Borchert wins striper contest

River Basin’s Striper Contest ended today with Eric Borchert bringing in the winner, a 47″-er from the Hudson River.

Murphy attacked on net neutrality, voted Friday to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

Rep. Scott Murphy got attacked from the left last week, for a letter sent to the FCC that net neutrality proponents claim was parroting big Telecom. Murphy and 73 other Democrats allegedly, “sold you out to AT&T, Verizon and Comcast,” targeted e-mail messages sent to constituents in the districts of Murphy and the other members of Congress who signed a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski on May 24 asserted. A letter from Working Assets, the progressive long-distance service, and their “CREDO Action” group says, “They signed industry-backed letters telling the FCC to abandon efforts to protect Internet users by prohibiting big companies from blocking Internet traffic.” Another e-mail from Timothy Karr at Free Press Action Fund said, “Almost every one of these representatives has accepted massive contributions from the phone and cable lobby. Now the industry is demanding a return on its investment.” Murphy’s staff lined up to defend their boss last week, with chief of staff Todd Schulte sending out an e-mail to supporters saying, “Congressman Murphy is in favor of an open Internet to benefit consumers and technological innovation. The email claims the letter states Scott is opposed to net neutrality – the letter says no such thing.” Yes, the letter Murphy signed is vague, but can easily be read as threatening to net neutrality proponents. Schulte also says Murphy favors, “dramatically expand[ing] broadband access, and that we need an internet regime that protects and benefits consumers first and foremost. Scott has concerns about using a decades old provision to regulate a medium totally unimagined when the telephone network first expanded across the nation.” Search Murphy’s website for the phrase “net neutrality” and “No documents match your query.” But search the OpenSecrets website, and Karr seems wrong about at least Murphy’s campaign coffers. Here is the top twenty list of Murphy’s largest contributors, sorted by industry:
Democratic/Liberal $414,467 $3
Securities & Investment $341,621
Leadership PACs $236,900
Candidate Committees $189,450
Lawyers/Law Firms $149,000
Retired $144,451
Misc Finance $101,013
Public Sector Unions $84,750
Commercial Banks $63,850
Building Trade Unions $62,350
Real Estate $61,944
Transportation Unions $59,500
Industrial Unions $50,000
Insurance $48,000
TV/Movies/Music $42,550
Misc Unions $42,500
Pro-Israel $41,598
Pharmaceuticals/Health Products $39,946
Lobbyists $38,459
Health Professionals $34,300

His top contributors:
ActBlue $307,407
Advantage Capital Partners $40,750
JStreetPAC $39,598
Goldman Sachs $34,150
JPMorgan Chase & Co $26,550
AmeriPAC: The Fund for a Greater America $25,500
Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers $25,000
Democratic Congressional Campaign Cmte $20,410
American Federation of Teachers $20,250
BRIDGE PAC $20,000
New Democrat Coalition $20,000
Impact $20,000
PAC to the Future $20,000
National Venture Capital Assn $20,000
American Fedn of St/Cnty/Munic Employees $20,000
Plumbers/Pipefitters Union $20,000
IntercontinentalExchange Inc $17,100
DE Shaw & Co $15,400
Service Employees International Union $15,000
American Resort Development Assn $15,000
Teamsters Union $15,000
Blue Dog PAC $15,000 $0 $15,000
United Food & Commercial Workers Union $15,000
American Crystal Sugar $15,000
Metalmark Capital $15,000

Attacks on Murphy from the right may begin again, as on Friday, he voted to repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which passed the House, 234-194.

WGXC checked in with the staff of Murphy’s Republican opponent this fall, and Chris Gibson opposes net neutrality and the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

Recycle and help Haiti

The Niverville-based Haitian Community Development Project is raising funds by recycling inkjet cartridges and used cell phones. When you recycle your inkjet cartridges and cell phones HCDP gets 15 donation from Planet Green, and folks can buy new remanufactured cartridges at up to 70 percent discounts. Click here for full details.

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 original play by Pamela Badila at 7 p.m. at Hudson Intermediate School.

FRIDAY
Cairo Open Mic sponsored by WGXC and Cairo Library. 7-9 p.m., with jam until 9:30 p.m. at Gallagher’s, 513 Main St. in Cairo.

FODfest jam honoring Daniel Pearl at 8 p.m. Club Helsinki, Hudson.

SAT-SUN
33rd Annual East Durham Irish Festival includes the Elders from Kansas City; Black 47 and Shillelagh Law from New York City; Barleyjuice from Philadelphia; and Hair of the Dog from Albany, N.Y.; Contemporary Irish Music featuring The Andy Cooney Band; the New York Showband with Tommy Flynn and Jameson’s Revenge from New York City; Searson from Ontario, Canada and the Kitty Kelly Band from Albany, N.Y. are just a few of the bands that will be performing. Pipe Bands and Irish Step Dancing Schools are an added feature each day.

