Today's daily news update.

Patricia R. Doxsey is reporting for the Daily Freeman with fewer than 1,000 votes separating the two lowest vote-getters, the boards of elections in the seven counties that make up the state Supreme Court Third Judicial District are preparing for a hand count of the more than 1 million ballots cast in the race to determine who will claim the third seat on the bench. In the November 8 general election, voters in Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Schoharie, Sullivan and Ulster counties, were asked to choose from four candidates to fill three seats on the court. According to data reported by the state Board of Elections, the two top vote-getters were Democrats Meagan K. Galligan with 167,627 votes and Sharon A. Graff, with 165,824 votes. Meanwhile, Republican Thomas Marcelle received 164,776 votes, while Democrat Heidi Thais Cochrane got 163,777 votes, a difference of only 999 votes. Under state elections law, a hand count of all ballots cast in a race is triggered when 1 million or more ballots are cast in a race and the margin of victory is less than 5,000 votes. Ulster County Republican Elections Commissioner John Quigley said the Ulster County Board of Elections will likely schedule the hand count next week, once the board has certified the results of the other races. Read more in the Daily Freeman.

Kate Lisa reports for New York State of Politics that New York's power grid is ready for the winter season, according to an assessment announced Nov. 28 by New York Independent System Operator. "We're well-positioned to meet this winter's forecast," said Kevin Lanahan, NYISO's vice president of external affairs and corporate communications. New York Independent System Operator estimates a surplus of 1,620 megawatts at peak demand this winter. "The real concern we have is whether or not that's going to impact fuel supplies here in the state," Lanahan said. "Right now, it doesn't look like that's an issue, but the pricing issue is definitely something that we're concerned about and we want to make sure consumers understand going into the heating season." New York residents could see electric bills increase by more than 30 percent this winter compared to last year. "We expect high prices going into the new year," Lanahan said. National Grid estimates a 39 percent price increase for its natural gas customers this winter compared to last. New York Independent System Operator also reported that slowly, the state is moving away from fossil fuels and using more solar and wind power. National Grid spokesperson Patrick Stella said that means more electricity is being used. "There's going to be much more load on these electric systems than there has been in the past, so we're trying to build them," Stella said. "We're trying to build more capacity and early on." Read the full story at New York State of Politics.

Mid-Hudson News reports that while Pat Ryan currently represents the 19th Congressional District in the House of Representatives, he is about to change to the 18th Congressional District in January. Ryan won a special election in August to fill in the final weeks of Rep. Antonio Delgado's term in the 19th District, after he left to become lieutenant governor. Ryan then was elected for a full-term in the new 18th Congressional District in November, which means he switches districts in January. On Nov. 28, Ryan was more in 18th Congressional District mode, speaking just outside of West Point in support of passage of the National Defense Authorization Act. “When it comes to our veterans, our military families, we have to rise above this partisan divide we have in our country right now and come together as patriots and make sure that we deliver in keeping our country safe and supporting our troops and our military families,” he said. In particular, Ryan said $39.8 million would go toward the continuing construction of the $200 million West Point cyber and engineering center, and $1.6 million would upgrade barracks and child development centers at West Point if the National Defense Authorization Act was passed in its current state. There is also a 4.6 percent pay raise for active duty members and civilians in the bill. Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.

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Today's daily news update.

Roger Hannigan Gilson is reporting for the Times Union a series of workshops are planned to help low-income utility customers take advantage of state programs that can lower future bills and erase past balances. The workshops will be held in Kingston, Newburgh and virtually and are focused on Central Hudson Gas and Electric customers. Central Hudson customers have been forced to deal with wildly fluctuating and high utility bills since September 2021. The utility is under investigation by the state Public Service Commission. The workshops will focus on the Energy Affordability Program which subsidizes energy bills for low-income utility customers, and the related Electric and Gas Bill Relief Program, which erases past-due balances that accrued during the pandemic. Representatives at the workshops promise to help eligible customers enroll in both programs. The workshops will be held on Dec. 1 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the YMCA on Broadway in Kingston; Dec. 8 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Newburgh Free Library, on Grand St. in Newburgh; and, from noon to 1 p.m. on Dec. 9, online. Information on the individual workshops is available at Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County website. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Columbia County Clerk Holly Tanner announced that due to planned construction at the Hudson Department of Motor Vehicles, the office will be closed on Nov. 29, Nov. 30, and Dec. 1. During that time the large window located behind the DMV counter will be replaced, making it impossible for staff to do business while the work is being done. In her statement, Tanner apologized for any inconvenience, advising patrons to use the drop box in the alternative. The office was open Nov. 28 and will be open on Dec. 2. The clerk's office and records room will be open for business all week. The county clerk's office and the DMV can be reached by calling (518) 828-3339.

