Today's audio daily news update.

The Times Union reports that the state Department of Environmental Conservation will hold public meetings in the Adirondack High Peaks and Catskills to make recommendations about handling all the visitors to popular spots such as Kaaterskill Clove in Haines Falls. “DEC’s sustainable use initiatives require public participation to be successful,” DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said in a statement. “Listening to public and stakeholder perspectives about the High Peaks and Kaaterskill Clove project areas will provide DEC with the important data to support successful strategies for balancing conservation and public access in these popular Forest Preserve destinations.” The DEC says they are looking into the experiential, social and public safety elements of visitor use at the popular sites. The first meeting is in the Adirondacks May 9, and a second May 10 is from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Coppertree Restaurant, at Hunter Mountain. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Kate Lisa reports for New York State of Politics that Gov. Kathy Hochul publicly acknowledged on April 25 that she has failed to get her housing proposal into the state budget negotiations with leaders of the legislature. Hochul said she would continue to try and build new housing in the state. She said, "We're going to go back.... This is just the beginning of a journey. We're going to work on this until we solve this." Earlier Hochul said the state had an affordable housing crisis, and wanted to build 800,000 new spaces for people to live. But she wanted to override local zoning rules to do that, which was not popular with lawmakers. "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take' — I took the shot,"Hochul said. "Gretzky would say 'You only make one out of five of those shots,' and that's OK. At least we're trying and we're not done. So at least we're trying with the Legislature. ... I'm not giving up." Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Nancy Kern reports for Columbia-Greene Media that construction on replacement bridges in Hunter and Lexington gets under way in June in Greene County. The county is replacing a bridge on County Road 83 over Shanty Hollow Brook in the town of Hunter, and the Timber Lake Road Bridge over Broadstreet Hollow Stream in the town of Lexington. The Hunter project also includes a bridge for a bike path. The Hunter bridge dates back to 1978, while the Lexington bridge was first built in 1987. The Department of Transportation’s 2022 New York State Highway Bridge Data survey said there were 17 Greene County bridges rated as poor, but not these two. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Jammel Cutler reports for Columbia-Greene Media that former Columbia County Historical Society Trustee Richard Ryan of Kinderhook left the organization an inheritance of $250,000 for the James Vanderpoel House. Ryan died in 2022, and his will states the historical society gets the money if they raise a matching $250,000 by October 2024. Historical Society Executive Director Lisa Weilbacker said, “Conserving a historic building like the James Vanderpoel House requires constant care and the ability to meet unforeseen challenges.... Unlocking these funds will allow us to be better stewards for the long term.” The Vanderpoel House dates back to 1819 or 1820 and was built by prominent lawyer and civic leader James Vanderpoel. The Daughters of Columbia County Historical Society, a precursor to the Columbia County Historical Society, bought the property in 1925. Ryan lived across Broad Street in Kinderhook from the Vanderpoel House. There will be a celebration of Ryan’s life at the James Vanderpoel House in June. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Today's daily news audio update.

