Click here to listen to or download Greene County Legislature candidates forum from Oct. 25, 2009 at Union Mills in Catskill.

Candidates for local and county offices in Catskill gathered at the Catskill Community Center from 10 a.m. to noon Sat., Oct. 24. In attendance were Forest Cotten, Robin DePuy, Joseph Izzo, and Keith Valentine (Greene County Legislature); and Robert Antonelli, Joseph Leggio, and Kevin Lennon (town council). Click on the above link to an mp3 file you can play in Quicktime Player, or download in Quicktime Player Pro. Listening or downloading does not work with Internet Explorer. There is an article in The Daily Mail about the forum here.

Click here to listen or download the recording of the Claverack candidate forum from the AB Shaw fire house Oct. 22, 2009. Mp3 recording will not play in Internet Explorer. You need Quicktime Player Pro to download.

Town Supervisor candidate Robin Andrews, town board candidates Morgen Bowers and Matthew Bowe, and assessor candidate Ian Nitschke attended the forum. The Register-Star wrote a story about the forum that is linked here.

Click here to listen to mp3 recording of tonight's candidate forum in the Town of Athens, live from the Town of Athens Community Center.

Town council candidates Phyllisann Dinkelacker and Paul Hasbrouck, town supervisor candidate LeeAllen Palmateer and county legislator candidate Christian Pfister attended the forum. Recording will play in Quicktime Player in your internet browser. Will not work in Internet Explerer. If you have Quicktime Player Pro, you can download the file. The Daily Mail wrote a story about the forum that is linked here.

Tune in live candidate forums this week

THURSDAY: Claverack and Athens
SATURDAY: Catskill
SUNDAY: Copake and Greene County
MONDAY: Chatham
TUESDAY: Kinderhook

WGXC will have live web streams of each candidate forum for everyone to listen to. In addition, WGXC will post archived recordings of these candidate forums as soon as possible at www.wgxc.org

More details below.


((((( CANDIDATE FORUMS )))))

Columbia and Greene County candidate forums

The League of Women Voters of Greene County and Columbia County are sponsoring seven "Meet the Candidates" forums for politicians running for various offices this fall. Invitations to the events have been mailed to all candidates.

In cooperation with the League, and as a service to all local media and voters, WGXC will air all forums live on an internet web stream at www.wgxc.org if internet access is available, and is coordinating members of the local media to cover the event. Recordings of all events will be posted as quickly as possible at www.wgxc.org and archived for future reference.

To listen live:
Either go to www.wgxc.org and click on the links for each candidate forum, which will open a web stream in your computer's media player (iTunes, etc.) or will also play on your cell phone (iPhone, etc.)
or
Paste this link into "open url" on your computer's media player:
For Columbia County forums:
http://comm.free103point9.org/8000/election.mp3.m3u
For Greene County forums:
http://comm.free103point9.org/8000/greeneelection.mp3.m3u

Where and when are the candidate forums?

Thursday, October 22, both at 7-9 p.m.
CLAVERACK
Town of Claverack candidates' forum at A.B. Shaw firehouse on Route 9H in Claverack. Listen at:
http://comm.free103point9.org/8000/election.mp3.m3u

ATHENS
Athens forum, for candidates for Town Council, Town Justice, and Athens Legislature representation will be at the Athens Community Center, 2 First Street, Athens.
http://comm.free103point9.org/8000/greeneelection.mp3.m3u


Saturday, October 24, 10 a.m.-noon
CATSKILL
The Catskill session for candidates for Town Council, Town Justice, Catskill Legislature representation will be at the Catskill Community Center, 344 Main Street, Catskill.
http://comm.free103point9.org/8000/greeneelection.mp3.m3u


Sunday, October 25 1-3 p.m.
COPAKE
Town of Copake candidates' forum at Copake Grange Hall, downtown Copake.
http://comm.free103point9.org/8000/election.mp3.m3u


Sunday, October 25, 4-6 p.m.
GREENE COUNTY LEGISLATURE
The forum for all Greene County Legislative candidates will be at Union Mills Lofts, 361 Main Street, Catskill.
http://comm.free103point9.org/8000/greeneelection.mp3.m3u


