Two more chains lock in plaza store slots
Chris Simonds of The Columbia Paper reports that Greenport Commons, where the Wal Mart and Lowes are, along with the new Kohls that opened last week, will be seeing two new stores: a PetSmart next to the TJ Maxx store and a Five Below youth-targeted retailer just behind the Applebee's restaurant.

Holcim to close Catskill plant
Doron Tyler Antrim of the Daily Mail carries the story about the decision to mothball the Holcim cement plant in Catskill with union comments from the local International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, whose chairman Dennis Smith said Holcim is going “above and beyond” for workers during the transition, including offering a good severance package and paying for resume writing and computer skills classes. Greene County Legislature Chairman Wayne Speenburgh said county officials have made a special effort to help the company stay here, but noted that the closing was "inevitable" given all it put into a new, energy-efficient facility on the Mississippi River in Ste. Genevieve, Mo. Sandy Mathes, executive director of the Greene County Industrial Development Agency, added that it would take a major reconstruction of the Catskill plant, similar to what Lafarge plans for its Ravena plant, for Holcim to remain in Greene County. The plant was built in the 1960s.

Hinchey, Schumer introduce legislation to protect drinking water from hydrofracking
Mid Hudson News Network has a story about how Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-New York) and Senator Charles Schumer (D-New York) are among the cosponsors of legislation aimed at protecting drinking water from hydrofracking to mine natural gas. Hinchey was supported in the House proposal by Members Diana DeGette (D-CO), and Jared Polis (D-CO). Schumer was joined in the Senate by Senator Bob Casey (D-PA). New York lawmakers are concerned about drilling in the Marcellus Shale formation by pumping, under high pressure, chemicals to fracture the shale and release the natural gas.

Sinkhole closes roadway
The Daily Mail reports that County Route 41 in Cairo, aka Lakes Mills Rd. was closed this past Saturday, March 12, near the Cairo wastewater plant due to a sinkhole depression that had developed alongside a failing four foot culvert running beneath the roadway. Jim Young, site foreman with the Greene County Highway Department Site, said work will begin in earnest today, March 16, at 8 a.m. when the roadway is ripped up and a new four foot pipe installed, and should be completed by Friday evening, with final repaving taking place sometime in the future.

Town shuts north end of Merino for safety reasons
The Register-Star has noted that the north entrance of Mt. Merino Road at Route 9G has been closed temporarily by Greenport Highway Superintendent Mark Gaylord. A section of roadway has deteriorated as a result of reoccurring flooding and is deemed to be unsafe for vehicle traffic. Morris Associates, the town engineering firm, is determining the best way to ensure a safe roadway repair. Two sections of the roadway are being looked at in relation to repairs.

The National Weather Service says today will be cloudy with rain ending for the afternoon. High 49F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. Tonight will be partly cloudy. Low 38F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow clearing with a high of 59F.

Town meetings tonight
CAIRO at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 512 Main St., Cairo.
CATSKILL at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 439 Main St., Catskill.
GHENT Planning Board session at 7pm,
HUDSON 6:30 p.m. Zoning Board of Appeals
COLUMBIA COUNTY Human Services at 4 p.m.
GREENE COUNTY Legislature meeting at 6:30 p.m.

Astronomical bodies

TIDES Hudson: High, 12:39 p.m./Low, 7:44 p.m.
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:05 a.m./7:02 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 4:54 a.m./3:34 p.m.

Birthdays
MARCH 16
James Madison, Henny Youngman, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Isabelle Huppert, and Patty Griffin.


Tune in today
WGXC MORNING SHOW Philip Grant and Reid Ishmael are on-air guides. 6-8 a.m.
DEMOCRACY NOW! 8-9 a.m.
WGXC MORNING SHOW 9-10 a.m.
AL JAZEERA RADIO INternational News 10-11 a.m.
@ISSUE with Victor Mendolia and Francesca Olsen, talking to Hudson Mayor Rick Scalera and the Common Council's Don Moore 11 a.m. - noon
THE SCHOEMER SHOW with WGXC Musical Director Karen Schoemer 12 noon - 2:00 p.m.
EARTHBEAT a report on radiation 2-3 p.m.
RADIO EXPLOSION! kids programming... by kids. 3:30-4:00 p.m.
THE AFTERNOON SHOW 4-6:45 p.m.
RADIO ESPANOL 6:45-7:00 p.m.
MUSIC, 7 - 9:30 p.m.
GUEST DJs, 9:30 - midnight

Election results trickled in through the night, with incumbents winning in two of the Columbia and Greene villages with actual races, in Philmont and Tannersville, and a new party taking seats, including the mayoralty, in Chatham. Turnout was light.

Sixty-one folks voted in the Athens village election. Andrea Smallwood remains as Village Mayor with 51 votes unopposed. Trustee Robert June also kept his job, unopposed, with 52 votes. Newcomer Anthony Patsky got 50 votes, and replaces incumbent Democratic Trustee Tom Sopris, who declined to run. Owen Lipstein, who formerly published Inside/Out and ran the Stewart House, received one write-in vote.

