Emilia Teasdale is reporting in The Columbia Paper someone put flowers on the graves at the Persons of Color Cemetery in Rothermel Park in Kinderhook last month. That unknown person placed at least one or two fresh flowers by each gravesite shortly after the white supremacist and Nazi march in Charlottesville, Virginia turned violent, the weekend of Aug. 12. The cemetery has more than a dozen headstones dating from the 19th century. Hollis Seamon, who lives next door and is a member of a group restoring the cemetery, said she has noticed more people have been visiting of late. Kinderhook Village historian Ruth Piwonka said more than 500 people may have been buried at that location. The land was set aside in 1813 by village resident John Rogers in his will. Rogers designated the land be used “for a cemetery for the people of colour in… Kinderhook to use for that purpose and none other.” Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

MidHudsonNews [dot] com is reporting US Global Airways is getting closer to launching regularly scheduled international service from Stewart International Airport near Newburgh. The airline recently entered into a stock purchase agreement for capital stock of Songbird Airways Inc. for $6.5 million. Songbird has an FAA certificate allowing it to operate commercial passenger service. That acquisition is expected to close in mid- to late October. Before that date, US Global will enter into a lease agreement for a B737-400 aircraft. US Global intends to provide service out of Stewart to Europe, Russia, the Middle East and the Caribbean, possibly by the end of the year. Read the full story at MidHudsonNews [dot] com.

The Associated Press is reporting the New York State Bar Association will begin a campaign this week to advocate in support of a constitutional convention. Voters decide November 7 whether to authorize a convention that could propose changes to the state Constitution. The bar association campaign will argue that a convention could lead to fewer barriers to voter participation and more protections for the rights of people statewide. Critics claim a convention would be a boondoggle to benefit corrupt Albany insiders. Among the groups opposing a convention are the New York State United Teachers and the New York Civil Liberties Union. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Rick Karlin is reporting in the Times Union police departments statewide are resisting or unnecessarily delaying Freedom of Information Law requests for records on the use of force, misconduct complaints, racial profiling and the use of surveillance equipment, according to a study released Mon., Sep. 18, by the New York Civil Liberties Union. During a two-year period, NYCLU researched requested records from 23 police departments, including several in the Capital Region. Only the Utica department produced the documents without necessitating the filing of an administrative appeal, which can cause a request to languish for months or even years. FOIL requires only that an agency acknowledge receipt of a request within five business days. However, state and local agencies often delay providing records for months or even years with little explanation. Read the full story in the Times Union.

DOWNLOAD or PLAY the audio version of the local news headlines for Mon., Sep. 18 (5:15). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

Some of the stories that made the news Fri., Sep. 15, through Sun., Sep. 17:

Bill Williams reported for WCTW-FM, "The Cat," a unidentified male hiker fell Sat., Sep. 16, at Kaaterskill Falls. He reported fell from roughly half way up the falls onto the rocks below. The man was reported to be conscious and breathing after the fall. Haines Falls Fire, Tannersville Rescue, Hunter Ambulance, police, and forest rangers, all responded. The state Department of Environmental Conservation just last week unveiled work done at the Falls during the past six years to improve safety and accessibility at the site. There have been multiple fatalities and injuries at Kaaterskill Falls in the past years.

Dan Goldberg reported at Politico New York a decision last week by a state Appellate Court could cost New York's home care agencies tens of millions of dollars and threatens to totally change the industry. The case was filed by two live-in home health aides employed by New York Health Care and Future Care Health Services. Both employees claimed their companies violated the state's minimum wage law by failing to pay them for every hour they worked. Home care agencies typically pay employees for 13 hours per day, allowing eight hours for sleep and three hours for meals. However, recently several employees have challenged that rule, alleging the practice violates minimum wage laws. Because the two plaintiffs were not permitted to leave their clients' sides, they argued the agency should pay them for all 24 hours, and on September 13, the Second Department of the Appellate Division agreed.

Richard Moody reported for Columbia-Greene Media the Columbia County Board of Supervisors last week approved bonds for capital improvements and the Columba-Greene Community College capital project. The count will issue $2.7 million in county government bonds to pay the maximum estimated cost for capital improvements to roads, bridges and solid waste systems. And the board's vote on Wed., Sep. 13, commits the county to contributing $5 million to the college's $20 million capital project. The approval allows the bonds to be included in the county's 2018 budget, but does not mean the county will ultimately borrow the money. Planned capital improvements include $500,000 for road paving, $350,000 for solid waste equipment and $1.85 million for bridge repairs. The Greene County Legislature on Wednesday also approved a $5 million bond resolution in support of the college's capital project. The State University of New York will provide the final $10 million.

Jeanette Wolfberg reported in The Columbia Paper at a meeting of the Hudson Board of Education Mon., Sep. 11, Superintendent Maria Suttmeier confirmed that the current school year is the last for John L. Edwards Primary School, located on State Street in Hudson. Beginning in September 2018, JLE will be closed and pre-kindergarten through 5th grade will be housed in the Montgomery C. Smith building on Harry Howard Avenue. A new addition must be built at MC Smith to accommodate the new classes. In addition to consolidating from three to two campuses, the district will add four bus runs.

