Top Stories from NCPR News

Saranac Lake debates Wal Mart. NY's Open Space plan may not protect sensitive areas in the Park. And we meet the workers who build the facades on the Chinese buffets popping up around the North Country.

Traditional Chinese architecture has been popping up acros the North Country. Chinese pagodas grace the entrances of some of the new Asian buffets. Wendy Spencer of DeKalb Junction works at a chinese restaurant, soon to be a buffet, in Gouverneur.

Over the last two years, Wal-Mart has made a major push into northern New York. New stores are slated for Lowville and Malone. Another store planned for Potsdam sparked a lawsuit earlier this month by Wal-Mart opponents. Now, locals in Saranac Lake are reacting to rumors that the company hopes to build a new Wal-Mart on the outskirts of the village. Local officials have moved to re-zone a ten-acre parcel of village-owned land so that it could be sold for commercial use. Part of the development would also sit on private land. People with doubts about the big box retailer crowded a Village council meeting last night. In a straw poll taken by the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, fifty-two percent of readers were in favor of Wal-Mart. Forty-seven percent were opposed. Editor Peter Crowley spoke with Brian Mann about the heated Wal-Mart debate.

For the first time in history, a Canadian government has fallen on a straight non-confidence motion. The Conservatives, New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois joined forces to easily topple the minority Liberal government yesterday. An election is expected January 23. The party leaders will hit the road today for the wintertime campaign. Robert Thacker is chair of the Canadian Studies department at St. Lawrence University, and a close observer of Canadian politics. He spoke with Martha Foley about the politics, and the players.

Senator Chuck Schumer wants North Country leaders to get together to deal with the housing crunch around Fort Drum. On Monday, the Democrat called for a Fort Drum Housing Summit to address the issue. David Sommerstein reports.

A 4 year-old Watertown boy is recovering from a snowmobile accident in western New York. Martha Foley has more.

Saranac Lake writer Chuck Brumley and renowned Adirondack photographer Carl Heilman have collaborated on a new book that explores New York State's unique natural beauty from Niagara Falls to Montauk. It's called Wild New York, and chapters include photos and text on the Adirondacks and Tug Hill Plateau, the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. Todd Moe talks with author Chuck Brumley and photographer Carl Heilman.

Expansion plans on hold for St Lawrence Seaway. A seaway pilot explains why the long nights of December are dangerous for navigation. And for flu season: we hear your homegrown remedies...and the great orange juice debate...

Seaway Pilot Don Metzger explains why the long nights of December are the toughest time for seaway navigation.

A potential strike by workers at Carthage Area Hospital was averted Friday. Workers at Carthage Area Hospital were planning a strike vote. Instead, negotiators signed off on a contract. Gregory Warner reports.