Officials from Club Helsinki in Hudson have been tweeting and posting on Facebook that they now have a beer and wine license. The Bindlestiff Family Circus performs tonight.

Joe Laquatra from Cornell University is beamed in with a presentation about Home Energy Efficiency at Greene County Eco-Fair at the Agroforesty Center in Acra. Watch video above or listen to audio at www.wgxc.org or:
http://comm.free103point9.org:8000/cairo.mp3.m3u

Watch video above of Sarah Charlop-Powers from NYSERDA speaking about making your home energy efficient at Greene County Eco-Fair in Acra. (Note: Twitcam text lists incorrect information about content of this video.)

Watch live video of Kevin Bailey's talk from 11:30 a.m. Aug. 21, 2010 at Greene County Eco-Fair at Agroforestry Center in Acra.

Wide variety of talent tonight at the Cairo Open Mic, the monthly event sponsored by the Cairo Library and WGXC. This week, part-time Cornwallville resident Esther Cohen was giving a writing workshop, and brought several members of her class to read. Michelle Curtis began the evening, followed by Nancy Henry, Dean Lavin, Cohen herself, and Tony Fallon. Then the band American Monarchy made their debut, featuring Mike Mottl on vocals, David Auger on guitar, Nick Anader on bass, Matt Schlosser on drums, and Alex Jacobs on rhythm guitar. Then Harry Gottlieb played classical guitar, and Claude Haton, Steve Anader, and Matt Schlosser jamming on some classic rock songs. Click here to listen to an mp3 recording, or paste the following url into your computer's media player:

http://data.wavefarm.org/2010/08/CairoOpenMic_WGXC_082010.mp3

William J. Kemble in The Daily Freeman says the emerald ash borer beetle that kills ash trees is in Woodstock:

"The Comeau Trails Tasks Force (members) were out and they reported to our office that they found what might have been an emerald ash borer on the Comeau property in an ash tree," he said. Alan White, executive director of the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, said the beetle, native to China, has no known natural enemies in the United States. "It was first detected in 2002 in Michigan," he said. "There were millions of dollars invested in trying to control it in Michigan and, then, in Ohio and various other states in the Midwest and, frankly, there wasn’t a lot of success." White said a finding of the beetle on private property along state Route 212 in Saugerties led to a wider search that found the insect in other areas. "That inventory and survey process indicates that there are active populations of emerald ash borer...in the southern tip of Greene County and, then, it basically travels down the Hudson River just north of Kingston," he said. "A number of those detections that they made were far enough west that it appears to me to be a fair assumption that the town of Woodstock needs to start thinking about what that means." Read the entire story in The Daily Freeman.

Rick Karlin in Capitol Confidential reports:

"[T]he New York Public Interest Research Group has scanned into their website and updated the latest versions of financial disclosure forms for incumbents and challengers for the legislature. These are filed individually with the state Legislative Ethics Commission and frankly they don’t provide a lot of detail, especially regarding the monetary value of the stocks, outside employment or other sources of wealth and income that some lawmakers have." Read the entire story in Capitol Confidential.

Locally:
Tim Gordon
Peter Lopez
Marcus Molinaro
Stephen M. Saland
James L. Seward

Second annual Eco-Fair in Cairo, NY, WGXC co-sponsors for second year. Workshops on a variety of environmentally friendly topics tba. Click on this PDF for more information. Sponsored by Cairo Chamber of Commerce. WGXC will be at the Eco-Fair with Max Goldfarb's M49 solar-powered radio truck. Tour the solar-powered radio truck with Goldfarb outside the Agroforestry Center in Acra, and WGXC will be webstreaming the speakers from inside the Agroforestry Center all day. Tune in WGXC Online Radio at www.wgxc.org.

Schedule
11:00-11:30 Opening
11:30-12:00 Kevin Bailey- Sycaway Solar and Wind
12:00-12:30 Erin Brady – Emerald Ash Borer is Here!
12:30-1:00 Sarah Powers-NYSERDA, Making your Home Energy Efficient
1:00-1:15 Pete Lopez NYS Assemblyman - The Importance of Sustainability
1:15-2:00 Dr. Joe Laquatra, Cornell University- Energy Efficiency & Healthy Homes
2:00-2:30 Mark Bomba- Alteris Renewables
2:30-3:00 Hal Zucker-Sustainable Living
3:00-3:30 Dr. Tanya Holonko DVM – Environmentally Friendly Ways to Have Healthy Animals
3:30-4:00 Overview of the Cairo Durham E..A.R.T.H. club. (‘ Establishing Environmental Action and Responsibility for Tomorrow’s Habitats’) The club’s mission is to help students learn about the environment and to become aware of the role which they can assume as responsible global citizens and future leaders.