In Catskill, The Daily Freeman reports unopposed Democratic Trustee Joseph Kozloski got 37 votes for his third three-year term on the Village Board, with Village Justice William Wootton, a Republican, receiving 36 votes for another two-year term on the bench. Both were cross-endorsed

In Chatham, the Columbia Paper reports that two new Chatham United Party candidates won the mayor's and a village trustee position in the biggest voting around the region, including 52 absentee ballots. Tom Curran beat out longtime Mayor Paul Boehme 423 to 231. Curran's running mate Joanne Delrossi defeated incumbent trustee Pat Wemitt 422 to 252. Incumbent Lael Lock kept her seat on the Village Board 324 votes. Large turnout was the result of the new party's long push ever since 2010's budgeting process saw Boehme and company propose a 12 percent spending hike, since whittled down to under 5 percent.

In Coxsackie, according to the Daily Mail, In Coxsackie, Mayor Mark Evans and Trustee Stephen Hanse retained their seats on the Village Board and first time Trustee Paul Sutton replaced Trustee Greg Backus, who did not seek his second full term. Evans got 132 votes, Hanse received 130 votes and Sutton got 135 votes. All are Republican.

In Hunter, The Daily Freeman reports Mayor William Maley won his third three-year term with 31 votes, while Richard Harty and Trustees Alan Higgins and Michael Tancredi each received a write-in vote for the mayor race.

In Kinderhook, according to John Mason of the Register-Star, trustees Robert Puckett and Dale Leiser won unopposed races for reelection with final tallies of 34 and 33 votes, respectively.

In Philmont, Francesca Olsen of the Register-Star reports, incumbent Mayor Clarence “Skip” Speed won another term with 190 votes to 89 for his opponent Brian Wheeler, who had tried to run on a "change" mantra. Unopposed trustees Larry Ostrander and Doug Cropper received 202 and 213 votes, respectively. There were no write-in votes.

In Tannersville, The Daily Mail's Jim Planck reports incumbent Mayor Lee McGunnigle beat Jason Dugo 109-58. In a three-way race for two seats on the board of trustees, incumbent Gregory Landers and newcomer Christopher Hack received 109 and 69 votes, respectively, and Jeremiah Dixon finished out of the running with 58 votes. The three challengers defeated the mayor to get hold of the village's Democrats party line in caucus earlier this winter. Their running mate, Christopher Hack, won a second trustee position up for grabs with a total 69 votes. Incumbent village Justice Noreen Valcich, whose name did not appear on the ballot, won reelection on a write-in candidacy that brought her 87 votes.

In Valatie, Mayor Gary Strevell and trustees Nancy Bryant and Philip Bickerton, all incumbents, won reelection with 56 votes for Strevell and Bruant and 60 for Bickerton, according to the Register-Star's John Mason.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Sampratt.com has this stunning image of the full Holcim property that it is "mothballing" south of Catskill. Pratt was a leading force, via Friends of Hudson, of the successful fight that kept St. Lawrence Cement from building a new plant in Hudson, and eventually resulted in the company's becoming Holcim. "][/caption]Sam Pratt has a scoop: Holcim (formerly St. Lawrence Cement) is closing its Catskill plant is closing, according to a company press release. The company's press release says it will "mothball" its Catskill facility effective June 13, 2011. "We deeply regret having to mothball this plant," said Bernard Terver, president and chief executive officer of Holcim (US) in the release. "In 2010, we highlighted the challenges faced by this plant when we announced a temporary layoff. The mothballing of Catskill is a direct result of continuing economic challenges and market conditions in the region. We have looked at all available options and feel that this move is necessary in order to meet the company's current and future business needs." Approximately 100 hourly and salaried employees will be affected by this decision, 60 of them on furlough since before the 2010 holiday season started. Mothballing, the Holcim release continues, includes ending production operations and securing the plant in such a way that operating permits and equipment will be preserved for possible future operations. Holcim is also in the news these days due to its proposal to build a new roadway to its dock property in Hudson, as well as for challenging that city's tax assessment of same property. More on this story as it develops in the coming days.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="400" caption="Crossroads Brewing Company in Athens. Photo from their website."][/caption]
Ken Landin and Janine Bennett of the new Crossroads Brewing Company in Athens stopped by the WGXC Afternoon Show Tuesday afternoon to speak with Ann Forbes Cooper about their new venture. Landin said the brewery -- in a former opera house -- may be open by April. Currently the tasting room is open most evenings and on Saturday and Sunday. Eventually Crossroads will have a restaurant, and a second-floor space for musical and theatrical performances. Click here to listen to the entire interview.

‘Meet the Teachers’ takes place tonight at Hudson
The Register-Star notes that Hudson Junior/Senior High School teachers will host their Meet the Teachers’ Night from 5 to 7 p.m. tonight at the Hudson campus on Harry Howard Avenue. Progress reports for the senior high school have been mailed home and junior high school parents will pick up their child’s report in the main entrance of the junior high school. Parents will have an opportunity to meet junior high school teachers in the junior high school gym and senior high school teachers will be available in the cafeteria. At 6:30 p.m. in Room 22, eighth grades parents are invited to an academic freshman orientation hosted by the guidance department and the department chairperson of each subject area.

