Today’s local headlines

New York Senator Kristin Gillibrand will have more than one challenger in the democratic primary next year. Manhattan’s Jonathan Tasini and Ithaca oral surgeon Scott Noren have already declared, The Star-Gazette reports. Tasini is a labor activist, and won 16 percent of the vote against Hillary Clinton in the 2006 primary. Noren says he’s a Democratic version of Republican Rep. Ron Paul of Texas and will focus on health care and campaign finance reform. Nine-term Long Island House member Carolyn Maloney is attacking Gillibrand in a way that makes everyone think she will run, and Suffolk County legislator Jon Cooper has formed an exploratory committee, and may attempt to be the first openly gay U.S. Senator….A WAMC caller today called the New York State Senate a “Confederacy of Dunces” for their continuing efforts to not do the business of the people of New York. Monday, Judge Joseph Teresi ordered all 62 senators must report into the Senate chamber, at the same time, for extraordinary session at 10 a.m. Tuesday, according to Capitol Confidential. Teresi said, some could reach the conclusion that lawmakers placed, “their own interests ahead of all other citizens of this state to the benefit of their own personal and selfish interests, that those same people may also find that conduct as rude, inconsistent and egotistical.”…The Register-Star reports that Board of Supervisors Chairman Art Baer, R-Hillsdale and Hudson Mayor Richard Scalera have formed the City/County Homeless/Transitional Committee to study the homeless problem in Hudson and Columbia County. Baer has chosen Director of Social Services Paul Mossman, Richard Keaveney, R-Canaan, Columbia Opportunities Executive Director Tina Sharpe, Lynn Kutrki who works on homeless issues for the Department of Social Services, and Fran Reiter, who lives part-time in Columbia County and was deputy mayor for Planning and Community Relations in New York City during the first Guiliani administration. Mayor Scalera, Alderman Wanda Pertilla, D-2nd, Supervisor Rev. Edward Cross, D-Hudson 2nd, Supervisor William Hughes, D-Hudson 4th, and the citizen member, Linda Mussmann, owner of the Time and Space Limited Warehouse, and local community activist, make up the Hudson half….The Greenville Press (no web site) reports that Cairo town officials are naming scapegoats to explain why they didn’t get any of the Federal stimulus money to fix their sewers. The story features the sort of finger pointing that seems to prove that Cairo is seen by other government officials as a dysfunctional town, with board members accusing each other of incompetence and meddling. The story also mentions the several lawsuits the town is facing for various actions, as well as a Comptroller’s Office audit that shows, “a roughly 90 percent error rate.” The sewers in Cairo have been broken for more than eight years, so the blame, it would seem, could be spread among many current and past officials.

Today’s local headlines

The New York State Senate continued to pretend to play Senate on Sunday, instead of doing an actual work for the people of New York, according to Capitol Confidential….WAMC’s Alan Chartock interviews many members of Congress inside the station’s listening area, but brought in NYC Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney last week on his “Congressional Corner” show. Maloney has been blasting New York Senator Kirstin Gillibrand ahead of an expected primary challenge. Listen to the interview here. Devtob from The Albany Project said of the Maloney chat that, “the [Congressional Corner] interviews are generally slow-pitch softball, but Maloney’s was worse that that — it was as if Chartock and she were on the same team and he was tossing batting practice.” Maloney does not attack Gillibrand much — devtob speculates it is because WAMC covers her former Congressional district, the NY-20, which includes Greene and Columbia counties — but Chartock talks about the importance of primary elections. Chartock previously supported John Sweeney against Gillibrand in 2006, and (though he now claims he supported Maloney) Caroline Kennedy rather than Gillibrand to fill Senator Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat….Mid-Hudson News has an unbylined story about a State Supreme Court ruling dismissing Entergy’s petition to overturn a decision by the State Department of Environmental Conservation that said that Indian Point’s cooling water intake system causes adverse environmental impacts on Hudson River fish. The story quotes an Entergy spokesman, and another pro-Indian Point group, but not Riverkeeper or any Hudson River advocacy groups….The Greene County Local Courier (no web site) reports that Greenville Republicans have nominated Paul Macko for Supervisor, Richard Baer and Kenneth Stern for council, Richard Hempstead for Highway Superintendent, Ronnie Campbell for Town Clerk, Mary Yeomans for Tax Collector, and Richard Schreiber for Justice. Current Town Supervisor Kevin Lewis is running for the Greene County Legislature seat that Ken Dudley is leaving. The paper also reports that Coxsackie hired Jason Shaw as village attorney and Laurel Mann as code enforcement officer.

Today’s local headlines

The New York State Senate continued to pretend to play Senate on Sunday, instead of doing an actual work for the people of New York, according to Capitol Confidential….WAMC’s Alan Chartock interviews many members of Congress inside the station’s listening area, but brought in NYC Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney last week on his “Congressional Corner” show. Maloney has been blasting New York Senator Kirstin Gillibrand ahead of an expected primary challenge. Listen to the interview here. Devtob from The Albany Project said of the Maloney chat that, “the [Congressional Corner] interviews are generally slow-pitch softball, but Maloney’s was worse that that — it was as if Chartock and she were on the same team and he was tossing batting practice.” Maloney does not attack Gillibrand much — devtob speculates it is because WAMC covers her former Congressional district, the NY-20, which includes Greene and Columbia counties — but Chartock talks about the importance of primary elections. Chartock previously supported John Sweeney against Gillibrand in 2006, and (though he now claims he supported Maloney) Caroline Kennedy rather than Gillibrand to fill Senator Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat….Mid-Hudson News has an unbylined story about a State Supreme Court ruling dismissing Entergy’s petition to overturn a decision by the State Department of Environmental Conservation that said that Indian Point’s cooling water intake system causes adverse environmental impacts on Hudson River fish. The story quotes an Entergy spokesman, and another pro-Indian Point group, but not Riverkeeper or any Hudson River advocacy groups….The Greene County Local Courier (no web site) reports that Greenville Republicans have nominated Paul Macko for Supervisor, Richard Baer and Kenneth Stern for council, Richard Hempstead for Highway Superintendent, Ronnie Campbell for Town Clerk, Mary Yeomans for Tax Collector, and Richard Schreiber for Justice. Current Town Supervisor Kevin Lewis is running for the Greene County Legislature seat that Ken Dudley is leaving. The paper also reports that Coxsackie hired Jason Shaw as village attorney and Laurel Mann as code enforcement officer.

Today’s local headlines

The New York State Senate played pretend Senate again yesterday, according to Capitol Confidential (the Albany Times-Union’s political blog)….Art Baer, the Columbia County Board of Supervisors Chairman (R-Hillsdale), told The Columbia Paper that the Greenport School on Route 66, which will be vacant at the end of this school year, may also be a viable option to house the homeless instead of the St. Charles Hotel in Hudson. The county recently proposed moving a transitional housing facility for homeless women and families, and a Department of Social Services satellite station into the 139-year-old hotel….The Rural Intelligence blog is reporting that the Preservation League of New York State is conducting a members-only tour (you can sign up on the spot) of two of their “Seven to Save,” both in Columbia County—the Plumb-Bronson House in Hudson (above) and the Jan Van Hoesen House in Claverack today. The tour departs at 1 p.m. from the Plumb-Bronson House, on the grounds of the Hudson Corrections Facility (enter through gate south of Hudson on Worth Avenue/Route 9). Admission is free for members; non-members may join for a $35. The tour will be followed by a Historic Hudson Lecture at 4 p.m. at Stair Galleries, 549 Warren St. in Hudson, for $10.

Today’s local headlines

New Congressman Scott Murphy (D-NY20) voted for H.R.2454 (the American Clean Energy and Security Act) Friday, which passed the House 219 to 212. It was the first time Murphy’s vote mattered, as 44 Democrats voted against the measure that works to slow the pace of global warming. Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth also opposed the measure, saying it didn’t begin to solve the earth’s problems. The bill sets a limit on emissions of heat-trapping gases while allowing emitters to trade pollution permits, or allowances, among themselves….The New York State Senate again failed Thursday to act on any items important to the people of New York. Senate democrats, however, did manage to hold a moment of silence for Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett….Austerlitz adopted zoning regulations, according to ccScoop. Anyone who would like to serve a five-year term on the town’s new Zoning Board of Appeals, should send applications to the Town of Austerlitz, P.O. Box 238, Spencertown, NY 12165 by July 9.

