Jun 17, 2013 — Congress remains deeply divided over the shape of immigration reform. A split within the House GOP caucus endangers any kind of new legislation.

But let's imagine for a moment that the several thousand Latinos working on dairy farms in New York and Vermont could get legal working papers.

How would that change the region's rural communities?

Tom Maloney of Cornell University has been talking with dairy farmers and Latino dairy workers about this for years. He told David Sommerstein farmers are ready to guide their undocumented workers towards legal status.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Jun 17, 2013 — Dairy farmers - and their workers - have a lot at stake in the immigration debate underway in Washington.

A survey by Cornell University found that 2,600 Spanish-speaking people work on New York dairy farms. Of them, two thirds or more are here illegally. That's in part because there's no visa program for the kind of year-round workers dairy farms need.

The Senate's reform plan offers dairy farms new options for a legal supply of immigrant labor.

Undocumented Latino workers are scattered on bunches of dairy farms in the North Country. David Sommerstein spoke with some of them to see what they think of immigration reform.  Go to full article

Jun 14, 2013 — People along the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario will get a chance to weigh in on a new water levels plan next month. It's called "Plan 2014". Regulators say it's better for Lake Ontario property owners than a plan released last year.  Go to full article

Jun 12, 2013 — This week the Senate passed a five-year, nearly $500 billion farm bill. About three-quarters of that pays for the food stamp program, which would be cut by $400 million a year. Direct farm subsidies are largely replaced by subsidies for crop insurance. And there are a barrelfull of other items from land conservation to support for young farmers.

This is pretty much where things stood a year ago. But House Speaker John Boehner refused to let his chamber's version of the farm bill come to the floor for a vote. Conservative Republicans believed the bill contained too much government spending.  Go to full article

Jun 10, 2013 — Several hundred giant freighters slip through the St. Lawrence Seaway every year. They're guided by vessel traffic controllers from a squat building on top of the Eisenhower Lock in Massena.

The master control room looks straight out of Star Trek. Half a dozen big flat screens show computerized displays of real-time traffic along the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario.  Go to full article

Jun 07, 2013 — New York's bass fishing season kicks off on June 15, and North Country tourism and business leaders are banking on it being the biggest ever.

They've lured one of the ten Bassmaster Elite tournaments this year. They're the premiere professional bass fishing events in the country, televised nationally on ESPN.

The tournament is August 8 through 11 on the St. Lawrence River in Waddington.

Angler Don Meissner helped land the event as a part of St. Lawrence County's FISHCAP project. At a press conference broadcast on WQTK earlier this week, he said to expect the scale of a NASCAR race, except with fish and boats. He called it the St. Lawrence River's chance to have a "showcase for the world."

"I was down in Texas and I saw what this is about," said Meissner. "There were 34,000 people that came cheering and yelling and raving for their favorite anglers. This is a lot more than just fishing. This is our way to show the country and the world what we're really about here."

The St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce is offering local businesses advice on how they can capitalize on the expected influx of tourists.

Some 50 North Country anglers are getting a head start on the season in Vermont waters, where bass season opens this weekend. The Northern New York Bassmasters chapter will hold its first tournament of the summer Saturday on Lake Champlain.

A few summers ago, one Bassmaster made the mistake of inviting David Sommerstein to be his partner in a tournament on the St. Lawrence River. Here's that story:  Go to full article

Jun 06, 2013 — The Newtown shootings and the Boston Marathon bombings have left all of America asking questions about security. But schools have been particularly on edge.

Another bomb hoax caused an early dismissal at Norwood-Norfolk central schools on Tuesday, according to NorthCountryNow.com. It's the third in recent weeks at the school. A fake bomb threat forced the evacuation of Madrid-Waddington schools last week.

In St. Lawrence County, there have been at least half a dozen bomb hoaxes at schools in the last month. They've forced school leaders to walk a tightrope between safety and maintaining a normal school day.  Go to full article

Washington, DC, Jun 03, 2013 — A binational agency is poised to take another step towards revising the way water levels are managed on the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario.

The International Joint Commission says it "aims" to hold public hearings on changing the 55-year-old system as early as next month.  Go to full article

Clayton, NY, May 31, 2013 — A Thousand Islands based green group is using a 1950s era technology to protest a water levels plan from the same decade. Save The River is sending Governor Andrew Cuomo hundreds of telegrams urging him to change the way the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario are managed. David Sommerstein reports.  Go to full article

May 29, 2013 — Every May for the last 38 years, licensed bird banders have set out nets at the Crown Point Historic Site to document the spring migration. The project has recorded and banded almost 14,000 birds of 97 species since 1976.

Retired New York State Forest Ranger Gary Lee has helped for most of those years. He also spends much of his time banding birds at his home in Inlet. A dozen bird feeders are scattered around the yard. Lee stretches what looks like a fine meshy volleyball net to snag the birds.

David Sommerstein stop by to experience bird banding up close and sent this Heard Up North.  Go to full article