Amanda Purcell is reporting in the Register-Star Hudson Third Ward resident and Planning Board Chairman Tom DePietro announced his candidacy for Common Council President, Tue., Jun. 6. DePietro made the announcement to the Register-Star during an in-person interview. He was appointed to the planning board in 2015, and has served as its chairman since January 2016. DePietro has also served with the Industrial Development Agency and the Hudson Community Development and Planning Agency. This is DePietro's second run for council president; he first ran in 2015. "I am happy to accept endorsement from any parties," DePietro said about his current effort. "Anybody will have a place at the table. To think of it in terms of national parties is almost meaningless. It’s about bringing all the people in Hudson together in some fashion." If elected, DePietro said he would establish a new committee for housing and transportation. "The two main issues I hear is getting people who are car-less to and from the grocery store, and getting people to and from the community college," he said. "None of the [council] committees speak to those issues. And yet, those are the two most pressing issues for a lot of Hudson residents." DISCLOSURE: DePietro is an active WGXC programmer. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

Brian Hubert is reporting in the Daily Freeman Hunter Mountain hosts the annual Taste of Country Festival this weekend with headliners Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert and Sam Hunt. Dhruv Prasad, executive vice president of live events at Townsquare Media, which produces the festival, said he expects attendance this year to exceed last year's record of 53,000 during the three-day festival. “We’re definitely going to have more people this year than last year,” Prasad said. “We’re utilizing more areas than ever before.” The festival, in its fifth year, will kick off Thu., Jun. 8, with a campground party and run through Sun., Jun. 11. Prasad said up to two-thirds of festivalgoers camp out at the site, filling the mountainside and two off-site camping areas. Townsquare also helps produce Mountain Jam. That three-day jam band festival will be held at Hunter Mountain next weekend, Jun. 16 to Jun. 18. Taste of Country runs Friday through Sunday at Hunter Mountain, 64 Klein Ave., Hunter. Information is available at Taste of Country Festival [dot] com. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Richard Moody is reporting in The Daily Mail beginning Wed., Jun. 7, applications for New York's new Excelsior Scholarship Program become available, and Columbia-Greene Community College officials see the program has a helpful recruitment tool. "Because of the nature of our place, anything that encourages people to enroll is welcome," College President James Campion said. Excelsior covers the difference between tuition and other financial aid a student receives. New regulations allow some flexibility for students, such as permitting the interruption of study and authorizing disabled students to attend part-time and receive a pro-rated award. Campion said the more flexibility the state can add, the better it will be for Columbia-Greene’s current and prospective students. Campion said 25 percent of the school’s students have their tuition paid for by grants. On average, he said, 63 percent of Columbia-Greene students graduate with no debt. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

Emilia Teasdale reports in The Columbia Paper that Mayor Tom Curran hopes that charging the public to use taxpayer facilities will "encourage" more public use of the town's buildings and parks. “The fees should be set to encourage the use of village property, to encourage businesses [and] organizations to come to the village to hold events,” Mayor Tom Curran said before the May 25 meeting when the town voted to raise fees. Now, Chatham will charge a $1,000 fee for closing Main Street for events and $550 fee for closing Park Row, using the second floor of the Tracy Memorial/Village Hall costs $30 and the full building is $60 for a one-day event. The town gazebo and the green space around it will cost $30, and using the parking lot at Depot Square will cost $75. Using the parking lot near the Tracy Memorial would also cost $75. Chatham Area Business and Arts President Tom Chulak noted that Chatham is now the only village charging fees to use public spaces. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

The Daily Freeman reports that the Sullivan County farm that hosted the Woodstock concert in 1969 has been added to the State and National Registers of Historic Places, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced June 6. Nothing much else besides cows grazing happened at Max Yasgur’s dairy farm except for 400,000 people showing up for a few days in 1969 to see Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and The Who. The Bethel Woods Center for the Arts performance venue and The Museum at Bethel Woods opened years after the concert, because of interest in the event. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

Daniel Zuckerman reports in The Daily Mail that Rep. John Faso (R-Kinderhook) spoke to Greene County Republicans June 4. While Congressperson Faso sometimes does not announce public appearances until a few hours before he makes them, and has not held traditional town hall meetings like Democratic and Republican predecessors Scott Murphy and Chris Gibson, he did mingle with the Greene County Republican Committee at 25th annual Joe Garland Memorial Family Picnic in Freehold. Faso claimed a tax bill and passing the American Health Care Act are on his agenda for the next two weeks. Faso also claimed to be open to holding town meetings but then said, “What we’ve seen around the country is these town halls, so to speak, that are used as really just a means to wave signs and shout.... That’s not something conducive for constituents to be able to ask a question and hear an answer.” Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Click here to download or play the June 6 Catskill town meeting, recorded from a live WGXC webstream.

