Absentee ballots due today
Anyone voting via absentee ballot needs to deliver their vote by today, Mon., Nov. 7. Election offices in Columbia and Greene counties are open regular hours today. The Columbia County elections office at 401 State Street, in Hudson, and can be reached at 518-828-3115. In Greene County, go to 411 Main Street, in Catskill, or call 518-719-3550 for information.

Recordings of candidate forums
• Click here to play mp3 audio recording of the Catskill Candidate Forum, broadcast live on 90.7-FM Sat., Nov. 5 at 1 p.m.
• Click here to listen to an mp3 audio recording of the Cairo Candidate Forum, sponsored by the League of Women Voters and broadcast live on 90.7-FM Thu., Nov. 3 at 8 p.m.
• Click here to listen to an mp3 audio recording of the Hudson Mayoral Debate between Republican William Hallenbeck and Democrat Nick Haddad sponsored by the Hudson African-American Leadership Alliance and broadcast live on 90.7-FM Wed., Oct. 25 at the JLE School in Hudson.
* Dan Udell's video recording of part of the Hudson Mayoral Debate.


Publications with Election Guides
• The Greenville Mountain View Pioneer (coverage of Greenville, Cairo, Durham, Rensselaerville and Westerlo (no website).
• The Columbia Paper (Columbia County)
• Register-Star (Columbia County)
• The Daily Mail (Greene County)

Our time is now Eastern Standard Time (-5 GMT).

Local weather forecast
The National Weather Service predicts Monday will be sunny, with a high near 57. Monday night should be mostly clear, with a low around 39. The rest of the week:
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 60. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 61.
Thursday: A chance of showers. Cloudy, with a high near 53. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Veterans Day: A chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 43. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Town meetings today
ANCRAM Conservation Advisory Council at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 1416 County Rte. 7, Ancram (329-6512).
ATHENS Town meeting at 7 p.m. at 2 First Street, Athens (734-3636).
CLAVERACK Planning Board meeting at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, Church Street, Mellenville (672-7911).
CLERMONT Town Board meeting at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 1795 Route 9, Clermont (537-6868).
HUDSON Informal meeting of Common Council at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 520 Warren St., Hudson (828-1030).
TAGHKANIC Town meeting at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, Route 82,West Taghkanic (851-7638).

The skies above
SUNRISE/SUNSET 6:32 a.m./ 4:47 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 2:57 p.m. / 3:33 a.m.

Birthdays
November 7 Ellen Stewart, Gene Callahan, Johnny Rivers, Lawrence O'Donnell, David Patraeus, and Morgan Spurlock.

WGXC Program Notes
Special Programming Mon. Nov. 7:
• 4-6 p.m., "WGXC Afternoon Show" Host Sara Kendall talks with Michael O'Hara about the Ten Percent Challenge, a program that invites folks to pledge to reduce their energy use by 10 percent. After the news at 5 p.m., Melinda Braathen and Gideon Crevoshay recorded much of the two-day conference “Truthtelling: Democracy in an Age without Facts” Oct. 28-29 at Bard College's Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities, the WGXC Afternoon Show will air parts of two lectures.

Audio clips for WGXC programmers
This information is not meant to be read on-air.


New PSAs
• A OFF PSA 20111112 Town Recorder Workshop in Catskill.
• A OFF PSA 20111130 Youth Radio Training PSA.mp3 in Catskill.
• A OFF PSA 20111130 NANO HW Coffee for event in Cairo.

Audio headlines for top of the hour
• 5 a.m.: WGXC News 4:05 PLAY CLIP.
• 6 a.m.: WGXC News 4:05 PLAY CLIP.
• 7 a.m.: WGXC News 4:05 PLAY CLIP.
• 9 a.m.: WGXC News 4:05 PLAY CLIP.
• 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="alignright" width="2592" caption="League of Women Voters Catskill Candidates Forum. Photo by Tom Roe."][/caption]
The League of Women Voters and WGXC sponsored a Candidates Forum for Catskill Sat. Nov. 5 at the Catskill Community Center and live on 90.7-FM. Candidates included, for Town Supervisor: Robert Lewis (D), Joseph Leggio (R, C); for Town Council: Christopher Sutherland (D), Patrick Walsh (R, C). Not present: Gary Carlson (R, C); for Superintendent of Highways: Alfred Beers (D), Richard Ballard (R, C). Also running unopposed: Tax Collector: Michael deBenedictus (R, C); for Town Clerk: Elizabeth Izzo (R, C).

