News

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.

After multiple water main breaks and frozen lines North Adams Mayor Richard Alcombright is asking residents to run their faucets to prevent further problems during cold weather.

Two years ago, Governor Cuomo unveiled a new government portal called “open.ny.gov.”  At that time the governor proclaimed, “"This new website will dramatically increase public access to one of our most valuable assets - data. As it expands and evolves over time, open.ny.gov will spark innovation, improve efficiency, promote accountability, and bring the people back into government."

Meteorologist Garett Argianas delivers the evening weather forecast for Monday, March 2, 2015.

Angered over the state’s ban on hydraulic fracturing, some towns in New York's Southern Tier have raised the idea of seceding to Pennsylvania. The local municipalities' "wishful thinking" has attracted national attention.

Beneath New York's economically distressed Southern Tier: the same gas-rich Marcellus Shale formation that has allowed Pennsylvania and other states to cash in on the fracking boom. In December, after years "on hold," the Cuomo administration finally addressed hydraulic fracturing, banning it based on potential health risks and "overstated" economic benefits.

Outpatient orthopedic surgery has returned to the former North Adams Regional Hospital about 11 months after the hospital abruptly closed its doors.