Tune in today
TUNE IN WGXC will air the following live shows on WGXC Online Radio Wednesday:
•WGXC Morning Show 6-8 a.m. live with Casson Kennedy and Mark Lacoy. They most likely will stay on the air longer and be joined perhaps by others for morning updates.
Click here to listen.

Town meetings tonight
PUBLIC HEARING Columbia County Board of Supervisors shall hold a special meeting and a public hearing in the Board of Supervisors meeting hall, concerning the enactment of two local laws relating to the levels of exemption of payment of real property taxes for 1) senior citizens, which shall occur at 7:20 p.m., and 2) low income disabled citizens, which shall occur at 7:25 p.m. At Columbia County Board of Supervisors, 401 State St. meeting hall, first floor, Hudson.

Weather
SNOW A Winter Storm Watch continues Wednesday, and 2-6" of more snow may fall.

Astronomical bodies
TIDES Hudson: High, 8:23 a.m./Low, 3:15 p.m.
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:23 a.m./4:44 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 11 a.m./12:16 a.m. (First Qtr begins at 6:33 a.m.)

Birthdays
JANUARY 12 Jack London, Rush Limbaugh, and Howard Stern.

WDST's Mountain Jam festival will be June 2-5 this year, adding a fourth day of camping this year, with a lineup that includes Gov’t Mule, Warren Haynes Band, My Morning Jacket, North Mississippi Allstars, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and local band Voodelic. Tickets for the seventh annual Mountain Jam Music Festival () at Hunter Mountain, in Hunter, NY from Thursday, June 2, to Sunday, June 5, 2011. For the first time, Mountain Jam will expand to include four days of music and camping. Early bird tickets are now available at MountainJam.com.Complete press release from WDST if one follows the link.

MOUNTAIN JAM RETURNS TO HUNTER MOUNTAIN, NY JUNE 2-5, 2011

GOV’T MULE, MY MORNING JACKET AND THE WARREN HAYNES BAND TO HEADLINE

FESTIVAL ADDS FOURTH NIGHT OF MUSIC AND CAMPING

(January 11, 2011, Woodstock, NY) – Radio Woodstock and acclaimed guitarist Warren Haynes (Gov’t Mule, The Allman Brothers Band) present the seventh annual Mountain Jam Music Festival (MountainJam.com) at Hunter Mountain, in Hunter, NY from Thursday, June 2, to Sunday, June 5, 2011. For the first time, Mountain Jam will expand to include four days of music and camping. Early bird tickets are now available at MountainJam.com.

Gov’t Mule will headline Mountain Jam for the seventh consecutive year on Saturday, June 4. Gov’t Mule’s two-set performance at Mountain Jam VII will be one of only a few select appearances for the group in 2011. Modern rock heroes My Morning Jacket will return to the festival after five years to headline on Sunday, June 5. The newly formed Warren Haynes Band, a soul-infused ensemble will make its debut northeast festival appearance, headlining on Friday, June 3.

“It’s been great to watch Mountain Jam grow over the last seven years from a one-day concert to a multi-day, destination event,” says Haynes. “I’m really looking forward to this year’s line-up and to performing with both Gov’t Mule and the Warren Haynes Band.”

Mountain Jam favorites Michael Franti & Spearhead, hot off the smashing success of their latest hit album The Sound of Sunshine, will return for their sixth consecutive Mountain Jam appearance. The festival’s eclectic lineup will also see return appearances by crossover punk-Americana sensations The Avett Brothers, and modern blues-rock trailblazers North Mississippi Allstars.

A diverse array of first-time Mountain Jam performers will also join in, such as high-energy, hippie folk-pop collective Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, cross-genre banjo wiz Béla Fleck & The Flecktones, legendary blues-rock masters Electric Hot Tuna, rhythm & blues and gospel icon Mavis Staples, high-energy psychedelic rockers Portugal. The Man, West African-influenced Asheville, NC improvisers Toubab Krewe, and Dave Matthews’ collaborator and guitar virtuoso Tim Reynolds & TR3, among others.

Each night Mountain Jam will present additional late night entertainment both outside and inside Hunter Mountain’s Colonel’s Hall. The late night sets include the return of the hot, electronic jamband Lotus, the Canadian dance trio The New Deal and the recently formed supergroup, 7 Walkers featuring Bill Kreutzmann (Grateful Dead), George Porter Jr. (The Meters), Papa Mali, and Matt Hubbard (Willie Nelson).

For the first time, Mountain Jam will also provide music for early arrivals on the night of Thursday, June 2nd starting at 8pm. Funk/soul trio Soulive, will headline Thursday night’s offerings with a set of instrumental Beatles songs from their latest album Rubber Soulive. Rising Brooklyn-based soul-rockers The London Souls, and a late-night band still to be announced will round out Thursday’s entertainment.

“We are really excited to bring this amazing group of artists to the Mountain in 2011 and to expand the fun to a fourth night”, said Mountain Jam Founder, and Radio Woodstock President/Owner, Gary Chetkof. “Every year we strive to make the Mountain Jam experience better than the year before, and this year we know we are going to take this over the top!”

The festival’s forward-thinking Awareness Village will once again host a special acoustic stage, as well as exhibits from not-for-profit organizations and environmental groups, children’s entertainment, performance and sculpture art, physical and spiritual healing, a beer and wine garden, and much more. The Festival will also be continuing its greening efforts with recycling, carbon offsets, and free water refills to reduce the usage of plastic water bottles.

