News

WAMC’s Alan Chartock, University at Albany Journalism Professor and Investigative Reporter, Rosemary Armao, and Editor of The Daily Gazette, Judy Patrick.

This morning our discussion topics include:
Osama Pics
Post Tornado Efforts
Immigration Reform Passes Hurdle
Pope's Exorcism?
Apple's Taxes
Disney's "Brave" redesign

VALHALLA – Some 60 members of the Westchester Community College CSEA picketed at the Valhalla-based school late Tuesday afternoon over the lack of a new contract for four years.  The union represents 300 support personnel.

Unit President Carol Ann Zavarella said county government and college administration are “playing politics” with the union members and said they are frustrated.

ALBANY – Unemployment rates in Hudson Valley/Catskills counties in April fell over one year ago levels.

Rockland County had the lowest rate this April at 5.8 percent while Sullivan County had the highest rate, at 8.9 percent, a full point lower than its 9.9 percent rate in March.

State labor analyst John Nelson said those statistics are encouraging.

KINGSTON – Voters overwhelmingly approved the sale of Sofie Finn Elementary School in Kingston to SUNY Ulster for $300,000. The school will be transformed into an urban satellite campus. 

The proposition's unofficial tally was 2,784 for and 570 against.

In the NHL playoffs, the Bruins put the New York Rangers on the brink of elimination with a 2-1 victory in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series on Tuesday night. Boston leads the best-of-seven series 3-0 and can advance to the conference finals as early as Thursday at Madison Square Garden. Elsewhere, San Jose topped Los Angeles 2-1.

Anthony Weiner's run for a renaissance is officially on.

The ex-congressman who resigned over raunchy tweets said late Tuesday that he's in the New York City mayoral race. He had said last month he was considering it.

The Democrat is jumping into a crowded field for September's primary. He's arriving with some significant advantages, including a $4.8 million campaign war chest, polls showing him ahead of all but one other Democrat — and no end of name recognition.

Officials with MGM Resorts plan to kick off a campaign on Wednesday designed to convince voters in Springfield Massachusetts to approve a casino deal.

   MGM officials will be joined by  Mayor Domenic Sarno  and other backers of the casino on stage at Springfield Symphony Hall  late Wednesday afternoon to kick off the  campaign.  It will promote a yes vote on the city wide casino referendum scheduled for  July 16th. The chairman of an anti casino group, Michael Kogut, said a kick off rally for the campaign to defeat the referendum will take place next month.

Newswchannel 13 Meteorologist Paul Caiano gives the WAMC Morning Edition Forecast.

In today’s Academic Minute, Dr. Sarah Freakins of the University of Southern California explores the role environmental factors played in the origin of bipedalism. 

Dr. Feakins is an assistant professor of Earth sciences at the University of Southern California’s Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. Her research uses biogeochemical analytical approaches to answer questions about climatic and ecological change. Her current projects include compound-specific carbon isotopic reconstruction of paleovegetation. She holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University.

If someone is going to make a joke about a college major, Art History is usually the first target.  But art history can be an important look at the social and political history of an era...and that was never more evident than the Renaissance.  Today on The Best Of Our Knowledge, we’ll take a look at the history of that historically creative time through the lens of two of its giants: Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo.

And we’ll spend an academic minute with another cultural giant: Dr. Who.