Monday, October 26, 7-9 p.m.
CHATHAM
Town of Chatham candidates' forum at Chatham Town Hall.
http://comm.free103point9.org/8000/election.mp3.m3u


Tuesday, October 27 7-9 p.m.
KINDERHOOK
Town of Kinderhook candidates' forum at Ichabod Crane Middle School.
http://comm.free103point9.org/8000/election.mp3.m3u


Journalists confirmed attending:
Melanie Lekocevic, Greene County Local Courier (Athens and Catskill forums)
Colin Devries, The Daily Mail (Athens forum)
WGXC reporters: Tom Morini, Debra Kamecke, Kaya Weidman, Tom Roe


WGXC will post recordings of each candidate forum as soon as possible at www.wgxc.org.


For more information:

Fawn Potash/League of Women Voters
518- 929-5764
fawnpotash@yahoo.com

Or

Paul Smart/WGXC.org
518-943-4224
paulsmart@aol.com



Basic Political Debate/Meet the Candidates Event Format

Event should be no more than 90 minutes long.
Candidates need to arrive 15 minutes before start of event.
Substitute speakers are not permitted.
No campaign literature or materials will be allowed inside the room.
Lots will be drawn in advance to determine the order of speakers for opening remarks.
Moderator will be introduced by the sponsoring organization’s spokesperson
Moderator will introduce panel members and go over the rules.
Each candidate will have a 3-minute opening statement.
Audience members will be asked to silence all electronic devices.
The audience will be provided with index cards/writing implements with which to write questions.
1. No statements
2. No personal remarks
3. All questions must be legible
4. The moderator will choose questions and paraphrase for clarity/appropriateness.
The candidates will have one minute to answer. The moderator will call on candidates in succeeding order to answer. The moderator has the right to rule on all questions. No one else will be permitted to see the questions before, during or after the event. [Candidates should be reminded that they may take notes and cover issues/comments they missed during the Q&A as part of their closing statement.]

Depending on time available, questions may be permitted from the floor. Questions will be limited to one minute and will be answered as above. The same rules apply as with written questions.

Each candidate may have a 2 or 3-minute closing statement.

The moderator will close the event and invite members of the audience to remain in order to have personal conversations with the candidates (must be agreed upon in advance by candidates).

SPEAKING TIME WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE OTHER CANDIDATES AND THE AUDIENCE’S RIGHT TO HEAR ALL CANDIDATES SPEAK.

Candidates are encouraged to bring campaign literature. A table should be set up outside the room for the purpose of distributing the literature. Each candidate will be permitted to display a packet of flyers, position papers, and letters of endorsement or other campaign material. However, each candidate will be allowed only ONE stack of information on the table unless the organizer permits more.

New York State Assemblyman Pete Lopez (R, C, I - Schoharie) holds a community meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thu. Nov. 5 at the Catskill Senior Center, 15 Academy Street in Catskill. All residents are invited and encouraged to attend.

WGXC will be covering the Columbia County candidate forums being sponsored by the Columbia County chapter of the League of Women Votors.

Please attend the following events:

Thursday, October 22nd 7-9 p.m. Town of Claverack candidates' forum at A.B. Shaw firehouse on Route 9H in Claverack.

Sunday, October 25th 1-3 p.m. Town of Copake candidates' forum at Copake Grange Hall

Monday, October 26th 7-9 p.m. Town of Chatham candidates' forum at Chatham Town Hall

Tuesday, October 27th 7-9 p.m. Town of Kinderhook candidates' forum at Ichabod Crane Middle School.

WGXC will be recording and live streaming these events if possible.

Hudson Talbott readsfrom and Frank Cuthbert performs his compositions from the "River of Dreams" book and play live from Spotty Dog Books & Ale in Hudson Thu., Oct. 15 for ArtsWalk.

Click here to listen to or download mp3 of Hudson Talbott reading and Frank Cuthbert performance Oct. 15, 2009.

