Northern Light NCPR

A behavioral health organization with locations in Clinton and Warren counties plans to hire 100 new people; a group of advocates recently held a week-long demonstration to raise awareness about homelessness in Watertown; we'll take advantage of this warm time just before the black flies come, and go on a canoe camping trip on Lower Saranac Lake.

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.