Northern Light

This morning we hear from Congressman Bill Owens on the DC gridlock and ongoing shutdown. Joanna Richards reports on the closure of the North Country Children's Clinic. The new St. Lawrence County budget includes a provision to raise the sales tax and lower property taxes, which officials think will finally help the county get back on track to fiscal health. In his feature on phytoplankton, David Sommerstein gets to the bottom of an issue making waves in the great lakes. Brian Mann shares news on the proposed NYCO land swap in the Adirondacks, and Karen Dewitt provides an update on Governor Cuomo's Moreland Act Commission on corruption. We also hear from students at St. Lawrence University who organized an impromptu bell service in the wake of the bell tower fire last weekend.

In the second part of our week-long series, Warm Water, we hear about what lean meals for fish mean for the people who catch them. Darrel Aubertine steps down from New York's top agriculture post. Joanna Richards has profiles of both private health insurance brokers, and public health exchange "navigators", both of whom are struggling to help consumers sign up for plans. A coalition of North Country political and business leaders is stepping forward to support a ballot measure that would expand casino gambling in NY state. One of the key demands from Republicans is that part of the Affordable Care Act - a medical device tax that would fund health care reform - is removed. Joel Eckberg of the Cook Group says this could wipe out small medical device companies. Todd Moe speaks with Richard Hayes Phillips, a Canton writer who stumbled on the names of thousands of children kidnapped and sold into slavery in Colonial America. And in 2003, Todd met the students who ring the bells at the top of Gunnison Chapel. We rebroadcast that story in the wake of the recent fire that burned the spire.

Over the weekend, a fire severely damaged the steeple and bell tower of a historic chapel at St. Lawrence University's. No one was injured. In Cheateaugay, hundreds gathered to protest the closure of a small correctional facility there. Many civilian employees placed on furlough by the government shutdown are going back to work at Ft. Drum after an announcement from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Saturday. More parents are opting out of vaccinating their kids against whooping cough, which is resulting in more cases statewide. We kick off our week-long series In Warm Water: Fish and the Changing Great Lakes with a look at Lake Superior. And in this week's conversation with CCE's Amy Ivy, we hear about the kinds of gardening chores that should be tackled at this point in the fall season.

Cape Air proposes to link the Adirondack Park by commercial airline to New York City and Boston during the summer. Pope Francis' personal representative to the U.S. visited Lake Placid to lead a special mass. Governor Cuomo says his tax-cutting task force could give New York State a budget surplus within three years. Kate O'Connell reports on how the shutdown is hurting the research and development sector. Lucy Martin has some sights and sounds from a regatta race in Ottawa, ON. We get a preview of a play called Picasso at the Lapin Agile, in which Picasso and Einstein debate about art, science, and genius. And this weekend in the Adirondacks: abnormally dry conditions in the mountains, and in Warrensburg it's Garage Sale Weekend.

At the Paul Smiths VIC last week, Assemblyman Dan Stec said tackling major reform of the Adirondack Park Agency would be a tough sell in Albany. Governor Cuomo is appointing a new tax commission - comprised of his rivals - charged with cutting state taxes by $2 to $3 billion dollars by next year. In a cheeky yet informative interview, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli explains how to pronounce his title. From Natural Selections: do volcanoes, like hurricanes, have a season? And Todd Moe speaks with Evelyn Brant, who has volunteered each year at a Strawberry Festival since 1946.

Congressman Bill Owens comments on the budget impasse, warning that the shutdown might spill over into the upcoming fight over raising America's debt ceiling. Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says the shutdown will depress New York's already struggling economy. Among civilian workers in Fort Drum, who were deemed non-essential and sent home yesterday, there is "a general feeling of disgust," says Loren Zeilnhofer of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 400. Meanwhile, somewhat overlooked is the federal Farm Bill, which has expired. New York's lead lobbyist for farmers is in Washington is figuring out what to do next. In local news, CSX plans to increase the speed at which its trains pass through Canton, making local officials uneasy. And in Andy Flynn's latest installment of the Adirondack Attic series, we hear from Joe Wiegand, the country's premier Teddy Roosevelt reprisor.

As of midnight, much of the federal government is shut down due to the budget impasse over the Affordable Care Act. NCPR sent Zach Hirsch to the streets of Ogdensburg to gauge public opinion about the impasse and the shutdown. Meanwhile, online health insurance exchanges are still open today, as planned. Lisa Sbrana, a lawyer with the New York State Health Plan Marketplace, explains how the exchange will work in our state. Brian Mann has a special report on the aftermath of a tanker train explosion in Lac Megantic, which occurred nearly three months ago. A new poll finds language on a ballot amendment to portray the expansion of casino gambling in a positive light is working. NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says the state may have money for you and it's waiting at a place called "The Office of Unclaimed Funds." Aileen O'Donoghue, who teaches physics at St. Lawrence University, has an update on the current highlights in the night sky.

Today we remember Bill Knoble, one of the North Country's most celebrated artisans, who passed away last week. An anti-gambling group challenges Governor Andrew Cuomo's claims about the benefits of opening new casinos in New York. A biologist at St. Lawrence University studies a special kind of collar that may stop cats from catching songbirds. And in today's conversation with CCE horticulturist Amy Ivy, we learn about the positives and negatives of purchased topsoil.

Governor Andrew Cuomo made a surprise visit to the Adirondacks yesterday to discuss the Finch Pruyn Land deal. Brian Mann joins Todd Moe in the studio to talk about the governor's visit. A budget watchdog group says a 10 year infrastructure spending plan released earlier this year lacks transparency and specific details. Sarah Harris attends a workshop at in Canton that seeks to demystify the process of navigating the new health insurance exchange. David Sommerstein reports on the North Country Grown Cooperative, which is trying to build a distribution system for local food in our region. In advance of the upcoming Artists at Work Studio Tour, Todd Moe visits some of the galleries that will be open this weekend.

The NCREDC gives a big boost to two major hotel projects in Saranac Lake. In Sackets Harbor, a shared kitchen space is helping food producers grow their businesses. In the wake of last week's Navy Yard shooting in D.C., Senator Charles Schumer urges Veterans Affairs to offer better mental health services. Ron Spooner, a 31 year Army veteran, speaks with David Sommerstein about his photos of a 10th Mountain Division "duck" vehicle, which he took himself in 1955. On this week's installment of Natural Selections: What does it take to restore "green tree reservoirs", flood-plain forests that have been reduced 80 percent in size by human encroachment? And Todd Moe speaks with Professor Brett McCloud about the upcoming Rural Skills and Homesteading Festival; and Chris Winters, organizer of the Artists at Work Studio Tour. Both events are this weekend.