New York State Senator James L. Seward (R/C/I-Oneonta) holds a ‘town hall’ style meeting at 7 p.m. Tue. Oct. 20 at Hunter-Tannersville Middle/High School, 6094 Main Street, Tannersville. At the meeting, Seward will visit with constituents, discuss current state issues and take questions. For the first hour, Seward and area residents will discuss state issues with others who are present. Later, Seward will be available to talk privately with those who have a particular state-related problem or would like to meet with him personally.

Click here to listen to the Oct. 6, 2009 town meeting with NY State Senator James Seward. Mp3 file will not play in Internet Explorer browser. You need Quicktime Player Pro to download file.)

New York State Senator James Seward (R/C/I-Oneonta) held a public meeting at 7 p.m. Tue. Oct. 6 at the Catskill Middle School Auditorium, 345 W. Main St. WGXC's Debra Kamecke was there with a recorder to post the mp3 audio file above

Watch video above of Yukari Roja, Jackson Emmer, and Trevor Wilson performing live from Spotty Dog Fri. Oct. 9, 2009 on WGXC.

Click here to listen or download audio mp3 of Yukair Roja's performance.

Click here to listen or download audio mp3 of Jackson Emmer's performance.

Watch video above of Millay Colony writers Melissa Sandor and Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi; visual artists Sabeen Raja, Darren Floyd; and composer Thomas Smith talking at The Spotty Dog Books & Ale in Hudson, NY Oct. 9, 2009 as part of the Columbia County Arts Council's ArtsWalk. Audio recording is below.

Click here to listen to or download an mp3 audio recording of the Millay Colony night at Spotty Dog. Does not play in Internet Explorer. You need Quicktime Player Pro to download.

Congressman Scott Murphy (NY-20) will hold a Congress-On-Your-Corner meeting with town officials and local citizens in the Clermont Town Hall Sunday, Oct. 11 at 10 a.m. Murphy take questions from local residents. Clermont Town Hall is located at 1795 Route 9, Clermont, in Columbia County.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVbHPLB66M0&hl=en&fs=1&]
New York Senator -- and former U.S. Representative for Greene and Columbia counties -- Kirsten Gillibrand has called for Congressional hearings this fall to allow homosexuals to join the military without the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Last night she talked about the issue on "The Rachel Maddow Show" on MSNBC. Watch clip above.

The 15th annual Columbia County Council on the Arts event runs Oct. 9-18 in various Hudson locations. WGXC is official radio station of the ArtsWalk, and will provide several live web streams of ArtsWalk events, and make other recordings including interviews with artists, and others involved. Tune in at www.wgxc.org

WGXC WEB STREAMS

Fri. Oct. 9 at Spotty Dog
6 p.m. Millay Colony writers Melissa Sandor and Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi; visual artists Sabeen Raja, Darren Floyd; and composer Thomas Smith /8:30 p.m. Yukari Roja, Jackson Emmer & Trevor Wilson.

Sat. Oct. 10 at Cannonball Factory
1:30-4:30 writers Philip Gefter, Dave King, Karen Schoemer

Sat. Oct. 10 at Jason's Upstairs
4 p.m.-midnight Slinky Armadillo Art and Music Kids Show; Tommy Sharp; Experiencing Echo with Chelle Mayer and Andrew Joffe; UpStage Productions presents an exerpt from "Gypsy"; Robin O'Herin; Cathy Johanson; Chavisa Woods; HVAPA Belly Dancers & Steve Collins; NoBody Parts (Damara & Ngonda); Hudson City Ramblers; DJ Dizzy

Sun. Oct. 11 at Cannonball Factory
2-4 p.m. with Bindlestiff Circus

Thu. Oct. 15 at Spotty Dog
7 p.m. Hudson Talbott reading/Frank Cuthbert performing from "River of Dreams"

Fri. Oct. 16 at Cannonball Factory
5:30-6:30 p.m. Abby Lappen, Barbara Cobb, Peter Tenerowicz

Fri. Oct. 16 at Marianne Courville Gallery
6 p.m. literary reading incl. Sam Truitt, Irene Mitchell, Mary-Beth Hughes (if internet connection)

