WAMC Northeast Report on WAMC

The redevelopment has begun of a once badly polluted former textile mill in Chicopee Massachusetts. A top Environmental Protection Agency official warned on Monday that federal budget cuts threaten future brownfields cleanup efforts in the region. 

The New York state Comptroller kicked off a week-long forum at SUNY’s Rockefeller Institute to examine the plight of economically stressed local governments and school districts across the New York.  

Comptroller Tom DiNapoli says the “new normal” for schools and local governments around the state is prolonged fiscal stress.  He says a combination of rising health care and pension costs, reduced state aide, and two-year-old property tax cap have put the squeeze on municipalities.

More hats are in the ring for area mayoral contests - races in the the cities of Saratoga Springs and Albany are heating up...

Saratoga Springs City Supervisor Joanne Yepsen announced her candidacy for mayor on Monday. The Democrat says the Spa City needs “a mayor who has a proven track record of putting partisan politics aside to do what’s best for the city.” 

The 54-year old Yepsen, a member of the County Board of Supervisors, lost in a 2010 bid for the 43rd state Senate seat against then-Senator Roy MacDonald. 

Meteorologist Garett Argianas has the evening weather forecast forMonday, April 8, 2013.

Margaret Thatcher, the first and only woman prime minister of Great Britain, left a personal style and political legacy that will be debated for years to come. Like her American ally and friend, Ronald Reagan, she took power at a time when her nation was seen by many to be in economic and international decline.

Professor Roy Ginsberg, chair of the department of government at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, spoke today with WAMC’s Brian Shields on the Thatcher-Reagan alliance.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is on a statewide tour to promote the newly passed state budget, saying it shows that the state is functional again. But not everyone is completely convinced.
 
Governor Cuomo has been touring major upstate regions, promoting the passage of the third on time or early budget in a row. In Buffalo, he held up a hockey puck as a prop, comparing the achievement to hockey’s “hat trick”.

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs announced that ten communities in the commonwealth will participate in a new round of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center's Solarize Mass program, which encourages small businesses and home owners to invest in solar energy. WAMC's Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard spoke with Executive Director and CEO of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center Alicia Barton.

A biennial report released by the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing shows record growth in visitor spending and tourism industry employment.

The University at Albany has embarked on a program to strengthen its connections with the community.

UAlbany President Dr. Robert Jones "public engagement" initiative builds on a similar program that advanced the concept at the University of Minnesota, where Jones served most recently as Senior Vice President and spent a total of 33 years in academic and administrative leadership positions.

Meteorologist Garett Argianas has the weekend weather outlook in his evening forecast for Friday, April 5, 2013.