Local weather forecast:
TODAY: Sunny. High near 62. Friday night, mostly clear. Low around 35.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
SATURDAY: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy. Low around 52. Saturday night, a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy. Low around 52.
SUNDAY: A slight chance of showers before 7 a.m., then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. Partly sunny. High near 81. Sunday night, a chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11 p.m., then a slight chance of showers between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 49.

Sunrise today: 6:14 a.m.
Sunset today: 7:36 p.m.
LENGTH OF THE DAY: 13:22 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS
Today is the second Friday of the month.

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

HUDSON Historic Preservation Commission meeting, 10 a.m. at Hudson City Hall, 520 Warren St., Hudson (828-1030).

POLITICAL EVENTS
Weekly event:

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.

Albany March for Science, 3 p.m., Apr. 22 at Washington Avenue near Capitol. In concert with the DC March for Science.
People's Climate March Hudson, 12 p.m., Apr. 29; begins in the Hudson Public Square (7th Street Park). Sister march to the People's Climate March in Washington D.C. Scheduled speakers: Ned Sullivan of Scenic Hudson, state Assembly member Did Barrett, Livingston Town Board member Will Yandik, and Michelle O'Leary from the Hoosick Falls-based NY Water Project.
Day without Immigrants Strike, May 1, details to come. No work, no school and no shopping for a day.
People's March for Free Press, 12 p.m., May 13, at 5th Avenue and 42nd Street, New York. March and rally in support of the press and free speech.

Brendan J. Lyons reports in The Albany Times Union that a month after investigators with the state attorney general's office seized the Rensselaer County District Attorney's cell phone, they now have taken his email records. Rensselaer County District Attorney Joel E. Abelove is being investigated for his handling of a fatal police shooting last year. "We do not know anything about a search warrant and we are confident that there is nothing in his emails which would support allegations of inappropriate let alone criminal activity," John W. Bailey, Abelove's attorney, said. "We are confident that a neutral and impartial judge would tailor a very specific warrant targeting very specific emails." Abelove did not call two witnesses to a grand jury that would have testified that they did not believe the Troy police officer was in imminent danger when he opened fire and killed Edson Thevenin. Brendan J. Lyons reports in The Albany Times Union

DOWNLOAD or PLAY the audio version of the local news headlines for Thu., Apr. 13 (8:12). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

Victoria Addison is reporting in the Register-Star U.S. Rep. John Faso will appear in what is being billed as a televised town hall meeting Thursday night in the studios of WMHT in Troy. Tickets for the show are "no longer available,' Faso's communications director Courtney Weaver said. A total of 80 seats were made available in the studio for the event, she said. "Those 80 seats were all spoken for in two hours," Weaver added. "They are all constituents of the congressman’s district." Constituents can view the program on the PBS affiliate WMHT, or online at Faso [dot] House [dot] gov, beginning at 8 p.m. Constituents can submit questions via Twitter using the hashtag #FasoTownHall. Faso said WMHT will accept questions online and the moderators will mix online questions with those posed by audience members. The conversation will be moderated by Matt Ryan of New York NOW, and Casey Seiler, Times Union state editor and columnist. Citizens Action NY and Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood have organized a "Save Our Care" rally outside the television studio beginning at 7:30 p.m. Faso has steadfastly refused to hold traditional, in-person town hall meetings in the district since joining Congress in January and has said he has no plans to change that practice, choosing to meet with smaller groups instead. Faso also refuses to publish his schedule online, as his predecessor Chris Gibson did. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

Victoria Addison is reporting in the Register-Star three popular businesses will vacate their current location on the first floor of 21 Green Street in Hudson, within the next month. Anita Forde, the California-based owner of the building said Subway, Carvel ice cream and the laundromat are not going out of business, but are moving to a new spot. “Had the owners wanted to sign a lease and stay that would have been fine with us,” Forde said. “I think they have another place they are moving into, which ends up being a great opportunity for us to bring the building back to life.” Forde sees great potential in the three-story building she and her husband purchased in July 2016. “We are hoping to create an area where locals can meet and we think that corner could be really great with some amazing businesses,” Forde said. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

William J. Kemble is reporting in the Daily Freeman the Woodstock Town Board is contemplating what to do about the proliferation of short-term rentals in the town. At the board's April 11 public meeting, residents aired complaints about properties being purchased with the sole intention of operating Airbnb-type rental businesses. The complaints about short-term rentals in Woodstock have included loud music, trash problems and unsafe drivers. A recent survey at Airbnb.com indicated that approximately 100 rentals available in Woodstock currently operate without owners in residence. Town law requires that anyone renting all or some of their homes for periods of less than a week obtain the same town permit required for bed-and-breakfasts, and that permit requires occupancy by the owner. Town Supervisor Bill McKenna noted there was a previous request to review short-term rentals but that board members at the time declined to proceed. McKenna suggested the town deal with short-term rental complaints as they come into the Building Department and consider putting money in the town’s 2018 budget to crack down on violators. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

