The papers are full of stories of outrage over the Columbia County Board of Supervisors attempt to put homeless housing and Department of Social Services satellite station in the St. Charles Hotel in Hudson. The Register Star reports that the Hudson Common Council voted to send the BOS a letter opposing the plan. “I think it’s about time the city of Hudson says it doesn’t want to be stepped on anymore,” Alderman Richard Goetz, R-5th Ward, said, adding, “we want to be consulted. It’s like Iran.” And Department of Public Works Supervisor Robert Perry says the plan would have to go before the Zoning Board of Appeals. Another Register-Star story rounded-up reaction, and showed opposition to the plan will make for odd bedfellows. Tim Shook of the Hudson Valley Economic and Environmental Coalition (the group devoted to supporting St. Lawrence Cement plant a few years ago), is calling for BOS chief Art Baer's resignation; Chamber of Commerce President David Colby has "concerns;" and Columbia Opportunities Director Tina Sharpe said she was “not on board and not opposed.” CCscoop quoted Don Moore, Democratic candidate for Hudson Common Council President, saying, “It’s easy to read this — they are attacking the city.” In The Columbia Paper, Hudson Mayor Richard Scalera asks, "Wouldn’t it be a good idea to include some Hudson officials?”. Linda Mussmann from TSL and the Bottom Line Party is at Columbia County Common Sense reminding everyone how the the Columbia County Human Services committee voted: Chair---Betty Young of Taconic Yes; Dep. Chair---Lynda Scheer of Gallatin Yes; Roy Brown----Germantown Yes; Jesse DeGroodt---Chatham Yes; Ed Cross----Hudson No; Bart Delany---Hudson No; Bill Hughes----Hudson No; Ray Staats----Clermont Yes. Mussmann also reports the proposal next goes to the Finance Committee and then the full board of supervisors....CCscoop has a story about a proposed 100-unit housing project in Stockport between Route 9 and Chester Avenue in the hamlet of Stottville....Union College is reporting that Tivoli's Bard College athletics are joining the Liberty League.

While Hudson city officials and activist continue to fight to keep the Department of Social Services in the city, Board of Supervisors chairman Art Baer has a new plan to move the main DSS offices to Ockawamick, The Register-Star reports. Yesterday the Board of Supervisors' Human Services Committee approved a plan to put homeless housing and a satellite DSS office in the 139-year-old St. Charles Hotel on 16 Park Place. The arrangement could save the county $400,000 a year, Social Services Commissioner Paul Mossman said. In the Register-Star, Hudson Mayor Rick Scalera criticized the county for "deliberating and negotiating over something that's going to take place in the city without including city officials. It isn't done anywhere."...The Daily Mail reports that Catskill town planners approved an "Concept Site Plan" for urgent care center medical facility, Urgent Medical Care, for 10 Grandview Ave. A public hearing for the Site Plan is set for 7 p.m. July 6....The unmuffled blog reports that Hudson City schools New York State Education Department test scores dropped in 2006-07 and 2007-08:

According to the recently released data, mean scores increased modestly for students in grades three through six, while scores for seventh and eighth grades increased by 10 and 18 points, respectively (see below). [Students are graded on a scale from the 400's to the upper 700's; 650 is the cut-off between Level 2 and Level 3 (meeting the learning the standards).]

Republicans press for judicial ruling
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=810313&category=REGION

ALBANY - The battle for the state Senate entered a new phase Monday after Sen. Hiram Monserrate officially returned to the Democratic fold, leaving the chamber deadlocked, 31-31, with less than one week left in the scheduled legislative session. After a long day of back-and-forth at the Capitol and the state Supreme Court, both sides sat down to discuss the notion of power sharing -- only to emerge less than a hour later with Republicans insisting that no progress could be made until a judge had decided whether last week's dramatic coup on the Senate floor had been legal and binding. "I have always been clear about my loyalty to the Democratic party," Monserrate said at a midday news conference, where he was joined by Senate Democrats. It came a week after he joined breakaway Democrat Pedro Espada Jr. and the 30-member Republican conference in a shocking coup that ousted the Democrats from their brief majority. Senate Democratic Leader Malcolm Smith began the news conference by introducing Brooklyn's John Sampson as the new "conference leader" who will run its day-to-day operations. While Smith will retain his current title, Sampson is widely acknowledged as the new leader of the Senate Democrats.

