Today's daily news update.

Joshua Solomon reports in the Times Union that as the Delta variant spreads like wildfire throughout the state and more COVID-19 cases are being reported, Gov. Andrew Cuomo stopped short of calling for a statewide mask mandate on Aug. 2. Instead, he urged private businesses to mandate vaccinations for customers and employees and warned that soon private health care workers, teachers, and nursing home workers may also face vaccination mandates. "I don't believe a mask policy will be enough," Cuomo said at a news conference Aug. 2. "I think we will have to talk about a vaccination policy." Locally, Greene, Albany, Columbia, and Rensselaer counties have all surpassed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention threshold for encouraging mask wearing indoors, regardless of vaccination status. "If the numbers don't come down, I think you have to consider mandatory vaccines for nursing home workers," Cuomo said, adding the same may be true for teachers and front-facing health care workers. "These are the places where one person can infect literally dozens in the course of a day," he said. And things could get worse. "I worry that even more dangerous variants — including vaccine-resistant ones — could emerge if uncontrolled spread continues," tweeted Dr. Tom Frieden, the former director of the CDC and commissioner of the New York City health department. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Joseph Spector reports in the Democrat and Chronicle about the infrastructure bill that may pass in the U.S. Senate this week and what it means for New York. There is $1,480,000 for upgrades at the Columbia County airport in the bill, part of $1 billion being spent at airports across the state. If passed, Amtrak would get $66 billion for an expansion and overhaul nationally, and New York Senator Chuck Schumer said $24 billion would go to the Northeast corridor modernization plan. Amtrak also wants to provide new service from Albany to Boston with money from the bill. New York's roads and bridges would get $2 billion extra above the $11.5 billion annual federal infrastructure spending. "It has been decades since Congress passed such a significant, stand-alone investment," Schumer said late Aug. 1 on the Senate floor. "In order for our economy, workers and businesses to succeed in the 21st Century, we cannot have infrastructure that’s stuck in the last century." Read more about this story in the Democrat and Chronicle.

The Daily Freeman reports that New York's Department of Environmental Conservation is looking for pool owners to participate in its Asian Longhorned Beetle Swimming Pool Survey. “The best opportunity to eradicate and limit the spread of invasive species is by finding infestations early, when populations are low,” DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said in a statement. “Swimming pool monitoring is a simple, economical approach to surveying for these pests and gives New Yorkers the chance to take an active role in protecting their communities.” Asian long-horned beetles are invasive pests that cause serious damage to the state’s trees. So the DEC is asking pool owners to periodically check their filters for insects that resemble the beetles and report suspects either by emailing photos to foresthealth@dec.ny.gov or mailing insects to the DEC’s Forest Health Diagnostics Lab, 108 Game Farm Road, Delmar, N.Y. 12054, Attn.: Liam Somers. The invasive pest is:
• Is about 1.5 inches long, black with white spots, with black and white antennae.
• Leaves perfectly round exit holes about the size of a dime in branches and trunks of host trees.
• Creates sawdust-like material called frass that collects on branches and around the bases of trees.
The wood-boring beetles attack hardwood trees, including maples, birches and willows, among others, and have caused the death of hundreds of thousands of trees across the country, the DEC said. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Today's daily headlines.

