DOWNLOAD or PLAY the audio version of the local news headlines for Fri., Jun. 30 (8:43). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

Jeanette Wolfberg is reporting in The Columbia Paper the Columbia County Board of Supervisors adopted a water treatment upgrade plan following a public hearing, Wed., Jun. 14. That plan will include the construction of a pipeline and pumping stations on property along Route 66. The Columbia County Wastewater Treatment Facility serves the area around the Gerald R. Simmons Commercial Park near the Columbia County Airport in West Ghent. The discharge from the treatment facility continually fails to meet state Department of Environmental Conservation standards, and the facility would require substantial reconstruction to function properly. The plan adopted by the board calls for closing the facility and sending the wastewater to the town of Greenport sewage treatment plant, which has the capacity to handle the additional input. Building the pipe and four pumping stations along Route 66 will cause some disruption to traffic and affect approximately 30 properties along the route. Construction is projected to begin in June 2018, and last a full year, until June 2019. The existing wastewater plant would be decommissioned in November 2019. The project is expected to cost more than $8.5 million. The Columbia County Board of Supervisors will next meet 7:30 p.m., Wed., Jul. 12, at 401 State Street, Hudson. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

Richard Moody is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the two-week search for Palenville native Steven Beare was officially called off Wed., Jun. 28. The Catskill High School graduate went missing while climbing Mount Elbrus in Russia. He began his ascent on June 14, but failed to check in with an official and his wife, Olivia, on June 16. Olivia said in a statement this week that the private search team hired by the family was packing and leaving Russia on Friday. Beare is believed to have disappeared during a snowstorm as he scaled the face of the 18,510-foot-high mountain, the highest peak in Europe. “I do not want to give up hope,” said Greene County Legislator Matt Luvera, who knows Steven and Olivia Bear from St. Patrick’s Church in Catskill. “I ask everyone to support the family any way they can and to pray for them.” Read the full story at Hudson Valley 360 [dot] com.

The Daily Freeman is reporting app-based, ride-hailing services are up and running in upstate New York. Both Uber and Lyft became available to areas outside of New York City as of 12:01 a.m.,Thu., Jun. 29, under legislation signed into law by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo this month. The original bill called for the services to begin upstate and on Long Island July 9, but the governor and the Legislature worked out a deal that pushed the start date to just before the Fourth of July holiday. The state Department of Motor Vehicles reports that more than 20,000 drivers have filed information with the DMV to become drivers for the two apps. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Akum Norder reports in Capitol Confidential that the New York State Assembly passed a bill at 1 a.m. June 29 in the “extraordinary” session of the legislature. The legislature concluded last week but is back now since it did not complete several important issues. The bill, currently in a Senate conference but expected to pass in some form later in the day, has a two-year mayoral control of NYC schools extension; a local sales tax extension for upstate counties; a Lake Ontario flood-relief package; and it renames the Tappan Zee Bridge the Mario Cuomo Bridge. “This extraordinary session is extraordinarily embarrassing for our state,” said Queens Democrat Sen. Michael Gianaris. “It’s like we never left,” said Jeff Klein, a Senate Democrat who votes with Republicans. And from Brooklyn Assemblyman Charles Barron: “Some people just don’t know how to respectfully use power.” There was no ethics reform included in the bill even though Cuomo vowed in January it was a top priority, and many Albany lawmakers have been jailed on corruption charges recently. Read the full story in Capitol Confidential.

The Mid-Hudson News Network reports in The Daily Freeman that on June 28 in Poughkeepsie the Environmental Protect Agency held the first of two public hearings, explaining why they are not cleaning up all the PCB's General Electric dumped in the Hudson River last century. “The PCBs are spread out in a huge area of 200 miles,” Gary Klawinski, the EPA’s field office director for the Hudson River, explained. “It’s not feasible to take all those PCBs out, unfortunately.” Instead, in 15 years, people will only be able to eat one fish meal from the Hudson River every two months, according to health recommendations. It will take more than 55 years before all local species of fish from the Hudson RIver are safe enough for some people to eat once a week. Representatives of Scenic Hudson, Riverkeeper, and local government officials weren't happy about that. “General Electric has conducted an extensive cleanup in the upper Hudson, but they left thousands of pounds of PCBs behind, Superfund caliber contaminants, meaning the most hazardous waste in the country. Those are still in the upper Hudson and they are flowing over the Troy dam and contaminating the lower Hudson,” Scenic Hudson President Ned Sullivan said. “Our fish are not safe to eat, our drinking water is threatened; our air is unsafe. It’s time for a complete and comprehensive cleanup.” The EPA holds a second public hearing at 6 p.m. Wed., July 19 at the The Saratoga Hilton, 534 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

