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

Canton, NY, Oct 21, 2010 — Ruben Garcia is a human rights advocate who lives on the U.S.-Mexico border. For more than 30 years, he has run Annunciation House, an emergency shelter for migrants and the homeless in El Paso, Texas. Garcia will speak to students and the public at St. Lawrence University in Canton today. The issue of border security, illegal drugs and immigration is complex along the southern border. He'll give a presentation, titled "The Border as a Prophet: Voices Calling us to Justice", in St. Lawrence's Carnegie 10 at 7 pm. Garcia joined Todd Moe in the studio this morning for a first person account on the effects of beefed-up military patrols, the drugs wars, human rights and life along the southern border.  Go to full article

Saranac Lake, NY, Jul 28, 2010 — A group of artists from Mexico spent a week in the Adirondacks this month as part of an exchange program through BluSeed Studios in Saranac Lake. Five local artists visited Mazatlan last winter, and this month's return visit was the second part of the cultural exchange. The Intercambio Grafica printmaking exchange exhibit at BluSeed continues through September 11th. On a recent steamy summer afternoon Todd Moe toured the new exhibit and spoke with five of the artists involved: Glen Rogers, Mark Jay, Lucila Santiago, Rafael Avila Tirado and BluSeed artistic director Carol Marie Vossler. Organizers say this year's exchange is a pilot project for what they hope will be more opportunities for sharing art and ideas across borders.  Go to full article

Saranac Lake, NY, Feb 23, 2010 — Five Adirondack artists shared art and ideas with artists in Mazatlan, Mexico this winter in the first phase of a cultural exchange. The artists are affiliated with BluSeed Studios in Saranac Lake. The second part of the project will be held this summer when a group of artists from Mazatlan will work and exchange ideas with North Country artists. Todd Moe talks with print maker Larry Poole about taking his art south of the border.  Go to full article

Apr 28, 2009 — Regional health officials are shedding some light on how Swine Flu could affect the North Country, and how you can be prepared. Todd Moe has more.  Go to full article

Oct 24, 2008 — When we think of clowns, most of us imagine wild makeup, rainbow wigs and silly antics. But there's also a serious, sincere side to clowning. Miguel Cortazar, a native of the Basque Country in Spain, has been creating and performing solo works as a clown, mine and actor for over 20 years. He's performed throughout Europe and Mexico and his work is acclaimed for its poignant, comedic quality. Todd Moe has this profile.  Go to full article

Jun 06, 2007 — This week, we've been hearing the stories of a group of New York dairy farmers. In January, they traveled to a tiny mountain town in Mexico, where many of their milkers and farmhands come from. They wanted to better understand why their employees come thousands of miles to New York for work, and what that means for the immigration debate. Yesterday, we heard young Mexican men saying they wanted to work in the United States to make money. But eventually, they planned to return to their homes in Mexico. Immigration statistics tell a different story - the longer immigrants live in the United States, the more they want to stay here. In part three of a three part series, David Sommerstein looks at how Hispanic immigrants are affecting rural communities in New York and what the future may hold.  Go to full article

Jun 05, 2007 — As Congress continues to craft ways to control immigration into the United States, the reality is that the allure of good paying jobs and a chance to improve one's conditions back home is hard to resist. In January, David Sommerstein traveled to Mexico with a group of New York dairy farmers. They went to a mountain town called Malacatepec, where names like Lowville, Carthage, and Utica are as familiar as they are here. Young men migrate South to North, leaving families behind, so they may one day come home to stay. In part two of a three-part series, David looks at their cycle of migration. One note: the dairy farmers in this series are identified by first name only to protect their farms and the Mexican immigrants who work there.  Go to full article

Jun 04, 2007 — In January, David Sommerstein traveled with a group of New York dairy farmers on a sort of reverse migration. They went to a tiny mountain town in Veracruz, Mexico, called Malacatepec. There, almost everyone has a family member who has worked or is working on a New York State dairy farm. The farmers wanted to better understand their new employees culture, economic situation, and what it all means for the immigration debate in this country. Here part one of a three part series. One note: the dairy farmers in this series are identified only by their first names to protect their farms and the Mexican immigrants who work there.  Go to full article

May 22, 2007 — As the fierce debate on a massive immigration bill continues in Washington, dairy farmers fear they may be left out. New York's dairy farms have become increasingly reliant on Mexican and Central American workers. Many, if not most, of them are in this country illegally. A temporary worker program, known as H2A, would allow immigrants to work on farms for two years at a time, for up to six years. But it still remains to be seen whether dairy farmers would be allowed to use the program. Julie Suarez directs public policy for the New York Farm Bureau. She told David Sommerstein dairy was included in one version, but left out of another.  Go to full article