Lucas Willard

Saratoga Race Course is now open. WAMC’s Southern Adirondack Bureau Chief Lucas Willard was at the Spa Friday morning to see what’s new for the 2017 meet.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency held the second of two public information sessions on the agency’s second five-year review of the Hudson River Superfund Cleanup. WAMC’s Southern Adirondack Bureau Chief Lucas Willard was at the meeting in Saratoga Springs Wednesday night, where protesters gathered outside.

Immigration is on the minds of Saratoga Springs residents after U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement raids resulted in the arrests of more than two dozen individuals. WAMC’s Southern Adirondack Bureau Chief Lucas Willard reports a discussion about immigration and its effects on the local community was held Monday night at Skidmore College.

The tiny town of Caroga, New York in the southern Adirondack Park will again this summer host dozens of world-class musicians as part of the Caroga Lake Music Festival. What began five years ago as a few friends getting together has expanded to several weeks of events in multiple venues.

Two contaminated sites in Hoosick Falls, New York have been added to the state Superfund list.

The City of Amsterdam has gotten a financial boost to study the potential recreation opportunities around a set of historic buildings. WAMC’s Southern Adirondack Bureau Chief Lucas Willard reports leaders want to showcase the industrial history of the Montgomery County city by preserving a piece its past.

The former Beech-Nut baby food factory in Canajoharie may soon be demolished. Last night, the Montgomery County legislature voted 9-0 to allow for the foreclosure of the partially-demolished property and for the County Executive to enter a Memorandum of Agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regarding the cleanup of the site.

NOTE: This post has been updated 7/8/2017

After a controversial plan to turn an abandoned hospital in Troy over to a housing developer failed to clear the city council in June, the city took steps Thursday night to secure the building and borrow money for its demolition.

The sheriffs of Albany and Saratoga Counties are teaming up to launch a new safe boating campaign for the summer.

A company based in the Capital Region has been awarded a $9.1 million federal contract to develop a new generation of living building materials.

New York’s Erie Canal is celebrating its 200th birthday. To mark the occasion, the Albany Symphony Orchestra is holding performances from the canal’s historic beginning in Albany to Lockport in Niagara County. WAMC’s Southern Adirondack Bureau Chief Lucas Willard has more on the series of events that kicks off this Sunday called “Water Music New York.”

This November, Saratoga Springs residents will have the chance to vote for a new city charter. This week the city’s Charter Review Commission approved a final document that change the city’s system of government from its unique Commission-style to a more conventional Council-Manager form.

Leaders in Saratoga Springs have made their pitch for three workforce housing proposals that aim to provide more apartments in a city desperate for workers and satisfy federal requirements for affordable housing.

Speaking alongside New York’s newest and first openly gay judge on the state’s highest court, Governor Andrew Cuomo praised Paul Feinman’s legal experience and also marked the occasion of his appointment to New York Court of Appeals on the same day as New York City’s annual Pride March.

Troy could be getting a financial boost. Word came this week that the Rensselaer County city would receive funding after several steps to share services and lower costs were approved by the state. Meanwhile, inaction during the state legislative session threatens tax revenues.

The Rensselaer County Village of Hoosick Falls, already dealing with a State Superfund site contaminated with the chemical PFOA, may soon add other locations to the list.