IDC helps GOP move redistricting amendment
The Republican-controlled State Senate passed a bill to amend the state Constitution to put legislative redistricting in the hands of a five-member panel not dominated by any party or comprised of any legislators. The problem? It’s for the future, and “does not in any way disturb” the negotiations over a plan for the current gerrymandering, which effects the next election in 2012, or those for the remainder of this decade, it seems. That redistricting will occur as it always has, by incumbents seeking to protect their districts.

Market may be on the move again
Doron Tyler Antrim of the Register-Star writes that Catskill Village President Vincent Seeley said at a meeting on March 14 that he’ll introduce a proposal later this month to relocate the seasonal farmers market from Main Street to the county parking lot on Water Street. The market was moved last year to Main Street after years at Catskill Point. The decision has been met with praise from organizers, who say vendors made more money on Main Street, and disapproval from a couple of Main Street business owners, who say the market’s presence has caused them to lose money. “I’m in compromise mode,” Seeley said — a reference to the ongoing debate over the appropriate location for the farmers market.

Assembly, Senate to pass budgets today
The Albany Business Journal reports that the New York State Senate and Assembly were set to approve their own budget plans today with a few key differences. The two chambers split on income and health-care taxes, as well as the issue of medical malpractice. State law requires the two sides to agree on a joint budget before diving into deeper negotiations with Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The Assembly budget plans limits, but extends, the so-called “millionaires tax”, which impacts as many as 70,000 businesses that report business income through personal income tax returns, for another year. It also eliminates a proposed cap on “pain and suffering” damages awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits. The Senate budget hews closer to Cuomo’s original $132.9 billion proposal, a roughly 2 percent decrease in spending, but does not count on any additional revenue from the millionaire’s tax, which can bring in as much as $5 billion. Republicans also keep in place the proposed cap on damages in medical malpractice lawsuits, but erases a plan to expand a tax insurers pay on hospital discharges, raising $158 million in two years.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Lafarge has its own website geared to "the facts" of its "modernization plans" for its Ravena plant, from which this image is taken."][/caption]Hilary Hawke of the Daily Mail and Register-Star reports that Lafarge Environmental Manager John Reagan is touting his company’s optimism in light of the recent release of comments to the Department of Environmental Conservation’s Draft Environmental Impact Study for the Ravena cement plant’s Title V Air and State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits, part of an expansion plan that’s drawn quite a bit of media attention, and heated opposition from key environmental groups. The DEIS being commented on covers the old and new EPA regulations for the existing plant, as well as the proposed new plant on Route 9W in Ravena. According to a preliminary list of roughly 800 comments to the DEC, Lafarge has pointed out that the vast majority of those submitted support the Lafarge Modernization Project. However, Hawke points out that “many respondents filed form letters citing the new plant’s anticipated positive effect on air quality, reduction of fuel and energy consumption, retention of high-paying jobs and introduction of hundreds of high-wage temporary construction jobs to the region.” Seven senators, nine assemblymen, three local chambers of commerce and dozens of businesses also submitted letters of endorsement while roughly two dozen e-mails and letters were critical of the project, and included scientific data backing up such positions. Among those urging more DEC oversight were Jeffrey Baker of Young/Sommer LLC, the attorneys representing the environmental groups CASE and Freiends of Hudson, Hawke reports. Baker, who also serves as counsel to the Coalition of Watershed Towns in the Catskills, prefaced a 19-page document by stating while his clients supported the Lafarge plant modernization project they had multiple concerns about issues ranging from fugitive dust to the plant’s overall appearance. Lafarge noted that the DEC released the transcript of the comments to them, in both written and oral form, because the “DEC needs our input in preparing the responsiveness summary.” Reagan said Lafarge hopes to have their air permit approval by the end of summer, 2011. At that point the company would begin placing orders for equipment, draw up the final design and hopefully begin renovation/expansion construction in 2012 with an anticipated finish date of sometime in 2014 and production start up in 2015.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="http://www.sunshineweek.org"][/caption]This is Sunshine Week, a national initiative to promote a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information that got started in 2002. The national effort is spearheaded by the American Society of News Editors. The key funder has been the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, with significant support from ASNE Foundation. In 2011, The Gridiron Club and Foundation contributed $10,000. The idea is "to enlighten and empower people to play an active role in their government at all levels, and to give them access to information that makes their lives better and their communities stronger," according to Sunshineweek.org. "Like many families, Sunshine Week's grandfather lives in Florida... The Florida Society of Newspaper Editors launched Sunshine Sunday in 2002 in response to efforts by some Florida legislators to create scores of new exemptions to the state's public records law. FSNE estimates that some 300 exemptions to open government laws were defeated in the legislative sessions that followed its three Sunshine Sundays, because of the increased public and legislative awareness that resulted from the Sunshine Sunday reports and commentary. Several states followed Florida's lead, and in June 2003, ASNE hosted a Freedom of Information Summit in Washington where the seeds for Sunshine Week were planted." The event is designed to coincide with National FOI Day and James Madison's birthday on March 16. The Freedom of Information Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966, making the public’s access to government records a legal right. “I signed this measure with a deep sense of pride that the United States is an open society in which the people’s right to know is cherished and guarded,” Johnson said on signing the legislation. The Register-Star's Francesca Olsen has an informative piece on FOIL which includes a step-by-step set of instructions on how to file for government information, accessible here.

