Here is this week's WGXC Congressional Report, tracking the votes, statements, positions, and campaigns of the representatives and candidates for the 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st Congressional seats in New York. Democrat Pat Ryan is representing the 18th Congressional District, Republican Marc Molinaro represents the 19th Congressional District, Democrat Rep. Paul Tonko represents the 20th District, and Republican Elise Stefanik represents the 21st District. Click here to listen to this report.

Paul Kirby reports in the Daily Freeman that after a Texas judge ruled April 7 that it knows better than the Food and Drug Administration and effectively removed approval of the most commonly used method of abortion in the U.S, Ulster County-based Rep. Pat Ryan re-introduced a bill on April 10 which would reaffirm that the FDA, “has clear and pre-emptive authority to regulate abortion medication” and “not extremist courts.” But unless he can convince several Republicans to vote in committee and on the floor for his bill, it won't go anywhere in the GOP-controlled House of Representatives. Ryan originally introduced the bill last fall, when the Democrats controlled the House and he represented the 19th Congressional District. Now Ryan represents the 18th Congressional District, and the Republican majority leaves him virtually powerless to pass legislation to make mifepristone accessible to women in New York and elsewhere. “Mifepristone is a safe and effective medication that has been prescribed by doctors … over two decades since the FDA approved it. However, the Texas decision has nothing to do with science or medicine and everything to do with radical groups whose only goal is a national abortion ban,” Ryan said. “My priority is protecting abortion access for women in New York and across the country. This legislation will reaffirm the FDA’s approval authority and protect doctors who use telemedicine to prescribe medication abortion.” Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Roger Hannigan Gilson reports in the Times Union that Democrat Josh Riley announced April 11 that he will try again in 2024 to beat Republican Marc Molinaro to represent the 19th District in Congress. Riley lost by a 1.5 percentage to Molinaro in the 2022 election, and was one of the races that flipped a seat giving the Republicans control of the House of Representatives. Riley is quickly gathering support to ward off other challengers, with the chairs of seven of the 11 county Democratic committees in the 19th District signing a letter of support for his campaign. The 19th Congressional District was previously represented by Democrat Antonio Delgado, who abandoned the job to become lieutenant governor. Democrat Pat Ryan then won a special election to hold the seat for a few weeks, but then ran for the 18th Congressional District after redistricting changed the maps. Molinaro has voted with conservative Republicans in his first months in office. Riley said the difference in rerunning the same election in 2024 is that Molinaro “now has a record to run on.” Daniel Buttermann, of Oneonta, also filed to run in the 19th District in February as a Democrat. Molinaro's campaign released a statement in response to Riley's announcement saying, “There’s nearly 600 days until the 2024 election. I’m focused on delivering bipartisan results for upstate New York. I will run on this record if my opponent is Josh Riley, Daniel Buttermann, or someone who has yet to announce.” Riley lives in the 19th Congressional District near Binghamton, while Molinaro lives outside the district, in Dutchess County. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Joshua Solomon reports in the Times Union that Congressperson Elise Stefanik is starting a “Battleground Fund” to help elect more congressional Republicans in New York. This seems like the answer to the announcement in February of a Democrat-controlled Super PAC pledging to raise and spend $45 million to get more Democrats elected to Congress from New York. Republicans currently control the House with a five-member majority after flipping four seats in New York last year that had been held by Democrats. Stefanik is attempting to fund get-out-the-vote efforts with her "Battleground Fund." First term Rep. Marc Molinaro is expected to be among the targets of the Democratic opposition campaign. Molinaro said, “Elise is an incredible fundraiser and knows what it takes to win,.... We are proud to have her as the leader of our delegation.” Read the full story in the Times Union.

