News stories tagged with "adks"

(02/02/12) There were clear skies, cool temperatures...and a woodpile. A perfect combination for our Heard Up North.

(04/28/10) Governor David Paterson recommends one-day-a-week furloughs for state workers until the state budget, now nearly one month late, is completed. The governor is also cutting spending and raising revenues by $620 million, and asking the legislature to act immediately on his budget. Karen DeWitt reports. more

(04/27/10) Budget talks in Albany are going "nowhere" according to a top Democrat in the state Assembly. The spending plan was due April 1st. The delay in finalizing a state budget leaves local school districts with little information at a time when they have to make some big decisions. Lay offs and program cuts appear certain. But how many? Districts must have an answer--in the form of an approved budget--in less than a month.

Seth McGowan is school superintendent in Tupper Lake. He says it's frustrating that residents of his district must vote on a school budget May 18th--whether the state finalizes its spending plan or not. He says this puts Tupper Lake at "a terrible disadvantage."

The district is poised to cut 25 percent of its workforce, including 20 to 25 teachers. Talking with Jonathan Brown, McGowan says the district prepared for this "worst-case" budget scenario.

(01/11/10) Across the North Country, county health departments are now reporting a rise in supply of the H1N1 or swine flu vaccine. But there's been no corresponding rise in demand for flu shots.

This is causing some concern among health officials, who say the danger posed by this virus hasn't gone away. Jonathan Brown reports.

(10/26/09) The head of the New York Power Authority, green groups, officials from National Grid, state Senator Betty Little and a host of local government leaders are urging voters across the state to support a constitutional amendment that will be on the ballot when they go to the polls Nov. 3. The amendment would allow for a land swap that's the final step in a $30-million upgrade to the electric distribution system in the Tri-Lakes, which included construction of a new, 46-kilovolt transmission line to Tupper Lake. Chris Knight reports.

(05/15/09) The Adirondack Park Agency is moving forward with a plan to establish more than twelve thousand new acres of wilderness just south of Tupper Lake. Most of the land would be added to the Five Ponds Wilderness. The APA will hold public hearings on the proposal, which would protect one of the longest backcountry canoe routes in the Northeast. But as Brian Mann reports, critics say environmentalists are pushing a double standard.

(11/14/08) As every driver has noticed, prices at the pump have been falling for more than three months now. The cost of heating oil is also coming down. But across the Northeast, it's too little and too late to help many residents pay their home heating bills. It's not just a stretch for household budgets. As people look to the government for help, anxiety over the economy and volatile fuel markets is also straining local social service departments. Last Monday, New Yorkers began applying for federal funds from HEAP, the Home Energy Assistance Program. It's the counties, though, that process the paperwork, verify each applicant's eligibility and distribute the money. As Jonathan Brown reports, the number of people seeking help is up dramatically.

(11/04/08) There were clear skies, cool temperatures...and a woodpile. A perfect combination for our Heard Up North.

(07/21/08) Across the North Country, cemeteries are disappearing behind thickets of tall grass and brambles. Long-time residents fear they're losing a part of their community - and an important link to their past. Many towns are trying to maintain their cemeteries. But mowing the grounds and tending the graves are straining local budgets. In Crown Point, the responsibility of maintaining the town graveyard fell on one man. Now, that torch has passed to a North Country newcomer. Jonathan Brown has our story.

(06/17/08) The mysterious "white nose syndrome" has received a lot of media coverage. But little is known about the fungus linked to the deaths of thousands of bats across the northeast. Anxiety is growing over the fate of the animals, one of the region's most effective predators of mosquitos and other insects. Frustration is building among scientists over the slow march toward answers about the cause and possible prevention of the disease. Jonathan Brown talked to the biologist leading the state's effort to learn more about white nose syndrome.