Jeanette Wolfberg is reporting for The Columbia Paper Hudson school district Business Administrator Jonathan Boehme will leave the district in January after three years of service. “I really have enjoyed working at the Hudson City School District,” said Boehme. “Everybody I work with is great. Great administrators. Great teachers. A piece of me will stay part of Hudson,” he said. He will move into the same position with the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Central School District, where he resides and his children attend school. Boehme said he has enjoyed working with the current superintendent, Lisamarie Spindler, her predecessor, Maria L. Suttmeier, as well as the Board of Education. “We’ve done a lot for the community. I thank the board for allowing me to serve the H[udson] C[ity] S[chool] D[istrict],” he said. Boehme is a native of Valatie and a graduate of Chatham High School. He studied accounting and holds degrees from Mount St. Mary College and St. Rose College. He served as treasurer for the Chatham Central School District and business administrator for the Germantown Central School District before coming to Hudson in February 2020, as the business administrator. No word on the district's plans to replace him come January. Read more in The Columbia Paper.

Spectrum News reports that while New York officials expect to open retail sales of cannabis before the end of the year, in the Hudson Valley a court fight has prevented awarding marijuana dispensary licenses. Last week New York issued its first 36 licenses for dispensaries, but none in the Hudson Valley yet, as U.S. District Court Judge Gary Sharpe in Albany has at least temporarily blocked the state from issuing licenses in some parts of New York after a company owned by a Michigan resident challenged a requirement that applicants demonstrate “a significant presence in New York state.” New York officials are now asking the judge to loosen that injunction as a cannabis harvest worth an estimated $1.5 billion is waiting to be distributed to retailers. “If the farmers, who were already issued cultivating licenses, have nowhere to sell their crop, they will lose the millions of dollars that have been collectively invested in their businesses, some may lose their businesses, and they will otherwise be forced into the predicament of either watching their crops rot and expire or selling them on the illicit market,” Assistant Attorney General Amanda Kuryluk wrote to the court. Christian Kernkamp, a lawyer representing the company suing New York, said in an emailed statement that the company hoped to resolve the case. “The injunction could be over tomorrow, but the State prefers instead to litigate even though the court has already found a ‘clear likelihood’ that the State violated Variscite’s constitutional rights,” Kernkamp said. Read more about this story at Spectrum News.

Today's daily news update.

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Jeanette Wolfberg reports for The Columbia Paper officials in Columbia County issued a proclamation on November 1 stating, “members of the County Public Safety Committee by consensus… call on the New York State Legislature to pass the pending Clean Slate Act and the governor to subsequently sign it.” The act would seal the criminal records of convicted people three years after release from incarceration for a misdemeanor and seven years after completing incarceration for a felony if they have also completed probation and parole and have no subsequent convictions or pending charges. With a person’s criminal records sealed, they would be shielded from review by potential employers, housing agents, schools and license issuers. Law enforcement and courts would still have access to those records. At the October 19 Public Safety Committee meeting, Hudson First Ward Supervisor Claire Cousin introduced the proposal. “People who made a mistake and did time still find barriers. Clean Slate is an economic justice bill, not a public safety bill. When the bill passes, we start educating people, including employers,” Cousin said. Cousin is the executive director of the Hudson Catskill Housing Coalition, an organization working at the intersection of housing and criminal justice. She is also vice chair of the Hudson Housing Authority Board of Commissioners. “People will make a mistake in their life,” said Hudson Third Ward Supervisor Michael Chameides. “They need a chance to reintegrate into society.” The communities of Beacon and Poughkeepsie have issued proclamations supporting the Clean Slate Act. Austerlitz Town Supervisor Robert Lagonia said the consensus of the committee is to submit a proclamation. “My concern is the ‘automatic-ness’ of it,” he said. But he and Cousin had already had a “good discussion” about it. Cousin said other states have Clean Slate laws “even more progressive” than the one proposed for New York, and Pennsylvania, Michigan, Utah, and Connecticut, have already passed their versions of the legislation. Read more in The Columbia Paper.

Clarence Fanto reports for The Berkshire Eagle that a group of nonprofit cultural organizations from Berkshire County, Mass., and Columbia County, NY, are looking to hear from current and former arts sector employees who may consider themselves underpaid and unable to support themselves and their families. Backed by the Berkshire economic development agency based in Pittsfield, the Berkshire/Columbia Compensation Equity Project is polling entry-level and mid-level arts and cultural workers in the nonprofit field. The online questionnaire is looking for details on how chronic low pay for nonprofit art professionals impacts the lives of workers and their families and is a barrier to participation in the arts and culture sector. “Passion is not a substitute for livable wages,” the leaders of Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, the Mahaiwe [Mah-HAY-wee] Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, and the WAM Theatre in Lenox, Community Access to the Arts in Great Barrington, the Berkshire Arts Center in Stockbridge, and Art Omi in Ghent, N.Y., noted in a joint statement. The survey is open through December 5 and a link to the form is available on the WGXC Newsroom page. The details of the poll are expected to be announced in early 2023. The project is funded in part by the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation and was launched by the Multicultural BRIDGE Inclusive Leadership Cohort. According to Art Omi board member Gavin Berger, “new cultural offerings in our region are attracting growing numbers of homebuyers and visitors, while underfunded compensation models for arts professionals, especially entry- and mid-level workers, sustain outdated and elitist notions that working in the arts is a privilege that justifies sacrifice.” Read the full story in The Berkshire Eagle.

