Click above to download or play the audio version of the local news for Tue., Nov. 12. Produced by Philip Grant.

Closings and delays for Tue., Nov. 12:
Updated: 8 a.m.

Chatham Central School District | Delayed two hours. No morning BOCES. No breakfast.
Chatham Kids Club | Delayed two hours. Morning program delayed two hours. Aftercare open at regular time, 2:15 p.m. to 6 p.m.
COARC Adult Transportation| Delayed two hours. Staff report.
Columbia Christian Academy | Delayed two hours.
Germantown Central School District | Delayed two hours.
Hunter-Tannersville Central School District | Delayed two hours. No morning BOCES.
Saugerties Central School District | Delayed two hours.
Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School District | Delayed two hours Closed. Veterans ceremony rescheduled to Nov. 13.


Source: Times Union

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

Bethany Bump reports for the Times Union that while a new statewide ban on flavored e-cigarette products is being held up in court, Albany County legislators will vote on the issue on Nov. 12. Legislation that would ban the sale of flavored tobacco and e-cigarette products throughout much of the county will be voted on at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 12 at the Albany County Court House, Legislative Chambers, 2nd Floor, after a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. Yonkers recently became the first New York city with such a ban, and Albany would become the first county, if the measure passes. “We have seen an explosion of youth vaping and use of these products in recent years, to the point that our high schools are having to put monitors in the bathrooms to stop it during school,” said Albany County Legislator Paul Miller, who sponsored the bill. “Our youth are addicted to this stuff.” Opponents of the ban say it will reduce local businesses and that adult smokers use e-cigarettes as a form of harm reduction trading off from smoking traditional cigarettes. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Emilia Teasdale reports in the Columbia Paper that the Village of Chatham board voted to adopt zoning changes Nov. 4. Mayor John Howe and Trustees Lenore Packet and Melony Spock voted in favor of Local Law #2 of 2019, while trustee Pete Minahan voted against and trustee Jaimee Boehme did not attend the meeting. The law creates a new zoning map for the village, new and/or updated definitions in the code, and a new use table. There were three public hearings about the new zoning, and the law was reviewed by the county Planning Board, and the village’s Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals. The new law does not include language about short-term rentals. Read more about this story in the Columbia Paper.

Emilie Munson reports in the Times Union that ahead of Veteran's Day this year local Congressional representatives were all atwitter about the work they are doing for those who served in the military. Reps. Antonio Delgado, a Democrat from Rhinebeck, and Elise Stefanik, a Republican from Schuylerville, announced Nov. 7 a bill for more federal funding for New York veterans' cemeteries. In Stefanik's northern 21st District, 8.9 percent of the population 18 years and older are veterans, and in Delgado's 19th Congressional District, 7.4 percent of the population 18 years and older are veterans. Delgado explained he is teaming with a Republican to try and fix something specific. "I was shocked to learn that a technical error in our laws prevents Ulster County and other counties in New York and across the country from accessing much-needed federal funding for its veterans’ cemeteries," Delgado said. "This prohibition severely cripples counties in states like New York that do not have state-operated veterans’ cemeteries, which is why I worked with my colleagues across the aisle and introduced a bill that fixes this problem and ensures local veterans’ cemeteries are properly funded." Stefanik is also crowing about another bipartisan bill passed in the U.S. House last week that she sponsored with Rep. Charlie Crist to create a grant program to develop and maintain special courts for rehabilitating veterans who commit non-violent crimes. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

The Post Star reports that New Yorkers should be watching out for the latest invasive species about to enter the state: spotted lanternfly egg masses. The spotted lanternfly has not yet been found in New York, but has been seen in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. The insect lives in China, India, and Vietnam but is in the U.S. decimating grapes and hops. In the fall they lay eggs in vehicles, firewood, outdoor furniture, and campers, and officials from the state departments of environmental conservation and agriculture are urging the public to report any egg masses that are an inch long and often smooth and brownish gray with a shiny, waxy coating. Read more about this story in the Post Star.

Click above to download or play the audio version of the local news update for Mon., Nov. 11. (Produced by Philip Grant.)

The Times Union is reporting the portion of the Devil's Path and Long Path trails that traverse the town of Hunter has opened after vandalism caused a quarter-mile section of the trail to be closed, the Department of Environmental Conservation said November 8. The section closed in early October after the vandalism of steel rungs on a rock face created a safety hazard for visitors, according to the DEC. The short reroute between Twin Mountain Peak and Pecoy Notch Trail provides safe passage for visitors while maintaining the character of the Devil’s Path, the DEC said. It plans to monitor the reroute to ensure no significant environmental degradation results from public use. The DEC investigation into the vandalism is ongoing. Read the full story in the Times Union.

MidHudsonNews [dot] com is reporting on the effort underway to convince the Irish airline Aer Lingus to serve the Hudson Valley. Officials are hoping to fill the gap in direct overseas service left when Norwegian Air terminated its non-stop flights from New York Stewart International Airport in August. Both U.S. Senator Charles Schumer and airport officials have been in contact with Aer Lingus officials. Schumer was the driving force behind getting Jet Blue service from Stewart years ago. Louis Heimbach, the chairman of the advisory Stewart Airport Commission, said if successful, the effort would put Stewart "back on the map." Despite the high demand for non-stop international service at Stewart, Norwegian Air canceled its use of the hub because of the prolonged worldwide grounding of the Boeing 737 Max jets. Read the full story at MidHudsonNews [dot] com.

