Reporter Dan Heath reports that Dede Scozzafava, New York’s deputy secretary of state for local government, shared with local officials more details about Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Tax Free NY proposal at Clinton Community College Wednesday afternoon. 

Reporter Herb Hallas reports that there are many different definitions of what constitutes the portion of New York State known as the North Country. 

Reporter David Sommerstein reports that Save the River, a Thousand Islands based green group, is sending Gov. Andrew Cuomo hundreds of telegrams urging him to change the way the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario are managed. 

Reporter Chris Knight reports that a group of backcountry skiers wants the state to maintain access to a large network of glades cut by skiers on Lyon Mountain as part of the management plan that the state is crafting for the Chazy Highlands Complex. 

Reporter Martha Foley reports that Potsdam Mayor Steve Yurgartis is cautious about adding more tax-free properties to the village, which would be required under Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposal to create tax-free zones for businesses near public college campuses in New York. 

Reporter Brian Mann reports that the Olympic Regional Development Authority is opposing plans to shut down the hospital emergency room in Lake Placid by Adirondack Health. 

Reporter Brian Nearing reports that a new partnership has formed to combat the aquatic invasive species threatening Lake George

Reporter Jessica Collier reports that the town of North Elba and village of Lake Placid boards have signed a letter requesting that the Adirondack Health Board of Trustees take more time in deciding whether or not to convert the emergency room in Lake Placid into a 12-hour urgent care clinic. 

Reporter Jon Alexander reports that legislative aides and lawmakers are reviewing the rules for constitutional amendments to see if a proposed amendment that passes the legislature one year needs to be passed the next year or during the next legislative session (the next two years) in order to be validly put on a statewide ballot. The NYCO land-swap amendment is at the center of the discussion.

Reporter Thomas Kaplan reports that for the second time in a little over a month, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has offered a disparaging opinion to a reporter that his staff later said was a joke and was misunderstood by reporters and the public. 

Reporter Jon Alexander reports that time is winding down for the state to approve of a proposed constitutional amendment that would give NYCO Minerals access to 200 acres of state Forest Preserve in the Jay Mountain Wilderness area in return for the company turning over about 2,000 acres to the state.

Reporter David Cederstrom reports that a boat washing station could be in place at the Loon Lake Beach in the Town of Chester by the start of July as part of efforts to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species. 

Reporter Katherine Clark reports that the Hudson River Rafting Company will resume guiding trips under certain restrictions according to a ruling handed down by the State Supreme Court in Johnstown.

Reporter Denise Raymo reports Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expecting to call a new negotiation session soon regarding a northern New York land claim by the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe that has been in court for 31 years. 

Reporter Phil Brown reports that the Adirondack Park Agency has scheduled eight hearings around the state to explain options for managing 21,200 acres of former Finch, Pruyn lands and up 24,200 acres of adjacent Forest Preserve.

Reporter Jon Alexander reports that supporters of the Lake George Park Commission’s proposal for mandatory boat inspections and decontamination outnumbered the dissenters at the first of two public hearings on the issue of invasive species.

Writer Peter Bauer writes that the one of the options for classification of the new state lands is the preferred option of the state DEC and it seems like the hearings set up over the classifications are purely for show. 

Writer David Lombardo reports that the proposal to prevent the spread of invasive species with mandatory boat inspections financed by increased registration fees received wide support at Tuesday’s public hearing in Lake George.

Reporter Suzanne Moore reports that the Town of Plattsburgh will no longer be selling State Department of Conservation sporting licenses. 

Reporter David Sommerstein reports that Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Mohawk tribal chiefs have agreed to a long-term deal guaranteeing an eight-county exclusive zone for the tribal casino and payments to the state. Sommerstein discusses what the deal means for the North Country and the Mohawk’s land claim. 

Reporter Brian Mann reports that healthcare in the North Country is at the center of a new wave of innovation, experimentation and reform but that the region’s health care industry also faces an unprecedented level of uncertainty and risk.

Reporter Casey Seiler reports that a new poll from the Siena Research Institute found eighty-eight percent of voters surveyed expected to see more legislators in handcuffs, but the governor’s job approval is still holding steady.

Reporter Chris Knight reports that the APA is meeting with Loon Gulf Inc. to investigate whether it could develop a large resort — including the former Loon Lake Golf Course.

