NCPR Regional News Archives

(02/09/12) A profile of 23rd district congressional candidate, conservative Kellie Greene: The Cuomo administration and a portion of NYSCOPBA, a union representing prison guards and police, say they've got a tentative deal on a long-delayed new contract. New York State plays host to a national conference on dealing with the effects of climate change. And Fort Drum's 3rd Brigade Combat Team is slowly starting to come back home...Joanna Richards spoke to their brigade commander from Afghanistan.

(02/09/12) Governor Andrew Cuomo is taking some heat this week. That's after a series of actions that have been criticized as consolidating more power for the executive branch, at the expense of the legislature and even some other statewide office holders. In Albany, Karen DeWitt reports. more

(02/09/12) Kellie Greene has tossed her hat into the mix of candidates seeking to defeat U.S. Rep. Bill Owens in the upcoming congressional election. The Sackets Harbor woman describes herself as a "true" constitutional conservative. She says she's been sitting on the sidelines long enough and is ready to make a go of it.

Greene formally announced her candidacy during an event in Watertown last week. She's challenging businessman Matt Doheny, a former Wall Street financier, for the Republican and Conservative party lines. A primary has been set for June 26. Chris Morris has more on the candidate. more

(02/09/12) Fort Drum's 3rd Brigade Combat Team is beginning to come home after a year-long deployment in Afghanistan. The brigade, about 3,500 soldiers, was sent to an area just west of Kandahar City in southern Afghanistan, where few troops had been before.

They were deployed as part of President Obama's troop surge in the country. As the mission winds down, brigade commander Colonel Patrick Frank says his unit did a good job in a difficult setting. He spoke from Afghanistan with reporter Joanna Richards.
(CORRECTION: We originally reported that these troops were the first US soldiers in that region. Many comments on our story have challenged that assertion. We've contacted our sources at Ft. Drum for clarification and are still waiting for a reply. To the best of our understanding now, Col. Frank's unit was the first brigade level force to deploy there.) more

(02/09/12) New York is hosting a meeting of federal agencies, northeastern states, and tribal groups this morning in Albany to talk about adapting to climate change.

Pat Riexinger, director of the division of fish, wildlife, and marine resources at the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, says we can see the weather changing: the intense storms last year, and the mild winter, with little snowfall. She says 16 federal agencies collaborated to write a strategy and action plan to deal with changing weather patterns.

Today's meeting is one of four to be held around the country to discuss the plan. She spoke about it with Julie Grant.

(02/09/12) In the second in our series about the biological marketplace, Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager look into the beehive. While some worker bees might try to "cheat," introducing their own eggs into the genetic pool of the hive, other workers will detect and destroy them. The queen presides over a society that shares her DNA, but it is run more like a police state than a family.

(02/09/12) Artists and arts supporters from around the region will be in Albany next Tuesday to visit with lawmakers and speak up for the arts. Todd Moe talks with St. Lawrence County Arts Council director Hilary Oak about "Arts Advocacy Day", and why the arts are an essential part of the economy.