Click here to play mp3 audio recording of the Catskill Candidate Forum.

President Obama Names Two Nominees for FCC Commissioner
The National Association for Amateur Radio reports that President Barack Obama nominated two new FCC Commissioners on Nov. 1: Jessica Rosenworcel and Ajit Varadaraj Pai. Rosenworcel may replace retiring Commissioner Michael Copps, while Pai would fill the seat vacated by Meredith Attwell Baker, who left the FCC in June 2010. That would bring the FCC back to its full complement of five Commissioners. At present, Chairman Julius Genachowski, Copps, and Mignon Clyburn are Democrats. If confirmed, Pai would join Commissioner Robert McDowell as one of the two Republicans on the Commission. Read the full story at ARRL.

Third Circuit Reaffirms Rejection of FCC's "Fleeting Images" Policy, Reverses Super Bowl Fine
David Oxenford on Nov. 2 reported for the Broadcast Law Blog that the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the FCC's fine for the fleeting glimpse of Janet Jackson's breast during the Super Bowl, "to be an arbitrary departure from prior precedent. The Court found that the Commission had a policy of not finding a "fleeting image" actionable, and the Commission did not explain why it was changing its policy, or even acknowledge that it was in fact changing policy. The 2008 decision had been remanded to the Third Circuit by the Supreme Court after the Court's decision on the [Bono uttering a word-not-to-be-heard at the] Golden Globes case, dealing with "fleeting expletives," to determine if the Supreme Court's decision had any impact on this case," Oxenford wrote. Read the full story in the Broadcast Law Blog.

One hour of breathing from National Public Radio. (h/t WFMU)

Prattsville hosted the first of several rebuilding workshops this weekend Friday, Nov. 4, with video above from WTVT, the Albany television station. The workshops involve community members signing up for three subcommittees to set up a plan for re-doing the town after it was leveled in late August from flooding associated with Hurricane Irene. The other meetings are:

• Saturday November 5, 2011 between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. at the Firehouse (2nd Floor) where the design team will work on plans. Please stop by between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to critique the work and talk to planers and designers.
• Sunday, November 6, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. at the Firehouse for a presentation of the initial concepts for the future based on resident wishes for review and comment.
• Monday November 14, 2011 between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Firehouse for an open house to present the refined concepts for residents to review and comment.

The town is asking all residents to join subcommittees on the town rebuilding plan. The subcommittees are:
• Economic Development: Business and Main Street Revitalization, Tourism, Municipal Buildings
• Housing: Senior Housing, Rental Housing, Affordable Family Housing, Single-Family Housing
• Community Services: Youth and Senior Services, Parks, Recreation, Museum/Cultural services.

Anyone absentee voting needs to deliver their vote by Mon., Nov. 7, the day before the election. Election offices in Columbia and Greene counties will be open Saturday to receive absentee ballots. The Columbia County elections office at 401 State Street, in Hudson, will be open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sat., Nov. 5. Call them at 518-828-3115. In Greene County, go to 411 Main Street, in Catskill, where they will be open Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Call 518-719-3550 for information. Both offices have normal hours Mon., Nov. 7.

New York State Senator James Seward (R/C/I–Oneonta) will be in Greene County Sat., Nov. 5 in Lexington and Prattsville. In Lexington at 1 p.m., Seward will take part in the dedication of the updated Veterans Roll of Honor in the Town of Lexington near the Kenneth Becker Municipal Building. The monument is being updated to include veterans who served in World War I and World War II. At 3 p.m., Seward joins Congressman Chris Gibson ( R, Kinderhook) presenting new flags to the Prattsville Hose Company, at 14563 Main St. The volunteer department lost their flags during the recent flooding associated with Hurricane Irene. Gibson will also be in Catskill at 10 a.m. for the Greene County "Honor-a-Vet" event at 159 Jefferson Heights, Catskill. Monday at 10 a.m. Gibson will be in Prattsville at the Prattsville Fire Department for another storm recovery meeting.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="250" caption="Candidates for election in Cairo. Photo by Tom Roe."][/caption]The League of Women Voters and WGXC sponsored a candidates forum in Cairo (the town's website is currently unavailable) Thu., Nov. 3, with a live broadcast from Town Hall of most candidates for Supervisor, Town Board, Town Clerk, and Highway Superintendent. Click here to listen to an mp3 recording of the entire candidates forum. WGXC will rebroadcast the forum Sat., Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. on 90.7-FM and wgxc.org.

