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Mountain Lake Journal reports on local news, issues, and stories about people, places, and events affecting the North Country region. The weekly program covers upstate New York, Vermont, and southern Quebec.
Mountain Lake PBS presents Mountain Lake Journal on Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. with repeat airings on Saturdays at 7:00 p.m. and Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Plus, tune in for Mountain Lake Journal’s Business Edition the last week of each month. MLJ is produced by Thom Hallock and Andrew La Fontaine.
This Week:
October 9, 2008
This week on Mountain Lake Journal we go digging into the past. Archaeologists explore an historic fort along the Hudson River uncovering clues about military life during our nation's first war.
Also, an environmental activist who swam the entire length of the Hudson River from the High Peaks of the Adirondacks to the Atlantic Ocean, is heading back into the water to begin a new crusade. Learn about the new type of pollution Chris Swain is warning could threaten our waterways, and the message he plans to swim all the way to Washington to deliver. www.toxtour.org
And the campain across the border is coming down to the wire. We examine the candidates and issues in this fall's Federal Election in Canada with Montreal Gazette Columnest Jay Bryan. Montreal Gazette Website
October 2, 2008
Meet the candidates: Our Vote 2008 coverage includes conversations with the candidates running for Congress in Northern New York's 20th district. We'll hear from Republican Sandy Treadwell from Lake Placid who is challenging Representative Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat from Greenport, New York, who is running for a second term. The two candidates are scheduled to take part in a debate that will air live on Mountain Lake PBS on Thursday, October 23rd at 9pm.
NY's 20th District Candidate Websites
www.sandytreadwell.com www.kirstengillibrand.com
That debate will follow a Vote 2008 special on the battle for control of the New York State Senate which airs October 23rd at 8pm. Mountain Lake PBS will also air a debate between Representative John McHugh, a Republican from Pierrepont Manor, New York, who is seeking a 9th term in Congress, and Michael Oot, a Democrat from Stockbridge, New York. That debate will air on Thursday, October 30th at 8pm.
We would like to hearfrom you with you questions for the candiates for both debates. You can send them to Please submit questions no later than Monday, October 20th.
September 25, 2008
We begin our Vote 2008 coverage with the political newcomer who is challenging 8-term Congressman John McHugh in Northern New York's 23rd district. Mike Oot is a democrat from Madison County near Syracuse, one of the eleven counties that make up what is the largest congressional district east of the Mississippi. Oot is a lawyer who has never held political office. This week he talks about why he's running for Congress.
Also, an Adriondack lake immortalized as the site of Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Philosophers' Camp" 150 years ago has been purchased by the Adirondack Chapter of The Nature Conservancy with plans to eventually make it part of the state Forest Preserve.
We also head to the apple capital of the New York for its yearly harvest celebration, and to size up this year's crop.
September 19, 2008
The growing national debate over the legal drinking age: A former college president in Vermont is leading the effort. We'll hear why he believes the drinking age should be lowered back to 18.
Also, many people wouldn't associate bikers with philanthropy, but this week we'll tell you how a young man inspired hundreds of motorcyclists to help children and young teenagers battling cancer. Jeff Wyand Miracle Ride web page
And we'll give you a front row seat at the parade that commemorates an epic naval battle on Lake Champlain that helped not only win a war, but set the course of this nation's history.
September 5, 2008
On this week's Mountain Lake Journal, a look back at the horrors of the Holocaust. Our cover story is about a Holocaust survivor from Montreal. Hermann Gruenwald has written a book that details his childhood in concentration camps, and why, he believes, his life was spared at Auschwitz. After the War, Gruenwald moved to Montreal where he became a successful businessman. He talks with Andrew La Fontaine about being a witness to history, and how to this day, the Holocaust affects his life.
In addition to the Jews, the Nazi regime also targeted political dissidents, and gays. A traveling exhibit from the U-S Holocaust Memorial Museum has opened at the University of Vermont looks at the rationale and means used by the Nazis to try to eradicate homosexuality. The Nazi government persecuted not only Jews, but tens of thousands of homosexuals, who were also incarcerated in prisons and concentration camps as a means of terrorizing them into social conformity.
Related Link: www.uvm.edu
August 29, 2008
Best known as a consumer advocate who took on the auto industry over safety standards, Ralph Nader says big corporations are still wielding too much power in America over Congress, the military, and politics. Nader is making his third bid as an Independent candidate for President. During a recent campaign appearance in Northern New York, Nader sat down for an in-depth interview with Thom Hallock. He talks candidly about his run for President and being labeled a "spoiler."
One-on-one with Ralph Nader, this week on Mountain Lake Journal on its special night, Friday at 8, on Mountain Lake PBS.
Related Link: www.votenader.org
August 21, 2008
With the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, we've been hearing a lot about China's struggle to reduce air pollution. China is desperately looking for new ways to clear the air, and some of the scientists hoping to do that have come to Vermont looking for solutions. www.evermont.org
And some people are already looking beyond the games in Beijing. A group in the Adirondacks is setting its sights on bidding to host another Winter Olympics.
August 14, 2008
Rioters clash with police in Montreal after a protest over the police shooting of an unarmed teenager turned violent. A hotel in the Adirondacks is winning recognition as one of the "greenest" in the nation. We'll show you how its efforts to become more eco-friendly are reaching new heights. www.golden-arrow.com
What started as a summer college course on Lake Champlain has grown into a popular draw for paddlers from across the country. www.plattsburgh.edu/academics/adx/lcskischedule.php
And the schooner Lois McClure returns home from a historic voyage helping Canada celebrate the birth of its nation. www.lcmm.org
August 7, 2008
This week on Mountain Lake Journal we learn about the efforts of volunteers with the North Country Mission of Hope who for 10 years have been making pilgrimages to Nicaragua to provide aid to some of the poorest villages in the world.
