Jim Planck is reporting in The Daily Mail the Greene County Legislature's Jail Committee is considering the possibility of relocating the county Department of the Aging's food preparation services to the proposed new county jail in Coxsackie. The department delivers 200 meals a day, and in 2015, a total of nearly 43,000 meals were served countywide. At a recent meeting, the committee discussed the differences between inmate meals and senior meals, state Department of Health regulations for transporting food, the potential cost savings of the move, the advantage of having greater bulk food storage capability and volunteers’ reaction to the proposal. The jail requires serving three meals a day, but the Department of the Aging's main focus is on serving or delivering one hot meal per day, with specialized nutritional needs for many of the seniors, making the feasibility of a shared kitchen improbable. County Human Services Director Terry McGee Ward said there was concern on the part of department cooking staff about working with incarcerated people, and that seniors the agency serves also have concerns. “The seniors have said, ‘I’m not eating the food if an inmate prepares it,” Ward said. Cairo Legislator Harry Lennon said that scenario was not under consideration, and would not happen. He reiterated that bulk food storage capacity is essentially now the focus. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

John Mason is reporting in the Register-Star authorities are investigating a false deed scheme in several counties in the Capital Region. At least one of the targeted properties is located on 6th Street in Hudson, according to state police. The scam works this way: The perpetrator creates fictitious documents for foreclosed or abandoned properties, naming themselves as trustee. They file those documents with the county clerk’s office and then sell or rent the property, state police said. Columbia County Clerk Holly Tanner said the properties in this scheme are typically in foreclosure or belong to people who are deceased. State police investigator Andrew Behrends said most of the alleged frauds of this sort involve property rentals, rather than building sales. However, he said, a property sale was recently attempted in Columbia County. The transaction was unsuccessful because discrepancies were identified by the realtor and the homeowner, who went to the Hudson Police Department. To avoid being victimized by this scam, Behrends advises people to do their due diligence. "If you see something that appears to be too good to be true, it probably is," he said. NOTE: Tanner is an active WGXC programmer. Read the full story in the Register-Star.

The New York State Canal Corporation announced this weekend the state canal system will open for boating season four days earlier than originally planned, 7 a.m., Wed., Apr. 27. All other dates and hours for the 2016 navigation season remain the same. The New York State Canal System is a successor to the Erie Canal and other canals within New York. The 525-mile system is made up of the Erie, the Oswego, the Cayuga-Seneca and the Champlain canals. Information is available at canals [dot] NY [dot] gov.

Brian Nearing is reporting at Capitol Confidential the Cuomo Administration on Mon., Apr. 25, reminded health insurance carriers they are required to offer maternal and postpartum depression screening. The Department of Financial Services issued guidance that group health plans and insurers must provide, with no copayment, coinsurance or deductible, preventative services such as depression screenings in pregnant and postpartum women. Insurers must begin to provide these services as soon as possible, and no later than within six months. Previously, the recommendation for depression screening was limited to non-pregnant adults and only in instances where depression care supports were in place. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.

UPDATE: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo sent 70 additional state personnel to help combat the wildfire, which has now consumed 800 acres, on April 25. There are now more than 110 state emergency personnel on the scene dedicated to containing the fire.

Governor Andrew Cuomo's office sent more state emergency personnel to battle the wildfire at Sam's Point Preserve near Ellenville in Ulster County on April 25. Over forty state personnel from Department of Environmental Conservation, Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, State Police, Office of Fire Prevention and Control, and Office of Emergency Management are assisting at least 80 Ulster County first responders at the scene of the fire, which started April 23. Two helicopters with 250-gallon buckets are dumping water from local lakes onto the fire, according to Cuomo's office. Rain is expected April 26, which should help extinguish the flames.

The New Paltz Climate Action Coalition has announced a civil protest against the proposed Pilgrim oil pipelines will be held at three locations in the Hudson Valley, Sun., May 1. According to a statement released by the coalition Mon., Apr. 25, protestors will be present between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. at New York State Thruway Exit 21, Catskill, and Exit 20, Saugerties, and from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Exit 18, New Paltz. The Pilgrim Pipeline proposal calls for shipping Bakken crude from Albany to Linden, N.J., through a pipeline that would roughly follow the Thruway corridor. Refined crude products would be returned to Albany via a parallel line. The coalition claims this unneeded oil would further increase climate change. In addition to climate concerns related to the 178-mile pipeline, the group and its supporters are also focused on protecting waterways, public health and safety, the local and regional economies and air quality. Read the full story at the May Day Against Pilgrim Pipelines Facebook page.

