The Federal Communications Commission approved the renewal of the WGXC FM license to Wave Farm on May 25. The message from the FCC read, "This is to notify you that your Application for Renewal of License 0000182419, was granted on 05/25/2022 for a term expiring on 06/01/2030." This is the second time WGXC's license was renewed, after the station first went on the air on February, 2011. Wave Farm, the licensee for WGXC, is a non-profit arts organization that works with transmission artists from around the world. "Transmission" artists work with some part of the radio dial, including shortwave radio, baby monitors, webstreams, CB radios, and other broadcast forums.

Today's daily news update.

Callie Patteson reports in the New York Post that Rep. Elise Stefanik currently represents the North Country, and her district moves slightly to include Rensselaer County beginning next year. But after that, political analysts are floating several possibilities for Stefanik. A year ago Stefanik, a Republican, became the third-ranking House Republican, replacing Liz Cheney who truthfully said Joe Biden was elected president. Presumably, as third in line, if Republicans take the House majority in the November elections, Stefanik would become majority whip. But last week the Washington Examiner reported that Stefanik is leaning against seeking the whip position. That might be because of competition for that position from Chief Deputy Whip Drew Ferguson and Republican Study Committee Chair Jim Banks. Others are guessing that Stefanik could end up as Donald Trump's running mate if he launches another bid for the presidency. “There is a part of Trump who thinks he needs a female VP,” a Trump adviser told CNN this week. “He definitely likes her, likely because of how effusive she is to him.” Trump communications director Taylor Budowich said this week, “Elise is a well-known fighter for her district and knows how to communicate our America First message on offense and win.” Last October, Stefanik even commented on working for Trump. “If President Trump is reelected president I think it would be an honor to serve in his administration,” she said. “I hope he runs, I will continue doing the best job I can serving my district and serving as conference chair — and being the best mom I can be to Sam [her infant son].” Read more about this story in the New York Post.

Mid-Hudson News reports that state officials have ended the temporary ban on live poultry shows that had been set in March as a result the spread of avian influenza spread. Now live poultry shows, exhibitions, auctions, sales, meets, and swaps can go on in New York State. That's good news for county fairs set to begin across the state this summer. Officials said they were able to end the ban as studies showed that the majority of flocks affected in the current flu outbreak were infected by introductions from wild birds, rather than by farm-to-farm transmission. New York State Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball said, “New York has taken an aggressive approach to slowing the spread of avian influenza and it has paid off. With cases decreasing in our state and throughout the country, as well as new data showing very low rates of farm-to-farm transmission of HPAI during the current outbreak, I am confident that it is time to lift the bans on live poultry shows and sales.” Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.

Kenneth C. Crowe II reports in the Times Union that S.A. Dunn & Co. will hold a public meeting June 14 about its application to renew its state operating permit for its construction and demolition debris landfill. The meeting will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Rensselaer Junior/Senior High School, a neighbor of the landfill. The state requires a public meeting for the permit application that is being submitted to the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Those attending can talk to Dunn representatives, comment about the permit renewal and proposed berm on the northern and eastern side of the property, and get information about other issues. The Rensselaer City School District opposes the renewal of the permit, as does the Rensselaer Environmental Coalition, largely because of dust, debris, and traffic near the site. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

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Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Capital Region Independent Media Greenville Town Supervisor Paul Macko is predicting the town budget cycle will be a difficult one this year. “It’s my belief, and the rest of the board members and the public can echo in, that this is probably going to be the most difficult budget cycle that we have ever encountered in 40 years in the town of Greenville this fall,” Macko said May 16. Macko made his comments during a meeting of the Greenville Town Board. The challenge will be coming up with a budget that meets the needs of the town while contending with high prices and record inflation rates that have been impacting the nation, he said. “I think with inflation running at close to 8.5 percent, fuel oil and diesel and gasoline [up], fuel oil for houses is up 80 percent, gasoline is up 46 percent for the year, and those numbers don’t factor into your inflation,” Macko said. The higher costs across the board will also impact other components of the budget. One area of the budget that remains unknown is a potential new contract currently in negotiations with the Greenville Rescue Squad. That contract expires December 31. Talks stalled after the organization presented the board with a proposed five-year contract. “We are very pleased with the services that the Greenville Rescue Squad provides — they do a fabulous job,” Macko said. “... I really, truly wish that we could try to come to terms with a contract.” The supervisor said the town will try to come up with some kind of agreement, but he is concerned about the impact the proposal that includes a 34 percent increase in the rescue squad tax rate for one year, will have on taxpayers. Other matters currently in negotiation include an agreement with the Teamsters union and the Freehold Volunteer Fire Company, Macko said. “It’s going to be a busy time,” he said. Read the full story at TheUpStater [dot] com.

