Here is the public notice from The Daily Mail about Holcim's permit renewal for the cement plant in Catskill, including a public comment period that ends Jan. 6, 2012:

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Notice of Complete Application Date: 12/05/2011 Applicant: HOLCIM (US) INC., 201 JONES RD, WALTHAM, MA 02451 Facility: HOLCIM (US) INC. - CATSKILL PLANT, 6446 US RTE 9W, ALSEN, NY 12414 Application ID: 4-1926-00021/00040 Permit(s) Applied for: 1-Article 19 Air Title V Facility Project is located in CATSKILL in GREENE COUNTY Project Description: The Department has proposed a renewal of the Title V Permit for the Holcim (US), Inc, Facility located at 6446 US Route 9W, Catskill, NY, owned by Holcim (US), Inc., of Waltham, MA. The facility manufactures Portland Cement using a wet process kiln with an electrostatic precipitator to control particulate emissions. This renewal will update the Title V permit to incorporate the new Federal NESHAP rule (40 CFR 63, Subpart LLL) and will also require the facility to install selective non-catalytic reduction to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides in order to satisfy the requirements of 6 NYCRR Part 220 for NOx Reasonably Achievable Control Technology and 6 NYCRR Part 249 for Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART). As required under Part 249, each BART determination will also be submitted to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) for approval as a revision to the New York State Implementation Plan. In accordance with 6NYCRR Parts 621.7(b)(9) and 201-6.4(c), the Administrator of the USEPA has the authority to bar issuance of any Title V Facility Permit if it is determined not to be in compliance with applicable requirements of the Clean Air Act or 6NYCRR Part 201. Persons wishing to inspect the subject Title V files, including the application with all relevant supporting materials, the draft permit, and all other materials available to the DEC (the “permitting authority”) that are relevant to this permitting decision should contact the DEC representative listed below. The Draft Permit and Permit Review Report may be viewed and printed from the Department web site at: http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/32249.html. DEC will evaluate the application and the comments received on it to determine whether to hold a public hearing. Comments and requests for a public hearing should be in writing and addressed to the Department representative listed below. A copy of the Department’s permit hearing procedures is available upon request or on the Department web site at: http://www.dec.ny.gov/permits/6234.html. Availability of Application Documents: Filed application documents, and Department draft permits where applicable, are available for inspection during normal business hours at the address of the contact person. To ensure timely service at the time of inspection, it is recommended that an appointment be made with the contact person. Availability of Application Documents: Filed application documents, and Department draft permits where applicable, are available for inspection during normal business hours at the address of the contact person. To ensure timely service at the time of inspection, it is recommended that an appointment be made with the contact person. State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) Determination: Project is not subject to SEQR because it is a Type II action. SEQR Lead Agency: None Designated. State Historic Preservation Act (SHPA) Determination. The proposed activity is not subject to review in accordance with SHPA. The permit type is exempt or the activity is being reviewed in accordance with Federal Historic preservation regulations. DEC Commissioner Policy 29, Environmental Justice and Permitting (CP-29) It has been determined that the proposed action is not subject to CP-29. Availability For Public Comment: Comments on this project must be submitted in writing to the Contact Person no later than 01/06/2012 or 30 days after the publication date of this notice, whichever is later. Contact Person: MICHAEL T HIGGINS, NYSDEC, 1130 NORTH WESTCOTT RD, SCHENECTADY, NY 12306. (518) 357-2069

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the distribution of $785 million in economic development funding today.nThe orchestrated event at The Egg is Albany was hosted by Maria Bartiromo of CNBC and included a videotaped interview with former President Clinton, praising the process. The top winners appear to be Western New York, Long Island, and the North Country, whose regional economic development plans received the most funding. Some of the funding to make its way to the region includes $1.5 million for an ice skating facility at Windham Mountain, and $2.2 million for a rail "transloading" facility in Columbia County, serving businesses in the Capital Region that do not have rail access. The Governor's office has posted a press release with details about the distribution of development funding throughout the state: .
Greene County projects awarded $2,617,222:
• Village of Hunter, Main St. Revitalization Program, $372,000
• Town of Prattsville, Main St. Revitalization Program, $215,000
• Greene County, Microenterprise Assistance Program, $200,000
• Greene County, NY Spring Water, $280,000
• Catskill Mountain Housing Development Corp., RESTORE 2011, $50,000
• Ski Windham, Destination Windham, $1,500,000
Columbia County projects approved $7,847,990:
• Village of Kinderhook, Wastewater Collection System, $285,000
• Valatie Housing Group, Valatie Senior Citizen housing, $1,669,265
• The Olana Partnership, Olana Restoration Project, $274,125
• Hudson Opera House, First Floor Restoration, $400,000
• Housing Resources of Columbia County, an Emergency Repair program and two Home Improvement Programs, $675,000
• Historic Hudson, Dr. Oliver Bronson House Restoration, $300,000
• Columbia County IDA, Coulumbia County Rail Transloading Facility, $2,208,600

