Midday Magazine on WAMC

Some lawmakers in Montpelier are focusing on climate change and renewable energy this week.  An advocacy group is releasing a renewable plan while testimony is given on how climate change is impacting business.

Federal flood maps are being redrawn, and for those areas hit by Hurricane Sandy, that could mean guidance on whether to rebuild on higher ground. The new maps will also impact flood-insurance premiums.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is redrawing flood-zone maps for the New York City area. Michael Byrne is FEMA’s federal coordinating officer for New York. He says the map revisions began before Hurricane Sandy, but are of even greater concern since Sandy.

Thousands of homes and businesses across the Northeast remain without electricity in the aftermath of a wild storm that moved through early this morning, taking down trees and power lines. Capital Region Bureau Chief Dave Lucas reports

Four gun-rights groups have filed a Notice of Claim in New York State, challenging the gun measure Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law earlier this month.

The New York State Rifle & Pistol Association; the Westchester County Firearms Owners Association, based in Rye Brook; the Sportsmen’s Association for Firearms Education, in Commack, Long Island; and AR15.com, a web site run out of Farmington, in upstate New York, filed a notice of claim Tuesday with the New York State Attorney General’s office. Here’s President of the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Tom King.

Vermont lawmakers are once again considering a measure that would allow an individual to request prescription medication to end their life if diagnosed with a terminal condition.

It is now customary for lies to drip from the fountain of public discourse. “I did not have sex with that woman,” “your investments are safe with me,” “doping did not play a role in the Tour de France victories”, a film about Mohammed was responsible for the raid in Bengazi,” are merely recent examples of dissimulation. Whether the liar is former President Clinton, Bernie Madoff, Lance Armstrong or President Obama, there is the belief you can pull the wool over the public’s eyes. And, as events have shown, this is often true.

A public economic development institute in Massachusetts has released a detailed map of when areas of Western Massachusetts will be connected with a federally funded high-speed internet fiber optic network. The first segments will be operational in the coming months.

At a community meeting in Great Barrington on Tuesday evening, Judy Dumont, and Executive Director of the Massachusetts Broadband Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative announced that the first segments of the fiber-optic MassBroadband 123 network will be lit up this March.

There’s a new system ready to be put in place in New York State to help identify local governments and school districts under financial strain. The idea is to flag financial problems before they spiral into a crisis.

The New York State Comptroller’s office has finalized plans to implement a statewide fiscal monitoring system to identify local governments and school districts under or nearing financial stress, by classifying their fiscal conditions. Brian Butry is a spokesman for State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

The U.S. Senate’s so-called “Gang of Eight” released their immigration reform plan on Monday, and the President is outlining his plan Tuesday.  

Northern New York’s Democratic Congressman Bill Owens was in Plattsburgh Monday afternoon just prior to the release of the immigration reform package. He said there are specific items he wants in any immigration measure.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has unveiled a series of sentencing reforms, including efforts to curb sentencing on youth offenders convicted of first-degree murder. 

Governor Patrick released a bill titled “An Act to Reform the Juvenile Justice System in the Commonwealth.” Two primary focuses of the bill would extended juvenile court jurisdiction from 17 years old to 18 years old, and would also prohibit mandatory life-sentences without parole for those convicted of first degree murder between ages 14 and 18.