News

The police department in South Burlington, Vermont, is trying to cope with some vacancies.

Two Hudson Valley Congress-members were in Westchester earlier today pushing passage of a passenger rail bill the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to consider this week, which includes legislation concerning rail crossing safety.

The New York State United Teachers union is criticizing charter schools for taking children out of the classroom to rally at the New York state Capitol later this week.

NYSUT wrote to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state education officials expressing concern about Success Academy Charter Schools' plans to bring some 8,000 students, parents and teachers to Albany for Wednesday's pro-charter rally. Cuomo has called for an increase in the number of authorized charter schools.

MGM took steps Monday to prepare to break ground later this month to build an $800 million casino in downtown Springfield.

 Several private parking lots that are in the footprint of the casino complex were closed permanently. Notices went out six weeks ago that hundreds of commuters would have to find new places to park downtown.  Chris Russell, executive director of the Springfield Business Improvement District, had representatives at the closed parking lots to help guide people who had not made other arrangements.  He said there was no parking “crunch.”

Clarkson University in Potsdam and Union Graduate College in Schenectady will explore a merger of graduate programs.

With casino gambling expanding in the Northeast, a regional approach is being advocated for the issue of problem gambling.  A shared commitment to help problem gamblers was highlighted at a conference today in Springfield, Massachusetts, where a new casino is scheduled to open in two-and-a-half years.  

A regional approach to preventing gambling addiction,  and providing treatment and recovery services to people who become compulsive gamblers were endorsed by advocates for problem gambling services, casino operators, state lottery officials, and gaming industry regulators.

Charter schools are planning a big rally with hundreds of children at the New York State Capitol Wednesday to support Governor Andrew Cuomo’s plans to add 100 more charter schools in the state, and to pass an education tax credit that will benefit donors to charter schools, as well as private schools.

State and city police are investigating a bank robbery in Plattsburgh.

Last month was the coldest February on record in many places in the Northeast, but climate experts say it is an anomaly.

        The record cold in February was caused by a jet stream pattern that remained unchanged for weeks.  Mike Rawlins of the Climate System Research Center at UMass Amherst said the average local February temperature has increased by .25 degrees F per decade for the last 180 years.

State officials say it will cost more than $20 million to clean up a hazardous waste site in the Schenectady County.

The Daily Gazette of Schenectady reports that the Department of Environmental Conservation has released details of the project proposed for the property on Freemans Bridge Road in the town of Glenville, on the Mohawk River 15 miles northwest of Albany, and that cleaning up the former Kenco Chemical Co. site will cost an estimated $20.5 million, with the money coming from the state Superfund.