Lake FM News

The Village of Lake Placid and the Town of North Elba have officially enacted a joint one-year moratorium on all new battery energy storage systems. Local officials passed the temporary freeze to allow municipal leaders time to review safety guidelines and update zoning regulations for emerging battery technologies. The move puts local development applications on hold, including two proposed solar-plus-storage projects located in nearby Ray Brook. Lake Placid joins a growing list of Adirondack communities taking a pause on utility-scale energy storage projects as statewide regulations evolve.

This year, John Brown Lives! (JBL!) marks the 180th anniversary of Timbuctoo, the historic free Black agricultural community in the Adirondacks envisioned as a “scheme of justice and benevolence” and a pathway to land ownership and the right to vote in New York State. Since 2001, JBL! has been instrumental in unearthing this history and promoting the lessons and inspiration of Timbuctoo. Oct. 16 marked the anniversary of John Brown’s 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry, an event rooted in the struggle to end slavery and advance the cause of freedom.

The Franklin County legislature is considering a $141 million budget for the coming year which is projected under the tax cap. According to the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, the projected tax rate is down, and the tentative budget has a 0% increase to taxes, with the county taking in more revenue from new development and the budget calling for the county to dip into its healthy reserves to balance the budget.

Cascade Acres is now one step closer to getting new water and wastewater services. Sun Community News reports on Oct. 13, the Town of North Elba unanimously approved a resolution authorizing Suozzo, Doty & Associates to apply to the Northern Border Regional Commission 2026 Catalyst Grant program for $1 million in funding to continue engineering its water and wastewater improvements.

Harrietstown residents will soon have their say on local spending as town officials prepare for an upcoming public budget hearing. The Harrietstown Board has scheduled the session for Thursday, October 29th, beginning at 6:00 PM. Community members are encouraged to attend and share feedback on proposed municipal funding priorities for the town. You can find full meeting details and upcoming local government agendas on the Town of Harrietstown Agendas & Minutes Portal.

AdkAction has officially released its new Rural Grocery Report, taking an in-depth look at independent grocery stores across the Adirondack Park through the voices of local owners. Launched during an October 19th gathering at the Black Brook General Store, the report shifts the food access conversation toward supporting the vital retailers who already feed these communities. Findings reveal that targeted funding for store upgrades—such as new refrigeration or equipment—can significantly cut costs and boost survival for these small businesses. Officials emphasize that local grocers serve as cri

New York Attorney General Letitia James has released an updated guide to help New Yorkers spot, avoid, and report election misinformation created by artificial intelligence (AI) ahead of the Nov. 3 general elections. In just the last year, AI-generated images, videos, and audio recordings have become more sophisticated and harder to detect. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has also found that AI chatbots, which answer questions people type into an app or website, can give voters incorrect or outdated information regarding poll site locations, voting deadlines, and voting requirements.

In a morning that oscillated between full-throttled optimism and measured realism, New York state set in motion its effort to explore whether to bid for the 2042 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Lake Placid-New York City Olympic Exploratory Committee held its first meeting Monday at the New York Athletic Club in Manhattan. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the formation of the committee at a press conference in Lake Placid on June 22 to evaluate a potential co-hosting bid for the 2042 Winter Games.

Five non-citizens in Northern New York are facing voter fraud charges relating to the last presidential election.On Oct. 13 and 14, Vikki Bradt, 51, a British National, of Ballston Spa; Samantha Merkle, 55, a British National of Glens Falls; Suad Sasic, 30, a Bosnian National of Clifton Park; Jacques Patry, 64, a Canadian National of Tupper Lake; and Paula Stitt, 57, a Canadian National of Albany, appeared on charges of voting by aliens. All are lawful permanent residents. The complaints against all five defendants allege that they are aliens, who knew they were not United States citizens

Village of Saranac Lake is transitioning from a combined public safety facility to evaluating a dedicated fire station at two Village-owned properties at 100 Broadway and 33 Petrova Avenue. Sun Community News reports the next phase will focus on the Fire Department’s firefighter health and safety, full project costs, and affordability over the life of the facility. No site or design has been selected. The Public Safety Building Committee recommended separate fire and rescue facilities at 33 Petrova Avenue, with the Village building the fire station and the Rescue Squad funding its own buildin

Saranac Lake has passed a one-year moratorium on the village issuing new short-term vacation rental permits after the board voted 3-1 on Monday to put the pause on STR expansion as it prepares to evaluate its STR regulations and potentially make changes. According to the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, the village’s landmark STR regulation law was passed in 2023 and amended in 2025.

The Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST), a destination marketing and management organization based in the Adirondack Park in upstate New York, has launched AdirondackMarket.com, a digital marketplace featuring a wide range of Adirondack-inspired home decor, works of art, clothing, and specialty goods. According to the Sun Community News, products featured are expected to appeal to anyone who appreciates Adirondack style; offering the ability to purchase items from Adirondack-based retailers and craftspeople.

The North Elba town board voted unanimously at its Tuesday meeting to adopt a one-year battery energy storage system moratorium. According to the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, local law prohibits construction, establishment, installation, review or approval of any BESS while in effect, which it defines as “one or more devices, assembled together, capable of storing energy derived from any source including without limitation solar or wind sources, to be stored and then released at a future time.”

Luciano Frattolin received the maximum sentence Wednesday morning for murdering his 9-year-old daughter, Melina, and concealing her corpse in a swamp on July 19, 2025.Judge Tatiana Coffinger sentenced the Montreal man to 25 years to life in prison on the second-degree murder charge and one to three years in prison for the concealing a human corpse charge.

The Saranac Lake Development Board got a first look at the plans for the Adirondack Park Agency headquarters project in the village downtown last week. According to the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, the board started to set up a marathon of meetings to look at several variances and the site plan for the project in the coming months, starting with a public hearing on the variances coming up on Monday.

For the first time in more than two decades, nurses at Adirondack Medical Center formed a picket line outside the largest hospital in the Adirondacks on Wednesday. According to the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, contract negotiations between Adirondack Health, which owns AMC, and the New York State Nurses Association, which represents the 190-or-so nurses there, have dragged on for almost a year now.

DMV and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee (GTSC) have launched their most comprehensive and coordinated mobilization to date to combat impaired driving. Throughout the year, this aggressive, multi-front effort has united state and local law enforcement, investigators, and community partners to crack down on driving under the influence of alcohol, cannabis, prescription drugs, or a combination of substances, reports Sun Community News.

The Northern Forest Center, a regional nonprofit, joined state, local and community partners to cut the ribbon on nine new middle-market apartments in Tupper Lake. The Adirondack Almanack reports the new apartments, which will have a standard one-year lease, will bolster the availability of housing for full-time residents as part of a larger effort to revitalize Tupper Lake. The project received more than $1.5 million from New York State as well as impact investment capital from the center’s Northern Forest Fund and charitable donations.

A Saranac Lake man was found guilty of a felony charge of criminal possession of stolen property following a three-day jury trial at the Franklin County Courthouse. At the conclusion of last week’s jury trial, which ran from Monday, Sept. 28 through Wednesday, Sept. 30, Wade Cayea, was found guilty of possessing stolen property in an amount exceeding $3,000, according to a press release issued by the Franklin County District Attorney’s office.

It’s long been a point of discussion in the village of Saranac Lake. Now, the intersection of Lake Flower Avenue and Will Rogers Drive is getting a traffic light and pedestrian crosswalks. According to the Adirondack Daily Enteprise, the state Department of Transportation has already started the work preparing the site and DOT Region 7 Acting Public Information Officer Morgan Zell said the work is expected to be complete by early 2027.