Originally conceived in 2005 as a single-day celebration of Radio Woodstock’s 25th anniversary, Mountain Jam has blossomed into a four-day, multi-stage event, featuring onsite camping, and one of the northeast’s most pristine natural amphitheaters. Over the years, Mountain Jam has hosted some of the top names in live music, including The Allman Brothers Band, Phil Lesh & Friends, Bob Weir & RatDog, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Ray LaMontagne, Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band, Yonder Mountain String Band, Les Claypool, Dave Mason, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, The Hold Steady, Coheed & Cambria, Drive-By Truckers, Dr. Dog, Medeski Martin & Wood, Mike Gordon, G. Love & Special Sauce, Ozomatli, Galactic, Umphrey’s McGee and Robert Randolph & The Family Band, among many others. Last year, the festival presented Levon Helm’s 70th Birthday Jubilee with very special guests Warren Haynes, Donald Fagen, Ray LaMontagne, Sam Bush, Steve Earle, Patterson & David Hood, Jackie Greene and Allison Moorer.

The Hunter Mountain Lodge will provide fans with 24-hour access to both food and indoor bathrooms, while onsite camping and a variety of nearby hotels, lodges and ski chalets will ensure that all attendees have a wide variety of accommodations. This year Mountain Jam will also offer expanded VIP options, and will bring back its highly acclaimed “Tavern in the Woods” featuring private bar area and Hammock Grove, as well as a shaded hospitality tents, early arrival access at no additional charge, private camping areas, and a variety of gourmet food and beverages. Mountain Jam will also offer options for VIP on-site lodging and a VIP RV area on the Mountain.

Following the sellout of Mountain Jam’s Holiday Presale tickets, Festival Passes are now available at Early Bird prices for $142.50, and with camping for $172.50. For an additional $25, attendees can enjoy early admission to the campgrounds on Thursday afternoon and music on the Mountain starting at 8 pm. A limited number of VIP Festival Passes are now on sale for $414.50 which includes Thursday admission.

Hunter Mountain is located within a short drive from anywhere in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

For complete lineup, full details and ticketing, please visit MountainJam.com.

About Radio Woodstock
Radio Woodstock is a global multi-media company that includes the award-winning radio station, Radio Woodstock 100.1 WDST, Woodstock’s hometown radio station, as well as internet radio stations, Radio Woodstock 69, and Radio Woodstock LIVE. All three are available online at RadioWoodstock.com.

Radio Woodstock Presents, a major upstate New York promoter, produces 40+ concerts per year in the Woodstock and Hudson Valley area, in addition to Mountain Jam and the new Bluestock Music Festival, which will debut at Hunter Mountain at the end of August. Radio Woodstock Presents also records many of the artist performances for release through its digital distribution company Radio Woodstock Music.

Listen online:
http://www.wdst.com
http://www.radiowoodstock.com

About Warren Haynes
Warren Haynes has been ranked by Rolling Stone magazine as the 23rd Greatest Guitarist of All Time and most recently among the few top “Guitar Gods.” Haynes is a Grammy winner for his work with Gov’t Mule and The Allman Brothers Band. He’s been called both an “American treasure” and a “legend in the making” by his peers.

http://www.warrenhaynes.net
http://www.mule.net

Mountain Jam 2011 Lineup

Gov’t Mule

My Morning Jacket

Warren Haynes Band

Michael Franti & Spearhead

The Avett Brothers

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

Béla Fleck & The Flecktones

Mavis Staples

Electric Hot Tuna

Lotus (late night)

North Mississippi Allstars

7 Walkers featuring Bill Kreutzmann, George Porter Jr. & Papa Mali (late night)

Soulive

The New Deal (late night)

Portugal. The Man

Preservation Hall Jazz Band

Tim Reynolds & TR3

Dawes

Toubab Krewe

Zach Deputy

Ryan Montbleau Band

The London Souls

Chris Barron (of The Spin Doctors)

Civil Twilight

The Heavy Pets

Orgone

Kung Fu

Alternate Routes

Dangermuffin

Moon Taxi

Ari Hest

TAB The Band

Morning Teleportation

Bronze Radio Returns

The Erin Hobson Compact

The Big Takeover

Voodelic

Livingston Leo

The above taped interview from is important for the clues it gives us all in the WGXC listening area as to what the new year portends, politically. Key in the talking points captured is Cuomo's blunt insistence that "his push for a property tax cap shouldn’t be linked with changes to the current schedule of rent stabilization laws," as the Times Union's Capital Confidential blog put it this morning, January 11. “I think that these are separate issues, and they should be analyzed as separate issues,” Cuomo says. “One of the mistakes we’ve made in the past is that the Legislature has tended to take issues and group them together in a negotiating style rather that analyzing the individual issues, and making the best policy on that issue.”

Cuomo also firmly addressed the idea of any extension of the so-called millionaires’ surcharge, indicating any action there would face his veto pen: “My position is, has been, will be, that I’m against new taxes. In my opinion, that’s a new tax, therefore I’m against it.”

Cuomo further noted that he's expecting to deliver an on-time budget by the start of February, although he wouldn't confirm a specific date... yet. But he did add that he would push for formal discussions of his proposed 2 percent property tax cap before that time, and not let its implementation get bogged down in the state's always arduous three way budget discussions,

In past years, New York City rent control laws -- and the state's involvement in them -- have played a large role in political bargaining and discussions, and not always in Upstate/Downstate split opinions. On numerous occasions, representatives from Assembly and Senate districts with large second home populations have been told, or noted themselves, the importance of city rent controls on second home real estate and renovation economics.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Durham School Services provides bus transportation for 300 school districts nationwide, and is increasingly facing union frustration with their budget cuts."][/caption]It may not involve the news directly in our listening area, but a story in today's January 11 Daily Freeman about bus drivers still working despite their union's strike vote has local interest because of the ways in which it invokes shifts in Labor's power after a half century of effort against the previous half century's gains for employees, as well as what's at stake in the year to come as folks try cutting away at education expenses wherever they can.

"Employees in the union representing 175 Durham School Services bus drivers and monitors are continuing to work despite a strike vote before students went on Christmas break, as negotiations have moved forward since the vote," the piece by Kyle Wind reads.