3 rare lions at Parc Safari in Hemmingford, Quebec are part of a global project to bring these endangered animals back from the brink of extinction.
Farmers are going high-tech to try to get more of their fresh produce on the dinner tables of lower income families living in city neighborhoods.
Volunteers fan out across Vermont to document old barns in hopes of better preserving them.
Related Links:
Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont
July 24, 2008
The Lost Radeau is a documentary that is premiering on Mountain Lake PBS next month. It explores the discovery of an historic shipwreck at the bottom of Lake George that is one of only a handful of shipwrecks listed as a National Historic Landmark. The Lost Radeau tells the story of a boat that was a floating gun battery for British troops moving toward Lake Champlain at a critical point during the French and Indian War and why the vessel was intentionally sunk in Lake George. Thom Hallock will share the story of how underwater archeologists discovered this hidden treasure quite by accident and how it's led to the creation of an historic preserve of shipwrecks in Lake George. The Lost Radeau will air on Mountain Lake PBS to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the French and Indian War. Its television premiere will be on August 6th at 9pm.
The Lost Radeau Web Extra Interview Part 2
The Lost Radeau Web Extra Interview Part 3
Also, archeologists are currently in Crown Point digging up the past of what was an 18th Century French village.
And the story of why a U.S. President spent his dying days at the top of an Adirondack Mountain.
Related Links:
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Crown Point State Historic Site
July 17, 2008
Stories of tragedy and survival in the High Peaks of the Adirondacks. From backcountry skiers and hikers who suddenly found themselves in life and death situations, to passengers who survived a plane crash in the Adiriondacks wilderness in the middle of the winter, writer Peter Bronski relives the stories of how they had to face dangerous and life-threatening challenges that put them at the mercy of the mountains.
Also, local reporters discuss this week's top stories from around the region.
And Farmers are turning to a more environmentally friendly way of disposing of tons of plastic used on their farms.
Related Links:
At the Mercy of the Mountains by Peter Bronski
July 10, 2008
Rising gas prices and salmonella scares have put a spotlight on where Americans are getting their food. We talk to farmers and business people who are trying to build a better infrastructure to distribute safe, locally grown food and educate consumers to buy local.
Jeff Rendinaro sits down with Thom Hallock to give some perspective on the ups and downs of the stock market this week.
StoryCorps shares and preserves the history of tens of thousands of everyday people. The interviews are recorded and archived for generations to come at the Library of Congress. Millions also listen to the stories on National Public Radio and the internet.
The StoryCorps Air Stream mobile recording studio is in Glens Falls, NY this week after spending 10 days collecting stories in Saranac Lake, NY. Some of those stories are now airing on North Country Public Radio.
This week on Mountain Lake Journal learn more about the StoryCorps oral history project and hear from 2 brothers who share the history of their family farm in Gabriels, New York.
Related Links:
Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont
July 3, 2008
Hundreds of motorcycles rumbled up Whiteface Mountain for a ride that has become a yearly tradition in the North Country. This year's "Blessing of the Bikes" benefit truly is a blessing for a charity that helps people who are facing desperate times. Paula Waters will report on how the generosity of these Bikers couldn't have come at a more crucial time for many Northern New York families struggling to make ends meet.
Also, volunteers are working along one of the most dangerous stretches of highway through the High Peaks of the Adirondacks to help save and protect a natural wonder - and the rare fish that live there. Thom Hallock will show us how their "spring-planting season" took on a whole new meaning and purpose.
And thousands of history buffs came to Fort Ticonderoga this past weekend for the largest-ever reenactment commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Carillon, one of the most legendary conflicts of the French and Indian War. The Grand Encampment and battle reenactments were captured in high definition by camera crews from Mountain Lake PBS for a documentary called "The Forgotten War. The program will tell the story of the French and Indian War as it played out through the Champlain and St. Lawrence River valleys and shaped the future of America. Mountain Lake PBS's "The Forgotten War" will be nationally distributed in Spring of 2009.
Related Links:
STATE OF THE LAKE: 2008 To read the report by the Lake Champlain Basin Program go to www.lcbp.org
June 19, 2008
Derek Muirden talks with Thom Hallock about producing five seasons of Roadside Adventures.
Some college students are cycling more than 2000 miles across the country in hopes of getting more people to vote. You'll hear from the riders making the journey and why they say their trek to raise awareness about the importance of voting is so crucial this year.
Frozen River won top prize at the Sundance Film Festival this year. It was filmed in Plattsburgh and along the U.S./ Canadian border. We caught up with writer/director Courtney Hunt at the Lake Placid Film Forum.
Related Links:
Schooner Lois McClure sets sail for Quebec City Quadricentennial Celebration
College students cycle across America to get voter registered
Lake Placid Film Forum Website
June 12, 2008
Related Links:
NYS Department of Envirnmental Conservation Management Plan for Lows Lake
Stephen Perkins' Letter to the EPA
Stafford Middle School Student's Going Green Public Service Announcements
May 23, 2008
Related Links:
Pyramids Child Development Center
NYS Comptroller's Press Release May 15
Melissa Dorsett - Felicelli's Blog
Pyramids Consolidated Fiscal Report
NYS Auditors Interview Segments
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For DVD copies of any Mountain Lake PBS program, visit Shop Mountain Lake or call 1-518-563-9770 ext. 100