David Lombardo is reporting for the Times Union Greene Party candidate Howie Hawkins, of Syracuse, announced April 12, his bid for governor. The Hawkins campaign slogan is "Demand More" and he will be making the case to voters that they should have higher expectations of elected officials. The campaign is calling for a single-payer health care system, 100 percent reliance on clean energy in 15 years, a Green New Deal to boost employment and fully-funded public schools. This is the third time Hawkins has run. A long shot to win, he is hoping his campaign will help build the party's infrastructure and continue to move the state forward on progressive issues. "You don't have to win the office to make a difference, and we've made a difference," said Hawkins, who came in third in 2014 with less than 185,000 votes. Hawkins pointed to the statewide moratorium on fracking, the increase in the minimum wage and the creation of a paid family leave program as initiatives that grew out of the Green Party's agenda. The 65-year old Hawkins is a member of the Teamsters and recently retired from a position unloading trucks for UPS. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Local weather forecast:

TODAY: A slight chance of showers after 8 a.m. Mostly cloudy. High near 63. Friday night, mostly cloudy. Low around 44.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS:
SATURDAY: A chance of rain, mainly after 9 a.m. Mostly cloudy. High near 51. Saturday night, rain likely before 2 a.m., then rain and sleet. Low around 33.
SUNDAY: Rain and sleet, becoming all rain after 11 a.m. High near 42. Sunday night, rain. Low around 36.

Sunrise today: 6:16 a.m.
Sunset today: 7:35 p.m.
LENGTH OF THE DAY: 13:18 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS and POLITICAL EVENTS for Fri., Apr. 13:
Please see the WGXC Community Calendar.

TechDirt reports that the Federal Communiications Commission's Broadband Deployment Advisory Council keeps losing members, with those resigning say the council is only meant to parrot industry views. "It has become abundantly clear that despite the good intentions of several participants, the industry-heavy makeup of BDAC will simply relegate the body to being a vehicle for advancing the interests of the telecommunications industry over those of the public," said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo in his resignation letter in in January. The apparent goal is to create a set of rules that will provide industry with easy access to publicly-funded infrastructure at taxpayer subsidized rates, without any obligation to provide broadband access to underserved residents." New York City CTO Miguel Gamiño Jr. is the latest to step down, saying, "It is clear that despite good faith efforts by both the staff and members involved, the membership structure and meeting format of the BDAC has skewed the drafting of the proposed recommendations towards industry priorities without regard for a true public-private partnership."

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local news update for Thurs., April 12 (3:57). (Produced by Alanna Medlock.)

Chris McKenna reports at The Fray that former Rep. Chris Gibson, a Republican from Kinderhook, is now working as the unpaid campaign chairman for Marc Molinaro in his run for governor. Gibson, the area's former congressperson, was considered by political analysts as a likely opponent for incumbent Andrew Cuomo. Instead, the Dutchess County Executive Molinaro is among the Republicans that want to take on Cuomo, and Gibson will work for him. “Marc Molinaro is the right person to clear the cloud of corruption that has descended over the Governor’s office and restore New Yorker’s faith in the future of our state,” Gibson said in a press release. Gibson is currently a visiting professor of foreign policy at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., and released a book last year, “Rally Point: Five Tasks to Unite the Country and Revitalize the American Dream.” Read the full story at The Fray.

Dan Freedman reports in the Albany Times Union that Rep. John Faso (R-Kinderhook) does not see the crest of a blue tsunami in the announcement that House Speaker Paul Ryan won't run for another term. “I don’t think it has any impact on me politically,” Faso said. “Personally I’m sad he made the decision, but I totally get it.” One of his potential rivals, Antonio Delgado who is among the Democrats running to take on Faso, disagreed. “The 'blue wave’ is coming, and Paul Ryan has been swept up in it,” said Delgado. “Hard-working families in the Hudson Valley, Catskills and across the whole nation are waking up and realizing that his attack on their health care and his tax scam for billionaires and big corporations are a dereliction of duty. Democrats … are going to take back the House and get our country back on track.” But Faso thinks that is just “political posturing. People shouldn’t count the votes seven months before and election.... I feel optimistic.” Read the full story in the Albany Times Union.