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Pete DeMola and Lauren Stanforth report in the Times Union that last week Greene was the only local county to have so many COVID-19 cases to reach the CDC level recommending indoor mask use. Now Columbia, Albany, Rensselaer, and Schoharie counties are added to that list. Most local counties now have reached the "substantial" level of community spread that requires wearing masks indoors again as the Delta variant of COVID-19 is much more contagious and dangerous. The CDC now says, "to maximize protection from the Delta variant and prevent possibly spreading it to others, wear a mask indoors in public if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission." Local officials say that everyone getting vaccinated is the only way out of the pandemic. “Data continues to show vaccination decreases the risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death," Albany County Public Health Commissioner Dr. Elizabeth Whalen said. "We encourage people to follow the CDC guidelines and we will continue to evaluate the data and respond appropriately.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Emilia Teasdale is reporting for The Columbia Paper representatives of National Grid were in attendance at the in-person Kinderhook Village Board meeting on July 14, to explain the utility's plans for the electric power transformer bank recently installed on a pole on Hudson Street as well as upgrading the voltage in some parts of the village. More than half of the people at the meeting were impacted by the platform-mounted transformer bank that was attached on poles located in front of the home of former U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson and Mary Gibson; the Gibsons were present at the board meeting. National Grid’s Hudson engineer, Serena Hazzard, along with two other company representatives, explained the reason for the large transformer platform in its current location and the plan to have it eventually moved. They said the company will add more transformers further down Hudson Street just outside of the village, spoke about upgrading the primary voltage in the village and making all the feeders in the village the same voltage class. Hazzard explained that the work needed has been made a priority. Chris Gibson requested Hazzard provide a letter assuring him that the transformer is being moved and explaining her logic. He explained that he was asking for a letter from the representatives present at the meeting, saying that he would take the issue as high as it needs to go. He said the residents of Kinderhook have not been "communicated to," and said they want to get to a place of trust with the corporation. Other residents noted that National Grid had turned up to do work and never notified the community, including the village board. Hazzard stressed several times the project was about reliability and better service. If the transformer on Hudson Street is taken out now it will mean that when there is an outage it will take longer for service to come back on some streets in the village, she said. After the National Grid representatives left the meeting, the board voted to approve the option to move the transformer bank on Hudson and Kinderhook streets to a location outside of the village. Read more about this story in The Columbia Paper.

Sam Raudins is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media that the creation of new businesses in Greene County is on the rise, growing by nearly 18 percent from 2019 to 2020, according to a study by the Center for Economic Growth. In the eight-county Capital Region last year, 9,465 business formation applications were submitted to the Internal Revenue Service, a 3.2 percent increase over the previous year. Greene and Schenectady counties led the region in growth. The study defines a business as corporations, partnerships, nonprofits and sole proprietorships. Greene County Chamber of Commerce President Jeffrey Friedman said the county has seen a large number of businesses start up in the last few years, spanning many types of industries. “We’ve had lots of new restaurants, some new manufacturing businesses and new art-related and creative economy businesses. It has been a wide array of businesses across numerous industries,” Friedman said. He said the growth could be a factor of a few conditions: people discovering Greene County as they leave more heavily populated areas, the availability of storefronts and commercial real estate and the efforts of the chamber to promote the area. Greene County sales tax collection from January to May 2021 exceeded $15 million, an increase of more than $3 million over the first five months of 2020, according to a report from the Office of the state Comptroller. Greene County’s sales tax rate is 8 percent; half goes to the state and the other half to the county. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

