DOWNLOAD or PLAY the audio version of the local news headlines for Tue., Mar. 14 (8:22). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

Rosa Acheson is reporting in The Daily Mail the investigation continues into the death of a Coxsackie man Fri., Mar. 10, after he drove his vehicle from the Coxsackie boat launch into the Hudson River. State police allege Jeffrey Dean, 48, assaulted a state trooper after being stopped for a vehicle and traffic violation before the crash. “Dean was from the area; he drove down to the boat launch — the turns he made and the boat launch itself suggested he was intentionally aiming for that,” state police Bureau of Criminal Investigation Capt. Pierce Gallagher said. Dean was born in Catskill and ran Dean's Mill in Coxsackie, the family business. Senior Investigator Pete Kusminsky said he could not reveal any details about why Dean was being stopped. Both investigators said any ideas on why Dean fled the officer would be speculation at this point. Dean was alone in the vehicle at the time of the incident. Police declined comment when asked about any items discovered in the car. Anyone with information about the incident may call the state police in Catskill at (518) 622-8600. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Rick Karlin is reporting at Capitol Confidential for the first time in recent memory, both the state Assembly and Senate have cancelled session on Tue., Mar. 14, due to the weather. Session is scheduled to resume Wednesday. Both houses were poised to pass their one-house budget bills this week. It is not yet known if lawmakers will stay in Albany an extra day Thursday this week to make up for lost time. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.

Closings and delays for Tue., Mar. 14:
[Updated: 3.14, 8:55 a.m.]

Cairo-Durham Central School District | Closed.
Catholic Charities of Columbia County | Closed, for services and staff.
Catholic Charities of Greene County | Closed, for services and staff.
Catskill Central School District | Closed.
Chatham Central School District | Closed. Board of Education meeting rescheduled to March 16.
Chatham Public Library | Closed.
Circle of Friends (Ravena) | Closed.
Coarc Adult Transportation | Closed. No transportation and all nonresidential programs are closed for staff and clients.
Columbia Christian Academy | Closed.
Columbia County Healthcare Consortium | Closed. No transportation.
Columbia County Nutrition Program (Philmont) | Closed. Staff report.
Columbia County WIC Program | Closed, for services and staff.
Columbia Opportunities Inc. | Closed. No tax appointments. No Head Start Policy Council meeting.
Columbia-Greene Community College | Closed.
Coxsackie-Athens Central School District | Closed.
Early Childhood Learning Center | Closed.
Germantown Central School District | Closed.
Germantown Library | Closed.
Grapeville Christian School | Closed.
Greene County Nutrition Program | Closed.
Greene County Offices | Closed.
Greene County Transit | Closed. Buses not running.
Greene County YMCA | Open. No morning classes. No evening classes. Closing at 6 p.m Closing at 9 a.m. No morning classes.
Greenville Central School District | Closed.
Hawthorne Valley School | Closed. All after-school activities are cancelled. Please check back for status of Wednesday classes.
Hudson City School District | Closed.
Hudson Day Care Center | Closed.
Hunter-Tannersville Central School District | Closed.
Ichabod Crane Central School District | Closed.
Kinderhook Memorial Library | Closed.
Little Wonders Early Childhood Education Center | Closed.
Mountain Road School | Closed.
Mrs. Puddle Duck's Childcare | Closed.
New Lebanon Central School District | Closed.
O.K. Kids Inc. | Closed.
Pine Plains Central School District | Closed. All offices closed.
Questar III Catskill Academy | Closed.
Questar III Columbia-Greene Educational Center | Closed. No BOCES Mar. 14.
Red Hook Central School District | Closed. All offices are closed.
Saugerties Central School District | Closed.
Taconic Hills Central School District | Closed.
The Church of St. Joseph Stuyvesant | Closed. No 9 a.m. mass. Office closed.
Twin County Recovery Services | Closed.
Ulster-Greene ARC (Catskill) | Closed. No transportation.
UMC Daycare Norton Hill | Closed. No morning or afternoon pre-K.
Warren Street Academy / The Bridge | Closed.
Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School District | Closed.

The city of Hudson has declared a snow emergency in advance of the anticipated arrival of Winter Storm Stella, beginning Tue., Mar. 14. At 12 a.m., all vehicles must be parked on the even side of the street for 20 hours. Beginning at 8 p.m., Tuesday, cars then must be moved to the odd side of the street and parked for 22 hours. Parking is permitted on only one side of the street in order to facilitate the maintenance or removal of snow, and to allow ample space for passage of emergency vehicles. At 6 p.m., Wednesday, the snow emergency ends. Snow removal will begin at 12:01 a.m., Thursday and continue for 12 hours; the process will be repeated at 12:01 a.m., Friday for 12 hours. Snow removal schedules are available on the city's website at city of Hudson [dot] org.