Patricia R. Doxsey reports in The Daily Freeman the state Public Service Commission is starting an investigation into the power outages during winter storms this winter, with several local public hearings. There will be 20 hearings across the state where utility customers can explain how they were affected by the electrical outages comment on the response from utility companies. They include an April 16 hearing at the Athens Volunteer Fire Department, 39 3rd St., in Athens, and an April 17 meeting at Columbia-Greene Community College (in Art Center Theater Room 500), 4400 state Route 23, in Greenport. Both days there will be public hearings at both 2 and 6 p.m. “We feel we did a good job with both storms,” said Central Hudson spokesman John Maserjian. Over 100,000 homes in the Hudson Valley lost power during March storms. “We had restored service fairly quickly given the damage brought about by the storms.... We’re working cooperatively with the PSC on their review.... These hearings are a part of that review, and we’re happy to participate and hear what our customers and elected leaders have to say.” Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance is extending the hours of its Income Tax Call Center through the April 18 filing deadline. “As we near the end of the filing season, we’re expanding our hours of operation to assist more customers,” said New York State Commissioner of Taxation and Finance Jerry Boone. Representatives will answer tax questions from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays through this weekend. There is also a website for questions, www.tax.ny.gov. which is used by nearly 800,000 taxpayers each week during the income tax season.

DOWNLOAD or PLAY the audio version of the local news headlines for Thu., Apr. 12 (6:35). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

Carry Miller is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Route 42 bridge over Schoharie Creek in Lexington is being repaired this month and three roads will be closed to traffic during two upcoming weekends. The bridge will be closed 6 p.m. April 13 to 6 a.m. April 16; and from 6 p.m. April 20 to 6 a.m. April 23. A detour will route traffic from Route 42 to Route 23A, then to Route 214, to Route 28 and then circle back to Route 42. “It’s Phoenicia to Hunter instead of Shandaken to Lexington,” said Lexington Town Supervisor John Berger. “If you’re going to Kingston or coming from Kingston it’s not going to affect you too much....I don’t see this causing a headache at all.” The rehabilitation project will replace the concrete deck; the bridge sidewalk and joints; and repair the steel that frames the top of the bridge. Bridge construction costs will run about $1.6 million, said state Department of Transportation spokesman Bryan Viggiani. Construction is expected to continue into October. During construction traffic is being funneled into one alternating lane on the bridge. The DOT will use flaggers during daylight hours and plans to add temporary traffic lights on both ends of the bridge later in the spring. Bridges in Lexington, Prattsville and Jewett are in the midst of state overhauls this year. The Prattsville Bridge over Schoharie Creek is being replaced, as is a smaller Route 23 bridge over the Huntersfield Creek. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Claire Gilbert is reporting for The Columbia Paper the Chatham school board last week continued its 2018-19 budget discussions, with much of the conversation revolving around whether the school resource deputy position should be transitioned to full time. In Columbia County, three other school districts already have full-time resource officers, and by next year, all except Chatham will be increased to full time. Chatham’s current school resource officer, Ian Boehme, assumed his school duties in August 2017, and now divides his time between the Chatham and New Lebanon school districts. At part-time, the deputy is provided by the county Sheriff's Office at no cost to the district, but if the position is made full time, it would cost the Chatham schools an additional $40,000. District Superintendent Salvatore DeAngelo and school principals Kristen Reno, Michael Burns and John Thorsen all spoke in support of the proposal. The general response from the board was positive, but some expressed misgivings. “Could we take $40,000 and get a guidance counselor who would give us more bang for our buck?” asked Rachel Galvin. No consensus was reached, and discussions will continue as the spending plan is finalized. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

State of Politics is reporting the conventions for the state Democratic and Republican committees will overlap this year. Both will take place on May 23 and May 24. The state Republican Committee has announced it will gather at The Ziegfeld Ballroom in Manhattan to designate its candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and comptroller. At the same time, New York Democrats will hold its convention at the Marriott Uniondale on Long Island. Both conventions could have their share of drama. Gov. Andrew Cuomo will face off against actress and public education advocate Cynthia Nixon in a primary. On the Republican side, Sen. John DeFrancisco and Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro are seeking the party’s endorsement for governor, though GOP officials hope to avoid a primary in September. Read the full story at the State of Politics blog.

