Greg Hudson is reporting in the Register-Star the legislative bodies in both Columbia and Greene counties have passed resolutions urging Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to take action that would ease the burden on individual counties to pay for public defenders. Individuals charged with a crime who cannot afford to pay for legal counsel are entitled under the U.S. Constitution to be defended by an appointed attorney paid for by the state. In New York, that obligation has shifted to the county level. "We’ve always been responsible for the program. It’s a non-funded program the state tells us we have to do," Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden said. Both Columbia and Greene counties have succeeded in funding their public defender programs in recent years, but the state has now raised the eligibility level for court-appointed representation. "They raised the income levels that would make people eligible for indigent defense, Anybody who has income under $47,000 a year is eligible for free representation," Groden said. Earlier this year, state lawmakers passed the Public Defense Mandate Relief Act. If signed into law the bill would require the state to reimburse counties for the expenses they incur in maintaining a public defender program. That bill is currently on Cuomo's desk awaiting signature. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

William J. Kemble is reporting in the Daily Freeman Ulster County’s environmental initiatives and achievements will be featured in the December issue of National Geographic magazine. County Executive Michael Hein made the announcement at SUNY Ulster's Kingston Center, Mon., Nov. 14. The pull-out supplement, called “Dreaming Green," credits the county for encouraging development while at the same time working to protect natural habitats, Hein said. “We’re the first and only county in the state of New York to become net-carbon neutral,” Hein said. “We’re the only county to get 100 percent of our electricity from renewable resources....” Hein hopes the attention from National Geographic will draw more people to visit Ulster County. The monthly publication circulates worldwide and is printed in about 40 languages. The December issue of the magazine will be available at newsstands later this month. Two weeks ago, the White House commended Ulster County for its effort to electrify the vehicle fleet. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Claire Hughes and Bethany Bump are reporting in the Times Union the superintendent of Shenendehowa Central Schools has reported the number of instances of extreme bigotry have increased in that Clifton Park district during the past week. In a letter sent to parents, Superintendent L. Oliver Robinson wrote that some students "seemingly emboldened by the Trump presidential win" are openly expressing both racist and anti-Muslim sentiments. "We are better than that as a school community and I am soliciting your assistance to ensure that remains the case," Robinson wrote. Since Trump's win on November 8, various schools, universities and other organizations have reported a rise in racial and anti-Muslim harassment. The nature of the incidents that occurred in the Shenendehowa district are unclear. Robinson did not return the Times Union calls asking for elaboration. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Nick Olivari reports in The Daily Mail that the Hudson chapter of the Elks is one of the few in the state to avoid paying property and school taxes. That's $14,000 a year the city, county, and local schools do not receive. “They are IRC 501(c)(8) Fraternal Beneficiary Societies and exempt from income taxes,” said David Carr, a past national president of the Elks and who currently oversees lodges in New York, Vermont, Connecticut, and Rhode Island from Crown Point, New York. “They are not exempt from property taxes unless the communities want to exempt them.” Only a handful of Elks lodges in New York state are not taxed. “At one time there were seven but that could have been 10 years ago,” Carr said. The Hudson Elks Lodge 787 did not pay property taxes in 2009 and 2010, when records from the assessor’s office are available, and the lodge applied for an exemption in October 2014 and was listed as exempt in the final assessment rolls for 2015 and 2016, according to public records. In Catskill, Lodge 1341 paid $5,464.31 in property taxes for 2016. Hudson tax assessor Cheryl Kaszluga said she was comfortable granting Lodge 787 an exemption, one of 243 properties that pay no taxes in Hudson. “This is not just the Elks,” she said. “I check all the exemptions in the city of Hudson such as Enhanced STAR (School Tax Relief program), age exemptions, disability exemptions and nonprofits.” But the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Assessors Manual says, “This statute allows an exemption solely for the grand lodge of a fraternal organization; local chapters are not entitled to exemption under the provisions of this statute.” The Elks have a national office in Chicago. “If I was incorrect in applying the exemption on any of the nonprofits, I would remove them,” Hudson assessor Kaszluga said. She added that she has, “a problem singling out the Elks club because everyone who walks through that door wants to know about the Elks.” The Elks, though, refused to comment about the Elks. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Melanie Lekocevic reports in The Daily Mail that during a public hearing on Coxsackie's proposed budget for next year, Town Councilman Michael Veeder asked to eliminate any tax increase for village homeowners. “Everyone took a hit last year and with library taxes going up this year, it would be great to get the village taxes down to a zero percent increase,” Veeder said. The town council then shifted some figures around in the ambulance fund, and now village taxes will not increase and town homeowners have a 0.52 percent increase. No jobs are cut in the budget, and there is a two percent pay raise for town employees. Coxsackie also gets a used ambulance from the town of Hunter in the budget, which is expected to be voted on Nov. 15. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Joseph Spector in The Poughkeepsie Journal talked with local law enforcement officials about the impact of neighboring state Massachusetts recently voting to allow marijuana sales as of Dec. 15. Rensselaer County Sheriff Patrick Russo said the county will have to monitor the Massachusetts law, saying it "does impact us a lot.... I can foresee people going over the border from New York buying an ounce and coming back," Russo said. "Or I can foresee them going over there and actively smoking it and then driving back under the influence of marijuana." Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York legislators have only so far approved a very stringent medical marijuana law. "State Troopers will continue to enforce New York's marijuana laws as they do now," spokesman Beau Duffy said, when asked about the new law across the border. Read the full story in The Poughkeepsie Journal.