By Gus Murphy

Village elections in Columbia and Greene counties
Four Columbia County and five Greene County villages hold elections today, from 11:00 am or noon to 8:00 or 9:00 p.m. Most races have no challengers, but look for action as candidates face off in Chatham, Philmont and Tannersville.

Replacement for Frey could be named
The Daily Mail's Colin DeVries reports that Greene County Legislature Chairman Wayne Speenburgh is saying that a new Greene County legislator for Durham could be appointed at the legislature's meeting on Wednesday, March 16. The county legislature’s District 9 seat has been vacant since former legislator Sean Frey resigned effective Jan 31. Any appointment is contingent on approval by the full legislature, which currently holds an 8-5 Republican majority after Frey's resignation, and will be up for a special election in November.

In wake of Japanese nuclear crisis, Riverkeeper calls for shut down of Indian Point
Mid Hudson News Network writes that Hudson Riverkeeper Paul Gallay told a special session of the Westchester County Legislature’s Environment and Energy Committee on March 14 that the Indian Point nuclear power plant should be shut down until it can be scientifically proven that it could withstand a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. The session was called in the wake of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power plant explosions in Japan that began last Friday. Gallay said more study must be done immediately into the “what if’s” at Indian Point.

Gibson maintains support of nuclear power
The Register-Star is running a story about a conference call on March 14 where Congressman Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook, told reporters that he remains a big promoter of nuclear energy, even as Japan struggles with radiation releases from plants crippled by last week’s earthquake and tsunami. “I want this done and I want it done safely,” Gibson said of his push to build more nuclear facilities in the United States. “We’re not looking at building your father’s nuclear power plant.” Gibson is proposing two new nuclear plants for the Hudson Valley, one north of Albany and the other in Greene County south of Catskill.

Schools bank, spend more of reserves
Jimmy Vielkind of the Times Union reports that Capital Region schools districts, including those in Columbia and Greene Counties, have more money in their reserve accounts than the state average, but more of them are raiding their reserve funds than other districts in the state. The comptroller's survey found Capital Region schools -- in Albany, Columbia, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Columbia, Greene, Warren and Washington counties -- have an average of 11.7 percent of their overall budget in reserve. The statewide average was 10.8 percent, the report found. But Capital Region schools tapped their reserves last year at a higher-than-average rate. The reserve figure went down in 23.2 percent of local districts, compared with 20.5 percent statewide. DiNapoli's report concluded that, examining 22 indicators of fiscal health, Capital Region schools fared better than others around the state. Because of a more precipitous decline in property tax values, districts on Long Island and in the mid-Hudson Valley were hit hardest.

Greene lawmakers consider delinquent tax installment plan
Ariel Zangla Girard of the Daily FReeman reports that Greene County lawmakers are considering a proposal allowing eligible property owners to pay their delinquent taxes in installments over a two-year period, but only after signing an installment agreement to avoid foreclosure. Under the agreement, taxpyers would be required to pay 25 percent of the total bill up front and make quarterly payments on the balance of the delinquent amount. Additionally, property owners would be required to remain current on all new taxes assessed on the property or the county would begin the foreclosure process again. Interest charges would also be included...

The National Weather Service says that today will be mostly sunny with some clouds. High 51F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to occasional showers overnight. Low 36F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%. The rain will abate tomorrow.

Town meetings tonight
DURHAM Town Board meets at 7:30 p.m. at Town Building, 7309 State Rt. 81, East Durham.
HILLSDALE meets at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall on Main Street.
HUDSON 5 p.m. Finance Committee meeting; 7 p.m. Regular Common Council meeting at City Hall.
HUNTER at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 5748 Route 23A, Tannersville
TAGHKANIC Planning Board workshop meeting is at 7 p.m. at Town Hall is on Route 82 in West Taghkanic.
COLUMBIA COUNTY Health & Medical Services Committee at 4 p.m.

Astronomical bodies
TIDES Hudson: High, 11:27 a.m./Low, 6:53 p.m.
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:07 a.m./7:01 p.m.
MOONSET/MOONRISE 4:17 a.m./2:19 p.m. Tuesday

Birthdays MARCH 15 Andrew Jackson, Lady Gregory, Lightnin' Hopkins, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Sly Stone, and Ry Cooder.

Tune in today
WGXC MORNING SHOW hosted by Jackie Thomas and Tom Roe. 6am – 8am
DEMOCRACY NOW! 8-9 am
WGXC MORNING SHOW hosted by Shannekia McIntosh and Tom Roe. 9-11 am
AL JAZEERA 11am – 12pm
VOCAL CHORDS hosted by Andrew Sosnowski, 12pm – 2pm
INTERVIEWS hosted by Victor Miller. 2-3 pm
COUNTERSPIN weekly media analysis from Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. 3:00 – 3:30pm
YOUTH PROGRAMMING 3:30pm – 4:30pm
WGXC AFTERNOON SHOW with Anne Forbes Cooper, 4 – 7pm
NEWS ESPANOL 6:45 - 7:00pm
JMORE SHOW, with Jeff Moore. 7 – 9:30pm
BATTLESHIP EARTH with Dan Seward Battleship Earth, 9:30pm – 12:00am

Assessment reval hearing will be Wednesday
The Register-Star reports that the Greenport Town Board in Columbia County has rescheduled the Special Assessment Revaluation Hearing from March 2 to March 16 at 6 p.m. at the Greenport Town Hall. The purpose of the meeting is to provide the Town Board and Greenport property owners an update on the status of the 2011 assessment revaluation program including schedules for the mailing of assessment change notices, the overall extent of those changes and procedures for informal property valuation status meetings with property owners, together with information involving filing of assessment grievances. Peter Ostrander, Greenport’s sole assessor, and a representative from the county Office of Real Property Services will also report on details regarding the revaluation and factors involving the impact on future tax rates. The reval is being conducted by the town without outside contractors as a means of saving taxpayer dollars.

