WGXC Newsroom moving again

WGXC Newsroom has moved for the final time: http://newsroom.wgxc.org/

Chatham cable TV hearing, board meeting Thursday

The Chatham “Village chalkboard” reports there will be a public hearing for Charter Communications cable contract in Chatham at 7 p.m., just before the regular Village Board meeting at 7:30 p.m. at Tracy Memorial Village Hall, 77 Main St.

Bay bridges

Carole Osterink was at last night’s informal Common Council meeting in Hudson and reports that Holcim attorney Donald Stever and O&G’s Kenneth Faroni sent a letter in response to one from CC president Donald Moore, and anyone following the current waterfront discussion in Hudson will find it and the comments on Osterink’s Gossips of Rivertown [...]

Tooker challenges Molinaro

Debora Gilbert at The Columbia Paper reports: Dutchess County resident Susan Tooker threw her hat into the ring at the annual Columbia County Democratic Committee dinner Sunday night, announcing her decision to run against Marc Molinaro (R) in the 103rd Assembly District. A working mother, registered nurse, nurse practitioner and union member, who is pro-choice [...]

Let the long weekend begin

This weekend: THU-SAT Upstate II at Nicole Fiacco Gallery. Melora Kuhn, Catherine Mosley, Erik Schoonebeek, and Allyson Strafella. Tue-Sat, noon-6 p.m. Dots, Lines and Figures at Carrie Haddad Gallery. Michael McLaighlin, Ben Shecter, Donise English, and Jeff Briggs. “Maii:” The Wonder of Water by Diata Diata International Folkloric Theatre with the Hudson Opera House, an [...]

“Maii:” The Wonder of Water

Diata Diata International Folkloric Theatre in part with the Hudson Opera House present “Maii:” The Wonder Of Water. An original play by Pamela Badila respecting the essence and purity of many different exaggerated aspects of water. Free admission. Thu-Sat at 7 p.m. at Hudson Intermediate School.

Assessing the assessor

Sam Pratt reports that Hudson assessor Garth Slocum and one of the Hudson city attorneys who lives in Spencertown, and perhaps others, are serving as officers of the city of Hudson illegally. Pratt first finds the rule: “Section C2-4 of Hudson’s Charter says that to “be eligible to any City office under this Charter,” a [...]

Rock ‘n’ Roll radio

Ryder Cooley created this poster for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Benefit Show for WGXC Community Radio at Club Helsinki June 19:

Greene gains, Columbia barely loses population

Marist College’s Bureau of Economic Research just released an “Economic Report of the Hudson Valley.” Some interesting facts: “During the two-year period ending in 2008, total migration into and out of Columbia County resulted in a net loss of 31 households and a $27.12 million increase in adjusted gross income (AGI)” and during that same [...]

Incident Report: Anthony Graves

Little Assemblies May 17 – June 21, 2010 at Incident Report, an experimental viewing station for visual projects, 348 Warren St., Hudson. Anthony Graves, an artist and writer based in Ithaca and Brooklyn and visiting lecturer at Cornell’s College of Architecture, Art and Planning, contributes the current Incident Report: Thinker in the Marketplace contains a [...]

Molinaro hosts town meeting in Ghent Thursday

New York State Assemblyman Marc Molinaro, who represents Columbia County (R,C,I-Red Hook), will host a town hall meeting in Ghent on Thursday, May 27 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the White Stone Café, 2337 Route 66, Ghent.

Columbia County Dems back Schneiderman for AG

Columbia County Democrats Friday endorsed Eric Schneiderman for Attorney General. Schneiderman is largely backed by upstate Dems, while NYC-area Dems (and Greene County Democrats) support Kathleen Rice. Capitol Confidential reports Columbia County Democratic Chair Christopher Nolan previously supported Eric Dinallo.

GhostWALK Hudson Ghost Story Writing Contest

GhostWALK Hudson Ghost Story Writing Contest for youth ages 11-18, due June 1. Winning tales published in August in Register-Star and Chatham Courier newspapers, and performed live by teen actors from Walking the dog Theater’s Afterschool Drama program in November 5’s GhostWALK Hudson tour. A panel of judges will look for the best and/or scariest [...]

Prometheus Radio Project to host Radio Barnraising with WGXC

Prometheus Radio Project teams with WGXC to hold our 12th community radio barnraising later this year! Radio barnraisings are weekend-long radio-building and movement-building events. Individuals from the local community and participatory media folks from around the country come together to share ideas, experiences, and skills in the launching of a community radio station. The overwhelming [...]