Patricia R. Doxsey reports in the Daily Freeman that State Senator Michelle Hinchey isn't ruling out running for the 19th Congressional District seat now held held by Republican Marc Molinaro. Hinchey is a Saugerties-based Democrat whose late father Maurice Hinchey represented much of what is now the 19th District during his 20-year congressional career. In an email on April 11, Hinchey said, “The outpouring of support and encouragement to run for the 19th Congressional District has been incredible.... As a young woman watching what’s happening in our country today, I am currently considering the best way that I can keep helping people and improving our region.” Hinchey was first elected to the state Senate in 2020. So far, Josh Riley, the Democrat who lost to Molinaro in 2022, and Daniel Buttermann, of Oneonta, have announced they are running in the 19th Congressional District in 2024. Molinaro's position on abortion was an issue in the last election, and after a recent court ruling from Texas, may again be in the 2024 campaign, so Hinchey could have an advantage over the other Democrats who have announced so far. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Nick Reisman reports at Spectrum News that Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik announced on April 11 that she will run again in 2024 for the 21st Congressional District and has raised $3 million over the first three months of the year for her camapaign. Stefanik is the the House conference chair, the third Republican in line running the U.S. House of Representatives. Because of redistricting, the 21st Congressional District now includes Rensselaer County. The Malone Telegram reported on April 10 that Matt Castelli, the Democratic challenger to Stefanik last year, will not run again in 2024. In her statement announcing the 2024 run, Stefanik firmly aligned herself with the recently indicted former president. Stefanik said, "We will work our hardest to defeat the Democrats across New York and the country, to protect and expand our House Majority and elect President Trump in 2024.” Read more about this story at Spectrum News.

Paul Kirby reports for the Daily Freeman that a few months ago, Rep. Pat Ryan was on the floor of Congress asking for the CEO of Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. to resign. Now, after Central Hudson did change CEOs, the Democrat lawmaker and the embattled local power provider are teaming up for in-person, one-on-one customer service sessions to deal with individual billing problems. Ryan has been a persistent critic of Central Hudson's past estimated billing practices, as many local customers were getting giant bills, and threats of turn-offs. Ryan, who represents the 18th Congressional District, said on April 11 that, “At this point, the most productive way to fix these issues is to get people to sit down and look each other in the eye.... We have an agreement for Central Hudson to work with my office to hold a series of (meetings) to give constituents so much as a chance to sit one-on-one with Central Hudson and figure out any issues with their bill." The two sides do not yet have specific details about the meetings. Central Hudson has eliminated the estimated billing, added nearly 50 new positions in the customer billing and consumer outreach departments, and promises hiring another 36 people for its customer contact center. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Patricia R. Doxsey reports in the Daily Freeman Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro said on April 12 that he would oppose any attempts by Congress to link passage of a debt ceiling increase or the federal budget to changes to Social Security or Medicare. He promised to vote against reducing benefits for those receiving them or now paying into the federal systems. Molinaro said, “Under no circumstance, under no circumstance, will I vote for a debt ceiling limit or budget that diminishes Medicare or Social Security for senior citizens and those in the system today. Under no circumstance.... There is a way, by expanding economic growth, getting people back into the workforce … there is a way to both not only secure Medicare and Social Security services but expand its benefit to those in future generations and that is critically important.” Molinaro lives in Dutchess County out of the 19th Congressional District, which he represents in Congress. He was speaking April 12 at the Diamond Mills Hotel for the Ulster County Regional Chamber of Commerce monthly breakfast meeting. Molinaro said he has been working with Democrat Pat Ryan, who represents Molinaro's Dutchess County and the rest of the 18th Congressional District. Molinaro and Ryan worked together on a bill re-establishing the Small Business Pipeline Act, and to secure funding for the redevelopment of the former TechCity site in the town of Ulster. Molinaro said, “We as a nation are in a very dangerous place, and that place is where we lack the tolerance to accept different views and opinions and we lack the willingness to come together to confront those things that challenge us.... This feeling that we can only, should only, talk to those with whom we agree isn’t healthy." Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Today's daily news audio update.

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Mid-Hudson News reports that New York's new budget was due April 1, but it still has not been unveiled. State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli says Governor Kathy Hochul and legislative leaders in the State Senate and Assembly have until April 18 to pass the budget or a third deadline extender to make sure thousands of state workers get their paychecks. Gov. Kathy Hochul's requested changes in the 2019 bail law remain the main holdup in negotiations between the executive and legislative branches. But Albany is not a town of transparency, and no one can say for sure what will be in the eventual budget, or when it will be passed. Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.

