From WOOC: "Advocates and lawmakers gathered at the New York State Capitol on Jan. 29 to rally for free school meals for every student in the state. Expanded federal guidelines require that at least 25 percent of a school’s students need to be eligible for free or reduced meals in order for the school to provide free meals to everyone." Local state Sen. Michelle Hinchey was among those backing the efforts to expand the free meal program.

From WOOC: "Legislation is pending in the NYS Legislature to implement climate education in our public school systems. Emily Fano with the National Wildlife Federation in NYC and Associate Professor Alexa Schindel of SUNY Buffalo talk with WOOC's Mark Dunlea about the need for such education and what the bill seeks to accomplish."

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Molly Burke reports in the Times Union that former Rep. Liz Cheney, a Republican from Wyoming, this week pointed out Rep. Elise Stefanik's reversal of opinion on the events of Jan. 6, 2021. On that day, Stefanik called the attempted coup a “tragic day for America.” Stefanik, who represents Rensselaer County and the rest of the 21st Congressional District, also originally condemned the “dangerous violence and destruction that occurred today at the United States Capitol.” She also called for the prosecution of "perpetrators of this un-American violence and destruction." But now she calls those perpetrators "hostages." Stefanik has also said recently that “baseless witchhunt investigations” into the actions of those who stormed the U.S. Capitol were threats to democracy. Stefanik has also complained about the prosecution of criminals who attempted to overthrow a fair election, calling it the “weaponization of the federal government.” Cheney pointed to Stefanik’s original statement as a “rare moment of honesty,” and said, "One day she will have to explain how and why she morphed into a total crackpot.” In her book, “Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning,” which was released in December, Cheney wrote that Stefanik was once a “reasonable and thoughtful” member of Congress, but that “she had undergone a dramatic transition into a Trump sycophant over the past 18 months.” Stefanik’s spokesperson, Alex DeGrasse, said, “On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Liz Cheney is spending her Saturday morning having a mental breakdown looking at archives of years old press releases.... Liz is lashing out as usual because she hates that the American people sent her packing and she will never hold any elected office again.” Read more about this story in the Times Union

Andrea Macko reports in Porcupine Soup about a massive redevelopment of the Blackhead Mountain Lodge & Country Club in Round Top that is going before the Cairo Planning Board. The proposal would include approximately 126 units, a 91,500-square-foot main lodge, tennis courts, pools, a restaurant, bar, helipad, and 288 parking spaces on 102.31 acres. The proposal is from RCBG JV Manager, LLC of San Francisco, CA, and real estate and hotel developers Donald Chick and R Henry Courtemanche of California are named within the numerous documents submitted to the town. The Massmaann family ran the property as a family business for five generations, but sold it last year. It previously included an 18-hole golf course, 22 lodging rooms, a restaurant, and club house, but the golf course is not included in the redevelopment plans. The proposal says the project will result in an increase in traffic, but "we expect the existing traffic control at the area intersections (stop signs) will be adequate in managing future volumes.” Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

David Robinson reports in the Poughkeepskie Journal that New York’s slow rollout of adult-use cannabis retail stores may be further delayed with a new lawsuit alleging the state is discriminating against white men in its licensing of stores. An Onondaga County-based company, Valencia Ag, filed an anti-discrimination lawsuit in federal court last week, claiming in part that state laws and regulators unjustly favor non-white races and ethnicities in awarding cannabis business licenses. When legislators legalized recreational cannabis in 2021, they prioritized business licenses for those harmed by prior decades of racially biased enforcement of cannabis prohibition. The application process for retail licenses is now open to all applicants, but New York continues to favor social and economic equity when considering licenses. Valencia Ag wants unspecified damages, and is currently paying $2,000 per month to lease business space while it waits to get a license. Read more about this story in the Poughkeepskie Journal.

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Lana Bellamy reports for the Times Union that some business owners are upset because Central Hudson wants to raise rates 16 percent on the average residential electric bill and 19 percent on the average natural gas bill to pay for system upgrades. The Public Utility Law Project, a consumer advocacy group, filed a motion in October to block the rate increase, citing an ongoing Public Service Commission investigation into Central Hudson billing errors. And many local politicians are against the rate increase, with Rep. Pat Ryan showing up with the business owners and activists at a Jan. 26 press conference in Kingston. Ryan said, “Central Hudson’s proposed double-digit rate increase is blatant corporate greed." Central Hudson spokesperson Joe Jenkins said the company is working to resolve all its customers’ concerns in a timely fashion, and said, “That is why we have scheduled two additional customer service events in the coming months that give an opportunity to customers who have come to us through their elected officials to discuss any lingering concerns they may have." Read more about this story in the Times Union.