TU employees reject company offer
http://albanyguild.wordpress.com/2009/06/15/tu-employees-reject-company-offer/

ALBANY - By a more than three-to-one margin, employees of the Times Union voted today to reject a contract offer that would have given the company the power to outsource any and all jobs and lay off employees regardless of how long they had worked at the newspaper. Publisher George Hearst had insisted on the vote and strongly encouraged members to participate. The members rejected the proposal by a vote of 125 to 35. “Had the membership approved the company’s proposal, we would have respected their decision and been bound by it,” said Guild President Tim O’Brien. “The publisher sought this vote, told members how important it was to him that they vote and he needs to respect their decision. Our members were quite clear on what they found unacceptable in the company’s offer and they have been telling us what changes would make it acceptable. We intend to seek new bargaining dates and to go forward with a renewed spirit of flexibility.”

Central Hudson cuts back, files austerity plan
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2009/June09/16/CH_aust-16Jun09.html

POUGHKEEPSIE - Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation Monday filed a mandated austerity plan with the New York State Public Service Commission. The agency in May ordered all utilities to present cost cutting plans. The plan outlines cost cuts proposed by Central Hudson through reduced capital expenditures and operating expenses that will provide savings to customers without causing immediate impacts to service, safety or reliability. Measures include temporarily postponing approximately $20 million, or 20 percent, of planned capital expenditures for the year to reduce the associated carrying charges; lowering research and development expenses by $350,000; and freezing executive base salaries.

LIVE TONIGHT:

Informational meeting about Task Force on Student Academic Performance 6 p.m. in the Hudson High School Library.

Linda Mussmann from TSL in Hudson and the Bottom Line Party is organizing a rally at the County Supervisors Building at 401 State Street, Hudson, at 10:30 a.m. today. Mussmann says there will be an announcement from the County Board of Supervisors Chairman Art Baer regarding the Human/Social Services in Columbia County. Baer has been trying to move the Department of Social Services six miles out of Hudson, even though 65 percent of folks who visit DSS live in Hudson....Former Cairo Town Supervisor Joseph Calcavecchia and former Deputy Supervisor Gerard Aprea are in the Daily Mail today defending their past administration after a recent Comptroller's Office audit. They say they asked for the state audit in 2004, though it didn't happen until 2007. They also seem to blame Cairo Town Clerk Tara Rumph. Rumph does charge WGXC reporters different amounts for the same Freedom of Information Act requests....The Daily Freeman reports that the New York State and federal monies are funding ferry service across the Hudson River between Tivoli and Saugerties, as well as replacing a railroad overpass and a 2.5 acre park along the Hudson near Tivoli. The story hints that there is still talk of high speed rail on both sides of the river.

The Greenville Press (no website, no links) reports that Elsie Allan is seeking the Republican nomination to unseat Democrat Sean Frey for the Durham seat in the Greene County Legislature. Les Armstrong, editor Linda L. Fenoff guesses, may also seek the nomination. Fenoff also reports that Greenville legislator Ken Dudley is stepping down, and Republican Greenville Town Supervisor Kevin Lewis will seek his seat.

LIVE TONIGHT:

"The Unbroken Circle of Broken Things" by TrutheaterTheater 7 p.m. Sun. June 14 live from Germantown Tune in radio theater from this Providence, RI group. TrutheaterTheater presents a tale about the unbreakable spirit of love. The company mixes shadows, puppets, song, and dance with live and pre-recorded sound to create a captivating 40-minute journey beyond time and space. A cold soul wanders through a desolate land and encounters a tree. She sees the tree as firewood and proceeds with the intention of cutting it down but stops when three spirits awaken from within the tree: a thief, an alchemist, and an albatross. The three ghosts engage the wanderer with tales of times past and yet to come. Each tale unveils a new plane of reality for the wanderer to enter and leave her worries behind. At Germantown Community Farm, 4872 State Route 9G, Germantown, NY. Listen free on WGXC Online Radio, or donations accepted at the farm.