SATURDAY
Tannersville Rubber Duck Race, Crazy Boat Race & Festival 11 a.m.- 4 p.m., Gooseberry Creek in the Village of Tannersville ending by the Rip Van Winkle Lake. Free admission.

Pine Smoke Lodge/Cruudeuces/Fossils From the Sun/Jefferson Pitcher at Upstate Artists Guild, Albany.

Just Wear White Memorial Day party from Trixie with DJ Gio at Red Dot, Hudson. 10 p.m. – 2 a.m., $10 includes free drink.

SUNDAY
Memorial Day Parade, 2 p.m., Main St., Catskill.

Music From China, a New York-based ensemble that specializes in both traditional and contemporary Chinese music. 2 p.m. at Hudson Opera House. $7 per person or $20 for the entire family!

Bindlestiff Family Cirkus at 8 p.m. at Club Helsinki, Hudson.

Bella’s Bartok performs at Blue Plate Restaurant in Chatham at 9:30 p.m., $5.

MONDAY
Cairo Memorial Day Observance
Sponsored by American Legion Post #983, Town of Cairo, and WGXC.
9 a.m.: WWI Monument Wreath-Laying, Main St. Fountain.
9:15 a.m.: WWII Monument Wreath-Laying on Library Lawn.
9:30 a.m.: Doughnuts and coffee at Cairo Fire House.
11 a.m.: Parade steps off near Great American.
Noon: Memorial Service in Angelo Canna Park.
12:30: Refreshments and music at Pavillion.
WGXC will provide sound system.

Oatts/Locke Duo performance in Athens

Dick Oatts/Joe Locke Duo performed May 22 at the Athens Cultural Center via Planet Arts.

Greene Dems nominate Woodin for County Judge

The Greene County Democratic Committee picked David E. Woodin as their candidate to succeed retiring Daniel K. Lalor as Greene County Judge in a meeting held tonight at Lange’s in Acra. Woodin has clerked for Hon. John J. Fromer, Hon. James J. Battisti, Hon. George J. Pulver and, for the past 19 years, for Judge Lalor. Woodin also leads the Catskill Community Orchestra.

“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

Garth Slocum via City of Hudson.

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 person must be an elector of the City. Or, if the person is not a Hudson voter but wishes to serve in an appointed position, then s/he must meet two requirements:
1. The appointee must live “within 15 road miles” of Hudson; and
2. “Be a taxpayer on the real property assessment rolls of the City of Hudson.”

Then Pratt looks at Slocum’s particulars:

“Slocum lives in Chatham, well within the 15 ‘road miles’ of Hudson…. But Slocum’s name does not seem to show up in the Hudson 2010 tentative roll as a local taxpayer. The question, then, is: Does he own some property through a corporate name? And if so, would that qualify?”

And then he wonders how many other officers of Hudson do not qualify. Read the entire story at Sam Pratt.

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 time, “total migration into and out of Greene County resulted in a net gain of 247 households and $15.50 million in adjusted gross income (AGI).” Ulster and Sullivan were the only other Mid-Hudson counties with population gains from 2006-2008. H/T The Daily Freeman.

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 silkscreen of excerpted text from Hannah Arendt’s Life of the Mind, and a copy of Richard S. Sloma’s No-Nonsense Planning (1984), two instances of ‘thinking in the marketplace.’ 1989 refers to publication date of Deborah Hoover’s Supporting Yourself as an Artist, as well as a decisive year in the attacks on the NEA. (This was the year the Mapplethorpe exhibition was cancelled at the Corcoran.) The Bad Comrade is a reference to Russian Constructivists’ notion of socialist commodities or objects-as-comrades, ascribed to Aleksandr Rodchenko.

Schumer may become majority leader

Jason Horowitz in The Washington Post says there is a chance New York Senator Chuck Schumer will be the Senate’s next majority leader:

Now, with confidant Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) hanging on to his seat by a thread, the Brooklynite is nearing the goal line of his long game. Succeeding Reid would make Schumer the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in American history and, more important for the uber-competitive politician, the first among peers. The senator has thrust himself into the center of issues including jobs, immigration and Supreme Court hearings, but as that momentum has carried him into a more intimate arena where popularity matters, the grating architect of the current Democratic majority has become noticeably more collegial. Perhaps not coincidentally, his colleagues see him as the front-runner to be their leader. “It’s very much within the realm of possibility,” said Chris Dodd of Connecticut, who lost a race for minority leader to South Dakota’s Tom Daschle by a vote in 1994. “He’s always moving and always talking to people and he has a very good feel for what other people have to put up with. And that’s a critical point of that job, understanding the environment your colleague has to operate in.” Read the entire story in The Washington Post.