Candidates present at the forum, from left to right, included Dan Joyce (R, C, town board candidate); Janet Schwarzenegger (I, RC town board incumbent); Richard Lorenz (D, I, town board incumbent); Pat A Byron (D, town board candidate); Monika Fabiano (R, town clerk candidate); Linda Kuever (D, town clerk candidate); Tara A Rumph (C, I, town clerk incumbent); Coleen Ray (D, I, tax collector candidate); Ted Banta (D, I, town supervisor candidate); John Coyne (R, C, town supervisor incumbent); Robert Hempstead (R, C, I, highway supervisor candidate); Lew O’Connor (D, highway supervisor candidate). Not present: Anthony P Puorro, Jr (R, C, town board candidate); and Emily Feeney (R, C, tax collector incumbent). Also, Town Judge candidates, Tanja Sirago (R, C) and David Cannizzaro (I), were not present.

WGXC will also broadcast live the Catskill Candidate Forum Sat., Nov. 5 at 1 p.m. at the Catskill Community Center. Turn out in person to write down questions for the candidates, or listen on the radio at 90.7-FM or online at wgxc.org.

Walter Severini reports in The Watershed Post, quoting radio station WRIP (97.9-FM), that Prattsville officials are surveying residents about what direction the town should take after Hurricane Irene-related flooding nearly wiped it out in late August. The surveys are online and at the Town Hall trailer and the Great American Supermarket. The town holds four important community workshops beginning this weekend, to create a master rebuilding plan.

• Friday, November 4, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. at the Firehouse for a Community Workshop to discuss community rebuilding ideas.
• Saturday November 5, 2011 between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. at the Firehouse (2nd Floor) where the design team will work on plans. Please stop by between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to critique the work and talk to planers and designers.
• Sunday, November 6, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. at the Firehouse for a presentation of the initial concepts for the future based on resident wishes for review and comment.
• Monday November 14, 2011 between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Firehouse for an open house to present the refined concepts for residents to review and comment.

The town is asking all residents to join subcommittees on the town rebuilding plan. The subcommittees are:
• Economic Development: Business and Main Street Revitalization, Tourism, Municipal Buildings
• Housing: Senior Housing, Rental Housing, Affordable Family Housing, Single-Family Housing
• Community Services: Youth and Senior Services, Parks, Recreation, Museum/Cultural services.

Residents can sign up for the subcommittees on the survey form, at the Town Trailer, or at the workshops. Contact Kory O'Hara, Town Supervisor, at 518-577-6215 and see the town website and Facebook page for more information. Read the full story in The Watershed Post.

Jeff Alexander reports in The Daily Mail that Greene County legislators have a proposed 2012 budget of $99.2 million, and hold a public hearing Wed. Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. at the Catskill High School auditorium. Alexander reports that a week later, legislators plan to vote on the proposal. Legislator Forest Cotten of Catskill is a critic of that plan. “I think the time table laid out is entirely too short and it’s a disservice to the public. I know there is a process to review it but the window is so small," he said. "It’s kind of being presented as a take it or leave approach and we owe it to them to allow the proper time for it to be reviewed." The budget includes no raises, and only some idea how the $10-15 million in infrastructure costs from the storms associated with Hurricane Irene will be covered. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="360" caption="Photo by Lance Wheeler from ColumbiaPage."][/caption]The house of Friends of Hudson President Christopher Reed and herbalist Jean Giblette, at 59 Main St. in Philmont, was damaged by fire Wednesday, though friends report the couple is fine and receiving all sorts of aid from the "catastrophic" disaster. The home, built in 1867, is completely smoke-damaged and soaked, and the second floor at the front of the house is burned away. Audra Jornov in the Register-Star has another account of the fire, and Lance Wheeler in the ColumbiaPage, run by local volunteer firefighters, includes this photo.

Local weather forecast
The National Weather Service predicts Friday will be sunny, with a high near 47. Friday night should be clear, with a low around 24. The rest of the weekend:
• Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 46.
• Saturday Night: Clear, with a low around 30.
• Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 58.
• Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 59.

Town meetings today
WGXC does not know about any meetings today. Saturday, Nov. 5, however, the folks trying to create a dog park in Hudson meet again, at 10 a.m. at the Hudson Area Library.

The skies above
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:29 a.m./ 5:50 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 2:41 p.m. / 1:37 a.m.

Birthdays
November 4 Walter Cronkite, Robert Mapplethorpe, James Honeyman-Scott, and Skeeter Webb.

