Today's audio daily news update.

Alexandra Zissu reports in the Times Union an unseasonably warm and mostly snow-free winter may lead to the premature emergence of tick nymphs, frogs and flowers this spring, as well as toxic algal blooms this summer. “Any particular winter can see warm-ups and strange aberrations of 50 degrees in February for a short period,” said Matthew Schlesinger, chief zoologist at the DEC’s New York natural heritage program. “Populations have evolved with these changes. It’s the long terms patterns we are more concerned about.” While bears emerging early from their winter slumber should be alright with little food to eat, since they stored extra fat last fall, insects out early might not find food yet. Schlesinger says, “Insects that rely on those plants might be timed wrong. Those kinds of mismatches of timing are what we worry about.” And they may also suffer from an inevitable cold snap this spring. And ticks may be out and about already. “They come out whenever it’s above 40 degrees and it’s been above 40 almost every month and almost every week all winter long,” said Richard Ostfeld, distinguished senior scientist at Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook. Jessica Frost, the U.S. science director of BlueGreen Water Technologies, warns all of this is very difficult to predict. “Biology can be incredibly unpredictable,” Frost said. “We need data to make things predictable.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

WWNY reports that Rep. Elise Stefanik endorsed Donald Trump for president in 2024 March 4 at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Stefanik said, “We see past the left’s politics of personal destruction, we have exposed the corrupt and complicit mainstream media, and we must take our country back in 2024 by re-electing President Donald J. Trump." On the night after a riotous mob attempted to overthrow the U.S. government, Stefanik voted against certifying the fair election results of the 2020 election, attempting to make Trump president against the will of the electorate. Stefanik represents the 21st Congressional District in New York, which now includes Rensselaer County. Read more about this story at the WWNY website.

On March 9, Columbia County's Public Transportation service expands adding a new run of its Shopping Shuttle bus from 6:45 a.m. to 8 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and another on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Public Transportation Committee Chair and Supervisor Michael Chameides said, “Public transportation contributes to economic development, public health, and quality of life.... I’m grateful to be working with great partners to improve this vital service.” There were over 21,000 trips on the Shopping Shuttle bus in 2022, which loops through major shopping spots and other locations in Greenport and Hudson. The Columbia County Board of Supervisors is considering other changes to its transportation policies, and will hold public hearings on the issue at 6:30 p.m. March 15 at 401 State Street, and another online hearing at 6 p.m. on March 28 at meet.google.com/cek-unez-dni?hs=122&authuser=0. The public can also submit written comments by emailing Shari.franks@columbiacountyny.com.

Today's daily news audio update.

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

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.

Raga Justin reports in the Times Union that in Rensselaer County recently, Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik said New York Republicans are starting a congressional caucus to focus on security concerns at the northern border. They aren't proposing building a wall yet, but they want something done as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency says outposts in Vermont and New York have reported a sharp uptick of crossings there. The Vermont outpost recorded 367 encounters with migrants in January. That's more than the total number of encounters during the month of January for the last 12 years combined. Stefanik has been fairly quiet on the subject, just Tweeting vague sentiments such as "Border security is national security" on Feb. 25. Stefanik also claims her office has been in touch with families who have documented migrant activity on their properties. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Nick Reisman reports in New York State of Politics that New York House Republicans on Feb. 27 proposed a measure to stop Gov. Kathy Hochul's budget proposal to use money from Federal Medical Assistance Percentage funds in the state budget that are usually sent to county governments in New York. Republican Marc Molinaro, who represents the 19th Congressional District, was one of those introducing the bill, saying, "Congress intended federal Medicaid dollars to go directly to local governments for services that children, seniors, working moms, and our most vulnerable neighbors rely on." Hochul and state legislators have until the end of March to pass a budget for next year. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

WNYT reports that Rep. Paul Tonko, who represents Albany County and the rest of the 20th Congressional District, is crowing about funding for two local fire departments. The Burnt Hills Fire Department gets more than $121,000, and the South Glens Falls Fire Company will receive about $35,000. The departments will use the money for radios, equipment maintenance, and other safety equipment. Read more about this story at WNYT.

Mid-Hudson News reports that Rep. Marc Molinaro, a Republican who represents the 19th Congressional District, wants to track the rural inflation rate. Molinaro has introduced a bill with a Colorado Democrat to monitor the consumer price index rate specifically in rural communities. Currently, the federal government tracks inflation overall, not specifically for urban or rural areas. Molinaro said, "Rural New Yorkers should never be the afterthought. My bill creates a rural inflation metric so cost of living increases in rural communities are thoroughly accounted for and considered.” Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.

