Dave Lucas

An audit and investigation by the New York State Comptroller into the financial activities of a local Fire Company has ended in an arrest ... Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Dave Lucas reports...

Former New York state Sen. Pedro Espada has pleaded guilty to tax fraud. WAMC’s Dave Lucas reports.

The plea on Friday also resolves pending charges in a separate case involving the looting of a Bronx nonprofit health care network.

Espada was convicted in May of plundering funds from the Soundview Health Network for personal use. But the jury had deadlocked on some counts and a retrial had been expected.

Espada will remain free on bail until sentencing early next year.

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Authorities say an underground explosion damaged several buildings in Glens Falls… more from WAMC’s Dave Lucas

Fire officials in the city 45 miles north of Albany tell the Post-Star of Glens Falls that the explosion occurred at 6:45 a.m. Thursday. Police and witnesses report seeing flames shooting several feet from manholes on downtown streets, where residents reported feeling their buildings being rattled by the blast.

Officials believe the blast was caused by an underground transformer that exploded.

A small water park would be added to a landmarked amusement park north of New York City under a newly announced proposal. WAMC’s Dave Lucas reports.

New York Senate Democrats are quietly pinning their hopes on an underdog campaign in a new legislative district drawn by Republicans specifically to protect their Senate majority. WAMC’s Dave Lucas reports.

For Democrat Cecilia Tkaczyk the task is daunting against George Amedore a veteran assemblyman. He had been considered a sure thing under the Republicans' redistricting plan. The Senate's 63rd seat carefully snakes from Montgomery County to Ulster County.

Before the U.S. Dollar was created in 1791, a variety of state-issued paper currencies and foreign coins comprised the US money supply. Fast forward to the 21st Century, where many modern communities are turning to "local currencies" as both a way to deal with tough economic times and boost local business. Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Dave Lucas reports.

A top Senate Democrat is pushing to raise taxes on the wealthy while preserving many tax breaks benefiting the middle class in a challenge to a traditional tax reform model that lowers tax rates for all and finances the cuts through a broad assault on tax breaks and loopholes. WAMC’s Dave Lucas has more…

New York Democrat Charles Schumer says any money from curbing tax breaks should go to reducing the deficit. He also says the top tax rate should go back to Clinton-era levels.

The 46th state Senate District race between Democrat Cecilia Tkaczyk and Republican George Amedore is heating up - Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Dave Lucas has a look at the two candidates.

Both Cecilia Tkaczyk and her Republican opponent, state Assemblyman George Amedore, have "grass-roots" elements to their campaigns and are making promises accordingly.

Tkaczyk, was brought up on a dairy farm, has worked as a senior legislative analyst for the New York State Senate Majority Conference, and served as president of the Duanesburg Central School District Board of Education.

Researchers are trying to figure out how bad the stink bug problem is for Hudson Valley farms. WAMC's Dave Lucas has more....



Stink bugs have been in the valley since 2008, but the Poughkeepsie Journal reports that their populations have increased dramatically this year. The invasive insect feeds on fruits and vegetables and is a menace to farmers.