Happy Aug. 12 — and happy Friday, as well.

Here's what's up in and about the north country.

Mohawks

A Mohawk man was arrested after he tried to excavate a toxic waste site.

SUNY Cantondam/Potston

Councils object to the plan to have one president at SUNY Canton and SUNY Potsdam.

When they looked at sharing services before, SUNY presidents Fritz Schwaller and Joe Kennedy didn't think it was possible — more in Mr. Schwaller's case than Mr. Kennedy's, though. (Mr. Schwaller expressed similar sentiments when I asked about this a few months ago in an editorial board meeting.)

Vote in Cape Vincent

The board passes a law that would require driver's licenses for voters, in an effort to suppress seasonals.

Nuclear energy

Nine Mile Point was shut down.

Farms

Farm lending is fine, even in the wake of the U.S. downgrade.

Farm groups support new fertilizer restrictions.

Hunger

Almost a quarter of New Yorkers sometimes don't have enough to eat, a report says.

Economic

A House Dem is offering $2 trillion in cuts.

The S&P says "default skeptics" helped lead to the downgrade.

Economist and NYT columnist Paul Krugman calls the current one a "hijacked crisis."

Round and round and round we go...

House Democrats appointed three members to the deficit reduction panel — none from New York, giving the state a big oh-fer-12.

Can increased fuel standards create jobs? Maybe not.

President Obama is promising a flurry of job initiatives.

The National Journal offers 15 ways to jump-start the economy by spending money, and 11 ways of doing it without moving the deficit needle.

A GOPer open to tax hikes?

Flights

Flights that help connect the north country to the world are under siege from deficit hawks.

Post offices

120,000 job cuts?

North country elections

The owner of Oscars will run for mayor in Ogdensburg against three-termer Bill Nelson.

2012 congressional elections

Fight harder, voters say.

Voters prefer a nameless Dem to a nameless Republican in a new poll.

2012 prez election

President Obama is trying to capitalize on anti-Washington anger.

Expect to see this one in an attack ad (and by "an attack ad," I mean, several bajillion attack ads): Republican Mitt Romney (correctly) notes that "Corporations are people."

The Times' roundup of the GOP debate last night.

Thousands of readers like you have made Northern New York Newspapers the number one ranked website* for local news and sports coverage in the north country.

You can continue on to this article in a few seconds, or you can visit one of our websites:

• Watertown Daily Times
• The Ogdensburg Journal
• Daily Courier-Observer