Mid-Hudson News reports that Congressperson Pat Ryan sent a letter to CSX President & CEO Joseph Hinrichs demanding the company adopt more safety standards to stop a major train accident locally. Ryan says CSX trains carrying toxic materials have derailed repeatedly over the past several years, including in the Hudson Valley. Ryan, a Democrat who represents the 18th Congressional District and a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, also wants a congressional hearing on rail safety. Ryan said, “We’ve seen a disturbing pattern of CSX consistently putting profit over safety, creating serious risk that what happened in Ohio could repeat itself right here in the Hudson Valley.... Just like Norfolk Southern, CSX and other big rail corporations spent millions lobbying the last President to deregulate the railways, resulting in the administration withdrawing a proposal to require faster brakes on trains carrying highly flammable materials and ending regular rail safety audits of railroads." In 2017, there was a CSX derailment in Newburgh that spilled 4,600 tons of diesel fuel. There are 131 miles of CSX tracks along the Hudson River and into New Jersey. Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.

Andrea Macko reports in Porcupine Soup that the Villages of Coxsackie and Kinderhook were announced on March 3 as two winners of the first round of NY Forward, a state grant program to accelerate and expand the revitalization of New York's downtowns. Coxsackie will receive $4.5 million in funding, while Kinderhook gets $2.25 million. Coxsackie Village Mayor Mark Evans said, “This grant will allow us to continue the revitalization of our village and continue the vision for our downtown/waterfront area." Gov. Kathy Hochul said, "These investments will help the villages of Coxsackie, Kinderhook, and Cambridge re-imagine their downtowns, enhance quality of life for residents and visitors, and create new job and business opportunities across the Capital Region." Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

Zack Fink with New York State of Politics reports that state lawmakers are getting closer to passing a Good Cause Eviction bill. “I think in the state Assembly, Good Cause, along with all the other housing proposals, that the Assembly has put forward, has a real good chance,” says Democratic Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, who chairs the Housing Committee. The Good Cause Eviction legislation would give greater rights to tenants, including by limiting evictions. Property owners complain it fundamentally shifts the balance of power away from landlords and toward tenants. The legislation would create automatic lease renewals for renters, unless a landlord had a good reason not to renew, such as failure to pay rent. Last week a court struck down the Good Cause Eviction bill in the city of Albany, saying the state, not towns and cities, must pass the law. “The court ruling basically says we need the state to pass a Good Cause bill into law for it to be effective in other localities. So, basically the state pre-empts any local law. So it points to the need even more, for us to take action,” Rosenthal said. Read the full story at New York State of Politics.

Austin Jefferson reports in the Daily Freeman that several Hudson Valley-based farmers are saying there is a lack of farmworker housing locally. Faith Gilbert is lead organizer of the Hudson Valley Farmer Housing Working Group, 16 Hudson Valley farm owners, managers, workers, and service providers. Gilbert says a survey of local farmers found 45 percent felt that housing was a major issue, and one farmer said, “Cost of living and lack of affordable housing has me seriously questioning if I should continue working in an agricultural field.” Gilbert said, “The worst moments of owning a farm are operating one worker short.” In 2021, Gov. Kathy Hochul approved $15 million in farmworker housing funding, with a limit of $200,000 per applicant. That did not solve the problem of housing for farmworkers, and Gilbert said, “If we don’t find a way to solve this problem in the short and long term we will see a lot of farms close.” Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Today's audio daily news update.

Andrea Macko reports at Porcupine Soup that Columbia Memorial health officials are staying mum about where they might put a new medical facility in Greene County after being awarded a $5 million state grant for the project. Catskill and Coxsackie have been mentioned as possible locations, but Greene County Legislator Matt Luvera is complaining that county government officials are being left out of the loop. Luvera said, "My concern is the lack of information being provided to county officials.... The reality is that CMH, and only some in the county, knew they applied for this grant, yet we were not informed of that key detail." Last month Greene County officials said the Hudson-based hospital was moving away from considering Catskill's location near Exit 21 of the New York State Thruway as a possibility for a medical facility. They said then that a Coxsackie location near a different interstate exit was a possibility. But Luvera opposes the Coxsackie site, saying, “Cairo or Catskill―not Coxsackie―should be exactly where CMH should be looking to build or expand. Coxsackie, with all due respect, is not the center of the county and we all know it. That would serve big government, doctors, and southern Albany County… not Greene County." CMH spokesperson William Van Slyke says the Catskill location still, "remains one of several properties in Greene County that has potential for us to locate the new facility.” Andrea Macko reports at Porcupine Soup.

