News

Some of New York’s congressional lawmakers are renewing their call for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission chair to hold a public hearing before approving a license transfer for the decommissioning of the Indian Point nuclear power plant.

A pest that has killed millions of the country’s ash trees is spreading in Vermont and has been detected for the first time in Chittenden County.

(Airs 10/24/20 @ 10 p.m.) The Legislative Gazette is a weekly program about New York State Government and politics. On this week’s Gazette: Governor Cuomo releases a preliminary vaccination plan, our political observer Alan Chartock shares his thoughts on whether President Trump is right when he said NY is in play in the November election, and Visitors will now be restricted at two upstate New York correctional facilities after recent covid outbreaks.

The race in New York’s 19th Congressional District includes a Libertarian candidate. Dutchess County resident Victoria Alexander says she running to show voters the power they could have as constituents with a decentralized government. She spoke with WAMC’s Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Allison Dunne.

WAMC's Ian Pickus and resident quizzer Mike Nothnagel continue their October tradition.

The student journalists at Williams College in northwest Massachusetts are continuing to provide coverage of campus life through the turmoil of 2020.

As Pittsfield, Massachusetts carries out a project to make its downtown corridor more pedestrian and biker friendly, a new art project will bring the voices of local students to city streets. 

After a Boston Globe report revealed that dozens of Massachusetts State Police troopers with past incidents of illegal conduct remain on the force, a Pittsfield state representative says Governor Charlie Baker is responsible.

It's The Week In Review with Judy Patrick! WAMC's Ray Graf hosts. 

Newschannel 13 meteorologist Paul Caiano delivers the Midday Weather Summary for Friday, October 23, 2020.

The two candidates running to replace retiring long-time state Senator Betty Little in New York’s 45th district debated at Mountain Lake PBS this week.

After two years of study, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation is about to release a report that contains no recommendation on building an east-west passenger rail link.

There’s a three-way race in New York’s 107th state Assembly district as Republican Jake Ashby seeks a second term.

Here are this week's highlights from the WAMC Listener Comment Line. 

The Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, Massachusetts will not consider standardized test results in its admissions process for the next two years as part of a pilot program.

Jeff Foster is an Advanced Placement Government and Politics teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. His motto to his students has always been: “You can’t complain about government if you don’t participate.”

After the tragedy that occurred at his school in February 2018, many students credited “Mr. Foster” with giving them the tools that inspired the Never Again movement and spawned the March for Our Lives. Jeff continues to motivate and inspire his students to become active participants in government. He believes that one person can make a difference, no matter their age. 

His new book is "For Which We Stand: How Our Government Works and Why It Matters."

The United States has never lived up to its name—and never will. The disunionist impulse may have found its greatest expression in the Civil War, but as "Break It Up" by Richard Kreitner shows, the seduction of secession wasn’t limited to the South or the nineteenth century. It was there at our founding and has never gone away.

Kreitner is a contributing writer to The Nation. He is the author of "Booked: A Traveler’s Guide to Literary Locations Around the World."

Three New York congressmen have introduced bipartisan legislation to direct a study on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

If President Trump leaves office in January, what happens next?

In today’s Congressional Corner, Massachusetts Congressman Jim McGovern, a Democrat from the second district, wraps up his conversation with WAMC’s Alan Chartock.

This conversation was recorded October 15.

Two weeks ago, the Springfield Public Schools were forced to abruptly pause remote learning for 26,000 students when the district’s computer network was hit by a ransomware attack.

      The Roundtable Panel: a daily open discussion of issues in the news and beyond.

Today's panelists are WAMC’s Alan Chartock, Former EPA Regional Administrator, Visiting Professor at Bennington College, President of Beyond Plastics Judith Enck, investigative journalist and UAlbany adjunct professor Rosemary Armao, and Bard Center for Civic Engagement Senior Fellow and Dean of the School of Continuing Education at the American University Cairo Jim Ketterer.

In New York, officials are warning of two separate potential COVID-19 exposures in the Hudson Valley.

WAMC's Dr. Alan Chartock discusses Thursday's debate between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, and the start of early voting in New York on Saturday. 

WAMC's David Guistina speaks with Melissa Mangini, editor-in-chief of the Albany Business Review, about reports that Pyramid Management Group is suing fashion department store Lord & Taylor for $20 million over its plans to close its location at Crossgates Mall in Guilderland, New York. 

Here is NewsChannel 13 Meteorologist Paul Caiano's WAMC Regional Forecast:

A mix of sun and clouds and breezy today. Highs in the upper 60s. 

Carson Wentz threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Boston Scott with 40 seconds remaining and the Philadelphia Eagles overcame an 11-point deficit in the final seven minutes to beat the New York Giants 22-21 on Thursday night.