Matt Coyne at lohud.com reports that the Coast Guard has called off, for now, an attempt to create ten anchorage sites on the Hudson River between Poughkeepsie and Yonkers for large barges. The Coast Guard said it would, "suspend future rulemaking decisions" on the proposal that was supported by the commercial shipping industry and opposed by environmental groups and most local elected officials. In recent days the legislature in Albany passed a bill blocking the anchorages, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo had not signed that bill at the time of the Coast Guard's announcement. Cuomo has not said whether he will sign the legislation or not. Read the full story at lohud.com.

Local weather forecast:
TODAY: Mostly cloudy. High near 85. Friday night, mostly cloudy. Low around 68. The National Weather Service in Albany is predicting strong to severe thunderstorms on both Friday and Saturday, mainly during the afternoon and evening hours. The storms have the potential to become severe, producing damaging winds and large hail. Heavy rainfall will also be possible.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
SATURDAY: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 3 p.m. Mostly cloudy. High near 87. Saturday night, showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 2 a.m. Low around 67.
SUNDAY: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8 a.m. Partly sunny. High near 85. Sunday night, partly cloudy. Low around 62.

Sunrise today: 5:22 a.m.
Sunset today: 8:35 p.m.
LENGTH OF THE DAY: 15:12 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS
Today is the fifth Friday of the month.

WGXC is unaware of any recurring meetings scheduled for today.

POLITICAL EVENTS
Weekly events:
Citizen Action HV Action Night, 5:30 p.m., every Tuesday at 7 Grand Street, Kingston. Information at hudsonvalley@citizenactionny.org, or facebook.com/HVCitizenActionNY.
New Paltz Climate Action Coalition, 5 p.m., every Thursday at New Paltz Village Hall, 23 Plattekill Ave., New Paltz. Information at (845) 399-247 or newpaltzclimateaction@gmail.com.
Faso Friday, 12 p.m., every Friday at U.S. Rep. John Faso's District Office, 2 Hudson Street, Kinderhook. Information at erinpersists@gmail.com.

DOWNLOAD or PLAY the audio version of the local news headlines for Thu., Jun. 29 (6:45). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

Daniel Zuckerman is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the owner of Hunter Mountain announced last week its plans to expand the resort's skiable acreage by approximately 25 to 30 percent. Peak Resorts said in a statement the expansion will include the addition of intermediate trails between the Main Face and Hunter West areas on land already owned by the resort. A parking area and detachable high-speed chairlift will also be built. The project is expected to cost around $9 million and Peaks hopes to have it finished by the start of the 2018-2019 ski season. The expansion has been an idea floated for years and Hunter’s goal is to increase its intermediate terrains, Hunter Mountain Marketing Director Katie O’Connor said. “It’s very exciting for our us and our guests,” O’Connor said. “It’s the first time in years and years we’ve added trails.” The resort will file an application with the Hunter Planning Board, and work with the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection on the project. Read the full story at Hudson Valley 360 [dot] com.

