New freight service begins in NY Adirondack Park

NORTH CREEK, N.Y. (AP) The Chicago-based Iowa Pacific railroad company says its subsidiary in upstate New York has made its first freight shipment in 25 years over newly renovated Adirondack tracks.

Saratoga & North Creek Railway operates a passenger train between Saratoga Springs and North Creek in the Adirondacks, 56 miles north. It had to get state and federal permission to refurbish old abandoned tracks for freight service north to Newcomb, 90 miles north of Albany.

Renovations on the first leg of the freight route, running 5 1/2 miles from North Creek to North River, were completed in August. Iowa Pacific announced Wednesday that Barton Mines has begun shipping on the line.

Barton produces garnet used in industrial abrasives.

USDA: Number of farms in NY was unchanged in 2012

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) Federal officials say the number of farms in New York remained unchanged last year.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the state had about 36,000 farms last year with about 7 million acres in use.

Farms with sales of more than $500,000 grew by 100 to 1,900, those with sales between $250,000 and $499,999 remained at 1,300 and smaller farms with sales between $100,000 and $249,999 rose by 300 to 3,500.

There were 11,300 farms with sales under $100,000, up from 10,800 in 2011.

The agency says there were about 2.2 million farms in the U.S., down 11,630 last year.

Vermont launches new energy loan program

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) The state of Vermont is launching a new program to make low-interest loans available to businesses for renewable energy and efficiency projects.

Jo Bradley, CEO of the Vermont Economic Development Authority, says the initiative will consolidate and expand existing loan programs and is aimed at encouraging more private banks to get involved along with the state.

The Vermont Clean Energy Loan Fund is expected to provide up to $10 million in financing for energy efficiency projects undertaken by businesses.

Another, related loan fund will be devoted to loans of up to $150,000 for energy conservation projects.

Bradley pointed to a recent national study urging that states help promote financing for projects designed to help the nation move toward a low-carbon future.

Ontario court OKs warrantless search of unsecured cellphones

 Ontario's highest court says it was OK for police to look through a man's cellphone because the device was not password protected. The Court of Appeal says if the phone was password protected, police would need a search warrant to browse through its contents.

The court denied an appeal from a man convicted for robbing a jewelry stall who argued police breached his charter rights by looking through his phone.

It says since the phone wasn't password protected, the photos and text were available to other users.

(The Canadian Press)

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