“Progress continues to be made, but more is still to be accomplished,” said company spokesman Carina Noble in a prepared statement. “We have set the next meeting date as Jan. 25 and are optimistic that we will be able to reach an agreement for our drivers and monitors. In the meantime, we have commitments from union leadership of no work action prior to our next bargaining session.”

Following those negotiations, Adrian Huff, the secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 445, said he will meet with membership and “follow their lead.” Huff has said the vote to strike was nearly unanimous. He said the 175 workers unionized last year and are 18 negotiating sessions into creating a first contract with management.

Durham, a subsidiary of National Express Corp. of Great Britain, handles all busing for the Rhinebeck school district and three routes for special education services for the Rondout Valley school district. Thus far, transportation has not been disrupted. It is the nation's second largest school bus operating company.

The current threat of union action is the first in the area of transportation to affect a local school district, many of which are now eying cuts to teaching and other staff, as well as programs and even schools, to meet what is anticipated to be a shrinking of our educational opportunities tied to tax reforms being called for by older voters sick of covering for others' kids, as some have started to say..

Huff has said Durham offered 3 percent raises, but the union found that “insufficient.” Huff noted Durham’s bus drivers do not get paid for sick time and do not receive employer-subsidized health insurance. As such, Huff has said employees, many of whom are making at or near minimum wage, often can’t afford to miss work when they are sick and risk spreading illness to students and co-workers.

Before the Christmas break Huff said the Teamsters would work with schools districts on when the strike was going to begin. “The last thing we want is to leave kids waiting in the cold,” he said.

Huff has said employees are often exposed to illness.

Rhinebeck district Superintendent Joseph Phelan said the company has looked into ways to continue to provide its service if the union does follow through on the strike vote after Jan. 25 so the district’s program would not be interrupted. If non-union workers were brought in from outside the area, Huff has indicated the union would consider picketing school districts.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Shaun Groden, new county administrator, is profiled in this morning's Daily Mail, who also took this photo."][/caption]The Daily Mail has a story in their January 11 issue this morning welcoming Greene County's new administrator, Shaun Groden,who flew in to his new job last Sunday with his family, leaving behind him over six years of leadership in Michigan’s St. Clair County and a track record of positive municipal growth and development. His furniture was expected to arrive this week, according to the story by reporter Colin DeVries.

Groden, 53, is a native of Rochester and a successful leader in business and government. Coming from a county of similar wealth but with more than three times the population size, Groden expects to have a different but extremely constructive experience in Greene. St. Clair County’s annual budget is about $100 million compared with Greene County’s $99.3 million budget. According to 2009 census data, the population of St. Clair County was 167,000 and Greene County’s was 48,947. The mean income per household in St. Clair County was $61,088 in 2009, and $59,773 in Greene County.

DeVries' story continues with comparisons between here and midwestern Michigan, which makes us look pretty progressive, and even affluent.

Though the population of St. Clair County vastly exceeds Greene County’s, 20 percent of people there are unemployed, Groden said. Much of that due to the reduction in the auto industry around Detroit, 60 miles to the southwest of the St. Clair County city of Port Huron.

Unemployment hovers around 8 percent in Greene County and Groden intends to work toward improving that.

“At the end of the day, jobs are the issue,” he said during an interview last week. “I intend to be very active in economic development.”

During Groden’s job search last year, he was pleased to find that Greene County already had quality shovel-ready business parks with significant acreage for development. In fact, Groden said he had pushed his own county lawmakers in St. Clair County to purchase land for similar parks.

In Michigan, Groden had been president of St. Clair County’s Economic Development Alliance — similar to the Greene County Industrial Development Agency — and implemented a workforce training program for high school students called the National Career Readiness Certification Program. The program is becoming more popular among employers to test aptitude on prospective employees.

“We’re trying to branch out into new sectors,” he said. “We need to find where the jobs will be for tomorrow.”

Groden, who has a masters in public administration from SUNY Brockport, said change is the key to success in economic development and the job market.

“We need to keep up with the times,” he said. “If you were doing your job the way you were trained, you’re doing it wrong.”

The order of doing business continues to evolve and demands new efficiencies to save money, Groden said, making adaptability to changes paramount in importance.

As St. Clair County administrator Groden implemented an efficieny by cutting paper use — swapping case files in the district attorney’s office with laptops, for example.

He was also able to save the county money on a jail project when he first became St. Clair County administrator at the end of 2004, identifying savings through financial accounting.

He said he kept the budget balanced each year and improved the county’s credit rating, while making the budget process more transparent and open to public input.

Another efficiency he implemented in Michigan was continuity of services, allowing for more sharing of services and realizing a cost savings throughout the county. He also consolidated some departments to avoid duplicative waste.

St. Clair County can be described as an agrarian, waterfront community, similar to Greene County, but Groden knows there are significant differences and challenges ahead.

“I wanted to be able to come to something that needed change,” he said. “I was looking for an area in distress.”

Groden equated the principles of business to public administration as far as budgeting and the need to uncover new revenues or cut expenditures.

With New York’s depleted fiscal state, Groden knew Greene County may face significant mandates coming forward — something he is ready for.

While earning his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the Rochester Institute of Technology, Groden “fell in love” with the budget process during an internship with the Monroe County budget office.

Forgoing an FBI career to become a public servant, Groden went on to work 15 years with the town of Greece. There he worked as director of finances on a $50 million budget.

After leaving Greece in 1997, he went into the private sector for several years until he returned to public administration in St. Clair County as administrator, a job he left in support of his family’s wishes.

Though he had other job offers, he chose Greene County for its forward-thinking business development, its solid credit rating and fiscal status, its recreational opportunities and an environment suitable for his wife and three children (all in their 20s).

It also helps that he loves to ski.

“I am not here by accident, I’m not here by happenstance,” he said. “I’m exactly where I want to be.”

Now here, Groden intends to make a positive impact on Greene County economics and apply his knowledge of municipal government and finances to inspire growth.

“When you have a career in public administration,” he said, “it’s of a desire to do something for the greater good.”

