H. Rose Schneider reports in The Altamont Enterprise that the Knox town board meeting Oct. 10 included verbal and physical conflicts over a Freedom of Information Law request. In New York, government officials must provide public information to whoever asks under the FOIL law. At the Oct. 10 meeting, during a discussion of a FOIL request, Anna Lefkaditis, the Knox supervisor's wife, grabbed the cell phone from Dee Woessner, the co-chair of the town’s Democratic committee. Woessner was recording the meeting, and had turned her phone towards Lefkaditis when the assault occurred. A sheriff’s deputy then asked Lefkaditis to leave, which she did. The FOIL request came from Councilperson Earl Barcomb after Supervisor Lefkaditis had said the town made $400 in 2016 and $800 in 2017 at the Pucker Street Fair. But a spreadsheet from the town bookkeeper says the town made about $2,700 for 2016 and $900 for 2017. “Since the FOIL was made, Supervisor Lefkaditis has tried to avoid giving me this information, by claiming that the FOIL was not filed correctly, and that he wanted to review the town’s FOIL regulations, even though it’s not his decision to make,” Barcomb said. Read the full story in The Altamont Enterprise.

Matthew Hamilton reports in Capitol Confidential Democrat Steven Brisee has ended his bid for the 19th Congressional District seat. Brisee was arrested last month for alleged grand larceny, a felony. Democrat Sue Sullivan also left the campaign trail last month, leaving six Democrats currently announced for a primary election next year to eventually face first-term U.S. Rep. John Faso (R-Kinderhook) in November 2018. Read the full story in Capitol Confidential.

HudsonValley360.com reports that Catskill's Thomas Cole National Historic Site is getting $200,000 from a 2017 Museums for America grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The money goes to create an interactive multimedia installation on the second floor of Thomas Cole’s historic home that will open in May 2019. Thomas Cole’s 1815 home is where the Hudson River School of landscape painting began. Read the full story at HudsonValley360.com.

Barry Meieroct in The New York Times writes a long story about Nxivm (pronounced Nex-e-um), which Wikipedia describes as, "a pyramid-selling organization centred on the provision of classes and seminars that encourage clients to pursue a path of personal and professional development. Based in Albany County, New York.... founded in 1998 by Keith Raniere." The Times story describes "a secret sisterhood" where women are branded and required to provide naked photos of themselves. From the story: "Each woman was told to undress and lie on a massage table, while three others restrained her legs and shoulders. According to one of them, their 'master,' a top Nxivm official named Lauren Salzman, instructed them to say: 'Master, please brand me, it would be an honor.' A female doctor proceeded to use a cauterizing device to sear a two-inch-square symbol below each woman’s hip, a procedure that took 20 to 30 minutes. For hours, muffled screams and the smell of burning tissue filled the room." The group is based in Albany and has chapters throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The story says most people that engage with the group just take self-help seminars, but women who get more involved get branded. One woman filed a complaint with the New York State Department of Health in July against Danielle Roberts, a licensed osteopath who performed the branding, but the agency says Roberts was not acting as a doctor, so they will not investigate the charge. A state police investigator reportedly told three woman they will not investigate the brandings, as they were consensual. In 2012, the Albany Times Union also reported about Nxivm. Read the latest story about the group in The New York Times.

DOWNLOAD or PLAY the audio version of the local news headlines for Wed., Oct. 18 (5:51). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

Daniel Zuckerman is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media a committee of the Greene County Legislature Mon., Oct. 16, established the Greene County Transportation Advisory Board. The board includes representatives from Greene County Economic Development, Tourism and Planning, Greene County Mental Health, Public Health, Veteran Affairs, Human Services and Department of Social Services. The board will meet each quarter and reports from the meetings will be provided to the state Department of Transportation and Greene County Economic Development, Tourism and Planning Director Warren Hart. The goals are to increase ridership and meet various transportation needs countywide, Hart said. Use of public transportation is on the rise, Hart said. There are plans to create additional routes to Columbia-Greene Community College and to Columbia Memorial Health, he said. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Debby Mayer is reporting in The Columbia Paper the Germantown Town Board will hold the final public hearing on the town's Comprehensive Plan this week. The document under review is an update of the 2011 version of the plan. It recommends 10 priority actions be taken by the town board following adoption of the plan. Those action items include, pursuit of state funding to expand the sewer district; the identification of sources of water that could support the public supply system; and, establishing a Conservation Advisory Committee. A full copy of the draft plan is available at the town website, GermantownNY [dot] org. The public hearing will be held at Germantown Town Hall, 50 Palatine Park Road, 6 p.m., Thu., Oct. 19. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

Anthony Fiducia is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media solar provider Cypress Creek Renewables is planning a major push into Greene County, targeting Greenville, Cairo, Coxsackie and Catskill, specifically. The company, which has a local field office in Slingerlands, intends to put $15 million into seven community solar farm projects at those locations. Cypress Creek is projecting it will create 200 local construction jobs and generate nearly $1 million in local tax revenue, and provide energy to approximately 4,500 homes. None of the projects have been approved. Two applications are under review in Greenville, with two more to come. Greenville Planning Board Chairman Don Teator said the board is proceeding carefully, assessing the impact of the project and requesting details. A public hearing for the Greenville community solar farms will be held at Greenville Town Hall on Route 32, at 7 p.m., Wed., Nov. 1. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Ayla Ferrone is reporting for News 10 Albany the city of Rensselaer is submitting a bid to become the next Amazon headquarters. City of Rensselaer Mayor Dan Dwyer said the space at de Laet's Landing on the Hudson River, across from downtown Albany, would be the perfect spot for the $5 billion facility. If chosen, the project would bring 50,000 jobs to the Capital Region. “We need the jobs and that would be a great economic boom for everyone in the area and the state,” Dwyer said. Amazon is conducting a cross-country search to identify a location for its new headquarters and is focusing on areas with at least 100 acres of land to build on. Rensselaer is competing with a bid in Western New York and another in Central New York. The bids to Amazon are due on Thursday. Read the full story at News10 [dot] com.

Local weather forecast:
TODAY : Sunny. High near 68. Patchy fog after 3 a.m. Otherwise, clear. Low around 43.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS:
THURSDAY: Patchy fog in the early morning. Otherwise, sunny. High near 71. Thursday night, mostly clear. Low around 44.
FRIDAY: Sunny. High near 65. Friday night, clear. Low around 41.

Sunrise today: 7:12 a.m.
Sunset today: 6:07 p.m.
LENGTH OF THE DAY: 10:55 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS and POLITICAL EVENTS for Wed., Oct. 18:
Please see the WGXC Community Calendar.

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local news update for Tues., Oct. 17 (3:59). (Produced by Alanna Medlock.)