Whither Re-districting reform
Several items in the Times Union’s Capitol Confidential blog outline where things stand for now regarding the redictricting of state assembly and senate districts this year, as well as congressional districts around New York. On the one hand, Senate Republicans are pushing to keep things as they are, their only way, several pundits are saying around the state, to maintain any GOP power in New York these days. On the other, yet another new group has emerged calling for doing the “gerrymandering” in a nonpartisan way, the better to start activating “real reform” of Albany politics.

Entergy says Indian Point can withstand earthquakes around here
The owner of the Indian Point nuclear power plant on the upper Tappan Zee of the Hudson River near Croton, Enetergy, is saying the facility has many layers of protection and could survive the kind of earthquakes that happen occasionally in the northeast. Their statement comes on the heels of revoiced concerns from local environmentalists and scientists pointing to an August 2008 paper in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, that voiced rising concerns for a major earthquake in the New York metro area, while others have raised questions about rising sea levels and increasing tidal activity in the Hudson.


Assembly Democrats to OK revised ‘millionaires tax’
The Albany Business Journal reports that Democrats in the New York Assembly are set to approve a limited version of the “millionaires tax” enacted in 2009 as part of their budget plan. The Assembly budget plan, filed over the weekend, extends the hot-button tax for one more year--and only on those making $1 million or more. A vote is set for tomorrow on the plan to raise about $1 billion for the state in its 2011-12 fiscal year. Democrats hold a 99-51 advantage in the chamber, and several key Republican senators have also gone on the record in favor of a “true” millionaires tax, instead of letting all surcharges lapse this budget year. The state faces a $10 billion deficit, with a budget due by April 1.

Ladies First
Dick May’s Seeing Greene blog came out with a new entry on March 11, breaking the news that the Catskill Golf (& Country) Club is getting its first woman president, Donna Meo, and that Linda Overbaugh will be retiring as executive director of the Heart of Catskill Association (also known as the Catskill Chamber of Commerce) after 12 years on the job (following six as a founding volunteer).

Taconic Hills denies inequitable apportionment of sports equipment
John Mason of the Register-Star reports that Taconic Hills Central School District Athletic Director James Derby is denying charges that he hasn’t been fair in how he’s split up equipment costs between sports teams, spending more on soccer than baseball. The school’s faculty and support staff associations have alleged that teams coached by school board members were receiving more equipment than other teams. The district has also come under fire because the state Board of Education says that school board members should not be hired by the same district they serve, as coaches Donald McComb and George Lagonia Jr. do. There’s also a nix on siblings serving, as has also happened on the Taconic Hills board.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="John Thorn of Catskill has been named official historian for Major League Baseball, the second to hold this honored position. Photo by Dion Ogust, courtesy of Woodstock Times. "][/caption]Brian Hollander of Woodstock Times reports that Catskill resident John Thorn has been appointed official Historian of Major League Baseball, the second man to hold the post in the sport’s long history. “There’s a guy in every bar in American that knows something about baseball that I don’t know, but there’s no one in any bar who knows everything I know,” Thorn says in a story on his big new job. “But Major League Baseball didn’t bring me on board to be a trivia player. It’s how do you make sense of it, have a good grasp of the factual record and bring a historian’s cohesiveness to make sense of disparate and seemingly incoherent facts. History is more than mere fact, history is legend, too.” Thorn is an author, not only of works regarding baseball, but of such books as the recent New York 400, published by the Museum of the City of New York to celebrate the city’s quadricentennial. Among his baseball credentials were his running of Total Baseball, a magazine and publishing house, and such books as The Glory Days, New York Baseball 1947-1957, Treasures of the Baseball Hall of Fame and The Hidden Game of Baseball. His new book, Baseball in the Garden of Eden: The Secret History of the Early Game, set for publication tomorrow, March 15, includes information on theories that baseball’s first official game took place in Pittsfield. Thorn has also been a consultant to, and featured in the baseball films of Ken Burns. He will speak with WGXC about his new position, and all that’s entailed in it, later this week. The last MLB Historian, Jerome Holtzman, died in 2008.

Village elections roll around this week, on Tuesday, March 15, with four sets of Columbia county races and five in Greene County.