Groden’s three-year contract was unanimously approved by the county legislature at a salary of $132,000.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="NIMBYism in Clifton Park... Image by Cindy Scultz of Times Union."][/caption]NIMBYism - that phenomenon, particularly acute in our Upstate realm, where one neighbor claims not wanting another's actions under the rubric, "Not in my back yard!," -- has raised its head again in our area. On the tails of community complaints, and then new laws outlawing older forms of outdoor wood furnaces that belched smoke through neighborhoods, the latest brouhahas are starting to focus on solar power, at least according to a story in today's January 11 Times Union. There, staff writer Tim O'Brien writes of a Clifton Park couple's decision to build a massive collection of solar panels in their yard, and the controversy their decision has sparked in the suburbs north of Albany.

As Beth and Todd Silaika expanded their already sizable home at 39 Addison Estates, they decided to reduce their impact on the environment. They added one of the largest residential solar arrays in the state. It measures 80 feet long by 20 feet tall and generates 30,240 watts a year.

For the Silaikas, it is a source of pride, a sign of their dedication to conservation and care for the planet. To some neighbors, however, one person's pride is another's eyesore. Diane Miller said the solar array is too big for the residential neighborhood and, ironically, blocks the sun from her back yard.

Town officials admit no regulations exist that govern building such a structure.

This one's a great look at the damned-if-you-do/damned-if-you-don't nature of our current society, which poet philosopher Robert Bly once described as being like kids without proper adult restraints... or models.


"It's definitely fair to say we were caught by surprise," Supervisor Phil Barrett said. "It's difficult. You've got the government giving these grants, you've got a definitive push in our culture to move to these types of installations, but at the same time I do feel there has to be some regulation. I don't think we want to ban them, but we want to have a process to get them approved."

Parents of six children, the Silaikas moved into their newly built home in 2005. It's a dream house, spacious with giant artworks of nature the couple proudly discuss. They recently decided to add a pool house and a detached garage, which generated additional controversy when it was partly built on town land and the town swapped other property for it.

The solar project began when the couple was making the other improvements and realized the impact all their building could have.

"Beth said: 'We've added all this space to the house, we probably should do something to give back to the environment,' " her husband said.

They talked to Mark Bomba of Alteris Renewables, who designed what is called a solar shed. Construction, begun in November, is now complete, though it will likely be about a week and a half before National Grid connects the meters and the system becomes operable.

"We believe it's the largest in New York state, and it might be the largest in the Northeast for a residential solar system," Bomba said. The state Energy Research and Development Authority says the system is one of the largest residential ones in the state but may not be the biggest.

By building the solar power generator, the couple expect to wipe out their $6,000 annual electricity bill and to sell some power back to the grid.

"At the end of the year, they will get paid back," Bomba said. "This is definitely an extreme installation. They are definitely going to get a payback."

There are environmental benefits too, Bomba said. The fuel the solar shed will conserve is the equivalent of taking 4.75 cars off the road for a year. It is equal to planting 15,400 trees over a 20-year period.

While Todd Silaikas says the going rate for selling back electricity isn't all that much -- you get paid only 1/15th of what you'd pay for the same amount of energy -- he said that is expected to improve.

He does not want to disclose how much the couple spent, but adds that the investment should be paid off in a dozen years.

Miller has a clear view of the back of the structure from her rear yard at 42 Michelle Drive. It's not what she ever expected.

"I am going to have to pay several thousands of dollars to conceal this," she said. "I knew there would be homes built behind me. I never expected this. I'm in favor of renewable energy, but I just think there should be a plan for it in a residential neighborhood."

Since no regulations were in place, there wasn't much the town could do when Alteris applied for a building permit, said Town Attorney Thomas McCarthy.

"It's not illegal so the code office reviewed it and issued the permit," he said. "There wasn't any way to tell them no."

The couple agreed to set the solar shed 50 feet from the property line rather than the minimum 10, he said, and they committed to adding mature blue spruces to shield the view.

"I wish they had been a little more sensitive going in but they have been responsive to us," McCarthy said. "I think they are trying to be reasonable."

Todd Silaika doesn't get the neighbors' complaints.

"We've paid as little attention to it as we could," he said. "There has to be a few people displeased by the way the solar panels look. If you're trying to do something positive for the environment, why complain? Personally, when you see it in sunlight, it looks like artwork to me."

"Most people have been positive about it because we're giving back," his wife added.

When work is complete, Bomba said, it will be less visible.

"Once the ground cover is in and they plant some trees and shrubbery around it, it will start to bleed into the environment," he said. "Right now, it looks like a construction site."

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Rep. Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook"][/caption]Wondering just how much the new Republican Congress is valuing idealism over pragmatism? They're willing to allow greater costs for seniors by sacrificing the closing of the so-called “doughnut hole” that costs some senior citizens hundreds of dollars a year in prescriptions that Medicare will not cover so they can claim defeat of the health care legislation approved last year at this time, at least according to freshman Congressman Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook, A story in this morning's Register Star on Gibson's views points out that he "may not especially like the coverage gap - but he’s willing to bring it back in order to undo the much bigger health care reform package enacted by Democrats last year." In a telephone interview, Gibson could not say how or if the Republican majority in the House would avoid letting the “doughnut hole” return if the health care reform is repealed. "That’ll be a part of the discussions,” Gibson said. “I’m not going to support a policy that’s not paid for.” Gibson, who defeated Democrat Scott Murphy in November, did however express support for a number of elements of the health care laws within his statements, albeit with caveats that the whole kit and kaboodle be handled fresh, no matter any costs to citizens caught up in the great national debate of the day.

The doughnut hole refers to the gap in coverage beginning at prescription costs of $2,800. Up to that point, the Medicare prescription drug plan pays for medications. But people are on their own until costs reach $6,154, when catastrophic coverage kicks in.

