Wind!

Power outages abound on this windy afternoon.  St. Lawrence County was hit the hardest, with 1,967 customers affected. Here are the numbers of customers affected in other counties, as reported by National Grid:

Franklin: less than 511

Jefferson: 343

Hamilton: 112

Lewis: 95

Essex: less than 5

Clinton: 13*

*This last number comes from NYSEG, not National Grid.

All power should be restored by 8 PM.

In other regional news, Governor Cuomo’s press office is calling attention to new DWI laws that go into effect today. One of the new laws establishes a stricter punishment for individuals who drive drunk with a conditional license. They will now face a felony charge, as opposed to a traffic violation. Another set of provisions strengthen the 2009 Leandra’s Law. See the full release here.

28 low-income North Country families will become homeowners thanks to a $850,000 grant from the State Office of Community Renewal. Matilda Larson of the St. Lawrence County Planning Office told the Press-Republican, “We hope to have four homes per county.”

Also from the Press-Republican in Plattsburgh, Republican candidates for local office believe that volunteers, working on behalf of the Working Families and Democratic candidates, have been encouraging voters to submit falsified absentee ballots. If that’s the case, the scandal could result in a felony charge for both the voters and the assisting volunteers. Mark Dame, Republican incumbent candidate for the Clinton County Legislature Area 8 seat, says he expects a lawsuit.

Here’s what we’re working on for Monday:

More on the power outages that slammed the North Country today.

Brian Mann has an update on the two Adirondack land swaps that will be on the statewide ballot, one affecting local residents in Racquette Lake, the other shaping the future of NYCO Minerals in Willsboro.

There’s a special election for one St. Lawrence county legislator from district 9. Sarah Harris has the details.