The Boschen Fund For Artists, which supports visual and performing artists and arts groups in the tri-state area, is accepting grant applications through July 1. Applicants must live in Berkshire County, MA; Columbia County, NY; northeast Dutchess County, NY; or northwest Litchfield County, CT.

The Boschen Fund for Artists supports artists working alone or in collaboration, as they advance to the next level of their development or in the presentation of their work in innovative ways. The fund, which was established by photographer Martha Boschen Porter of Salisbury, CT in 1987, accepts applications from visual artists, writers, craftspeople, installation, new media and performance artists, as well as interpretive artists working in dance, music and other areas of performance. Applicants must have been full-time residents of the Berkshire Taconic region for two years prior to applying or demonstrate significant connection to the area.

The Boschen Fund is a fund of Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. Guidelines and applications are available online at www.berkshiretaconic.org/grantseekers or by calling 413.528.8039.

Catskill has its own silent radio station, though once a year it turns on the transmitter for a brief time just so the Federal Communications Commission doesn't take away its license. For the last few weeks, WCKL (560 AM) played a looped Quiet Riot CD and Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" over and over and over again just to avoid being off the air for a full year, beating the FCC's regulations with a technicality.

How does a radio station get to this point?

WCKL broadcasts 1,000 watts during the day and 43 watts at night from Albany to Kingston. The Black United Fund of New York, a nonprofit organization that promotes the social and economic development of the African-American community, bought the station from Concord Media Inc. of Tampa, Fla. for $100,000.

Then-New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer was already investigating the Black United Fund for financial irregularities when they bought the station. “Its investments in real estate have caused it to fall behind in honoring its financial commitments to designated grantees (the employee payroll-selected charities) that are directly supported by payroll contributions from federal, state, municipal, city and corporate employees,” a press release from Spitzer's office said in 2003.

Spitzer replaced the BUF board, and the radio station became less and less of a priority. Eventually, the non-profit group failed to pay rent on its Catskill studios, and its equipment was tossed in the rain.


(At right: WCKL studios in Oct. 2006 on Route 23 in Catskill, after the landlord through the equipment out for non-payment of rent.)

There were reports in 2007 that the FCC had taken away the station's license. From the Northeast Radio Watch:

Stick a figurative fork in WCKL (560 Catskill); after several years in which the station has been silent except for a brief return to the air each June, the FCC has cancelled WCKL's license. (NERW wonders if WCKL's licensee, Black United Fund of New York, didn't let the FCC know that the station made its annual return from the dead last June.)

But the FCC's web site still lists BUF as the station's owner, and still lists WCKL as a radio station. WCKL's license comes up for renewal June 1, 2014.

And since WCKL is silent for most of the year, someone in the listening area might think that is a waste of a public frequency. "Certainly when the station's license comes up for renewal, it should be trivially easy to show that the station is not meeting its responsibility to serve the public interest," wrote "Brett Allan" on NY Radio Message Board.

The Daily Mail reports that Friar Tuck Resort, Spa & Convention Center is filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection (but will remain open), and the Greenville Drive-In movie theater has reopened....The Register Star reports that the Hudson Republican Party is considering backing a mayoral candidate but so far has only announced the following: Former Deputy Democratic Election Commissioner Geeta Cheddie for First Ward alderman, Tracy Decker was picked for Second Ward supervisor, Retired Hudson Police Officer and Sheriff's Deputy William Hallenbeck for Third Ward supervisor, Samuel Santiago for Fourth Ward supervisor and incumbents Richard Goetz and Bart Delaney for Fifth Ward alderman and supervisor, respectively....The Register Star also reports that Public Works Commissioner David Robinson, County Engineer Dean Knox, and supervisors George Jahn, D-Austerlitz, Ray Staats, D-Clermont, and Roy Brown, R-Germantown will be the subcomittee choosing the architectural design firms that will be paid by the county to compare a renovation of the former Ockawamick school with constructing a new building for county offices. This is part of the larger kerfuffle over the potential move of the Department of Social Services out of Hudson.