Cap Region Projects

The Columbia Land Conservancy announced the protection of 94 acres in Canaan in partnership with Byron and Ingrid Greenfield, who donated the property rights on their land. The conservancy created a conservation easement that protects the most important natural characteristics of the property, but allows the landowners to live on and enjoy their land. The Columbia Land Conservancy now holds easements on 21,445 acres. Find out more about their Land Protection program at http://clctrust.org/land-protection.

John Mason of the Register-Star reports on the Germantown School District's "dire" financial picture. School Superintendent Patrick Gabriel said the new state-mandated two-percent limit on tax levy increases has the business office projecting a $2 million deficit in 2013-2014, and a $4.6 million deficit in 2014-2015. Gabriel said he may recommend to the board a five percent tax levy hike. That would require a supermajority -- 60 percent of voters at the polls in May under state law. Read Mason's article about Germantown school district's budget gap.

Local weather forecast
Today's forecast is specific to Philmont.
The National Weather Service predicted the weekend will be clear but cold. Friday should be partly sunny, with a high near 43. Friday night will be mostly cloudy, with a low around 25. The forecast for the weekend:
• Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 36, low overnight near 20.
• Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 38, low around 21.
• Monday: Sunny, with a high near 39.

Weather in Harlemville

From 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.
Hosts: You can also read current temperature in Hudson, in Studio A in Hudson.

Town meetings today
This is the second Friday of the month.
HUDSON Historic Preservation Commission at 10 a.m., 520 Warren Street, Hudson (828-1030).

The skies above
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:08 a.m./ 4:28 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 3:50 p.m. / 6:14 a.m.

WGXC Program Notes
Special Programming Fri. Dec. 9:
• "Imprint," 10 a.m.: Terry Doyle profiles Hudson Valley musicians, and features area concerts and events.

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.

New PSAs/STATION IDs
• A_OFF_PSA_20111209_dot_holiday_concert.mp3
• A OFF PSA 20111226 Coop Ext Little Theater in the Woods.mp3
• A_OFF_PSA_20120119_farm_film_fest_4 in Chatham at Crandell Theatre.mp3
• A_OFF_PSA_20120128_catskill_filmvid_fest.mp3

Audio headlines for top of the hour
• 5 a.m.: WGXC News 4:35 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 3:02
• 6 a.m.: WGXC News 4:35 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 3:02
• 7 a.m.: WGXC News 4:35 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 3:02
• 9 a.m.: WGXC News 4:35 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 3:02
• 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

Central Park (Listen to the Light) - A New Location Aware Album by BLUEBRAIN from BLUEBRAIN on Vimeo.

James C. McKinley writes in The New York Times about Washington D.C.-based musicians Bluebrain, who released a soundtrack to a walk through Central Park as a free app for iPhone and Ipad users. The project, "Central Park: Listen to the Light," uses a global-positioning network to activate different themes as the listener wanders through the park. The app contains more than 400 tracks, each tied to a location. The brothers Ryan and Hays Holladay make up the band. They collaborated with Brooklyn based software developer Brian Feldman to create their first site specific composition for the National Mall in DC. Feldman wrote the new software engine, Sscape, for the application. To use the program, the composers establish map coordinates for each track, and those tracks are set off as the listener approaches. Read the full story in The New York Times.

The New York State Senate unanimously passed an income tax restructuring bill late Wednesday night after a day of closed door negotiations. The Senate voted, 55-0, to approve the tax code changes on Wednesday night, and the Assembly was poised to follow suit. The remarkably rapid progress of the tax revisions and the clandestine nature of the negotiations was criticized by some government watchdog groups. Thomas Kaplan in the New York Times describes how Cuomo has used similar tactics he describes as "stealth manuevering" to pass the same sex marriage act, a property-tax cap, a reworking of ethics rules and extensive budget cuts. The New York Public Interest Research Group said that the actual legislation — 33 pages and over 19,000 words — was posted online 26 minutes before the Senate began voting on it.

