NCPR Regional News Archives

Nurses in Potsdam picket for a better labor contract... A recently closed Ogdensburg travel agency—owned by a couple in Kingston, Ontario—is implicated in charges of charity fraud... Adirondack tourism officials fight funding cuts proposed by the Governor... St Lawrence University hockey players skate in their conference semifinals... And the difficulty of making some green choices.

Governor David Paterson is delaying state income tax refunds by about two weeks for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers to make sure the state has enough cash on hand to meet financial obligations. Martha Foley has more.

New York State is short this year (Gov. Paterson is delaying tax refunds to ease the cash flow crunch) and will be even shorter next year. Current estimates put the looming deficit at $9 billion. The governor has proposed deep spending cuts, from education to prison, parks, and marketing. Tourism officials in the Adirondacks say proposed cuts in that last line could cost the region millions of dollars and thousands of jobs. Jonathan Brown reports. More...

The New York State Senate welcomed its newest member yesterday—Senator Jose Peralta. He replaces Hiram Monserrate, who was expelled in February. Democrats now have the 32 votes they need to pass legislation, and Senator Peralta’s vote will likely be needed to approve the state budget, due at the end of the month. Karen DeWitt reports.

North Country collegiate hockey fans have another big weekend to look forward to. The St. Lawrence University men’s team heads to Albany this weekend for their conference’s semifinal. The fifth seeded Saints face off against third seeded Union College tomorrow night at 7. The Saints lost to Yale in a heartbreaker in last year’s semifinals. David Sommerstein stopped by practice at Appleton Arena yesterday to speak with Coach Joe Marsh.

Sometimes, the more choices you have, the more stress you feel. That's the case with some people when it comes to taking care of the environment. As Karen Kelly reports, being environmentally aware can be a burden. More...

Some flowers open quickly, and some are even spring-loaded—like the venus fly trap—but the floral deployment speed record belongs to the lowly dogwood relative, the bunchberry, which when triggered opens its tiny four-petal bloom in less than a millisecond. Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager discuss flower power.