Foreclosure Fears Sweep Valley
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2009/June09/13/forec_conf-13Jun09.html

POUGHKEEPSIE – Public officials and not-for-profits have handled sprawl from New York City "pretty well," but there are still other issues that need to be dealt with, such as increasing foreclosures in the state. That was the assessment of two experts in the housing field at the third annual Pattern for Progress Housing the Hudson Valley summit Friday. Over 100 concerned residents, public officials, not-for-profit leaders, and others, gathered at Marist College in Poughkeepsie to hear what experts in the housing field had to say about how the Hudson Valley sizes up with other sprawl-fed regions.

LIVE TONIGHT:

Byrdcliffe Outdoor Sculpture Show 2009 Opening Reception with Tobias Armborst, Byron Bell, Matt Bialecki, Matt Bua, John Cetra, Solange Fabiao, Randy Gerner, Nicholas Goldsmith, Michael McDonough, Barry Price, Todd Rader and Amy Crews, Nancy Ruddy, Evan Stoller, Gisela Stromeyer and Les Walker. Exhibition Dates: June 13 – October 12, 2009 @ Byrdcliffe Arts Colony, Upper Byrdcliffe Road, Woodstock, NY. Opening Reception: Saturday, June 13, 2009 from 4 to 7 p.m.

Celebrate Bloomsday with readings from Ulysses, jazz from Ed Wasyluski, Michael Levinson wallpaper collection, and music from Big Swell, and fireworks, 4-10 p.m. at Athens Cultural Center and town park.

Let It Be in Sight of Thee Hudson River Photography by Carolyn Marks Blackwood, June 13 through August 15, Opening Reception June 13 6-8 p.m. @ Hudson Opera House.

Mother Fletcher @ Jason's Upstairs Bar, 521 Warren St., Hudson.

WGXC Logo:
Typestyling by Kathleen Packard / KathodeRay
Icon by Antony Katz / Sorted

BOS hears plea to keep Pine Haven in Philmont
http://www.registerstar.com/articles/2009/06/12/news/news03.txt

HUDSON - Al Wassenhove, head of the Save Pine Haven group, presented the county Board of Supervisors with more than 3,000 signatures opposing any plan to move the Pine Haven Nursing and Rehabilitation Center out of Philmont, at the board's meeting Wednesday. "I invite each of you to search the recesses of your conscience and stand on the side of Pine Haven remaining in Philmont as a county-operated and -owned home," Wassenhove said.

Durham moms question board’s teacher moves
http://www.thedailymail.net/articles/2009/06/12/news/news3.txt

CAIRO-DURHAM - The Cairo-Durham Board of Education moved some teachers between the district’s two elementary schools, to the consternation of some Durham parents. The story in The Daily Mail by Jim Planck does not say why specifically the teachers were moved, though C-D Superintendent of Schools Sally Sharkey is quoted saying, “The students will benefit from this,” said Sharkey, adding that the teachers bring “a lot of strengths” with them. The story implies that parents were upset because they first heard rumors of the teacher reassignments before the school told them.

Senate Coup On Hold
http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2009/06/11/news/doc4a317bfd31476804809490.txt
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=809187&category=REGION

ALBANY — An appeals judge has issued a temporary restraining order to prevent a new coalition from taking control of the New York Senate at least until Friday afternoon. Democrats want to block any change in Senate leadership after Republicans and two rogue Democrats launched a power struggle Monday. The ruling late Thursday afternoon by Appellate Division Justice Karen Peters blocks Sen. Pedro Espada, one of the dissident Democrats, from acting as Senate president. A five-judge panel is scheduled to consider arguments Friday afternoon on whether to let that stand. Peters is a former trial-level Supreme Court judge who sat in Kingston. She also formerly served as an Ulster County Family Court judge. Meanwhile, attorneys are set to argue Friday morning before State Supreme Court Justice Thomas McNamara in Albany on who legally is in charge of the Senate.