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

Joshua Solomon reports in the Times Union that several recommendations from a 2021 state-commissioned report about the lack of cell phone coverage in parts of upstate New York have gone ignored or are only slowly being adopted. The 74-page report from the “Upstate Cellular Coverage Task Force” recommended leveraging federal and broadband funding to eliminate cellphone service gaps, and work on getting more grants to fix cell service. But local Republican state Senator Jake Ashby said, “Everybody has said for years there needs to be an efficient public-private partnership.... Clearly, that hasn’t happened and it’s time to stop making excuses and get this done.” Gov. Kathy Hochul's office said officials are working to use a $1 billion federal investment in broadband services to “alleviate cellular coverage challenges in upstate regions.” New York Senator Chuck Schumer was in Utica earlier this month where locals, he said, are at their “wit’s end with a cell phone dead zone that seemingly can’t get fixed." Schumer said he was there to, “turn up the volume a little on Verizon in hopes that they get the message, hear us now, and fix this problem.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Jammel Cutler reports for Columbia-Greene Media that the towns of Canaan, Ghent, Hillsdale, Taghkanic, and the village of Kinderhook are signing up for certification as New York State Climate Smart Communities. To receive the designation, municipalities must implement actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve community resilience to the worsening impacts of climate change. Ghent Town Supervisor Craig Simmons said, “Our carbon footprint went through a lot of energy-saving windows. How often we run the highway truck, adding two people to a truck instead of having two trucks out. We’re looking forward to taking this to the next level.” Ghent has retrofitted all interior lighting in municipal buildings with LEDs, replaced 82 street lights with LEDs, installed an EV charging station in the village of Chatham, and a 5.6 kW solar array at the town garage that produces 5.571 megawatts per hour per year. Chatham Town Supervisor Donal Collins said, “Chatham is dedicated to working toward a cleaner environment and a reduced carbon footprint through multiple projects that include Community Solar Enrollment Program, Heat Pump Enrollment Program, LED upgrades within a special lighting district, Electric Vehicle Charger on Municipal property, Biomass Boiler on Municipal Property, Heat Pump on Municipal Property, and Energy Benchmarking.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

The New Republic reports that Rep. Elise Stefanik, who represents Rensselaer County and the North Country in Congress, often complains about crime, but not when it happens in her 21st Congressional District. Last week a 65-year-old homeowner, Kevin Monahan, fired two shots and killed 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis, who was in the passenger seat of a car that mistakenly pulled into a wrong driveway. Stefanik Tweeted once about how her “heart breaks for the tragedy of the loss of Kaylin Gillis’ young life,” but did not offer any legislative solutions. Last week was invited to join a House Judiciary Committee hearing that falsely framed New York as awash in crime. Even with more than 160 mass shootings this year in America, after the Nashville school shooting Stefanik called attempts for gun control “overly political," and again, did not offer any legislative solutions for the problem. Read more about this story in the New Republic.

Last year there were multiple primary elections, school elections, plus special elections, and the general election between May and November. This year there are just three, according to the Greene County Board of Elections website. School elections, to pass budget and elect board candidates, are on May 16 this year. Then the primary election for local offices will be held from June 17 through June 27 this year. Finally, the general election will be held between Oct. 28 and Nov. 7 this fall.

Today's audio daily news update.

Raymond Pignone reports for Columbia-Greene Media that the group End Citizens Unite has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission on April 11 alleging that Rep. Marc Molinaro violated election campaign law by making two transfers of $1,000 each from his State Campaign Committee to his Federal Campaign Committee in 2021 and 2022. The Federal Election Campaign Act prohibits federal candidates from transferring funds from their state committees to their federal committees. The complaint says, “The Commission should immediately investigate these apparent violations and take appropriate remedial actions against [the] respondents.” Also named in the complaint are Marc for US Inc. and treasurer Nicholas Joseph, and Molinaro for Dutchess. Molinaro campaign advisor Dave Catalfamo said, “This is a baseless partisan attack from a socialist group,.... It is clearly designed to distract from Congressman Molinaro’s successful 100-Day Report, in which he announced he is fulfilling campaign promises and delivering bipartisan results. Bawadden Sayed and the rest of the socialist activists are free to take up their baseless complaint with the FEC.” The statement from Molinaro's campaign advisor avoids any specifics, while the complaint does not. “On Oct. 1, 2021, less than two weeks after filing for federal candidacy, Mr. Molinaro transferred $1,000 from his state committee to his federal committee and disclosed the transfer on his state committee’s campaign finance reports,” according to the complaint. “The transfer from the state committee was not disclosed on the federal committee’s reports filed with the Commission. However, the federal committee’s FEC reports did disclose a contribution of personal funds from Mr. Molinaro in the amount of $1,000 on Sept. 30, 2021, designated for the primary election.” Molinaro has represented the 19th Congressional District in Congress since January. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Andrea Macko reports in Porcupine Soup that last week Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that solar projects at Wende, Mid-State, Greene, Eastern, and Green Haven state correctional facilities may save the state more than $10 million in energy costs over their lifetimes. In Coxsackie, a 17,820-module ground array system has already been installed at the Greene Correctional Facility. Hochul said, "By installing more than 75,000 solar panels at DOCCS facilities, New York continues to lead by example, paving the way for a brighter, greener future for all.” Hochul’s office claims the projects will reduce carbon emissions by nearly 4,500 tons, the equivalent of removing 880 cars from state roads. Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

