Northern Light NCPR

The state will host a public comment hearing Tuesday night about a controversial solar development in Canton; environmental advocates are pushing state lawmakers again to cut plastic packaging in half; It’s warming up, and with that... black flies, unfortunately. Listener Phil Fitzpatrick shares advice for repelling them, a poem for the season, and a peak at some of his favorite spots near his camp in Onchiota.

It’s been a week since the Adirondacks lost one of its most revered forest rangers and a leader among the queer community. A look at the legacy of Robbi Mecus; New York is phasing out natural gas use in new buildings, but advocates say there's a wealth disparity between who can do it easily and who can't afford the change; John Warren checks the trail conditions in the Adirondacks this weekend.

Gov. Kathy Hochul is defending the police raids at Columbia University and the City College of New York to quell pro-Palestinian protests; as a part of NCPR's ongoing series about North Country libraries, a profile of "Mr. Ben" Carman of the Plattsburgh Public Library; and a conversation with a budding illustrator in Massena. Makena Odjick is in sixth grade and practices sketch after sketch to nail the perfect illustration to capture her best friend's poems.

Governor Kathy Hochul is touting the state's new investment in artificial intelligence; communities throughout the North Country are dealing with a shortage of poll workers. Many county Boards of Election are thinking of ways to get young people involved; also, we're heading into morel mushroom season, so we'll listen again to an edible mushroom hunt in the Champlain Valley with Chef Curtiss Hemm.

Tahawus was a mining town built deep in the Adirondack wilderness. In the 1960s, everything in the town was either moved or buried. Today, how it came to be, and why it disappeared; it's migration season for birds! Here's what New York is doing, and what you can do to help them on their way; a listener tries to stump Todd with sound she recorded; plus, a North Country-themed love poem ahead of a reading in Potsdam.

Adirondack forest ranger Robbi Mecus died in an ice climbing accident in Alaska last Thursday; former Ivy Ridge students and community members rallied in Ogdensburg on Saturday after a documentary alleges abuse that took place at a now-closed boarding facility; plus, a preview of the Pendragon Theatre's upcoming summer season.