One thinks of things like identity theft as big city urban crime stories, where the importance of those getting their identities stolen are key. Not so. The Daily Mail reports on January 19 of a 34-year-old Cairo woman who has been charged with stealing the identity of a sick friend and withdrawing more than $10,000 from the friend’s accounts.

The Greene County Sheriff’s Office charged Tammy Lacitignola with allegedly using a friend’s checkbooks to write herself checks. She also is alleged to have used her friend’s personal information to open credit card and cell phone accounts. She has been charged with seven counts of second-degree forgery, seven counts of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, third-degree grand larceny, first-degree identity theft, all class D felonies, and three counts of criminal impersonation, a misdemeanor.

Colin DeVries' story goes on to note how Greene County Sheriff’s Investigator Adam Brainard said Lacitignola was asked to watch over a friend’s home while they were hospitalized for an illness. During that time, Brainard continued, Lacitignola had access to her friend’s checkbooks and confidential information, and allegedly used them to her advantage, investigators said.

A joint investigation with the Greenport Police Department and the Greene County District Attorney’s Office revealed that between September 2010 and December 2010, Lacitignola allegedly cashed numerous checks by forging her friend’s signature, and opened up four cell phone accounts and credit card accounts in her friend’s name. Lacitignola illegally signed the checks — which were made out to “Cash” — and cashed them at banks in both Columbia and Greene counties, said Brainard. The funds she is alleged to have taken exceed $10,000, the sheriff’s office said.

Lacitignola was arraigned in Catskill Village Court and remanded to the Greene County Jail in lieu of $15,000 cash bail or $30,000 bond. She is due to reappear in Catskill Village Court at a later date. The Greenport Police Department will also be filing similar felony charges against her in the coming days.

The New York Lottery has announced the name of an Ancram Mega Millions player who won $10,000 in the drawing held on Jan. 4. The winner, Robert Macarthur, purchased the winning ticket at the Xtra Mart at 2224 Route 9 in Livingston.

Lottery prizes up to $600 may be cashed at any of the Lottery’s 16,000 licensed retailers statewide. Lottery prizes valued at $601 to $999,999 may be claimed at any of the Lottery’s seven stand-alone Customer Service Centers located in Buffalo; Rochester; Syracuse; Schenectady; Fishkill; Manhattan; and Garden City, and within any of the Lottery’s eight gaming facilities including Saratoga Gaming & Raceway; Monticello Gaming & Raceway; Tioga Downs Casino; Batavia Downs Casino; Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway; Fairgrounds Gaming & Raceway; Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack; and Vernon Downs Casino & Hotel. Prizes of $1,000,000 or more must be claimed at one of the Lottery’s seven stand-alone offices listed above.

For more information on how to cash a winning Lottery ticket, click the “Ask New York Lottery” tab at www.nylottery.org.

And hey... congratulations to Robert MacArthur!

State Police are looking for two men who held up the night clerk at the Xtra Mart convenience store on Route 9 in the Town of Kinderhook early Tuesday morning. According to the Mid Hudson News Network, two men, dressed in dark clothing, hoodies and ski masks entered the store around 12:30 a.m. and demanded money from the clerk under the threat that they had a weapon. None was displayed. No one was injured during the robbery. The pair fled with an unknown amount of cash. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Livingston State Police BCI at 518-851-2001.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="There are some saying there may be a tinge of Frank Capra's classic "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington" as the gas drilling "fracking" discussion enters Congress in the coming term."][/caption]The Watershed Post out in the Catskills has an update on how hydraulic fracturing is shaping up to be one of the big battlegrounds for the new 112th U.S. Congress, where "the various actors are already hinting at how the debate will unfold."

President Barack Obama's administration has hinted that gas drilling could emerge as a major issue this year. The day after the midterm elections were swept by Republicans in November, Obama surprised gas industry advocates and critics alike by singling out natural gas drilling as a point of compromise with the newcomers in Congress. But despite the President's professed enthusiasm for natural gas, according to a January 4th article in the New York Times by the environmental news source Greenwire, the Obama administration has continued to tread a middle ground. with fossil fuel enthusiasts saying they have seen no change in Obama's approach since the Nov. 2 election that he dubbed a "shellacking."

The report goes on to note a number of inconsistencies in the administration's stance on gas drilling, then charts GOP clear support for hydraulic fracturing.