WGXC Program Notes
Special Programming Fri. Nov. 4:
• 2 p.m., "Que Cocinare Hoy?" Hosts Mariel Fiori and Antonio Flores-Lobos talk with Oscar Padilla, the general consul of Guatemala in NYC, about the mobile consulate in Dover Plains Sat., Nov. 5.

Audio clips for WGXC programmers
This information is not meant to be read on-air.


New PSAs
• A OFF PSA 20111112 Town Recorder Workshop in Catskill.
• A OFF PSA 20111130 Youth Radio Training PSA.mp3 in Catskill.
• A OFF PSA 20111130 NANO HW Coffee for event in Cairo.

Audio headlines for top of the hour
• 5 a.m.: WGXC News 4:33 PLAY CLIP.
• 6 a.m.: WGXC News 4:33 PLAY CLIP.
• 7 a.m.: WGXC News 4:33 PLAY CLIP.
• 9 a.m.: WGXC News 4:33 PLAY CLIP.
• 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

W. T. Eckert reports in the Register-Star that, with less then 24 hours public notice, the Capital Region Economic Development Council (CREDC) holds a public hearing at 12:30 p.m. Thu., Nov 3 in the gymnasium at Columbia-Greene Community College at 4400 Route 23, in Hudson. The CREDC represents Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren and Washington counties. It is the latest way state government is supposed to spark enonomic development. “I urge folks to come out and voice their opinion,” Columbia County Planning and Economic Development Commissioner Ken Flood told Eckert, “so that the issues in economic development can be addressed.” Read the full story in the Register-Star.

Doron Tyler Antrim writes in The Daily Mail that Cairo Town Board members will vote today to give up health insurance for part-time elected officials, and make others cuts to keep next year’s tax levy increase under two percent. The story does not mention what time the meeting will be, and Cairo's town website is not currently active. Antrim writes that the board still needs to find $12,000 more to cut. Board members and the Supervisor John Coyne agreed to a 20 percent salary cut, which would save $8,300. Board member Janet Schwarzenegger proposed shrinking the size of the planning board to five members with no alternate, from seven members and one alternate. She also suggests, since the economy has slowed new business, cutting the meetings back to once a month, rather than twice. The proposals would save $7,000. The final budget meeting is set for Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. and a public hearing on the budget will be held Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. Tonight WGXC will record a candidate forum with candidates for office in Cairo at 8 p.m. Candidates for Town Supervisor, Town Council, Highway Superintendent, Clerk, Justice, and Tax Collector have been invited to answer questions. We will air it live on 90.7-FM if we can, but more likely we will make a recording and play it back in part Friday morning and afternoon, and in whole at 7 p.m. Sat. Nov. 5. The recording will also be posted online at wgxc.org shortly after the candidate's forum at Town Hall at 8 p.m. Thu. Nov. 3.

WGXC will also air a candidate forum at 1 p.m. Sat. Nov. 5 live from the Catskill Community Center on WGXC 90.7-FM. Candidates for Town Supervisor, Town Council, and Highway Superintendent have been invited, and the public is too, to the Catskill Community Center at 1 p.m. Sat. Nov. 5, and live at 90.7-FM.

Link to audio of Hudson Mayoral Candidate Forum with William Hallenbeck and Nick Haddad.

Jimmy Vielkind in Capitol Confidential highlights this video Kyle Hughes at nysnys.com took of Albany Fire Chief Robert Forezzi inspecting Occupy Albany. “My concern is for the safety of the occupiers, the safety of the public, and that’s why we conducted this safety inspection,” Forezzi told the Times-Union's political blog. “If they follow our direction today I think everything will be safe here.” Read the full story in Capitol Confidential.

Local weather forecast
The National Weather Service predicts Thursday will be mostly sunny, with a high near 56. Thursday night should be partly cloudy, with a low around 36. Forecast for the rest of this weekend:
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 49.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 49.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 54.

Town meetings today
ANCRAM The Town of Ancram Planning Board holds a public hearing to consider an application by Mr. Thomas Miller, who is seeking approval for a minor subdivision to divide and existing 6.11 acre lot into two lots, one of 3.10 acres with an existing house and an unimproved lot of 3.01 acres. Planning Board meeting at 7 p.m., at Town Hall, 1416 County Rte. 7, Ancram (329-6512).
AUSTERLITZ Planning Board meeting at 7 p.m. at the Town Hall, 812 Route 203, Spencertown (392-3260).
COPAKE Planning Board meets at 7 p.m., at Town Hall, 230 Mt. View Road, Copake (329-1234).
GALLATIN 2012 Gallatin Town Budget workshop at 5:30 p.m. at Gallatin Town Hall, 1643 Jackson Corners Road, at the intersection of the Taconic State Parkway, Gallatin.
GHENT Planning Board meeting at 7 p.m., at Town Hall, 2306 State Route 66, Ghent (392-4644).
KINDERHOOK Zoning Board of Appeals meets at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 4 Church St, Niverville (784-2233).
WINDHAM Town board meets at 8 p.m. at Town Hall, 371 State Rt. 296, Hensonville (734-4170).

