North Country News

The New York State Attorney General announced a court judgment against a Plattsburgh taxi company for overcharging refugees attempting to cross the border into Canada.

New York state officials have closed a trail in the Adirondack Mountains until further notice because of safety concerns with the Wakely Mountain Fire Tower.

First-term Plattsburgh Mayor Colin Read campaigned on the need for the city to move away from annual one-time budgeting to a long-term fiscal planning process to stabilize finances.  He has already started the 2018 budget process, working with the city council to create a five-year fiscal plan.  Late last week he announced that the city has a $2 million structural deficit that must be addressed.  He says  it’s a situation that’s been  building for years.

Nearly 200 protesters gathered on the grounds of Mountain Lake PBS in advance of a forum held by Republican Elise Stefanik in Plattsburgh Monday evening.

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, a Republican from New York’s 21st district, taped a forum at the public television station in Plattsburgh Monday evening. The majority of questions focused on her vote last week in favor of the American Health Care Act.

About two dozen people filled the meeting room in the North Elba Town Hall in Lake Placid Thursday evening to hear about and ask questions about the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s plan for an Adirondack rail-trail plan.

A number of issues affecting the Adirondacks are pending in New York state agencies. Other will be affected by the recently passed budget.  Environmental and municipal advocates discuss key priorities they say need to be addressed.

Every 20 years, New Yorkers are given the opportunity for a constitutional convention. A referendum will be on the ballot in November asking voters if one should be held.  Groups are lining up on each side.  Several environmental organizations are opposed to the convention because they are concerned that a key protection for the Adirondacks and Catskills could be eliminated.

This will be the 60th year that a museum in Blue Mountain Lake opens its doors to showcase Adirondack history.  Now, as it begins its sixth decade, the Adirondack Museum is being rebranded with a new name, logo and a new 19,000-square foot interactive exhibition.  Executive Director David Kahn explains why the museum’s new name is the “Adirondack Experience, The Museum on Blue Mountain Lake.”

SPARCC, or Substance Abuse and Recovery of Clinton County, was formed in 2016 to raise public awareness and enhance opioid addiction prevention efforts in the North Country.  The group is now seeking volunteers to tell their addiction stories in hopes of getting more people into recovery and eliminating stigma.

Students at Clinton Community College are organizing a March for Science this weekend, one of thousands occurring Saturday across the nation.

Officials from across Clinton County and the North Country toured the newly completed terminal renovations at the Plattsburgh International Airport this week.

Clinton Community College in Plattsburgh hosted an Environmental Trade Fair Wednesday to show students how businesses impact the environment — and how they could offer potential clean and green jobs.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was in Lake Placid this morning to tout the benefits of the just-passed state budget for the North Country region.

Last July, officials in Plattsburgh announced that Norway-based Norsk Titanium would base its U.S. manufacturing plant in the northern New York city.  The company is the world’s only qualified manufacturer of structural titanium 3D aerospace parts.  This week, Norsk announced that it has secured its first major contract with Boeing.

Norsk Titanium announced Monday that it has received a production order for its 3-D printed structural titanium components.

The Plattsburgh North Country Chamber of Commerce  has signed an agreement with Quebec’s aerospace manufacturing cluster.

In the wake of airline deregulation in 1978, the Essential Air Service program was created to guarantee small communities that had been served by airlines would still have minimal scheduled air service. Under President Donald Trump’s proposed budget, the subsidy from the Department of Transportation would be eliminated.  That is raising concern at airports across the region that rely on the program.

A film that will be screened in Saratoga Springs this weekend interweaves two topics close to the heart of the filmmaker.  Derek Hallquist intended to make the film “Denial” to explain the electric grid and its impact on the environment.  For years he followed his father, the leader of a small electric utility, as he tried to confront how the electricity sector addresses climate change.  But Hallquist says that as filming on the documentary progressed he discovered and then interwove his father’s personal story of confronting gender denial.

Authorities say two New York state troopers received minor injuries in a multi-vehicle collision while chasing a suspect on an Adirondack road.

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand was at the Strand Center for the Arts in Plattsburgh this morning to advocate for the restoration of funding to the arts and humanities that has been zeroed out in President Trump’s budget proposal.

SUNY Plattsburgh’s Center for the Study of Canada is a National Resource Center on Canada.  It has maintained a long-term relationship with Fulbright Canada.  Dr. Michael Hawes is the Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation for Educational Exchange between Canada and the U.S. and the Executive Director of Fulbright Canada.  He was in Plattsburgh this week and talked about the relationship between the two countries and the importance of the local Canadian studies program.

Canada’s Consul General in New York spoke to a crowd of northern New York officials Monday evening in Plattsburgh.

The funeral for an 18-year veteran of the New York State Police was held in Plattsburgh Monday.  47-year-old Trooper Brian Falb died of brain cancer related to his service as a first responder following the 9/11 attack at the World Trade Center.

The funeral for New York State Trooper Brian Falb was held Monday morning in Plattsburgh. The officer died of brain cancer related to inhaling toxic air at the 9/11 World Trade Center site.

For nine years McGill University in Quebec has taken students to emerging economic regions of the world.  During the trip about 40 students meet with corporate leaders, government officials, and alumni.  Past treks have included Tel Aviv and Jerusalem; Moscow and St Petersburg; and last year’s trip to Santiago and Bogota.  This year students traveled to Manila, Palawan and Hong Kong.

Although the blizzard warning has been canceled, a winter storm warnings and advisories remain in effect across Vermont and New York’s North Country.  One to three feet has already fallen throughout the region — and that’s good news for winter skiing enthusiasts.

Officials from the AARP recently discussed their concerns about the GOP health care overhaul proposal known as the American Health Care Act.  The group opposes the legislation and calls some of its provisions an age tax.

The Adirondack Park Agency is reviewing classification options for the recently obtained Boreas Ponds tract in the central Adirondacks.  Many expected the agency’s board to consider final classification during its March meeting and then make a final decision in April. But the board did not discuss the Boreas Ponds classification, spurring further debate over use of the lands near the High Peaks of the Adirondacks.