Matthew Hamilton in Capitol Confidential reports New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said June 6 that Rep. John Faso and other House Republicans from New York have violated their oaths of office and defrauded voters. “And we are telling you those are not just words,” Cuomo said, vowing, for the first time in recent years, to campaign hard for the Democratic opponents to Faso and other New York Republicans in Congress. “Today I charge Congressmen Faso and Collins and their colleagues with violating their oath of office to represent the interest of the people of the state of New York,” Cuomo said to cheers at a New York City rally. “I also charge them with defrauding the voters of this state. They said they would help their districts, they said they would help the struggling middle class. They’re doing the exact opposite.” Cuomo has only donated his own money to a New York Democrat running in a Congressional race once since 2011, and twice since 2006. Faso responded saying it is, "hard to see when you observe the hysterical...reactions from Mr. Cuomo that he has...interest in governing," and, "It’s pretty sad that the governor, instead of looking to work cooperatively with the congressional delegation is seeking to engage in politics 18 months before the election." Read the full story in Capitol Confidential.

Today is Day 1 of the WGXC Radios in Motion 2017 Spring Pledge Drive. During the coming days, WGXC programmers, volunteers and staff must raise $20,000 to keep WGXC Hands-on Radio on the air, live and local during the coming months. Your support will make all the difference. Call (518) 697-7400 or go online to wgxc.org [slash] donate. Thank you for supporting creative community radio in New York's Greene and Columbia counties.

Local weather forecast:
TODAY: Patchy fog before 7 a.m. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny. High near 70. Wednesday night, patchy fog after 2 a.m. Otherwise, mostly clear. Low around 48.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
THURSDAY: Patchy fog before 8 a.m. Otherwise, mostly sunny. High near 75. Thursday night, a slight chance of showers after 11 p.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 50.
FRIDAY: A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2 p.m. Partly sunny. High near 74. Friday night, a chance of thunderstorms before 8 p.m. Partly cloudy. Low around 54.

Sunrise today: 5:19 a.m.
Sunset today: 8:29 p.m.
LENGTH OF THE DAY: 15:10 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS
Today is the first Wednesday of the month.

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

COPAKE Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 230 Mt. View Road, Copake (329-1234).
GREENE County Legislature Health Workshop meeting, 5 p.m.; Health Services Committee, County Resources Committee and Public Safety Committee meetings, 6 p.m. at 411 Main Street, Catskill (719-3200).
GREENPORT Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 600 Town Hall Drive, Greenport (828-4656).
GREENVILLE Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 11159 Route 32, Greenville (966-5055).
HUDSON Common Council Youth and Aging Committee meeting, 5:30 p.m.; Arts, Entertainment and Tourism Committee meeting, 6:45 p.m., at City Hall, 520 Warren St., Hudson (828-1030).
JEWETT Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 7 p.m. at municipal building, 3547 Co. Rte. 23C, Jewett (263-4646).
KINDERHOOK Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 4 Church St, Niverville (784-2233).
PRATTSVILLE Planning Board meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 14517 Main St., Prattsville (299-3125).
VALATIE Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Martin H. Glynn Municipal Building, 3211 Church St., Valatie (758-9806).

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.

Rock the Resistance, 4 p.m., 11 June at Bearsville Theater, 291 Tinker Street, Woodstock. Showcase of progressive organizations. Representatives of NY19Votes, Planned Parenthood of the Mid-Hudson Valley, Riverkeeper, IndivisibleNY19, Healthcare Education Project, Kingston Area Sanctuary Movement and other groups scheduled to speak. Hosted by Andrea Barrist Stern.
Rally for Voting Rights, 11:30 a.m., June 13 at West Capitol Park, Albany. Rally calling for five reforms to voting laws including early voting, automatic voter registration, restoration of parolee voting rights and more. Hosted by Citizen Action of New York.
Sentencing Rally for Albany Bus Incident Defendants, 9 a.m., June 16, at Albany County Judicial Center, 6 Lodge Street, Albany. Hosted by Indefensible.
Training in Non-violent Direct Action, 10 a.m., June 17 at 680 Central Avenue, Albany. Participants will learn about action and support roles, handling aggression, legalities and group decision-making. Hosted by PAUSE.

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local news update for Tuesday, June 6 (4:07). (Produced by Alanna Medlock.)