Columbia-Memorial Health hospital announced on June 6 it has partnered with Radiologists Without Borders to donate medical supplies and equipment needed in parts of Ukraine. In addition, CMH providers donated $5,000 to support Radiologists Without Borders’s global humanitarian mission. Founded by the hospital's former Chief of Radiology Tariq Gill, M.D., Radiologists Without Borders is an international organization that provides diagnostic imaging solutions and medical supplies to medically underserved populations around the world. Established in 2007, the organization has provided assistance in Honduras, Haiti, Chile, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, and other locations. The supplies recently given by CMH include tourniquets, IV supplies, gloves and aortic grafts, all of which are essential to treat traumatic injuries. The supplies are now in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine. “We learned that in many areas of Ukraine people are needlessly dying from wounds that could be effectively treated with basic lifesaving supplies such as tourniquets and IVs,” Gill said. CMH already donated more than $33,000 in medical supplies earlier in the spring in response to a request from Saint Michael’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Hudson. Read more at rwborders [dot] org.

Amanda Burke is reporting for The Berkshire Eagle that Massachusetts residents will soon have access to a searchable online database of the complaints filed against active police officers statewide, as well as the outcomes of resulting internal investigations. The public database will contain the names of officers and the types of complaints filed against them, such as allegations of excessive force, policy and protocol infractions, rudeness and "conduct unbecoming." The release of the database has been delayed by the Peace Officer Standards and Training, or POST Commission, which was created as part of the police reform legislation following the 2020 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Although the POST statewide database of all Massachusetts departments is not yet active, The Eagle compiled the Pittsfield data in a searchable form to give residents an idea of the kinds of information that will become available for departments across Berkshire County and the commonwealth. The Eagle has requested the same data from the North Adams Police Department, which covers Berkshire County's other city, and will make it available in a searchable format when it is received. Police departments throughout Massachusetts were required to submit to the POST Commission data on complaints, both substantiated and unsubstantiated, that were made against currently serving police officers. The data reveals that there were about 200 complaints made against police officers now working in Pittsfield since 1994. Of those, 45 were coded as "substantiated," and 53 resulted in some form of discipline, ranging from a letter of reprimand, retraining, resignation, verbal reprimand, and loss of assignment. A link to the database is available on the WGXC Newsroom page. Read the full story in The Berkshire Eagle.

Paul McLane reports for Radio World that broadcasters who use public airwaves to make their own money face 13 percent increases in fees in fiscal 2022 from the Federal Communications Commission. For-profit radio stations pay small fees to the FCC to pay for regulating the industry that makes millions of dollars selling advertising on the public's airwaves. A station that can reach six million listeners, for instance, will have to pay less than $24,000 in fees to keep minting millions from the public's airwaves. A small Class A station that reaches fewer than 25,000 listeners has to pay $1,105. “Unfortunately, the commission continues to unlawfully require broadcasters to subsidize the Commission’s broadband activities,” the National Association of Broadcasters said in a statement that stretches credulity. “For these local stations that are still recovering from the pandemic and face unique economic challenges in today’s media landscape, such an unjustified increase is devastating and risks undermining the unique locally-focused service that our communities rely upon. NAB stands ready and willing to work with the commission to ensure a fair and lawful payment regime.” Anyone with an opinion on FCC fees that “may promote or inhibit advances in diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, as well the scope of the commission’s relevant legal authority,” can file comments in the FCC’s online system. In the Proceeding field, refer to MD Docket No. 22-223. Comments are due July 5, and replies July 18. Read more about this story at Radio World.

Another New York legislative session has come to a close with disappointing results on climate. Pete Sikora of NY Communities for Change discusses with WOOC's Mark Dunlea the progress the state has made on since the major CLCPA climate law was passed three years ago.

Today's daily news update.