The Altamont Enterprise reports that Town of Rensselaerville water and sewer advisory committee member Ed Csukas says that the Environmental Protection Agency is going to issue a formal notice to the town because of its frequent water-quality violations. Csukas said that at a town board meeting last month, but did not get back to the newspaper to comment on the issue. Rensselaerville water operator John Bensen and Supervisor John Dolce could also not be reached for comment. The EPA’s regional deputy director of public affairs, Elías Rodríguez, says the agency does not comment on “ongoing or potentially ongoing enforcement actions.” At the town board meeting, Csukas said that Rensselaerville had, “come up on the EPA’s radar … because of the number of times that we’ve fallen below acceptable parameters, and they are going to be issuing a formal notice to the town.” The southern Albany County town's water comes from Lake Myosotis, and recently has cleaning that water as resulted in high levels of disinfection by-products for at least the last couple of years. In 2021 the water exceeded limits on trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids 5. Town Clerk Victoria Kraker said in December that recent upgrades to the water system had decreased the contamination levels to “significantly below” the regulatory limit. Read more about this story in the Altamont Enterprise.

New York State of Politics reports that the New York City National Organization for Women has come out against Gov. Kathy Hochul's nominee for the state's top judge. NOW NYC is objecting to Judge Rowan Wilson’s nomination for chief judge of New York state’s highest court because of his decision last month in the case People v. Regan. On the Court of Appeals, Wilson ruled that a guilty verdict in a rape case should be vacated. NOW NYC’s executive director Sonia Ossorio said, “As advocates for survivors of sexual assault, we are outraged that Judge Rowan voted to strip a rape survivor of justice, in fact he wrote the opinion.” The state Senate takes up Wilson's nomination on April 17. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

WNYT reports that so far this spring, wildfires have burned more than 400 acres in New York. There have been recent wildfires locally in Albany, Schoharie, Otsego, and Orange counties. Slingerlands Fire Chief Craig Sleurs said, “I believe this year started out with a lot more than past years.... We had a lot of wind and that doesn’t help and the dryness of the ground. People think with all the rain that it wouldn’t be that dry but the wind dries the ground out, dries leaves out and everything starts burning on top.” Open burning causes the most wildfires, and there a ban prohibiting residential burning through May 14. Read more about this story at the WNYT website.

Today's audio daily news update.

Summer-like weather took over the Hudson Valley this past week, with record high temperatures, brush fires, and air quality warnings. The temperature at Albany International Airport reached 88 degrees on April 13, breaking the previous record of 87 for that date set in 1977. Poughkeepsie also broke its high temperature record April 13 with 90 degrees reported there. The entire Hudson Valley was given a high fire danger rating from the Department of Environmental Conservation, and brush fires were reported in Orange County and in Schoharie County. Forest Ranger Lieutenant Scott Jackson explained why conditions are ripe for fires, saying, “The tree leaves aren’t out yet, the green grass hasn’t started growing, and the sunlight is hitting the ground directly.... The dead grass and leaves are readily available to burn, especially when we have drier conditions like we are having this week with temperatures above normal.” The annual prohibition on residential brush burning continues through May 14. New York's Departments of Environmental Conservation and Health also issued an air quality health advisory for much of the Hudson Valley on April 14 because of elevated levels of ozone. The good news, for these weather problems, is that rain is forecast for the weekend and beginning of the week, which should lessen the heat, fire threat, and poor air quality.

Thomas C. Zambito reports in the Poughkeepsie Journal that Holtec International now says it will delay the release of radioactive water from reactors at the shuttered Indian Point nuclear power plant into the Hudson River. The company had planned to release the first batch of one million gallons of radiological water into the Hudson River in May. Holtec spokesperson Patrick O’Brien released a statement that said, “While Holtec notes that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has ultimate authority over radiological liquid releases at Indian Point and at other sites across the country, we hope this voluntary pause will be viewed positively as an indication of our willingness to work together with the State and with the surrounding community.” Riverkeeper legal director Richard Webster emphasized that his group opposes any release of radioactive material into the Hudson River at any time, saying, "If there is a way to not discharge this stuff into the river let’s do it.” Read more about this story in the Poughkeepsie Journal.

