Photo: Government Press Office, Creative Commons, some rights reserved

Happy Friday! As we’re fond of saying here at NCPR, it’s the best day of the workweek. Today for your delectation from the newsroom we have some great stories. Julie Grant has reported extensively on the troubles EJ Noble hospital’s had over the last year or so, and this week she’s had two stories updating the situation now that the hospital has reopened and reorganized. In the first she reported on the hospital’s efforts to get patients to return; and today she’s reporting on how people in the tiny Adirondack village of Harrisville are dealing with the hospital’s closure of one of the its rural clinics there.

David Sommerstein has a very springlike Heard Up North today on a “Gentleman’s Runabout” in the Thousand Islands; and Brian Mann and Todd Moe worked together on a really fascinating treatment of an oratorio celebrating an als0-really-fascinating chapter in Adirondack history: the Timbuctoo colony of freed slaves near Lake Placid.

So what else is going on? Well, North Country Now is reporting that North Country Assemblywoman Addie Russell has voted to establish task force to combat human trafficking (here’s David Sommerstein’s recent piece on human trafficking in New York state.)

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced yesterday that he wants to build three new casinos upstate, but that announcement comes with a caveat for Native casinos, including the just-expanded Akwesasne Mohawk Casino in Hogansburg (more from Your News Now on the expansion.) WWNY-TV reports the governor’s saying if the state’s Native casinos don’t reach agreements with the state in coming months, they could be facing competition from non-Native casinos. Apparently if the tribes’ agreements with the state are “in good standing”, new casino rules won’t look to put new casinos near them; but if that’s not the case they may try to site new casinos near Native casinos. The issues at hand are things like revenue sharing with the state.

And if you’re a farmers market vendor, GardenShare and Cornell Cooperative Extension have some information for you. They’ll be hosting a free training webinar next Wednesday at the Potsdam Public Library computer center for vendors in St. Lawrence County who want to be able to accept WIC checks this season at the market. Executive Director Aviva Gold said in a statement quoted in North Country Now that given the number of women who receive WIC services in the county, “this is a substantial income opportunity for our local farmers.” You can reserve a spot by emailing office@gardenshare.org.