Albany hiker DSettahr spent the weekend hiking up Windham High Peak, and he tells the Views from the Top forum that already, the flies are biting:

We had the lean-to to ourselves on Saturday night. We saw and heard some bugs during the evening Friday and the day Saturday, but they were few and far between. The summit of Windham was pretty free of insects. A smoky smudge fire also helped to keep them away on Saturday afternoon. However, when we awoke on Sunday morning, we found that the black flies were out in force. It’s funny how they all come out at once, rather than gradually ... Overall, a good weekend. The last hurrah of early spring, hiking without snow or bugs… for the next three months, it’s bug net season.

An editorial in the PoJo states what is becoming painfully obvious:

The Catskills region needs an economic resurgence, but it's clear waiting for a string of casinos to be built is not the answer and never was.

...really, who can you trust? The Albany Times Union blew the bottom out of Ward B. Stone's reputation yesterday with an article that chronicles the celebrated scientist's dark side:

What is less known about the 71-year-old scientist at the state's Wildlife Resources Center in southern Albany County, except among co-workers and state investigators, is that he has a long history of allegations of abusive, unethical and inappropriate behavior, ranging from berating colleagues to shooting animals, and has been repeatedly faulted by his frustrated superiors, according to interviews and records.

Stone's sins include "using state funds to feed and care for his pets and of him abusing staff." Some of his alleged misdeeds, such as dodging debt collectors while living out of his office, are quite sad:

Crews are out repaving the shoulders of 28 between the Woodstock turnoff and the town of Olive. The Catskills Cyclist is thrilled:

If you've ever driven this length of road you would have to agree that the shoulders were downright treacherous.  If you ever had to ride your bike along a section of this length, you would have to agree it was next to suicidal.  The amount of disconcerting, and many times commercial traffic, has made this section one of the most dangerous lengths of road for drivers, let alone someone trying to get around on a bicycle.  Once or twice I have witnessed someone on a bike trying to make their way along this length, and couldn't help but to send a small blessing the their way.

The Albany Project has an account of the recent New York State Democratic Rural Conference on Saturday. It's weirdly fixated on describing the contents of the buffet table, but there's some meat: Writer Adama Brown critiques the AG candidates' plans for rural New York, and declares a front runner.

[Eric] Dinallo is the only candidate with a serious plan for making the Attorney General's office work for rural New York. [Kathleen] Rice attempted to get in on the action with her own rural plan, but it lacked the teeth of Dinallo's plan in the form of deputy AG's for each county. Rice's plan simply offered "regional offices" and "advisory councils." A free bit of advice for people running for statewide office--the rural counties are used to getting blown off and fed shiny words that mean nothing, because the person saying them has no intention of committing. We can recognize when you're telling us something that sounds good but will end up being irrelevant to the day to day operations of the office.