Cuomo’s plan for New York

Roatti at The Albany Project dissects Andrew Cuomo’s 250-page policy details he just released in his quest to become the next governor of New York. A few of his thoughts:

* There is a lot of great stuff on Albany reform. Cuomo is promising to veto any gerrymandered redistricting and also a reform of campaign finance. I hope he sticks to his guns when the pressure mounts on this, as the Legislature is not going to accept this without being dragged kicking and screaming.

* There are some things in here that are going to not please the public employee unions, like a wage freeze for all state workers. The public employee unions are going to have to make sacrifices along with everyone else in the state in these dire economic times, but they aren’t going to take it easily. Although I applaud Cuomo’s willingness to ask for sacrifices from his own base, I personally disagree with a wage freeze and a new pension tier. A smarter move would be to to pay state employees more upfront and not give any kind of pension. Public employees can contribute to their own retirement accounts out of their paychecks like private sector workers, and in compensation for the removal of pensions, those paychecks should be substantially increased. There’s a reason why NY is going bankrupt and that reason is pensions. And pensions also contribute to lower up-front pay, which discourages attracting young talent and discourages mobility in the public sector labor market. Need evidence? Only 14 percent of the state’s workers are under 35.

* Cuomo is also calling for a constitutional convention to fix a lot of the structural problems with the way the state operates. This is a good idea.

* I’m very glad that Cuomo is running on municipal consolidation. Everybody agrees that the vast number of local government bodies are the driving force behind the inexorable rise in property taxes, and it would be good to build upon last year’s municipal consolidation statute. Cuomo also wants to clean house with the redundant state agencies and authorities, and more power to him.

* I would have liked some more specifics on the environmental agenda, but I doubt Cuomo could be worse than Paterson in this regard.

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.

Film looking for horse farm location

Th Hudson Valley Film Commission says a feature film looking to shoot this summer in the Hudson Valley region seeks a horse farm, “with a masculine/rustic looking home, a barn, stables/paddocks and smaller caretaker’s home. The house itself should have a rustic feel. It would also help if there was some type of water on the property, such a pond, brook or stream. Inside the house, there should be a very country feel–although they are willing to production design, the director wants a cinema verite look to the film. Ideally, a lot of wood trim, a darker color palette and a less modern look with more of a country feel to it.” Watershed Post says the films seems to be “Second Child,” by Chilean director Sebastian Silva, who won a Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 2009 for “The Maid.” From an interview with Silva on Ion Cinema: “The title is ‘Second Child’ and it’s a fiction movie about an eight year-old boy who is gay and falls in love with his uncle during a family vacation. His family wants him to like his little cousin but he is more interested in his uncle.” Please email photo suggestions of locations with contact info to filmcommission@me.com

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 stories written by Columbia County youth, which young actors will then bring to life in various “haunted” buildings in Hudson as part of the GhostWALK Hudson Tour on November 5, 2010. The winning story will be told in the select locations, evoking some of the history of our community. Judges include playwright James Farrell, Register-Star reporter Andrew Amelinckx, novelist Rebecca Stowe, author David C. King, playwright Susan Willerman, columnist Kate McLeod; Emily Arnold McCully; Mike Bowman; illustrator and author Jacqeuline Rodgers; and young adult fiction writer MJ Caraway.

Greene County’s new news

The Greenville Mountain View Pioneer debuted this week, and the Greene County Local Courier morphed into the Greene County News, after its recent purchase by Hudson-Catskill Newspaper Corp, and it is great to read more local newsprint. Both papers are fighting for territory best covered by The Greenville Press which closed early this year, and neither has a website. With the Pioneer focusing on Greenville and the News citing Greenville, Coxsackie, and Athens as target markets, the debut and remake make for a side-by-side comparison. The Pioneer wins the first count, as this week’s issue includes results of Tuesday’s school board elections, while the News does not (both papers have Thursday street dates). Both have little news — the Pioneer reveals a new Greenville bakery, while the News covers NY State Senator James Seward‘s appearance at the opening of Coxsackie beverage distributor Empire Merchants North. The Pioneer has a much cleaner layout, though the News improves from its Courier days, and now looks more like its HCNC sister papers The Daily Mail and Register-Star. Both publications include lots of unnecessary filler with the News even printing a verbatim press release from WGXC about a radio station event with the Agroforestry Center twice, on pages 20 and 23 (extra thanks!). But the Pioneer has much larger problems. Thirteen by-lines include the name “Macko” (the publisher and former Daily Mail writer Andrea Macko authors most), while only six others contribute articles. Of those six, the owner of the new Greenville bakery writes about his own store, and another is a campaign donation in the form of an article by Greenville County Legislator Kevin Lewis. While the News makes a similar donation to the campaign of Seward with his “column,” the Pioneer gives away advertorial disguised as editorial more often. Publisher Macko also gives a free campaign ad/column to Greenville Town Supervisor Paul Macko (she is his niece). The first issue ever also has two letters to the editor about how Peter Margoulius would make a swell County Court Judge, and on the next page there is a larger press release about how one local group endorsed his campaign. Virtually no local Democrats are mentioned anywhere in the Pioneer. Both papers print an awful lot of verbatim press releases, and the Pioneer seems one-sided so far. And the Pioneer’s debut editorial makes odd boasts, saying that seeing names and pictures in a publication and an accompanying feeling of being a, “part of something bigger” is something “that you won’t find on any website.” That’s pretty funny!

