David Sommerstein

2 weeks ago | northcountrypublicradio.org | David Sommerstein

New York's Department of Environmental Conservation issued its annual spring conditions advisory for the Adirondacks Thursday. It urges hikers to avoid trails above 2,500 feet, particularly high elevation trails in the High Peaks. Due to unstable spring conditions, hikers should be prepared for deteriorating and rotten snow, poor quality ice, slippery trails, and high-water crossings. Even on low-elevation trails, they can all pose a serious danger to hikers.

3 weeks ago | northcountrypublicradio.org | David Sommerstein

Three SUNY campuses in the North Country will share an additional $3.3 million in state funding. The money is part of a $114 million increase to SUNY funding included in the newly passed state budget. SUNY Plattsburgh will get the largest increase, with an extra $1.5 million. SUNY Potsdam will see about $1 million in new money. SUNY Canton's increase is $800,000. SUNY Chancellor John King called the financial boost a "historic investment" in the state university system across its 64 campuses.

4 weeks ago | northcountrypublicradio.org | David Sommerstein

Adirondack tourist towns, especially Old Forge, Lake Placid, and Lake George, are getting jitters about possible problems affecting the foreign workers who staff summer businesses. Business owners are concerned that the Trump Administration’s crackdown on immigration may spill over to the J-1 visa system. Young people in the U.S. on J-1 work-study visas account for half of the summer hospitality workforce in Lake George, for example. Downtown Lake George.

1 month ago | northcountrypublicradio.org | David Sommerstein

The group marketing the former General Motors property in Massena says it’s taken a major step forward. The rail company CSX has put it on a national list of prime sites for redevelopment. That would have been unthinkable fifteen years ago, when the 210-acre parcel along the St. Lawrence River was severely contaminated and completely abandoned.

1 month ago | northcountrypublicradio.org | David Sommerstein

Modern-day Istanbul, known throughout history as Constantinople, has been a crossroads of cultures for centuries, a place where East and West meet. The band, Constantinople, weaves that history into its music. Constantinople brings its global, improvisational sounds to the North Country with a concert Sunday, May 4 at 3pm at the historic Methodist Church in Saranac, focusing on the deep musical traditions of Persia and Senegal. The concert is a production of Hill and Hollow Music.