Windham-Ashland-Jewett and Hunter-Tannersville schools are delayed two hours this morning, due to the snowstorm last night. In Columbia County, Germantown and New Lebanon schools are delayed two hours, while schools in Hawthorne Valley, Mountain Road, and Taconic Hills are delayed one hour. Germantown schools are delayed due to power outages, and other Columbia County towns are reporting power outages due to the heavy, wet snowfall.

WGXC host Ron Diamondstein spoke with Catskill Village President Vincent Seeley on the "WGXC Afternoon Show" at the Catskill Community Center, and he had two bits if news: First, he is organizing another business summit next month. Seeley has previously organized three other meetings where local business owners, residents, and others can discuss ideas to improve the local economy. The next meeting will be at 6 p.m., Thu., Jan. 19, 2012, at Catskill High School. Also, he reported that bids for repairs to the historic Black Bridge over Catskill Creek near Catskill High School came in too high. PLAY CLIP 5:15

Rick Karlin of the Times-Union reports that lawmakers are planning to vote on the income tax overhaul bill. The overhaul is expected to generate $1.9 billion. For a look at how $108 million of it might be spent see the appropriations bill posted on Karlin's "Capitol Confidential" blog. The bill includes money for flood recovery, jobs training and $1 million for foreclosure prevention. Read the full story in the Times-Union.

Brian Nearing of the Times-Union reports that New York State is making its largest purchase of forest land in the Catskills in years. Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joe Martens announced the state will close on 1,200 acres as part of the proposed Belleayre Resort project. The state is buying the land on Big Indian mountain for $5.6 million from developers Crossroads Ventures LLC, which has plans for luxury housing and a golf course. DEC is still reviewing permits that would allow the project to move ahead. Eric Goldstein, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, told the paper, "This is the largest and most important state land acquisition in the Catskills in a decade; among other benefits, it will help protect downstate drinking water and help prevent upstate flooding." Read the Times-Union for the full story.

Ritchie S. King in The New York Times reports that there will be a record number of ticks in New York State next year, because of the small acorn harvest this fall. “I remember going into areas and you’d get the crunch of acorns under your feet,” said Neil Calvanese, vice president for operations at the Central Park Conservancy says in the story. “And this year, you kind of have to search around for them.” king reports last year oak trees produced 250 pounds of acorns each, while this year it is 25 to 30 pounds per tree. Which means a large field mice population living off the previous year's acorn glut, will die, and the ticks living off of the mice will look elsewhere for blood. “We expect 2012 to be the worst year for Lyme disease risk ever,” said Richard S. Ostfeld, a disease ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, N.Y. Expect more deer killed on the highway next year, too, the story says, as deer, lacking acorns, will search farther for food. Read the full story in The New York Times.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency says there is one week left to apply for disaster assistance for losses caused by Hurricane Irene or Tropical Storm Lee. FEMA aid is available to residents and business owners in 34 eastern New York counties included in the federal disaster declaration for Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. You can register online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov For more information: FEMA.

Local weather forecast
Today's forecast is specific to Hunter.
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for Western Greene County through 6 a.m. Thursday. Ten to 14 inches of snow are possible on the Greene County mountaintop, while two to four are predicted for the valleys. Thursday should be mostly sunny, with a high near 35, with wind gusts as high as 28 mph. Thursday night should be mostly cloudy, with a low around 20. The rest of the weekend forecast:
• Friday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 42.
• Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 30.
• Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 31.

Weather in Harlemville

From 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.

Town meetings today
This is the second Thursday of the month.
CHATHAM Village meeting at 7:30 p.m. at Village Hall, 77 Main Street, Chatham (392-5821).
COPAKE Town Board meeting at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 230 Mountainview Road, Copake (329-1234).
GALLATIN Town Board meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 667 Route 7, Ancram (398-7519).
GREENE COUNTY Finance & Audit committee meets at 5 p.m. at County Building, 411 Main St., Catskill (719-3270).
KINDERHOOK Planning Board Workshop meeting at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 4 Church St, Niverville (784-2233).
LIVINGSTON Town board meets at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 119 County Route 19.
STUYVESANT Town board meets at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 5 Sunset Drive, Stuyvesant (758-6248).
TANNERSVILLE Village trustees meet at 7 p.m. in their Village Hall on Route 23A.
WINDHAM Town board meets at 8 p.m. at Town Hall, 371 State Rt. 296, Hensonville (734-4170).