On the first day of the new congressional session, January 5th, a pro-fracking contingent of the House of Representatives issued a challenge to Salazar's proposal (to regulate chemicals used in the process). Thirty-two members of the Congressional Natural Gas Caucus showed their support for natural gas development by signing a letter opposing any regulations that would require the disclosure of the ingredients in fracking fluid used in drilling on public lands.

Watershed Post goes on to quote Pro Publica's report that indicated that, "if money is an indicator, the anti-regulatory group has the upper hand. A back-of-the-envelope analysis of campaign finance dollars contributed to the members of Congress who are speaking out on the issue shows that the Natural Gas Caucus received 19 times more money from the oil and gas industry between 2009 and 2010 than the group who signed Rep. Hinchey’s letter (in support of Salazar's regulations and disclosure requirements for the industry)."

For the full story, click here...

One of the state's leading environmental organizations, Environmental Advocates, gathered representatives of the timber industry, farmers and other disparate groups to urge Gov. Andrew Cuomo to restore money to the state's Environmental Protection Fund. The fund pays for a range of activities that benefit farmers and loggers as well as environmentalists and have included such projects benefiting our coverage area as $17.6 million for open space land buys, $1.1 million for fighting invasive species, $12 million for waterfront revitalization, $6.6 million for municipal recycling programs, $10.7 million for farmland protection, and other funds for historic preservation over the years.

A Times Union report notes that with a budget deficit as high as $11 billion looming in the next fiscal year, it's hard to say whether the fund, which this year stands at $134 million, will be restored to $222 million as environmentalists and others want. But the participants at Tuesday's news conference provided a clear illustration of how budget crunches can bring together allies from a wide range of diverse interests.

The EPF was $250 million in the 2007-08 budget year.

"It's very tempting to think about environmental programs, certainly in terms of things that have obvious importance, like making sure our water is clear and our air is safe to breathe ... but these agencies, these programs, do far more than that," said Rob Moore, executive director of Environmental Advocates which joined with the loggers and farmers.

For those in the forest products business -- timber cutters, log-home builders, wood pellet makers and others -- cutbacks at the state Department of Conservation as well as in the EPF translate into fewer trees cut and less business.

New York loggers are already cutting considerably less wood on state land that they did a decade ago, noted Eric Carlson, executive director of the Empire State Forest Products Association, one of Tuesday's participants. And with fewer DEC foresters and technicians available to mark trees that can be cut, activity is further reduced.

Ironically, Carlson figured the state is missing out on between $5 million and $10 million a year on logging fees because the trees aren't marked.

Additionally, with a downsized EPF fund there is less money to buy easement rights to timber lands. These rights allow the public to enjoy such forests, even though they are privately owned, and it helps keep the land as a forest rather than, say, making it available for development.

Farmers also benefit from EPF money, often with regard to the development rights to their land. By selling these rights, farmers forego the opportunity to develop their farmland. That can help them afford to continue farming, noted Jeffery Williams, deputy director of public policy for the state Farm Bureau. EPF money also helps fund soil and water conservation experts who advise farmers.

Others who use EPF money include organizations that figure out ways to avoid pollution, and recyclers, both of which have also felt the pinch from a smaller EPF.

"The EPF is critical. It supports organizations such as ours," said Anahita Williamson, director of the NYS Pollution Prevention Institute, which is based at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="A home fire in Cairo is brought under control during storm on Tuesday, January 18. Photo by Claude Haton from the Daily Mail."][/caption]The icy blizzard mix yesterday, January 18, created unsafe driving conditions yesterday that were to blame for at least one local home fire yesterday, and likely involved in the other reported to date. The Daily Mail reports that a modular home in Cairo was destroyed by fire on Tuesday. No one was injured, but the home at 148 Pine Tree Lane, off Indian Ridge Road, was declared a total loss according to Cairo Hose Company Assistant Chief Ray Feml, who said the apparent cause of the fire was a malfunctioning furnace. Feml added that the slushy and dangerous road conditions were a “huge factor” in a slower-than-normal response time, with one firetruck even getting stuck in the icy, slushy mess when leaving the scene. In Columbia County, the Register-Star reports that an apartment fire in Greenport left two people homeless Tuesday afternoon. According to Greenport Fire Chief Gary Mazzacano, his outfit responded to a 3:44 p.m. report of heavy smoke coming from a downstairs apartment at the Ronsani Apartments complex at 71 Ten Broeck Ave. in Greenport, where a, "quick attack on the fire even with the inclement weather,” kept it from spreading to other apartments. The blaze damaged the living room and its contents, said the chief, with other parts of the apartment suffering heavy smoke damage. The apartment above also suffered smoke damage, he said. The fire has been labeled accidental and was apparently started when some clothes were left to dry on a heater. The tenants, a husband and his wife, were not home at the time but came back while thge fire was still being "engaged." Mazzacano said the Columbia County Fire Coordinator’s Office was on scene and issued a voucher for emergency clothes for the tenants through the county Fire Chiefs’ Association. During the incident Greenport fire received a call for an alarm going off at the new Kohl’s clothing store, which is not yet open. Crews were sent to investigate, but it turned out to be a false alarm.

