WAMC Northeast Report on WAMC

New York’s attorney general is calling on the four major makers of smartphones and the systems that run on the phones to do more to protect consumers from cell-phone thefts. He says in too many cases, the thefts are violent.

The office of Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has announced the open application period for a grant program that seeks to revitalize vacant properties across the the state.

The Distressed Properties Identifications and Revitalization grant program, or DPIR, was created to help cities and towns in Massachusetts identify distressed and vacant properties in order to then advocate for their rehabilitation.

 As the nation moves closer to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the debate continues.  The House of Representatives’ leadership will, once again, advance legislation to repeal the law.  Predictably, the effort will fail.

Meteorologist Garett Argianas returns with the evening weather forecast for Monday, May 13, 2013.

Northern New York’s congressman has formed an advisory committee on agricultural issues.

A community discussion was held Friday to address the number primary care medical providers available in the Berkshires, and how to attract more to the area.

Newschannel 13 meteorologist Jason Caterina tells us how the weekend will shape up in his evening forecast for Friday, May 10, 2013.

The state ethics commission report on the Assemblyman Vito Lopez sexual harassment scandal might finally be made public later this month.
 
The Joint Commission on Public Ethics, or JCOPE, issued a report on its investigation into sexual harassment charges against Brooklyn Assemblyman Vito Lopez back in February. The report was also to address how Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and his aides handled the matter.

WAMC's Brian Shields speaks with Nippertown's Greg Haymes about his weekend music picks:

1. Rick Rourke & Lost Wages' "Rose-Colored Glasses" from his album Three Sides to Every Story,   performing at the Albany Tulip Festival on the Lakehouse Stage in Washington Park at 3:30 on Saturday.

2. Eastbound Jesus' "Waitin' On the Sun" from their new album Northern Rock, performing at the Albany Tulip Festival on the Lakehouse Stage in Washington Park at 4:45 on Sunday.

Two freshman New York lawmakers from the Hudson Valley have joined together to introduce a bipartisan bill on term limits, which they believe are key to much-needed reform in Albany.

Democratic Senator Terry Gipson and Republican Assemblyman Kieran Lalor, both from Dutchess County, joined together across party lines Thursday to say term limits are long overdue, especially with political corruption so prevalent. Here’s Gipson, of Rhinebeck.