Columbia County…

CHATHAM
The mayoral race in the village of Chatham pits a newcomer to politics, Columbia County native Tom Curran, against longtime incumbent Paul Boehme, with the challenger and two trustee candidates running under the independent Chatham United Party line. The terms are all for two years. Mayor Boehme, in office for over 20 years, prides himself on having grown up in the village, and served as a trustee and deputy mayor before taking on his long-held position. Tom Curran lived in Kinderhook for years and moved to Chatham in 1985, where he has been working as a machinist and tool maker for local businesses. He’s running on tax issues, which he said would have risen above 10 percent if it weren’t for his leading of protests. Boehme pointed to a final 4.6 percent budget increase for the current year, and an average 1.8 percent per year tax levy hike over the past 11 years. For village trustee posts, three will be vying for two openings: incumbents Lael Locke and Pat Wemitt will be faced by Joanne DelRossi on the Chatham United Party line. Locke, who is running on her own Action Party line, owns The Firm exercise studio, which is located in the village, and was elected to the Village Board in 1997 after serving for three years as a community appointee to Chatham’s Comprehensive Plan Committee. In addition, she was also one of the founders of the Chatham Business Alliance and spearheaded their 1995 drive to plant trees along Main Street. She is currently employed as a part-time community planner with the New York Planning Federation, a statewide non-profit that helps educate planning boards and zoning boards of appeal. Wemitt owns a painting and remodeling company, and is currently Catskill’s high school principal. DelRossi, running with Curran, is part of the management team at Coarc and was co-chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals and an active member on the village Comprehensive Plan Committee. She has said that if elected, she would like to see the two monthly board meetings consolidated into one and turn the second meeting into a public forum, where the board can sit down with members of the community and listen to their concerns and ideas. The election will be held noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday March 15 at the Tracy Memorial Hall.

KINDERHOOK
Two of Kinderhook’s four village trustees are up for re-election Tuesday in uncontested races. Dale Leiser and Robert Puckett have been successful running mates on the Bell Party ticket since 2007. Polls are open noon to 9 p.m. at Village Hall, 6 Chatham St.

PHILMONT
Village voters will decide between incumbent Clarence “Skip” Speed and challenger Brian Wheeler for Village Mayor. Speed has served as mayor since 2005, when he took the place of the late Philip Mossman, and began as a village trustee in 1997, and prides himself on his work to get the new coop up and running in the old Stewart’s Shop this spring, as well as his defense of the Pine Haven nursing home, which the county was pushing to move the facility to the old Ockawamick School. He says his goals for a next term are to clean and dredge the Philmont reservoir, and that he’s working to get restoration grants for area businesses and buildings, like the Summit Mill and the Vanderbilt House. Wheeler, 39, prides himself for having attended almost all village meetings for 20 years… and says he’s dissatisfied with “Skip” Speed’s performance, calling himself a candidate of change. He says he would prefer to have the Stewarts still in the village… “I want to keep what we’ve got left. We’re losing everything we’ve got. I want to bring the village back to somewhat of it used to be,” Wheeler says. Village elections are from noon to 9 p.m. at the Village Hall, off Main Street/Route 217 in Philmont.

VALATIE
Mayor Gary Strevell and Trustees Nancy Bryant and Philip Bickerton are running unopposed for reelection in the Village of Valatie. The election will be conducted from noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Village Hall, Spring and Main streets.

Greene County…

ATHENS
Athens Village races will three Democrat candidates running on the ballot with no opposition. Incumbent Mayor Andrea Smallwood and Trustee Robert June will be joined by trustee candidate Anthony Patsky, who replaced incumbent Democratic Trustee Tom Sopris, who earlier opted not to run for re-election. Smallwood will be running for a third term and June is up for his second term, and newcomer Anthony Patsky once ran unsuccessfully for trustee in the early 1990s, and decided the time was right for another run. The three have been campaigning on a major sewer upgrade they’ve started, among other issues. Village elections will be held on March 15 at Rivertown Senior Center on Second St.

CATSKILL
In the village of Catskill, incumbent Trustee Joseph Kozloski, 59 and incumbent Justice William Wootton, 65, are each running unopposed for re-election. A Democrat, Kozloski was cross-endorsed by Republicans in his bid for a third three-year term on the Village Board. A Republican, Wootton was cross-endorsed by Democrats in his bid for another two-year term. Polls will be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Catskill Firehouse, 1 Central Ave.

COXSACKIE
A three-member Republican slate of candidates has been campaigning heavily, despite facing no opposition, in the village of Coxsackie, where incumbents Mayor Mark Evans and Deputy Mayor Stephen Hanse are seeking reelection, while political newcomer trustee candidate Paul Sutton is seeking a first term. The three are touting the Village Board’s ability, in the last budget cycle, to impose a 0% tax increase. Evans is running for his second term as mayor. Previously he had served five years as a Town Councilman. Hanse is up for his third term as trustee.

HUNTER
In the village of Hunter, incumbent Mayor William Maley, 55, is running unopposed for his third three-year term. Polls will be open from noon to 9 p.m. at Village Hall on Main Street.

TANNERSVILLE
In the Village of Tannersville, local Democrats nominated three political newcomers - Jason Dugo, Jeremiah Dixon and Christopher Hack, for village board seats held by incumbents now running on a Watchful Eye Party line. Dugo, 30, will be running for mayor against incumbent Mayor Lee McGunnigle, 52 and mayor since 2007, which followed an earlier stint in office from 1995 to 2001. The newcomer wants a more progressve village reaching out to bring in new tourists and businesses, while McGunnigle says he wants to keep taxes stable, improve the village’s infrastructure and add to the calendar of community events. Dixon and Hack are running against incumbent Joseph Landers for two two-year seats on the Village Board. There is also a write-in contest for a four-year term as village justice. Polls will be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Village Hall on Main Street.

