From Nippertown!:

Fans will get an up-close-and-personal concert, when Neil Young kicks off his “Twisted Road” solo tour with a stop at the Palace Theatre in Albany on Tuesday, May 18. It will be Young’s first solo acoustic tour in more than a decade, and Young is promising to mix in new, unreleased songs along with his classics on the tour. Opening the show will be veteran British guitarist Bert Jansch, one of Young’s major musical influences. “Bert Jansch is on the same level as Jimi Hendrix,” Young said in 1992. “That first record of his is epic. It came from England, and I was especially taken by ‘The Needle of Death,’ such a beautiful and angry song. That guy was so good.” Additional details – including ticket prices and on-sale dates – to come soon.

From William J. Kemble in The Daily Freeman:

The Village Board Monday appointed Trustee William Murphy mayor for the next year as a full-time replacement for the retired Robert Yerick. The appointment was made in a unanimous vote, with the first order of business for Murphy, a seven-year trustee, to leave the Village Board table to acknowledge the cheers of his daughters Jillian, 6, and Jaclyn, 9, with kisses. Yerick, who served as mayor for 12 years, stepped down on March 2 due to health problems. The second order of business for Murphy was to let residents know that agendas for future meetings will be posted on the village Web site. “I want a more public-friendly environment, more input from the public, and that’s why I want to make myself available evenings,” Murphy said. Murphy said office hours are expected to be set for Mondays and Wednesdays, with Thursday evenings and Saturdays set aside to meet with residents by appointments.

From The Daily Freeman:

Updated regulations for the New York City reservoir system watershed took effect on Sunday. City Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Cas Holloway said the new regulations amend existing regulations to align them with changes made in federal and state law over the past 10 years, and address issues that have been raised during the city’s administration and enforcement of the regulations since their adoption. The previous regulations were adopted in 1997 as part of the Filtration Avoidance Determination issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which allowed the city to continue operating its unfiltered drinking system from the Catskill and Delaware watersheds.... Fourteen sections of the Watershed Regulations have been updated to prevent contamination to and degradation of the city’s surface water supply. Highlights of the provisions, according to the news release, include:

• Enhanced standards for the control of stormwater runoff from certain construction sites. For example, in commercial areas with a large amount of impervious surfaces, the revised regulations will require additional stormwater treatment, such as construction of larger or secondary detention basins. The Department of Environmental Protection has also adopted the requirements of the State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit for construction activities to ensure complementary enforcement of the latest regulatory standards for stormwater runoff.
• New provisions to allow for sewage treatment plants in certain areas of the Croton watershed. This will authorize city agency to grant variances for new or expanded surface discharging wastewater treatment plants in closer proximity to the Croton reservoir.
• Updated criteria defining the quality of drinking water reservoirs consistent with state and federal standards, specifically concerning stricter phosphorus limits for select basins.

The changes that took effect Sunday apply to all counties located within the Croton, Delaware and Catskill watersheds, according to the news release. The city agency said it started the process of revising the watershed regulations more than five years ago and that the revised regulations were published for public review and comment in the City Record in 2008. Public hearings on the proposed changes were held that same year. After reviewing comments, the agency made revisions and the updated regulations were submitted to the state Department of Health in 2009. The agency received approval in February for final publication in the City Record, which occurred on March 3, and the regulations became effective 30 days after final publication, according to the release.

Sunday April 11, 2 p.m. @ Thomas Cole House, 218 Spring St., Catskill.

Internationally known artist Stephen Hannock will speak at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site this Sunday, and sign copies of a new book about his artwork. Cole has been "a reference point" for Hannock, whose virtuosic use of light - as well as a power sander - has landed his paintings in museum collections including The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Art Historian Jason Rosenfeld describes Hannock's work as "both distinctively modern as well as reflective of landscape traditions....Hannock, in his radical technique is a true American luminist. His paintings, multi-layered in both surface and meaning, radiate in a manner that connects past and present." Robin Young will be covering this Sunday's talk for the popular NPR radio program "Here & Now." She is a Peabody Award-winning documentary filmmaker who has also reported for NBC, CBS, and ABC television, and for several years was substitute host and correspondent for the Today Show. "Here & Now" is Public Radio's daily news magazine, bringing the news that breaks after "Morning Edition," and before "All Things Considered." Tickets are $8 per person, or $6 for members, and admission is first-come-first-served.