The closing of the gap began to take effect Jan. 1, and beneficiaries should notice the difference immediately in prescription prices, Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., reported. By 2020, he said, the gap will be closed.

Columbia County is home to 1,047 people affected by the coverage gap, who will save $9.4 million during the next 10 years, Schumer’s office estimated.

Gibson acknowledged that the issue is not simply whether Congress pays for a doughnut hole fix - the Democratic-passed law does that -- but how. The health care reform law covers the cost by compelling drug companies to give Medicare Part D beneficiaries a 50 percent discount on brand-name drugs.

Critics say that’s a flawed approach, however, because drug companies would be able to simply raise prices, while offering the discount, meaning seniors could end up paying more for drugs anyhow.

The new Republican majority has declared that new spending on programs must be paid for with cuts in other programs - but not cuts in other parts of Medicare, for instance, as the Democratic-passed law does and which the GOP attacked during the debate over the legislation.

Democrats note that Republicans enacted the Medicare Part D program under President Bush through borrowing, adding to the budget deficit.

Repeal is unlikely to go any farther than the House, as long as Democrats control the Senate and the White House.

The Republican leadership had scheduled a vote on repeal this week but delayed it because of the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz. The earliest votes would be next week.

If the leadership follows the script it laid out last week, the House will vote on repeal before considering an alternative reform plan still being crafted by Republicans. Gibson has been critical of that approach, saying they should be considered together.

Generally, Gibson said, he supports a reform package based on free-market principals which cuts down on the cost of medical liability lawsuits and allows access to insurance policies across state lines, in order to contain health care costs.

More competition will reduce premiums, he said.

In addition, Gibson said he favors increasing the number of people with insurance - not over the current law, which greatly expanded coverage, but over the conditions before the law was passed. And he supports giving states more flexibility in administering Medicare.

And although he has been critical of the law, he said he agrees with some aspects, such as prohibiting insurance companies from dropping beneficiaries if they become sick.

“If it’s insurance, you shouldn’t be dropped,” Gibson said.

There's yet another big problem at the Greene County Sheriff's office, which in the past decades have seen sheriff's caught driving drunk, as well as a years-long investigation into missing cocaine.

Now the Daily Mail reports this morning, January 11, that a $214,000 federal grant awarded in 2001 must be repaid by the Greene County Sheriff’s Office this month. Greene County Sheriff Greg Seeley made the announcement during the county legislature’s public safety committee meeting on Monday evening, January 10, noting that the sheriff’s office worked hard to preserve the funds awarded more than nine years ago but would still have to return them since they were never spent properly. “It should have been spent,” Seeley said of the funds awarded during the administration of former Sheriff Richard Hussey and never used for their original purpose: which was to purchase computers for patrol vehicles as part of a statewide initiative. The funds are now due back by January 15, this coming Saturday. Greene County legislators expressed dismay at the news, with most seeming to pass blame on their former sheriff.

Intended to purchase computer equipment for patrols, the grant would have redeployed 8.6 full-time equivalent workers.

The total funding amount was $214,088 in federal funds, with a required local cash match of $71,363. It was supposed to be utilized over a 12-month period between Sept. 1, 2001 through Aug. 31, 2002. There was a 90-day allowance after the end date before the grant expired.

In October 2002, the sheriff’s office requested an extension at no cost. No extension was requested after the new end date of Aug. 31, 2003 and the grant expired.

According to a letter from the federal Department of Justice, the sheriff’s office “drew down” $214,000 of the awarded $214,088 on March 2, 2006 after the grant had been expired.

A closeout report kit was sent to the sheriff’s office in August 2006 . In the report Hussey noted the equipment had not been purchased and there was no method in tracking the redeployment, according to DOJ.

Seeley had discovered the funding was sitting idly in the sheriff’s office budget and attempted to contact DOJ about the reimbursement process.

In a letter to DOJ, Seeley wrote that “the former sheriff chose to utilize only $6,000 of this tremendous award. Of the $214,088, $208,000 of the grant is in the sheriff’s office account with the county legislature.”

After a review of grant records and information provided by the sheriff’s office, DOJ requested that the unused funds — $214,000 — be returned.

Seeley said the funds would have been used to equip the office’s fleet of 12 vehicles with computers to allow efficient processing of reports. Four of the office’s vehicles are equipment with the computer system, Seeley said.

He said he would seek other funding options for the computer equipment.

Legislator Karen Deyo, R-Catskill, appeared frustrated over the loss of funding during committee.

“All the years I’ve been here, I never saw anything like this,” she said. “How can we prevent this from happening in the future?… We should have some kind of oversight so this never ever happens again.”

Greene County Legislature Chairman Wayne Speenburgh, R-Coxsackie, said it was an unfortunate loss but wanted to thank the efforts of Amanda Boomhower, local advisor to former U.S. Rep. Scott Murphy, D-Glens Falls.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Gwendolyn Fuks, 51 of Ghent, is still missing. Call state police with any leads."][/caption]Kenneth French, 31 year old Valatie man who was reported missing since Jan. 7, has returned to the home where he is staying on Monday, January 10, according to Strate Police in Kinderhook. A story on the case, as well as the continuing disappearance of another Columbia County woman, 51 year old Gwendolyn Fuks of Ghent, last seen in the Albany area Dec. 30, ran in this morning's Jan. 11 Register Star.

According to NYSP Senior Investigator Gary Mazzacano, French had been staying with friends in Albany but didn’t tell anyone where he was going before he left. “He was just hanging out in Albany,” Mazzacano said. French apparently showed up in Valatie, told the people he was staying with where he was, said he was fine and departed for Albany again. Mazzacano said no foul play was suspected and French appeared to be fine. French’s sister reported him missing Jan. 7 and said she had last spoken to him Jan. 4.

Fuks, who is still missing, is described as being 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighing 120 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes. She may be driving a 1998, white, four-door Toyota Camry. Mazzacano told the Register-Star on Jan. 8 that Fuks sent a letter to someone that “caused concern. We’re looking to check on her welfare.”