William J. Kemble reports in The Daily Freeman that the developer of a proposed Holiday Inn Express hotel in Saugerties at Exit 20 on the I-87 Thruway wants nearly $2 million in tax breaks from the Ulster County Industrial Development Agency. The proposed four-story hotel would have 86 rooms and ten employees and cost $6.9 million to build. The developer, Bipin Patel, owns two hotels near Exit 19 in Ulster. Saugerties NY Development is requesting a 15-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes deal for the Saugerties site. The agency has agreed to a public hearing but has not scheduled a date. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

Joseph Spector reports in the Poughkeepsie Journal that local government leaders are upset about Gov. Andrew Cuomo's mandate to drop everything and consider ways to share services. While lowering costs with shared services may be a good idea, the governor's plan says the local proposals must go to the county legislative body by Aug. 1, with three public hearings held, and plans finalized by Sept. 15. "The 'plan' is an insult to local officials across NY," Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro wrote Tuesday on Twitter. "We share & we save - we call it governing. NY needs to take responsibility." Molinaro, a Republican, is being listed as a possible challenger to Cuomo in 2018.

Lisa W. Foderaro reports in The New York Times that there are many things in the new New York state budget, but you won't find any ethics reform in there. While there have been recent convictions of the leaders of both the Assembly and the Senate, and indictments against some of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s associates, ethics reform was left out of the budget. “This year, it was all rhetoric and no action,” said Blair Horner, executive director of the nonprofit New York Public Interest Research Group. “When this governor is ginned up to make something happen, you can tell. He barnstorms the state; it’s a constant talking point. He deserves credit for including the reforms in the budget, but when it came to ethics, the sounds you heard were crickets.” Read the full story in The New York Times.

Robert Downen reports in The Albany Times Union that while marijuana may still be mostly illegal in New York, rollbacks to regulations in the 2018 state budget make growing hemp possible now. The 2014 U.S. Farm Bill left hemp regulation to the states, and at least 28 have started hemp pilot programs since then. "In the United States we really don't grow any textiles, so every article of clothing that we wear is sourced from another country," said Scott Giannotti, founder of the (New York) Cannabis and Hemp Association. "(Hemp) is an opportunity for a mid-sized or large-scale fashion company to say, 'Hey I want something that's different. I want something that's going to be disruptive in the fashion world. ... It may not be cheaper, but there's something to be said about quality and sustainability." Last year there were only two licences in New York for hemp farming, but the new state budget eliminates the cap on the number of farms allowed to research, grow, and process the plant as an agricultural commodity. Read the full story in The Albany Times Union.

Local weather forecast:
TODAY: Partly sunny. High near 57. Thursday night, partly cloudy. Low around 35.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
FRIDAY: Sunny. High near 61. Friday night, mostly clear. Low around 36.
SATURDAY: A chance of showers after 2 p.m. Partly sunny. High near 63. Saturday night, a chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 51.

Sunrise today: 6:15 a.m.
Sunset today: 7:35 p.m.
LENGTH OF THE DAY: 13:19 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS
Today is the second Thursday of the month.

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

CHATHAM Village Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 77 Main Street, Chatham (392-5821).
CLAVERACK Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 91 Church St., Mellenville (672-7911).
COPAKE Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 230 Mountainview Road, Copake (329-1234).
GALLATIN Town Board meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 667 Route 7, Ancram (398-7519).
GREENE County Legislature Finance Audit Committee meeting, 4 p.m. at 411 Main Street, Catskill (719-3200).
HUDSON Planning Board meeting, 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 520 Warren St., Hudson (828-1030).
KINDERHOOK Planning Board workshop meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 4 Church St, Niverville (784-2233).
LIVINGSTON Town board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 119 County Route 19.
NEW BALTIMORE Planning board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 3809 County Route 51, Hannacroix (756-6671).
STUYVESANT Town board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 5 Sunset Drive, Stuyvesant (758-6248).
WINDHAM Town board meeting, 8 p.m. at Town Hall, 371 State Rt. 296, Hensonville (734-4170).
WINDHAM-ASHLAND-JEWETT Board of Education meeting, 7 p.m. in school library, 5411 State Route 23, Windham (734-3400).