Roger Hannigan Gilson reports in the Times Union that several members of the Hudson Teachers Association don't want students to be allowed to carry cellphones after video recordings of several fights at the middle school surfaced online. The March 1 board meeting where the teachers made their request was attended by more than 200 people. Superintendent LisaMarie Spindler explained how the district was addressing the fights and other recent threats of violence at the school. At one point Splindler said that a girl wielding a knife in one of the videos did not make contact with her intended target. Brianna Conte, the mother of the boy being attacked in the video, disagreed with the superintendent saying, "No, there was not just a stabbing motion — contact was made." She also said the school never called her about the incident. At the meeting Lola Roberts said a male student threatened to shoot her daughter and the district had downplayed the incident. "The school needs to stop pushing stuff under the rug," she said. Spindler admitted the district was not prepared for the effect the pandemic and remote learning had on students' mental health. She said the district was hiring a social worker, a guidance counselor, and a restorative justice specialist with stimulus funds to address the issue. The next day Spindler sent a letter to parents that said, "that we have taken immediate action to enhance safety in our schools, and we are committed to (continuing) exploring and implementing additional initiatives to ensure that our schools are safe, secure environments for our students, faculty, staff, and visitors." She also said bathrooms at the high school would now lock during transitions between classes. The Hudson school board also voted to hire a public relations firm to communicate with parents and the press, paying Focus Media of Goshen $175 per professional per hour. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Mid-Hudson News reports that Congressperson Pat Ryan sent a letter to CSX President & CEO Joseph Hinrichs demanding the company adopt more safety standards to stop a major train accident locally. Ryan says CSX trains carrying toxic materials have derailed repeatedly over the past several years, including in the Hudson Valley. Ryan, a Democrat who represents the 18th Congressional District and a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, also wants a congressional hearing on rail safety. Ryan said, “We’ve seen a disturbing pattern of CSX consistently putting profit over safety, creating serious risk that what happened in Ohio could repeat itself right here in the Hudson Valley.... Just like Norfolk Southern, CSX and other big rail corporations spent millions lobbying the last President to deregulate the railways, resulting in the administration withdrawing a proposal to require faster brakes on trains carrying highly flammable materials and ending regular rail safety audits of railroads." In 2017, there was a CSX derailment in Newburgh that spilled 4,600 tons of diesel fuel. There are 131 miles of CSX tracks along the Hudson River and into New Jersey. Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.

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 some renters in Hudson are getting a break as Section 8 housing vouchers have been increased to 120 percent as of March 1. In the city, the Hudson Housing Authority will cover a larger percentage of rent with the vouchers. Authority Executive Director Jeffrey Dodson said at the Authority’s recent board of directors meeting, “Housing vouchers are highly effective at reducing homelessness, housing instability and overcrowding and at improving other outcomes for families. These vouchers are important because they give people with low incomes greater choice about where they live and ensure that initiatives to build or rehabilitate housing reach those who most need assistance.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Luke Parsnow reports at New York State of Politics that the state's Cannabis Control Board and the Office of Cannabis Management will double the number of adult-use cannabis business licenses from 150 to 300. New York's government has been criticized for the slow roll-out of legal stores in the state. New York legalized cannabis in April 2021, and stores selling cannabis were expected to open last year, but only one, in Manhattan, opened in late December. Since then, another opened in New York City and one opened in Binghamton. A lawsuit is blocking cannabis stores opening in five regions of the state, including the Hudson Valley. So far, 66 provisional licenses have been issued for stores, out of 900 applications. There have been several other reports that stores may open soon in and around Albany. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Nancy Kern reports in Columbia-Greene Media that State Senator Michelle Hinchey is crowing about unanimous passage in the state Senate of several agriculture bills she sponsored. One bill would require any arm of the government that purchases food to buy a percentage locally, but the story does not say what that percentage is. Another bill, Hinchey said, would "establish a hotline, with assistance from Cornell Cooperative Extension, to connect farmers with information and support on tax credit programs, loans, grants, research and marketing assistance.” And a third bill, Hinchey said, “expands eligibility under the Agricultural Assessment Program so more New York farmers can access tax benefits.” Read the full story at HudsonValley360.com.

Raga Justin reports in the Times Union that some lawmakers in Albany are discussing reimbursing the doulas who help women give birth through Medicaid. Doulas are trained professionals who help women through the stages of pregnancy and post-pregnancy complications. Rochester-based Democrat State Sen. Samra Brouk is sponsoring legislation that would direct the state Department of Health to create Medicaid reimbursement rates for doulas. There will be a hearing March 7 in the state senate to consider expanding Medicaid coverage for women who want to hire doulas to assist with their births. Brouk said she used a doula giving birth last year, and said, "When you think about it, we can't even get that part right — how to bring life into this world and take care of the birthing person who's bringing that life into this world." Doulas look out for women, sometimes preventing postpartum depression and death. The maternal mortality rates in the U.S. are higher than other high-income nations, and becoming higher since 2000. And Black women are about five times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women, according to the Department of Health. Other states that have begun offering Medicaid reimbursements for doula services, according to Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute. Read more about this story in the Times Union.