At approximately 8:40 p.m. Tuesday, January 18, the Hudson Police Department received a call for an armed robbery in the area of 37 N. Fifth St. While investigating the incident the police located two of the involved suspects along with two firearms, according to a published press release in the Register-Star on January 19. One firearm was reported stolen out of the New York State Police Barracks in Livingston. Charges are pending, investigation is still ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Detective Bureau at the Hudson Police Department at 518-828-3388 or 518-828-9900.

The National Weather Service Winter Storm Warning continues through 7 a.m. The village of Catskill is under snow emergency rules effective until further notice, according to The Daily Mail. "Alternate side parking rules shall be observed. All vehicles should be parked on the even side of village streets from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on the odd side from 8 p.m. until 8 a.m. Odd and even sides of the street are marked by house numbers. Violators will be ticketed and towed." Traffic everywhere may be a problem Wednesday morning.


Live on WGXC Wednesday
*6-8 A.M.: WGXC Morning Show Hosted by Casson Kennedy, and Mark Lacoy. A mix of news headlines, audio features, and conversation. This morning there will be updates about the storm, possible closings, and more.
6:30 A.M.: The Farm Report
6:45 A.M.: Obituary for Germantown playwright Romulus Linney.
7 A.M.: WGXC Newsroom Headlines
7:15 A.M.: Paul Smart calls in with live news update.
7:30: Preview of Lafarge legislative hearing Thu. Jan. 20 in Ravena.


Town meetings tonight
CITY OF HUDSON Hudson Industrial Development Agency board meeting at 5 p.m. at City Hall; and Hudson Zoning Board of Appeals meeting (tentative) at 7 p.m. at City Hall.


Weather
A LITTLE RAIN AND SNOW Temperatures forecast for 36 degrees, today's average is 33 degrees and record high 57 degrees in 1996.


Astronomical bodies
TIDES Hudson: High, 2:14 a.m./Low, 9:18 p.m.
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:21 a.m./4:52 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 5 p.m./6:58 a.m. (Full moon begins at 4:22 p.m.)


Birthdays
JANUARY 19 Robert E. Lee, Edgar Allan Poe, and Cindy Sherman.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="324" caption="Image from S&F Technologies website."][/caption]Chris Simonds in The Columbia Paper reports Philmont Trustee Laurence Ostrander presented two estimates from S&F Technologies of Greenport for security surveillance systems, at a Mon. Jan. 10 town board meeting. "The pricier option, at just under $11,000, provides two video cameras, one atop the village office building and the other pole-mounted elsewhere, each controllable from a central location and providing video recordings of everything it 'sees.' Less costly, just under $3,000, is a vehicle-mounted video recorder with interchangeable lenses and memory card storage of images." A few recent incidents of vandalism, including smashed windows at the Village Hall spurred the initiative and Trustee Ostrander and other officials visited Catskill where a similar S&F system is already in place. Simonds entire story reports on other Philmont news in The Columbia Paper.

The Associated Press via The Daily Freeman reported Monday that 80-year-old playwright Romulus Linney died Sat., Jan. 15, at his home in Germantown. Linney's wife Laura Callanan told AP the playwright died of lung cancer. From the AP story:

"Linney, father of actress Laura Linney, wrote more than 30 plays that covered a number of subjects. Some of his works were set in Appalachia, which he was familiar with through his youth growing up in the South. Others were historical dramas, some looking at moments in time like the Nuremberg trials or the Vietnam war and others taken from the lives of public figures like the poet Lord Byron or Frederick II, a king of Prussia."