Today’s local headlines

Baer says St. Charles off the table, for now
http://www.registerstar.com/articles/2009/06/26/news/news01.txt

HUDSON – Columbia County Board of Supervisors Chairman Art Baer, R-Hillsdale, said Thursday that the county would no longer consider moving a transitional housing facility for homeless women and families, and a Department of Social Services satellite station into the 139-year-old St. Charles Hotel. Instead, the county will try to move the homeless facility to the former Charles Williams School in Hudson, which Baer, and County Commissioner of Social Services Paul Mossmann, Supervisors The Rev. Edward Cross, D-Hudson 2nd, William Hughes, D-4th, Richard Keaveney, R-Canaan, toured Thursday morning.

Local school graduation levels lower in Greene
http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2009/06/25/news/doc4a42f8f283f80989196276.txt

GREENE COUNTY – The percentage of students finishing high school in the traditional four years rose in exactly half of the region’s 18 districts last year and fell in the other half, according to data released this week by the state Education Department. In Ulster County, the 2004 cohort — students who were freshmen in the fall of that year — had a better four-year graduation rate than the 2003 cohort in six of the nine school districts. But there were declines in three of the four Greene County school districts, and a significant rise only in the Germantown school district in southern Columbia County.

Republicans select Coyne, Suttmeier, Ostrander, Miller and Feeney
http://www.thedailymail.net/articles/2009/06/26/news/news3.txt

CAIRO – Cairo Republicans selected Town Supervisor John Coyne, Councilman Raymond Suttmeier and Tax Collector Emily Feeney and Douglas Ostrander Sr. (for town council), and Leland Miller for Town Justice. Councilwoman Alice Tunison and current Justice Thomas Baldwin are not seeking re-election.

Senate squabble jeopardizes Austerlitz land sale
http://www.ccscoop.com/news/09june/25-landsale/landsale.html

AUSTRLITZ – The State Assembly on Tuesday approved the sale of two acres of park land in the Town of Austerlitz to the Austerlitz Fire Company, but the chaotic battle for power between Republicans and Democrats in the State Senate has put the issue on hold. The land would be used to construct a new Austerlitz fire station.

New York State Senate fails to act again
http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/16151/senate-democrats-pile-on-paterson/

ALBANY – The New York State Senate continues its failure to do anything, again not passing any legislation Thursday. Gov. Paterson threatened to not pay the Senators. But one Senator bragged that he was getting paid more for not working for the people of New York. “Each day spent in Albany, every Senator is paid an additional stipend of $160.00, which is paid by the people of New York,” said Democratic/Republican Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr. Instead of passing bills, State Senator Kevin Parker, an indicted Brooklyn Democrat, told reporters Paterson is a “coke snorting, staff-banging governor.” Rudy Guiliani may be running for the Republican nomination for governor.

Molinaro to hold public meetings
Assemblyman Marc Molinaro (R,I,C–Red Hook) and staff will host mobile office hours throughout his district this summer. The schedule for Assemblyman Marc Molinaro’s summer 2009 mobile office hours in Columbia County is as follows: Hillsdale Town Hall, July 7, 9-11 a.m., Main Street; Austerlitz Town Hall, July 7, 12-2 p.m., Route 203; Ghent Town Hall, July 9, 9-11 a.m., 2306 State Route 66; Stockport Town Hall, July 9, 12-2 p.m., 2787 Atlantic Avenue; Philmont Village Hall, August 4, 9-11 a.m., 124 Main Street; Greenport Town Hall, August 6, 9-11 a.m., 600 Town Hall Drive.

LIVE TONIGHT:

“Cats the Musical” at Columbia-Greene Community College, Main Building, Dining Room, Fri-Sat, 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. Adults $12, Seniors $9, Juniors $8, Under 6, free. For reservations call 731-3340.

Today’s local headlines

The 12534 blog shows off an image of the St. Charles Hotel, from an old postcard. Columbia County officials are trying to turn the 139-year-old hotel into a homeless shelter and Department of Social Services satellite office.

With contentious debate, Taghkanic ZBA signs off on Wilzig proposal
http://www.ccscoop.com/news/09june/24-wilzig/ZBA.html

TAGHKANIC – The Taghkanic Zoning Board of Appeals on Tuesday voted 3-1 that the controversial sporting course/racetrack proposed by Alan Wilzig is a recreational use permitted by the town zoning code, with Moisha Blechman as lone dissenter. “The majority of the ZBA… finds the recreational sporting course proposal qualifies as a recreational use…. The findings are complete and will be forwarded to the Town Clerk,” said board Chairman James Romaine.

Camadine bid sets up challenge at GOP caucus
http://www.thedailymail.net/articles/2009/06/24/news/news3.txt

CAIRO – Former Greene County lawmaker Michael Camadine will challenge incumbent John Coyne for the Republican nomination for Cairo town supervisor at the party’s caucus tonight. Camadine lost to Democrat Harry Lennon in the 2006 race for county legislature.

Tivoli Day
http://tivolitype.blogspot.com/2009/06/tivoli-day.html

TIVOLI – Due to a lack of … ahh … preparation, Tivoli Day has been rescheduled for Saturday, August 1. Do not despair. It will be worth the wait. As details are dreamed up, we’ll keep you posted.

Gillibrand proposes milk price plans for farmers
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2009/June09/24/milk_price-24Jun09.html

It costs dairy farmers $17.58 to produce a hundredweight of milk yet at the present time, the market is paying only $13.33 and Senator Kristen Gillibrand wants to do something to aid Hudson Valley dairy farmers and those around the rest of the state. Gillibrand is proposing legislation that would double the amount of money farmers get from the MILC program retroactive to the low point of the crisis in March. She will also introduce legislation that would index the MILC rate of $16.94 to inflation. Westtown, NY dairy farmer Brian Ford said Gillibrand’s proposals are a start. “What she’s doing is a band aid, help for now, but we’re running into big company manipulation,” he said. “Two companies have 80 percent of the (milk processing) market share so where do we stand. There are government regulations, but these big companies get around that but we saw that with Wall Street. Who’s watching whom?”

State Senate Mess Deepens
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=813062

ALBANY — After more than two weeks of deadlock, all 62 members of the state Senate showed up in the chamber Tuesday in response to Gov. David Paterson’s call for a special session. At the end of a frenzied day that included dueling sessions in the same chamber, it was unclear if any of the legislation passed by either faction would stand up to legal scrutiny. “I’ve been a public servant here for over 20 years,” Paterson said in a news conference about an hour after both sides stood at ease, “and what I’ve seen in the last two weeks in the Senate disgusts me. The Senate’s inaction is a dereliction of duty. They’ve clearly forgotten who they serve.”

State appraisal rules contributing to housing slump?
http://blog.timesunion.com/business/realtors-association-askes-for-delay-of-appraisal-rules/13916/

That’s what the National Association of Realtors thinks. It is asking Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to delay the implementation of new appraisal rules, because it believes the changes are having a detrimental effect on the housing market.

Today’s local headlines

Hudson and Baer continue squabble over DSS, homeless
The city of Hudson continues its battle with Columbia County Board of Supervisors chairman Art Baer. Last night, according to The Register-Star, the Hudson City Common Council voted unanimously to enact 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, within the city.” The vote was meant to trump a recent effort by county officials to convert the historic St. Charles Hotel, on Park Place in Hudson, into a transitional housing facility and Department of Social Services satellite station. The new law now faces a public hearing, and then a likely disapproval from the Columbia County Planning Board, that would then require a super majority vote of the Common Council. And Schoolhouse Rock would then have to turn the whole thing into a song. Members of the Common Council told The Register-Star they would scrap the whole thing if they get a good deal from Baer to use the Charles Williams school, on the corner of Robinson and Second streets, for the homeless shelter. Before he called such negotiations blackmail, but now Baer is chirping about this idea. “(Charles Williams) is a breakthrough, no question about it,” Baer said in The Register-Star. “We are not interested in any solution, that in any way, would detract from the viability of the city of Hudson.” The day before, again in The Register-Star, the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce officially opposed the hotel plan. And, also in The Register-Star, Columbia County building and facilities Chairman Roy Brown announced that an “Opinion of Cost” solicitation for a Department of Social Services center is being prepared for both the renovation of the former Ockawamick School building and a new, 40,000-square-foot office building and parking garage at Columbia Street and Fourth Street in Hudson. And Brown met with Kinderhook Town Supervisor Doug McGivney met with Hudson Mayor Richard Scalera about a potential purchase of the One City Center property. Finally, The Register-Star is reporting that Baer is facing something of an insurrection in his home town of Hillsdale, where 85 residents signed a petition to put Baer’s bid to buy the former Hillsdale library building for the town up to a vote.