Amanda Purcell is reporting in the Register-Star declared Hudson mayoral candidate Fred Starke was arrested and charged Wed., Jun. 28, after he allegedly threatened court officers. He is accused by Hudson police of making the threat via social media in February and April, and again on Mon., Jun. 26. The threat was made “against more than one person employed by the court system,” District Attorney Paul Czajka said. Purcell identified one of the alleged victims as Jonathan Nichols, a Columbia County Court judge, but the DA's office declined to confirm that Nichols was among those threatened. Following his arraignment Wednesday, Starke was remanded without bail to the Columbia County Jail. His next court date will be scheduled as soon as a judge from outside the county is available. Stark is the second Hudson mayoral candidate to recently run afoul of the law. Earlier this month, Earl Swanigan was charged with inappropriate touching a woman as he went door-to-door collecting signatures on a nominating petition. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

William J. Kemble is reporting in the Daily Freeman the Rhinebeck Town Board Mon., Jun. 26, adopted a law requiring that one of every 10 proposed residential units built in the town be affordable. However, the law permits developers to pay a fee of $1 per square foot for each unit they seek to exempt from that requirement. Critics of the law say the fees assessed would be less than the cost of constructing affordable housing. A trust fund supporting affordable housing projects will be established by the town. Costs covered by that account would include consulting and legal fees for affordable housing projects; and infrastructure such as roads, water and sewer. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said she was pleased June 27 when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pulled the Republican tax cut and health cut bill from a possible vote this week. “Health care in America should be a right, not a privilege. The decision to pull back a vote on the disastrous GOP health care bill was the right one. But make no mistake, just like the House of Representatives did after their initial failure, I take Majority Leader McConnell at his word that he will bring the bill back to the floor.... Obamacare is not perfect and it is far too expensive for many in our state. I stand ready to work in a bipartisan manner to make improvements to the law that would benefit New Yorkers. Specifically, I believe that all New Yorkers should be able to buy into Medicare at a price they can afford," Gillibrand's statement read.

The Daily Freeman reports that the TV show “Road Trip Masters” will be on the mountains in Greene County this week, filming at Scribner’s Lodge, the village of Tannersville, the Tannersville Bike Path, New York Zipline Adventures and the Villa Vosilla Resort. The show, in the area through July 1, is hosted by educators Nick Kessler and Brian Fulmer who tell travel stories in their 1968 convertible Cadillac DeVille. The show airs on Discovery, Destination America and American Heroes, as well as Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and Roku, but episodes with this filming won't air until next January. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

Local weather forecast:
TODAY: Mostly cloudy. High near 81. There is a chance of non-severe thunderstorms Thursday evening and overnight, as a warm front moves through the area. Mostly cloudy. Low around 66.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
FRIDAY: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after noon. Some the storms could produce heavy rain. Partly sunny. High near 86. Friday night, a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 5 a.m. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Mostly cloudy. Low around 68.
SATURDAY: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 2 p.m. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Mostly cloudy. High near 87. Saturday night, showers and thunderstorms likely before 2 a.m., then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 2 a.m. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Mostly cloudy. Low around 68.

Sunrise today: 5:22 a.m.
Sunset today: 8:35 p.m.
LENGTH OF THE DAY: 15:13 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS
Today is the fifth Thursday of the month.

WGXC suggests calling ahead to confirm time and location.
All numbers are in the 518 area code unless otherwise noted.

COLUMBIA County Board of Supervisors Finance Committee meeting, 3 p.m. at 401 State Street, Hudson (828-1527).
COXSACKIE Town Board workshop meeting, 6 p.m. at Town Hall, 16 Reed Street, Coxsackie (731-2727).
GREENE County County-wide Shared Services Initiative meeting, 4 p.m. at county Emergency Control and Training Center, 25 Volunteer Drive, Cairo (622-3643).

POLITICAL EVENTS
Weekly events:
Citizen Action HV Action Night, 5:30 p.m., every Tuesday at 7 Grand Street, Kingston. Information at hudsonvalley@citizenactionny.org, or facebook.com/HVCitizenActionNY.
New Paltz Climate Action Coalition, 5 p.m., every Thursday at New Paltz Village Hall, 23 Plattekill Ave., New Paltz. Information at (845) 399-247 or newpaltzclimateaction@gmail.com.
Faso Friday, 12 p.m., every Friday at U.S. Rep. John Faso's District Office, 2 Hudson Street, Kinderhook. Information at erinpersists@gmail.com.

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local news update for Wed., Jun. 28 (2:08). (Produced by Alanna Medlock.)