Click on WGXC or WGXC Newsroom for more information. Send news, tips, etc. to news@wgxc.org.

Cus D’Amato’s Catskill Boxing Gym in Catskill has been in the news lately, floating the idea of a boxing museum. The Times-Union's boxing columnist Michael Rivest is all rah-rah about the idea here, while The Daily Freeman's Ariel Zangla focuses on the color here and includes an embedded video.

Click on WGXC or WGXC Newsroom for more information. Send news, tips, etc. to news@wgxc.org.

From William J. Kemble in The Daily Freeman:

With Verizon putting expansion of its FiOS high-speed Internet service on hold, it will not be offered in the near future in Ulster, Greene or Columbia counties and will not be expanded in Dutchess County beyond Poughkeepsie, Wappingers Falls and Fishkill, the telecommunications company says. Rather “we’re building deeper into those communities where we already have franchises,” said Verizon spokesman John Bonomo. “All franchises have what is called a buildout requirement,” Bonomo said. “We may have 50 percent of the town already built out with fiber. Well, the buildout requirement says that within five years, we need to build out the other 50 percent because the town isn’t going to say you can give FiOS to half of the town but the other half you can neglect.” The company is delaying FiOS expansion efforts as to tries to grow its current market share of 2.9 million television customers and 3.4 million DSL Internet customers, Bonomo said. Bonomo said information about when FiOS might be offered in communities that don’t currently have it cannot be announced at this point. “That would be providing guidance that we have not provided to Wall Street as of yet, so that is not something I would be able to comment on,” he said. “This project that we started six or seven years ago has been a $23 billion initiative for us,” Bonomo said. “That’s why I bring in the Wall Street reference — because when you spend that kind of money, and if we were going to do more, we would need to provide that kind of guidance to Wall Street. It’s almost the law that you need to do that.” Bonomo said residents in areas where FiOS is not available should equate seeing Verizon advertisements to those for auto dealerships. “We run those commercials in those areas or on those mediums that hit the most people,” he said. “Now granted, you are going to hit people who don’t have availability for it. It’s the same thing with a car commercial. ... They can say buy a Chevy, but I don’t have a Chevy dealership within 50 miles of me.”

The Big Up music festival at the 1500-acre Sunnyview Farm in Ghent has switched its dates to Aug. 5-7 from June 18-20. Bands performing include: RAQ, Telepath, Sub Swara, The Breakfast, Kung Fu Higher Organix, Archnemesis, Roots of Creation, The Indobox, BuzzUniverse, The Macpodz, NY Funk Exchange, Twiddle, Dirty Paris, Timbre Coup, Lucid, Nadis Warriors, Moses & The Electric Company, Fever Train, Mos Opus, Seed, LeSpecial, PMT Sugarproof, The Peoples Blues of Richmond, Deafened by Love, and Asleep in a Box.

Patrick Ziegler, the more conservative Republican Congressional nominee who won Warren and Washington counties during the nominating contest, will take on the role of Policy Advisor and Outreach Coordinator for the [Chris] Gibson for Congress campaign, the Gibson campaign announced.

Click on WGXC or WGXC Newsroom for more information. Send news, tips, etc. to news@wgxc.org.

Christopher Matthews from Rural Intelligence reports:

"In a clear boost to local tourism and our region’s artisanal food and beverage scene, six partners—four wineries, a brewery and a distillery—have joined forces to establish the Hudson-Berkshire Beverage Trail (HBBT). It will formally launch on April 10 with a Pasta and Sauce event, featuring beverage flights paired with pasta dishes at each stop along the trail. Spanning three counties and two states, the HBBT has two main axes: one running south from Rensselaer County, southeast of Albany, down through Columbia County to Germantown, near Hudson; the other heading east from Chatham into Berkshire County, ending in New Marlborough, MA. Discussions with the Department of Transportation and the New York State Agriculture and Markets Department on road signage for the trail are underway. The founding partners include: Brookview Station Winery, Castleton-on-Hudson, NY, a bemedaled producer of fruit wines, cider and baked goods; Harvest Spirits, Valatie, NY, a micro-distillery that produces “Core,” an award-winning vodka made from local apples; Chatham Brewing, Chatham, NY, an all-natural “nano-brewer” of craft beers; Hudson-Chatham Winery, Ghent, NY, a producer of small batch wines from local and regional grapes, as well as cheeses and desserts; Tousey Winery, whose Germantown-based owner, beekeeper-farmer Ray Tousey is a mainstay at local farmers’ markets with his displays of bees, honey, small fruits and wines; Furnace Brook Winery, located at Hilltop Orchards, a scenic 100-year old farm in Richmond, MA; and Les Trois Emme Vineyard and Winery, nestled in New Marlborough, MA, east of Great Barrington."

