On Tuesday, May 21, New York State voters went to the polls to decide the fate of local school budgets and elect members to school boards.

Most budgets throughout the five-county Catskills region passed. A few were voted down, and will now have 30 days to revise their budgets and put them up for a second vote. If a school's budget is voted down twice, the school must adopt a contingency budget subject to strict caps.

The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center has issued a severe thunderstorm watch, effective until 9pm, for 45 counties in New York State as well as northwest Connecticut, western Massachusetts, and southern Vermont.

The NWS warns that thunderstorms in the region may be accompanied by large hail -- up to two inches across - and winds of up to 70 miles per hour.

The alert was issued at 1:40pm. Included in the severe thunderstorm watch are all five counties of the Catskills region: Delaware, Greene, Schoharie, Sullivan and Ulster. 

A Facebook page to keep an eye on as the storms develop: Hudson Valley Weather, whose readers often submit reports of conditions on the ground when severe weather develops.

Let us know, too: Post your weather reports in a comment below, or email them to [email protected]. (If you've got hail, send us photos!)

Above: A state Department of Environmental Conservation map showing emerald ash borer distribution in New York State. For a larger version, visit the DEC's website. 

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced Monday that emerald ash borer has been found for the first time in Delaware and Otsego counties. The emerald ash borer, a Asian beetle that was first found in the U.S. in 2002, is poised to virtually eliminate ash trees from Northeastern forests, including New York State's more than 900 million ash trees, if allowed to spread unchecked.

The beetles were recently found in an area near the village of Unadilla, which lies on the border between Delaware and Otsego counties. The infestation was reported by a timber harvester working in a private woodlot, the first report of the insect from a commercial woodlot.

Above: A mini-documentary on the wedding of William Warren and Renard Latour, shot by local filmmaker Jessica Vecchione of Vecc Videography.

New York State law barred William Warren and Renard Latour from marrying for almost four decades. 

But when the couple decided to marry this spring, it wasn't the law that stood in their way. It was less than a mile of road between O'Connor Hospital and the Delhi town clerk's office -- a road that 75-year-old Warren, paralyzed in all four limbs, could not travel without medical help.

On Wednesday, May 8, Warren and Latour were married at O'Connor Hospital, in front of a small group of witnesses that included doctors, nurses, hospital staff, family and friends, a documentary filmmaker, and Warren's former hospital roommate, who showed up with his wife.

The wedding might never have happened without the intervention of Warren's doctor, Alberto Gaitan.

A man whose body was found floating in the Delaware River near Tusten on Saturday, May 4 has been identified from dental records.

Police say the man, whose body was found by canoeists, is 56-year-old James Estes of Nicholson, PA. Estes was reported missing to Pennsylvania state police on April 25.

An autopsy conducted by Dr. Margaret Prial on May 5 was unable to determine the cause of death. Police do not suspect foul play in Estes's death.