Afternoon coffee break: space probe says ‘sort it out’

You’ve probably heard that the government’s shut down. That means that while embassies, border crossings, the military, the postal service and air traffic control towers stay open, pretty much everything else is closed.  And then, there are the quirkier consequences: the The National Zoo’s panda cam has gone dark. Early this morning, NASA’s voyager space probe, @NASAVoyager2, tweeted this from space:

“Due to government shutdown, we will not be posting or responding from this account. Farewell, humans. Sort it out yourselves.”

Websites and social media  accounts for government offices may be quiet today, but political humor is not. The hashtag #govtshutdownpickuplines is trending on Twitter.

What else? The Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation has said it will suspend federal oversight of active coal mines.  Nobody’s allowed into any national parks. So much for the Google doodle featuring Yosemite National Park — on its 123rd birthday, the park is closed.

Also, the farm bill expired. We’ll have more on that means for New York farmers on tomorrow’s 8 O’clock Hour. And David Sommerstein writes about what government shutdown means for farmers at The Dirt.

In local news, Canton-Potsdam Hospital has a new OB/GYN on staff. They’re also starting an outpatient chemical dependency counseling program on October 7th. Interested patients can self-refer or be referred through their primary care practitioner.

Governor Cuomo announced that the Essex Chain Lake tract in open to the public for the first time in over 100 years.

And the New York State Broadband Program Office, the USDA, the  Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA), the Wild Center and Adirondack Action are  hosting a round table discussion on rural broadband on October 24th in Tupper Lake.

On tap for tomorrow during the 8 O’clock Hour:

Local officials in Canton are asking questions about CSX’s plans to increase the speed of its freight  trains through the village. The issue raises safety concerns along the rails for many North Country towns.

Head of the New York Farm Bureau talks about the expiration of the bill and his meetings today in a very quiet Washington, DC.

And we hear from Congressman Bill Owens. The Democrat from Plattsburgh says the government shut-down is causing “significant furloughs” at Fort Drum near Watertown but won’t affect crossings on the US-Canada border.