Cayla Harris is reporting for the Times Union state colleges and universities announced November 10, a plan to waive application fees for veterans and their spouses. Application fees can range from $50 to $65, according to a press release from the governor's office. While some campuses already waive application fees for veterans, the policy announced this weekend would extend the waiver to all state-operated schools permanently. The policy change must now be approved by both the CUNY and SUNY Boards of Trustees. A Cuomo spokesman said the governor's office will push for a similar fee waiver at community colleges. "Generations of New Yorkers have fought to preserve the freedoms and ideals of this state and nation at great personal sacrifice, and we must do everything we can to support them once they get home," Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Aarthi Swaminathan is reporting for Yahoo! Finance the unemployment rate for recent college graduates is increasing. Data recently released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York indicates that contrary to trends in the larger labor market, fresh graduates are more likely to be unemployed that the core U.S. working population, for the first time since 1990. Recent college graduates are defined as those between the ages of 22 and 27, with a bachelor’s degree or higher. The unemployment rate for that group has increased, from 3.8 percent in May to 4 percent in September, when the unemployment rate for overall workers was 3.6 percent. The unemployment rate takes on even more significance when considering the amount of student debt the newly graduated currently hold. Nearly a quarter of those who had taken out a Direct Loan were either behind in their payments or in default at the end of last year. Read the full story at Yahoo! Finance.

Click above to download or play the audio version of the local news for Mon., Nov. 11. Produced by Philip Grant.

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

The Columbia County Board of Elections released some of the results of the Nov. 5 election on Nov. 8. The results did not include countywide races or propositions, which the county's website says "will be forthcoming." In Copake, the closest race in the county is for the second seat on the town board: Republican Stanley Gansowski leads Democrat Paulette Bonanno 515-to-514. Republican Terry Sullivan won the other seat there with 582 votes. Democrat Jeanne E. Mettler beat Republican Kelly A. Miller-Simmons to win the supervisor seat there. Otherwise, Democrats won in Ancram, Canaan, Germantown, Hillsdale, Hudson, New Lebanon, and Taghkanic. Republicans won in Chatham, Kinderhook, Stockport, and Stuyvesant. The two parties split in Claverack, Clermont, Gallatin, Ghent, and Livingston.

Robert Gavin reports in the Times Union that on Nov. 7 a federal judge in Buffalo dismissed a lawsuit filed by Erie County Clerk Michael Kearns that tried to block a new law allowing undocumented immigrants to apply for driver's licenses in New York. The judge ruled the clerk lacked legal standing to challenge the law. “Today’s decision reinforces our position all along — the Green Light law is legal and enforceable," New York Attorney General Letitia James said. "The law aims to make our roads safer, our economy stronger, and allows immigrants to come out of the shadows to sign up as legal drivers in our state. That’s why the claims made in this lawsuit not only disregarded these simple truths, but were misinformed and disregarded the privacy rights of New Yorkers." Previously Rensselaer County Clerk Frank Merola also challenged the new law, but that suit was put on hold until Kearns' legal action could be resolved. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Sarah Trafton reports for Columbia-Greene Media that the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association says a correction officer at the maximum-security Coxsackie Correctional Facility was attacked by an inmate Nov. 3. The unidentified officer had multiple facial fractures from the assault. “The inmate had just entered the school building carrying items that were not allowed in the building,” according to the union. “The officer directed the inmate to stand near the wall so he could be frisked for contraband. The inmate immediately turned towards the officer and attacked him, striking him several times in the face.” The officer was was treated for a fractured orbital bone, fractured cheekbone and a broken nose at Albany Medical Center. The inmate was only identified as a 33-year-old serving an eight-year sentence for a 2016 armed home invasion in Rockland County. “A week after an officer was stabbed multiple times at Green Haven Correctional Facility, another officer was violently attacked and left with multiple facial fractures in an unprovoked attack at Coxsackie,” New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association Mid-Hudson Region President Michael Mazzella said in a statement. “Inmate advocates continue to call for a reduction in discipline for inmates yet the violent assaults on staff continue to occur.” The prison would only say that, "The department is reviewing an incident involving a staff member and an incarcerated individual that occurred on Monday at the Coxsackie Correctional Facility and cannot comment.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

The Daily Freeman reports that an indictment unsealed Nov. 7 alleges Prattsville's former town supervisor and another town resident stole tens of thousands of dollars in state grant money from Tropical Storm Irene recovery efforts. Federal prosecutors charged former Supervisor Kory O’Hara, 42, and business owner Stephen Baker, 68, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and theft concerning a program that received federal funds, according to U.S. Attorney Grant C. Jaquith. O’Hara was also charged with bank fraud and making false statements in a loan application. The Schoharie Creek overflowed its banks during the storms associated with Hurricane Irene in 2011, devasting the town in western Greene County. O’Hara allegedly got $24,915 in grant money from the New York Main Street Program, according to the indictment, through a scam that included false invoices and reimbursed checks. O’Hara and Baker were released Nov. 7 in Albany pending a trial before Senior U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Scullin Jr. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Click above to download or play the audio version of the local news update for Fri., Nov. 8. (Produced by Philip Grant.)

A bus carrying students from the Taconic Hills Central School District went off Pumpkin Hollow Road, near Route 27, in the town of Taghkanic, on Fri., Nov. 8. The bus left the roadway and slid into some trees. According to a statement posted at the Taconic Hills website, 10 students were on the bus. Two of those students and the bus driver were evaluated at the scene and taken to the hospital for minor injuries. The remaining students were released to their parents at the scene or taken to the school for evaluation by the nurse. The New York State Police, Columbia County Sheriff’s Department, Taghkanic Fire Department, Copake Community Rescue, and Greenport Rescue responded to the scene. The vehicle involved was owned and operated by bus contractor Michael Johnson of Philmont. The incident is under investigation by the county Sheriff's Department.