Greg Hudson is reporting in The Daily Mail the Friends of St. Pat's said Tue., Sept. 27, the group intends to appeal the decision of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany to close Catskill's St. Patrick's Church. After consulting with an expert on church law, the group decided to move forward with their efforts to have the church reopened. The diocese told The Daily Mail last week that Bishop Edward Scharfenberger signed a decree in July, relegating the historic church from divine to secular use. The leaders of the friends group said neither the parish community nor the group itself were notified of the decree when it was issued. “We’ve asked everybody, I checked all the bulletins from the past two months since the decree of relegation was issued and there was no notification of it,” group leader Anthony Petrianni said. In fact, Petrianni said, parish leaders made no mention of the decree until last weekend. He said the parish is still entitled to file an appeal even though the decree was issued more than two months ago, because the parish was not notified in a timely manner. Petrianni said an appeal will be filed with the bishop by the end of this week. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Matthew Hamilton is reporting at Capitol Confidential a Time Warner Cable/Siena College poll has Republican John Faso leading Democrat Zephyr Teachout by one point in the 19th Congressional District race. The poll was released late Tue., Sept. 27. The poll has Faso ahead of Teachout 43 to 42, and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump ahead of Democrat Hillary Clinton by five points. Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said nearly half of those surveyed have not yet heard from Teachout's campaign, and more than half have still not heard from Faso. Teachout leads in Ulster and Dutchess counties by 15 points. Faso leads in the Capital Region by 19 points. Faso and Teachout are competing to replace Kinderhook Republican Chris Gibson, who announced at the beginning of his third term that he would not seek reelection. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.

Robert Gavin is reporting in the Times Union the state's former Chief Judge, Jonathan Lippman, told a judicial panel Tue., Sept. 27, that he would support a constitutional convention next year to ensure New York guarantees civil legal services for the poor. Every 20 years, voters in New Yorkers have the opportunity to decide whether to hold a constitutional convention. The next time the question will appear on the ballot is Nov. 7, 2017. "I think it is really a tremendous opportunity," Lippman, told the panel meeting at the Court of Appeals in Albany. Lippman made civil legal services for the poor his signature issue during the time he served as the state's top judge. "We need to change the priorities of society," Lippman told the panel Tuesday. He said legal representation for the poor in civil matters is as important as schools and hospitals and housing. The panel also heard from Albany businessman Edward P. Swyer, who is involved with The Legal Project, which offers pro bono legal support to the working poor in civil cases. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Emilia Teasdale reports in The Columbia Paper that the Kinderhook Village Board was concerned with cost overruns on construction to replace the village's burnt-down garage at a special meeting last week. New requests for the new Department of Works garage added $5,000 to the $357,000 project. Insurance money is paying to rebuild the structure. “It’s only a garage for two employees and four trucks,” Trustee Rich Phillips said at the meeting, adding that he had hoped the building could be completed for $357,000. He was the sole vote against approving the added costs. “We are all reluctant but we are so close,” said Mayor Jim Dunham. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

Rick Karlin reports in Capitol Confidential that Catskill and Kinderhook were among the local towns on Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s list of municipalities under fiscal stress. The list is based on 2015 figures that consider year-end balances, fixed costs, use of short term debt, and cash on hand. The city of Albany is under “significant fiscal stress," according to the report. Local towns under “moderate fiscal stress” include Poughkeepsie, and the towns of Coeymans. And "susceptible to fiscal stress" include Catskill in Greene County, Kinderhook in Columbia County, Rochester in Ulster County, and East Fishkill in Dutchess County. Read the full story in Capitol Confidential.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation Sept. 26 that stops your cell phone company from charging you more for dying. Telecommunications companies and utility providers now can't charge a contract termination or early cancellation fee when a customer dies in the state. "This was a heartless and inappropriate policy that is mostly borne by grieving New Yorkers grappling with the loss of a loved one," Cuomo said in a press release. "Ending these fees is the right thing to do and will spare those in mourning from this annoying burden." Landline, cell phone, television, internet, energy, and water service providers are all prohibited from adding fees to the dead under the bill.

Joseph Spector reports in The Poughkeepsie Journal that uncollected tolls increased 23 percent between 2013 and 2014 on the New York State Thruway, a $2.5 million loss of revenue for an agency struggling to not raise tolls and build a $3.9 billion new Tappan Zee Bridge north of New York City. The story -- based of FOIA requests the Thruway Authority was slow to fill -- shows that in the mid-Hudson Valley, uncollected tolls rose in 2014 after four years of declines. Thruway Authority officials told the paper they have increased penalties for toll scofflaws in recent months, with the state Department of Motor Vehicles now able to suspend the registration of motorists who fail to pay five tolls, fees, and other charges over 18 months. Now tolls are switching to a cashless system without toll-takers, and if drivers don’t have E-ZPass, they get a bill in the mail after a camera shot is taken of the license plate. Read the full story in The Poughkeepsie Journal.

Local weather forecast:

Today: Patchy fog in the early morning. Otherwise, mostly sunny. High near 68. Wednesday night, a chance of showers, mainly after 1 a.m. Increasing clouds. Low around 51.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
THURSDAY: Showers likely, mainly after 3 p.m. Mostly cloudy. High near 65. Thursday night, showers likely, mainly before 8 p.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 51.
FRIDAY: Showers likely, mainly before 2 p.m. Cloudy. High near 60. Friday night, a chance of showers. Cloudy. Low around 53.

Sunrise today: 6:50 a.m.
Sunset today: 6:40 p.m.

LENGTH OF THE DAY: 11:49 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS

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

ANCRAM Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 7:30 p.m., Town Hall, 1416 County Route 7, Ancram (329-6512).
CATSKILL Village Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Washington Irving Senior Center, 15 Academy Street., Catskill (943-1343).
CHATHAM Village Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 77 Main Street, Chatham (392-5821).
CHATHAM Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 488 Route 295, Chatham (392-1651).
COLUMBIA County Board of Supervisors Airport Sub-committee meeting, 4 p.m.; Public Works Committee meeting, 5 p.m.; at 401 State Street, Hudson (828-1527).
COPAKE Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 230 Mt. View Road, Copake (329-1234).
HUDSON Common Council DPW Committee, 5:30 p.m.; Legal Committee, 6:15 p.m., at City Hall, 520 Warren St., Hudson (828-1030).
HUNTER Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 7955 Main St., Hunter (589-6150).
WINDHAM Town Board meeting, 8 p.m. at Town Hall, 371 State Rt. 296, Hensonville (734-4170).

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local news update for Tuesday, September 27 (3:08). (Produced by Alanna Medlock.)