(Local journalists including, from left, WGXC's Paul Smart, WGXC's Erin Roberts, The Columbia Paper's Parry Teasdale, Bard College's Danielle Riou, unmuffled's Lynn Sloneker, A Few Dollars More's William Schmick, and The Register-Star's Andrew Amelinckx meet about at Parlor coffeeshop in Hudson Thu. Aug. 20, 2009. Photo by Tom Roe.)

WGXC discusses journalism with local practioners
Click here to listen to the WGXC meeting with local journalists from Aug. 20, 2009 at Parlor Coffee Shop (formerly Muddy Cup) in Hudson.
Click here to listen to the WGXC meeting with local journalists from Aug. 20, 2009 at Catskill Community Center.
New community radio station WGXC held meetings in Hudson and Catskill with local journalists Thursday, to discuss possible working relationships. WGXC is developing news policy, and just beginning a Newsroom blog with many audio clips from area meetings and events. Many local journalists met with WGXC staff and Radio Council members, at the two meetings, and also discussed the possibility of different publications and blogs co-sponsoring local political debates and meet-the-candidate forums. WGXC will certainly be interviewing local journalists about the important stories of the day throughout Greene and Columbia counties. WGXC's Erin Roberts spoke about her experience with KBUT in Colorado, where her community radio station paid local journalists a bit extra to create audio versions of their texts, traing the print writers how to record and edit audio, and share files. Several local journalists (including local bloggers and independent producers) were ready to propose their own shows, about subjects such as local history, the outdoors and nature, and the arts, all topics WGXC plans to discuss and include in programming. WGXC will have both a morning and afternoon "magazine" type news shows with news reports, headlines, interviews, phone calls from listeners, the occasional song, and other features such as a brief serial radio drama. Local journalists might be regular contributors to these prime time (6-10 a.m./4-7 p.m.) shows, or part of other shows. WGXC is also encouraging all citizens -- locals who regularly attend meetings, journalists who cover them, and others -- to record and/or learn to create a live web stream of any local meeting possible. The raw recordings will be available for any person to download or listen. Please send other ideas for local news policies to news(at)wgxc.org.

Columbia-Greene Cancer Services Program PSA
Click hear to hear Columbia-Greene Cancer Services Program PSA
Free cancer screening information. More details here: http://www.columbiahealthnet.org/

Council puts hold on new homeless shelters
From Jamie Larson in The Register-Star

HUDSON - The Hudson Common Council voted at their regular meeting to approve a new local law establishing a one-year moratorium on the expansion of existing, and the creation of new transitional housing and homeless shelters, in excess of four units, in the city. The law came in response to the county's proposal to house homeless in the historic St. Charles Hotel in Hudson. Eventually, the city and county agreed instead on the Charles Williams school to be turned into a homeless facility, and this law, apparently, won't stop that deal. Before Mayor Richard Scalera can sign the proposal into law, the moratorium must be discussed at a public hearing, to be held Aug. 28.