Matthew Hamilton and Rick Karlin reported in Capitol Confidential that state legislators will not return to Albany Dec. 27 for a special session, but will be back for their regularly appointed lawmaking Jan. 4. A special session would have considered a pay raise and perhaps some ethics legislation. The Times-Union reporters cited a source that said Republican Senate leader John Flanagan, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie had all agreed on legislation to pass in the special session, but Flanagan could not deliver enough Republican votes in the Senate. "At the end of the day, however, there just isn't enough in this package to justify convening a special session and bringing 213 legislators back to Albany before the end of the year," Flanagan said in a statement released just before 10:30 p.m. Dec. 23. Read the full story in Capitol Confidential, a Times-Union blog.

Greg Hudson reports in The Daily Mail that Hunter officials have continuing problems with the town's defunct landfill that was never capped. Waste in the landfill is exposed to the air and any rainwater that falls, and the toxic run-off continues until the town caps the landfill. The landfill was closed 20 years ago, but in 2015 the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation discovered that part of the landfill’s wastewater treatment system was not functioning properly.
 Iron, copper, cadmium, lead, ammonia, and zinc were all leaching from the landfill, and the town paid $7,000 in fines and promised to stop further leaching.
 "The entire landfill is unlined and uncapped," DEC representative Kevin O'Connor said. "At this time there is no discussion of capping the old portion of the landfill."
 Lexington resident and lifelong sanitation worker Sal Mancuso said., "You could be looking at hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of remediation." Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Lissa Harris reports in The Watershed Post that one of outgoing Congressman Chris Gibson (R-Kinderhook) last acts in office was celebrating the passage of the Delaware River Basin Conservation Act. President Barack Obama signed the bill Dec. 16 that Gibson co-sponsored, establishing a grant program for river protection throughout the watershed. On Dec. 22 at the headquarters of Friends of the Upper Delaware River in Hancock Gibson said, “This is a big win.... This program is non-regulatory. The soul of this bill is going to depend on partnerships and coalitions. Folks in local government — rest assured, you will have your say.” Hancock town supervisor Sam Rowe credited non-gerrymandered redistricting with helping pass the bill. A panel of judges, rather than politicians, drew the new districts more on geographic terms. “It helps tremendously to have one Congressman for the whole watershed,” Rowe said. And Gibson said, “I think it’s a good example of why we should have independent redistricting across the country." Read the full story in The Watershed Post.

Amanda Fries reports in The Albany Times-Union that Capital Region nonprofits will receive nearly $14 million in federal funds in an effort to end homelessness from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced Dec. 22. That includes $282,312 for nonprofits in Columbia County; $66,419 in Greene for Community Action of Greene County; and $3,107,365 for Rensselaer County-based nonprofits. Columbia Opportunities and The Mental Health Association of Columbia-Greene Counties got the grants in Columbia County. Read the full story in The Albany Times-Union.

Local weather forecast:

Today: A slight chance of snow, freezing rain, and sleet before noon, then a chance of freezing rain between noon and 4 p.m., then warming temperatures bring rain after 4 p.m., with a high near 38. Overnight more rain is predicted, with the temperature rising to around 44 by 2 a.m.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
TUESDAY: A chance of showers, mainly before 7 a.m. Then skies turn partly sunny, with a high near 43. Tuesday night there could be occasional snow showers, with mostly cloudy skies, and a low around 26.
WEDNESDAY Mostly sunny, with a high near 32.

Sunrise today: 7:23 a.m.
Sunset today: 4:30 p.m.
LENGTH OF THE DAY: 9:08 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS
Today is the fourth Monday of the month.
WGXC suggests calling ahead to confirm time and location.
All numbers are in the 518 area code unless otherwise noted.

Cairo Town Board meets at 10 a.m. for a special session about a suspension of a police officer.

Dan Udell recorded and uploaded Walking the Dog Theater's presentation Dec. 23 of Charles Dickens "Christmas Carol." David Anderson performed the show at Solaris, 360 Warren St., in Hudson.

Matthew Hamilton in The Albany Times-Union reports that details of a tentative contract agreement were announced Dec. 22 between Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration and the union that represents state correction officers. Two percent raises for the next three years had already been announced, and the agreement also overhauls the disciplinary process for prison employees. A recent New York Times investigation that detailed numerous instances of racial bias in the prison system led Cuomo to order an investigation from the state Inspector General. "This agreement fairly compensates the hardworking men and women who help keep our facilities safe, while at the same time provides the State the ability to appropriately discipline those that engage in the most serious misconduct," Cuomo said in a statement. Read the full story in The Albany Times-Union.

Akum Norder reports in Capitol Confidential that the New York Senate Republican leadership is polling members about availablity for a possible special legislative session on Dec. 27 to vote on a pay raise for themselves and other issues. Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers are threatening to sit out the governor’s State of the State speech in January if there is no special session. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential.

