Stephen Kotzen was charged September 14th in an 11-count indictment with having sexual contact with 3 boys, ages 11 to 16. The alleged incidents happened between 1997 and June of this year at the Kotzen home in Louisville in St. Lawrence County.

Congressional opponents of a Homeland Security plan to require passports at the Canadian border are trying to buy time so they can come up with an alternative proposal.

Representatives met on Capitol Hill yesterday with business leaders from the United States and Canada to talk strategy. They're hoping the government will consider an alternative identification plan that will bolster security without hurting tourism and trade.

Members of chambers of commerce from both countries said the passport requirement could virtually eliminate the "impulse" trips that support many businesses in border communities.

State Agriculture Commissioner Nathan Rudgers says the change in ownership on 30% of New York's farmland is "somewhat generational and identifies that the next generation buys its farmland" rather than inheriting it.

He said the change in ownership is an "opportunity for small farm enthusiasts to show what they know and increase economic activity." He said the people buying farmland are very interested in taking care of it.

Officials at the Olympic Regional Development Authority say the ski area near Lake Placid has at foot of fresh snow at the base of the road that leads to the mountain's summit, which is covered in nearly 2 feet of snow.

The House plans a vote today that amounts to a long-shot attempt to halt the first round of base closings in a decade. Even opponents consider the effort certain to fail. To kill the process, the Senate also would have to veto the report and there is virtually no chance of that happening.

The numbers from the Rochester fast-ferry's first 2 months of service have been released, and they don't paint a rosy picture for the passenger vessel.

The Rochester Ferry Corporation says the Spirit of Ontario lost 4.2 million dollars in its first 8 weeks of service between western New York and Toronto. That figure includes 2 million dollars in start-up expenses.

The good news is that ridership rose steadily from an average of just over 200 passengers during the 1st week to more than 430 passengers by the end of August.

The ferry resumed service June 30th, about two weeks later than first planned. The report released yesterday doesn't include ridership figures for September.

The sentence a Syracuse-area Muslim doctor receives today depends on whether the judge views him as an inattentive humanitarian or a terrorist fundraiser.

Federal prosecutors say Doctor Rafil Dhafir has ties to terrorist organizations that make him a national security threat. They want him jailed for at least 24 years, but Dhafir's attorney says prosecutors are raising purely speculative evidence after the fact because they know it wouldn't have held up during his trial.

Dhafir is a 57-year-old oncologist who started a charity that said it raised money for the Iraqi people who suffered under the regime of Saddam Hussein.

A group of sex offenders had filed suit against Binghamton's mayor and police chief over the law, which virtually prohibited all moderate and high-risk sex offenders from living in Binghamton. They claimed it violated their civil rights.

The law was repealed by the city council Wednesday, but the council also approved a law that expands on a state law keeping high-level sex offenders from entering a school or similar children's facility without permission.

Allen had been accused of shooting high school honor roll student DeMario Moore in the back March 30th after Allen's girlfriend smiled and waved at Moore.

Officials worked to save some of the nation's oldest military documents after fire broke out in the special collection and archive sections of the US Military Academy Library.

Academy officials said a preliminary investigation found little or no damage to the papers, photographs and sound recordings. Some of the documents date to West Point's founding in 1802.

Spokeswoman Theresa Brinkerhoff said it doesn't appear that the archives were damaged, but that won't be certain until the investigation is complete.

The man who pleaded guilty to killing his wife with a hunting rifle in front of their 13-year-old daughter was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

48-year-old Raymond DiLorenzo had told the Warren County judge he didn't remember what he did to 42-year-old Laurie DiLorenzo in a Glens Falls convenience store parking lot February 20th. He said he reached the plea deal to keep his daughter from having to testify.

Officials at Binghamton's city hall and business owners say they're pleased that a downtown club that's been tied to several recent violent incidents is about to shut down.

5 people, 2 of them Binghamton University students, were shot in front of Ra'Nelles Night Club early Saturday morning. All of the injured were treated at local hospitals and have since been released. No arrests have been made.

Ra'Nelles will be the latest in a series of downtown Binghamton clubs and bars to close in recent years in the aftermath of shootings, stabbings, robberies and drug arrests.

FBI Agent Peter Ahearn in Buffalo says the cocaine-distribution organization was "one of the most violent and well-organized" known to local authorities.

The Dutchess County Sheriff's office says 17-year-old Timothy Lawlor of Poughkeepsie was riding in a Jeep with 16-year-old Danielle Delgaudio of LaGrangeville Saturday night when their vehicle collided with a car at an intersection on Route 55 inPoughkeepsie. Both teens were ejected from the Jeep.

Delgaudio was pronounced dead at the crash scene. Lawlor was brought to Saint Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie. He was kept on life support but did not have brain activity.

This is cache, read story here