Top Stories from NCPR

A government reform group has filed a lawsuit to stop a pay raise granted to state lawmakers by a compensation commission. The conservative-leaning Government Justice Center said the salary increase is unconstitutional because it also “radically” changes the rules surrounding serving in the state Legislature.

Arrangements and centerpieces and cut flowers may be a better gift for the non-gardener; live plants can bring a burden of guilt. but they can make a nice gift for the green thumbs in your life. Amy Ivy recommends cyclamens, which are hardy and long blooming, and have colorful leaves when not in bloom.

Garden gear may by pricey, or duplicate what someone already has, but a garden center gift certificate is a practical alternative and sure to be put to good use.

Horticulturist Amy Ivy trades tips and advice with Todd Moe.

The APA commission voted Friday to open a public comment period on new guidelines that will shape construction and maintenance of cross-country ski trails in the Adirondack Park.

Naturalist and educator Paul Hetzler says he had intended to be a bear when he grew up, but when that didn't pan out, he settled for an educator position instead. His new book is titled, Shady Characters: Plant Vampires, Caterpillar Soup, Leprechaun Trees and Other Hilarities of the Natural World.

Hetzler's work has appeared in magazines, and the medical journal The Lancet. He also writes weekly natural-history columns for newspapers and magazines in northern New York State, as well as NCPR's All In blog.

One of the Adirondack Park’s most popular wilderness ski trails has been officially designated as a town road, thanks to a court battle known as the Old Mountain Road case that dates back more than fifteen years.

Next year will be the first time some upstate House Republicans will be in the minority. Central New York Rep. John Katko (R-Camillus) said he has built a lot of bridges with Democrats over the last four years.

Although we'll see some warmer weather this weekend, ice and deep snow reign in the backcountry. Plan for the possibility of encountering light rain or show showers, especially through tonight and again on Sunday.

Howard Glass didn't move to the Adirondacks to jump out of helicopters. Howard came up to the Adirondacks in 1977 with a masters degree in biochemistry and cell biology and worked at a lab in Lake Placid for four years before it closed. Howard then went on a huge job search around the Northeast, but decided to stay in the Adirondacks to avoid jobs "surrounded by concrete."

The modern supermarket holds a bewildering variety of oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit, tangerines and more. But they are all the product of 4,000 years of selective breeding by humans to tease out tastier, larger, sweeter and juicier variations and hybrids from four ancestral Asian fruits. Dr. Curt Stager and Martha Foley climb back down the citrus family tree to look at the Mandarin orange, the pomelo, the citron and the papeda.

People who support legalizing recreational marijuana for adults in New York say 2019 may be the year that it happens. At a conference to explore the best way to craft legislation, participants also said it needs to include reparative justice for communities most adversely affected by the decades-long marijuana prohibition in New York.