Changes in dairy safety net expected

Marc Heller in the Watertown Daily Times reports:

In the next few years, dairy farmers are likely to see big changes in the safety net that protects them from crashing milk prices — including a first-ever comprehensive system to limit milk production, the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee said. Rep. Collin C. Peterson, D-Minn., said he believes the past year’s deep decline in milk prices will result in momentum for fundamental changes in dairy policy when Congress considers the five-year farm bill in 2012, as long as farm groups can find common ground and opposition from milk processors can be kept to a minimum. Mr. Peterson outlined his expectations in an interview at his Capitol Hill office in which he also disputed widespread criticism that the dairy industry is plagued by price manipulation and discussed the role Rep. William L. Owens, D-Plattsburgh, may play on the committee, to which he was named two weeks ago. Mr. Peterson’s committee already has begun weekly field hearings on the farm bill, which have generated hundreds of comments from farmers around the country. The farm bill sets farm, food and nutrition programs, as well as rural development initiatives. Read the entire story in the Watertown Daily Times.

Listen to the frog sound walk

Liz LoGiudice, Extension Educator at Agroforestry Resource Center, led an “Amphibian Adventure” WGXC fundraiser Friday night, giving a “frog walk” across the street at the Siuslaw Model Forest. We listened to peepers, tree frogs, pond frogs, and found tadpoles and snails.

Click here to listen to an mp3 sound recording of the “Amphibian Adventure” or paste this url into your computer’s media player:
http://archive.free103point9.org/2010/05
/AmphibianAdventure_AcraSoundWalk_WGXC_AgroforestryCenter.mp3

Siuslaw Model Forest.

Audio from Upstate Artist Guild noise show

WGXC volunteer Sam Sebren recorded performances from the Upstate Artist Guild show Wed. May 19, 2010 organized by Leah Rico and Alex Young:

Prayer Town at Upstate Artists Guild 051910. Photo by Sam Sebren.

Prayer Town performed first, click here to listen to a wav file recording or paste this link into your computer’s media player:
http://archive.free103point9.org/2010/05
/PrayerTown_WGXC_UAG_051910.wav

Kier Neuringer at Upstate Artists Guild 051910. Photo by Sam Sebren.

Kier Neuring performed next, click here to listen to a wav file recording or paste this link into your computer’s media player:
http://archive.free103point9.org/2010/05
/KierNeuringer_WGXC_UAG_051910.wav

Price_Trump Duo at Upstate Artists Guild 051910. Photo by Sam Sebren.

The Price_Trump Duo finished things, click here to listen to a wav file recording or paste this link into your computer’s media player:
http://archive.free103point9.org/2010/05
/PriceTrumpDuo_WGXC_UAG_051910.wav

Seeing Catskill school election

Seeing Greene blog breaks down the Catskill school elections:

That result attests to influence exerted by local teachers. The victorious newcomers were endorsed by the Catskill Teachers Association (along with Francesca Daisernia, who finished fifth). Thus, no sitting trustee evoked CTA approval, and the CTA-endorsed candidates presented themselves as agents of “change” in board operations, change in the directions of greater “transparency and accountability” of district operations, of economizing chiefly by curbing administrative costs, and of fostering greater freedom of expression for teachers and other staff under the administration of Superintendent Kathleen Farrell. The top vote-getter, however, did not dwell on those themes. Mr Bulich presented himself as a hard-headed “very conservative” trustee, sensitive to economic “tough times,” concerned about nurturing “a healthy private sector,” skeptical of non-traditional programs, keen to imbue students with firm “discipline” along with “understanding…of the true meaning of what it is to be an American,” calling for more rigorous evaluations of district employees, and condemning contracts give employees “never-ending rise[s] of salaries and benefits.” Read the entire story in Seeing Greene.

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 majority of the airwaves have been reserved for a powerful few who take advantage of the complicated technical and political system of media regulation. This inequity in our media system is a reflection of larger structural inequalities in our society. Prometheus’s mission is to build participatory radio as a tool for social justice organizing and a voice for community expression. We work for media justice, seeking to diversify control of the media as a necessary step towards a more equitable distribution of power and resources. We value radio because it is easy to produce, free to consume, and accessible to more people across the world than any other mass media, and we work to help grassroots organizations build communications infrastructure to strengthen their communities and movements.