State releases grad data; HCSD four-year rate up
http://educationinhudson.blogspot.com/2009/06/hcsd-grad-rate-up-still-below-statewide.html

Unmuffled reports that the the Hudson City School District’s graduation rate was 66 percent, up seven percent, but still lowest in Columbia County. Other rates: Chatham Central School District, 85 percent; Germantown Central School District, 92 percent; Ichabod Crane Central School District, 82 percent; New Lebanon Central School District, 87 percent; Taconic Hills Central School District, 81 percent. The statewide average was 70.9 percent, according to the New York State Education Department.

Copake expects to become shining example
http://www.columbiapaper.com/index.php/the-news/312-by-diane-valden

The Copake Town Board will install solar panels on the Town Hall roof offsetting 1,246,256 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions over 25 years. Planting 129 acres of trees would have the same effect.

Live Tonight:

Black History Curriculum Guide Unveiled. “Been Laborin’ Here All These Long Years and Fruits of Our Labor” will be introduced in the auditorium of Montgomery C. Smith Middle School at noon.

Today’s local headlines

Comments Sought On County Mitigation Plan for Hazards
http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2009/06/22/news/doc4a3ee06fa3308319822587.txt

CATSKILL — Greene County is seeking comments on a draft hazard mitigation plan that would make the county and its towns and villages eligible for federal aid to lessen the impact of disasters. Warren Hart, the director of the county’s Economic Development and Planning Office, said comments will be incorporated into a final draft before the proposed All-Hazards Mitigation Plan is adopted by participating municipalities. Each municipality will adopt an annex, a portion of the countywide plan that specifically deals with that municipality’s area. The county will adopt the overall plan, he said.

Greene County Names New Historian
http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2009/06/21/news/doc4a3db29369062082871403.txt

CATSKILL — David C. Dorpfeld of Coxsackie has been appointed Greene County historian to replace Raymond Beecher, who died last year. Dorpfeld will be paid a salary rate of $1,800 per year for a term that will expire at the end of 2009. “We’re never going to replace Mr. Beecher, but I think Dave will do a very outstanding job because he’s passionate about history,” said county Legislature Chairman Wayne Speenburgh, R-Coxsackie. Speenburgh said Dorpfeld is retired from a state job and has been a part of the Greene County Historical Society for more than 30 years. He described Dorpfeld is a “very nice man” who volunteers two days a week at the Vedder Memorial Library in Coxsackie.

Senate GOP goes ahead with 3 p.m. session
http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/15870/senate-gop-goes-ahead-with-3-pm-session/

ALBANY – According to a press release, the New York State Senate plans to take up 74 bills today at 3 p.m., including a revenue extender affecting Greene County.

Senators look into rising gas prices
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2009/June09/22/gasprice_sens-22Jun09.html

MID-HUDSON – Prices at the pump have risen by as much as 60 cents per gallon in the last two months and New York’s two U.S. senators want to look into it. On the one hand, it could be the annual summertime spike in prices, but there could be another factor, said Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

WGXC news

(WGXC volunteers meet with Prometheus Radio group members in Haines Falls. Left-to-right, Tom Roe, Galen Joseph-Hunter, Echo Roe, Maka Munoz, Kaya Weidman, Dharma Dailey, Sharp, Andalusia Knoll, Jake, Steve Pearce, Quinn Dailey, Dee Dee Halleck, Pete Tridish, Sakura Saunders.)

What’s new with WGXC?

WGXC may not have a huge public profile at the moment, but many things are going on behind the scenes so we can launch a new community radio station on 90.7-FM next year. Folks are working on policy manuals, financial plans, and the new WGXC Newsroom blog. We are getting closer to announcing a studio in the city of Hudson, and are working with the Catskill Community Center to put a studio in Greene County. A permanent, multi-page WGXC web site is under construction and will be revealed soon with an events calendar, audio and video archives, and more. Designers have created a logo, a slogan (“hands-on radio”), and will produce a brochure soon. We will learn whether we get the PTFP grant (which pays for 50 percent of new equipment for non-commercial radio stations) in September instead of October. And this past weekend, several folks from the Prometheus Radio Group in Philadelphia spent time in Germantown, Acra, and Haines Falls talking about radio with WGXC volunteers.

WGXC summer events:

Sun. July 5, 6-9 p.m. Annea Lockwood and NYSAE at Catskill Point. Join free103point9 for an evening of listening at Catskill’s Historic Catskill Point on the Hudson River. Sound Mapping will feature a live performance from members of the New York Society of Acoustic Ecology (NYSAE), a conversation between artists Alexis Bhagat and Annea Lockwood, and Annea Lockwood’s canonical work “A Sound Map of the Hudson River.” Free admission. This event is presented in conjunction with WGXC-FM, a project of free103point9. Catskill Point, 1 Main St. at Hudson River, Catskill, NY.

Fri. July 17, 8 p.m.-2 a.m. “RIP: A Remix Manifesto” film/Eclectic Method performance. Screening of remix documentary film “RIP: A Remix Manifesto” and performance from Eclectic Method – London natives Jonny Wilson, Ian Edgar and Geoff Gamlen – who make audio-visual mash-ups featuring television, film, music and video game footage sliced and diced into blistering, post-modern dance- floor performances. Live web stream on WGXC Online Radio. At Jason’s Upstairs Bar, 521 Warren St., Hudson, NY. 518-828-UPUP.

Thu. July 23-Sun. July 26 WGXC at Greene County Youth Fair. Presented by the Greene County Agricultural Society, with cows, goats, dogs, chickens, horses, and more. Live performances, workshops, and speakers. WGXC will record performances and interviews, and hopefully create a live online radio stream of the event. WGXC is looking for youth to host the event, interview participants, and run the radio show. A complete schedule of events, performers, speakers, and more will be announced soon. Live from Cairo Town Park.

Sun. Aug. 16 at Rip Van Winkle Wacky Raft Race Sponsored by the Greene County Economic Development, Tourism and Planning to benefit Community Action of Greene County. WGXC is looking for hosts for the event, to interview participants, and run a radio show. Live from Dutchman’s Landing in Catskill.

Please let us know if you would like to help organize, set-up, be an on-air personality, clean-up, work with youth, or otherwise volunteer at any of theses events.

Please let us know if you would like to organize any fundraisers for WGXC.

E-mail info@WGXC.org to volunteer or for more information.

Today’s local headlines

Mid-Hudson Cable will air a recording of the community workshop held at Shiloh Baptist Church in Hudson on June 3 about the potential move of the Department of Social Services out of that city. The recording, by Dan Udell, will air at 8 p.m. tonight, and on Monday, June 29 and Monday, July 6 on the cable provider’s Ch. 11 public access channel, according to a press release from Linda Mussmann of TSL and the Bottom Line Party. Hudson Mayor Richard Scalera, Supervisor Ed Cross (D-Hudson2), Supervisor Bill Hughes (D-Hudson4), Supervisor Roy Brown (R-Germantown), Supervisor Joe Finn (D-Hudson3), Supervisor Bart Delaney (R-Hudson5), and Columbia County Public Works Commissioner Dave Robinson appear at the workshop. Mussmann also has created a web site about the move, http://dsswatch.blogspot.com, will help organize a protest rally at 6:30 p.m. before the next Board of Supervisors meeting will be Wednesday, July 8 at 7:30 p.m….A public hearing on the revised Ancram Comprehensive Plan will take place tonight at 7 p.m. at the Town Hall, according to ccScoop. This is the second public hearing after 40-50 comments earlier this year….The Kinderhook Democrats choose their slate for this fall’s election, according to The Register-Star, with incumbent Natalie Kolb, Town Justice; newcomer Todd DiGrigoli, Town Board; incumbent John Ruchel, Highway Superintendent; newcomer Helen Schneider, Town Board And incumbent Doug McGivney for Town Supervisor.