Anyone who has walked around Warren St. in Hudson in the past 48 hours knows there is a palpable tension in the air. When, exactly, would Lick open? The ice cream store near the corner of S. 3rd St. on Warren St. that closes for the winter has already missed two of spring's most fabulous days. Luckily Carole Osterink reports, "William and I walked by Lick this morning and noticed inside a ladder, cleaning products, and other evidence to suggest a major spring cleaning going on. Could it be that Lick is getting ready to open for the season?" And a reader, named Melinda, responded, reporting an opening tomorrow (Saturday). Lo and behold Lick did open on Friday, with temporary weekend hours for this weekend alone. After that, they may or may not be open on weekends.

Click on WGXC or WGXC Newsroom for more information. Send news, tips, etc. to news@wgxc.org.

Last year WGXC made recordings of local authors and fair attendees, and this year we hope to have a table at this great event.

Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation announced today that April 30 is the deadline for The Kinderhook Central School District Education Foundation Arts and Humanities Fund. The purpose of the Arts and Humanities fund is to enhance and enrich the educational experience of students and teachers in the Kinderhook (Ichabod Crane), NY Central School District through access to programs in the arts and humanities that emphasize excellence, innovation and creativity. Students, teachers, administrators, staff, parents and community members of the Ichabod Crane School District are invited to apply for grants for the 2010-2011 school year. A committee of school personnel and community members will review applications based on: excellence of the project, impact on the school community and ability of the applicant to carry out the project. Applications are available at the Superintendent’s office and online at www.berkshiretaconic.org/grantseekers. Grant awards will range from $100 to $2,500. Possible projects include, but are not limited to: independent study, new programs, extracurricular activities, individual creative projects (in or outside the classroom), visiting speakers, artists-in-residence, professional development for teachers, library resources and class field trips. Preference will be given to activities that take place within the school community. Kinderhook Central School District Education Foundation Arts and Humanities Fund was established in 2008 with a gift to the endowment from an anonymous donor in the Germantown area. Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation builds stronger communities and improves the quality of life for all residents of Berkshire County, MA; Columbia County and northeast Dutchess County, NY; and northwest Litchfield County, CT. Thanks to its generous donors, in 2009 Berkshire Taconic distributed nearly $7 million in scholarships and grants for programs in the arts and education, health and human services, and environmental protection. Berkshire Taconic is a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization.

Click on WGXC or WGXC Newsroom for more information. Send news, tips, etc. to news@wgxc.org.

New York on the Potomac points readers to local response rates for the U.S. Census:

"Roughly two out of every five households in New York has returned its 2010 census form — putting the Empire State just below the nation’s average response rate of 46 percent, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau....In Columbia County, 41 percent of households have mailed back the form....In Greene County, the participation rate is 37 percent."

(The brook trout, left, and the rainbow trout, right, from DEC.)

From DEC:

"Trout season opens April 1 in New York State, and anglers can again look forward to a great year of fishing, thanks to the natural diversity of angling opportunities within New York and management of the state's fisheries by DEC. Due to the existing snowpack and high flow in many of the state's rivers and streams, anglers are urged to use extreme caution along slippery stream banks and while wading in high water. The early season is a great time to try some of the smaller tributaries. Smaller streams will have more manageable flows, and are also more likely to hold larger populations of wild trout. Although many of the larger, more popular streams are more reliant on stocked fish, last year's relatively cool, wet summer promises plenty of holdover fish from last year's stocking. Remember, everyone 16-years-old and over needs a valid fishing license to fish on any of New York's waters. While children do not require a fishing license, adults who assist a child in taking or attempting to take fish, are considered to be fishing themselves, and therefore need to have a valid fishing license. Anglers and New York fishing tackle retailers are reminded that effective May 7, 2004, the sale of small lead sinkers weighing a half-ounce or less is prohibited in New York State. Selling jig heads, weighted flies, artificial lures or weighted line is not included in this prohibition. Although the law does not prohibit the use of lead sinkers of this size, anglers are encouraged to use non-lead alternatives which are readily available in tackle stores. Ingestion of lead sinkers can result in the death of loons and waterfowl. The general creel limit for brook, brown and rainbow trout is five fish. The open season for trout in most New York State waters runs from April 1 through October 15, but there are exceptions in all DEC regions, so anglers should check the Fishing Regulations Guide before heading out. There are also new procedures for fishing New York City reservoirs. Updated information and permit applications can be obtained using the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYC DEP) link below, or by calling NYC DEP at 800-575-LAND."