Reporter Brian Nearing reports that state DEC Commissioner Joe Martens said the state is considering a land swap with NYCO Minerals in order to protect jobs. Martens, who supports the measure, says, "Poverty may be the biggest challenge in the Adirondack Park, and if communities cannot find ways to make a living, then the park experience will fail."

Reporter Mike Lynch reports that science writer Andrew C. Revkin told the 20th annual Conference on the Adirondacks that the rest of the environmental issues shouldn’t get lost in the overarching discussion about what to do about climate change.

Writer Jeff Farbaniec writes that the ski season this year at Gore and Whiteface improved significantly over the previous season. 

Reporter Chris Knight reports that cellular companies are making "massive" upgrades to their networks in the Adirondacks, and are coming to the agency earlier to discuss their plans before submitting applications. 

A staff report notes that the state DEC is preparing an expanded recreation management plan for the 3,200-acre Sacandaga West Conservation Easement lands in Fulton County.

A staff report notes that the Lake George Park Commission has scheduled two meetings to hear from the public about how to best regulate the flow of invasives species. 

Reporter Karen DeWitt reports that Gov. Andrew Cuomo is proposing setting up a restructuring panel to help local governments that are on the brink of insolvency. 

Reporter Chris Morris reports that New York will use grant funding to pay the non-federal share for up to 37 buyouts of properties damaged by Tropical Storm Irene in northern New York.

Reporter Chris Knight reports that the owners of 2,800 acres around Loon Lake are talking with the APA to see how — and if — they could develop the property and potentially reopen Loon Lake Golf Course. 

Reporter Ted Booker reports that the Development Authority of the North Country in Canton, NY, is offering $1 million in low interest loan funding to entice carriers to bring high-speed internet to the region.

Reporter Tim Fenster reports that the PCB contaminated sediment dredged during the cleanup of the Grasse River in northern New York will be kept at at a landfill on the Alcoa West Plant site outside Massena, NY.

The Adirondack Daily Enterprise editorial board praises the new executive director of the Adirondack Council for taking — at least for now — a middle of the road track that gains from the perspective of others. 

Reporter Erin Moran reports that Sen. Charles Schumer announced a rapid response grant program to combat invasive species before they spread. 

Reporter Chris Morris reports that an Olympic Regional Development Authority engineer says that there will only be minor environmental and visual impacts from the construction of a new ski patrol building on Whiteface Mountain that will include components critical to Essex County’s public safety radio project.

Reporter Bill Toscano reports that the EPA has awarded $800,000 in brownfield grants to examine or clean up properties along 60 miles of the Upper Hudson River including Chester, Corinth and Hadley, as well as the villages of Hudson Falls, South Glens Falls and Whitehall. The assessments will target sites such as abandoned gas stations, former coin laundry businesses and dry cleaners, sites that had propane tanks and anywhere else potentially dangerous substances had been used or stored.

Maury Thompson reports on a meeting of the Adirondack Gateway Council in which a consultant was selected for a grant funded study aimed at expanding braodband in Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga Counties.   He also reported that a representative of the Review Board will travel to Washington with representatives of the four-state Northern Forest Center to meet with federal legislators to seek broader support of biofuels as a way to improve the region’s economy by keeping money spent on fuel in the region, rather than sending it to the middle east, and by creating new jobs in the local forest products industry, and retaining existing jobs lost to massive state land acquisitions for the forever wild forest preserve.

The Associated Press reports that US Sen. Chuck Schumer is proposing a federal rapid response team to deal with invasive species nationwide, including those found in the Adirondacks. 

Reporter Chris Knight reports that a hostile crowd faced the officials of Adirondack Health at a meeting to discuss the potential change of the Lake Placid ER into an urgent care center. 

Reporter Jon Alexander reports that US Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-VT, proposed a measure that would block any chance of fees being imposed at US-Canadian border crossings.

Reporter Tim Fenster reports that St. Regis Mohawk Tribal officials say they are concerned that EPA’s proposal to clean PCBs from the Grasse River leaves to much of the toxic chemicals in the river.

Reporter Chris Knight reports on the seven options that the Adirondack Park Agency has listed to classify the first parcels of former Finch Paper land that is to be added to the Forest Preserve. As many as nine hearings on the proposals could be held during June and July. Fred Monroe, director of the Adirondack Park Local Government Review Board, said, "There has to be access to a wide range of users and there’s got to be tourism infrastructure in the communities. If it’s limited to wilderness, it seems to me there’s going to be a net loss to the communities."