Today’s local headlines

Mid-Hudson Cable will air a recording of the community workshop held at Shiloh Baptist Church in Hudson on June 3 about the potential move of the Department of Social Services out of that city. The recording, by Dan Udell, will air at 8 p.m. tonight, and on Monday, June 29 and Monday, July 6 on the cable provider’s Ch. 11 public access channel, according to a press release from Linda Mussmann of TSL and the Bottom Line Party. Hudson Mayor Richard Scalera, Supervisor Ed Cross (D-Hudson2), Supervisor Bill Hughes (D-Hudson4), Supervisor Roy Brown (R-Germantown), Supervisor Joe Finn (D-Hudson3), Supervisor Bart Delaney (R-Hudson5), and Columbia County Public Works Commissioner Dave Robinson appear at the workshop. Mussmann also has created a web site about the move, http://dsswatch.blogspot.com, will help organize a protest rally at 6:30 p.m. before the next Board of Supervisors meeting will be Wednesday, July 8 at 7:30 p.m….A public hearing on the revised Ancram Comprehensive Plan will take place tonight at 7 p.m. at the Town Hall, according to ccScoop. This is the second public hearing after 40-50 comments earlier this year….The Kinderhook Democrats choose their slate for this fall’s election, according to The Register-Star, with incumbent Natalie Kolb, Town Justice; newcomer Todd DiGrigoli, Town Board; incumbent John Ruchel, Highway Superintendent; newcomer Helen Schneider, Town Board And incumbent Doug McGivney for Town Supervisor.

Today’s local headlines

Art Baer, the chairman of the Columbia County Board of Supervisors, sat down with The Register-Star after taking a lot of heat in that paper the last few months without much comment. Baer, R-Hillsdale, generally continued his fight with politicians in Hudson in the 90-minute interview, blaming the criticism on meetings being held in that city, and saying that Hudson officials think only of themselves. Baer has been criticized for proposing the county move the Department of Social Services from Hudson to Ockawamick and close and relocate the Pine Haven Nursing and Rehabilitation Center from Philmont. Just this week he stirred up another storm by advocating moving homeless people into the 139-year-old St. Charles Hotel in Hudson. “His major frustration has been his inability to communicate with the public,” The Register-Star wrote. “We don’t have media, we don’t have coverage,” Baer said to the media…..The Daily Mail reports that Catskill’s revised subdivision law will be available for public review next week, with a public hearing soon after….The Austerlitz Town Board adopted a zoning law Thursday, according to The Register-Star. Town Supervisor George P. Jahn also said that the Pine Haven Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Philmont should not be moved to Kinderhook at the town’s meeting….The Town of Durham wants to put a cell phone antenna at 44 McAfferty Road, according to The Daily Mail. Some residents, who probably put cell phones next to their brains occasionally, say the 90-foot-high tower will give them cancer. The town kept the public hearing open until June 30.

Today’s local headlines

Art Baer, the chairman of the Columbia County Board of Supervisors, sat down with The Register-Star after taking a lot of heat in that paper the last few months without much comment. Baer, R-Hillsdale, generally continued his fight with politicians in Hudson in the 90-minute interview, blaming the criticism on meetings being held in that city, and saying that Hudson officials think only of themselves. Baer has been criticized for proposing the county move the Department of Social Services from Hudson to Ockawamick and close and relocate the Pine Haven Nursing and Rehabilitation Center from Philmont. Just this week he stirred up another storm by advocating moving homeless people into the 139-year-old St. Charles Hotel in Hudson. “His major frustration has been his inability to communicate with the public,” The Register-Star wrote. “We don’t have media, we don’t have coverage,” Baer said to the media…..The Daily Mail reports that Catskill’s revised subdivision law will be available for public review next week, with a public hearing soon after….The Austerlitz Town Board adopted a zoning law Thursday, according to The Register-Star. Town Supervisor George P. Jahn also said that the Pine Haven Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Philmont should not be moved to Kinderhook at the town’s meeting….The Town of Durham wants to put a cell phone antenna at 44 McAfferty Road, according to The Daily Mail. Some residents, who probably put cell phones next to their brains occasionally, say the 90-foot-high tower will give them cancer. The town kept the public hearing open until June 30.

Today’s local headlines

Time to end name game
The Greenville Press, no web site, no links

RENSSELAERVILLE – Linda Fenoff reports in The Greenville Press that 40 members of the Chase family hold elected, appointed, or paid positions in Rensselaerville. The town’s Budget Committee wants a job description for all appointed town positions. A nepotism law failed there last year, but the code of ethics was updated. The budget committee has also recommended that the Town Board use a zero-base budget, starting each budget proposal from zero rather than basing each year’s budget on the past year.

Greene Rooms
http://seeinggreene.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html

GREENE COUNTY – Dick May’s Seeing Greene blog digs deeper into one of his favorite subjects, the Friar Tuck Resort on Route 32. Friar Tuck recently filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and, according to May, owes, “Ulster Savings Bank ($3.1 million), tax authorities ($400,000), a fuel supplier ($266,000), and food providers.” May uses the story to troll Trip Advisor for consumer reviews of local resorts. He finds that Friar Tuck, Catskill’s Quality Inn, and Hunter’s Kaatskill Mountain Club get bad reviews, while Freehold’s Sunny Hill; Acra’s Lange’s Grove Side and Acra Manor; Windham’s Catskill Lodge, Catskill Maison, Hotel Vienna, and Thompson House; Hunter’s Hunter Inn and Scribner Hollow Lodge all get glowing notices.

Central Hudson Raising Rates
http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2009/06/19/news/doc4a3b0de85bb6a375184110.txt

POUGHKEEPSIE — Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. won permission from the state Public Service Commission on Thursday to raise the rate it charges for electricity delivery by 8.5 percent and the rate it charges for natural gas delivery by 23.5 percent. The rate hikes, which take effect July 1, were approved in a unanimous vote by commissioners, who agreed with the recommendations of state Administrative Law Judges David Prestemon and Jeffrey Stockholm that Central Hudson be allowed to raise its revenue projections by $38 million for electricity delivery and $13.6 million for natural gas delivery.

Unemployment Down In Greene County
http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2009/06/19/news/doc4a3b0c0387195406564277.txt

ALBANY — New York’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 8.2 percent in May, up from 7.7 percent in April, the state Labor Department announced on Thursday. The may rate is the state’s highest since February 1993. Locally, the unemployment rates rose from April to May in Ulster, Dutchess, Columbia, Orange and Sullivan counties. Joblessness decreased slightly in Greene and Delaware counties. In New York City, the May unemployment rate was 8.7 percent, an increase from 7.8 in April 2009 and a significant jump from 4.8 percent in May 2008. The highest rate outside New York City — 9.7 percent — was in Steuben County. The lowest unemployment rate was 5.4 percent in Tompkins County.

LIVE TONIGHT:

First Gay Pride Festival in Greene County, all day, Catskill with Chrissy Budzinski, Anthony Michael, Nedra Johnson, Cantinero, The Young Brothers, Amy Serrago, and others.

Downtown Ensemble with Brian Dewan, accordian, Bill Hellerman, voice, Yvette Perez, vocals/keyboard, and Peter Zummo, trombone, 8 p.m. at Hudson Opera House. $15.

Today’s local headlines

Register-Star reporter Jamie Larson claims Columbia County Board of Supervisor Chairman Art Baer, “asked the Register-Star to get [Hudson Mayor Rick Scalera] to sit down with him today to reopen the discussion about [using the] Charles Williams [School] or other sites as possibilities.” The story begins with the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce holding an emergency economic forum Thursday at Hudson’s Stageworks Theater. Larson gets Baer on the phone to comment on all the outrage from the Hudson business community about his plan to move the homeless into the city’s St. Charles Hotel. “Baer said St. Charles wouldn’t be on the table if Hudson Mayor Rick Scalera hadn’t ‘stiff-armed’ talks two years ago to use the old Charles Williams School as a homeless shelter,” the story says. Scalera, reached by the reporter, agrees to meet Baer anytime. Scalera says talks to use the Charles Williams School for the homeless broke down when Baer began pushing for the Department of Social Services to move out of Hudson to the Ockawamick school in Claverack. Baer then calls this typical political dealing “blackmail,” clearly raising an even bigger fight instead of trying to solve an issue. Linda Mussmann from TSL and the Bottom Line Party says Baer’s actions are, “the dismantling of Hudson as the county seat.”… Baer also visited Washington D.C., according to the Register-Star, to lobby New York representatives for federal stimulus funding for $4 million in improvements to the museum and visitor center at the Olana State Historic Site; $3 million for an emergency communications system; $9 million for the Greenport water and sewer system; $200,000 to study a countywide broadband initiative; and $1 million to extend wastewater and sewer systems to Hudson Park on Route 23 in Livingston…. U.S. Rep. Scott Murphy put in a $15 million federal funding request on behalf of the Greene County Industrial Development Agency for “transportation infrastructure improvements to State Route 9W” and an “expansion of Exit 21B/New York State Thruway, a flyover Bridge connecting 9W, and an internal public road system connecting the flyover bridge and Kalkberg Commerce Park,” according to the Daily Mail…. The Kinderhook Republicans endorsed Patrick Grattan as town supervisor, Patsy Leader and Glenn Smith for seats on the Town Board, and Lisa Mills for town justice and cross-endorsed Democrat incumbent Highway Superintendent John Ruchel Jr. for a second term in office, according to the Register-Star….While the New York State Senate Republicans and Democrats can’t agree on anything else to start working, they can agree to keep taking your money. From the Albany Times-Union’s Capitol Confidential blog, Marissa Shorenstein, spokeswoman to Gov. David Paterson is quoted:

“The Governor’s office earlier today looked into the question of whether or not members of the Senate are eligible to receive their salaries with no presiding officer agreed upon to authorize payment. It turns out that both conferences have come together and signed appropriate documentation to continue receiving their salaries. So there is a power sharing agreement — but it only includes getting paid. If the leadership of the Senate can agree on a way to keep getting paid, they can reach an agreement to get back to work for the people of New York.”

LIVE TONIGHT:

Multimedia work by Fawn Potash and Pat Horner at Oriole 9, 17 Tinker Street, Woodstock, 5-7 p.m.

Today’s local headlines

Town meetings to air on public access channel
CAIRO – The Cairo Town Board extended Mid-Hudson Cable’s contract at their regular board meeting last night. At the public hearing about renewing the company’s franchise agreement before the board meeting, Cairo Supervisor John M. Coyne and council member Janet Schwarzenegger both advocated recording town meetings for Mid-Hudson’s public access channel. Schwarzenegger said Mid-Hudson recently gave the town a camera to record any meetings, and Coyne said, “We would like to have somebody volunteer to run that camera so that these meetings can be videotaped and can be played on their public-access channel” and a man in the audience volunteered.

Columbia County Conservative Party backs candidates
http://www.registerstar.com/articles/2009/06/18/news/news03.txt

County-wide — Sheriff, David W. Harrison Jr.; Coroner, Angelo M. Nero.
Ancram — Supervisor, Thomas R. Dias.
Austerlitz — Supervisor, Jeffrey Braley Sr.; Town Council, Matthew Verenazi and Carol Pinto; Clerk, Sue Haag; Highway Superintendent, Robert Meehan, Jr.
Canaan — Supervisor, Richard Keaveny; Town Council, David Patzwahl; Clerk/Tax Collector, Charlotte L. Cowan; Highway Superintendent, Bernhard Meyer.
Town of Chatham — Highway Superintendent, Joseph M. Rickert.
Claverack — Supervisor, James Keegan; Town Council, James S. Folz and Michael S. Johnston; Clerk/Tax Collector, Mary J. Hoose.
Clermont — Highway Superintendent, James Potts Jr.’ Clerk, Mary Helen Shannon.
Gallatin — Supervisor, Peter Arnone
Ghent — Supervisor, Larry Andrews; Town Council, Larry Van Brunt and Linda Schlegel-Hess; Clerk, Rose Elliot; Highway Superintendent, Michael E. Losa; Town Justice, David W. Harrison Sr.
Germantown — Highway Superintendent, Richard Jennings.
Greenport — Supervisor, Edward Nabozny; Town Council, Glen Graziano; Town Justice, Robert Brenzel; Highway Superintendent, Richard Otty; Clerk, Sharon Zempko.
Town of Kinderhook — Supervisor, Patrick Grattan; Town Council, Patrice Leader; Town Justice, Lisa Mills.
Hudson — Mayor, Richard Scalera; Supervisor (1st Ward), John Musall; Supervisor (2nd Ward), Tracy Decker; Supervisor (3rd Ward), William Hallenbeck Jr.; Supervisor (4th Ward), Samuel Santiago; Supervisor (5th Ward), Bart F. Delaney Jr.; Alderman (1st Ward), Geeta Cheddie; Alderman (5th Ward), Richard Goetz
Livingston — Supervisor, David Fingar; Town Council, James Guzzi and Joseph Leto; Town Justice, Robert Moore; Highway Superintendent, David Lyons.
Stockport — Town Council, Joseph Salvatore.
Stuyvesant — Supervisor, Valerie Bertram; Town Council, Brian Chittenden and Edward Scott; Clerk, Melissa Naegeli; Town Justice, Joseph Bruno; Town Justice, Carrie O’Hare; Highway Superintendent, Bernie Kowalski.
Taghkanic — Supervisor, Elizabeth Young; Clerk, Cheryl Rogers; Highway Superintendent, Edward Waldron.

Regional Economics Better Than Most
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=810991

A new study released today by the Brookings Institution says this region is faring better than most of the nation’s metropolitan areas during the downturn. Foreclosures? We barely have them. The Brookings report says the Capital Region has the second-lowest percentage (0.58 percent) of homes owned by banks. Only Syracuse is better, among the nation’s 100 largest metros. Dramatic job cuts? Not here. Brookings says the Capital Region lost 0.5 percent of its employment base during the first three months of 2009. That doesn’t sound great, but it’s 14th best. (Detroit, by contrast, lost 3 percent of its jobs, the worst rate.)

Today’s local headlines

The papers are full of stories of outrage over the Columbia County Board of Supervisors attempt to put homeless housing and Department of Social Services satellite station in the St. Charles Hotel in Hudson. The Register Star reports that the Hudson Common Council voted to send the BOS a letter opposing the plan. “I think it’s about time the city of Hudson says it doesn’t want to be stepped on anymore,” Alderman Richard Goetz, R-5th Ward, said, adding, “we want to be consulted. It’s like Iran.” And Department of Public Works Supervisor Robert Perry says the plan would have to go before the Zoning Board of Appeals. Another Register-Star story rounded-up reaction, and showed opposition to the plan will make for odd bedfellows. Tim Shook of the Hudson Valley Economic and Environmental Coalition (the group devoted to supporting St. Lawrence Cement plant a few years ago), is calling for BOS chief Art Baer’s resignation; Chamber of Commerce President David Colby has “concerns;” and Columbia Opportunities Director Tina Sharpe said she was “not on board and not opposed.” CCscoop quoted Don Moore, Democratic candidate for Hudson Common Council President, saying, “It’s easy to read this — they are attacking the city.” In The Columbia Paper, Hudson Mayor Richard Scalera asks, “Wouldn’t it be a good idea to include some Hudson officials?”. Linda Mussmann from TSL and the Bottom Line Party is at Columbia County Common Sense reminding everyone how the the Columbia County Human Services committee voted: Chair—Betty Young of Taconic Yes; Dep. Chair—Lynda Scheer of Gallatin Yes; Roy Brown—-Germantown Yes; Jesse DeGroodt—Chatham Yes; Ed Cross—-Hudson No; Bart Delany—Hudson No; Bill Hughes—-Hudson No; Ray Staats—-Clermont Yes. Mussmann also reports the proposal next goes to the Finance Committee and then the full board of supervisors….CCscoop has a story about a proposed 100-unit housing project in Stockport between Route 9 and Chester Avenue in the hamlet of Stottville….Union College is reporting that Tivoli’s Bard College athletics are joining the Liberty League.

Today’s local headlines

While Hudson city officials and activist continue to fight to keep the Department of Social Services in the city, Board of Supervisors chairman Art Baer has a new plan to move the main DSS offices to Ockawamick, The Register-Star reports. Yesterday the Board of Supervisors’ Human Services Committee approved a plan to put homeless housing and a satellite DSS office in the 139-year-old St. Charles Hotel on 16 Park Place. The arrangement could save the county $400,000 a year, Social Services Commissioner Paul Mossman said. In the Register-Star, Hudson Mayor Rick Scalera criticized the county for “deliberating and negotiating over something that’s going to take place in the city without including city officials. It isn’t done anywhere.”…The Daily Mail reports that Catskill town planners approved an “Concept Site Plan” for urgent care center medical facility, Urgent Medical Care, for 10 Grandview Ave. A public hearing for the Site Plan is set for 7 p.m. July 6….The unmuffled blog reports that Hudson City schools New York State Education Department test scores dropped in 2006-07 and 2007-08:

According to the recently released data, mean scores increased modestly for students in grades three through six, while scores for seventh and eighth grades increased by 10 and 18 points, respectively (see below). [Students are graded on a scale from the 400’s to the upper 700’s; 650 is the cut-off between Level 2 and Level 3 (meeting the learning the standards).]

