Dave Lucas

The New York Civil Liberties Union says state prison use of solitary confinement puts more than 4,000 prisoners into forced isolation that deprives them of meaningful human interaction and mental stimulation, while forcing idleness that fails to prepare them for release. More from WAMC's Dave Lucas



In its report out tuesday, the NYCLU says that from 2007 to 2011, New York issued more than 68,100 sentences to isolation for violations of prison rules, averaging five months each, though some inmates are kept there for years.

The Dyson Foundation and the Marist Poll have released a new study measuring the priorities of Mid-Hudson Valley residents ... Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Dave Lucas was at Marist College for the official release and files this report

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It's the third in a series of reports about life in the Hudson Valley - “Many Voices One Valley,” targeted a 7-county area:   Columbia, Greene, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Sullivan and Ulster counties.

84 percent of residents polled said they like living in the mid-Hudson Valley.  

Authorities have released the name of a college student who was found beaten to death inside her dormitory room at a western New York college. WAMC's Dave Lucas reports.    Officials at the State University of New York College at Brockport say 18-year-old Alexandra Kogut of New Hartford was a freshman majoring in communication. The Monroe County Sheriff's Office says her body was found shortly before 3 a.m. Saturday in her dorm room at SUNY Brockport, 15 miles west of Rochester. About an hour later, police arrested her boyfriend at a Thruway rest stop near Syracuse.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has settled an investigation into inflated real estate appraisals by a former appraisal management company, saying coercion to raise home values contributed to the national housing crisis. WAMC's Dave Lucas has more...


The $7.8 million settlement announced Friday is with CoreLogic Inc., formerly The First American Corp., whose subsidiary was eAppraiseIT.

A New York self-employed personal trainer has been charged with trying to solicit sex from an undercover officer posing as a 13-year-old girl. WAMC's Dave Lucas has more...


Edward Lee III of White Plains was arraigned Wednesday on charges of attempted rape and attempted patronizing a prostitute.

The Westchester District Attorney Janet DiFiore says Lee allegedly had several email conversations with the alleged victim's stepfather, also an undercover investigator. He allegedly discussed various sex acts he would engage in with the girl in exchange for money.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Cleaner, Greener Communities program has taken off: its mission is to Create Green Jobs, Improve Energy Efficiency, and Reduce Pollution ... Hudson Valley Bureau Chief reports the panel is making a mark in the Capital Region.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says the state needs a dedicated stream of money to help fill "the catastrophic lack" of legal services for the poor, despite recent judicial efforts and volunteer work by lawyers that have helped. WAMC's Dave Lucas has more.

He says millions of New Yorkers face essential matters like child custody, keeping their homes, access to health care, public benefits and immigration status in civil proceedings without lawyers. He notes at a hearing Thursday in Albany that federal funding has dropped sharply and state funding is fragmented.

Sens. Charles Schumer of New York and Barbara Boxer of California say five major rental car companies have agreed to stop leasing and selling vehicles under safety recalls. More from WAMC's Dave Lucas


The senators say the agreement involving Enterprise, Hertz, Avis, Dollar Thrifty and National will pave the way for legislation covering the industry.

The bill is expected to be voted on during the upcoming lame duck session.

Police and the FBI have broken a heroin distribution ring said to have been operating out of a cell-phone store in Poughkeepsie... WAMC's Dave Lucas reports


Law enforcement officers have eleven suspects in custody after what's described as a "co-ordinated takedown" was carried out Thursday morning. The Poughkeepsie Journal reports that a cellphone store on the corner of Main and Catharine streets was the target of a drug distribution-related search warrant.

New York State funding for anti-terror programs is earmarked for Greene County - Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Dave Lucas spoke with a county official about the grant and the county's emergency preparedness.


Some ask why a small, peaceful county nestled at the upper end of the mid-Hudson Valley would need money to fight terrorism. Wouldn't it be better spent in Westchester County or New York City?