Rick Karlin is reporting for the Times Union some elementary and middle schools statewide experienced complications with the pilot test administration of computer-based English Language Arts tests April 11. Faulty internet connections, blank screens and outright crashes were among the problems reported when students in grades 3 through 9 sat for the annual exam using computers, instead of the traditional paper and pencil. It was not immediately known how many students or schools lost their work. “Questar Assessment Inc., New York state’s assessment vendor, experienced delays in the delivery of computer-based tests to students in some schools this morning,” State Education Department spokeswoman Emily DeSantis said. “Questar has been working to resolve this as quickly as possible.” Representatives of the state’s major teacher’s union, New York State United Teachers said problems were reported in schools throughout the state. NYSUT Executive Vice President Jolene DiBrango said they had earlier written to the state Education Department voicing concerns about the computerized tests, including connectivity, the reliability of the tests and if students without keyboard skills would be at a disadvantage. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Local weather forecast:

TODAY: A chance of rain between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., then a chance of rain after 3 p.m. Increasing clouds. High near 56. Thursday night, a chance of rain, mainly before 10 p.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 45.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS:
FRIDAY: A slight chance of rain, mainly before 10 p.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 45. Friday night, mostly cloudy. Low around 48.
SATURDAY: A chance of light rain, mainly after 2 p.m. Partly sunny. High near 68. Saturday night, a chance of showers or light rain before 8 p.m., then a chance of showers after 8 p.m. Cloudy. Low around 38.

Sunrise today: 6:17 a.m.
Sunset today: 7:34 p.m.
LENGTH OF THE DAY: 13:16 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS and POLITICAL EVENTS for Thu., Apr. 12:
Please see the WGXC Community Calendar.

Ars Technica reports that lightning-quick 5G cell service will launch later this year, with the first 5G devices available in 2019. AT&T has been testing the new service, with better-than-expected results. They've gotten reliable speeds of more than a gigabit per second from millimeter wave frequencies, even in bad weather. And even non-line-of-sight connections have performed better than expected, with very low latencies, the company said. Currently, mobile devices use 4G LTE networks on frequencies below 1GHz, which are good for covering long distances and penetrating obstacles. The 5G networks will use millimeter wave signals of 30GHz and above, which were not thought to do well with building walls and getting through foliage. That means instead of seeing the occasional cell tower every few miles, there will be lots of small antennae beaming cell signals from poles, town halls, church steeples, and other structures. AT&T has been testing 5G in In South Bend, Indiana; Kalamazoo, Michigan; and Waco, Texas. Weather does not seem to be blocking the radio waves, which are traveling up to 900 feet away from the cell sites in line-of-sight conditions. That still means a lot of transmitters and antennae need to be hung around the country, if they are every 900 feet or so. In exchange so, users get 1.2Gbps speeds, compared to 15Mbps average speeds that OpenSignal say are the norm for 4G. It will be awhile before consumers can use those speeds, though, with T-Mobile planning to build out 5G mobile networks in just U.S. 30 cities this year, and Sprint not starting until 2019.

Click here to download or play the regular monthly Columbia County Board of Supervisors meeting.

Click here to download or play the Greene County Jail Review Workshop meeting from the Greene County Legislature. The beginning of the meeting is missing, and the end of the meeting the legislators go into executive session.

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local news update for Wed., April 11 (3:39). (Produced by Alanna Medlock.)

Ariél Zangla reports in The Daily Freeman that Ulster County announced the launch April 10 The National Network for Safe Communities’ Intimate Partner Violence Intervention program, the first of its kind in New York state. The program will attempt to reduce domestic violence, working with offenders to reduce harmful acts, and offering support for victims. At the announcement, Ulster County District Attorney Holley Carnright used 11 cardboard silhouettes to illustrate the number of local women killed by their partners recently. “Once we’ve identified a person who we think is going to commit domestic violence again, we have personal contact with them,” Carnright said. “In addition to the personal contact we have with the offender or potential offender, we have a parallel process where we engage the victims. We do what we’ve been doing for a while. We try to educate the victims, make sure they understand about services that are available to them.” New York State is chipping in $285,000 to fund the program. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

Congressperson John Faso (R-Kinderhook) released a statement after U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan announced he will not seek re-election: “Paul Ryan has been a dedicated public servant to his district and nation for 20 years. I regret his decision to retire but fully understand his desire to not miss the teenage years of his three children. I wish him and his family well and thank him for his service to the nation.”