Anyone with information on Fuks is asked to call the New York State Police at Livingston at 518-851-2001.

Carole Osterink in The Gossips of Rivertown reports on Monday night's informal Common Council meeting in Hudson where First Ward Alderman Sarah Sterling proposed a resolution "to Authorize the Mayor to Negotiate with Holcim Cement Company for the Purchase of Their Property in the City of Hudson." The resolution to purchase the the deep water port dock for "it's actual worth [of] $1.5 million not the current assessed value of $4.5 million," must now pass through the Legal Committee, chaired by Third Ward Alderman Ellen Thurston (who reads a list of local events on Thursdays on WGXC). That committee is tentatively scheduled to meet 6 p.m. Jan. 26 at City Hall. Read ahead to see the entire resolution quoted from The Gossips of Rivertown.

WHEREAS, the City of Hudson in its proposed Local Waterfront Revitalization Program has recognized the importance of the waterfront, especially the area of the deep water port, to the future economic development of the City of Hudson; and
WHEREAS, the proposed LWRP states that "the City supports the continued operation of this port, preferably under the ownership and control of the City of Hudson"; and
WHEREAS, the Common Council of the City of Hudson believes that revitalization of the City's waterfront is critical to the City's continued economic growth and the health and welfare of its residents; and
WHEREAS, the Holcim Cement Company which owns the deep water port dock that could be an important part of the revitalization of the waterfront has declared that the value of their property in the City of Hudson is actually worth $1.5 million not the current assessed value of $4.5 million and they also report no income from the property despite the evidence of continued delivery of aggregate by trucks through the City to the dock for shipment by barge; and
WHEREAS, the City of Hudson deems that at this time it would be in the City's best interest to acquire this property;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Common Council of the City of Hudson authorizes the Mayor to enter into negotiations with Holcim Cement Company for the purchase of said property at the company's stated worth of $1.5 million with the purchase monies to be raised by a combination of private donations, grant monies, loans and/or bonds.


The Legal Committee is tentatively scheduled to meet Wednesday, January 26, at 6 p.m. at City Hall.

Tune in today
TUNE IN WGXC will air the following live shows on WGXC Online Radio Monday:
•WGXC Morning Show 6-8 a.m. live with Casson Kennedy and Mark Lacoy; repeated at 4-6 p.m.
Click here to listen.

Town meetings tonight
TOWN OF COXSACKIE Regular meeting second Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 16 Reed St., Coxsackie.

Weather
SNOW BEGINS AT NIGHT 2-4" of snow possible, and a Winter Storm Watch begins at 7 p.m.

Astronomical bodies
TIDES Hudson: High, 7:43 a.m./Low, 2:10 p.m.
SUNRISE/SUNSET 7:24 a.m./4:43 p.m.
MOONRISE/MOONSET 10:35 a.m./none

Birthdays
JANUARY 11 Slim Harpo, Jim Hightower, and Mary J. Blige.

State Senator James Seward (R/C/I – Oneonta) was named to the senate finance committee, and Steve McLaughlin (R,C-Melrose) was named ranking member of the Real Property Taxation Committee. “There is no greater time for legislators in Albany to get to work on implementing a property tax cap," McLaughlin said in a press release. "As a citizen legislator, my role is to ensure the voices of my constituents are heard loud and clear and to ease the heavy tax burden facing the people of this region and state.” Seward put out an audio press release, which you can hear here: NYStateSen.JamesSeward_FinanceComm_011111

Assemblyman McLaughlin represents the 108th district, which is comprised by parts of Rensselaer, Albany, Greene, and Columbia counties. Senator Seward represents Greene County and nine other counties in the State Senate.

Senate Senate GOP Majority Committee Assignments

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="120" caption="Kenneth French"][/caption]State Police in Columbia County are looking for two people, who have been missing for several days. The two cases are not related. but all our local papers have been running the story. According to a piece in Mid Hudson News Network this morning, State Police at Livingston are seeking information on the whereabouts of Gwendolyn Fuks, 51, of Ghent. She was last seen in the Albany area on December 30, 2010. Fuks is described as being five feet, six inches tall, 120 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. She may be driving a white 1998 Toyota Camry. Anyone with information is asked to call the State Police at 518-851-2001. [caption id="" align="alignright" width="120" caption="Gwendolyn Fuks"][/caption]Also, State Police at Kinderhook are looking for information on the whereabouts of Kenneth French, 31, of Valatie. He was last seen on January 4, 2011 wearing jeans and a long sleeve shirt. He is described as being five feet, seven inches tall, 160 pounds and with brown hair and blue eyes. He may be driving a white 1996 Honda Accord. Anyone with information is asked to call State Police at 518-851-3111.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Dick May of Seeing Greene blog, as seen online..."][/caption]Dick May's Seeing Greene blog roared back for the New Year with the sort of story we all wish we could write in this biz... a semantics lesson unveiling of classic newswriting and reporting tricks akin to Toto's revealing of the Wizard in Frank Baum's great fantasy... utilizing a pair of headlines from the Daily Mail and Daily Freeman on last month's strangely Oedipal arson/suicide story from Athens.

"Our two cited headlines differ, then, with regard to the kind of event they announce. They introduce opening sentences that are alike in form (Lagged Attribution) and are similar in the substance of their main clauses," May, himself a veteran newsman, writes. "Those ledes differ, however, in how they identify the maker of the reported speech act. In the second passage, the speaker is identified as the sheriff of Greene County. In the first passage, the speaker is identified—well, depicted?--as the Greene County sheriff’s office."

The piece is particularly interested given these days when all news has been questioned for bias, and not just accuracy or clarity, or even professional standards.

For the full piece click here...