Scenic Hudson wins approval for new Hudson River park
http://www.ccscoop.com/news/09june/10-scenichudson/scenichudson.html

STOCKPORT - The Stockport Town Planning Board on Tuesday approved the creation of a park that developers claim will have one of the best views of the Hudson River and the rolling hills of Greene County anywhere in the region. Following an hour-long public hearing and review, the board approved a proposal from Scenic Hudson for a six-acre park to be located off Rod and Gun Club Road in the hamlet of Stottville. The park will be located on the former Saurasitis Farm. -- CCscoop.

Hunter Phys Ed Director Suspended For Improper Relationships
http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2009/06/12/news/doc4a31d434ceaec624720118.txt

HUNTER — A longtime physical education teacher in the Hunter-Tannersville school district has had his teaching and administrative certificates suspended for a year because of relationships he had with two female students about 20 years ago. A state Education Department hearing panel ruled on July 25, 2008, that Randy A. Mudge lacked the necessary moral character to teach in public schools in New York and should have his certificates suspended. Mudge appealed the decision, but the appeal was dismissed last month by state Education Commissioner Richard P. Mills. In his decision, dated May 18, Mills said the record established during the original hearing showed Mudge had improper relationships with the two female students and had groomed them for physical relationships while he was their teacher and coach. Those improper relationships occurred during the spring of 1989 and the spring of 1992, and each girl in question was a senior at Hunter-Tannersville High School at the time, according to Education Department records....

Big Blue To The Rescue?
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2009/June09/12/IBM_future-12Jun09.html

POUGHKEEPSIE - IBM unveiled initiatives Thursday that will help keep the Hudson River vital and alive. here are plans to create a supercomputer named Watson that is supposed to play Jeopardy and be able to correctly answer a question in three seconds, and IBM wants to make the medical industry more efficient and create technologies that will better manage our energy grids. IBM has been doing research for nearly a decade in the region on these applications, but as Big Blue looks to future, it does so competitively by making changes in its workforce, laying off workers in the region, and causing those over 50 to worry, fearful of losing their jobs.

Stations Turn Off Analog Signals as Digital TV Deadline Arrives
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/stations-turn-off-analog-signals-as-digital-tv-deadline-arrives/?hp

Across the United States today, television stations will power down the analog signals that have sent TV shows into homes for six decades. Friday represents the deadline for the country’s transition to fully digital television broadcasting. Throughout the day, TV stations are switching off analog and in many cases moving to new positions on the channel dial. In Albany, Ch. 6 TV is one of the few stations around the country allowed to continue with an analog signal. That means you will still be able to hear CBS programming on 87.7-FM, at the very bottom of your FM dial.

LIVE TONIGHT:

RiP: A Remix Manifesto: Screening of the documentary about remix culture and copyright law. A talk, led by Paul Rapp, will follow @ Carrie Haddad Photographs, 318 Warren St., Hudson, 7-10 p.m., 518.828.7655.[;

Jonathon Tasini is definitely challenging Kirsten Gillibrand for New York's junior senator seat, and Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (NY-14) seems like she also will too.

Tasini, who got 17 percent of the vote for the same seat in 2006 against Hillary Clinton, announced his candidacy in a diary he wrote on DailyKos:

"I am the only progressive in the race. And I believe, as do my supporters, that we have a chance to move the Democratic Party in a progressive direction. New Yorkers will have a very clear choice in 2010—-a choice of values and principles," Tasini wrote.

Tasini is currently president of the Economic Future Group, a national consulting group in the United States. He also writes frequently for a labor and economy blog Working Life.

