David Sommerstein

Canton

News Director at North Country Public Radio (NCPR)

News Director @ncpr The Beat Authority, the best beats worldwide. Buffalonian. DJ. Yankees. Yerba mate.

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Articles

NPR's Brian Mann remembers covering the Dannemora manhunt 10 years later

3 weeks ago | northcountrypublicradio.org | David Sommerstein

Ten years ago Friday, the North Country woke up to the news that two dangerous criminals had escaped from one of the state’s maximum security prisons. The towering white walls of Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora are a symbol of incarceration. And yet two inmates had squeezed through pipes and under those walls to freedom. What ensued was a three-week manhunt that terrified much of the North Country and captivated the nation.
Tug Hill winters are getting warmer, and more unpredictable

3 weeks ago | northcountrypublicradio.org | David Sommerstein

The Tug Hill Plateau is known for its winters. It’s the snowiest populated place east of the Mississippi. Snowmobilers flock there, bringing in about $80 million a year. New data compiled by the Tug Hill Commission finds climate change is altering those winters, often in unpredictable ways. The report analyzes fifty years of data from four weather stations across the Tug Hill Plateau: Lowville, Bennets Bridge, Boonville, and Highmarket.
Stefanik edges closer to run for Governor

3 weeks ago | northcountrypublicradio.org | David Sommerstein

North Country Congresswoman Elise Stefanik appears to be edging closer to running for governor of New York next year. In an interview with conservative talk radio host Sid Rosenberg Tuesday, the six-term Republican said she's been criss-crossing the state testing her support. "I'm always up for a fight," she said.
A journey through the kaleidoscope of jazz at Burlington's Discover Jazz Fest

3 weeks ago | northcountrypublicradio.org | David Sommerstein

It’s summer music festival season in the North Country. Whether in Montreal, Ottawa, Lake George, Saranac Lake, or Norwood, each festival has its own style, its own DNA. The Burlington Discover Jazz Festival, which kicks off Wednesday night, is unique because it invites a guest curator each year to program the musicians who play. This year, it’s bassist, composer, and producer Anthony Tidd. Tidd has collaborated with everyone from The Roots to Lady Gaga to saxophonist Steve Coleman.
DEC urges hikers to avoid High Peaks during spring conditions

1 month 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.
North Country SUNY campuses will share an additional $3.3 million

1 month 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.
Lake George and other Adk tourism hubs worry about J-1 visa arrivals

1 month 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.
The GM site in Massena almost had a buyer. The search goes on with key designation

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.
Constantinople, music from the global crossroads, this weekend in Saranac

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.
Fort Drum contributes almost $2 billion to the North Country economy

1 month ago | northcountrypublicradio.org | David Sommerstein

Fort Drum Army base near Watertown generates $1.93 billion for the North Country economy. That's according to the base's annual economic impact statement. It's an increase of 1.3% over last year. The home to the 10th Mountain Division, one of the most deployed in the U.S. military, supports 38,000 active-duty soldiers, their families, and civilian employees. That makes it the largest single-site employer in northern New York.