Brian Nearing is reporting at Capitol Confidential the Houston-based developers of the Constitution natural gas pipeline have vowed to challenge the state Department of Environmental Conservation's rejection of the project. Constitution Pipeline Company LLC announced Mon., Apr. 25, “it remains steadfastly committed” to the project and blasted the DEC for a ruling based on “flagrant misstatements and inaccurate allegations," alleging the decision "appears to be driven more by New York State politics than by environmental science.” The company said the decision came as no surprise and ran contrary to its effort to work collaboratively with the state to address concerns. The company wrote, “Contrary to DEC statements, the company was not informed of any outstanding issues that it had not agreed to address as a condition of the permit. In fact, during the past nine months, weekly inquiries were made to the department to ensure no additional data was needed. Those inquiries were either ignored or responded to in the negative. It is obvious that the DEC deliberately chose to remain silent to bolster the political campaign of the state.” The company said the permit denial will delay approximately 2,400 jobs expected to be created during the pipeline construction, and generating $130 million in labor income. The decision could also cost local governments roughly $13 million in property tax revenue, as well, the company said. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.

The details of two more adopted school budgets have emerged. Melanie Lekocevic is reporting in The Daily Mail the Coxsackie-Athens Board of Education last week adopted that district's 2016-17 spending plan, totaling $29.9 million, and requiring a .5 [point five] tax levy increase. The district was able to stay within the state-mandated tax cap, at the same time it increases spending by nearly a half million dollars. There will be no staff reductions, and no academic programs will be cut. The school board election is uncontested -- three candidates are seeking three open seats. A public hearing on the budget will be held May 3 at the elementary school in Coxsackie; on May 5 at the elementary in Athens. The Germantown Board of Education unanimously approved that district's 2016-17 budget at a meeting on April 13, according to a report from Debby Mayer in the Columbia Paper. The $14.8 million spending plan requires a .64 [point six four] percent tax levy increase. To keep the tax levy increase below the state cap, the district will have to tap its unreserved fund balance. A public hearing on the proposal will be held Wed., May 4 at the school. Residents will also vote to fill two seats on the board of education. Ralph DelPozzo, Lester Olsson and George Sharpe Sr. are competing to fill those seats.

Local weather forecast

Today: Rain, mainly before 4 p.m. High near 50. Tonight, a chance of rain, mainly before 7 p.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 35.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
WEDNESDAY: Sunny. High near 60. Wednesday night, mostly clear. Low around 31.
THURSDAY: Mostly sunny. High near 60. Thursday night, a slight chance of rain. Mostly cloudy. Low around 38.

Sunrise today: 5:55 a.m.
Sunset today: 7:50 p.m.

LENGTH OF THE DAY: 13:54 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS

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

CANAAN Zoning Board of Appeals, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 1647 County Route 5, Canaan (781-3144).
CATSKILL Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 439 Main St., Catskill (943-2141).
CHATHAM CENTRAL Board of Education meeting, 6:30 p.m. at high school, 50 Woodbridge Ave., Chatham (392-2400).
COLUMBIA COUNTY Board of Supervisors County Government Committee meeting, 5 p.m. at 401 State St., Hudson (828-1527).
COLUMBIA Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors meeting, 8:30 a.m. at 4303 Route 9, Hudson (828-4718).
GERMANTOWN Town Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 50 Palatine Park Road, Germantown (537-6687).
GREENE COUNTY Tourism Advisory Committee meeting, 10:30 a.m. at 411 Main St., Room 427, Catskill (943-3223).
GREENPORT Planning Board meeting, 7:30 p.m. at Greenport Town Hall, Town Hall Drive, Hudson (828-4656).
GREENVILLE Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 11159 Route 32, Greenville (966-5055).
HUDSON Development Corporation meeting (tentative), 12 p.m. at 1 N. Front St., Hudson (751-1044).

Darren Orf at Gizmodo rounds up what the public now knows about the Apple vs. FBI case of the San Bernardino terrorist's iPhone. FBI Director James Comey told a crowd in London April 21 that the U.S. government paid someone to hack open the phone. He said they were paid more money than Comey would make for the remainder of his seven years and four months as FBI director which is at least $1.34 million. Comey says, “It was, in my view, worth it,” although all reports indicate the FBI did not find any useful information on the phone. Perhaps Comey is referring to the legal fees saved, as the Justice Department ended its lawsuit against Apple when the FBI broke into the phone. Read the full story at Gizmodo.