Dave Lucas

The September 11 anniversary ceremony at ground zero will be stripped of politicians this year. But can it ever be stripped of politics? WAMC’s Dave Lucas has more…

For the first time, elected officials won't speak Tuesday at an occasion that has allowed them a solemn spotlight. The change was made in the name of sidelining politics, but some have rapped it as a political move itself.

Questions have long swirled about how or whether to try to separate personal loss from the 9/11 that reverberates through public life.

Health officials in a central New York county say aerial spraying to kill mosquitoes is now scheduled for Tuesday evening, if the weather cooperates. More from WAMC’s Dave Lucas.

The Oswego County Health Department says the spraying ordered after Eastern equine encephalitis was found in one of the insects is set for a 10,000-acre area just north of Oneida Lake, 10 miles northeast of Syracuse.

The discovery of EEE last week in Oswego County was the first in 2012. Last year, a 4-year-old Oswego County girl died from the brain virus, but illness is rare in humans.

Three Democrats are vying for the party’s line in New York's new 46th Senate District — The winner of that race will face Republican state Assemblyman George Amedore in the November election. Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Dave Lucas reports.

Some observers take the position that the new 46th, spanning Ulster, Greene, Albany, Schenectady and Montgomery counties was custom-made for Republican Assemblyman George Amedore. Amedore could not be reached for comment, but Democratic hopeful Monica Arias Miranda stepped in to pinch-hit.

Eight candidates are vying to replace the retiring Jack McEneny in the 109th Assembly district. It is the first time in 20 years that someone has a shot at the Assembly seat that includes the state Capitol. Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Dave Lucas reports.

Issues, Answers and Endorsements are spread across a six-candidate Democratic field: William McCarthy Jr. is a lawyer and political newcomer making his first bid for public office. He considers himself among the front runners going into Thrusday's primary.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is threatening to create a powerful investigative body to look into sexual harassment claims in the Legislature if the state ethics board fails to probe a secret Assembly settlement. WAMC's Dave Lucas reports.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics has refused to say if it will investigate a $103,000 settlement approved by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver in June to resolve claims against Democratic Assemblyman Vito Lopez.

Since the beginning of the recession, times have been tough for everyone. But as Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Dave Lucas reports, there’s one organic food business in Columbia County that's thriving…



When Gunther Fishgold bought his first pallet of organic cashews to sell in 1999, he was simply trying to make some extra money to support his organic vegetable farm and bakery in the Finger Lakes region during the winter slow season.

The cost of running nursing homes, combined with the expensive capital costs needed to keep the facilities up to date, and cuts in Medicaid made in Washington, has prompted numerous counties across New York State to ponder closing - or selling - their facilities. Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Dave Lucas reports


Mark Levine, Deputy Director of the New York State Association of Counties, says County Leaders do not WANT to sell their Nursing Homes.
 

Three Hudson Valley hospital groups are forming an alliance they say will enhance services, save money, and benefit the public... Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Dave Lucas reports.

Bon Secours Charity Health System, St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital and St. Francis Hospital and Health Centers are joining forces under the moniker Hudson Health Partners LLC. The alliance entails bringing six facilities in three Hudson Valley counties together to pursue collaborations.  Larry Hughes is spokesman for Poughkeepsie-based St. Francis Hospital and Health Centers.

Six men have been accused in a drug killing that could get them sentenced to death. More from WAMC’s Dave Lucas…

The U.S. attorney's office says federal, state and local agents rounded up the defendants on Wednesday after their indictment was unsealed. Three are 19 and three are in their 20s.

They're charged in the 2010 shooting death of Jeffrey Henry in Newburgh. Officials say the shooting came as the defendants were robbing drug dealers.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed new laws to ban sales of electronic cigarettes in New York to anyone under 18 and to prohibit smoking within 100 feet of the entrances to public or private schools. WAMC’s Dave Lucas has details.

The smoking restriction takes effect immediately. Residences or residential property within the 100-foot perimeter would be excluded.

Electronic cigarettes are battery-powered devices used to inhale vaporized liquid nicotine instead of tobacco smoke. The ban on sales to minors takes effect Jan. 1.