Midday Magazine on WAMC

“Sequestration” is a government word that for those in the military has a synonym: castration. When a bipartisan committee was established by the administration to motivate Democrats and Republicans to compromise on limits for federal spending, it was assumed some understanding could be accomplished. One provision of mutual disagreement and a stalemate is sequestration or automatic budget cuts should stasis be the result of congressional deliberation.

The City of Plattsburgh Redistricting Committee held its public hearing on the plan to change the city’s wards last night.

Restricting Committee Chair Peter Ensel called the meeting to order, read the rules and called for comments.

And they waited.

But no resident came to City Hall to comment on the new ward structure that the committee spent months re-mapping. Chair Peter Ensel was surprised that no one showed up.

The closely watched race for the US Senate in Massachusetts has taken a negative turn. With three recent polls showing Democrat Elizabeth Warren  with a small lead among likely voters, Republican incumbent Scott Brown is targeting Warren’s character.   WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports.

In 1835, a mere 59 years after the American colonies became the world’s most advanced republic, thereafter known as The United States of America, our most surprising and enabling ally – France – sent its most distinguished political historian, Alexis deTocqueville, to study and report on the status of this monumental experiment in popular self-government, as stipulated: ‘of, for and by its people.’

Over 1800 people will fan out across hundreds of miles this Saturday to clean up trash and debris along the Connecticut River and its tributaries.  It is the 16th annual “ Source to Sea Cleanup” organized by the Connecticut River Watershed  Council.  WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill spoke with the council’s Outreach and Events Director, Angela Mrozinski.

Governor Andrew Cuomo was in the Adirondacks this weekend to show off the state’s recent acquisition. The governor hopes the lands will be a boon to the local tourist economy, but some local officials say the losses from the hunting and forestry industry outweigh any potential tourism benefits.

Public health officials in Massachusetts and a non-profit provider of mental health and substance abuse treatment are working to reduce underage drinking in the state’s third largest city.  A prevention plan has been  developed based on the results of a survey of 8th graders in Springfield to determine reasons for underage drinking.   WAMC”s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports.

With the election of a U.S. president much in the news, one soon-to-be-released film takes on extra-special resonance. That film is HYDE PARK ON HUDSON, which was screened at the Toronto Film Festival and is scheduled to open theatrically in December.

According to a new report released by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, 1/3 of high school graduates in the Commonwealth are not prepared for college level work. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard reports…

You had a lot to say on the WAMC listener comment line this week on everything from Joe Donohue's interview with Jesse Ventura, Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney's '47 %' remarks, and several of our WAMC commentators. Segments of these comments ran Friday Sept. 21 on Midday Magazine and Northeast Report.