Congresswoman Maloney attacked Sen. Gillibrand in an interview on NY1 Thursday, leaving little doubt that she intends to challenge Gillibrand in the primary next year:

“It’s troubling to me that she could change her position on so many issues that are important to the country and to the city and the state within 24 hours. And say, 'I just decided to change my mind.' I feel that the best way to judge a candidate is not on what they say they will do in the future, but what they've done in the past. And her past record is a troubling one to me," she said.

By Nate Silver in FiveThirtyEight.com:

We knew things were getting pretty bad for Governor David Paterson of New York, but this probably takes the cake: former Governor Eliot Spitzer, who resigned last March after allegations that he patronized a high-price prostitution service, is now more popular than Paterson, according to a new poll (.pdf) by Cornell University and the New York Times. Just 21 percent of registered voters in New York State have a favorable view of Paterson, the poll finds, while 50 percent have an unfavorable view. Sptizer's numbers are marginally better, at 26 percent and 44 percent respectively.

((audience)) is seeking statements of interest and submissions of completed works for inclusion in the ((audience)) festival in Syracuse, NY this September. Sound artists, electronic musicians and new media artists are invited to submit works and proposals in the following categories: Live Performance for 5.1 diffusion; Cinema-in-the-Dark; Film/Video works.

((audience)) is a nomadic biennial festival of sound art, organized by Alexis Bhagat and Lauren Rosati. The centerpiece of ((audience09)) is a 2.5 hour program of 5.1 surround sound works (with no visual accompaniment) by seven international artists, to be presented in pitch black cinema halls. ((audience)) promotes the exploration of the cinema as a concert hall for the 21st century. Performances, lectures, radio broadcasts and other events are organized on a city-by-city basis. Our upstate New York ((audience09)) festival is being organized in association with the Red House Gallery in Syracuse, NY and will take place from September 17-September 27, 2009.

*Live Performance for 5.1 Diffusion*

We primarily seek statements of interest and performance proposals from artists who have experimented with 5.1 diffusion. Performers working with multichannel diffusion other than 5.1 are also invited to submit. Genres could include: extended vocal work, computer music, electroacoustic music, noise, phonographic collage or manipulation. Performance proposals and statements of interest must include video documentation of relevant past performances on DVD. Please also include a CV or resume, artist statement and full contact information. Students and emerging artists are especially encouraged to apply for the performance category.

*Cinema-in-the-Dark*

We seek 5.1 surround and stereo works which are “cinematic,” in any way that artists interpret that term. We are especially interested in narrative, poetic or dramatic works that experiment with audio spatialization or in musical works that play with familiar conventions of cinema sound. 5.1 submissions are preferred. 5.1 submissions will also be considered for inclusion in the ((audience11)) main program. Stereo works may be also submitted, and will be considered for broadcast on Red House Art Radio during the ((audience09)) festival. Please send both a playable and raw data CD/DVD. Please also include a CV or resume, artist statement, full contact information. Ordinary audio cd, DVD-V with black screen, or DVD-A. You must also send uncompressed, 24-bit audio. Distinct mono tracks, with channel info in the filename, are preferred. OMF files or Protools 7 session files are also acceptable.

*Film/Video*

We seek completed film and video works with compelling 5.1 surround soundtracks. Film and video works under 30min are preferred will be considered for screening at the Red House Gallery Theater on September 26 during ((audience09)). Longer works may be considered for later screening. DVD, production credits, distributor information (if relevant), CV or biographies of sound editor/designer, full contact information.

Send to:
((audience))
c/o Nadalex
39 Avenue A - #103
New York, NY 10009

Your submission or statement should be received by July 10, 2009. Submission materials will not be returned. Late submissions will be accepted. Please send a statement via email by July 10, if you are mailing a late submission. E-mail inquiries may be sent to curators@au.dience.org.

WGXC is a community-run media project, re-envisioning radio as an innovative platform for local participation. Our inclusive programming connects diverse voices, and distributes information across the public spectrum in New York's Greene and Columbia counties.