Top Stories from NCPR

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's health commissioner received a grilling from state senators at a hearing this week on whether New York is doing enough to combat tick-borne illnesses.

The Haitian migrants in Cornwall, Ontario - just across the St. Lawrence River from Massena - are expected to be gone by the end of the week.Officials say they'll join thousands of others in Montreal awaiting their requests for asylum. The process could take weeks or months before they know whether they'll be able to stay in Canada.Most of the Haitians crossed illegally into Canada at the end of a road just north of Plattsburgh. The migration started in early August after U.S. officials said temporary protected status for Haitian earthquake victims from 2010 is set to expire soon.The situation is sparking some soul searching among Canadians about their immigration policy and it's putting pressure on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for publicly welcoming refugees.

The Nature Conservancy's Adirondack Chapter has a new director. Peg Olsen, who did much of her early conservation work around Lake George works for the National Audubon Society, has been tapped to take over leadership of the Conservancy's organization in Keene Valley.

A former EPA administrator and a former New York state health department official have teamed up with a Vermont college to conduct a health survey of people potentially affected by polluted water in the villages of Hoosick Falls and Petersburgh, and in Bennington, Vermont.

Canadian immigration officials are processing the thousands of Haitians who crossed the border illegally this month seeking asylum. That means a temporary shelter set up for some of them in Cornwall, Ontario, just across the St. Lawrence River from Massena, is starting to empty out.

Head shops in Watertown are coming under scrutiny this week, as the New York Attorney General's office announced charges against two stores.

Sometimes it's not the subject, but the moment that captures an artist's attention. And St. Lawrence County artist Bill Parmer loves to spend time in his pickup in a favorite habitat: along a back road looking for just the right rural landscape in just the right light. You'll find many of Parmer's original oil "plein air" paintings on the walls at Canton Potsdam Hospital, TAUNY in Canton and other regional galleries. He lives in Buckton, just east of Potsdam, and while most of his paintings depict rural life, some feature other aspects of North Country culture, such as the iron bridge in Brasher Falls and a laker on the St. Lawrence River.

"The Water of Life" comes from the body of world folk tales about the way some people have which allows them to find and become the guardians of the water source of life. A story of endless wisdom told in the life of a woman, known as "The Keeper of the Water."

A left-leaning group is asking the state's top politicians to give back donations from a hedge fund manager who made racially charged comments against New York's only black female legislative leader. But so far most, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo, have held on to the money.

This week, filming begins for "Escape at Dannemora," a mini-series on Showtime about the 2015 prison break at Clinton Correctional Facility.It's directed by the Hollywood star Ben Stiller who, after keeping a low profile for more than a year, has been speaking with some local media about the series.