Linney's work appeared mainly in regional theater and off-Broadway, with one play appearing on Broadway. He also taught at Columbia and Princeton universities, Hunter College, and The New School. The YouTube video above includes Linney, Austin Pendleton, and Kristina Valada-Viars discussing Mr. Linney's "Love Drunk" during rehearsals for its production at Abingdon Theatre Company, March 2009.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="374" caption="Image from 511ny.org shows current traffic accidents in the area."][/caption]This image of accidents in Greene and Columbia counties at 4:49 p.m. Tue. Jan. 18 shows that the weather -- a mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain -- is making driving conditions spotty in some areas.

All Over Albany posts about a new study that ranks the New York City to Albany route as one of the corridors with the most potential for high-speed rail. The report, from the planning/policy organization America 2050, ranked the route along the Hudson River among the top one-percent of all routes in the nation. Washington DC-NYC was the top-ranked route with a score of 20.15, while NYC-Albany route scored 19.29. The U.S. Department of Transportation has begun releasing funds for preliminary work on the Albany-NYC route to make it faster, but not the high-speed touted by this study, that would reduce the commute to one hour. Currently, the route is the fifth-most-traveled in the country, with a stop in Hudson.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Lafarge Cement's plans for changes to its Ravena plant culminate, for now, with a legislative hearing at the Ravena High School on THursday, January 20 at 6:00 PM."][/caption]A formal legislative hearing on proposed changes at the Lafarge cement plant in Ravena, billed by the major company as an updating but seen by opponents as an expansion, will take place at the Ravena High School at 6 p.m. on this Thursday, January 20. Barring written comments, which can be submitted through the coming month, this is currently the last major scheduled public event involving the plant plans from Lafarge, whose Ravena facility was named the state's top air polluter by the federal Environmental Protection Agency late last year. WGXC has been recording all hearings on this subject, including a presentation by the Harvard University School of Health, commissioned by main plant expansion opponents CASE (Community Advocates for Safe Emissions) given earlier this month. Friends of Hudson, which came together to challenge growth plans by St. Lawrence Cement in Columbia County last decade, is also becoming a major element in this process.

For a record of the public hearing Lafarge's plans from December 8, click here, or copy and paste the following url into your computer’s media player:

http://www.wgxc.org/media/uploaded_files/2010/12/LafargeEnvironmentalImpactPublicMtg_120810.mp3

For audio of a hearing on Phase 1 of a state Department of Health study on the plant and its plans, which took place on Thursday, December 9, 2010, click here, or copy and paste the following url into your computer’s media player:

http://data.wavefarm.org/2010/12/RavenaDOHhearing_WGXC_12090.mp3

For a record of the Jan. 6 Harvard Pubnlic Health College study presentation on Lafarge and its surrounding community, click here, or paste the following url into your computer’s media player:

http://www.wgxc.org/media/uploaded_files/2011/01/Harvardhealthprelimstudy_RavenaHigh_010611.mp3

Finally, for an earlier story on how all this is playing out in the local media, including us, check our earlier story on the subject here.

Community Blood Services is in need of Type O CMV negative blood donors to regularly donate and help save the lives of newborns and babies in need at the community hospitals it serves. According to a story from this morning's Mid Hudson News Network, more than 60 donors are needed every week to treat babies who need transfusions, as noted by Patrice Foresman, director of recruitment at Community Blood Services, which supplies blood to more than 30 hospitals in New York and New Jersey.

Type O donors can schedule appointments or find convenient donor sites and hours by visiting www.communitybloodservices.com, or by calling 845-220-2030. CMV negative donors who join CMV, or cytomegalovirus, is a common virus found in the environment that is not generally a serious infection except for patients like newborn babies, Foresman said. Type O is the most needed blood type, because it can be transfused to patients with other blood types who need emergency blood transfusions and whose blood types are unknown.

Start-of-year government business continues to take up the front pages of local papers this week as county officials give reports on their successes of the past year, if continuing their jobs, as well as quieter plans for 2011. A Register Star story this morning charts Columbia County Controller Ronald Caponera's recent statements in this area, emphasizing his goals and objectives for county spending and ability to better oversight in the past year.