DOWNLOAD or PLAY the audio version of the local news headlines for Fri., Dec. 23 (8:54). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

Daniel Zuckerman is reporting in The Daily Mail the Greene County Legislature Wed., Dec. 21, adopted the final environmental impact statement for the proposed Greene County Jail. And according to that document, Native American artifacts were found at the site in Coxsackie where the new jail is to be built. As a result of the discovery, State Historical Preservation Office Archaeologist Tim Lloyd recommended the entire site be evaluated for potential listing in the National of Historic Places. Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden said site was once a flint mine. “We fully expected to find something,” Groden said. “It was a well-known location to make arrowheads.” Groden said the artifacts found were “ho-hum,” and that a fire pit may have been located there at one time. The findings will be sent to various historical or preservation societies. The 400-square-foot patch of land where the items were found will be designated and cordoned off by a picket rail fence, Groden said. It will not be disturbed by the construction crew. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Diane Valden is reporting in The Columbia Paper a Copake Town Court jury last week found Salvatore Cascino [kah-SHEE-no] and his two limited liability companies guilty of operating a solid waste management facility without a permit. The charge is a misdemeanor under New York State Environmental Conservation Law. Cascino was cited by the state Department of Environmental Conservation in April 2015 for knowingly and unlawfully disobeying the law. Cascino, 77, of Larchmont, Westchester County, had yard waste delivered to his Copake Valley Farm property by truck, and then dumped at locations both north and south of Lackawanna Road. Cascino will be sentenced February 27. He faces a potential penalty of $3,750 to $37,500, and/or up to one year in jail. The 300-acre Copake Valley Farm is located along the east side of Route 22 in Copake. For nearly two decades, Cascino has run afoul of the law, violating federal, state and town statutes for illegal dumping, building and excavating. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

The Hudson Common Council acknowledged the retirement and honored the service of Hudson Fire Chief James "Buddy" Schermerhorn [SKEMM-er-horn] at its regular meeting, Tue., Dec. 20. Schermerhorn has served as the city's fire chief since January 2015. He started as a department volunteer with J.W. Hoysradt Company in 1992, advancing from second lieutenant to chief. Schermerhorn thanked the Council Tuesday night: PLAY (:42). Schermerhorn's retirement as chief is effective December 31; however, he will remain a volunteer with the Horsradt Company. Dan Udell's video recording of the full December 20 Common Council meeting can be found on the WGXC Newsroom page.

Rosa Acheson wrote more than 1,400 words in the Register-Star about a proposed handicapped-accessible ramp at Promenade Hill Park. On Dec. 20, the Hudson Common Council spent a long time arguing, sometimes shouting, and eventually approving $100,000 for the ramp at the Hudson park on Front St. Common Council President Claudia DeStefano, Alderpersons Tiffany Garriga (D-2nd Ward); Abdus S. Miah (D-2nd Ward); Robert J. Donahue Sr. (D-5th Ward); and Lauren Scalera (D-4th Ward) voted in favor of the resolution. The $100,000 was originally set aside in the 2017 budget to cover legal costs the city would incur if Proposition 1 did not pass, but Proposition 1 was approved by voters, eliminating the weighted vote system and freeing up the money. "The need to spend this money arises simply from the fact that it was put in the budget as a contingency. There’s no pressing need to do this now. The city doesn’t pick up garbage, the city doesn’t have the wherewithal to schedule police as they need them, because of contract constraints, and here’s $100,000 that’s not even going to solve the problem. And we’re going to sequester it from use, take it off the table, put it aside and it’s not even going to be used immediately," John Friedman (D-3rd Ward) said, who also complained that only a small number of handicapped people will use the ramp. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

The Daily Freeman reports that about 75 people marched in Kingston Dec. 21 to demonstrate their solidarity with Muslims and other minority groups. The Hudson Valley chapter of the group Jewish Voice for Peace organized the event at Wall and North streets in Kingston. The national group is organizing similar rallies throughout the United States during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. On Dec. 21, President-elect Donald Trump did not offer any change from his plan to ban Muslims from entering the country. “All along, I’ve been proven to be right. One hundred percent correct,” he said. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Dec. 21 that insurance companies are now prohibited in New York from refusing to provide commercial crime insurance coverage to New York businesses that employ people with criminal convictions. "This first-in-the-nation action will further break down artificial barriers that prevent previously incarcerated New Yorkers from obtaining work and turning their lives around," Cuomo said. "We are taking one more step to restore fairness and dignity to our society while also increasing public safety by providing opportunity and reducing recidivism." Over 2.3 million people in New York have a criminal conviction on their record.

Matthew Hamilton reports in Capitol Confidential that Gov. Andrew Cuomo kept pushing Dec. 21 for a special session of the legislature between Christmas and New Year's that would consider hurried bills on ethics reform and pay raises for legislators. Cuomo spoke with both Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan Dec. 21, and said, “These are actually fairly straightforward issues. These are not complicated bills. You could read it in a matter of a half an hour." Cuomo also said the next state budget will include cuts because of a shortfall in revenue. “So the budget is going to be tighter than in past years,” he said. “Past budget years the difficult came from the abundance of options. We had funding, what’s the best thing to do with the funding? ‘I think education.’ ‘I think economic development.’ … This discussion is going to be a harder conversation where we won’t have enough money to do everything we all jointly agree that we want to do.” Read the full story in Capitol Confidential.

Local weather forecast:

Today: Sunny. High near 42. Friday night, a slight chance of rain between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m., possibility turning to freezing rain. Increasing clouds. A mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain is expected into Saturday morning in areas to north and east of the Capital Region. Low around 30.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
SATURDAY: Freezing rain possible before 8 a.m., then likely turning to rain. Mostly cloudy. High near 41. Saturday night, partly cloudy. Low around 30.
SUNDAY (Christmas Day): Sunny. High near 40. Sunday night, mostly clear. Low around 20.

Sunrise today: 7:22 a.m.
Sunset today: 4:28 p.m.
LENGTH OF THE DAY: 9:05 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS



PUBLIC MEETINGS

Today is the fourth Friday of the month.
WGXC suggests calling ahead to confirm time and location.
All numbers are in the 518 area code unless otherwise noted.

HUDSON Historic Preservation Commission public hearing to receive comment on proposed revisions and additions to the structure located at 21 Rossman Avenue, Hudson, followed by the regular meeting, 10 a.m., at City Hall, 520 Warren Street, Hudson (828-1030).

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local news update for Thursday, Dec. 22 (3:46). (Produced by Alanna Medlock.)