Republicans press for judicial ruling
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=810313&category=REGION

ALBANY – The battle for the state Senate entered a new phase Monday after Sen. Hiram Monserrate officially returned to the Democratic fold, leaving the chamber deadlocked, 31-31, with less than one week left in the scheduled legislative session. After a long day of back-and-forth at the Capitol and the state Supreme Court, both sides sat down to discuss the notion of power sharing — only to emerge less than a hour later with Republicans insisting that no progress could be made until a judge had decided whether last week’s dramatic coup on the Senate floor had been legal and binding. “I have always been clear about my loyalty to the Democratic party,” Monserrate said at a midday news conference, where he was joined by Senate Democrats. It came a week after he joined breakaway Democrat Pedro Espada Jr. and the 30-member Republican conference in a shocking coup that ousted the Democrats from their brief majority. Senate Democratic Leader Malcolm Smith began the news conference by introducing Brooklyn’s John Sampson as the new “conference leader” who will run its day-to-day operations. While Smith will retain his current title, Sampson is widely acknowledged as the new leader of the Senate Democrats.

TU employees reject company offer
http://albanyguild.wordpress.com/2009/06/15/tu-employees-reject-company-offer/

ALBANY – By a more than three-to-one margin, employees of the Times Union voted today to reject a contract offer that would have given the company the power to outsource any and all jobs and lay off employees regardless of how long they had worked at the newspaper. Publisher George Hearst had insisted on the vote and strongly encouraged members to participate. The members rejected the proposal by a vote of 125 to 35. “Had the membership approved the company’s proposal, we would have respected their decision and been bound by it,” said Guild President Tim O’Brien. “The publisher sought this vote, told members how important it was to him that they vote and he needs to respect their decision. Our members were quite clear on what they found unacceptable in the company’s offer and they have been telling us what changes would make it acceptable. We intend to seek new bargaining dates and to go forward with a renewed spirit of flexibility.”

Central Hudson cuts back, files austerity plan
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2009/June09/16/CH_aust-16Jun09.html

POUGHKEEPSIE – Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation Monday filed a mandated austerity plan with the New York State Public Service Commission. The agency in May ordered all utilities to present cost cutting plans. The plan outlines cost cuts proposed by Central Hudson through reduced capital expenditures and operating expenses that will provide savings to customers without causing immediate impacts to service, safety or reliability. Measures include temporarily postponing approximately $20 million, or 20 percent, of planned capital expenditures for the year to reduce the associated carrying charges; lowering research and development expenses by $350,000; and freezing executive base salaries.

LIVE TONIGHT:

Informational meeting about Task Force on Student Academic Performance 6 p.m. in the Hudson High School Library.

Today’s local headlines

While Hudson city officials and activist continue to fight to keep the Department of Social Services in the city, Board of Supervisors chairman Art Baer has a new plan to move the main DSS offices to Ockawamick, The Register-Star reports. Yesterday the Board of Supervisors’ Human Services Committee approved a plan to put homeless housing and a satellite DSS office in the 139-year-old St. Charles Hotel on 16 Park Place. The arrangement could save the county $400,000 a year, Social Services Commissioner Paul Mossman said. In the Register-Star, Hudson Mayor Rick Scalera criticized the county for “deliberating and negotiating over something that’s going to take place in the city without including city officials. It isn’t done anywhere.”…The Daily Mail reports that Catskill town planners approved an “Concept Site Plan” for urgent care center medical facility, Urgent Medical Care, for 10 Grandview Ave. A public hearing for the Site Plan is set for 7 p.m. July 6….The unmuffled blog reports that Hudson City schools New York State Education Department test scores dropped in 2006-07 and 2007-08:

According to the recently released data, mean scores increased modestly for students in grades three through six, while scores for seventh and eighth grades increased by 10 and 18 points, respectively (see below). [Students are graded on a scale from the 400’s to the upper 700’s; 650 is the cut-off between Level 2 and Level 3 (meeting the learning the standards).]

Republicans press for judicial ruling
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=810313&category=REGION

ALBANY – The battle for the state Senate entered a new phase Monday after Sen. Hiram Monserrate officially returned to the Democratic fold, leaving the chamber deadlocked, 31-31, with less than one week left in the scheduled legislative session. After a long day of back-and-forth at the Capitol and the state Supreme Court, both sides sat down to discuss the notion of power sharing — only to emerge less than a hour later with Republicans insisting that no progress could be made until a judge had decided whether last week’s dramatic coup on the Senate floor had been legal and binding. “I have always been clear about my loyalty to the Democratic party,” Monserrate said at a midday news conference, where he was joined by Senate Democrats. It came a week after he joined breakaway Democrat Pedro Espada Jr. and the 30-member Republican conference in a shocking coup that ousted the Democrats from their brief majority. Senate Democratic Leader Malcolm Smith began the news conference by introducing Brooklyn’s John Sampson as the new “conference leader” who will run its day-to-day operations. While Smith will retain his current title, Sampson is widely acknowledged as the new leader of the Senate Democrats.

TU employees reject company offer
http://albanyguild.wordpress.com/2009/06/15/tu-employees-reject-company-offer/

ALBANY – By a more than three-to-one margin, employees of the Times Union voted today to reject a contract offer that would have given the company the power to outsource any and all jobs and lay off employees regardless of how long they had worked at the newspaper. Publisher George Hearst had insisted on the vote and strongly encouraged members to participate. The members rejected the proposal by a vote of 125 to 35. “Had the membership approved the company’s proposal, we would have respected their decision and been bound by it,” said Guild President Tim O’Brien. “The publisher sought this vote, told members how important it was to him that they vote and he needs to respect their decision. Our members were quite clear on what they found unacceptable in the company’s offer and they have been telling us what changes would make it acceptable. We intend to seek new bargaining dates and to go forward with a renewed spirit of flexibility.”

Central Hudson cuts back, files austerity plan
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2009/June09/16/CH_aust-16Jun09.html

POUGHKEEPSIE – Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation Monday filed a mandated austerity plan with the New York State Public Service Commission. The agency in May ordered all utilities to present cost cutting plans. The plan outlines cost cuts proposed by Central Hudson through reduced capital expenditures and operating expenses that will provide savings to customers without causing immediate impacts to service, safety or reliability. Measures include temporarily postponing approximately $20 million, or 20 percent, of planned capital expenditures for the year to reduce the associated carrying charges; lowering research and development expenses by $350,000; and freezing executive base salaries.

LIVE TONIGHT:

Informational meeting about Task Force on Student Academic Performance 6 p.m. in the Hudson High School Library.

Today’s local headlines

Linda Mussmann from TSL in Hudson and the Bottom Line Party is organizing a rally at the County Supervisors Building at 401 State Street, Hudson, at 10:30 a.m. today. Mussmann says there will be an announcement from the County Board of Supervisors Chairman Art Baer regarding the Human/Social Services in Columbia County. Baer has been trying to move the Department of Social Services six miles out of Hudson, even though 65 percent of folks who visit DSS live in Hudson….Former Cairo Town Supervisor Joseph Calcavecchia and former Deputy Supervisor Gerard Aprea are in the Daily Mail today defending their past administration after a recent Comptroller’s Office audit. They say they asked for the state audit in 2004, though it didn’t happen until 2007. They also seem to blame Cairo Town Clerk Tara Rumph. Rumph does charge WGXC reporters different amounts for the same Freedom of Information Act requests….The Daily Freeman reports that the New York State and federal monies are funding ferry service across the Hudson River between Tivoli and Saugerties, as well as replacing a railroad overpass and a 2.5 acre park along the Hudson near Tivoli. The story hints that there is still talk of high speed rail on both sides of the river.

