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NCPR News Staff: Brian Mann

Adirondack Bureau Chief
Brian Mann grew up in Alaska, where he fell in love with public radio. In 1999, Brian moved to the Adirondacks and helped launch NCPR's news bureau at Paul Smiths College. "I love the chemistry of water and mountains," Brian says. "But I'm also pretty crazy about village life in the north country. It's the kind of place where you know your neighbors." Brian lives in Saranac Lake with wife Susan and son Nicholas. He's a frequent contributor to NPR and also writes regularly for regional magazines, including Adirondack Life and the Adirondack Explorer. E-mail

Stories filed by Brian Mann

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"Milk Not Jails" is the brain child of activist Lauren Melodia, who spent a year in Canton and Ogdensburg Photo: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MilkNotJails?fref=ts">MNJ Facebook page</a>, used by permission
"Milk Not Jails" is the brain child of activist Lauren Melodia, who spent a year in Canton and Ogdensburg Photo: MNJ Facebook page, used by permission

What if NY invested more in dairy farms and less in prisons?

This week we've been looking at the fortunes of the North Country's dairy industry and some of the hurdles faced by farmers and processors.

Over the last few months, our Prison Time Media Project has also been looking at the way prisons shape communities and the local economy in the North Country.

There are more than a dozen state and Federal prisons in the region, along with eleven county jails. That makes corrections work one of our top employers.

One activist group based in Brooklyn thinks these two issues -- prison jobs and the dairy industry -- should be linked in people's minds, as we think about ways to grow the rural economy. That group's called "Milk Not Jails."  Go to full article
Fewer inmates have meant fewer prisons. It turns out Camp Gabriels was part of a slow but important national trend. Source: Save Camp Gabriels
Fewer inmates have meant fewer prisons. It turns out Camp Gabriels was part of a slow but important national trend. Source: Save Camp Gabriels

NY, US see dramatic drop in prison inmate population

New York state officials say the state's prison population is expected to drop again this year by nearly 800 inmates.

The Department of Corrections will close two more prisons this year, bringing to a total of nine the number of correctional facilities shut down since 2011.

Inmate populations in New York have been edging downward for more than a decade. But a report from the Justice Department suggests that for the first time in decades, fewer Americans nationwide are being sent to prison.

Surveys of state and Federal prisons nationwide show the number of inmates actually declined over the last three years - the first downward trend in a generation.  Go to full article
Brian Mann on a rope and wire bridge above the forest in Costa Rica. Photo: Susan Waters
Brian Mann on a rope and wire bridge above the forest in Costa Rica. Photo: Susan Waters

Costa Rica's jungle, in sound and pictures

Mud season is a time when droves of people from the North Country flee to other parts of the world, escaping last-minute snow squalls and getting a head start on summer.

This year, our Adirondack bureau chief, Brian Mann, fled the mountains for a week in Costa Rica. He brought back this audio postcard.  Go to full article
Veteran peace activist Martha Swan Photos:  Jimm Collin and St. Lawrence University
Veteran peace activist Martha Swan Photos: Jimm Collin and St. Lawrence University

One anti-Iraq War protestor says she didn't do enough

Over the last decade, one of the most prominent anti-war protesters and peace-and-justice activists in the North Country has been Martha Swan.

Swan, who lives in Westport, heads an organization called "John Brown Lives."

She sat down this week to talk about the ten-year anniversary of the Iraq War with Brian Mann.  Go to full article
Chateaugay [Correctional facility closure] would not be included in the budget.

Breaking: Chateaugay prison closure "off the table" in budget deal

The state correctional facility in Chateaugay won't be closed under a budget deal being finalized in Albany.

That's according to Dan Macentee, spokesman for state Senator Betty Little.

According to Macentee, Little was told late Tuesday that "Chateaugay [closure] would not be included in the budget."

"The Democrat's proposal" to mothball the facility and spare a downstate prison "has caused a lot of concern in the community," Macentee added.

"I can understand the angst in the community."  Go to full article
It would be devastating to our town and throughout Franklin County. It would have a ripple effect.

Updated: Will the new state budget whack a North Country prison?

Update 10 am: The state correctional facility in Chateaugay won't be closed under a budget deal being finalized in Albany. That's according to Dan Macentee, spokesman for state Senator Betty Little. Latest details of this breaking story.



It remains unclear this morning whether the budget deal now being finalized in Albany will affect a North Country prison.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders unveiled a broad outline of the spending plan last night, without offering specifics.

Democratic lawmakers in the state Senate and Assembly have proposed cutting funding for the state correctional facility in Chateaugay in northern Franklin County.

That differs from Cuomo's executive budget proposal, which targeted prisons in Manhattan and in Dutchess County.  Go to full article

How will rural schools fare under new NYS budget?

State Senator Betty Little says she's keeping an eye on three big issues in the final hours of budget talks in Albany: Aid for cash-strapped rural schools, the minimum wage hike, and the planned closure of at least two state prisons in New York.  Go to full article
NY State Sen. Betty Little. NCPR File Photo: Mark Kurtz
NY State Sen. Betty Little. NCPR File Photo: Mark Kurtz

Little: Budget deal could target North Country prison

The budget deal now in its final stages in Albany is likely to include the elimination of at least two state prisons.

State Senator Betty Little says she worries that a third correctional facility in Franklin County could be targeted for closure.  Go to full article
Snowmobile track, Longford, Ontario. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rbs/4351889564/">Robert Snache - Spririthands.net</a>, cc <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en">some rights reserved</a>
Snowmobile track, Longford, Ontario. Photo: Robert Snache - Spririthands.net, cc some rights reserved

Memorial service held for man killed in snowmobile accident

A memorial service was held in the town of Indian Lake on Saturday to remember 51-year-old Paul Prill, who was killed in a snowmobile accident earlier this month.

Prill is one of at least fourteen sledders killed in New York state so far this winter. State police say they believe alcohol may have been involved in his death.  Go to full article
The Warren County town of Thurman will use a new broadband technology called "white space." Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dmcordell/7229323266/">Diane Cordell</a> CC <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/deed.en">some rights reserved</a>
The Warren County town of Thurman will use a new broadband technology called "white space." Photo: Diane Cordell CC some rights reserved

Adk town to use new "white space" broadband tech

The North Country is in line to receive a big chunk of the $25 million that state officials are spending to bring broadband internet to more parts of rural New York.

One of the projects in the Adirondacks will use a technology called "white space" to bring broadband to remote homes in the Warren County town of Thurman.  Go to full article

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