Sat. Oct. 17 at Musica
noon-4 p.m. Ngonda Badilla, Damara Rose

Sat. Oct. 17 at Cannonball Factory
1-7 p.m. Carole Maso, Kate McLeod, HVAPA Ballet, Ampersand

Sat. Oct. 17 at Savoia
5-9 p.m. bands by Musica Evan Randall, Mama Lama, Yukari Roja, Bella’s Bartok

Sun. Oct. 17 at Cannonball Factory
1-3:30 p.m. music

Sun. Oct. 18 at Spotty Dog
7 p.m. reading with Rebecca Wolf, Wayne Koestenbaum

For more information:
http://www.artscolumbia.org/artswalk2009.html

Dick May (pictured) knows his Town of Catskill. His Seeing Greene blog has two exemplary commentaries lately, looking deeper into the Catskill audit, and taking apart a Daily Mail report about a court decision affecting the election of Catskill's Greene County legislators. In "The Awful Audit" May explores how lax supervision, tardiness, raiding, poor control, inertia, and insecurity, all led to the blistering audit of the Village of Catskill. "'Poor planning,' 'unrealistic budgeting' and other 'inadequate management practices' have depleted the Village’s operating funds” and its 'ability to operate effectively' for its 4400 residents according to the report (2009M-53,“Fiscal Oversight and Internal Controls Over Selected Financial Activities”) from the Albany office of State Comptroller’s Division of Local Government and School Accounting." May writes. That report, "come(s) on the heels of an equally stinging report (2004M-11,Village of Catskill) that was issued in 2005," May writes. "The Village of Catskll [may be] too small financially to sustain professional business management," and the consolidation with the larger Town of Catskill might be in order. His earlier "Doing the News" examines Melanie Lekocevic's Sept. 23 story in The Daily Mail, "Court hands ballot spot to Voice party." May explicity lays out partiality, gross omission, an "insidious half-truth" and inaccuracies in the story about the New York State Supreme Court dismissing a case to block the Have a Voice political party from the ballot this year.....The Register-Star reports that the Stockport Town Board unanimously approved a new town law Wednesday creating a planned development district and paving the way for Holmes Estates at Columbia County, a 112-unit subdivision that's been discussed for five years....Cairo Planning Board member Tony Puorro said at the Planning Board meeting Wednesday that the town's new Zoning plan will go before the Town Board in January.

(The Deschaine wood-chipping project in front of the Cairo Planning Board 100709.)

Click here to listen to the Oct. 7, 2009 Cairo Planning Board meeting. Does not work in Internet Explorer. You need Quicktime Player Pro to download file.)

Cairo Planning Board chairman interrupted the monthly meeting tonight to quell the rumor that apparently packed the Town Hall meeting room that there was going to be a new presentation from the folks who previously withdrew their Alden Terrace project from the board. "Alden Terrace II," he called it, phoned him in mid-August, saying they would like to appear before the September meeting, and then called back and said they would come in October. He has not heard anything from them since, they were not in attendance tonight, and much of the crowd left after he announced this. Also during the meeting, the board approved the Cuti and Culoso subdivision projects, even though both have border disputes with lawyers involved. They also approved Planning Board member Allen Veverka's subdivision, and one for Erdmann, and site plans for American Dojo and Raffa. The ongoing Deschaine wood-chipping project took up much of the meeting, and set new policy, as the board voted 6-1 to use a project's operating hours as a standard to measure the site plan law's 70db noise level. The board then voted 5-2 to give the Deschaine project a negative SEQR declaration (saying it had minimal environmental impact). The Kids Zone project, a Chuck E. Cheese-like indoor playground and arcade on Main St. also got a negative SEQR declaration. And the Round Top Men's Association, with former Planning Board chairman Peter Maasmann, got a waiver to replace a sign knocked over years ago by a snow plow even though they did not fill out an application. At last month's meeting, the board had told a woman arrested for operating a business on Main St. in violation of the town's site plan law that they could not give her any opinion about whether her business needed to go before the board without first filling out an application.

From Prometheus Radio Project:

Washington, DC – A bipartisan bill to expand community radio has been scheduled for a vote by Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA) on Thursday, Oct. 8 at 10 a.m., in the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet.