Catskill Central School District officials are holding the second of two community budget forums on potentially drastic cuts including the end of kindergarten and pre-K classes tonight on Monday, March 14, and have expressed hope that people will attend and present their ideas about what should or should not be included for funding in the next school year. Before a previous hearing on March 1, Jim Planck of the Daily Mail wrote that, “Community participation is perhaps especially essential this year, as the Board of Education has come at the budget from a ‘bottom up’ approach, meaning that the existing draft budget has had everything and anything that can be removed from it accordingly taken from it” All optionals have been excluded, so tonight’s forum is the opportunity for the community to suggest to the board which of those excluded items or programs should be put back in and restored with funding. The school board has invited Catskill residents, business owners, and taxpayers to the forum, which will be held in the Middle School auditorium starting at 6:00 p.m. for a stated length of no more than two hours. An earlier meeting on the same subject, on March 1, saw teachers and parents addressing issues related to the need for early education, advanced placement classes, sports, arts and music as integral to the local school experience, with several speakers noting that the local community has never NOT passed a budget. The board later noted that the discussion was purely “for discussion purposes,” and they were not planning to cut their budgets to the bone, but see what their constituency cared about regarding Catskill education. The accompanying video was from our earlier coverage of the CCSD March 1 budget hearing.

New Baltimore celebrates bicentennial
The Daily Mail has a piece about the opening ceremony for the riverside Greene Town of New Baltimore’s 200th birthday yesterday, Sunday, May 13, which had a parade including a fife and drum corps; a birthday cake; town, county, state and federal elected officials; a color guard entrance and a special “Ode to New Baltimore” presented by local columnist and former legislator Dick Brooks.

Chatham shaves heads to raise money for cancer research
The Register-Star has a piece about how hundreds of people crowded into Lagonia’s Pizza Cafe in Chatham on Sunday to raise money for cancer research, and to show their support for 11-year-old Chatham resident Roman Palleschi, who is currently living with acute lynphoblastic leukemia. Over 100 people shaved their heads, with the total of money raised being close to $15,000.

County voids citizens group
The Times Union has a piece about how worries with liability issues and worries that farmers would be targeted have prompted the legislature in neighboring Rensselaer County Legislature to unanimously abolish the Animal Coalition of Rensselaer County. The coalition was created in 2007 under an initiative to better enforce “Buster's Law,” designed to better protect animals. There were charges that the move was wrong-headed in its protections, swinging the pendulum too far.

Benefit to rebuild family's home draws hundreds
A benefit dinner at Bernie-O’s in Cairo drew over 250 to help the Auger family, who survived a devastating fire that ripped through their family home two weeks ago, all Sunday afternoon, March 13. Allen Auger said he was “overwhelmed” by the outpouring and appeared optimistic about getting back to some level of normalcy.

Scientist says the spin is on
James Odato has a piece in the Times Union that looks at spin in and out of the state scientific community regarding Marcellus Shale gas drilling, or fracking, where it seems the worst fear scenarios are driving debate… but there are still plenty of concerns. “Former DEC Commissioner Alexander "Pete" Grannis, who now is the first deputy comptroller, said he agrees with Smith that the dangers of fracking are overblown. He thinks the DEC is on course to set solid regulations.”

The National Weather Service predicts partly cloudy skies. High 44F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Tonight mostly clear. Low near 20F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow, abundant sunshine. Highs in the low 50s and lows in the mid 30s.

Town meetings tonight
CATSKILL SCHOOL DISTRICT is holding the second of two informational meetings on the budget in the Middle School auditorium at 6 PM. Using a zero-based budgeting format, they want to hear from stakeholders what school programs, from kindergarten to sports, that they want from their school.
COPAKE Environmental Committee at town hall at 7:00pm,
HUDSON Common Council workshop meeting at 7 pm
GREENE COUNTY LEGISLATURE holds Buildings & Grounds, Conservation, Public Safety, Highway, Government Operations, and Finance committee meetings at 6:00 PM, along with GOP and Democratic Caucus gatherings tonight.

Astronomical bodies

TIDES Hudson: High, 10:13 a.m./Low, 5:59 p.m.
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:09 a.m./7:00 p.m.
MOONSET/MOONRISE 3:13 a.m./1:09 a.m.

Birthdays
MARCH 14
Georg Philipp Telemann, Casey Jones, Albert Einstein, Diane Arbus, and Quincy Jones.

Tune in today
WGXC MORNING SHOW Greg Osofsky and Mark Lacoy are on-air guides. 6-8 a.m.
DEMOCRACY NOW! 8-9 a.m.
WGXC MORNING SHOW with Read Ishmael and Philip Grant, 9 a.m. – 11 a.m.
GREENE COUNTY MEETING on the tax cap and needed programs, from March 9… running from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
LINCOLN MAYORGA presents music from the early 20th century, 12 p.m. – 2 p.m.
YOUTH PROGRAMMING 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
WGXC AFTERNOON SHOW… focusing on village elections, 4 p.m. – 7 p.m.
NEWS ESPANOL, 6:45 p.m, – 7:00 p.m.
BLUEGRASS SHOW with Jim Wright, 7:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
DJ LUNAR MOSS, 9:30 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.