"A primary responsibility of Caponera’s in 2010 was bringing the county into compliance with the Governmental Accounting Standards Board’s GASB 34 and 45," reads the article, noting that GASB 34, published in 1999, requires state and local governments to report all their financial transactions including the value of their infrastructure, while GASB 45, published in 2004, requires governments to measure non-pension costs associated with their workforce, including post-retirement medical, dental, disability costs, etc.

After talking about all he's fdone to comply with such oversight legislation in the past year, including a corporate compliance plan fthat includes whistleblower protections for employees, Caponera said that for the coming year he hopes to see complete computerization of "almost every county system," including the county’s payroll system, and a streamlining of travel expenses, with "Advantage Travel as, basically, the county’s travel agency.”

Could it be there are some worried about the recent wave that swept over so much of the nation's politics?

Danny Donohue, president of the 300,000 member CSEA, New York’s leading union, posted an editorial that a number of the state's newspapers ran yesterday, tying Martin Luther King back to his undying support for the nation's labor movement. "The recent horrific events in Tuscon have saddened us all. However, from every tragedy lessons can be learned and the attention given by many to the contribution of violent rhetoric as cause for the shootings may be just the opening to bring civility back to our public discourse," Donovan wrote, setting the stage for a call back to civility from all those who have taken to attacking public employees in the last year. He goes on to talk about how basically un-historic, and un-American, it is to vilify a portion of our working populace for the jobs they take, and the rights they ask for as workers.

"I am further bolstered by the genuine joy expressed by U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in her account of the awakening of her friend and colleague Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords during a visit to the shooting victim’s hospital room.

Add to this the eloquent and poignant comments of Congresswoman Giffords’ intern Daniel Hernandez who is credited with saving her life and being called a hero. He said, “We must reject the title of ‘hero’ and reserve it for those who deserve it, and those who deserve it are the first responders and the public servants and the people who have made sure they have dedicated their lives to helping others.”

What a stark contrast to those who have vilified public servants. It’s time to bring honor back to those who choose to dedicate their working lives to bringing service to others. The school bus driver, the nurse, the caseworker and the sanitation worker and all who toil every day deserve our respect for committing to helping bring quality to our lives and communities.

On this Martin Luther King day let’s all take a moment to reflect on what is truly important and pledge to treat each other with courtesy and consideration even when we disagree. We owe that much to the real meaning of this holiday and those who have suffered so greatly in Tuscon.

Danny Donohue is the president of the 300,000 member CSEA – New York’s leading union.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Farm fencing may be the latest local zoning battleground."][/caption]Down in the neighboring Dutchess County town of Red Hook, a new review of fence regulations to determine whether amendments are needed to exempt farm use of fencing intended to keep cattle contained and crops safe, augers the sort of zoning and planning changes expected throughout the area as land use changes from an agricultural to a second home and bedroom community demographic. The Daily Freeman has a story this week on a request for such review by increasingly upscale Red Hook's Agriculture and Open Space Committee, which has recommended that recently enacted permit and fee requirements be taken out of zoning laws.

“About eight or 10 years ago the Town Board amended our zoning to address the question of fencing,” the resolutioon read. “This was based upon concerns of the public associated with building of walled fences (which) would obstruct the views. ... So the feeling was the matter of fences should be subject to someone taking a look at them and seeing that they were consistent with the requirements of our zoning law.”

“If I have to come down here every time I want to move an electric fence, I am leaving,” one farmer is quoted saying in the story. “I can’t even believe there would be a permit to put up an electric fence. ... It’s a single strand of wire we move around.”

Town Code Enforcement Officer Steve Cole said state law could be used to determine the type of barriers used for farms. “This goes back to the 1800s when you had rock walls and they were not being cared for,” he said. “There is a whole series of statutes on fences.”

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="David Woodin, seen here in a WGXC file photo with election opponent Charles Tailleur, has returned to private practice after 28 years in public service following his November election loss."][/caption]Former long-term Greene County law clerk David Woodin, who lost a bid to become county judge, last November, has a new job, has shifted into private practice with attorney Sean Doolan, a local practice with offices in Windham, Catskill and Rockland County. In an interview with the Daily Mail published today, January 18, Woodin said he’s eager to start his new career in private practice. A Democrat whose career as a law clerk to the last four Greene County judges spanned 28 years, as well as conductor of the Catskill Community Orchestera, Woodin was defeated by Republican opponent Charles “Chip” Tailleur, the county’s chief assistant district attorney, in last November’s race to succeed the retiring Judge Daniel K. Lalor. Woodin received almost 5,500 votes. Tailleur received more than 8,700.

