Patricia R. Doxsey reports in The Daily Freeman that Ulster County residents can speak out about a legislature proposal to make plastic drinking straws on-demand-only in restaurants and fast-food establishments in the county at a public hearing at 6 p.m. on March 6. The proposed law, known as "Skip The Straw Law," would limit plastic straws to folks who ask for them. The Ulster County Legislature has been kicking around the idea for awhile; in September, a public hearing on the issue heard from five speakers favoring the measure and three, including the owner of a convenience store and the head of the New York Association of Convenience Stores, opposing it. Paper straws are not subject of the law. Plastic straws don’t biodegrade and millions find their way into water bodies around the globe. The National Wildlife Federation, a not-for-profit conservation group estimates that 100,000 marine animals and more than a million seabirds die annually from ingesting the plastic. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.