WAMC Northeast Report on WAMC

Your afternoon regional weather summary with meteorologist Garett Argianas.

The interview won’t air until tomorrow, but the story that Lance will admit to Oprah of using performance enhancing drugs makes us all ask the same question.  Does Oprah still have a network?

That’s really the only revelation likely to come from the dialogue, since only the most ardent disbelievers still imagined Lance rode clean all these years.  He’ll tell the public limited facts about the process, although allegedly he won’t admit to being the so called “ring leader” of the sophisticated drug program.  He’ll simply admit to being just another guy in the peloton who doped to stay relevant, just like everyone else on the road.  He’s part of the gang, just no Al Capone.  Given Armstrong’s actions over the years, it’s hard to image this to be true.  But truth seekers will have to settle for this for the time being.

The new firearms limitations passed in New York State include provisions that restrict those with mental illnesses from gun ownership. While mental health advocates don’t have a problem with tightening the state’s gun laws, they are concerned that the mental health clauses could inadvertently create more problems.

Sales of guns and ammunition at shops across New York State have been brisk today.

Gun shop owners saw increases in sales begin within a week of the Sandy Hook Elementary School incident, as talk spread about imposing stricter gun control measures. Sales are off the chart today: lines of vehicles along roadways leading to gun stores - citizens anxious to purchase equipment before Governor Andrew Cuomo's sweeping gun reform measures become law.

Your afternoon regional weather summary with meteorologist Garett Argianas.

Top Massachusetts officials have announced a program to reduce energy consumption. It targets the largest energy user in Massachusetts, which is the state government.

   Energy efficiency and conservation improvements will be made at 700 state owned facilities including more than 4000 buildings.  The initiative, called the Accelerated Energy Program, aims to complete all the work within the next 700 days, according to the Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and  Environmental Affairs, Rick Sullivan.

A two-day series of events commemorating the life and message of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was held at Williams College.

On the Williams College campus, programs were held throughout Sunday and Monday paying tribute to Dr. King. Ranging from a documentary film screening, lectures, a gallery exhibition, and a presentation with local school children, students, faculty and the public took the time to remember and reflect the actions of those in the civil rights era.

New York's Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy joined other elected officials and Women’s health supporters at the Capitol to boost Governor  Cuomo’s call for passage of a Women’s Equality Act.

Family Planning Advocates of NYS President and CEO Tracey Brooks was upbeat as she greeted some 400 supporters at  FPA's signature advocacy event for the start of the 2013 legislative session.  Women in pink scarves, and men wearing pink ties, felt particularly empowered by the Governor's strong pro-gender-equality message delivered within his State of the State address - 

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation issued a much anticipated plan Monday to improve public transportation, expand passenger rail and fix crumbling highways and bridges.  But, exactly how to pay for it all is left for another day.

  New York State – and much of the nation – has made tremendous strides in reducing smoking rates.  In the mid-1960s, nearly half of Americans smoked; today it’s roughly half that nationwide and lower still in New York.

The successes have come as the result of scientific findings that have linked smoking to lung cancer and other health problems.  Those scientific breakthroughs also identified the health risks faced by nonsmokers who were exposed to second hand smoke from tobacco products.