Congressman Scott Murphy will be at Space360 in Hudson Friday, Aug. 20 at 1 p.m. to help constituents accessing assistance from the federal government through federal programs including Medicare, veterans benefits, Social Security. Anyone with that sort of problem is welcome to come and ask the Congressman for help at Space360, 360 Warren St., Hudson.

William J. Kemble in The Daily Freeman reports:

"A state Department of Environmental Conservation spokeswoman Monday said reviews of about 2,000 comments on proposed rules governing outdoor wood-burning boilers could mean the issue remains unsettled through April 2011. Spokeswoman Lori Severino during a telephone interview noted there was no shortage of concern on both sides.... Severino said another round of public hearings could be set if significant changes are made in the proposed rules.... Under the proposal there boiler stacks would have to be a minimum of 2 feet above the peak of any roof of a structure located within 150 feet of the boiler. Regulations would prohibit use of boilers between April 15 to Sept. 30 in the Hudson Valley." Read the entire story in The Daily Freeman.

Richard Dunham at New York on the Potomac reports that:

"Josh Kraushaar of the Hotline has an interesting investigative tweet today. HotlineJosh points out that the National Republican Congressional Committee has announced plans to reserve advertising air time in the race to defeat Capital Region Democratic Rep. Scott Murphy, but the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee “hasn’t yet” done the same, he writes. But Murphy’s not waiting for help from Democrats in Washington. He’s already airing a TV commercial featuring his 59 family members who regularly get together for Sunday dinner." Read the entire story in New York on the Potomac, or watch the video below.

By 5 p.m., the Gibson staff released a statement in response to the ad: “In his new ad, Scott Murphy acts as though he is not part of the problem in Washington, yet the facts indicate otherwise. He supported the failed stimulus bill, voted for a government take-over of healthcare against the will of the voters, co-sponsored card-check to eliminate the secret ballot in union votes, voted for Cap and Trade and then voted for a second $26 billion stimulus bill just last week. His votes helped increase the debt and deficit, yet did nothing to increase private sector jobs. On the contrary, his voting record added more impediments to job creation. I realize these facts do not make for a good ad, but we need to check the rhetoric against his voting record," said Gibson.

Aug. 23, 2010: 6 p.m. – Aug. 30, 2010: 8 p.m
at Cairo Library at the Cairo Town Hall, 512 Main St., Cairo, NY
518-622-9864

Teens (13 - 19) interested in making radio are invited for this two-part, free, workshop at the Cairo Public Library, 512 Main Street, Cairo, NY. The workshops will take place Mondays, August 23 and 30 from 6-8 p.m. Bring out your creative mind, find your hidden voice, make radio for your community! For more information, contact emily [at] wgxc.org or phone (518) 291-WGXC.

Eugene Keeler and Donna Morgan host a fundraiser for the campaigns of Peter Donahoe for Columbia County Clerk, and Roberta Davis, for County Coroner, both Democrats, Friday, August 27 from 5-7 p.m. with food from Mexican Radio. The couple's Kost VerLoren house boasts four fireplaces and was a small tavern and way station before Route 23B was built. It was also home to John Ten Broeck, former Supervisor for the City of Hudson prior to the formation of the Town of Greenport. He is buried in the small cemetery on Spook Rock Road. The event is at 75 Spook Rock Road, in Hudson. Tickets to this event are $25 ($20 for Seniors and Young Democrats). RSVP Cyndy Hall at 518-851-7980.

New York State Assemblyman Marc Molinaro and New York State Senator Stephen Saland on Aug. 20 join the New York State Commissioner of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation; Assemblyman Joel Miller; Assemblyman Steve Englebright; and Lucy Waletsky of the State Council of Parks, Taconic State Park Commission for a tour of Walkway Over the Hudson (10 a.m.), Harlem Valley Rail Trail (11:45 a.m.), Taconic State Park (12:15 p.m.), Rudd Pond 1:10 p.m.), Copake Falls (2:15 p.m.), and Olana 4 p.m.).