Fifth Annual Hudson Valley Songfest and Music Expo

Aspiring songwriters mix with music business pros in educational workshops, panel discussions, and song critiques. Event culminates in special evening concert featuring Ellis Paul, this Saturday, May 22, at Columbia-Greene Community College.

Saland talks on floor fourth most of all Senators

New York State Senator Steve Saland, R-Poughkeepsie who represents Columbia County, spoke the fourth most on the senate floor according to transcripts of floor proceedings that are now posted online and crunched by NYPIRG’s Bill Mahoney. H/T Capitol Confidential. Saland spoke 9,251 words this term through April 7, while State Sen James Seward ranks 34th [...]

School election results

Cairo-Durham school election results: School Budget Passed 551-527; Library Appropriation Failed 477-581; Biomass heating system Failed 433-625. Board Member results: Greg Koerner-Fox – 584; Thomas Plank – 564; Beatrice Clappin – 537; Pat Ublacker – 512; Nicole Maggio – 472; Dean Pectal – 456; Sam Mozzillo – 338. The Daily Mail reports Catskill results: Catskill [...]

Vote Tuesday in school board races

Voting for school board members and issues takes place Tuesday in both counties. From The Daily Freeman: Greene County Cairo-Durham (Polls are open noon to 9 p.m.) Cairo-Durham Middle School cafeteria. Catskill (Polls are open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.) Catskill High School gymnasium. Coxsackie-Athens (Polls are open 1 to 9 p.m.) District elementary schools. [...]

Nearly all local school districts planning job cuts

Kyle Wind in The Daily Freeman: More than 250 jobs will be eliminated in the region if voters approve school district budgets as proposed Tuesday. All the districts in the area with except Hunter-Tannersville, in Greene County, plan to cut faculty and staff members in response to projected reductions in state aid, and, in some [...]

Performances from Feed the Radio

Sets from “Feed the Radio” fundraiser at Germantown Community Farm: Click here to listen to an mp3 recording of the set from Lady Moon and the Eclipse: Evan Randall, Peter Lindstrom, Ngonda Badilla, and Milandou Badilla. Or paste the following url into your media player: http://archive.free103point9.org/2010/05 /LadyMoon_WGXC_051510.mp3 Click here to listen to an mp3 recording [...]

Feed the Radio fundraiser today in Germantown

PEFORMANCES Lady Moon and the Eclipse (Evan Randall, Peter Lindstrom, Ngonda Badila, Milandou Badila) Moonlight in Paris (Lady Moon and Young Paris) Hi NRG with Giorgio DJ Dance Party (Sound by Tom Morini) WORKSHOPS Making radio: real live tools for real local radio Meet upstairs in the barn. From asking good questions to pressing the [...]

Thurston named Hudson Citizen of Year by Rotary

Hudson Rotary Club named Ellen Thurston as 2010 Hudson Area Citizen of the Year, according to GoToHudson.com. Ms. Thurston is Third Ward Alderman and Majority Leader of the Hudson Common Council, Vice President of the Hudson Opera House Board, and for years was the principal organizer of Winter Walk. Her events calendar, “Much to Do [...]

Crandall Theater close to sold

Chatham resident Judy Grunberg, owner of the Blue Plate restaurant and the founder of the PS/21 arts center, is among a group of investors close to finalizing a deal to buy Chatham’s Crandall Theater, The Columbia Paper, and other papers, report today after the “For Sale” sign came down Thursday. When owner Tony Quirino died [...]

Chris Gibson opens campaign headquarters in Kinderhook

Republican Congressional candidate Chris Gibson opened his campaign headquarters in his hometown of Kinderhook Thursday, May 12, packing the small space with loyal supporters down the street from Ichabod Crane High School, where Gibson was the point guard and co-captain of the basketball team. The candidate sat down for a few minutes with WGXC to [...]

A Rock ‘n’ Roll Benefit Show for WGXC Community Radio at Club Helsinki

J.P. Harris and the Tough Choices, just plain country from Brattleboro. The Weight: American rock ‘n’ roll from Brooklyn Happy Birthday: Sub-Pop recording artist from Brattleboro. 9 p.m., Sat. June 19 at Club Helskini, 405 Columbia St., Hudson, NY 12534 Tickets are $10 for WGXC Founding Members in advance; $12 for others in advance; and [...]