Police continue search for missing Catskill woman
The Daily Mail reports that Catskill Police are continuing to search for a missing person, Paula E. Werenczak, 22, who left her residence at 65 West Bridge St. in the village on Wednesday, March 9 around 5 p.m. She was reportedly on foot wearing a light colored T-shirt, dark pants and no shoes or socks. She was last seen walking east. She has not been seen since.

Helsinki Hudson takes home the prize
The Register-Star reported on Saturday that the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce gave its most coveted business award, the Crystal Apple, to the newly moved Club Helsinki on Columbia Street in Catskill. The award was given out Friday night at the Columbia Golf and Country Club in Claverack.

Proposal for Union and First Streets
Carole Osterink has comprehensive coverage of the long-standing but little notice (until lately) plan for new construction of three buildings in a 19th century style on the corner of Union and First streets at a meeting of the Hudson Preservation Commission on Friday, March 11. The revised plans seems to gain much favor, despite some concerns regarding materials and the ensuring public review process, which the developers lawyers said was largely unnecessary, given previous approvals gained for the project. The project is scheduled to go before the Zoning Board of Appeals for an area variance on Wednesday, March 16. The ZBA granted an area variance to the project four years ago, but, like the certificate of appropriateness, it has expired. The ZBA meeting is at 7 p.m. in City Hall. A public hearing on the project will be held before the Historic Preservation Commission on Friday, March 25, at 10 a.m.--the HPC's regular meeting time.

Demolition Opposition Update
Osterink's Gossips also has an update on the petition drive to force the Mental Health Association of Columbia-Greene Counties to reconsider plans to raze an unofficially historic 19th century brick building for new housing for its clientele, wherein she runs a letter from the MHA sent to two other local blogs, Rural Intelligence and Scott Baldinger's reglar blog, defending its actions in terms of larger picture ideals. The odd thing... they didn't send their missive to Gossips, which has been key in the drive to save the classic structure.

Minor flooding reported around Capitol Region
The Times Union sums up the thankfully less-than-predicted weather of the past week's end and how it played out in Columbia and Greene counties, which the Daily Mail, Daily Freeman and Watershed Post also covered. The worst rains came in the Catskills, where approximately five inches fell THursday and Friday, leading to a number of closed roads. Worst damage may have been in Kiskatom and Leeds, in Greene County. At least a lot of the snow's now melted...

There have been a number of stories updating everyone on the village elections coming this Tuesday, March 15, which we will copver more extensively in our Monday Newsroom and radio broadcasts, with analysis.

There have also been some school board and staff skerfuffles around the listening area as local school boards start working towards bu\dget proposals, which we'll also be covering with Newsroom stories and longer brodcasts over the coming week.

The National Weather Service says today will see a slight chance of snow showers before 9 a.m., then a slight chance of rain and snow showers between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., then a slight chance of rain showers after 10 a.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 44. West wind between 9 and 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20 percent. Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 22. North wind between 7 and 9 mph. Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 38. North wind between 8 and 11 mph.

Astronomical bodies

TIDES Hudson: High, 9:08 a.m./Low, 4:58 p.m.
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:11 a.m./6:59 p.m. (Did you set your clocks forward?)
MOONSET/MOONRISE 1:37 a.m./12:04 a.m. Saturday

Birthdays
MARCH 13 L. Ron Hubbard, Neil Sedaka, Mahmoud Darwish, and Adam Clayton.

Tune in today
GREENHORN RADIO 6 a.m.
CHALLENGING CHRISIANITY Chris Lawlor hosts. 7 a.m.
WGXC CHILDREN'S READING SHOW 8 a.m.
KNOCK ON WOOD Host Steve Charney, 8:30 a.m.
WHAT IS MUSIC? Sheri Bauer Mayorga's bi-weekly show. 9 a.m.
WGXC EXCHANGE 10 a.m.
THE SCORE 11 a.m.
JACKIE THOMAS SHOW Noon.
LATINOAMERICA 2 p.m.
LI LE, LI TAN Haitian news and music with Carline Murphy hosts 4 p.m.
BANGLADESHI SHOW Hosted by Hosneara Kader. 4:30 p.m.
TO BE DETERMINED Mark Read, Alex Malmude, Greg Osofosky, Sara Kendall, and others.
THE IRISH SHOW Tony Fallon hosts, 7 p.m.
SOUND FORMS Conversations with composers hosted by Peter Wetzler 9 p.m.
LOCAL MUSIC SHOW With Neo Cortex the band. 10 p.m.
IMPRINT Terry Doyle's regional music show. 11 p.m.

Town Supervisor Reggie Crowley made an e-mail announcement at 8:30 p.m. Sat., March 12 that the state of emergency in Copake has been lifted. Earlier today he reported that electricity had been restored to all who lost power in Monday morning's ice storm. Crowley says anyone still lacking electricity should call NYSEG at 1-800-572-1111.