First there was the inaugural speech, with everyone wondering how New York's new governor would be tackling our budget woes for the coming year. Then the State of the State, given last Wednesday, January 5, with everyone then saying the hard details were yet to come with the new budget, due at the end of this month. Now, it seems hints of several actions surrounding Andrew Cuomo's call for the consolidation of existing state agencies and departments is starting to create pushback, both internal and external.

In this morning;'s Times Union, Jimmy Vielkind writes, "If New York's vast budget is a maze, consolidating elements of it requires knocking down walls. Put another way: It's not easily done. Take, for example, the proposal Cuomo unveiled Wednesday in his State of the State address to merge the departments of Insurance and Banking along with the Consumer Protection Board. The regulators for insurance and banking are currently funded by dedicated fees paid by insurers, who believe the costs are unfairly high."

This after we reported an earlier brouhaha where small town bankers decried their being lumped in with Wall Street... as well as growing wonders about when revenues from the recent financial industry rebounds will start to refill state coffers.

The president of the New York Insurance Association said Cuomo must proceed by focusing on stopping "sub-allocations" of dedicated money -- a sort of younger sibling to the more familiar "sweeps" that feed the general fund.

"If (the merger) is theoretically supposed to reduce state spending, then it should reduce the assessment on New York businesses," said Ellen Melchionni, president of the New York Insurance Association. "If they're programs funded for all New Yorkers, it should be funded through the general fund, not a hidden tax on one industry."

Insurance regulation is funded by a dedicated assessment on policy-writers headquartered in New York -- companies like AIG, Utica Mutual and Tower Insurance Group -- that has increased from $3.58 per $1,000 of premiums in 2007 to an estimated $8.88 this fiscal year, according to David Neustadt, spokesman for the Department of Insurance. The banking department is funded by similar assessments on banks and financial institutions.

Neustadt said the Insurance Department's operating budget this fiscal year is $145 million, but roughly $450 million has been collected. A lawsuit filed by Insurance Association over the issue almost a year ago remains pending.

Cuomo spokesman Josh Vlasto didn't say whether the assessments would be reduced if the consolidation goes forward. It's a classic example of a devil in what should be a glut of details contained in the governor's first budget.

On Wednesday, Cuomo said "our current organization is not effective because it is not organized the way Wall Street works any more."

"These divisions of insurance and banking and consumer protection don't exist in the marketplace, and much of the activity is falling between the cracks of our regulatory entities," he said. "We can have a win-win. We can consolidate them into a Department of Financial Regulation that better protects the consumer, and the consolation will save the taxpayer money by reducing the cost of three separate organizations."

Further details have not been released.

Former Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo, now a partner at the Manhattan firm of Debevoise & Plimpton, was skeptical significant savings could be achieved.

"As financial products and companies present themselves more and more holistically in the marketplace, it's wholly appropriate for the regulatory regime to respond to that," he said. "I do urge some caution on those who think there will be extremely large cost savings. The fact is the front-line regulators do very different things that are not duplicative.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Thomas Cleland, 18, received the rank of Eagle Scout at a ceremony held at the McNary Center of St. Paul’s Church in Kinderhook. Photo by David Lee from the Register Star website."][/caption]The Register Star leads with a story today on a new Eagle Scout from the Town of Kinderhook, 18 year old Thomas Edward Cleland from Valatie, who was honored in a ceremony held at the McNary Center of St. Paul’s Church in Kinderhook. “Only two percent of all boy scouts achieve the rank of Eagle Scout every year,” said Glenn Wallace, the Mahikan District Advancement chairman, who pointed out that Cleland was number 316 of only 319 Eagle Scouts from Columbia County, the first being Lawrence Andrews Sr., of Stockport Troop 1, who was so honored in August of 1922.

“You join these Eagles,” he told the young man, “those here and those who are with the greatest scout master of them all.”

“He went through Scouts, from Tiger, since (age) 5, to becoming an Eagle today,” said Cleland’s father, Paul. “It was a great experience for him. He learned how to accept help and give help.”

To earn the Eagle Scout rank, the highest advancement rank in Scouting, a Boy Scout must fulfill requirements in the areas of leadership, service, and outdoor skills, according to National Eagle Scout Association. Among the areas in which a Boy Scout must prove his mettle include first aid, citizenship and environmental science, among others.

A Scout must also complete a service project to become an Eagle. Cleland chose to update the existing maps of a section of the old cemetery, dating to around 1820, belonging to the Kinderhook Dutch Reformed Church. The information from the gravestones was collected and organized into what will be an online database that includes pictures.

Cleland said he spent around 50 hours on the project. “I had two computer technicians that helped me,” he said.

One of the hardest parts of the project, he said, was trying to decipher the names and dates on the old stones. Cleland dedicated the project to residents, past and present, of Kinderhook.

Of Scouting, Cleland said, he learned the true meaning of service.

Those in attendance used words such as “brave” and “dedicated” to describe Cleland.

Dr. Stephen Krizar, the Scoutmaster for Troop 113, said Cleland was someone with a lot of self-confidence and felt the word “brave” described him well.

“He is someone who can take his convictions and make them the guide for his life,” he said.

Maria Cammarata, the troop 113 committee chairperson, said that Cleland was full of determination.

“I’m in awe of what a fine young man he has become,” said the Rev. Stark Jones, who gave the invocation and benediction at the event. During his opening prayer he said that they were “there to mark the completion of a foundation built majestically and what he has built, he will stand on for the rest of his life.”

Catskill Superintendent of Schools Kathleen Farrell is quoted in a story about Andrew Cuomo's lightly-proposed property tax cap in today's Daily Freeman saying that if the tax cap is set at 2 percent, as is presently being discussed, school districts will automatically run at a minimum 10 percent deficit.

Her sentiments are matched by other school administrators, as well as most town, city and county officials interviewed, with only a few key Republican state legislators supporting the tax cap measure without considerable qualifications.