The Local Community Radio Act would allow the FCC to license hundreds of new low power non-commercial radio stations nationwide. Most communities, especially large cities, have had severely limited opportunities to apply for these new radio licenses.

Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA) reaffirmed his support for the Local Community Radio Act to an enthusiastic crowd at the Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit on Tuesday, calling it “our Christmas present this year.” Rep. Doyle has been leading the push for Low Power FM in Congress, along with lead co-sponsor Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE). Independent musicians have been longtime supporters of Low Power FM as a venue to share their music.

“We’d like to thank Congressmen Doyle, Boucher, Waxman and all Congressional supporters of low power radio. The hard work of these leaders and their staff to bring this legislation to a vote will yield great results for America’s local media landscape,” said Pete Tridish, founding member of Prometheus Radio Project.

The Local Community Radio Act reverses legislation from 2000 that limited the FCC's authority to license low power radio. Broadcasters claimed that low power radio would cause interference, but a Congressionally mandated study later showed that low power stations (which operate at 100 watts or less) do not interfere with full power stations.

"Thousands of communities could finally have a chance to have their own radio station,” said Cory Fischer-Hoffman, Campaign Director for the Prometheus Radio Project. "We hear from schools, churches, community groups, emergency responders, and local governments who want a local forum for news and information. They're eager for this opportunity."

Paul Smart from WGXC will be wandering around Catskill with a digital recorder interviewing folks Saturday, Oct. 10 at the Second Annual Catskill Artist Studio and Gallery Tour. This year’s program includes artists’ studios open from noon to 5 p.m. in the surrounding area of Catskill as well as the Village itself and include the following: Terence Barrell, Dina Bursztyn, Julie Chase, Sasha Chermayeff, Tasha Depp, Jared Handelsman, Jim Holl, Philip Howie, Edith Marcik, Patrick Milbourn, Lee Anne Morgan, Portia Munson, Fawn Potash, Susan Wides. Participants must sign up to receive a button and a map of tour sites at:
Cedar Grove, The Thomas Cole National Historic Site, 218 Spring Street or
The Greene County Council on the Arts, 398 Main Street in Catskill.

All studios and galleries will be marked on the map and signed with small flags or numbered signs. Some sites may not be handicapped accessible. It is not necessary to sign up for the gallery openings or evening events.

Participating galleries are open from noon to 8 p.m. Visitors are invited to join CGA galleries and special Main Street locations for a street-long post-tour reception. Enjoy refreshments and conversation with area artists as you visit exhibitions and special installations. Participating galleries include: M Gallery, Union Mills, Brik, The Greene County Council on the Arts, Terenchin Fine Art, Day and Holt, The Catskill Community Center, Gallery 42, and the Galleria Catskill. The tour is free.
Information: www.catskillgalleryassociation.com

(Town of Hunter Planning Board Chairman Mark Hyer.)

Click here to listen to or download the Town of Hunter Planning Board meeting from Oct. 6, 2009.

The Town of Hunter Planning Board changed its application policy at its regular meeting tonight. New projects will need to apply ten days before the board meets (first Tuesday of the month), and comments to current projects before the board also need to be submitted ten days before monthly meetings. Replies to those comments need to be submitted five days before each meeting. The board only looked at two projects tonight, and spent almost two hours pushing the 92-unit Cortina Mountain Estates project toward a SEQR declaration. Planning Board Chairman Mark Hyer moved to have the project redo a line of sight assesment, but his motion failed. The board left project lawyer Jason Shaw with a few minor environmental points to clear up next meeting (on election night, Nov. 3), but failed to vote on the SEQR. "One more meeting," Ernie Reale said. "You can't say that Ernie, that might be a little premature," Hyer retorted. The board did give a conditional approval to the Petrolo subdivision, contigent on the project's two new units getting water and sewer service. Hyer also reported that the Town of Tannersville is not giving any new water hook-ups to anyone in the Town of Hunter.

WGXC is working with the League of Women Voters of Columbia County to "Meet the Candidates" forums for politicians running for Greene County Legislature seats, as well as local posts in Athens and Catskill.

