Midday Magazine on WAMC

In all the years I’ve been attending the just-concluded Toronto Film Festival, I have never received so many emails from publicists alerting me to screenings or inviting me to attend media events or parties associated with specific films. There is a special sense of urgency to many of these emails, which feature phrases like “Film Alert,” “The Best Suspense Thriller at the Festival,” “Must-See Documentary,” Invite Reminder,” “Rising Norwegian Film Talent,” and “Exclusive Website premiere” in their subject lines.

When it comes to endorsements in last week's primaries, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is five for five.

All three of the Senate Democrats endorsed by the governor - via press release - in the week before the elections and both Assembly Democrats were successful at weathering challenges from fellow party members.

The three senators, Adriano Espaillat, Toby Ann Stavisky and Neil Breslin, won by wide margins.

Ditto for Assemblymen David Gantt and Sean Ryan.

Arguably, Cuomo didn't really have all that much on the line in these races.

Teachers, jaguars and Car Talk were all topics of opinion on this week's WAMC Listener Comment line. 

       Casino operators are promising thousands of jobs will be created when a resort casino project comes to western Massachusetts.  Labor leaders are working to guarantee construction jobs go only to union workers. A civil rights leader is seeking assurances that jobs will be plentiful for people of color. WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports.

Four new colonies of invasive Asian clams have been found in Lake George.

Just after Labor Day a volunteer group organized by the Lake George Park Commission began surveying areas of high risk for further spread of Asian Clams in Lake George, including boat launch areas and sandy, shallow areas.  Lake George Waterkeeper Chris Navitsky says they are surveying between 140 and 150 areas of the lake.

Thursday was primary day across New York State - Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Dave Lucas has a wrap-up of election results.

For one of the most-watched upstate races, Thursday’s primary voting marked the conclusion of a bitter campaign for the Democratic nomination for Albany County District Attorney. The battle raged on in mainstream media and thru blogs and social networks, where there was intense debate ... and quite a bit of old-fashioned mudslinging... in the end DA David Soares thanked his staff for standing by him during the campaign.

The Vermont Veterans Home located in Bennington is facing millions of dollars in federal funding cuts if changes are not made to remedy certain deficiencies. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Lucas Willard reports…

A security lieutenant at the Indian Point nuclear power complex has filed a $1.5 billion lawsuit in state Supreme Court, claiming the facility is unsecure, and that staffers regularly watch DVDs, play video games and sleep on the job. The suit also claims the plant routinely fails anti-terrorism drills. Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Dave Lucas reports.

If you are so inclined, and your legs are up to it, you could bicycle all the way from lower Manhattan to Albany with the help of a new booklet that outlines the routes and the points of interest along the way. The booklet, Cycling the Hudson Valley - A Guide to History, Art and Nature on the East and West Sides of the Majestic Hudson River, is published by Parks and Trails New York. Martin Daley is the organization’s project manager. He spoke with WAMC’s Brian Shields.

A rural New York State county is considering crafting a residency law after several sex offenders were found to be living near area schools.

At the beginning of this school year, Essex County Sheriff Richard Cutting sent a notice to area superintendents advising them to check the Sex Offender Registry.  In the process, the county discovered 11 sex offenders living near schools and other youth facilities.  Sheriff Cutting says that’s a very serious concern.