Reporter Brian Nearing reports that groups advocating replacing and Adirondack rail line with a recreational trail are trying to force the state to reopen the Unit Management Plan for the region, creating a paper trail of decisions that could be challenged in court.

Reporter Kate O’Connell reports that a new report from the Brookings Institution confirms that jobs are continuing to flow away from Upstate New York’s cities  

A staff report notes that the Adirondack Landowners Association has initiated a three-part education program to reduce the spread of aquatic invasive species

The Times Union’s editorial board writes that the DEC’s rules requiring public notification of sewage spills — recently praised by DEC Commissioner Joe Martens — include no information as to how sewer operators and county officials are supposed to report potentially hazardous spills into rivers and streams — because DEC has yet to draft the regulations that are supposed to go with the law. The board asks: what good is a law when compliance with it is a guessing game?   

A staff report notes that New York conservation officials are worried about wildfires, advising rural and suburban residents that all residential brush burning is prohibited during the usually high fire risk period from March 16 through May 14.

A press release notes that environmental advocacy group Protect the Adirondacks has filed a Memo of Opposition with the state Senate against second passage of a Constitutional Amendment to swap Forest Preserve lands with NYCO Minerals in order to allow NYCO to mine on land adjacent to its current property and keep 120 people in the Adirondacks employed. 

The Associated Press reports that business leaders will be meeting in Albany on Wednesday for a state summit on tourism.

Reporter Peter Crowley interviews Willie Janeway, the new executive director of the environmental advocacy group Adirondack Council. Janeway says his focus is on dialogue and working in partnership with other organizations. 

Letter writer Carol LaGrasse, president of the Property Rights Foundation of America Inc., writes that the APA, DEC and other environmental organizations have as their goal to deliberately depopulate the Adirondacks and destroy the culture of the area. Local governments need to fight the movement. 

The Associated Press reports that the state has put on hold plans to repair Route 73 in Essex County because of the discovery of a previously unknown fiber optic cable line.

Reporter Casey Seiler reports that a state appellate court has affirmed the right of local governments to ban hydrofracking within their borders.

Reporter Don Lehman reports that the Saratoga and North Creek Railway will be starting up freight train runs in the next few weeks as logging companies are interested in the service. 

Writer Phil Brown profiles Willie Janeway, the new executive director of the environmental advocacy group Adirondack Council.

Reporter Chris Morris reports that state agencies are not discussing a request from a trail advocacy group to open up and review the Adirondack rail corridor’s unit management plan.

 A staff report notes that the Adirondack Landowners Association (ALA) has announced the beginning of a three-part education program targeting boat and trailer owners to reduce the spread of aquatic invasive species.

A staff report notes that the Times Union’s number of the day — 12,430 — represents the number of industrial use acres in the Adirondacks. It’s 0.21 percent of the more than 5.8 million acres total.

A press release notes that more trout fishing areas are open to the public — areas that were part of the former Finch lands — thanks to the conservation easements.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in a commentary in the Times Union, says that one way to help local governments solve their financial problems is to help them consolidate. As part of that, he proposes a financial restructuring group that includes the Division of Budget, the comptroller’s office, the attorney general’s office, and private specialists to work with municipalities to develop consolidation plans.

Reporter Chris Morris reports that the leaders of Essex County are taking steps to minimize the impact its radio project may have on a rare bird species that only mates at high elevations.

Reporter Dan Heath reports that Plattsburgh’s Nova Bus has just won a large contract to build 300 buses for the Chicago Transit Authority. 

Writer Dave Gibson, of the environmental advocacy group Adirondack Wild, writes that the APA is caving on environmental regulations and not performing its job properly. 

A staff report notes that St. Regis Mohawk Sub-Chief MIchael Conners recently reported that the gaming industry has provided his tribe a way toward tribal economic development, self-sufficiency, employment and investment in community. 

Reporter Brian Nearing reports that a new state law requires municipalities notify residents about about municipal sewage spills within hours so they can decide if it is safe to be near the water. The problem is that the state DEC hasn’t put out rules for the operators of sewer plants to follow to report spills into rivers and streams.