Jay Braman Jr. is reporting in the Daily Freeman planned improvements at the Belleayre Mountain Ski Center in Highmount are underway. The work began last month with tree cutting to make way for a new gondola that will be called Catskill Thunder. It will travel up to 1,000 feet per minute between the Discovery Lodge and the mountain summit, making the trip in six minutes. It is expected to be operational by December. The project also includes a total of $3 million in improvements to both the Discovery and Overlook lodges. The work is funded by the state. In February, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced an $8 million allocation amid complaints that he had snubbed Belleayre when he previously announced awards to upgrade two other state-owned ski centers. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.