 3:04
• 6 a.m.: WGXC News 5:59 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 3:04
• 7 a.m.: WGXC News 5:59 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 3:04
• 9 a.m.: WGXC News 5:59 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

New York voters are divided on hot-button topics like hydro-fracking, casino gaming, and legislative redistricting according to a new poll released by Quinnipiac University. The results:

• New Yorkers are split evenly on the question of hydrofracking: 44 percent support drilling because of the economic benefits and 45 percent oppose drilling because of environmental concerns.
• A majority of New Yorkers support casino gambling in the state. Polled voters support Atlantic City or Las Vegas style casinos in the Empire State by a 64 - 31 percent margin. The poll reveals a slight gender gap with 68 percent of men supporting casinos (28 percent oppose), while only 60 percent of the women polled did, while 34 percent of women oppose gaming.

The poll also indicates a majority of New Yorkers want an independent commission with no ties to the State legislature to draw district lines. Legislative redistricting will be on the 2012 agenda in Albany. Read the press release from the Quinnipiac University's Polling Institute.

A State audit of the New Lebanon town court found more than $9,000 of court funds unaccounted for. Investigators from the office of the State Comptroller reviewed the financial operations of the town's Justice Court from Jan. 2008, to July 2009, while two justices, Shaun McHugh and Darcy Poppey, presided. Poppey just lost the election this year by one vote, after first being elected in 2008. Justice Shaun McHugh has since been replaced by Jessica Byrne following the 2009 elections. The audit identified $9,050 as unaccounted for and $2,190 in questionable transactions, and has been referred to state Commission on Judicial Conduct for investigation of possible wrongdoing, according to the Times-Union's Bob Gardinier. The 45-page audit found serious deficiencies in the town court's accounts:

"The lack of basic controls has placed court moneys at significant risk of loss, misuse and fraud."