Daniel Zuckerman reported for Columbia-Greene Media Kirwan's Game Store, a fixture on Catskill's Main Street, is expanding to open a second location in Poughkeepsie. The store specializes in sword and sorcery card games. The new store will be located in the Poughkeepsie Galleria, near Macy's. Kirwan’s General Manager E.J. Santiago said the store is in a good financial position to open a second location. “[Owner] Stephen [Kirwan] is looking at it as a trial run,” Santiago said. “It’s been discussed for at least a better part of a year.” Catskill assistant manager Chris Johnson will run the new place when it opens in early October, Santiago said. The new Kirwan's will be more compact, focus more on the retail side of things and rely on heavy foot traffic, he said, while the Catskill store attracts a regular clientele. On September 10, Kirwan’s co-sponsored the Ultimate Comic Book Trade Show and Expo at held at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie. The event provided an opportunity for Kirwan's to spread the word about the new store.

Local weather forecast:
TODAY : Areas of fog in the early morning. Otherwise, mostly sunny. High near 77. Monday night, mostly cloudy. Low around 63.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS:
TUESDAY: A chance of showers, mainly after 8 a.m. Mostly cloudy. High near 73. Tuesday night, a chance of showers. Mostly cloudy. Low around 62.
WEDNESDAY: A chance of showers. Partly sunny. High near 79. Wednesday night, partly cloudy. Low around 59.

Sunrise today: 6:39 a.m.
Sunset today: 6:58 p.m.
LENGTH OF THE DAY: 12:18 hrs.

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

Dan Udell recorded and uploaded this video of the Sept. 13 Columbia County Board of Supervisors meeting.

DOWNLOAD or PLAY the audio version of the local news headlines for the weekend of Sept. 16-17. (3:58). (Produced by Tom Roe.)

Here's the week in the news for Rep. John Faso (R-Kinderhook), the District 19 Congressperson for the WGXC listening area. Fivethirtyeight.com currently reports Faso votes with Donald Trump's positions 88.9 percent of his votes. Click here to download or play an audio version of this report.

• William J. Kemble is reporting in the Daily Freeman Kingston school trustees are disappointed that U.S. Rep. John Faso did not address education issues during the public forum recently held in Esopus. They want the Kinderhook Republican to meet with district leaders to answer questions that were not addressed. At a Board of Education meeting last week, one of the trustees said four board members attended the forum, but none of their questions were chosen during the 90-minute event. “There was not one question regarding education, which was a bit of a disappointment,” Suzanne Jordan said. “There’s a lot to worry about.” Jordan said board members want answers to questions about changing federal mandates, food standards, teacher training, and why there is a threat to remove Medicaid money from the schools. Jordan has suggested the Ulster County School Boards Association organize a multi-district meeting with Faso. “He likes to meet with smaller constituent groups, and I thought maybe he would be willing to set up a meeting with people interested in education,” she said. Faso spokesman John Lange said via email that a meeting could be arranged, but more information would be needed. “We can’t just agree to host forums by hearing about them through third-parties, and that we really know nothing about,..." Lange wrote. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

• This week Rep. John Faso voted with a Republican majority that passed several bills this week. He voted for the Joint Counterterrorism Awareness Workshop Series Act, which passed 398-4. Faso voted for the appropriations bill for the Department of the Interior, which passed 211-198, on largely partisan lines. The same is true of the Criminal Alien Gang Member Removal Act, which passed 233-175. Finally, Faso voted this week for the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site Boundary Modification Act, which passed 390-0.

Here are some stories from the Hudson River this week. Click here to hear an audio version of this report.

• The Stevens Institute reports temperatures this week in the Hudson River at Schodack Island have been between 66 and 70 degrees.

• Jen Kirby reports in New York Magazine that billionaire Barry Diller's plan to create an artificial island park in the Hudson River on the West Side of Manhattan is now dead. The 2.7-acre, Thomas Heatherwick–designed floating park and performance space will not happen as Diller has withdrawn his support. Legal battles drove costs above $250 million for the project.

• Steve Hughes reports in the Albany Times Union a woman's body was found in the Hudson River Sept. 14. State troopers, called to investigate a car abandoned on the Patroon Island Bridge. The car had Massachusetts plates, but the police have yet to reveal the woman's identity. See the full story in the Albany Times Union.

• The Daily Freeman reports that New York's Department of Environmental Conservation celebrates the 35th anniversary of the Hudson River Research Reserve in Staatsburg on Sat., Sept. 23 at Norrie Point Environmental Center. The center hosts a “Science on the River” at 2 p.m. that day with scientists from the Research Reserve, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, and other regional research organizations answering questions about the Hudson River. For information, call (845) 889-4745, ext. 109, or email hrnerr@dec.ny.gov.