North Country News

The silent film era involved a pianist or organist playing along live to the action on the screen.  Today, film enthusiasts seeking a taste of the past can see stars like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd and Lillian Gish on digitized reels accompanied by live music. Movie historian Ben Model is the resident accompanist at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.  He plays at venues around the world and will be appearing in the Adirondacks on Sunday.   He says the technique engages viewers.

The New York state Financial Restructuring Board for Local Governments issued its review of the city of Plattsburgh’s finances on Thursday. It offers several recommendations to reverse the city’s fiscal downturn.

Although the election is not until November 2018, four Democrats have already entered the race to challenge northern New York’s two-term Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik.  The first to announce began his campaign in January.  Patrick Nelson of Stillwater says  he started campaigning early for several reasons.

Lake Placid has been chosen to host the 2019 International Children’s Games and the 2021 Bobsled and Skeleton World Championships.  New York’s governor made the formal announcement over the weekend during an annual summer event in the Adirondacks.

City officials in Plattsburgh are working to make the downtown center more appealing to tourists. One of the newest initiatives got a boost recently when the Sunrise Rotary announced it will sponsor a plan to create an Arts Walk in the center city.

A number of Democrats are lining up to challenge northern New York’s second-term Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik.  One of the latest to enter the race for the 21st district seat is businesswoman Katie Wilson from the Adirondack village of Keene.  She says her campaign is about the future of the people and children across the district.

New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik toured Norsk Titanium in Plattsburgh this afternoon.  After viewing the 3D manufacturing process she made an announcement with potential growth opportunities for the company.

Former New York Assemblywoman Janet Duprey will be honored during Plattsburgh’s annual Mayor’s Cup festivities next weekend. 

Today is the second anniversary of the end of one of the largest manhunts in New York history — when officials captured the second of two men who escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora. The episode led to convictions, inquiries and calls for security reforms.

The Empire Professional Baseball League is in its first season of play.  It has four teams – the Old Orchard Beach Surge from Maine, the Sullivan Explorers from Loch Sheldrake, New York, the Puerto Rico Islanders and the Plattsburgh RedBirds.  During spring exhibition play, the Plattsburgh team defeated all its competitors.  This week, rain postponed opening day, but the 60-game season began on Sunday.  Team co-owner and League CEO Eddie Gonzales explains that the league provides athletes an opportunity they may not otherwise have.

Canada Day is July 1st and this year the country is celebrating its 150th Anniversary of Confederation.  On Saturday, Quebec Culture Specialist and Foreign Language Consultant David Graham will lead a discussion in Plattsburgh on Canadian history.  He says he will look at the country’s history from Quebec’s perspective because that province is an essential part of Canada’s history.

Former Town of Newcomb Supervisor George Canon died earlier this month. Canon was considered a mentor, friend and icon of the Adirondacks to many in New York’s northern region.

Researchers keeping track of loon populations in the Adirondacks are looking for help from volunteers.

Since 2010, representatives of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York have been making field trips to different regions across the state.  On Monday its president, William Dudley, met with Plattsburgh business leaders to discuss North Country economic issues.

Lake Placid, the Olympic village in the heart of the Adirondacks, is in the midst of upgrading its infrastructure with its Main Street Reconstruction Project.  Mayor Craig Randall, who just started his third and last four-year term — due to term limits — says  the improvements will help deal with congestion that is normally seen in larger cities.

Earlier this week, the Lake Placid village board approved the environmental review and findings from a public hearing related to eminent domain actions for an infrastructure project.   It’s a move that the owner of the property says violates New York state’s eminent domain procedural laws.

The Adirondack Council announced Monday that it was able to obtain more carbon allowances during the latest Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative auction.

The North American Free Trade Agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada has been in effect for more than two decades.  President Donald Trump has promised to renegotiate the deal.  During a business expo in Plattsburgh last week, WAMC’s North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley discovered that many businesses in the border region aren’t worried about the pending negotiations.

The annual Lake Placid Film Forum is under way this week with a focus on diversity, foreign films and a tribute to the late filmmaker Jonathan Demme.

Plattsburgh officials have announced details of the 40th annual Mayor’s Cup festival and regatta.

New York State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia was in Plattsburgh Thursday to hold a public hearing on the state’s draft regulations to meet the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, which replaces No Child Left Behind.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation this summer is expanding its stewardship partnership aimed at preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species in the Adirondacks.

The environmental group Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve has issued a new guide to provide communities within the Blue Line with strategies for ecologically-based local planning.

New York’s lieutenant governor was in Plattsburgh last week for what Mayor Colin Read described as the time to end the concepts phase and begin implementation of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative. Read tells WAMC’s North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley that an old gas station will be removed within a few weeks and public interaction will now focus on implementation of redevelopment plans.

Five Star Urgent Care expanded to its tenth location in New York state this week, opening a facility in Plattsburgh.  WAMC North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley toured the new facility as officials cut the ribbon to begin operations.

New York Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul was in Plattsburgh this afternoon to announce the final projects that have been approved for the Downtown Revitalization Initiative awarded to the city last summer.

New York has obtained the 296-acre Marion River Carry in the Adirondacks in a deal that resolves a more than century-old history of property disputes between the state and Raquette Lake landowners.

After a decade in office, former North Country New York state Assemblywoman Janet Duprey of the 115th district retired last year due to vision problems.  But she was back at the capital in Albany recently to lobby in support of the proposed Medical Aid in Dying Act.  She says her support of the measure is deeply rooted in personal experience.

Northern New York Assemblyman D. Billy Jones is in his first term representing the 115th district.  He has held a series of town halls, the most recent last night in Malone.  Despite the animus being seen at Congressional town halls, the Democrat says he has no qualms and finds them a useful tool.

Officials in Plattsburgh have announced a new summer event to be held at the city beach in conjunction with professional fishing tournaments on Lake Champlain.