May 24, 2013 — U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's farewell tour swung through Massena yesterday. One of the few Republicans in President Obama's cabinet, LaHood announced he was stepping down last January.

Obama's nominee to replace LaHood, Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx, breezed through a Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

LaHood has overseen the St. Lawrence Seaway for four years. As David Sommerstein reports, he said the Seaway will always occupy "a niche" in the nation's infrastructure.  Go to full article

May 15, 2013 — State officials have set a price tag on the mothballed prison in Clinton County and it looks like a bargain.

The Office of General Services says it will accept a minimum bid for the Lyon Mountain Correctional Facility of just $140,000.

That includes more than 27 acres of land and 23 buildings.  Go to full article

Apr 29, 2013 — About 200 community members turned up in a school auditorium in Watertown Thursday night in a showing of regional support for Fort Drum. The event was billed as a "listening session" for the Army, to inform a process of personnel cutbacks and reorganization currently affecting military installations around the country.

Leaders in local government, education, business, transportation, housing, health care and more turned out at Case Middle School to bolster the community's case for maintaining strong troop levels at Fort Drum.  Go to full article

Apr 09, 2013 — High-paying jobs will remain elusive for the class of 2013 as a slow economic recovery drags on, according to numbers tallied by an economic policy center.

The Economic Policy Institute crunched some data compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and found starting salaries for 21-24-year old demographic entering the labor force continue to be lower than they were a decade ago.  Go to full article

Apr 01, 2013 — The company that built Massena will keep its plants open there for at least another 30 years.

Alcoa announced Saturday it will invest $42 million to modernize its East plant and build a new smelting the line. The company will also guarantee at least 900 jobs. In return, Alcoa will get low cost electricity from the hydropower dam on the St. Lawrence River.

The deal hinges on how the Environmental Protection Agency decides to clean up PCBs Alcoa and Reynolds dumped in the Grasse River decades ago.

David Sommerstein joined Martha Foley for more on the deal.  Go to full article

Mar 21, 2013 — Update 10 am: The state correctional facility in Chateaugay won't be closed under a budget deal being finalized in Albany. That's according to Dan Macentee, spokesman for state Senator Betty Little. Latest details of this breaking story.



It remains unclear this morning whether the budget deal now being finalized in Albany will affect a North Country prison.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders unveiled a broad outline of the spending plan last night, without offering specifics.

Democratic lawmakers in the state Senate and Assembly have proposed cutting funding for the state correctional facility in Chateaugay in northern Franklin County.

That differs from Cuomo's executive budget proposal, which targeted prisons in Manhattan and in Dutchess County.  Go to full article

Albany, NY, Mar 12, 2013 — The New York State Senate has included raising the state's minimum wage in its one house budget resolution. But that's not necessarily a signal that a wage increase is moving forward in the state spending plan.  Go to full article

Feb 25, 2013 — A Canadian company has signed a letter of intent to buy the zinc mines outside Gouverneur for $12 million. Beaufield Resources says it plans to hire workers this year.  Go to full article

Ticonderoga, NY, Feb 19, 2013 — Senator Kirsten Gillibrand was in Ticonderoga, NY, yesterday, working to build support for a new measure that aims to boost high-tech manufacturing.

Gillibrand wants Congress to fund low-interest revolving loans that would help modernize factories and pay for worker training.  Go to full article

Glens Falls, NY, Jan 11, 2013 — One of the North Country's largest healthcare providers has announced plans to explore a partnership with Albany Medical Center.

Glens Falls Hospital, which also operates clinics and specialty care facilities throughout the southeastern Adirondacks, announced the move yesterday.

Hospital CEO David Kruczlnicki says the talks come, in part, as a response to Obamacare and declining government reimbursements for Medicaid and Medicare.  Go to full article