While New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, and many officials in the Hudson Valley, have bemoaned the affordable housing crisis, there are not many affordable housing projects being built. But the Berkshire Eagle has two stories about affordable housing projects coming soon in Western Massachusetts. Great Barrington recently approved Habitat for Humanity's affordable housing project with 20 homes to come off Route 41/North Plain Road. And another developer is proposing a second affordable housing complex in Lenox, just north of his current Brushwood Farm project. That plan, if approved, would add 65 rental apartments in five townhouses. See the Berkshire Eagle for more details about these stories.

Heather Bellow reports in The Berkshire Eagle that at least four large swastikas, racist slurs against Black people, anti-gay slurs and expletives in the sand at Lake Mansfield’s swimming beach in Great Barrington. James Garzon who was walking in the beach April 12, spotted the images, which included the names Wallace and Clare. Garzon said it appeared the racist display was created with a yellow sand fork and a green toy shovel. While there are no surveillance cameras at the beach, police are working with security from nearby Bard College at Simon’s Rock. There was a swastika carved into a bathroom stall at Simon’s Rock in 2019, and another painted on the side of a church in 2020 in Great Barrington. There was also a swastika painted on a section of a rail trail in Adams last year. Read more about this story in The Berkshire Eagle.

Nancy Kern reports for Columbia-Greene Media that the Coxsackie Village Board of Trustes voted to allow the construction of a self-serve kayak rental kiosk at Riverside Park. Upstate Kayak Rental will charge $60 for three hours with a pair of kayaks between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Upstate Kayak has 15 rental locations, including in Coeymans and Bethlehem. Coxsackie Mayor Mark Evans said, “I think it will be a nice addition to the park and a nice amenity to people who want to kayak and who’ve never kayaked.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com..

Today's daily news audio update.

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New York State of Politics reports that the state budget is almost two weeks late now, and virtually no one knows what will be in the budget when it is finally revealed. “Secrecy in Albany is like gravity,” said Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group this week. “It’s one of those immutable laws of science and political physics.” Gov. Kathy Hochul's efforts to change the 2019 bail reform law, we know is holding up the budget negotiations, but the public does not know much more than that. Interviewed on WGXC April 12, Ulster County Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha said there is little information available about how bail reform might change. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD OR PLAY EXCERPT OF SHRESTHA INTERVIEW. Horner agrees that almost anything could come out of the budget negotiations that are largely between the governor and the heads of the state Senate and Assembly. “The way that New York budgets play out because they’re in secret, is that things can get cooked up that no one knew was coming and were not adequately publicly vetted,” said Horner. “But by the time the public finds out, the trains have already left the station.” Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Nancy Kern reports in Columbia-Greene Media that 43 Columbia County bridges received a poor rating in the Department of Transportation’s 2022 New York State Highway Bridge Data. That is 17 percent of the county’s 242 bridges, much worse than the 9.2 percent of bridges statewide rated as poor. Currently, Columbia County is working on the Valley View Bridge in Copake, and in the design phase on the 124-year-old Stuyvesant Falls Bridge in Stuyvesant; a new Stall Bridge, which crosses the Roeliff Jansen Kill between Clermont and Livingston and was closed last year because of its deteriorating condition; the Rossman Road Bridge in Stockport; and the Mill Hill Bridge in Gallatin. Read more about this story in HudsonValley360.com.

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.

Jammel Cutler reports in Columbia-Greene Media that New Lebanon officials are considering making their downtown more walkable, slowing down traffic on Route 20 and Route 22, and making the area more pedestrian-friendly and safer for bicycle riders. Town Supervisor Tistrya Houghtling is looking for federal funding to pay for improvements in 2027. Houghtling said, “Right now, we are in a public input session where we hear from the public on what that means to them.... There are many different options, such as bike paths on both sides, a multi-use path on one side, sidewalks on one or both sides, crosswalks, etc. We will take the information from the public input session and create a few different possibilities to present back to the public then to see what the community wants.” School children waiting for buses in the area will be taken into account in the plans. Town officials will attempt to survey residents about what they want. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Today's audio daily news update.

Rachel Silberstein reports for the Times Union that Gov. Kathy Hochul said April 11 that New York will stockpile 150,000 doses of mifepristone, a drug used in medication abortions. Last week a judge in Texas invalidated federal approval of the abortion pill that has been widely prescribed in the U.S. for more than 20 years. Hochul said in a statement, "Anti-choice extremists have shown that they are not stopping at overturning Roe, and they are working to entirely dismantle our country's reproductive health care system, including medication abortion and contraception.... New York will always be a safe harbor for abortion care, and I am taking action to protect abortion access in our State and continue to lead the nation in defending the right to reproductive autonomy." On April 10 the U.S. Justice Department moved to appeal the ruling made by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, an appointee of former President Donald Trump. New York Attorney General Letitia James, leading a multistate coalition of attorneys general, filed an amicus brief on April 10 arguing the Texas decision could curtail abortion access for millions of Americans. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Nancy Kern reports for Columbia Greene Media that Greene County's Economic Development and Tourism Committee voted recently for the renewal of a 20-year tax break for Athens Generating. The Payment in Lieu of Taxes plan means the power plant will pay millions less in taxes. Everyone on the committee, including Catskill's Michael Bulich and Durham's Patty Handel voted for the tax break except Athens legislator Ed Bloomer, who voted against the plan. Bloomer said, “I listened intently for people arguing for both sides in all of those cases. These are people who I respect and I acknowledge as being far more learned and wise than I. My takeaway from that is my suspicion that if the PILOT goes forward it would be a positive benefit for all parties. However, I’ve uncovered a significant volume of the people of Athens who are disagreeing with that, even though I personally think that it’s the best way to go. As their legislator, I feel I am bound to honor their concerns. With that I have to maintain a reluctant no.” A March 20 Athens public meeting about the proposal featured mostly those against the tax break for the natural gas power plant. Read the full story at HudsonValley360.com.

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.

Today's daily news audio update.

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

Jammel Cutler reports for Columbia-Greene Media that the Chatham School District Board of Education is proposing a $34,372,292 budget for the 2023-24 school year with a 1.98 percent school tax increase for voters to consider in May. The budget spends $754,191 more than last year, a 2.23 percent increase. The proposed budget eliminates one kindergarten teaching position, the school says because of decreased enrollment. And they are also cutting one vendor that provides part-time speech-pathologist services. But the proposed budget adds a full-time speech pathologist position at the elementary school, a kindergarten through fifth-grade literacy coach position, and more support for academic intervention services at Chatham Middle School. Voters will decide on the budget from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on May 16 at the Mary E. Dardess Elementary School gym. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

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.

News10 reports that several local drive-in movie theaters open this weekend and next. Coxsackie's Hi-Way Drive-In, on Route 9, opens this weekend with "Renfield," "Cocaine Bear," "Super Mario Bros," and other films. There are also drive-ins in Palatine Bridge and Glenmont opening April 14. The following week, drive-ins in Malta, Averill Park, and Broadalbin resume screenings, while Greenville's Drive-In doesn't restart until June 30. Read the full story on the News10 website.