Prometheus has supported hundreds of community organizations to apply for non-commercial low power FM (LPFM) radio licenses, as well as full power non-commercial license (full power stations). We have also helped build stations, either through providing resources and support or through radio barnraisings, where hundreds of volunteers gather to build a radio station of the course of a few days. These radio barnraisings have helped groups build their base while training a new generation of media organizers across the country. Prometheus has held barnraisings all over the county with eleven groups over the past eight years. These stations have encompassed everything from farmworker unions to civil rights organizations to rural arts groups.

WGXC: Hands-On Radio is a community-run media project in New York’s Greene and Columbia counties. Over 78,000 potential listeners will be able to receive WGXC’s FM signal on 90.7-FM once the station gets on the air with the Prometheus Barnraising in the last week of September. WGXC will be much more than just a radio station, with regular exhibitions and events, ongoing media trainings for our community’s youth and adults, a news blog, and a local calendar of events, community meetings, and resources. The station will serve a media-deprived area between Albany and New York City, a mostly rural area deeply rooted in agriculture and small industry with small urban centers, and home to a thriving music and arts community. WGXC will be the first radio station of its kind in the area created by and for people who live in the community. With local newspapers and independent media outlets rapidly disappearing from the area, this station offers a important opportunity for journalists and community members to get the training needed to produce high quality local news, as well as the outlet for that information to air.

WGXC will serve as an on-air arena where different and conflicting points of view can come together to share perspectives, acting as a local “trading post” for historic, creative, playful, and informative content. WGXC will provide the tools to make voices heard, and become a vehicle to build understanding. The station will be uniquely decentralized with three main studios spread out across the listening range, allowing broader access and participation from residents of both counties. Partnerships are already forming with schools, music venues, and town halls to live feed from various locations, furthering the scope of the station.

WGXC’s mission is to cultivate and to preserve the unique character of our area, the voices, and conversations of Greene and Columbia county residents, especially those that are rarely heard. “Hands-on Radio” captures the essence of this project. WGXC’s participatory environment will bring to life the idea that media is not something that is fed to us, but something we create with our own hands, hearts, and minds.

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.

Molinaro hosts town meeting in Millerton Saturday

Assemblyman Marc Molinaro (R,C,I-Red Hook, representing much of Columbia County) will host a town hall meeting with local residents on Saturday, May 29 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Simmons Way Village Inn, 53 Main St., Millerton.

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 with 1,465 words spoken. See Capitol Confidential for complete list.

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 Central School District’s $36.6 million budget package for 2010-11 was approved by district voters Tuesday night in a 2-1 margin of 712-375. The Catskill Public Library budget was also passed with an approximate 2-1 margin, 701-368. Elected to the Board of Education for three-year terms were incumbent Michael Bulich, who was returned to the board for his second term with 579 votes, and first-timers Christopher Van Loan and Tracy Powell, who drew 439 and 408 votes, respectively. Elected to a two-year term — the unserved balance of an existing seat from a former BOE member — was first-timer Matthew Leipman, who received 402 votes.

The Daily Mail also has Coxsackie-Athens results:

The 2010-2011 budget for the Coxsackie-Athens Central School District was adopted by voters by a margin of 738 votes to 521. Three Board of Education seats were also up for grabs in the vote held yesterday – incumbents Mark Gerrain, Russell Nadler and Beth Tailleur were all up for re-election. Gerrain and Tailleur had easy victories, but Nadler was unseated by opponent Stephen Oliveira, who won 575 votes to Nadler’s 404.

In Hudson, Register-Star reports:

The Hudson City School District budget for 2010-2011 squeaked by Tuesday by a margin of a little more than 100 votes. District voters also reelected Mary Daly (663 votes) to the School Board and brought aboard Peter Merante Sr. (717), Justin Cukerstein, 593 votes. He may still may get a board seat. Patricia Abitabile, currently in the second year of her second five-year term, is resigning from the board as of June 30. There has yet to be a resolution on how Abitabile will be replaced, but a discussion at a recent BOE meeting seemed to indicate the candidate with the third highest number of votes could garner her seat. Carrie Haddad received 422 votes and Peter Rice Jr., garnered 263.

In Taconic Hills, Register-Star reports:

The 2010-2011 budget for the Taconic Hills Central School District passed Tuesday after polls closed, with 604 yes and 377 no votes….Joseph Costa (552), a Claverack automotive business owner who said he would encourage attendance at board meetings, and Kevin Maisenbacher (511), a branch manager at Key Corp/N.A. Licensed Investment, who hopes to involve the community more deeply in board decisions, won the district’s two open school board seats, replacing incumbent board members Scott Decker and Tom Bailey.