The big beef? That school districts and municipalities have no control over retirement and health care benefit costs — fixed costs that Farrell said make up 10 percent of state school budgets. If those costs rise 8 to 12 percent, and tax hikes are capped, “that doesn’t give us a lot of options” other than cutting programs, she added.

Area school districts, the story goes on to report, make up the largest share of property taxes paid by most homeowners, and have already seen their employment rolls cut by more than 250 jobs in the current school year, alongside reduced services and increased class sizes as state aid has shrunk and contractual expenses continued to rise. But even with those cuts and an infusion of federal stimulus money, the property tax levy among 18 local school districts grew by an average of 4.335 percent. Furthermore... the story notes how the weak economy has already led local governments and school districts to begin restructuring their operations, with everywhere from Kinderhook to Hunter-Tannersville starting to talk about school closures and cross-district consolidations for the future. Add the proposed cap on property tax hikes, and school districts across New York face a potential shortfall of $815 million per year over the next four years just to meet personnel costs, according to a recent report by the state School Boards Association.

State legislators, meanwhile, are pointing out that the governors tax cap proposal is still not detailed, and should include mandate relief elements. But that, in turn, has raised concerns about how you work against employees and hard-earned labor benefits enshrined in law, as well as nine state mandates - Medicaid, public assistance/Safety Net, child welfare, preschool special education, indigent defense, probation, youth detention, early intervention and pensions - that will be hard to impossible to dismantle.

For the full story click here...

The Daily Mail has a story this morning about a local crime yesterday where a 27-year-old Columbia County man was arrested after attempting to rob a convenience store on Route 9W in the Greene County town of Athens around noon yesterday, January 9. According to a press release issued by state police, Scott M. Schrader allegedly demanded money from a clerk at the Athens XtraMart on Route 9W and Schoharie Turnpike. After the clerk refused to turn over any money, state police said that Schrader pushed over a food rack and fled the store in a 2008 Hyundai.

The report by Colin DeVries is dry and as good a description of the banal blow-by-blows of local crime as we've seen anywhere.

An XtraMart clerk interviewed Sunday evening by The Daily Mail described how the incident transpired. The clerk interviewed, Gavin Taranto, was not working when the crime occurred but heard from co-workers — and read from a written statement — about what had happened there only hours earlier.

Taranto said Schrader had wanted to purchase a Snapple drink before attempting the robbery.

When the register popped open to give change back, the clerk on duty said Schrader calmly asked for all the cash in the register.

“You’re kidding, right?” the female clerk responded.

Taranto then said Schrader stared blankly at the clerk then angrily turned away from the counter and pushed down a large rack full of beef jerky, chips, and snack cakes — among other treats.

Schrader, described as about 5-foot-6 and heavy set, then fled the store, leaving a mess in his wake.

The clerk wrote down the license plate number to Schrader’s 2008 Hyundai and contacted emergency personnel.

Responding state police patrols found Schrader’s vehicle traveling south on Route 9W in Catskill.

He was apprehended without incident and charged with third-degree attempted robbery, third-degree criminal mischief, both class E felonies, and driving while ability impaired by drugs.

Police said the drugs he was impaired by were not illicit and no weapons were involved in the incident.

Schrader was arraigned in Athens Town Court and remanded to the Greene County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail and $20,000 bond. He is due back in court on Jan. 13.

State police were assisted by the Catskill Police Department, the Greene County Sheriff’s Office and the Greene County District Attorney’s Office.

more details

As if to demonstrate the thinking that guns have gotten too prevalent in our society, a Register Star prominently ran a story yesterday about how two Columbia County men were arrested Thursday after police received tips that someone was trying to sell a hot gun in Hudson. Andrew Amelinckx, who is also producing "Difficult Histories" for WGXC-FM, reports that Jason A. Higley and Alex D. Cruz, both 24 and from Hudson, were picked up by the Hudson Police Department after detectives received phone tips that a man was trying to sell a gun to people near State Street in Hudson.

“We received information from concerned citizens,” said HPD Lt. Richard Paolino, adding that officers tracked down the two suspects and discovered a handgun in their vehicle. Higley has been charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a class C felony, while Cruz was charged with third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a class D felony. Both men have also been charged with fourth-degree conspiracy, a class E felony. Higley and Cruz were arraigned in Hudson City Court before Judge Richard Koweek and remanded to the Columbia County Jail in lieu of $25,000 cash or $50,000 bond and $10,000 cash or $20,000 bond, respectively. According to HPD this is the second illegal handgun recovered by the agency this year. On Jan. 3, a citizen discovered a handgun in a parking lot near lower Columbia Street in Hudson. The investigation is still continuing in that case, he said.

Concurrently, the Times Union reported on Sunday about anti-gang anti-gun investigations in the state capital since September 2006, when a wave of shootings swept the city. Charting histories for the Jungle Junkies, Original Gangsta Killers, and other entities, the story notes the importance of involvement by the U.S. Attorney's office in putting together a task force that brought together the resources of the Albany police, DEA, FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), among others. Many of the gangs' drug deals were monitored, the ATF built a database of shootings using every shell casing and bullet recovered from crime scenes, and individual guns, many of them stolen in other states, were connected to the gang members who used, sold or kept the weapons. And according to reporter Brendan Lyons, he investigation reached its peak two weeks ago when the last of 25 OGK members pleaded guilty to federal drug conspiracy charges. They are scheduled to be sentenced in the coming months. Last year, a Jungle Junkies case culminated with the last of 30 people, including Conley and Robinson, being sentenced to federal prison. The story charts how members joined gangs at ages as young as 10 or 11, entering a culture of violence that has plagued many upstate cities.
For the full Register Star story, click here.
For the Times Union piece, try here.

State Telephone Company, Inc. has filed with the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) a 10-year Cable Television Franchise agreement to operate and maintain a cable television system serving the Village of Coxsackie, according to a Public Notice in The Daily Mail. The Franchise agreement is available for review at the Coxsackie Village Hall, 119 Mansion, Coxsackie, NY 12051.