NCPR News: Joanna Richards, Watertown Correspondent

(03/07/12) President Obama has proposed a new mortgage relief program for membres of the military and veterans. Major lenders will review forecolusres or denials of re-financing. if wrongly foreclosed on, service members will be paid back their equity, and get extra compensation.

Service members are vulnerable to scams, bad deals, and complicated financing. Many are young and inexperienced in managing their finances -- and frequent moves can make them easy prey when they're feeling financial strain.

The problem is serious enough that an entire federal office is now devoted to protecting military families from financial fraud and abuse.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand brought Holly Petreaus, wife of CIA Director General David Petraeus, and head of to the new Office of Servicemember Affairs to Fort Drum last week. The office is part of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
About 200 people turned out to hear about the office's work.

Joanna Richards was there and has the story. more

(03/01/12) A unit at Fort Drum charged with helping wounded soldiers transition to civilian life was given a scathing review in a report by the Department of Defense Inspector General's Office. According to the report, the Warrior Transition Battalion was seen as a "dumping ground" rather than a place to help soldiers heal. Medical recommendations were ignored, and morale was low, with some soldiers saying they'd rather be in jail or being "shot at in Iraq" than in the battalion. Joanna Richards reports. more

(02/24/12) Jennifer Caddick has led the environmental protection and education organization Save the River for the past six years. But she's announced now she'll be stepping aside. Reporter Joanna Richards stopped by the offices of the organization to speak with Caddick about the issues that have defined her tenure at the organization and what priorities a new leader will be facing as the group begins a new chapter. more

(02/16/12) Hospice groups provide care and comfort to people facing the end of their lives. Hospice of Jefferson County is about to take a big step forward in the kind of care it can offer dying patients -- a home.

Joanna Richards toured the new Watertown residence with CEO Stephen Lyman. more

(02/09/12) Fort Drum's 3rd Brigade Combat Team is beginning to come home after a year-long deployment in Afghanistan. The brigade, about 3,500 soldiers, was sent to an area just west of Kandahar City in southern Afghanistan, where few troops had been before.

They were deployed as part of President Obama's troop surge in the country. As the mission winds down, brigade commander Colonel Patrick Frank says his unit did a good job in a difficult setting. He spoke from Afghanistan with reporter Joanna Richards.
(CORRECTION: We originally reported that these troops were the first US soldiers in that region. Many comments on our story have challenged that assertion. We've contacted our sources at Ft. Drum for clarification and are still waiting for a reply. To the best of our understanding now, Col. Frank's unit was the first brigade level force to deploy there.) more

(02/03/12) Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced last week that the military wants to close some installations as its reduces its force size and winds down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The process is called BRAC, for "base realignment and closure."

A spokeswoman for Fort Drum said the post isn't commenting on the announcement, but reporter Joanna Richards spoke with Carl McLaughlin, executive director of the Fort Drum Regional Liaison Organization in Watertown, about how Fort Drum may fare as the BRAC process takes shape. more

(01/30/12) Proponents of a new rooftop highway in the state are angry after an announcement by the state Department of Transportation this week that the agency will use $6.3 million in federal money earmarked as part of the 2005 federal highway bill for improvements along Route 11. The I-98 supporters thought the money was supposed to be used for planning studies for the new highway. But the DOT says the language in the legislation allows the money to be used for Route 11 instead. Joanna Richards reports. more

(01/23/12) Watertown has been excited about the possibility of a new future for the city's landmark Woolworth building for several years. The historic downtown building is on the site of the dry goods store where F.W. Woolworth began his retail career.

In 1921, after launching his five-and-dime empire, Woolworth demolished the old store and built his imposing new headquarters. But as the five and dime empire went, so went the building. It's been vacant for years.

A new owner purchased the building several years ago, now city officials worry the redevelopment plans may be in jeopardy. Joanna Richards has the story. more

(01/19/12) The Watertown City Council voted 3-2 Tuesday night not to renew the contract of City Manager Mary Corriveau.

That's after it was discovered earlier this year that mismanagement at the city's parks and recreation department had cost the city thousands of dollars in unbilled usage of the ice arena and fairgrounds. more

(01/11/12) The prospect of wind energy development has divided north country communities from Cape Vincent to Clinton County. New York's new Article X law gives developers the option to seek state review of where to put their wind farms. But prior to Article X, accepting and siting the big turbines was up to each town. And companies can still choose local rather than state review.

More than once, the conflict over wind has spilled over into local politics. That has been the case in both Cape Vincent, on Lake Ontario, and Hammond, on a windy ridge overlooking the St. Lawrence River. In both towns, last fall's elections pitted incumbent supervisors who favor regulation of wind power against challengers who had already signed leases with energy companies to place wind turbines on their land. Joanna Richards reports on the likely impact of those elections. more