The story does not report the other vote totals. Also: Chatham Central School District voters passed the 2010-11 budget of $26,614,687 Tuesday by a margin of 441 for and 260 against. Incumbent candidate Melony Spock, 473 votes, Gail Day, 463, elected. A $13.6 million Germantown Central School District Budget passed easily Tuesday with 274 votes for the budget and 171 against. Eric Mortenson, 327; Theresa Repko, 320; Cynthia Smith, 304.

Murphy ranks 370th in bringing home pork

U.S. Rep. Scott Murphy, the Democrat from Glens Falls who represents Columbia and Greene counties, ranked 370 of 435 with $6.09 million federal pork-barrel funds for local projects, according to the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste’s annual “Pig Book,” William J. Kemble reports in The Daily Freeman. In comparison, longtime U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, who represents an area just south of Murphy’s district, ranked 50th with $54.96 million in projects. Murphy has served less then one full term. Murphy recently posted his appropriations requests online. Murphy is facing Republican Chris Gibson this fall.

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.

Hunter-Tannersville
(Polls are open 1 to 9 p.m.)
Hunter Elementary School.

Columbia County

Germantown
(Polls are open noon to 9 p.m.)
Germantown Central School office lobby on Main Street.

Greene County Dems endorse Rice for AG

Jimmy Vielkind at Capitol Confidential says Tom Poelker of the Greene County Democratic Committee, and two other upstate county Democratic leaders are about to endorse Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice for the Attorney General race. Cindy Emmer, chairwoman of the Chemung County Democratic Committee, and Mike Kunzwiler of the Oswego County Democrats are also about to endorse Rice, Vielkind says, in her race against Sen. Eric Schneiderman.

Village of Catskill Appropriations Meeting

Next Monday May 24 at 7 p.m. at Catskill High School the Village of Catskill holds its annual Appropriations Meeting, where voters get to speak about the village budget.

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 districts, declining enrollment.

GREENE COUNTY

Cairo-Durham school officials are planning to cut 7.2 teaching positions — half at the elementary level and half at middle and high schools — along with a psychologist and a teaching assistant. Catskill school officials are planning to cut three teachers — an art teacher, a librarian and a foreign language teacher — as well as a secondary school administrator, an assistant principal at the elementary school and 1.4 support staff positions. The district plans to reduce the assistant director of special education from a 12-month to 10-month position. In Coxsackie-Athens, planned cuts include a kindergarten class, a teacher’s aide, a high school teacher’s aide, a part-time high school Spanish teacher, an elementary special education teacher, high school academic intervention teaching assistants in science, English and the computer lab, a middle school enrichment teacher, an elementary school librarian, a middle school reading teacher, a high school special education teacher, a part-time high school math teacher, a fifth-grade section and a sixth-grade section. Hunter-Tannersville is the only district in the region not planning to cut any positions.

COLUMBIA COUNTY

In Germantown, the district is planning to cut 1.5 high school teachers, an elementary teacher, a teaching assistant, a custodian and a part-time Spanish teacher. Read the entire story in The Daily Freeman.

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 of the set from Moonlight in Paris: Young Paris with Lady Moon. Or paste the following url into your media player:
http://archive.free103point9.org/2010/05/YoungParisLadyMoon_WGXC_051510.mp3

Click here to listen to an mp3 recording of the set from Hi-NRG. Or paste the following url into your media player:
http://archive.free103point9.org/2010/05/HiNRG_WGXC_051510.mp3

Green Party nominates Hawkins for Governor

Saturday New York’s Green Party nominated Howie Hawkins for Governor. Gloria Mattera, long-time peace activist from Brooklyn, was nominated for Lt. Governor. Colia Clark, a long time social justice activist from Harlem, won the nomination to run for the U.S. Senate for the seat presently held by Democrat Chuck Schumer. Cecile Lawrence, a resident of Apalachin in Tioga County who is a leader in the movement against hydrofracking for natural gas due to concerns over water and other environmental issues, will run for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand. Julia Willibrand, a long-time environmental leader from Manhattan, was nominated for State Comptroller. The Green Party needs 50,000 votes for Governor to regain its status as an official ballot access qualified party.

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 right buttons, we’ll be producing some short interviews and field recordings while engaging the skills needed to make radio that really represents. Dharma Daily and Emily Bennison will share their expertise and lead us through.

Joining the airwaves: The WGXC radio station “barnraising”
Meet downstairs in the barn.
Capacity Building for Community Building:
WGXC community radio is really rolling. The station launch date is set for late September, and Prometheus Radio Project has chosen us to collaborate with to produce a huge event called a Radio barnraising. 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. This is an extremely exciting opportunity for those interested in community radio to get involved and get trained! Come find out more about this event, see a couple short films of other barnraisings, and become a part of making it happen. Cory Fischer-Hoffman of Prometheus Radio Project and Kaya Weidman of WGXC: Hands-On Radio will guide us through.

