NCPR News Staff: Chris Knight, Reporter

After months of discussion and debate, the Saranac Lake Village Board has enacted a cap on the size of retail stores and shopping centers in the village. The issue of retail size caps has been on the table since Wal-Mart proposed and later withdrew plans for a 121,000 square foot supercenter in the village. The measure approved by a 3-1 vote Monday night institutes a one-year moratorium on large-scale commercial developments to give the village time to complete an updated comprehensive plan and land use code. The village board also voted last night to enact restrictions on the use of outdoor wood boilers. Chris Knight reports.

Years of litigation and expense for the Saranac Lake School District came to an end last night when the school board voted to approve a settlement offer from contractors blamed for problems with a capital building project. The agreement settles a lawsuit the district filed against three different contractors in 2003. As Chris Knight reports, school officials say the settlement means the district’s taxpayers will be paid back for the cost of fixing the school buildings.

The Trudeau Institute has lost two of its top researchers and about a dozen other scientists. Dr. Frances Lund and Dr. Troy Randall, senior faculty members at the Saranac Lake biomedical research lab, are moving to the University of Riochester Medical Center. As Chris Knight reports, officials at the institute say the search for replacements in already underway.

Plans for an Adirondack-based leadership and training institute focused on the northern forest were announced Tuesday by state Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis. The Northern Forest Institute for Conservation, Education and Leadership Training will be located in Newcomb and run by the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Chris Knight reports.

Law enforcement officials in the North Country are reporting a spike in thefts of steel, copper and other metals from building sites, abandoned homes and even parked cars. Police blame the crimes on the high price of metals, as many people are looking to cash in at scrap yards around the region. Chris Knight reports.

It’s more than seven months since the Adirondack Park Agency approved the first of a series of cell towers Verizon wants to build along the Northway, but the company still hasn’t started construction. A Verizon spokesman says work should start within the next month. Chris Knight has more.

An Essex County man wants to build solar panel manufacturing facilities in business parks in Malone and Harrietstown, potentially creating 100 new jobs in Franklin County. Brian McManus, an entrepreneur, business consultant and former Wall Street trader, is also planning an educational facility that would train workers in alternative energy technology. In addition to the job benefits, McManus says the projects will help to reduce the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels. Chris Knight reports.

A proposed statewide ban on open burning drew a crowd of about 40 people, most of them opposed to the idea, to the Harrietstown Town Hall in Saranac Lake yesterday. The session was the fifth in a series of eleven hearings that are being held around the state by the Department of Environmental Conservation. While the state says banning burn barrels will protect public health, the environment and reduce the risk of forest fires, critics say it will create economic hardship on North Country residents and lead to more brush and garbage being dumped in the woods. Chris Knight reports.

Officials at North Country Community College are estimating it will cost $61 million to add a new administration building, student center, field house, theater and other buildings to the college’s Saranac Lake campus as part of a major renovation and upgrade project. The State University of New York will be asked to pay half of the cost – about $30 million. The college wants its sponsoring counties, Essex and Franklin, to decide by September if they can each contribute $15 million toward the project. As Chris Knight reports, some county officials are worried that the project may be unaffordable.

The Olympic Regional Development Authority says bids for construction of the new Conference Center at Lake Placid exceeded the project’s budget by more than $13 million. That means the project, which was already behind schedule, has been put on hold until the Olympic Authority can find ways to cut costs or secure more funding. Chris Knight reports.