Raymond Pignone reports for Columbia-Greene Media that Ghent Town Board members, Democrats Patti Matheney and Koethi [COE-thee] Zan [Zahn], have resigned, alleging they were cut out of the information loop, removed from most of their committee positions, and recently were denied invitations, as elected officials, to the town’s Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies. The pair submitted a three-page letter dated November 17, to the Ghent Democratic Committee, enumerating their various accomplishments, multiple allegations, and the rationale behind the resignations. “We don’t foresee being able to achieve anything by remaining in our current positions,” Matheney and Zan said in a joint statement. “Given the situation, we see no choice but to resign in protest and focus on our other personal and professional commitments.” Metheney and Zan's names remain listed on the town of Ghent website as town board members; however, the portion of the site that links to town board minutes has not be updated since August so it is unclear when the resignations actually took place. According to the Columbia County Democrats' web page, Metheny is the chair of the Ghent Democrats and the Ghent Democrats' Facebook page, maintained by Metheny and Zan, is private. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Nick Reisman is reporting for State of Politics the state Commission on Judicial Nomination last week submitted seven candidates for Gov. Kathy Hochul's consideration as she reflects on who should lead the state's top court and its court system. By law, her nomination will be made between December 8 and 23. Potential top judges for the New York Court of Appeals include a sitting member of that court, Associate Judge Anthony Cannataro. Additional nominees include Yale Law School Professor Abbe Gluck, Appellate Division President Justice Hector LaSalle, Albany Law School Dean Alicia Ouellette [w-uh -L EH T], Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for Justice Initiatives Edwina G. Richardson-Mendelson, Associate Justice of the Appellate Division Jeffry Oing [Oi-ng] and Corey L. Stoughton, the attorney-in-charge at The Legal Aid Society. The commission is a body composed of panelists appointed by the governor, legislative leaders in the state Senate and Assembly and the chief judge. E. Leo Milonas, the commission chairman, said. "That so many exceptional candidates were motivated to apply demonstrates the remarkable strength and depth of the legal profession in the state of New York." Chief Judge Janet DiFiore stepped down in August after six years on the job. The chief judge of the Court of Appeals is appointed to serve a 14-year term. Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.

Andrea Macko is reporting for Porcupine Soup voters in the Greenville Central School District go to the polls on December 6 to decide the fate of a $14.48 million capital project. The improvements are focused largely on Scott M. Ellis Elementary School and will have no additional tax impact on district residents. District Superintendent Michael Bennett said the process began in mid-2021 with a building conditions survey as well as feedback from various parties. “Past projects put a focus on the middle and high schools, as well as the athletic fields. For this project, we’re shifting focus to the elementary school,” Bennett said. The total cost of the project is $14.48 million. District officials say the project will not increase taxes because retiring debt payments from a previous project will be used to fund the work. New York State Building Aid will cover approximately 72 precent of the project with the remaining amount covered locally. That local share, totaling $2.6 million, will come from the Capital Reserve account. The second of two public information sessions on the project will be held Tue., Nov. 29. Polls will be open from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Tue., Dec. 6 If approved, work is expected to begin in May of 2024. Read more at porcupinesoup [dot] com.

Bill Williams is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media a 92-year-old truss bridge in Kinderhook will be closed for a month to allow for needed repairs. The bridge that carries county Route 21 over the Kinderhook Creek is scheduled to be closed beginning Mon., Nov. 28, to fix the steel trusses, officials at the Columbia County Commissioner of Public Works office said. The bridge was originally scheduled to be closed beginning November 21, but was postponed for a week. The bridge will be closed to all traffic, including pedestrians and bicycles, while the work is being performed. Motorists who normally use county Route 21 to drive to Kinderhook are being asked to follow posted detour routes, which will send drivers along Route 9 and Route 9H. The work will run through December 30, according to the electronic message boards. The most recent inspection of the bridge in 2021 found it to be in poor condition, but it was allowed to remain open with no restrictions. The two-lane, 119.4-foot-long span was built in 1930. Maintenance was last done on the bridge 20 years ago. Read more at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Click above to download or play the "Better Weather." Produced by Joe Demanso of the Catskill Makers Syndicate.

Click above to download or play the "Better Weather." Produced by Joe Demanso of the Catskill Makers Syndicate.