Democrat Congressman Scott Murphy (NY-20) held a town hall meeting at 2 p.m. today in Coxsackie at the Senior Center (formerly Knights of Columbus building) at 127 Mansion St., with several constituents asking him about his recent "yes" vote on the health care reform bill. WGXC recorded the Town Hall, and you can listen to an mp3 recording here. Afterwards, Murphy answered a few questions from the local media, including a WGXC question about his appropriation request for the Cairo Library. Listen to the Greene County media ask Rep. Murphy questions here, another mp3 recording. Yesterday, Republicans made it official that Kinderhook's Chris Gibson will run against Murphy in November.
Audio links:
http://data.wavefarm.org/2010/04/
ScottMurphy_CoxsackieTownHall_WGXC_040110.mp3
http://data.wavefarm.org/2010/04/
ScottMurphy_Coxsackiemediaquestions_WGXC_040110.mp3

WGXC recorded the nomination speech of Kinderhook Republican Congressional hopeful Chris Gibson today at 3 p.m. at the Desmond Hotel near the Albany airport. Click here to listen to an mp3 recording of Gibson's short speech plus four questions from the assembled media. WGXC's Tom Roe asks Gibson what he would do to help struggling dairy farmers in rural Greene and Columbia counties. Gibson said he supported the concept of eating locally grown food, and mentioned a farm workers bill in the state legislature. Gibson will try and unseat Democratic incumbent Scott Murphy in the fall. Gibson was the point guard of the Ichabod Crane High School basketball team, and a Colonel with 24 years in the Army including four combat tours of Iraq and one tour in Kosovo, with an array of medals such as a Purple Heart and two Legions of Merit. He has a Masters in Public Administration and PhD in Government from Cornell University, and served as a Congressional Fellow with U.S. Representative Jerry Lewis (R-CA).

(Brian Kehoe, Vincent Seeley, and Angelo Amato at the League of Women Voters/WGXC Candidate Forum, March 20, 2010 at Catskill Community Center.)

From Susan Campriello in The Daily Mail:

"Catskill voters selected Tuesday incumbent Village President Vincent Seeley and political newcomer Brian Kehoe for two Trustee positions on the Village Board. Trustees serve three-year terms. Seeley, a Republican who was endorsed by Catskill’s Republican and Democratic parties, received 258 votes, Village Clerk Carolyn Pardy announced shortly after the polls closed at 9 p.m. Kehoe, a Democrat, received 218 votes. Incumbent Trustee Angelo Amato, a Republican, received 172 votes to finish out of the running in the at-large election. [Unopposed ] incumbent Village Justice Charles Adsit was re-elected with 186 votes. Adsit has served on the bench since 1996."

From Local 'n Green:

"Town of Chatham cleanup Monday, April 5, 4-6 p.m. or Saturday, April 10 noon-2 p.m.; longer if people want to stay and help. Particular location in Chatham to be announced. Please wear grubby clothes and gardening or work gloves if you have them. If you can't make either date, trash bags are available free at Town Hall during regular office hours, or at the CR13 Town Highway Dept location, and you can clean up whatever Town Road you'd like to see less trash strewn! Once bags are full, drop them in the dumpster behind Town Hall."

Democrat Didi Barrett will announce her candidacy for the District 41 New York State Senate seat now held by Republican Steve Saland on Wed. April 7 at two locations:
Dutchess County – 10 a.m., Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum, Hudson River Pavilion, 75 North Water Street, Poughkeepsie;
Columbia County – 1:30 p.m., Columbia County Courthouse, 401 Union Street, Hudson.

Click on WGXC or WGXC Newsroom for more information. Send news, tips, etc. to news@wgxc.org.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vV8wi35O88&hl=en_US&fs=1&]
Click on WGXC or WGXC Newsroom for more information. Send news, tips, etc. to news@wgxc.org.