May 03, 2007 — Governor Spitzer's plan to shake-up his environmental leadership in the North Country sparked immediate opposition yesterday in the state Senate.
Six Senators have signed letters asking the governor to reconsider his plans. One letter was co-signed by four senators, including North Country Republicans Joe Griffo and Jim Wright. They described the dismissal of top DEC official Sandy LeBarron as "unwarranted". LeBarron heads Region 6 for the DEC, based in Watertown. The Senators wrote, "Her institutional experience makes her uniquely qualified to continue in her position".
A second letter - also signed by Griffo as well as Queensbury Republican Betty Little, and two others - opposed the appointment of Dick Booth to head the APA. Booth is a professor and attorney, who lives in Ithaca. By tradition, the APA chairman has always lived inside the blue line.
The senators' letter says the tradition should continue, "We believe the chairman should be a person who lives in the Adirondacks, understands the economy, and is accessible to the people of the Adirondacks".
Dick Booth has drawn strong support from environment groups in the North Country, but he'll need confirmation from the Republican-led Senate.
Brian Mann spoke with Booth yesterday about his nomination and local concerns.  Go to full article

Apr 18, 2007 — The head of the Adirondack Park Agency says he's stepping down next month. Dick Lefebvre has led the APA staff since 2005. He took the post following a pornography scandal that forced the previous executive director to resign. Lefebvre, who lives on Caroga Lake in the southern Adirondacks, was also president of the APA board, after being appointed by Mario Cuomo back in 1993. He also spent two years running the Hudson River-Black River Regulating District. Lefebvre spoke yesterday afternoon with Brian Mann about his decision to leave the APA.  Go to full article

Feb 09, 2007 — A key committee of the Adirondack Park Agency voted unanimously yesterday to send Tupper Lake's proposed new resort to another round of public hearings. APA board members signaled that the formal "adjudicatory" hearing would include a wide range of issues. Brian Mann reports.  Go to full article

Feb 07, 2007 — The Adirondack Park Agency has begun one of the most significant deliberations in its history. This week, commissioners will review plans for a new, 700-unit resort proposed for Tupper Lake. The man behind the Adirondack Club & Resort is Michael Foxman, an attorney and developer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Three years after he unveiled his plan for Tupper Lake, Foxman has emerged as one of the most controversial figures in the Park. He's been embraced by many in the region as an entrepreneur and a visionary. Others view him as a schemer, a man whose "mega-resort" vision doesn't fit the Park's environmental mission or the needs of a small Adirondack town. Brian Mann spent a day with Michael Foxman and sends this profile.  Go to full article

Dec 15, 2006 — North Country Public Radio has begun a series of reports on large-scale real estate developments in the region. Yesterday, two of the most prominent and controversial projects moved a step closer to reality. At their meeting in Ray Brook, the Adirondack Park Agency approved a 21-lot development on Union Falls Pond, in Franklin County, that was opposed by local government leaders. The APA also signaled that a 700-unit resort development proposed for Tupper Lake has cleared a major hurdle. Brian Mann has details.  Go to full article

Jul 14, 2006 — For the first time yesterday, New York's Department of Environmental Conservation released an official mileage tally for snowmobile trails in the Adirondack Park. Over the last five years, field crews mapped roughly 841 miles of roads and trails that cross over state land. As Brian Mann reports, the new tally is controversial, but could help in creation of a long-delayed snowmobile trail system.  Go to full article

Jul 13, 2006 — This week, we're talking with some of the politicians and activists who will shape the Adirondack Park Agency's future after Governor George Pataki leaves office in January. Three local government leaders who sit on the APA commission have left or are stepping down. The agency is also facing new criticism from North Country lawmakers, including state Senator Betty Little. They have called for sweeping changes to the environmental laws that make up Park Agency Act. Ross Whaley chairs the APA commission. He says the shifting tide in Albany has brought new scrutiny and tension to his agency.  Go to full article

Jul 11, 2006 — In their Sunday editorial, the editors of the Glens Falls Post Star suggested that the Adirondack Park Agency may have outlived its usefulness. A growing number of local government leaders in the Park are attacking the Agency for what they describe as a top-heavy environmental bureaucracy. This week, we'll be talking with some of the key players who will shape the APA's future after Governor George Pataki leaves office. Over the last year, State senator Betty Little, a Republican from Queensbury, has proposed sweeping changes to the Agency. Little's bills, which failed to gain support in the Democrat-controlled Assembly, would have given local governments more control over development, shortened the APA's time-frame for reviewing projects, and eliminated the Agency's oversight over campgrounds. Senator Little spoke about her initiative with Brian Mann.  Go to full article

May 17, 2006 — The Adirondack Park Agency has released the names of four employees reprimanded for emailing images of nude women. The scandal, which first broke in August of 2005, led to the resignation of APA director Dan Fitts. Brian Mann reports.  Go to full article

May 12, 2006 — Developers of an industrial wind project near Gore Mountain in the Adirondacks won a small victory yesterday. The Adirondack Park Agency's board agreed that a new tower, designed to test wind strength, might be allowed to go forward. As Brian Mann reports, the APA staff and some environmental groups want the developers to submit a basic outline of the entire project.  Go to full article