POLITICAL EVENTS
Weekly event:

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.

Rally at Faso Town Hall to Save Our Care, 7:30 p.m., Apr. 13, at WMHT Public Media, 4 Global View, Troy. Rally outside for the 8 p.m. Town Hall with U.S. Rep. John Faso on a special broadcast of New York NOW. Organized by Citizen Action NY and Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood.
Albany March for Science, 3 p.m., Apr. 22 at Washington Avenue near Capitol. In concert with the DC March for Science.
People's Climate March Hudson, 12 p.m., Apr. 29; begins in the Hudson Public Square (7th Street Park). Sister march to the People's Climate March in Washington D.C. Scheduled speakers: Ned Sullivan of Scenic Hudson, state Assembly member Did Barrett, Livingston Town Board member Will Yandik, and Michelle O'Leary from the Hoosick Falls-based NY Water Project.
Day without Immigrants Strike, May 1, details to come. No work, no school and no shopping for a day.
People's March for Free Press, 12 p.m., May 13, at 5th Avenue and 42nd Street, New York. March and rally in support of the press and free speech.

DOWNLOAD or PLAY the audio version of the local news headlines for Wed., Apr. 12 (7:57). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

Rosa Acheson and Victoria Addison are reporting for Columbia-Greene Media officials in Greene and Columbia counties said Tue., Apr. 11, newly authorized ride-booking companies like Uber and Lyft, will benefit local tourism and safety, and also help people in rural areas get around. The 2017-18 state budget authorized Transportation Network Companies to operate across the state. Local residents are expected to have access to services by summer. The Greene County Legislature has received input from business and hotel owners that access to ride-booking services would be a good thing, Windham Legislator Lori Torgersen said. But Torgersen questioned how services such as Uber could affect taxis that operate on the mountaintop. "I think we want to figure this out in such a way that it doesn’t hurt our local businesses in any way," she said. Columbia County Board of Supervisors Chairman Matt Murell said ride-booking will be a good thing for the county. "Especially in a rural county like ours," Murell said, "transportation is a positive thing, especially at night and evenings. We have some public transportation, but nothing during the evening hours and I think this would help with that." Law enforcement in both counties, including the Columbia County Sheriff's Office, Hudson Police Department and Greene County sheriff Greg Seeley, are all in favor of ride-booking services. Seeley thinks services such as Uber could help prevent drunk driving "It will help if people use it," he added. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

Matt Hamilton is reporting in the Times Union Will Yandik of Livingston, who unsuccessfully competed 2016 19th Congressional District Democratic primary, will not run in 2018. Yandik make the announcement Tue., Apr. 11, saying he was grateful for the encouragement from supporters in recent months, but "now is not the right time for me and my family to run for Congress." Yandik holds a seat on the Livingston Town Board. He lost the primary to Zephyr Teachout; Teachout eventually lost to Kinderhook Republican John Faso in the general election. Politico New York reported recently that Teachout does not intend to run again in 2018. The Democratic field for next year already has three candidates: Antonio Delgado of Dutchess County, Steve Brisee of Ulster County and Brian Flynn of Greene County have filed statements of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Robert Downen is reporting in the Times Union New York farmers and food bank operators have won a long-sought tax credit for food donations. The credit gives farmers a 25 percent exemption on the cost of donations to food banks and emergency food programs, in amounts up to $5,000. The measure was adopted as part of the 2017 state budget. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo long opposed such a measure, saying it would duplicate existing tax benefits, but he encouraged the New York Farm Bureau to push for the credit through the state budget. In 2016, state farmers donated more than 13 million pounds of food, the second highest amount for any state in the country, according to the American Farm Bureau. New York food banks praised the bill as a way to encourage fresh, nutritious food donations. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Brian Nearing reports in The Albany Times Union that lakes in the Northeast and elsewhere in the U.S. are getting saltier, a report released April 10 shows. Salt applied to roads in the winter caused saline levels to rise in the New York City reservoirs in Schoharie County, as well as Cannonsville and Pepacton, Delaware County, and Neversink, Sullivan County. All told, four in ten lakes across the Northeast were saltier, according to the report. Katherine Weathers, an ecosystem ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Dutchess County co-authored the study with Hilary Dugan, now a lake and waterbody sciences professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Weathers said they found that lakes near paved roads, parking lots, and other surfaces receiving road salt were saltier. The conservation group Fund for Lake George guesses that 30,000 metric tons of road salt are added to state and local roads in the Lake George basin. That's enough salt to fill 300 rail cars, three-miles long. "Road salt is being called the acid rain of our time with good reason. This study shows the breadth of a problem that only grows worse," said Eric Siy, executive director of the fund. A recent study from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy found excessive salt can skew the gender balance of frog offspring to disproportionately female, 60 percent to 40 percent. Read the full story in The Albany Times Union.