Nick Reisman reports at New York State of Politics that Gov. Kathy Hochul on June 6 signed new laws on the licensing of semiautomatic rifles, banning body armor, and expanding the state's "red flag" regulations. "It just keeps happening. Shots ring out, flags come down and nothing ever changes — except here in New York," Hochul said. The biggest change in the new laws is that New York will now regulate semiautomatic rifles the same as semiautomatic pistols, requiring permits and for the license holder to be at least 21 years old. Another law Hochul signed requires officials at the state Division of Criminal Justice Services to study the feasibility of microstamping of bullets when fired from a gun. The slew of new gun laws comes after 18-year-olds in Buffalo and Texas murdered many Blacks and elementary school children, respectively. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Rick Karlin reports in the Times Union that New York's Climate Action Council has received 18,000 comments about the state's draft scoping plan to combat climate change, and have extended the comment period through July 1. Since January, a 120-day public comment period has been extended twice, with six public hearings on the plan. Once the plan is approved, state lawmakers will have to act on the changes. To read the state's scoping plan, go to https://climate.ny.gov/Our-Climate-Act/Draft-Scoping-Plan and to comment, go to https://nyserda.seamlessdocs.com/f/DraftScopingComments.

Diane Pineiro-Zucker reports in the Daily Freeman that Town of Ulster police are slow in responding to a state Freedom of Information Law request. They have not provided the Daily Freeman with a record of complaints, lawsuits, and investigations and their outcomes since 2019 that were requested on Feb. 18. “We are in receipt of your request. Please allow us time to provide the records requested," Ulster Police Chief Kyle Berard said in an email about a request made more than three months ago. Berard also told the newspaper that his department is understaffed and unable to immediately provide the requested information. The Daily Freeman has now "filed an appeal of the apparent denial." A previous state law that made it difficult to get police records has been repealed, but the Town of Ulster is still not providing the public information to the public. By comparison, the Daily Freeman has recently run stories about similar requests for information being fulfilled by police departments in Kingston and Saugerties, and by the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Today's daily news update.

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Chris Bragg is reporting for the Times Union that the state Legislature passed a bill last week characterized by opponents as the largest industry-specific tax break ever granted by New York’s government. The measure was adopted with little public debate and near the end of the legislative session. Once signed into law it would provide large, private businesses up to $10 billion in state tax credits over 20 years to promote the growth of new, so-called green semiconductor manufacturing projects. The legislation was introduced at the request of Gov. Kathy Hochul's office, approved by the Senate on June 1 and by the Assembly on June 4, before it adjourned. Watchdog groups have questioned why the bill, regardless of its merits, was hastily pushed by Hochul's office. "This is like the ugliest of Albany," said John Kaehny, executive director of Reinvent Albany. "In this type of fog, the governor’s office can misinform the Legislature, and do it all at the last second." Kristin Devoe, a spokesperson for Empire State Development, the governor's economic development arm, said the bill's late-session introduction was simply a matter of the proposal being "developed very recently." She said the legislation was a way to capitalize on the anticipated passage of a bill introduced by U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer in Congress, to expand semiconductor production nationwide, putting New York "in the best position to stand apart from the other states and countries who are trying to attract the semiconductor industry." The Assembly passed the measure using a "fast roll call," where lawmakers are assumed to be in the affirmative, unless they indicate otherwise. The only person recorded in the negative at the time of the vote was Queens Assemblymember Ron Kim, a Democrat. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Porcupine Soup is reporting that the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Columbia and Greene Counties Board of Directors named Lisa Gallina executive director, effective June 6. As an educator and community program director Gallina has worked with CCE associations statewide. Her experience managing multiple sites for colleges, the Department of Defense, and nonprofit organizations across New York "will help bring strong leadership and partnership experience to the association," according to the board. Billy Greer, board president, said, “We are thrilled to have Lisa join us. She was unanimously selected from a nationwide search, and we look forward to working closely with her to help CCE make a difference in Columbia and Greene counties.” Gallina will manage day-to-day operations in the CCE Hudson and Acra offices. She will be responsible for maintaining and expanding CCE’s areas of programming including Agriculture and Natural Resource, Climate Change and the Environment, Family and Consumer Sciences, Community Horticulture, 4-H and Youth Development, as well as the management of the state-funded Taste NY store at the Capital Region Welcome Center in New Baltimore. Gallina succeeds Executive Director Evon Antonio. Antonio will remain on staff for the near future to provide support as Gallina transitions into her new role. Read more at porcupine soup [dot] com.