The Daily Freeman is reporting that the only winning ticket in the Take 5 lottery drawing on July 31, worth almost $45,000, was sold at a convenience store in Claverack, according to the New York lottery division. The winning ticket was purchased at the Xtra Mart shop at the intersection of routes 9H and 23. The ticket matched all five numbers drawn — 5, 20, 21, 22 and 30 — to win the jackpot of $44,971.50. The odds of matching all five numbers picked are 575,757 to 1. New York lottery prizes can be claimed for up to one year from the date of the drawing. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Athens Village Board has asked Athens Performing Arts Corporation to require attendees at the group's weekly concerts to wear face masks and practice social distancing. The first event in the annual series hosted by APAC was held Fri., Jul. 30, in Riverfront Park. Village board member Joshua Lipsman, a physician and former public health official, suggested that face coverings be required in public spaces, arguing that Greene County is in a substantial state of transmission and has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the state. As of late last week, in Greene County, 61.9 percent of adults and 54.1 percent of all residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine. The seven-day rolling positivity rate in the county was 5 percent as of July 29. “We are on the verge, if we don’t do something, of having a significant outbreak in our area,” Lipsman said. Village board members expressed concern about the concert series, which typically draws hundreds of people to the village. “We don’t have any cases here in Athens right now, but APAC does attract people from other spots so I think some of these efforts will go a long way,” Mayor Amy Serrago said. “We will get through Friday and then see what is happening next week.” Serrago acknowledged that enforcement will be challenging. Rick Surrano, a representative of APAC, said he spoke with the group’s board of directors and they will comply with the village’s mandate. APAC is offering an abbreviated six-concert series this year. In a typical year, there are 10 performances, but the pandemic made for a shortened season. Information at AthensVillageNY [dot] com. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Andrea Macko is reporting for Porcupine Soup the historic former Freehold House located on County Route 67 at State Route 32, will be sold at auction August 10, by the Internal Revenue Service. The debtor and most recent owner, Bounty America Pharm New York is headquartered in Santa Ana, CA. According to the IRS, the minimum bid will be $73,192. The sale includes two parcels, located at 3645 County Road 67, and the parking lot across the street. The property has two commercial buildings previously used as a restaurant, event and wedding venue. One of the buildings has two apartments on the second floor. According to Greene County tax records, the main parcel is assessed at $345,000, while the smaller parking lot parcel is assessed at $18,000. Built in 1791, the large white structure was once a stagecoach stop, and is listed on the Greene County Historic Register. The properties were acquired by the Greene County Industrial Development Agency in 2011. In 2015, the IDA sold the properties to Bounty America Pharm New York for $110,000. The company specializes in ginseng and hoped to establish a restaurant, education center and retail store on the property, but those plans never materialized. Read the full story at porcupinesoup [dot] com.

Bernadette Hogan, Georgett Roberts, Priscilla DeGregory and Bruce Golding are reporting for the New York Post the current state moratorium on evictions will remain in place for another month even as a similar federal ban expires this weekend, giving New Yorkers who owe back rent at least 30 more days before landlords begin to take action. New York is one of nine states along with Washington, DC, where tenant protections run past the deadline set last month when Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended an order banning evictions “to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.” In May, Gov. Andrew Cuomo extended the state ban on virtually all eviction and foreclosure proceedings through Aug. 31. Olga Someras, general counsel of the pro-landlord Rent Stabilization Association, is predicting the housing courts will be overwhelmed by “the sheer volume of cases” once the moratorium ends. “I think what you will see is a lot of people going into foreclosure, being forced to sell to cash buyers or people able to take advantage of landlords who can’t wait anymore for the court to allow their case to proceed,” she said. Meanwhile, the state is sitting on a $2.7 billion that was set aside to cover up to 15 months of back rent and up to a year of utility bills owed by low- and moderate-income households, regardless of immigration status. Last week, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer blasted the Cuomo’ administration for not handing out the money, “before it’s too late for tenants and landlords.” Cuomo has now announced a streamlined application process that he said would result in payments to as many as 200,000 households. Read more in the New York Post.

