WJFF - The Local Edition - Special Report

New York State has earned approximately $35 million in accrued interest on the more than $3 billion in opioid settlement funds it has secured to date. Some advocates are concerned that how and where interest dollars are used could be harder to follow with provisions in Governor Kathy Hochul’s latest executive budget. Radio Catskill's Kimberly Izar reports.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation released a policy draft last month to increase the accessibility of the outdoors to people with mobility disabilities. The policy aims to standardize the criteria for evaluating where Other Power Driven Mobility Devices (OPDMDs) can be used and is currently accepting public comments until March 9. 

Radio Catskill’s Julia Kim had the chance to speak with DEC’s ADA Accessibility Coordinator Leah Akins, Accessibility Advisory Committee Chairman Jason Thurson and others about issues the policy is aiming to address, ongoing debates surrounding accessibility and environmental protection and future efforts to in...

A hearing Thursday gives lawmakers an opportunity to grill police and prison leaders.

The Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce has appointed a new President and CEO to lead the organization’s efforts in supporting local businesses and driving economic growth across the region.

Radio Catskill’s Patricio Robayo spoke with the Chamber’s new President and CEO, who is stepping into the role at a time when Sullivan County continues to focus on strengthening its business community, supporting entrepreneurs, and promoting sustainable development.

In the conversation, the new leader outlined priorities for the Chamber, including expanding support for small businesses, increasing membership engagement, and strengthening partnerships with local and re...

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has retracted its false claim that the agency had bought a warehouse in Orange County, calling it a "mistake." Radio Catskill’s Kimberly reports.

Benjamin Land

Feb 13 2025

Trout Fishing in the Catskills needs attention to detail.

Ecosystems around the world are delicate. The one in the Catskills that supports the historic fly fishing culture is also a fragile thing. 

“ They (flooding) erode the banks. They get rid of all the indigenous trees that the roots hold, the structure of the stream back,” Doug Kluthe explained. Kluthe is a licensed fly fishing guide based in Phoenicia, New York. Kluthe grew up in the area where he learned from...

Catskill Brewery is inviting the community to celebrate Valentine’s Day with a full day of activities, music and creative experiences.

The event will take place on Saturday, February 14, 2026, from 12 to 8 p.m. in the brewery’s taproom. Organizers say the celebration is designed for couples, friends and anyone looking to mark the holiday in a relaxed setting.

Activities include a Polaroid kissing booth, where guests can capture moments with their partners, as well as ceramic figurine painting for those looking for a hands-on creative option.

Live music will be provided by Mike Brow...

 From inside Woodbourne Correctional Facility, Atiq Akeem Weston is pushing for a change to who gets a voice in American democracy.

Weston, who has been incarcerated for more than 17 years, has drafted what he calls the “Incarcerated American Vote Act,” a federal proposal that would allow most incarcerated people to vote. The plan would restrict voting only for people convicted of specific offenses such as treason, terrorism, or espionage.

“Voting is not just a civic duty,” Weston said. “It is a constitutional and human right.”

Across the United States, more than two million people are in...

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has expanded its footprint in the Mid-Hudson Valley. Radio Catskill's Kimberly Izar reports.

A yearslong staffing crisis at state-run facilities has taken its toll on incarcerated kids and the workers who watch over them.

If you’ve been putting off a trip to the DMV, now’s the time to move it up your to-do list.

The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles is temporarily shutting down all offices, phone lines, and online services across the state for a major technology overhaul — a move officials say will eventually make transactions faster and more reliable.

Starting Friday, Feb. 13 at 2 p.m., every DMV office will close. Services will remain offline through Tuesday, Feb. 17, with offices and online systems expected to reopen Wednesday, Feb. 18.

During the shutdown, no in-per...