Nancy Kern reports in Columbia-Greene Media that six candidates are competing for three open seats on the Catskill Central School District Board of Education in a May 16 election. Incumbents Deborah Johnson and Ryan Osswald, and Lee Heim, Henry Haye, Allan Couser, and Joseph Izzo are all in the running. There will be a Meet the Candidates Night at 6 p.m. May 8 in the Catskill High School Library before the May 16 in the Catskill High School gym from 1 to 9 p.m. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Skylar Eagle reports for News10 that Albany County law enforcement and elected officials begin Operation Safe Stop on April 27, an attempt for more attention on laws surrounding school bus safety. Officials are trying to get more drivers to stop when school buses stop, so fewer students are hurt. Albany County Executive Dan McCoy said, “It’s staggering to me and it’s a lot worse.... We’ve been fortunate that no one has been hurt.” Several schools in Albany County, and other local areas, have added cameras to school bus stop signs, with a company taking a cut of the fines that go out to drivers recorded passing stopped school buses. The South Colonie Central School District, for instance, installed the cameras last November, and has already issuing over 900 tickets every month to drivers passing school buses. Albany County has seen $700,000 in ticket revenue over the last four months. “There’s over 700 buses being passed on a monthly basis in Colonie and when you add in the other schools, it’s mind boggling,” said David Perry, Superintendent of South Colonie Central School District. “So we ask that when those red lights are out and buses are stopped that all four lanes of traffic are stopped, that we do our part to keep our children safe each and every day and this is just a step in the right direction.” Read more about this story at the News10 website.

Today's daily news audio update.

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

Roger Hannigan Gilson reports in the Times Union that last week a state commission barred former Prattsville Town Justice David Rikard from ever serving as a judge again. But now he has a new job with the Delaware County District Attorney's Office. Rikard refused to cooperate with a judicial review board investigating complaints filed against him in Prattsville, but now will be chief assistant district attorney in Delaware County. On March 10 Rikard signed a stipulation agreement with the state Commission on Judicial Conduct agreeing to never again seek judicial office. He resigned his Prattsville post on Jan. 6 after being hired as Delaware County’s second-most powerful prosecutor. Delaware County District Attorney Shawn Smith said the investigation into Rikard was, “a little over the top.” That investigation from the Commission on Judicial Conduct was about three complaints against Rikard that involved allegations of, “inappropriate demeanor, unauthorized political activity, and poor financial reporting and accounting practices,” according to the stipulation agreement. Rikard refused to cooperate with the investigation, not turning over documents and refusing to appear for testimony. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Nick Reisman reports for New York State of Politics that state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul approved a fifth temporary stopgap budget measure on April 24, as the state budget is now almost four weeks late. The new deadline extender lasts through April 28. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie was optimistic though, saying, "I think we're getting closer.... There are still a few things that have to be worked out. But hopefully the end is near." The environment, climate change, charter schools, and cannabis issues still need to resolved, according to sources close to the negotiations. Governors like to put many issues in the budget to control negotiations rather than just deciding, yes, or no, about whatever legislation passes. Hochul's proposal to build much-needed housing throughout the state has been already been abandoned in the talks with the legislative leaders. Republicans have been critical of the budget's delay. Local Assemblyperson Chris Tague, who represents Greene and Schoharie counties, said, "If I was back in the private sector, the last person I would hire to negotiate deals would be Gov. Hochul." Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.