Today’s local headlines

The Greenville Press (no website, no links) reports that Elsie Allan is seeking the Republican nomination to unseat Democrat Sean Frey for the Durham seat in the Greene County Legislature. Les Armstrong, editor Linda L. Fenoff guesses, may also seek the nomination. Fenoff also reports that Greenville legislator Ken Dudley is stepping down, and Republican Greenville Town Supervisor Kevin Lewis will seek his seat.

LIVE TONIGHT:

“The Unbroken Circle of Broken Things” by TrutheaterTheater 7 p.m. Sun. June 14 live from Germantown Tune in radio theater from this Providence, RI group. TrutheaterTheater presents a tale about the unbreakable spirit of love. The company mixes shadows, puppets, song, and dance with live and pre-recorded sound to create a captivating 40-minute journey beyond time and space. A cold soul wanders through a desolate land and encounters a tree. She sees the tree as firewood and proceeds with the intention of cutting it down but stops when three spirits awaken from within the tree: a thief, an alchemist, and an albatross. The three ghosts engage the wanderer with tales of times past and yet to come. Each tale unveils a new plane of reality for the wanderer to enter and leave her worries behind. At Germantown Community Farm, 4872 State Route 9G, Germantown, NY. Listen free on WGXC Online Radio, or donations accepted at the farm.

OPEN CALL: Grant for Columbia County-based artists

The Boschen Fund For Artists, which supports visual and performing artists and arts groups in the tri-state area, is accepting grant applications through July 1. Applicants must live in Berkshire County, MA; Columbia County, NY; northeast Dutchess County, NY; or northwest Litchfield County, CT.

The Boschen Fund for Artists supports artists working alone or in collaboration, as they advance to the next level of their development or in the presentation of their work in innovative ways. The fund, which was established by photographer Martha Boschen Porter of Salisbury, CT in 1987, accepts applications from visual artists, writers, craftspeople, installation, new media and performance artists, as well as interpretive artists working in dance, music and other areas of performance. Applicants must have been full-time residents of the Berkshire Taconic region for two years prior to applying or demonstrate significant connection to the area.

The Boschen Fund is a fund of Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. Guidelines and applications are available online at www.berkshiretaconic.org/grantseekers or by calling 413.528.8039.

Catskill’s silent radio station doing its yearly soundcheck

Catskill has its own silent radio station, though once a year it turns on the transmitter for a brief time just so the Federal Communications Commission doesn’t take away its license. For the last few weeks, WCKL (560 AM) played a looped Quiet Riot CD and Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It” over and over and over again just to avoid being off the air for a full year, beating the FCC’s regulations with a technicality.

How does a radio station get to this point?

WCKL broadcasts 1,000 watts during the day and 43 watts at night from Albany to Kingston. The Black United Fund of New York, a nonprofit organization that promotes the social and economic development of the African-American community, bought the station from Concord Media Inc. of Tampa, Fla. for $100,000.

Then-New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer was already investigating the Black United Fund for financial irregularities when they bought the station. “Its investments in real estate have caused it to fall behind in honoring its financial commitments to designated grantees (the employee payroll-selected charities) that are directly supported by payroll contributions from federal, state, municipal, city and corporate employees,” a press release from Spitzer’s office said in 2003.

Spitzer replaced the BUF board, and the radio station became less and less of a priority. Eventually, the non-profit group failed to pay rent on its Catskill studios, and its equipment was tossed in the rain.

(At right: WCKL studios in Oct. 2006 on Route 23 in Catskill, after the landlord through the equipment out for non-payment of rent.)

There were reports in 2007 that the FCC had taken away the station’s license. From the Northeast Radio Watch:

Stick a figurative fork in WCKL (560 Catskill); after several years in which the station has been silent except for a brief return to the air each June, the FCC has cancelled WCKL’s license. (NERW wonders if WCKL’s licensee, Black United Fund of New York, didn’t let the FCC know that the station made its annual return from the dead last June.)

But the FCC’s web site still lists BUF as the station’s owner, and still lists WCKL as a radio station. WCKL’s license comes up for renewal June 1, 2014.

And since WCKL is silent for most of the year, someone in the listening area might think that is a waste of a public frequency. “Certainly when the station’s license comes up for renewal, it should be trivially easy to show that the station is not meeting its responsibility to serve the public interest,” wrote “Brett Allan” on NY Radio Message Board.

Today’s local headlines

The Daily Mail reports that Friar Tuck Resort, Spa & Convention Center is filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection (but will remain open), and the Greenville Drive-In movie theater has reopened….The Register Star reports that the Hudson Republican Party is considering backing a mayoral candidate but so far has only announced the following: Former Deputy Democratic Election Commissioner Geeta Cheddie for First Ward alderman, Tracy Decker was picked for Second Ward supervisor, Retired Hudson Police Officer and Sheriff’s Deputy William Hallenbeck for Third Ward supervisor, Samuel Santiago for Fourth Ward supervisor and incumbents Richard Goetz and Bart Delaney for Fifth Ward alderman and supervisor, respectively….The Register Star also reports that Public Works Commissioner David Robinson, County Engineer Dean Knox, and supervisors George Jahn, D-Austerlitz, Ray Staats, D-Clermont, and Roy Brown, R-Germantown will be the subcomittee choosing the architectural design firms that will be paid by the county to compare a renovation of the former Ockawamick school with constructing a new building for county offices. This is part of the larger kerfuffle over the potential move of the Department of Social Services out of Hudson.

Foreclosure Fears Sweep Valley
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2009/June09/13/forec_conf-13Jun09.html

POUGHKEEPSIE – Public officials and not-for-profits have handled sprawl from New York City “pretty well,” but there are still other issues that need to be dealt with, such as increasing foreclosures in the state. That was the assessment of two experts in the housing field at the third annual Pattern for Progress Housing the Hudson Valley summit Friday. Over 100 concerned residents, public officials, not-for-profit leaders, and others, gathered at Marist College in Poughkeepsie to hear what experts in the housing field had to say about how the Hudson Valley sizes up with other sprawl-fed regions.

LIVE TONIGHT:

Byrdcliffe Outdoor Sculpture Show 2009 Opening Reception with Tobias Armborst, Byron Bell, Matt Bialecki, Matt Bua, John Cetra, Solange Fabiao, Randy Gerner, Nicholas Goldsmith, Michael McDonough, Barry Price, Todd Rader and Amy Crews, Nancy Ruddy, Evan Stoller, Gisela Stromeyer and Les Walker. Exhibition Dates: June 13 – October 12, 2009 @ Byrdcliffe Arts Colony, Upper Byrdcliffe Road, Woodstock, NY. Opening Reception: Saturday, June 13, 2009 from 4 to 7 p.m.

Celebrate Bloomsday with readings from Ulysses, jazz from Ed Wasyluski, Michael Levinson wallpaper collection, and music from Big Swell, and fireworks, 4-10 p.m. at Athens Cultural Center and town park.

Let It Be in Sight of Thee Hudson River Photography by Carolyn Marks Blackwood, June 13 through August 15, Opening Reception June 13 6-8 p.m. @ Hudson Opera House.

Mother Fletcher @ Jason’s Upstairs Bar, 521 Warren St., Hudson.

WGXC logo

WGXC Logo:
Typestyling by Kathleen Packard / KathodeRay
Icon by Antony Katz / Sorted

Today’s local headlines

BOS hears plea to keep Pine Haven in Philmont
http://www.registerstar.com/articles/2009/06/12/news/news03.txt

HUDSON – Al Wassenhove, head of the Save Pine Haven group, presented the county Board of Supervisors with more than 3,000 signatures opposing any plan to move the Pine Haven Nursing and Rehabilitation Center out of Philmont, at the board’s meeting Wednesday. “I invite each of you to search the recesses of your conscience and stand on the side of Pine Haven remaining in Philmont as a county-operated and -owned home,” Wassenhove said.

Durham moms question board’s teacher moves
http://www.thedailymail.net/articles/2009/06/12/news/news3.txt

CAIRO-DURHAM – The Cairo-Durham Board of Education moved some teachers between the district’s two elementary schools, to the consternation of some Durham parents. The story in The Daily Mail by Jim Planck does not say why specifically the teachers were moved, though C-D Superintendent of Schools Sally Sharkey is quoted saying, “The students will benefit from this,” said Sharkey, adding that the teachers bring “a lot of strengths” with them. The story implies that parents were upset because they first heard rumors of the teacher reassignments before the school told them.