WGXC will air all forums live on an internet web stream at www.wgxc.org, and is inviting all members of the local media to cover the event. Recordings of the events will be posted as quickly as possible here and at www.wgxc.org.

The Athens forum, for candidates for Town Council, Town Justice, and Athens Legislature representation will be Thursday, October 22, 2009 from 7-9 p.m. at the Athens Community Center, 2 First Street, Athens.

The Catskill session for candidates for Town Council, Town Justice, Catskill Legislature representation will be Saturday, October 24, 2009 from 10 a.m.-noon at the Catskill Community Center, 344 Main Street, Catskill.

The forum for all Greene County Legislative candidates will be Sunday, October 25,2009 from 4-6 p.m. at Union Mills Lofts, 361 Main Street, Catskill.

Journalists confirmed attending:
Melanie Lekocevic, Greene County Local Courier (Athens and Catskill forums)
WGXC

For more information:

Fawn Potash/League of Women Voters

518-929-5764

fawnpotash@yahoo.com

Or

Paul Smart/WGXC.org

518-943-4224

paulsmart@aol.com



Basic Political Debate/Meet the Candidates Event Format

Event should be no more than 90 minutes long.

Candidates need to arrive 15 minutes before start of event.

Panel may consist of up to 8 members (more if cleared with the moderator).

Substitute speakers are not permitted.

No campaign literature or materials will be allowed inside the room.

Lots will be drawn in advance to determine the order of speakers for opening remarks.

Moderator will be introduced by the sponsoring organization’s spokesperson

Moderator will introduce panel members and go over the rules.

Each candidate will have a 3-minute opening statement.

Audience members will be asked to silence all electronic devices.

The audience will be provided with index cards/writing implements with which to write questions.

1. No statements
2. No personal remarks
3. All questions must be legible
4. The moderator will choose questions and paraphrase for clarity/appropriateness.

The candidates will have one minute (or two, depending on number of candidates and time available) to answer. The moderator will call on candidates in succeeding order to answer. The moderator has the right to rule on all questions. No one else will be permitted to see the questions before, during or after the event. [Candidates should be reminded that they may take notes and cover issues/comments they missed during the Q&A as part of their closing statement.]

Depending on time available, questions may be permitted from the floor. Questions will be limited to one minute and will be answered as above. The same rules apply as with written questions.

Each candidate may have a 2 or 3-minute closing statement.

The moderator will close the event and invite members of the audience to remain in order to have personal conversations with the candidates (must be agreed upon in advance by candidates).

SPEAKING TIME WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE OTHER CANDIDATES AND THE AUDIENCE’S RIGHT TO HEAR ALL CANDIDATES SPEAK.

Candidates are encouraged to bring campaign literature. A table should be set up outside the room for the purpose of distributing the literature. Each candidate will be permitted to display a packet of flyers, position papers, and letters of endorsement or other campaign material. However, each candidate will be allowed only ONE stack of information on the table unless the organizer permits more.

SPONSORING ORGANIZATION NOTES:

Candidates should be sent invitation letters. Those who accept must be sent an outline for the evening’s program and the rules (above information or organizer’s preference). The moderator should be supplied the name/contact information of a person to call with questions (from sponsoring organization). Candidates who choose not to attend will be noted at the event (possibly by a name sign at an empty chair). Events that feature missing candidates may not be recorded or televised (per LWV rules). Write-in candidates may not participate in these events (per LWV rules).

Inform moderator of any contentious issues or anticipated difficulties.

Correct pronunciation of candidate’s names and titles are requested by the moderator (phonetic if necessary).

Those who participate, as well as the facility staff and anyone else who were particularly helpful should be sent thank you notes as soon as possible after the event (within 2 weeks).

Name signs should be made (tented full sheet of index card stock works well- we have a template) for each candidate and placed where they are legible and visible to the audience. Names should be printed on both sides of the sign so that the moderator can see them as well.

Questions may be ‘planted’ with audience members to get things started for the Q & A.

The moderator should be provided with a podium and informed of the use of other equipment, such as microphones or television cameras. Microphones are always a good idea.

All speakers should be provided with drinking water.