Lauren Stanforth reports in The Albany Times-Union that a land sale for the state-funded convention center is in the midst of a state corruption scandal. Political contributions to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the report shows, overlapped with deals for the 82,000-square-foot Capital Center. "Columbia Development sold to the Albany Convention Center Authority [in 2014] for $4.05 million. Public records indicate the sales took place about two weeks before a limited liability company run by [developer Joseph] Nicolla and involved in the land deal gave $50,000 to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's campaign fund -— among $150,000 in donations reported by the governor's campaign that day from LLCs tied to Columbia," the story says. In September Nicolla, 59, pleaded not guilty to a bid-rigging charge, a low-level felony carrying a maximum of four years in prison. The convention center land deal is not the story, "but the interplay of large campaign contributions and public contracts has recently drawn the scrutiny of federal and state prosecutors, even when there is no allegation of criminal wrongdoing, because they can illuminate the relationships of individuals involved," the story, in The Albany Times Union, says.

Local weather forecast:

Today: Rain likely, mainly after 11 a.m. Cloudy. High near 47. Tuesday night, a chance of showers, mainly before midnight. Mostly cloudy. Low around 39.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
WEDNESDAY: Partly sunny. High near 54. Wednesday night, mostly cloudy. Low around 39.
THURSDAY: Mostly sunny. High near 57. Thursday night, mostly clear. Low around 35.

Sunrise today: 6:47 a.m.
Sunset today: 4:33 p.m.
LENGTH OF THE DAY: 9:45 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS


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

COLUMBIA County Board of Supervisors .1 [point one] Committee, 3 p.m.; Health and Medical Committee meeting, 4 p.m. at 401 State St., Hudson (828-1527).
DURHAM Town Board meeting, 7:30 p.m. at Town Building, 7309 State Rt. 81, East Durham (239-8260).
GREENE County Legislature Tourism Advisory Committee, 10 a.m. at Windham Civic Centre, Main St., Windham (719-3290).
HUDSON Common Council Finance Committee meeting, 5:30 p.m.; Mayor's Public Hearing on the 2017 budget, 6:30 p.m.; Formal Common Council meeting, 7 p.m. at City Hall, 520 Warren Street, Hudson (828-1030).
HUNTER Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 5748 Route 23A, Tannersville (589-6150).
PHILMONT Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m., Philmont Village Hall, 124 Main St., Philmont (672-7032).
TAGHKANIC Planning Board workshop meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, Route 82, West Taghkanic (851-7638).
VALATIE Village Board meeting (rescheduled from Oct. 11), Village Hall, 3211 Church St., Valatie (758-9806).

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local news update for Mon., Nov. 14 (4:48). (Produced by Alanna Medlock.)