Senate Coup On Hold
http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2009/06/11/news/doc4a317bfd31476804809490.txt
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=809187&category=REGION

ALBANY — An appeals judge has issued a temporary restraining order to prevent a new coalition from taking control of the New York Senate at least until Friday afternoon. Democrats want to block any change in Senate leadership after Republicans and two rogue Democrats launched a power struggle Monday. The ruling late Thursday afternoon by Appellate Division Justice Karen Peters blocks Sen. Pedro Espada, one of the dissident Democrats, from acting as Senate president. A five-judge panel is scheduled to consider arguments Friday afternoon on whether to let that stand. Peters is a former trial-level Supreme Court judge who sat in Kingston. She also formerly served as an Ulster County Family Court judge. Meanwhile, attorneys are set to argue Friday morning before State Supreme Court Justice Thomas McNamara in Albany on who legally is in charge of the Senate.

Scenic Hudson wins approval for new Hudson River park
http://www.ccscoop.com/news/09june/10-scenichudson/scenichudson.html

STOCKPORT – The Stockport Town Planning Board on Tuesday approved the creation of a park that developers claim will have one of the best views of the Hudson River and the rolling hills of Greene County anywhere in the region. Following an hour-long public hearing and review, the board approved a proposal from Scenic Hudson for a six-acre park to be located off Rod and Gun Club Road in the hamlet of Stottville. The park will be located on the former Saurasitis Farm. — CCscoop.

Hunter Phys Ed Director Suspended For Improper Relationships
http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2009/06/12/news/doc4a31d434ceaec624720118.txt

HUNTER — A longtime physical education teacher in the Hunter-Tannersville school district has had his teaching and administrative certificates suspended for a year because of relationships he had with two female students about 20 years ago. A state Education Department hearing panel ruled on July 25, 2008, that Randy A. Mudge lacked the necessary moral character to teach in public schools in New York and should have his certificates suspended. Mudge appealed the decision, but the appeal was dismissed last month by state Education Commissioner Richard P. Mills. In his decision, dated May 18, Mills said the record established during the original hearing showed Mudge had improper relationships with the two female students and had groomed them for physical relationships while he was their teacher and coach. Those improper relationships occurred during the spring of 1989 and the spring of 1992, and each girl in question was a senior at Hunter-Tannersville High School at the time, according to Education Department records….

Big Blue To The Rescue?
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2009/June09/12/IBM_future-12Jun09.html

POUGHKEEPSIE – IBM unveiled initiatives Thursday that will help keep the Hudson River vital and alive. here are plans to create a supercomputer named Watson that is supposed to play Jeopardy and be able to correctly answer a question in three seconds, and IBM wants to make the medical industry more efficient and create technologies that will better manage our energy grids. IBM has been doing research for nearly a decade in the region on these applications, but as Big Blue looks to future, it does so competitively by making changes in its workforce, laying off workers in the region, and causing those over 50 to worry, fearful of losing their jobs.

Stations Turn Off Analog Signals as Digital TV Deadline Arrives
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/stations-turn-off-analog-signals-as-digital-tv-deadline-arrives/?hp

Across the United States today, television stations will power down the analog signals that have sent TV shows into homes for six decades. Friday represents the deadline for the country’s transition to fully digital television broadcasting. Throughout the day, TV stations are switching off analog and in many cases moving to new positions on the channel dial. In Albany, Ch. 6 TV is one of the few stations around the country allowed to continue with an analog signal. That means you will still be able to hear CBS programming on 87.7-FM, at the very bottom of your FM dial.

LIVE TONIGHT:

RiP: A Remix Manifesto: Screening of the documentary about remix culture and copyright law. A talk, led by Paul Rapp, will follow @ Carrie Haddad Photographs, 318 Warren St., Hudson, 7-10 p.m., 518.828.7655.[;

Tasini, Maloney to challenge Gillibrand

Jonathon Tasini is definitely challenging Kirsten Gillibrand for New York’s junior senator seat, and Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (NY-14) seems like she also will too.

Tasini, who got 17 percent of the vote for the same seat in 2006 against Hillary Clinton, announced his candidacy in a diary he wrote on DailyKos:

“I am the only progressive in the race. And I believe, as do my supporters, that we have a chance to move the Democratic Party in a progressive direction. New Yorkers will have a very clear choice in 2010—-a choice of values and principles,” Tasini wrote.

Tasini is currently president of the Economic Future Group, a national consulting group in the United States. He also writes frequently for a labor and economy blog Working Life.

Congresswoman Maloney attacked Sen. Gillibrand in an interview on NY1 Thursday, leaving little doubt that she intends to challenge Gillibrand in the primary next year:

“It’s troubling to me that she could change her position on so many issues that are important to the country and to the city and the state within 24 hours. And say, ‘I just decided to change my mind.’ I feel that the best way to judge a candidate is not on what they say they will do in the future, but what they’ve done in the past. And her past record is a troubling one to me,” she said.

Paterson now less popular than Spitzer

By Nate Silver in FiveThirtyEight.com:

We knew things were getting pretty bad for Governor David Paterson of New York, but this probably takes the cake: former Governor Eliot Spitzer, who resigned last March after allegations that he patronized a high-price prostitution service, is now more popular than Paterson, according to a new poll (.pdf) by Cornell University and the New York Times. Just 21 percent of registered voters in New York State have a favorable view of Paterson, the poll finds, while 50 percent have an unfavorable view. Sptizer’s numbers are marginally better, at 26 percent and 44 percent respectively.

OPEN CALL: ((audience))

((audience)) is seeking statements of interest and submissions of completed works for inclusion in the ((audience)) festival in Syracuse, NY this September. Sound artists, electronic musicians and new media artists are invited to submit works and proposals in the following categories: Live Performance for 5.1 diffusion; Cinema-in-the-Dark; Film/Video works.

((audience)) is a nomadic biennial festival of sound art, organized by Alexis Bhagat and Lauren Rosati. The centerpiece of ((audience09)) is a 2.5 hour program of 5.1 surround sound works (with no visual accompaniment) by seven international artists, to be presented in pitch black cinema halls. ((audience)) promotes the exploration of the cinema as a concert hall for the 21st century. Performances, lectures, radio broadcasts and other events are organized on a city-by-city basis. Our upstate New York ((audience09)) festival is being organized in association with the Red House Gallery in Syracuse, NY and will take place from September 17-September 27, 2009.

*Live Performance for 5.1 Diffusion*

We primarily seek statements of interest and performance proposals from artists who have experimented with 5.1 diffusion. Performers working with multichannel diffusion other than 5.1 are also invited to submit. Genres could include: extended vocal work, computer music, electroacoustic music, noise, phonographic collage or manipulation. Performance proposals and statements of interest must include video documentation of relevant past performances on DVD. Please also include a CV or resume, artist statement and full contact information. Students and emerging artists are especially encouraged to apply for the performance category.

*Cinema-in-the-Dark*

We seek 5.1 surround and stereo works which are “cinematic,” in any way that artists interpret that term. We are especially interested in narrative, poetic or dramatic works that experiment with audio spatialization or in musical works that play with familiar conventions of cinema sound. 5.1 submissions are preferred. 5.1 submissions will also be considered for inclusion in the ((audience11)) main program. Stereo works may be also submitted, and will be considered for broadcast on Red House Art Radio during the ((audience09)) festival. Please send both a playable and raw data CD/DVD. Please also include a CV or resume, artist statement, full contact information. Ordinary audio cd, DVD-V with black screen, or DVD-A. You must also send uncompressed, 24-bit audio. Distinct mono tracks, with channel info in the filename, are preferred. OMF files or Protools 7 session files are also acceptable.

*Film/Video*

We seek completed film and video works with compelling 5.1 surround soundtracks. Film and video works under 30min are preferred will be considered for screening at the Red House Gallery Theater on September 26 during ((audience09)). Longer works may be considered for later screening. DVD, production credits, distributor information (if relevant), CV or biographies of sound editor/designer, full contact information.

Send to:
((audience))
c/o Nadalex
39 Avenue A – #103
New York, NY 10009

Your submission or statement should be received by July 10, 2009. Submission materials will not be returned. Late submissions will be accepted. Please send a statement via email by July 10, if you are mailing a late submission. E-mail inquiries may be sent to curators@au.dience.org.

WGXC

WGXC is a community-run media project, re-envisioning radio as an innovative platform for local participation. Our inclusive programming connects diverse voices, and distributes information across the public spectrum in New York’s Greene and Columbia counties.