Woodin, 55, lives in Catskill. He was born in Vermont. In 1976, he graduated from Williams College in Massachusetts with a degree in physics and music. He received a master’s degree in teaching from Reed College in Oregon a year later. In 1981, Woodin received a law degree from Albany Law School. He holds a second-degree black belt in Shiya-Do karate and has in the past served as an instructor at the American Dojo Martial Arts & Fitness Center in Cairo. Among the highlights of his law career, Woodin created software that advises judges and attorneys on plea bargaining restrictions. He also served as a member of a subcommittee for the New York State Commission on Sentencing Reform.

Etsy, who some have called E-Bay's "funky little sister," is moving to Hudson's Cannonball Factory in the coming months, shifting a portion of its business center from Brooklyn, where the entity was founded by three NYU students in 2005, and adding 50 local jobs, according to a letter sent to local business people by Etsy principal Rob Kalin on January 17. "I started Etsy to create opportunities in the world -- for myself, for small business owners, for people who make things, people who find things, and more," Kalin wrote in his e-mail on MOnday. "I love that we are be able to bring jobs to Hudson. Right now we're working to get things setup. (As of this email, the building doesn't even have heat! But that's happening quickly.) Our plan is to start with customer support positions, and grow from there. Etsy HQ will remain in Brooklyn, and I hope to grow our Hudson office to 50 employees or more. Jobs at Etsy come with a salary, benefits (medical, dental, vision) paid for in full by the company (including family plans). We'll be posting actual job descriptions soon."

A huge online marketplace stuffed with handmade, one-of-a-kind products, Etsy is named for a term found in Frederico Fellini's classic art film, 9 1/2, and now features 100,000 creators and designers worldwide selling everything from jewelery to jumpers through the site. Etsy tripled its gross sales in 2008 to $90 million, while simultaneously becoming as much a community as an e-commerce site, with actual and virtual meetups organized by location (Singapore, Saskatchewan), medium (papier-mâché, mosaic), and interest area (Chainmailers Guild, Lizards and Lollipops). The company just noted that the company just came off its best month ever, selling $41.1 million of goods in December, 10.1% higher than November's $37.3 million... and over 2,152,992 items. 468,814 new members joined the Etsy community in the month, up 70,603, or 17.7%, from November.

"My family is from New York (from Tarrytown up to Syracuse), and I've spent many a night in a lean-to amongst the Catskills," Kalin wrote, explaining his fast-rising company's latest move. "Etsy currently employs 175 people, most of them in our Brooklyn office. As we continue to grow, it makes a lot of sense to me to open up an office in Hudson.
I love the town, we found an incredible building (thank you Chris at the Cannonball Factory, and Theresa at Keystone for helping), and as everyone here knows -- better than I do, I'm sure -- there are so many great people."

Talk about a perfect match for Hudson's core of small retail businesses, as well as the region's fast-changing profile.

The National Weather Service predicts 3-8" of snow, freezing rain, and maybe .10" of ice today and tonight. WGXC's Newsroom will have closings, weather warnings, and other news on the storm.


Live on WGXC Tuesday
*6-8 A.M.: WGXC Morning Show Hosted by Casson Kennedy, Kaya Weidman, Mark Lacoy and others. A mix of news headlines, audio features, and conversation. This morning there will be updates about the storm, possible school closings, and more.
*NOON-2 P.M.: Vocal Chords Andrew Sosnowski hosts two-hours of many types of singing.


Town meetings tonight
CITY OF HUDSON Hudson Common Council Finance Committee Meeting at 5:30 p.m., and Hudson Common Council Formal Meeting at 7 p.m., both at City Hall.





Weather
A MESS Snow, freezing rain, sleet, and more in the forecast.


Astronomical bodies
TIDES Hudson: High, 1:29 a.m./Low, 8:31 p.m.
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:21 a.m./4:51 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 3:45 p.m./6:14 a.m.


Birthdays
JANUARY 18 Robert Anton Wilson, Ray Dolby, and Jim O'Rourke.