Cloey Callahan reports in the Times Union on July 26 Gov. Andrew Cuomo identified two Greene County zip codes with COVID-19 vaccination rates below the statewide average and new positive cases per capita above the statewide average. The zip codes are 12058, for Earlton, and 12083, for Greenville. Cuomo also mentioned 12540, for Lagrangeville in Dutchess County, and three zip codes in Orange County. "The level of transmission in Greene County over the past seven days is now so high — 59 cases out of 100,000 as of Wednesday, the highest of any place in New York outside of the Bronx — that the county health department asked residents on its Facebook page on [July 28] to begin wearing masks indoors, whether vaccinated or not," Callahan wrote. Cuomo also announced a $15 million allocated towards a targeted vaccination campaign on July 26, but Greene County Public Administrator Shaun Groden said he did not know anything about that. So Cuomo announced he is targeting certain zip codes to get more vaccinations, but local officials do not know about any specific plans to get more vaccinations. Instead, Greene County is starting their own "Why Not?" campaign to increase vaccinations. “We get vaccinated as children for the measles and more,” said Groden. “No one complains about that. Schools have mandates for that.” In Greene County right now, pharmacies are the only places to get vaccinated, as county health officials are not holding any vaccine clinics. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Aliya Schneider reports for Columbia-Greene Media that a group of Hudson residents have formed a nonprofit organization to spruce up Hudson's Public Square. The city park is Hudson's centerpiece, the site of rallies, protests, and where many parades begin. Friends of the Public Square HUDSON wants to collaborate with the city and its citizens on park projects. “This group of people really is, I would say newly formed and newly energized,” co-chair Katherine Kanaga said. “We’ve also sought to build a board that is diverse and representative of the community. We’ve been reaching out to different groups like Operation Unite in addition, so we want to make sure that we reach out to all parts of the community.” The group would like to get the fountain working, paint benches a more attractive color and/or replace them, prune trees in poor condition, and mulch and plant bulbs in the Public Square that is Seventh Street and Warren Street. But the Historic Preservation Committee must sign off on any changes to the park. “Four people can’t just show up at the park and determine what’s right for the entire city,” Superintendent of Public Works Robert Perry said. “All I told them was what the department is capable of doing. Whether or not that will happen, that remains to be seen.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Nick Reisman reports for New York State of Politics a fourth-grade class at Cooperstown Elementary School near the Baseball Hall of Fame proposed making baseball New York's official sport. On July 30, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation to make their dream a reality. "Growing up a Queens boy, a love of baseball was instilled at an early age," Cuomo said. "From the '69 and '86 Amazin' Mets to 27 world championships by the Yankees and even having been the home of the Dodgers with Jackie Robinson and the Giants, New York is steeped in an expansive and diverse past with our great national past time. The fervor of the sport is as reflective of our great state as a sport can be, bringing together diverse crowds for the love of the game. New York is the birthplace of baseball and I'm proud to finally make it our official state sport." New York has a long history with baseball, with many minor league teams, Negro League clubs, and the first documented grand slam hit in Troy. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Today's daily headlines.

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

Diane Walden is reporting for The Columbia Paper Hecate [HEK-uh-tee] Energy is reportedly in the process of further shrinking its proposed industrial-sized solar facility slated for construction in the town of Copake. Headquartered in Chicago, Hecate Energy is a developer of solar and wind facilities, as well as energy storage projects. In his Hecate update delivered during the July 17, Copake Town Board meeting, Deputy Supervisor Richard Wolf said he and Supervisor Jeanne E. Mettler met with Hecate Partner and Chief Strategy Officer David Wilhelm, Senior Vice President of Environmental and Permitting Diane Sullivan, and Shepherd’s Run Project Manager Alex Campbell in June. During that meeting Mettler and Wolf “reiterated the town’s two primary objections to the project as currently proposed: (1) it is too big for Copake, and (2) the proposed siting is no good,” Wolf said. He said that while the meeting failed to produce any tangible progress, they had been told the company is currently in the process of revising its plan for Shepherd's Run. "We do not know when that will be, but we look forward to seeing the revised plan, and to further discussions with Hecate representatives,” Wolf said. In response, Project Manager Campbell responded by email, “Hecate continues to work diligently to refine and improve the Shepherd’s Run project. When we began, the project encompassed 480 acres inside the fence. ... The current size of the project is 255 acres inside the fence, a 47 percent reduction. In addition, we improved the project by adding pollinator planting plans with apiaries, creating a robust landscaping plan and removing the battery storage option of the project. We are proud of this project for doing something meaningful to address the climate change crisis that threatens to impact all of us. ....” Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

Rick Karlin is reporting for the Times Union the State Employees Federal Credit Union, or SEFCU, and the Capital Communications Federal Credit Union, or CAP COM are planning to merge. Once the process is complete, it would create the region’s largest financial institution at $8 billion and one of the top five credit unions in the state. Due diligence research and state and federal approval are ahead, but the merger plan was approved July 28, by the institutions' directors. The merger is expected to take place in 2022. Leaders of the credit unions say there will be no layoffs as a result, describing it as a union of two equals. One reason behind the merger was the need to compete as consolidation continues to grow in the credit union industry. Credit unions are similar to banks, offering consumer loans, credit cards and mortgages as well as deposits, but they are nonprofits technically owned by the members. Read the full story in the Times Union.