Digital Coverage
This project started when a lot of communities in Vermont and New York started putting up anti-BESS signs. One small town in particular was so opposed to the Battery Energy Storage projects that the town had to reschedule a public meeting because the turnout exceeded the meeting room capacity.
I knew of similar opposition in Vermont, so I was curious where else towns were passing moratoriums in the country. I also thought the topic deserved an in-depth explanation of what these battery storage sites were and what risks were associated with them because there was a lot of misinformation.
I used a combination of Facebook groups, viewer tips, and public meeting records to keep track of where these BESS moratoriums were being considered. I continue to update the map regularly as new policies come out.
This was a follow-up to an announcement from New York State that there were plans to close the Bare Hill Correctional Facility in Malone.
There are several prisons in New York's North Country, making them a significant source of employment in the region.
In recent years, there have been dozens of prison closures in northern New York and each time there is a lot of pushback from the community. Local leaders have stated that the closures will increase local taxes, so I felt compelled to look at the number of prison closures over the years, why they were needed, and how much money was saved. I used several infographics to help simplify the data.
This was a story with a lot of regional interest and opportunity to reach a wider audience.
A Massachusetts woman who was wanted for the murder of her two children was arrested in Vermont. This story broke over a weekend. I knew the woman was scheduled to be in court on Monday, so I had our morning reporter preview the hearing with information from Bennington police.
I wrote up an article and made a social graphic to generate more traffic on our site, since our weekend article had been syndicated from another site.
I had a lot of personal interest in this story because of my personal ties to the Adirondack Park and its history in New York State.
State lawmakers that represent the North Country have been trying to develop two vacant prisons in the Adirondack Park, but because they're located in the state forest preserve, such action requires a constitutional amendment under New York's "forever wild" clause.
Changing the state constitution is a lengthy process and the proposal has stalled 5 years in a row.
In 2026, Gov. Hochul included a proposal to turn vacant prisons into housing in her State of the State. This gave us a peg to revisit the story and explain what it would take to amend the law that protects the preserve.
I was able to get this story online early in the morning - before any of our local competitors and even some of the networks.
Jerry Greenfield, the co-founder of Ben & Jerry's - which originated in Vermont - announced his resignation from the brand over an ongoing dispute with their parent company.
The announcement was made on his co-founder's social media page, which I embedded into the article.
One of our reporters ended up following the story later that day - giving our station an opportunity to "own" a story with global reach.
This story showcases my abilities across all platforms.
The New York State DEC commissioned a study on overuse in the Adirondack Park, which recommended a registration system and limits on the number of hikers allowed in certain areas due to overcrowding in parking areas, and on trails and summits.
This has been an ongoing problem along Route 73 and some other popular trailheads in the park.
I used infogram to help visualize some of the points that were made in the report and utilized images of the crowding for a more dynamic article.
This was another good story that we got to before our competition.
As an NBC station, we monitor the Olympics closely, especially when our local athletes are competing.
On this morning Ryan Cochran-Siegle mentioned in an interview that he was sick to his stomach before his races. Cochran-Siegle is already a big name, due to his mother's legacy as an Olympic medalist.
I knew this story would get a lot of attention. I added photos of Ryan and his mother to make it more engaging. Our Hearst National Desk ended up syndicating it.