News

By Karen DeWitt

Albany, NY – The legislature is headed for a mostly completed on-time budget before the fiscal year ends on Thursday. The budget talks were conducted in a more public manner this year, and some credit the new openness with helping to speed up the process. WAMC's Capitol Correspondent Karen DeWitt reports.

By Allison Dunne

White Plains, NY – A medical college in Westchester County that refused to authorize a gay student group, did not violate anti-discrimination laws. This decision from the county's Human Rights Commission cites the college's connection to the Roman Catholic Church as the reason. More from WAMC's Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Allison Dunne.

By John Krol

Boston, MA – The Massachusetts Senate has overwhelmingly approved a bill giving scienctists greater leeway to conduct embryonic stem cell research in the state. WAMC's Berkshire Bureau Chief John Krol has the story.

By Eesha Williams

Brattleboro, VT – Vermont state regulators have ruled that Vermont's biggest power company has been charging customers too much for electricity. The state has ordered the company to lower its rates and give $3 million in refunds. WAMC's Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Eesha Williams reports.

By Allison Dunne

Brewster, NY – A Hudson Valley-based environmental group has released a report on the impacts of sprawl. The study is a call to local leaders to step up and protect their communities from becoming landscapes of strip malls and big-box stores. WAMC's Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Allison Dunne filed this report.

By John Krol

North Adams, MA – With an increasing number of overweight, and obese children across the country -- several schools in the Berkshires are taking part in a program to encourage students to live a healthier lifestyle.
WAMC's Berkshire Bureau Chief John Krol has the story

By Eesha Williams

Northampton, MA – New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut and five other states sued the federal government yesterday. The states are challenging new rules they say do not protect children and pregnant women from dangers posed by mercury emissions from power plants. WAMC's Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Eesha Williams has more.

By Karen DeWitt

Albany, NY – The New York State budget, which legislative leaders say will be mostly completed by Thursday, will not address a court order to allot billions of additional dollars to New York City's schools. WAMC's Capitol Correspondent Karen DeWitt reports.

By John Krol

Boston, MA – A senate task force in Massachusetts says the state needs to significantly increase funding for higher education -- as funding has been cut drastically during the fiscal crisis of the past few years. WAMC's Berkshire Bureau Chief John Krol has the story.

By Eesha Williams

Holyoke, MA – The city council in Holyoke, Massachusetts is expected to vote soon on a $170 million plan to privatize the city's sewer system. The plan is controversial. WAMC's Eesha Williams has more.