Food and farmland access
Our regional resources and strategies meet by the tables or in the house
With Ashley Loehr of Fog and Thistle CSA and some other farmers.

Farm Tours

Meet by the washstand next to the barn.
Cruise around the property with the farmers here on the land and hear of the successes, as well as the trials and tribulations of the soil, the seasons, breaking new ground, marketing, and various earthly forces that affect what they grow, how they grow, and what happens.

Labor of Love: get yer hands dirty!
Meet at the greenhouse.

With the farmers: Don’t feel like going to a workshop, and just want to get your hands in the dirt? Luckily, there’s plenty to do! Come see the glamorous side of farming by picking rocks and planting potatoes, and help the farmers enjoy the party by getting some big work done.

TUNE IN TODAY
Tune in today live from Germantown Community Farm.
Click here to listen to live web stream.

Or paste this url into your computer’s media player:
http://comm.free103point9.org:8000/
germantown.mp3.m3u

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 About Hudson” is a must, for anyone wanting to know what’s happening in Hudson and beyond. There will be a reception in her honor to be held at the Hudson Opera House on Thursday, May 20, from 5 to 7 p.m. Although not required, please RSVP to the Hudson Rotary Club by contacting Joel Allen at hudsonallens@verizon.net or (518) 828-4729.

$200K grant to target small businesses in Greene County

From The Business Review (Albany):

A $200,000 state grant will enable Greene County to help small businesses. The grant from the New York State Office of Community Renewal will be funneled into the county’s Microenterprise Assistance Program, which provides grants to small businesses. The county will also offer training classes for small businesses. Start-up companies and existing businesses with five or fewer employees are eligible for grants of up to $25,000 to create jobs or expand their business. Applications can be submitted to the Greene County Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Planning. For more information, go to http://greenebusiness.com/economic-development/loans-incentives. Reservations are also being accepted for the Spring 2010 Microenterprise Assistance Program training class, a free, two-day intensive session that covers the basics of business planning, accounting and marketing. The class will be held June 18-19 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Greene County Emergency Operations and Training Center, One Volunteer Drive in Cairo. To reserve a seat, call the county at 518-719-3290. Reservations should be requested by June 14 at 4:30 p.m.

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 in January, he had been working to sell the theater to the Chatham Film Club, though the Club now is among two bidding groups that apparently lost to the Grunberg group. The Grunberg group is reportedly talking with the film club about extending the theater’s previous collaborations.

Chris Gibson opens campaign headquarters in Kinderhook

Chris Gibson opens his campaign headquarters in Kinderhook May 12, 2010.

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 talk about the issues he is hearing about from residents of Greene and Columbia counties, and you can listen to the mp3 file here or paste this url into your computer’s media player:
http://archive.free103point9.org/2010/05
/ChrisGibson_WGXC_051210.mp3

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 $15 for all at door. All proceeds will go to help launch the very exciting new community radio station for Columbia and Greene counties, WGXC. Check out http://www.wgxc.org for more info.

On Saturday, May 19, three bands will take the newly-opened stage of Club Helsinki by storm. Comprising an unrelenting cross-section of American music today, all three acts have more than just old friendships in common: None of them have left a stage in the last year without everyone in the room sweaty, wild-eyed, and screaming for more. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see three bands that are truly shaking the foundations of independent music, all on one stage.

Because of their love for independent community radio, these bands are travelling all the way to Hudson to play this blowout benefit for this area’s soon-to-be very own community radio station, WGXC: Hands-On Radio. The station is gearing up for its grand launch onto the airwaves this fall, and just needs to raise the remaining bucks to do so. So come out, get moving, and help make it happen.

for more info check out:
http://www.wgxc.org

The Weight: If this doesn’t move your body, all hope is lost. “While there’s certainly no shortage of classic rock / Americana revival bands in Brooklyn these days, The Weight… have the drawl and enthusiasm to make the rest sound like they’re reading off cue cards.” -Vice Magazine

Happy Birthday, with their self-titled debut on Sub Pop records (L7, Nirvana, Reverend Horton Heat, etc.) are making waves. Poppy, sour-bubblegum waves. The kind that makes you keep chewing even though it makes your mouth water too much, your eyes tear, and your feet propel your body up and down off the floor. The kind of wave that makes you smile and dance until it hurts. A lot.

J.P. Harris and The Tough Choices play old-fashioned Honky Tonk. Period. If you wanna two-step, if you wanna cry in your drink, or if you just like scruffy young fellas in Wranglers, find them in a low-lit roadhouse near you.