Liberty to World as Told by Kort Wheeler, Liberty Town Historian and Middle School History Teacher

Town Historian and middle school history teacher, Kort Wheeler,  has his eyes on bringing Liberty back into the limelight. Wheeler was named the town historian for Liberty a year ago, and his essay was chosen by the National Association of Towns Builders of America in their “How Towns Have Shaped Our Country” project.

The project aims to promote the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, and Wheeler is one of six f...

Jazz will take over the Liberty Middle School gymnasium this Saturday as student musicians from across Sullivan County gather for the 28th annual Liberty Jazz Festival.

In an interview with Radio Catskill, Patricio Robayo spoke with Eric Aweh, director of music for the Liberty Central School District, who described the festival as “a celebration of collaboration” among schools and communities.

About 125 middle and high school students from Liberty, Monticello, Tri-Valley, Rockland, and Eldred will participate. The day includes an afternoon clinic with guest clinician Michael Berkowitz, an internationally known conductor and drummer whose career spans majo...

A new national report finds New York has made progress protecting residents from secondhand smoke and raising tobacco taxes — but the state is falling short where it may matter most: funding programs that help people quit.

The latest “State of Tobacco Control” report from the American Lung Association gives New York an F for tobacco prevention funding, even as tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death in the state.

More than 28,000 New Yorkers die each year from tobacco-related illnesses, according to the report .

“It is devastating to see the federal government largely...

We’re taking a closer look at the real cost of smoking — not just to our health, but to our wallets.

A new report from personal finance site WalletHub estimates smoking costs the U.S. economy more than $600 billion each year, factoring in medical care, lost productivity, and other long-term expenses. And in New York, the numbers are especially stark.

The report ranks New York third in the nation for the overall financial burden of smoking. Researchers found the average smoker in the state could face nearly $6 million in lifetime costs when accounting for out-of-pocket spen...

Buying a home is increasingly becoming more expensive in the Hudson Valley. That’s according to the latest data from housing nonprofit Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress. Radio Catskill’s Kimberly Izar has more. 

Sullivan County has a new person overseeing its finances, but for Kathleen Lara, the job feels like a continuation of work she’s been doing for years.

Lara was elected County Treasurer in November, stepping into the county’s top fiscal leadership role after more than a decade inside the Treasurer’s Office. She previously served 11 years as Deputy Treasurer, helping manage daily operations and learning the complexities of county finances from the ground up.

“I’ve learned it from the bottom up,” Lara said in an interview with Radio Catskill. “I know every par...

The worst of the snowstorm has passed through Radio Catskill's listening area, with several local jurisdictions, including Ulster and Orange counties, activating local emergency orders.

Kimberly Izar spoke with Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger earlier today about the latest storm conditions and what residents can expect in the coming days.

A powerful winter storm dumped more than a foot of snow across the Catskills and northeast Pennsylvania, disrupting travel and daily life throughout the region.

The system delivered widespread snowfall totals of at least 12 inches, with some communities seeing significantly more.

“We saw a widespread snowfall across the region of at least 12 inches,” said Ben Watts, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Binghamton. “There were some higher totals in the Catskills of 15 to even 17 inches of snow. In parts of Pike and Wayne counties, we even saw totals as high as 20 inches.”

Watts...

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s plan to freeze billions of dollars in federal funding for child care and social services, a move that local leaders say could have had immediate and devastating impacts on families in Sullivan County and across New York.

On Friday, a judge in New York’s Southern District issued a two-week temporary restraining order halting the administration’s plan to withhold funding from three major programs serving low-income families and people with disabilities. The proposed freeze targeted five Democratic-led states — including New York — and involved more than $10 billion in funding...

It’s been a challenging year for many rural New Yorkers – from high utility bills to frozen USDA funding to SNAP benefit delays. Radio Catskill spoke with 19th Congressional District Representative Josh Riley about how those issues shaped his first year in office in 2025, what lies ahead in 2026, and what’s top of mind leading up to the midterms.

An incarcerated prison reform advocate is calling for a major expansion of presidential clemency authority.

