WAMC Northeast Report

Meteorologist Garett Argianas delivers the evening weather forecast for Wednesday, June 17, 2020.

Two Democrats vying for a shot at New York’s 121st District Assembly seat squared off in a recent debate on Zoom before Tuesday’s primary.

    Amid the national debate over policing, elected officials in the largest city in western Massachusetts may be going to court over who should run the police department. 

The COVID-19 pandemic left the country without its sports teams. Fans have been watching highlights from past seasons on their couches instead of games from the stands. Dr. Amy Bass is a sports studies professor at Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York. She tells WAMC’s Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Allison Dunne that certain areas of sports will take bigger hits than others.

Three individuals are running in Tuesday’s Democratic primary for mayor of Plattsburgh including the incumbent. They recently debated in a sparsely populated auditorium due to coronavirus restrictions.

The chairs of the state legislative health committees are proposing a bill that would help protect the privacy of New Yorkers who give personal information to coronavirus contact tracers.

Meteorologist Garett Argianas delivers the evening weather forecast for Tuesday, June 16, 2020.

Teachers from around Berkshire County demonstrated against budget cuts in Pittsfield, Massachusetts Monday afternoon.

Citing concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, organizers of the annual Boilermaker in Utica, New York have canceled the race for the first time in its 43-year history. 

     The mayor of the largest city in western Massachusetts has announced several steps to improve race relations.  

       A virtual roundtable was held Monday evening on policing and race in the largest city in western Massachusetts.  Some invited participants boycotted the discussion. 

Albany County legislator Sam Fein is looking to unseat incumbent John McDonald in the Democratic primary to represent the 108th district in the New York state Assembly. The two recently debated ahead of June 23rd’s election.

A shared-use path across the Hudson River that has been years in the making opened Monday. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the 2 p.m. opening on the bridge named for his late father.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks with WAMC's Alan Chartock on June 15, 2020.

Meteorologist Garett Argianas delivers the evening weather forecast for Monday, June 15, 2020.

      A week into the second phase of gradual reopening and officials in the largest city in western Massachusetts say the health data continues in the right direction. 

At a time when policing is the subject of national debate, the mayor of Plattsburgh has outlined a recent upgrade of the city’s policing policies.

Meteorologist Garett Argianas delivers the evening weather forecast for Friday, June 12, 2020. 

Governor Andrew Cuomo signed several police reform measures into law Friday, and says he’ll withhold state funding from local police departments if they do not submit proof that they have worked with their communities to reconfigure their forces. Guests at the ceremony included the mothers of young African American men killed in a police encounter, and the Reverend Al Sharpton.

The Dutchess County executive says it is time to restore visitation at residential group homes as New York recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. He is calling on state officials to issue guidance to allow family members of individuals with developmental disabilities to resume visits after nearly three months.

There’s a growing movement to defund the police after the death of George Floyd and other incidents of police brutality sparked nationwide protests. New York leaders say they would rather restructure the forces than cut their budgets.

Weeks before the city became the site of sometimes violent protests between demonstrators and police, the Center For Law And Justice in Albany released a report calling attention to systemic racism. Now it plans a community/government symposium this fall.

Meteorologist Garett Argianas delivers the evening weather forecast for Thursday, June 11, 2020. 

This week, Pittsfield, Massachusetts Police Chief Michael Wynn said his department is reviewing its use of force policy to make sure it’s "consistent with federal standards and best practices." WAMC spoke with Alexis Hoag, Practitioner in Residence at Columbia University's Eric Holder Initiative for Civil & Political Rights civil rights lawyer and lecturer at Columbia Law School, about the department’s current policies and federal standards.

At a time when they’d normally just now be heading home for the summer, Saratoga County schoolchildren shared their experiences of learning from home and imparted a little advice about how to get through the pandemic.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has submitted a list of nominees to fill long empty seats on the Adirondack Park Agency board.

With the COVID-19 pandemic weighing on municipal finances, the City of Troy took steps Tuesday night to bridge the gap as federal aid to state and local governments remains tied up in Washington.