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Northeast Notebook Live
WAMC’s Northeast Notebook Live brings listeners inside the conversations of the region. Each day, the hour-long show airing online and on-air will feature a deep dive into an issue that matters most, as well as analysis of the headlines and additional interviews with newsmakers and journalists to provide a broad overlook of what matters most. The show will feature reporting by WAMC journalists, and highlight the vital work local journalists do to inform their communities. Northeast Notebook Live will regularly feature reporting by the Albany Times Union, the Berkshire Eagle, and the Adirondack Explorer thanks to a formal partnership with WAMC that’s meant to explore the region’s news with breadth, depth and context.

Northeast Notebook 11/5/26: Albany Med CEO firing, city budget woes, and political rebrands

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Sam Dingman
Published November 5, 2026 at 6:12 PM EST
Schenectady City Hall
Lucas Willard
/
WAMC
Schenectady City Hall

Schenectady's city council is scrambling to close a multi-million dollar gap in the city's budget. Mayor Gary McCarthy has proposed a 43% hike on the tax levy - but council members know that's going to be a tough sell.

Also this hour...

  • In North Adams, Massachusetts, federal police grants under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Formula Grant program have sparked concern. This year, the grants initially came with immigration-related conditions attached.
  • New York Attorney General Letitia James appoints a new prosecutor for her office's Cornell investigation, as a judge considers whether to remove James herself from the case amid allegations of bias.
  • A conversation with the driving force behind a Massachusetts ballot question that garnered about 90% support from voters on Tuesday.
  • The dramatic conclusion to Albany Med Health System CEO Daniel Picket's relatively brief tenure.
  • As Democrats and Republicans recalibrate their identities, a look at some of the most successful - and unsuccessful - rebrands in American culture.

All that and more on this Nov. 5th edition of Northeast Notebook.
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Sam Dingman
Sam Dingman is WAMC’s Hudson/Catskill Bureau Chief. Previously, he was co-host and reporter at “The Show” on KJZZ, Phoenix’s NPR station. Prior to KJZZ, Dingman was the creator and host of the acclaimed podcast “Family Ghosts,” which has been hailed as a critic’s choice by NPR, the LA Times and the New York Times. Dingman also co-hosted the BlueWire original series “The Rumor,” which was featured in the Washington Post and New York Magazine, and was a Webby honoree for Best Podcast Writing. He was story editor for Lemonada Media’s Signal Award-winning series “Pack One Bag,” writer and showrunner for John Stamos’s Webby-winning podcast “The Grand Scheme: Snatching Sinatra,” editor of Karina Longworth’s “You Must Remember This,” and a producer for WNYC’s Peabody-winning “On the Media.” He is a four-time winner of the Moth Grand and Story Slams, and has created, written, hosted, produced and edited podcasts for The Atlantic, Audible Originals, Gilded Audio, Gimlet Media, Lincoln Center, Panoply Media, Paramount Pictures, Pushkin Industries, Spotify, Slate, Stitcher, and Wondery.
See stories by Sam Dingman