In an interview with Radio Catskill, Atiq Weston outlined his proposal, the Presidential Pardon Powers Act of 2025, which would allow U.S. presidents to issue pardons for state convictions, not just federal crimes.

Weston spoke from Woodbourne Correctional Facility, arguing that the Constitution’s pardon clause should be interpreted more broadly. He says presidents, as the nation’s highest executive authority, should have clemency power equal to or greater than that of state governors.

He tied the proposal to w...

his Sunday, Dec. 21, the Borscht Belt Museum is inviting the community to celebrate the holiday season with a program that blends music, history, and tradition, bringing Christmas and Hanukkah together under one roof.

The Christmas–Hanukkah Holiday Mashup runs from 4 to 6 p.m. on the penultimate night of Hanukkah. The event is part concert, part history lesson, featuring music by Larry Bush and Susan Griss of the Starlight Duo, along with stories behind some of the most familiar holiday songs in American culture.

Many of those well-known tunes, including White Christmas and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Re...

 Property owners in Sullivan County are being warned about a growing wave of property deed fraud, a scam that county officials say is becoming more common, more sophisticated, and more damaging.

In a recent interview with Radio Catskill, Sullivan County Clerk Russell Reeves said his office has handled multiple cases in which scammers attempted to sell or transfer property without the owner’s knowledge.

“This is becoming more and more prevalent,” Reeves said. “It’s a big issue with property fraud — deed fraud.”

How the Scam Works

According to Reeves, scammers often obtain in...

Following New York Focus Investigation, Home Health Aides Will Get New Insurance

Last week, New York’s 19th Congressional District Representative Josh Riley joined 34 House members to introduce CommonGround2025. It’s a new bipartisan bill that would extend the ACA’s enhanced premium tax credits. 

The credits are set to expire at the end of 2025, which could leave millions of families facing premium increases of more than $10,000 a year.

The Senate is expected to vote Thursday to extend existing ACA tax credits for three years. Radio Catskill’s Kimberly Izar spoke with Representative Josh Riley about the new bill.

After a delayed start caused by a federal government shutdown, New York’s Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) is now up and running for the winter season, offering much-needed relief for residents struggling with heating costs.

John Liddle, Commissioner of Health and Human Services for Sullivan County, told Radio Catskill the program officially reopened on December 1 and is now operating normally.

“The funding had to move from the federal government to the state, and then to local fuel vendors,” Liddle explained. “That caused delays, but everything is now functioning as it normally would.”

How to App...

It’s been 100 years since the invention of the color photo booth, which used a chemical “dip and dunk” process to develop images on the spot. Today, only one remains in operation, and it's in Berlin.

But for decades, a quieter, lesser-known booth ran out of an old arcade in Sylvan Beach, New York. It operated on a stockpile of supplies bought in the 1990s and stayed alive thanks to one family's dedication. It wasn’t something you'd find trending online. It was a local fixture, hidden in plain sight.

Today Radio Catskill’s Jamie Case speak...

When incarcerated women give birth, that’s often the last time they see their baby until prison visiting day. After a few days in the hospital, usually while handcuffed to the bed, the moms lose their baby to a relative or to foster care. But in eight prisons across the United States, including Westchester County’s own Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, there’s an alternative. Prison nursery programs allow moms and babies to stay together. At Bedford, that means mothers accepted into the program spend their child’s first eighteen months with them. 

Hour Children...

The New York State Attorney General’s Office is reviewing allegations — first reported by the Times Union — that officials in South Blooming Grove intentionally suppressed voter turnout during the village’s October 22 election.

Only 132 voters, or about six percent of those registered, cast ballots in the heavily Orthodox Jewish community. Residents later told state officials they didn’t know an election was happening.

Sen. James Skoufis, who chairs the Senate Investigations and Government Operations Committee, launched a probe after receiving complaints. Investigators found the Village Board moved the election from March 2026 to October 2025 during a special me...