Emilia Teasdale reports in The Columbia Paper that the 518 area code could run out of assignable telephone numbers by the first quarter of 2019, so the Public Service Commission is holding a series of hearings to gauge public comment on proposed changes. At a July 28 public hearing in the Ichabod Crane High School auditorium, lawyers from the PSC said the Federal Communications Commission prefers an overlay plan, where phone numbers keep the 518 prefix and new users get a new area code, rather than splitting the district in two. The 518 area code services parts or all of 17 counties including: Albany, Clinton, Columbia, Dutchess, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Hamilton, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saint Lawrence, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren, and Washington. Only one person spoke at the local public hearing, and the paper did not report what they said. Anyone with comments can send them to secretary@dps.ny.gov or by mail to the Department of Public Service, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York, 12223-1350, or call 1-800-335-2120, referencing the 518 Area Code Relief case number 16-C-0297. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.