A WALK IN THE WOODS.(MAIN)(Editorial)

As expected, President Bushmade the most of his Earth Day visit to the Adirondacks to tout his ``Clear Skies'' initiative for reducing acid rain. If only the weather had been clearer -- the snowy conditions were described as a whiteout -- Mr. Bush might have seen firsthand the urgent need to revise and strengthen that plan.

On a clear day, the scars of the Adirondacks are visible. They can be seen in dying forests and in lakes that are devoid of native plants and fish. That's the legacy of acid rain. And the threat to the future of this priceless wilderness.

Mr. Bush's ``Clear Skies'' plan sounds impressive. It is designed to reduce three pollutants -- sulfur …

ABRAMS AIMS HIGH IN HIS ACCEPTANCE.(Main)

Byline: Tom Precious Capitol bureau

If political pundits were looking for some further evidence that Robert Abrams may be interested in seeking a higher office, they got a little more ammunition Tuesday when he accepted the Democratic Party's nomination to run for a fourth term.

Abrams, who some believe is eyeing a race against embattled Sen. Alfonse D'Amato in 1992, talked of his accomplishments on the state level - made, he insisted, despite obstacles from Washington.

But while Abrams spent part of his time blasting federal policies, a tactic Gov. Mario M. Cuomo often employs, it seemed as though he believes Ronald Reagan still lives at 1600 …

Intel chief says Christmas bomb case mishandled

The nation's intelligence chief said Wednesday that the Christmas Day airline bombing suspect should have been treated as a terror suspect when the plane landed. That would have meant questioning him initially by special interrogators rather than standard law enforcement officers.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was interviewed by federal law enforcement investigators when Northwest Flight 253 landed in Detroit after he allegedly tried to detonate a homemade bomb sneaked through airport security in Nigeria and Amsterdam. Abdulmutallab is being held in a prison about 50 miles outside of Detroit.

Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair told the Senate Homeland …

Homebuilder Pulte to Cut 1,900 Jobs

DETROIT - Facing a grim housing market, Pulte Homes Inc. said Tuesday that it is cutting about 16 percent of its work force, or about 1,900 jobs, as part of a restructuring.

Pulte, one of the nation's leading homebuilders, said the restructuring will save an estimated $200 million a year before taxes.

"The homebuilding environment remains difficult, and our current overhead levels are structured for a business that is larger than the market presently allows," Richard J. Dugas Jr., president and chief executive, said in a news release.

Pulte said it expects to take pretax charges of $40 million to $50 million for the restructuring, mostly in the second quarter of …

Moving To A Service Creation Model.(Supercomm)(Industry Overview)

The buzz at this year's Supercomm was about service creation, and while it seemed that every networking vendor was promising new ways of delivering services, both enterprises and service providers face hurdles in moving from "here to there."

Enterprises and service providers view the problem from different perspectives. Enterprises wonder about how to fit their business processes into what the network can deliver, while service providers focus on understanding how new network demand or applications will impact their network.

Enterprises view networks essentially as plumbing, into which information is jammed. The size and quality of the plumbing will depend on what the enterprise can afford, but they have little control over the delivered service. All …

Banking firms applying to merge operations.(Business)

HALFMOON - Oneonta-based Wilber National Bank, which acquired Provantage Funding Corp. in early 2007, said Monday it has submitted applications to federal regulators to merge Provantage's operations into its own.

The merger would eliminate duplicate expenses, including insurance, regulatory fees and computer services, and duplicate …

SARAH SIEK.(CAPITAL REGION)

CHERRY PLAIN -- Sarah Feathers Siek, 77, died on Sunday at Samaritan Hospital in Troy. Born September 12, 1921 in Petersburgh, NY, she was the daughter of the late John L. and Ethel V. Brehm Feathers. She was the wife of Edward C. Siek whom she married on August 29, 1946 in Eagle Mills, NY. Mrs. Siek was a lifelong resident of the Stephentown/Cherry Plain area. She was a member of the first graduating class of the new Berlin High School (now Berlin Elementary School) and a member of the Stephentown Federated Church. Mrs. Siek was a homemaker who loved her family dearly. She enjoyed gardening, flowers (especially daisies and tulips), birds and sewing for her granddaughters. …