Friday smattering

Governor Cuomo is urging New Yorkers to donate to their local food pantry. That’s because on November 1st, a boost to the food stamp program from the 2009 federal stimulus expired. Cuomo issued a press release on Friday – one day after The New York Times published a piece on how SNAP recipients are dealing with nationwide cutbacks.

Fire crews discovered a meth lab while battling a blaze a call in Saranac.

National Grid has finished cleaning up the site of a former gas plant in Ogdensburg. The city is pleased.

In Watertown, the City School District is having difficulty making ends meet. And Common Core isn’t helping, writes the Watertown Daily Times. The school district is finding the new educational standards to be not only intellectually challenging for students (and sometimes for the grownups, too), but also financially demanding. Teachers have to frequently leave their classrooms to attend training sessions, and state aid is not enough to cover the new instructional materials.

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

Brian Mann reports on the firestorm that has erupted in the Adirondack Park’s environmental community.  The fight among green groups over a controversial land swap in the Park has triggered accusations of unethical conduct and laid bare deep philosophical differences.

Just in time for Veterans Day, a feature film premieres Monday that tells the story of a female combat veteran struggling to return to civilian life. It’s filmed almost entirely in Potsdam with local actors. David Sommerstein talks with the director and producer of “Nontraditional”.

Horticulturist Amy Ivy has some tips for lawn care before the cold and snow, and it’s really the last call for getting bulbs – garlic, tulip – in the ground this season.