The skies above
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:288 a.m./5:51 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 2:15 p.m. / 12:36 a.m.

Birthdays
November 3 Walker Evans, Bronko Nagurski, Bert Jansch, Hal Hartley, and Roseanne Barr.

WGXC Program Notes
Special Programming Thu. Nov. 3:
• 2 p.m., "The Art of the Hudson Valley" with guests Andrew Nelson and Jess Puglisi. Nelson is a graphic designer, creator of the Upstate's Downtown eLetter, DJ, and a community organizer. Puglisi is a graphic designer, the manager at Spotty Dog Books & Ale and curates music and events. Chad Weckler hosts.
* 3 p.m., "Radio Theatre"'s subject today is silence, with Edgar Allan Poe's "Silence: A Fable" and other works considering silence including a version of John Cage's "4:33."

Audio clips for WGXC programmers
This information is not meant to be read on-air.


New PSAs
• A OFF PSA 20111115 Acres Co-op Membership
• A OFF PSA 20111130 NANO HW Coffee for event in Cairo.

Audio headlines for top of the hour
• 5 a.m.: WGXC News 4:33 PLAY CLIP.
• 6 a.m.: WGXC News 4:33 PLAY CLIP.
• 7 a.m.: WGXC News 4:33 PLAY CLIP.
• 9 a.m.: WGXC News 4:33 PLAY CLIP.
• 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

Marc Heller in the Register-Star reports that even though Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Chris Gibson crow about being on their respective agricultural committees, they are being completely shut out of negotiations about the current farm bill. This every-five-year agricultural giveway bill is usually hatched out in committees, but this year's congressional gridlock gave control to the "supercommittee." “It’s never coming back to the ag committee,” Mary Kay Thatcher, a lobbyist for the American Farm Bureau Federation, told Heller. “I want to be heard on this topic before decisions are made,” Gillibrand said in a recent interview in her Capitol Hill office, Heller reports. Gibson is also trying to get funds from fellow Republicans to help low-income New Yorkers with their heating bills, Kyle Glazier reports in Capitol Confidential. Gibson, R-Kinderhook, signed a letter with several Democrats to the House Appropriations Committee urging against a change in funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The change would mean $152.3 million less for New York this year under the current House Appropriations bill. Read the agriculture story in the Register-Star and read the heating story in Capitol Confidential.

WGXC correspondent Kelly Benjamin was at Occupy Wall Street on Halloween, and found Ben Cohen, from Ben & Jerry's, scooping free ice cream for protesters and shot this video. WGXC volunteer and training coordinator Cory Fischer-Hoffman was at Occupy Wall Street the day before, and recorded this five-minute audio feature about the conditions there after the rain and snow the night before. She writes:

"After over six weeks of occupying New York's financial district, participants in the Occupy Wall Street movement continue to protest corporate what they consider to be greed, increasing poverty and inequality, and a broken democratic system. Despite the snow storm which hit the northeast Sat., Oct. 30, participants in Occupy Wall Street spent Sunday morning, hanging clothes to dry, re-configuring their gear, and continuing to protest. WGXC reporter Cory Fischer-Hoffman interviewed participants in the Occupy Wall Street movement and here is what they had to say."

The Daily Freeman reports that Project Hope is providing free crisis counseling and support services to individuals affected by Tropical Storm Irene. Assistance is available for individuals, families, community groups, businesses, and service organizations from volunteers trained by the Mental Health Association of Columbia and Greene County, with support funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Anyone in need of support or assistance, can call Phil Jackson at 518-641-8734 or Barbara Abbate-Sturman at 518-265-4663. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

The New York State Department of Transportation announced Tue., Nov. 1 that State Route 23 from Route 296 in Windham to through Prattsville to the Town of Roxbury in Delaware County is now open to all traffic after being at least partially closed from storm damage ever since Hurricane Irene blew through in late August. Also, Route 23A in both directions from NY 296 to NY 23 is back open to all traffic.