Gibson opens Kinderhook campaign headquarters

The Chris Gibson for Congress Campaign has opened its headquarters at 12 Broad Street directly across from Bagel Tyme cafe in the village of Kinderhook. The campaign invites neighbors and friends from Columbia County to meet the candidate on May 13 from 5 to 8 p.m. Kinderhook-native Gibson is the Republican nominee to challenge incumbent [...]

Author interviews from HCBF

WGXC’s Emily Bennison made recordings of children’s authors during the Hudson Children’s Book Festival. Click on the author’s name to listen to an mp3 audio interview. Anne Broyles Ann Jonas Barbara Slate Danielle Joseph Donald Crews Ellen Jensen Gail Carson Levine Zetta Elliott

Hudson school notes

Lynn Sloneker’s Unmuffled keeps the closest eye on the Hudson school system. Several recent items: From “Rumor Patrol: Rees running?: Board member Patricia Abitabile – re-elected to a second term in 2009 – submitted a letter of resignation from the board, effective June 30, during a closed door session, April 27. Abitabile’s decision to quit [...]

Columbia County assesments online

From Carole Osterink’s The Gossips of Rivertown: Assessments–the actual assessments for 2009 and the tentative assessments for 2010, for all properties in Hudson as well as the rest of the county–are now available online, accessed from the Columbia County website. Starting today, May 11, Garth Slocum, assessor for the City of Hudson, will be available [...]

Senate, Assembly approve extender budget

From Casey Seiler at Capitol Confidential: The Senate approved the one-week extender on a straight party-line vote, 32-29 [which means Columbia County's representative Steve Saland and Greene County's James Seward both voted against the measure], while the Assembly vote was slightly more mixed: 82-56. From Rick Karlin and Jimmy Vielkind at the Albany Times-Union: Assemblyman [...]

Hudson Farmer’s Market opens today

WGXC’s Kaya Weidman will have a table about community radio at the first day of this year’s Hudson Farmers Market, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. today in the parking lot at the corner of Columbia and 6th Sts. Master Gardener Donna Peterson will be available on the market’s opening day to help customers choose [...]

Hatala drops out of Hudson school board race

Lynn Sloneker at Unmuffled reports Hudson City School District Board of Education candidate Josh Hatala notified Superintendent John Howe that he was withdrawing his name as a candidate for election to a seat on the Board of Education at the May 18, 2010 Annual Budget and Election Vote. Hatala wrote on his candidate Facebook page, [...]

Gibson says stimulus didn’t; would abolish Homeland Security

The Republican Congressional candidate Chris Gibson would abolish the Department of Homeland Security, and says the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was “a loser for our country, but especially for our area,” in an interview with Jimmy Vielkind in the Albany Times-Union. He writes: “[Gibson] said that the regional management of the conflict is good [...]

Greene weekend

FRIDAY Sheila Jordan/Cameron Brown (photo, at right) Duo perform jazz at 8 p.m. at Gallagher’s, 513 Main St., Cairo. $25. SATURDAY Hudson Farmer’s Market reopens for the season from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at parking lot at Columbia and 6th Sts., Hudson. WGXC will have a table at the market. Lex Grey and John Pinder with [...]

Catskill gives Wal-Mart tax break

Town, Wal-Mart settle dispute –The Daily Mail, 05.05.10 Wal-Mart in Catskill gets break on tax bill –The Daily Freeman, 05.06.10 Catskill is reducing the property tax assessment on the local Wal-Mart $1.67 million, reducing their total to $13.5 million, covering the years 2010 through 2012, effectively granting the giant corporation from Arkansas a large tax [...]

Taghkanic tales

Sam Pratt‘s blog reprints a press release from Tivoli resident Ardith Truhan (a co-founder of the local community group Taghkanic Neighbors), and, as Pratt points out, it is a story so far unreported. An excerpt of the press release follows, take it for what it is worth: A former Taghkanic resident has charged the town [...]

Hudson hate crime?

Andrew Amelinckx reports in the Register-Star about 40-year-old Hudson resident David N. DiBlasi, charged with a hate crime for allegedly assaulting a 29-year-old man because of his sexual orientation in the Seventh Street Park in Hudson at 2:52 a.m. Saturday morning. Hudson Police Officer Rodney Waithe charged DiBlasi with third-degree assault — hate crime, according [...]

Ghent metal fest off to Schenectady County

John Mason in Register-Star reports Monday that TMT Metal Fest Promoter Kenneth Randeze e-mailed the Register-Star Friday that he has moved the festival’s location from Ghent to Aug. 26-29 at Indian Lookout Country Club in Pattersonville, Schenectady County.