Jimmy McCarthy reports in the Post Journal that while the recent Republican healthcare planned died in Congress without a vote, the amendment to the bill from Rep. John Faso (R-Kinderhook) is still alive. Faso amended the Republican healthcare plan before he voted for it in committee. The amendment shifts Medicaid costs in New York from counties to the state. The amendment started a Twitter war with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who was opposed. Faso and other Republican lawmakers claimed New Yorkers would save around $350 on their property taxes under the amendment, but did not say what the increase in their state taxes would be if the plan was implemented. Rep. Tom Reed from Corning, New York said the amendment is still alive in Washington, and will return as Republicans make a second effort to pass legislation. “Health care debate will be a 12-month window. I think going on spring break for two weeks will allow members to decompress and refocus the effort when we return,” he said. Read the full story in the Post Journal.

The Project has received word that Mr. Sonny Rollins "would be honored" to have the bridge… https://t.co/ExcAz3LFqc

— Sonny Rollins Bridge (@RollinsBridge) April 10, 2017

Amanda Petrusich reports in The New Yorker that there are efforts to rename the Williamsburg Bridge in New York City after jazz legend Sonny Rollins, who moved from Germantown to Woodstock a few years ago. Rollins famously practiced on top of the bridge's pedestrian foot path for two years before releasing his classic "The Bridge" record in 1962. Now a group of jazz historians are pushing for renaming the bridge after Rollins. Organizers say Rollins has given their effort his blessing. Read the full story in The New Yorker.

After floating a trial balloon last week about running for governor in New York, Donald Trump, Jr. took out his shotgun April 10 to blast it. "I am not running in 2018," Trump told the Associated Press.

Local weather forecast:
TODAY: Showers likely, mainly before 9 a.m. Cloudy through mid-morning, the gradually clearing. High near 64. Wednesday night, partly cloudy. Low around 39.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
THURSDAY: Mostly sunny. High near 58. Thursday night, partly cloudy. Low around 35.
FRIDAY: Sunny. High near 61. Friday night, mostly clear. Low around 37.

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

PUBLIC MEETINGS
Today is the second Wednesday of the month.

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

CATSKILL Board of Education Budget Workshop, 7 p.m. at high school, 341 Main Street, Catskill (943-4696).
CATSKILL Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 6 p.m. at Town Hall, 439 Main St., Catskill (943-2141).
CATSKILL Village Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Washington Irving Senior Center, 15 Academy Street, Catskill (943-1343).
COLUMBIA County Board of Supervisors meeting, 7:30 p.m. at 401 State Street, Hudson (828-1527).
COXSACKIE Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, Reed St., Coxsackie (731-2727).
GREENE County Mental Health / Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services Sub-committee meeting, 3:30 p.m.; County Legislature Budget Workshop, 6 p.m. at 411 Main Street, Caucus Room, Catskill (719-3200)
GERMANTOWN Board of Education meeting, 6:30 p.m. at elementary school, 123 Main Street, Germantown (537-6281, ext. 302.
HILLSDALE Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, Main St., Hillsdale (325-7563).
NEW LEBANON Board of Education Policy Committee and regular meeting, 6 p.m. at elementary school, 1478 Route 20, New Lebanon (794-7600).
STOCKPORT Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 2787 Atlantic Ave., Stottville (828-9389).

POLITICAL EVENTS
Weekly event:

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.

Rally at Faso Town Hall to Save Our Care, 7:30 p.m., Apr. 13, at WMHT Public Media, 4 Global View, Troy. Rally outside for the 8 p.m. Town Hall with U.S. Rep. John Faso on a special broadcast of New York NOW. Organized by Citizen Action NY and Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood.
Albany March for Science, 3 p.m., Apr. 22 at Washington Avenue near Capitol. In concert with the DC March for Science.
People's Climate March Hudson, 12 p.m., Apr. 29; begins in the Hudson Public Square (7th Street Park). Sister march to the People's Climate March in Washington D.C. Scheduled speakers: Ned Sullivan of Scenic Hudson, state Assembly member Did Barrett, Livingston Town Board member Will Yandik, and Michelle O'Leary from the Hoosick Falls-based NY Water Project.
Day without Immigrants Strike, May 1, details to come. No work, no school and no shopping for a day.
People's March for Free Press, 12 p.m., May 13, at 5th Avenue and 42nd Street, New York. March and rally in support of the press and free speech.