Elena Mosely gets participants into costumes Saturday at the Hudson Black Arts and Cultural Festival and Parade, which started at 7th St Park. Incumbent New York State Senator Stephen Saland and Democratic challenger Didi Barrett both joined the parade, as did New York State Assemblyman Marc Molinaro.

There promises to be a lively discussion at the legislature's meeting this Monday about the $175,000 bonuses for Greene County Industrial Development Agency Executive Director Sandy Mathes. This morning Ariel Zangla-Girard in The Daily Freeman has a story about the issue:

Legislator Karen Deyo, R-Catskill, said she planned to include an item on her committee’s agenda to address constituent concerns over the bonuses to... Mathes, and discuss what authority the Legislature has over the agency. “We need to address this recurring problem,” Deyo said. She said she plans to have the county attorney present at Monday’s meeting. Mathes received $175,000 in performance bonuses in 2009, on top of his regular salary of $131,325. The bonuses were made public after state Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, D-Elmsford, made an inquiry into state authority employee bonuses. Paul Slutzky, chairman of the board of directors of the Greene County Industrial Development Agency, has said the bonuses for Mathes were performance-based. He said a compensation committee sets criteria at the beginning of each year for any incentive payments the staff receives. The bonuses come from business fees generated by the agency, according to a previous press release from the agency. Deyo said the issue of Mathes’ bonuses was most recently raised by lawmakers following committee meetings on Aug. 9, and led to a shouting match.

At that meeting, Colin DeVries in The Daily Mail reported that legislator Joseph Izzo, R-Catskill, shouted an expletive at James Van Slyke, D-New Baltimore, about the lack of development in Catskill. At that meeting Deyo wrote a letter to Brodsky, and asked her fellow legislators to sign it, with only Izzo, Chris Pfister, D-Athens, and William Lawrence, R-Cairo, joining in. Read the entire story in The Daily Freeman.

Someone has been posting audio of local town meetings, including these links to mp3s from the August, 2010 Stuyvesant town board meeting. Click here for a complete menu, as the mp3s are each short clips of different subjects at the meeting. If the person responsible would like to get in touch with WGXC, we would love them to be one of our Town Recorders, gathering audio from local meetings, and sharing it with the community on the internet and FM dial.

Michael Ryan in The Daily Mail reports Windham Republican will hold their caucus on Friday, Aug. 20, at the Centre Church, to fill a vacant seat on the town board and choose a town supervisor candidate. From the story:

Four individuals, Karl Gonzalez, Bill Lonecke, Michael McCarthy and Rick Rasmussen, have tossed their respective hats into the ring for the council chair left empty after Stephen Walker was picked to replace town supervisor T. Patrick Meehan, who passed away last November. Meehan’s spot was temporarily taken by former councilman and deputy supervisor James Miltenberger, who is no longer on the board. Walker had been on the town board for six years and the planning board for nearly 20 years before taking the reins in January, 2010. Walker is running unopposed for the supervisor’s job, fulfilling Meehan’s unexpired term which ends on Dec. 31, 2011, and if Walker is successful in his bid this November he would then need to run again in November, 2011, for a fresh two-year term. The local Democratic Party has not yet scheduled its caucus, planning to do so before the Sept. 14 deadline. Read the entire story in The Daily Mail.

Dave Woodin, candidate for Greene County Judge, holds fundraisers in Tannersville and Athens this month. Tuesday, August 17 from 6-9 p.m. Lynn and Greg Lubow will host an event at their home at 70 Brookside Drive, Tannersville (RSVP 518-589-5593), and Athens Town Supervisor Lee Palmateer hosts a light brunch 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Aug. 29. Questions/interest: contact Brud Miller (518) 945-2969 or brud@mhcable.com for information on the Athens event. Woodin faces Republican Charles M. “Chip” Tailleur in November for a 10-year term.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="Poster by Jess Puglisi."][/caption]
Vetiver and DJ Lunar Moss perform at a WGXC fundraiser at Cannonball Factory in Hudson Aug. 22.