Nick Reisman reports at New York State of Politics that Gov. Kathy Hochul's new nominee to become New York's top judge, Rowan Wilson, faces the beginning of his confirmation hearing on April 17. The state Senate Judiciary Committee ask questions of Hochul's second nominee, after they rejected her first choice, Hector LaSalle. Wilson has received a far warmer reception from legislators in the state Senate then LaSalle did. If confirmed, Wilson would be the first Black chief judge in New York history. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Rep. Elise Stefanik has a form on her website for constituents to give their opinions on the 2023 Farm Bill. Stefanik said, “Agriculture is the backbone of Upstate New York and the North Country. As Congress is working to draft this year’s Farm Bill, farmers across New York’s 21st District can use this input form to directly share their priorities with me, so I can bring them to the highest levels. Every five years, Congress passes a farm bill that affects a host of agricultural issues. Stefanik, who represents Rensselear County and the rest of the 21st Congressional District is not on the House Agricultural Committee, which drafts the farm bill. Marc Molinaro, the Republican representing the 19th Congressional District, is on the Agricultural Committee.

Today's daily news audio update.

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

Luke Parsnow reports at New York State of Politics that U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was in the area April 13, with Gov. Kathy Hochul touting $21 million in improvements to the Castleton-on-Hudson bridge, where the New York state Thruway crosses the Hudson River, connecting Albany and Rensselaer counties. The money is going to a new eastbound bridge deck, a crash-tested railing for safety, and better drainage to avoid hydroplaning on the bridge that was built in 1959 and carries about 17,000 travelers each day. Buttigieg said, “If you look at that bridge, it represents the very latest engineering and construction ingenuity available in the 1950s. But today, it takes near monthly repairs just to keep it in service.” Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Tyler A. McNeil reports in the Daily Gazette that China's recent spy balloon has inspired some New York Democrats to draft a bill to ban foreign adversaries from purchasing farmland in the state. In the State Senate Saugerties Democrat Michelle Hinchey is introducing the proposal, and Assemblyperson Angelo Santabarbara is in the other Albany legislative chamber with the bill. Santabarbara said, “We saw a spy balloon go over our country, surveying property, land sites, information that was collected and that’s concerning.... So what we’re finding is that, I feel like we’re not seeing enough action in Washington, D.C., to address these issues.” Santabarbara wants the state to identify where potential adversary-owned properties are located, but Assemblymember Robert Smullen, a Republican, said, “We, in New York State, don’t have the resources to define whether or not a foreign entity is controlled by the Communist Party, for instance, or China.” Rep. Paul Tonko, a Democrat who represents the 20th Congressional District, did not comment to the newspaper about the story, but Republican Elise Stefanik, who represents the 21st Congressional District, noted she has already introduced a similar bill at the federal level. Stefanik said, “As my bill continues to gain support, I will work to ensure foreign ownership of American farmland does not undermine our national security, especially as our foreign adversaries increase their attempts to threaten our agricultural land and businesses.” Read more about this story in the Daily Gazette.

News10 in Albany reports that the New York State Department of Agriculture is expanding an initiative to help families purchase food made by New York farmers. The "Fresh2You" program doubles the buying power for SNAP recipients spending money at farmers markets. “This new dollar for dollar match is going to allow farmers to offer more products to our families and allow families to purchase more healthy food for their own families,” Richard Ball, NYS Agriculture Commissioner, said. The New York State Department of Agriculture website has more information about the program.

Brooklyn Vegan runs down the lineup for the 2023 edition of 24-Hour Drone, set for May 27-28 at Basilica Hudson in Hudson. The annual event has been on hold in person since 2019, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year the show is back in person with Yuka C. Honda of Cibo Matto, Wolf Eyes, Liturgy, Sarah Hennies, Laura Ortman, and others performing at the event, which each year is webcast at wgxc.org and broadcast on 90.7-FM. The Basilica Hudson website has all the details about the 24-Hour Drone show May 27 and 28 at Basilica Hudson that will air on WGXC.

Today's audio daily news update.

Melanie Lekocevic reports at Capital Region Independent Media that the Town of Greenville is expected to raise water rates by 26 percent at the April 17 town meeting. Town Supervisor Paul Macko said, “We haven’t had a water rate increase in Greenville in more than 15 years.... I really and truly think that if we had to do it all over again, we would have increased by 1.5 percent or 2 percent each year so the people aren’t smacked upside the head with a 26 percent increase.” Engineers are still determining how large the increase will be. For an average user, the current water rate of $56.20 for 10,000 gallons of water a quarter would increase to around $70 a quarter. The town is also discussing voting for a charge for a final meter reading when a home is sold. Macko also said his town can't get the water meter reading software to work properly, with incorrect bills resulting. "Sometimes it just goes berserk,” Macko said. Read more about this story in The Upstater.