Law enforcement officers in the New York State Counter-Terrorism Zone 4 have announced that tomorrow -- Wednesday, December 14 -- they'll be paying visits to train stations, shopping malls, and busy local roadways in Sullivan, Rockland and Orange County.

The officers, who are from local and state police departments, will be conducting commercial vehicle checks, making sure high-profile areas are safe, and "discussing terrorist related indicators with shoppers."

(So, if you find yourself being chatted up by a uniformed anti-terrorist officer at the Home Depot, don't worry: It's a routine thing.)

The goal, according to a NYSP press release, is to help civilians be more vigilant about terrorism:

CTZ-4 will utilize its Counter Terrorism Action Teams to deter terrorism activity within CTZ-4. These proactive teams will conduct random checks of high profile areas and educate the public so they can be more vigilant in recognizing and reporting suspicious activity. 

Richard Ulloa, a 52-year-old Stone Ridge man, was arrested last year with two other local members of the "sovereign citizen" movement, after filing trillions of dollars' worth of fake liens against local bankers and government officials.

This week, Ulloa was sentenced to five years in federal prison for mail fraud. The Times Herald-Record reports that Ulloa's mental-illness defense didn't hold water with the judge:

Despite being cleared by a mental-health evaluator, Ulloa's lawyer argued Monday that his client had become mentally ill sometime over the past six years.

U.S. District Judge Thomas McAvoy didn't buy the argument. "Somewhere along the way, you decided to follow the voice of the sovereign citizens," McAvoy told Ulloa. "You did that with reckless disregard and evil intention."

Ulloa must pay $63,401 in restitution to Ulster County and MHVFCU.

Nineteenth-century stereoscopic image of a Catskills creek after a flood. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

The wheels of government turn slowly. Months after flooding from Irene and Lee struck the Catskills, several much-needed regional projects to remap floodplains and remove debris from streams are finally underway.

Last week, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection announced that the agency is putting $7 million toward an effort to study flooding patterns and redraw flood maps in the city's West of Hudson watershed.

Communities need new floodplain maps because flooding is getting worse in the region, the DEP's press release states:

In today's Daily Star: A fire at a home on Marvin Avenue in Walton on Friday night has left a family of four homeless. No one was hurt in the blaze:

At the time of the fire, some family members were sleeping, while others were awake, he said.

One, a daughter, alerted the family about the fire, and everyone was able to escape the home safely.

Above: Video from the Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin of Cuomo's visit to the Greater Binghamton Airport to sign flood relief l