WGXC at Hudson Children’s Book Festival

Just as WGXC’s Kaya Weidman was about to sit down and interview Fidel Mareno, who was going to talk about Native American rights and the American Indian Pow Wow Aug. 14 in Stephentown, Didi Barrett showed up. We had asked the Democratic candidate for New York State Senate representing Columbia and much of Dutchess counties [...]

Speedway owner sues town over camping

From From Gail Heinsohn in The Columbia Paper: As he stated he would at the April 5 town board meeting, Lebanon Valley Speedway owner Howard Commander has filed suit against town officials, seeking a state Supreme Court determination as to whether the campers parked on his property trigger state requirements for a campground. The effect [...]

Opening events

Recommended happenings. FRIDAY Sideshow clothing store opening at 7 p.m. with Bleeding Hearts belly dancers, Evan Randall, and Stephen Bluhm. 707 Warren St., Hudson. Avondale Airforce and Battle Ave Tea Club at 9 p.m. at Market Market Cafe, Route 32 North, Rosendale. $5. Mick Taylor Band and Voodelic at 9 p.m. at Bearsville Theater, 291 [...]

Was it cruel? Paper asks local vet

Diane Valden in The Columbia Paper attempts to see the point of view of Hillsdale farmers Jim Clapp, 76, his wife Ida, 74, and their son Charles, 49, who were each charged last week with 33 misdemeanor counts of failure to provide proper sustenance to some of their dairy animals by Columbia-Greene Humane Society investigators [...]

Five candidates for two Hudson school board seats

Five candidates are vying for two seats for the Hudson City School District, Board of Education: Carrie Haddad, Joshua Hatala, Justin Cukerstein, Peter Merante, and Mary Daly. Unmuffled says: Daly is the only incumbent in the field. This is her third run for the board. Her first attempt, in 2004, was unsuccessful; she was subsequently [...]

Next DSS meeting is Thursday at 4:15 p.m.

Franceseca Olsen in the Register-Star reports that Columbia County Board of Supervisors’ Space Utilization Subcommittee, which is trying to find a location for Department of Social Services within 60 to 90 days, meets today at 4:15 p.m. at 325 Columbia St., Hudson. Olsen reports that at a Columbia Economic Development Corporation meeting this week, BOS [...]

Deadline for WGXC program applications

MAY 1 IS DEADLINE FOR WGXC PROGRAM APPLICATIONS WGXC Program Application Download PDF to apply to host a show on WGXC.E-mail or mail them in to info@wgxc.org or WGXC, 5662 Rt. 23, Acra, NY 12405. Program Applications received: JoAnn Piazzi and Peter Lerner (Windham) Interview show: Politicians, officials, volunteers, activists. John Cleater (Columbiaville) Music: international [...]

Millay Colony announces summer workshops

The Millay Colony for the Arts offers four-day workshop retreats on the Colony’s sylvan setting. Each class includes twelve hours of workshop time, all meals, and ample time to work, ruminate and explore our lush surroundings. Private bedrooms and spacious private studios are provided. June 30 – July 3: Family: Artmaking with Nina Katchadourian July [...]

Historic Ferry Road may close

Bob Green in the Register-Star filed a Freedom Of Information Law request to find out that: According to the minutes of a non-public meeting between the DOT, the Department of Environmental Conservation and some town officials, the state agencies have again concluded that the at-grade railroad crossing at Ferry Road cannot be made safe, and [...]

Molinaro announces re-election campaign Friday

Marc Molinaro will announce he is seeking re-election for the 103rd Assembly District with three events on Friday, April 30 in Dutchess and Columbia counties. Molinaro will be at Promenade Hill (intersection of Front and Warren Sts.) In Hudson at 11 a.m., at Tivoli Commons (86 Broadway) at 12:30 p.m., and in Pleasant Valley at [...]

Heavy metal show faces many permits

Francesca Olsen in the Register-Star reports: For four days in July, the site of Meadowgreens Resort will become a haven for metalheads — if the event coordinator satisfies all permit requirements from the state and the county. Planned for July 15-18, Metalfest 2010, presented by Total Music Television and GSR Holdings, Inc., will be a [...]

Historic Hudson

Carole Osterink continues her tour of properties in Hudson owned by Eric Galloway, whose group the Lantern Organization was proposing developing a building with “permanent supportive housing” for the mentally disabled, the homeless, and those with substance abuse problems on the corner of Warren and Fifth Sts. in Hudson. Read about the empty lot at [...]