Radio Chatskill

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is set to testify about the state’s COVID-19 response before House lawmakers next week. WAMC’s Ian Pickus has more.Cuomo is scheduled to speak with The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic on September 10th. He resigned under pressure in August 2021, months after becoming a national figure early in the pandemic.He continues to face questions about a state order from March 2020 that required nursing homes to accept COVID-positive patients amid a shortage of hospital beds. New York experienced thousands of deaths in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities during the pandemic. Cuomo denies wrongdoing. A spokesman for the former governor says the question over COVID’s spread in nursing homes has already been investigated multiple times.The spokesperson adds Cuomo is appearing voluntarily and says Republicans’ anti-science policies caused hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths from COVID. The former governor appeared for a seven-hour, closed-door interview with the subcommittee in June.

Emily Li Mandri is founder of the women's accessories brand MLE, based in Ulster County, NY. In the latest episode of the Kaatscast podcast, she talks about her challenges and rewards of running a fashion brand in Upstate New York…

Kaatscast is a biweekly series featuring Catskills culture, history, sustainability, local interviews, literature, and the arts. Shows are hosted by Brett Barry and produced by Silver Hollow Audio, in the heart of the Catskills. 

In the 2020 presidential election, a group of Pennsylvania Republicans made headlines by serving as electors for Donald Trump even though Joe Biden won the popular vote in the state. 

These so- called “alternate” or “fake” electors cast ballots and signed an ‘alternative’ certificate for Trump, as if he had won.

Now, Five of those electors are on Trump’s Slate for 2024, and three of them are indicating they would do the same thing again if there's a similar legal dispute.

For more, Jason Dole spoke to Carter Walker, investigative reporter for Votebeat PA.

In 1994, the Winston Farm property in Saugerties, NY, made international headlines when it hosted the 25th anniversary of the Woodstock Festival, the so-called "middle child" to the festivals of 1969 and 1999.

Over the years, several plans for the property were proposed that ultimately failed to come to fruition, including a community college, a casino, a landfill and incinerator and a high-tech business park.

The latest plans for the property were presented during a meeting of the Saugerties Town Board earlier this month. The current proposal for the 840 acre project includes 799 housing units with a combination of townhouses and apartments, serving an estimated 1,746 residents. Also included in the plan would be 250,000-square-feet of commercial space, a 150-room boutique hotel, a conference center with a further 250 hotel rooms, a 5,000-seat enclosed performance space, a 100-cabin campground, and around 250,000-square-feet of laboratory or light industrial space.

The developers say the proposal will grow the local economy and that it addressed concerns raised since their first draft plans were submitted nearly three years ago. Others say they feel differently.

That includes Catskill Mountainkeeper, the environmental advocacy organization. They say the proposed development of  Winston Farms stands to jeopardize the health and safety of nearby residents.

Catskill Mountainkeeper Senior Research Director Kathy Nolan appeared on Radio Chatskill with Tim Bruno. to discuss the proposed project.

In a multi-part presentation, the neuroscientist  and musician, Joseph Le Doux will read excepts from his in-progress memoir titled, "Starting Over" at The Rock Valley Schoolhouse on September 1. Joe will be joined by his long-time musical partner, Colin Dempsey, to sing several of their Heavy Mental "greatest hits" as well.

Culture Reporter Valerie Mansi has more. 

New Covid vaccines have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and will be available soon. When people should get them depends on their personal risk factors — and whether they were recently infected during this summer’s spike in cases.

So, should you get shot now or wait until it’s closer to the holiday season? 

Eliza Fawcett is a reporter covering public health for Healthbeat . Healthbeat is a team at Civic News Company and KFF Health News working to report the story of public health in America. She appeared on Radio Chatskill with Tim Bruno. 

Ever gone for a hike and wondered what you would do if you ran into a bear? Or cooked at your campsite and didn’t know where to safely store leftovers? Or wanted to try backpacking but could use tips on how to start?

Jeffersonville resident Ashley Furey will answer these questions and much more in her presentation “Hiking Boots, Bears, and Blisters: A Woman's Backpacking Adventures from the Catskills to the Grand Canyon” at the Liberty Public Library on Thursday, August 29 at 6 PM.

She appeared on Radio Chatskill with Tim Bruno. 

Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River is the home of the oldest existing wire suspension bridge in the United States - the Delaware Aqueduct, or Roebling Bridge as it is now known. 

Begun in 1847 as one of four suspension aqueducts on the Delaware and Hudson Canal, it was designed by and built under the supervision of John A. Roebling, future engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Professor Paul King is an expert on Roebling and teaches at CityTech in Brooklyn, near the base of the Brooklyn Bridge. 

This Saturday, August 31, at Noon, he will speak at the D&H Canal Interpretive Center in Summitville, NY, focusing on Roebling’s contributions to the D&H Canal through his suspension aqueducts and their significance in the history of the Catskills.

Professor King appeared on Radio Chatskill with Tim Bruno. 

New York State officials continue to encourage families of college bound kids, to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.  As Ellen Abbott with the New York Public News Network reports, the form is the only way students can receive state and federal aid.

The number of  applications for financial aid is down this year according to SUNY Chancellor John King.  And with classes starting shortly, it’s a good time to take care of it.

"For most families, they want to know at the start of the year what the bill is going to look like.  And so we're trying to make sure that as many folks as possible complete that FAFSA now before we get into the academic year."

The FAFSA has  long had a reputation for being very complicated, and a federal government overhaul  was supposed to make it all easier.  But problems with the new FAFSA form have persisted and FAFSA applications are down 10 percent compared to last year, according to King.

"We are working hard in New York to combat that, doing information sessions at all of our campuses.
We have a FAFSA completion core, current SUNY students who've been trained to work with prospective students and their families to complete the FAFSA.   Lots about reach, phone calls, texts, emails to make sure folks know about the FAFSA.  The governor sent a letter home to each high school senior reminding them about the importance of the FAFSA."

King says families can go to the SUNY website for help as well. 

‘A Land With a People’ is a collection of personal stories, history, poetry, and art elevating rarely heard Palestinian and Jewish voices. The book began as a storytelling project of Jewish Voice for Peace-New York City and subsequently transformed into a theater project performed throughout the New York City area.

Upper Delaware Actions for a Free Palestine (UDAFP) is hosting a teach-in and author led discussion of the book on Thursday with editors and activists Esther Farmer and Rosalind Pollack Petchesky.  

Tim Bruno spoke to Lauren Seikaly of UDAFP, a coalition of local community members.