The village of Catskill has declared a snow emergency in advance of the anticipated nor'easter's arrival, overnight Mon., Mar. 13. The village snow emergency will begin at 8 a.m., Tue., Mar. 14. All vehicles should be parked on the even side of the street from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday. Cars must then be moved to the odd side of the street beginning at 8 p.m. Tuesday until 8 a.m. Wednesday. Drivers should then continue to move their vehicles every 12 hours until all snow is removed and the snow emergency is cancelled. Parking on Main Street, between Greene Street to Summit Avenue is prohibited from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. every night to make sure Main is the first street cleared. Municipal parking lots will be open. Vehicles found to be parked in violation of the snow emergency guidelines will be ticketed and/or towed.

Daniel Zuckerman is reporting in The Daily Mail on Catskill's summer concert series, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this summer. Organizer John Campisi is looking to “spice things up” this year, continuing the diverse array of music and a fireworks show, but he is also attempting to book a nationally recognized performer. The concerts are held at 7 p.m., every Thursday at Dutchman's Landing, and will begin on June 22 this year. The events are sponsored by the Heart of Catskill Association, and supported by the Bank of Greene County, Sawyer Chevrolet and the town of Catskill. Musician Lex Grey, of Catskill, has performed as part of the series several times over the years and will return with her band, the Urban Pioneers, on July 20, she said. Grey appreciates the diversity of the music performed and said the concert series not only guarantees “something awesome,” but it also brings the community together. “It’s wonderful that they’ve managed to pull it together every year,” Grey said. “You never know what you’re going to get on a Thursday.” Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

The Daily Freeman is reporting office supply retailer Staples will close 70 stores in North America this year, according to a quarterly earnings report on the company's website. Staples has not yet indicated which locations will close. The company has stores in the town of Ulster, Poughkeepsie, Wappingers Falls and Greenport. CNN Money reports Staples closed 48 stores last year and approximately 350 stores during the past five years. The Framingham, Mass.-based company said it lost $548 million during the last fiscal quarter, and saw a 3 percent decline in sales. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Bethany Bump is reporting in the Times Union Muslim families with children enrolled in the Albany city schools are hoping the district will choose to acknowledge their faith's two major religious holidays, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. A number of school districts around the country, including New York City and Burlington, Vermont, now close on those days. Albany district officials said Fri., Mar. 10, they are considering the request, and will have the calendar committee take it up for the 2017-18 school year. "To understand what Eid is, it is like having your child go to school on Christmas Day," said Wafia Sarwer, a member of the Islamic Center of the Capital District in Colonie. Most schools are closed on major Christian holidays, like Christmas and Good Friday. Because Albany has a large Jewish population schools are also closed for the high holidays — Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Islam's holidays fall on different days of the lunar calendar each year. Eid Al-Fitr is celebrated with a feast to mark the end of Ramadan and will fall on June 25 this year, two days after the last day of school. Al-Adha marks the end of the pilgrimage to Mecca and falls on Sept. 1, three days before Labor Day. Albany schools do not reconvene until after Labor Day. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Local weather forecast:

TODAY: The National Weather Service in Albany has issued a Blizzard Warning for the region through midnight, Wed., Mar. 15. Heavy snowfall, white-out conditions and blowing and drifting snow is expected. Some sleet may mix in across portions of the mid-Hudson Valley. Snow accumulations of 12 to 24 inches are expected. Snow will fall at the rate of two to four inches per hour throughout the day. Winds of 15 to 25 mph will be out of the northeast, with gusts up to 45 mph. Extremely dangerous travel conditions are expected due to snow-covered roads, plus white-out conditions along with blowing and drifting snow. The high will be near 26. Snow will continue Tuesday night. Cloudy. Low around 17.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
WEDNESDAY: A chance of snow before 8 a.m., then a chance of snow showers after 8 a.m. Cloudy. High near 27. Wednesday night, a slight chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy. Low around 14.
THURSDAY: Partly sunny. High near 28. Thursday night, partly cloudy. Low around 12.

Sunrise today: 7:07 a.m.
Sunset today: 7:01 p.m.
LENGTH OF THE DAY: 11:54 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS
Today is the second Tuesday of the month.

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

CATSKILL Planning Board meeting is cancelled (943-2141).
CATSKILL Village Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Washington Irving Senior Center, 15 Academy Street, Catskill (943-1343).
CHATHAM Board of Education meeting postponed to 6:30 p.m., Thu., Mar. 16, at high school, 50 Woodbridge Avenue, Chatham (392-1501).
COXSACKIE Town Board meeting rescheduled to 7 p.m., Tue., Mar. 21, at Town Hall, Reed St., Coxsackie (731-2727).
HUDSON Conservation Advisory Council meeting, 6 p.m. at City Hall, 520 Warren St., Hudson (828-1030).

POLITICAL EVENTS
HOW TO RUN for Office, 12 p.m., Mar. 18. Location to be announced. Workshop training local candidates to run for office. Organized and presented by the Working Families Party.
I Stand with PLANNED PARENTHOOD Rally, 2 p.m., Mar. 18, Seventh Street Park (Town Square), Hudson. Rally for unfettered access to women's healthcare, LGBTQ health and access to abortion services. Sponsored by Indivisible CD 19 and Columbia County Democratic Committee.

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local news update for Monday, March 13 (4:40). (Produced by Alanna Medlock.)