The skies above
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:07 a.m./ 4:28 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 3:07 p.m. / 5:17 a.m.

WGXC Program Notes
Special Programming Thu. Dec. 8:
• "Tell It Like It Is," 10 a.m.: Richard Grossman, a local activist and organizer who died on November 22, 2011, is profiled.

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.

New PSAs/STATION IDs
• A_OFF_PSA_20111209_dot_holiday_concert.mp3
• A OFF PSA 20111226 Coop Ext Little Theater in the Woods.mp3
• A_OFF_PSA_20120119_farm_film_fest_4 in Chatham at Crandell Theatre.mp3
• A_OFF_PSA_20120128_catskill_filmvid_fest.mp3

Audio headlines for top of the hour
• 5 a.m.: WGXC News 7:12 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 3:09
• 6 a.m.: WGXC News 7:12 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 3:09
• 7 a.m.: WGXC News 7:12 PLAY CLIP also International Network News (INN), through Audioport 3:09
• 9 a.m.: WGXC News 7:12 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

Activists and NGOs are stressing out at the United Nations Climate Change Talks in Durban, South Africa as negotiations continue on whether there will be a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, the only legally binding international agreement on curbing greenhouse gas emissions. WGXC's Kelly Benjamin is at the climate talks and files this report. Climate activists formed a line inside the main corridor of the conference center in Durban today wearing t-shirts that read "I love KP" and "Treaty Now." The idea was to send a message to negotiators to not let the Kyoto Protocol die. The action was organized by TCKTCKTCK an alliance pushing for the creation of low carbon economics and immediate governmental action on climate change. This audio clip is Paul Horsman, campaign director with TCKTCKTCK. PLAY CLIP (wav file)

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for Western Greene County, beginning at 6 p.m. through 6 a.m. Thursday. Six to 12" of snow are possible in higher elevations. At lower elevations, the rain will not change to snow until later, so there will be much less accumulation.

Lisa D. Connell in the Register-Star reports that attorneys for the Village of Chatham filed an Article 78 lawsuit against Ghent, because of their dispute over a proposed new Price Chopper supermarket that would straddle the town lines. Most of the 45,000 sq. ft. store would be in Ghent, but a portion of the property lies in Chatham, where Price Chopper will close its current store. On Nov. 2 Ghent's planning board approved the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) process, claiming the project would not substantially affect the environment in a negative way. Chatham disputes that. "This lawsuit challenges the way the town conducted its environmental review process under SEQRA,” Chatham Attorney Cheryl Roberts wrote to Connell in an e-mail. Roberts says the Chairman of the Ghent Planning Board, Jonathan Walters, has admitted that documents in the ongoing approval process have been destroyed. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

Michael Ryan in the Windham Journal reports that Democratic Party incumbent Lynn Byrne and Republican Party challenger William Pushman are tied at 165 votes each for a town council seat. According to election law, the seat is now considered a vacancy which is filled by appointment by January 1, 2012 by the incoming town council, an official with the Greene County Board of Elections told Ryan. Trouble is, the incoming town council is split two to two among Democrats and Republicans, neither of which probably wants to turn over power to the other party. Ryan, without attribution, says their is "speculation" that Republican Glenn Howard might resign. "Howard has reportedly moved, physically relocating outside the town of Lexington," Ryan writes, again without sources. "Howard could still serve on the council, if certain criteria for maintaining legal residency are met, but considerable controversy erupted, last year, when it was learned town supervisor Greg Cross had built a home in the neighboring town of Prattsville." If the board cannot decide on a candidate, then the seat would be left open until another election next November, and the board would face a year of 2-to-2 votes. Read the full story in the Windham Journal.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave this video message about his new jobs plan, unveiled today.

A new AFL-CIO report claims that 126,000 New Yorkers will lose unemployment benefits on December 31 unless Congress extends unemployment insurance again. Unions across the country are holding protests on Thursday, December 8 to get Congress to extend the unemployment benefits, including New York actions in Cortland, Goshen, Syracuse, and Utica. New York's unemployment rate for young people 20 to 24 years old is 13.8 percent, the report points out, and 14.5 percent for African Americans and 11.8 percent for Latinos.