BUY TICKETS THROUGH BROWN BAG TICKETS:
WGXC Founding Members get a discount. Type in “wgxc” in discount box.

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 Democrat Scott Murphy to represent New York’s 20th District.

Seward in Coxsackie Friday

New York State Senator James Seward will join the Greene Business Alliance, members of the business community, and local elected officials at an Empire Merchants North open house at 11 a.m. Friday, May 14 at Empire Merchants North, 16 Houghtaling Rd., West Coxsackie, NY.

Audio recording of Lafarge DEC hearing last night in Ravena

WGXC’s Sam Sebren made it out to record the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation legislative hearing for renewal and modification of the existing Lafarge Title V Air Permit application last night at 6 p.m. at the Ravena-Coeymans Selkirk High School Auditorium.

Click here to listen to mp3 audio recording of the hearing, or paste the following url into your computer’s media player:

Review the complete LaFarge application documents at this link: http://www.dec.ny.gov/dardata/boss/afs/draft_atv_l.html. The DEC will be accepting written comments until May 21. Please mail or email your comments & include the application number so your comments aren’t lost.
Mail to:
Sarah H. Evans
NYSDEC Region 4 Headquarters
1130 North Westcott Rd.
Schenectady, NY 12306
518-357-2069
r4dep@gw.dec.state.ny.us
Application ID# : 4-0124-00001/00112

WIOX tests signal

Recently testing began on where [the WIOX] signal can reach. The signal is strong in Fleischmanns, Margaretville, and Andes….tests [continue] over the next few weeks in the other directions….WIOX will have a booth at the Roxbury Sidewalk Festival.

30 speak, largely worried about mercury at Lafarge

From Brian Nearing in The Albany Times-Union:

Several hundred people turned out for a hearing Tuesday on the proposed state air pollution permit for the Lafarge cement plant, and nearly all gave the same message — the state must do more to limit the amount of mercury and other toxins coming from the smokestack. “I think we are splitting hairs here over just how much they are poisoning us,” said Leigh Jamison, who lives about seven miles downwind of the Route 9W plant in Stuyvesant, Columbia County. Nearly 30 people spoke during the three-hour hearing held across from the plant at Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk High School by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Read the entire story in the Times-Union.

WGXC’s Sam Sebren was at the hearing, and made a recording we will upload on Wednesday.

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

Fireworks in Catskill

Dick May practiced some citizen journalism at the April 26 Catskill Village meeting, forcing the town trustees to go on the record with their decision to move the July 4 fireworks from the Hudson River waterfront to downtown Catskill. He writes, “the Trustees of Catskill Village almost made a controversial decision by stealth. And they made a decision without making a case.” And then recalls the manner the decision was announced.

“After that business had been well under discussion, a spectator (this correspondent) ventured to ask whether the Board had made a decision on the fireworks launch site. Mr. Seeley acted surprised—as if the answer was evident from the trustees’ remarks. The Trustees then proceeded to resolve formally that the July 4, 2010, fireworks shall be launched from a “downtown” site, ‘yet to be determined.’ That resolution did not stem from anything remotely resembling a systematic or comprehensive cost-benefit analysis. The Trustees acted without affirming, much less determining, that the change of launch sites would be popular, would be economical, would produce a net gain of public safety, would enable the fireworks to be more spectacular, would make the viewing population bigger, or would produce an increase in local business. Read the entire story in Seeing Greene.

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 was announced to the public in the Saturday edition of the Register-Star. The matter will be discussed at the meeting of the full board 7 p.m., May 10 in the cafeteria of Hudson High School.

From “On the agenda…”: The Claverack building and the former Greenport School were concurrently declared surplus property by the BoE on March 31, 2009, and a proposal to sell the buildings was approved by taxpayers in May 2009. Despite the 2009 voter directive, the board continues to approve funding for the renovation and repair of the Claverack building, as well as for instructional use.

From “Rumor Patrol: Rees running?: Former Hudson City School District Board of Education President Frank Rees may be a last-minute addition to the field of candidates vying for two open board seats in the district’s annual election set for next week….According to several sources, Mrs. Rees was actively soliciting signatures in support of her husband’s candidacy from school faculty and staff last week.

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 at the Central Firehouse, 77 North Seventh Street, to meet with people to discuss their assessments. He will be there every weekday except Wednesday up until Grievance Day on May 25. Today he’s not expected to be at the firehouse until 11. I have been told that henceforward he will be there from 9 to 12:30 and again from 2:30 to 5. No appointments are necessary.

NY Environmental Facilities and Cancer Map

New York’s Department of Health’s Environmental Facilities and Cancer Map shows the number of people diagnosed with cancer (cancer counts) for the years 2003-2007 in small geographic areas of New York State. Locations of certain environmental facilities can also be viewed.