Top Stories from NCPR News

Lisbon residents are one step closer to seeing a new chipboard manufacturing plant in their town. A Canadian lumber company announced it intends to build the plant. They would purchase the rights from Chatham Forest, which won its permit last December, after a 5-year battle with environmental groups.

Two commercial wind farm projects are in the planning stages in the Adirondack Park. Other wind farms are moving forward in Franklin county, near Malone, and in Lewis county west of Lowville. Developers say renewable wind power could help New York state become less dependant on oil. They also say the giant windmills could generate much-needed income for rural communities. As Brian Mann reports, the projects have drawn support from pro-environment groups. But some activists worry that the wind farms will harm the region's scenic beauty and erode the quality of small town life.

If wind power projects go forward in the North Country, they will change the visual landscape for some of the most pristine areas in the Adirondack Park. Author and activist Bill McKibben spends much of each year wandering the hills and back roads near his home in Johnsburg. McKibben says the massive windmills are a necessary evil and a symbol of hope for a world threatened by global warming. Bill McKibben is author of the End of Nature and a new book due out this spring called Wandering Home about his his trek through the Champlain Valley. He divides his time between Johnsburg, in the Adirondacks, and Middlebury, Vermont. His essay first appeared in the New York Times.

This week, Governor Pataki and legislative leaders plan to hold the fifth open leaders' meeting, to try to achieve the first on-time budget in two decades. Pataki, who in the past has sometimes distanced himself from the state's budget, is staking his reputation on the outcome of the talks.

In the Adirondack Mountains, housing costs continue to shoot up, driven by state land purchases and by vacation-home buyers. Average homes now sell for more than two hundred thousand dollars, pricing many locals out of the market. State Senator Betty Little, a Republican from Queensbury, has introduced a new bill that would help locals in the Park buy or build homes by offering tax relief. The program would be paid for with a statewide sales tax on homes that cost more than a million dollars. Senator Little spoke with Brian Mann.

The New York State Senate plans to pass legislation Monday to reinstate New York's death penalty, but it's unlikely the state Assembly will follow suit anytime soon. How the Assembly handles the matter could end up being a test of the new reform efforts now underway at the Capitol. Karen DeWitt reports.

A new report says the Midwest is one of the most polluted areas in the country when it comes to soot pollution from diesel exhaust. The environmental research and advocacy group The Clean Air Task Force says much of this pollution could be cut using available technology. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium's Elizabeth Braun reports.

Over the last year, Major Eric Olsen, a National Guard chaplain with the 2nd of the 108th infantry battalion, has sent weekly audio diaries from Iraq. Olsen is now one of dozens of North Country soldiers back home safe. Mark Dye, a photojournalist with the Watertown Daily Times, spent a month in Baghdad earlier this winter. He was embedded with troops from Fort Drum, and sent daily photos and stories documenting the lives of soldiers and civilians in Iraq. He spoke with Martha Foley.

The Flynn Center in Burlington presents a musical tribute to legendary labor rights martyr Joe Hill this Saturday night (8 pm). Todd Moe talks with composer Wayne Horvitz about his musical exploration of a dynamic era in American history, and the workers' rights hero who inspired the work.

A new farmer-owned cooperative has formed in St. Lawrence County to sell locally grown products to area schools. As David Sommerstein reports, the coop is holding a membership drive this month. The meetings are on:
3/8 - David A. Schlaback Farm, Peru St., North Lawrence, 1pm
3/10 - Drumlin's End Farm, 178 Fayette Rd., Massena, 6:30pm
3/15 - Joseph and Elizabeth Swartzentruber Farm, 1092 SH 184, Heuvelton, 1pm.
Please contact Sue Rau, cooperative manager, at 315.769.5061 for more info.