The Daily Freeman reports that State Sen Michelle Hinchey, who represents Greene County, and much of Columbia, Ulster, and Dutchess counties, led a rally at the state Capitol Jan. 29 asking for an expansion of the state’s Healthy School Meal program to provide free breakfast and lunch to all K-12 students in the state. Hinchey said, “Every student, family, school, and community in New York should have the opportunity to benefit from School Meals for All, and we won’t stop fighting until we deliver a permanent, universal program.” Hinchey's office said that 347,000 students in 1,200 schools got access to free school meals in the 2023-2024 school year, but 321,000 students in 650 schools could have used those meals too. Hinchey said, “Since we expanded Healthy School Meals last year, the transformative progress we expected is unfolding in communities across New York State.... More students have gained access to free breakfast and lunch, and with that, we’re actively breaking the stigma of food insecurity, keeping kids healthy, and helping them learn better, all while saving families money every week.” Massachusetts, Vermont, California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Michigan now have universal school meal programs. Legislators recently returned to Albany and are considering next year's budget. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Andrea Macko reports for Porcupine Soup that a Catskill shop selling cannabis is now waiting for a state license, after the Village of Catskill Planning Board last week approved their application for a retail store on a commerical strip off State Route 9W. The Catskill Roots store will open in a 2,020-square-foot concrete garage. The Juice Branch, currently on West Bridge Street in Catskill, is opening in another building on the property. New York has been slow to give out licenses for retail stores, almost three years after recreational cannabis was legalized. Albany and Rensselaer counties have the nearest local cannabis stores at this time. Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

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Four local school systems are considering consolidating their football teams. In Columbia County, Hudson schools are talking about merging with Chatham High's football program, and in Greene County Andrea Macko reports in Porcupine Soup that Greenville is considering a football merger with Coxsackie-Athens schools. At a Board of Education meeting earlier in January Greenville Athletic Director Denise Wickham said, “As you may recall, I was up here talking about this before COVID and we were talking about getting into a three-way merger with Catskill, Cairo, and Greenville.” For the last two years, Hudson’s varsity football team has prematurely ended its seasons because it could not sustain the minimum number of players required. Hudson's Athletic Director Shawn Briscoe said at a school board meeting that “Chatham is more than just considering it as an option.... They are really considering it.” Schools could split the annual average cost of $49,000 for fielding a modified and varsity team. But Greenville's Wickham said, “The merger deadline for this is February 1.... So, if this is something that Greenville is considering then we need to make a decision soon.” Locally, the Catskill and Cairo-Durham schools have already merged their football programs.

Phillip Pantuso reports in the Times Union that before this year's primary election, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is adding Josh Riley to its “Red to Blue” program for “top-tier candidates” who could retain or flip competitive swing districts in the House of Representatives. Riley lost to inbumbent Republican Marc Molinaro in 2022, and Ballotpedia says faces fellow Democrats Dan Buttermann and John Cerullo are also running against Riley in a primary election in June for the 19th Congressional District seat. Buttermann previously ran for the state Assembly. Riley, an attorney in the private and governmental sectors, lost by 1.5 points to Molinaro in 2022, flipping the New York seat to Republicans, and helping them get a very narrow majority in the House. So far, Molinaro has raised $2.2 million and Riley has $2 million in new campaign funds. Riley said of the backing, “Local, state and national leaders are backing our campaign because they know upstate New York will decide control of the House, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.... While career politician Marc Molinaro is selling us out to the special interests buying his votes, I’m fighting to strengthen the middle class, protect Social Security and defend a woman’s right to choose. Voters are ready for change, and that’s why we will win this November.” Voting in the primary election is in June, unless delayed because New York state still has not drawn the Congressional District lines. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

The Daily Freeman reports that average gasoline prices were up and flat across the Mid-Hudson Valley last week, with not many areas reporting falling prices, according to GasBuddy. In Ulster County, gas remained the same at $3.07 a gallon, while Dutchess saw a two-cent increase to $3.16. In Greene County, gas prices jumped a nickel to $3.06 cents-per-gallon, while Columbia County customers saw prices dip a penny to $3.12. The New York state average was up 1.5 cents per gallon to $3.22, but still down 10.8 cents per gallon from a month ago and down 31.2 cents from last year. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

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Justin Izzo and Bernadette Hogan report for New York State of Politics that the Department of Justice said Jan. 26 that former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo subjected more than a dozen female employees to "a sexually hostile work environment." An investigation conducted with the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York found that Cuomo repeatedly “subjected at least thirteen female employees” of the state to “non-consensual sexual contact; ogling; unwelcome sexual comments; gender-based nicknames; comments on their physical appearances; and/or preferential treatment based on their physical appearances.” The Department of Justice also said that Cuomo’s senior staff retaliated against four of the women he harassed. Cuomo attorney Rita Glavin called the announcement, “nothing more than a political settlement with no investigation.... The DOJ ‘investigation’ was based entirely on the NYS Attorney General's deeply flawed, inaccurate, biased, and misleading report.... At no point did DOJ even contact Governor Cuomo concerning these matters.” Current Gov. Kathy Hochul said, "The moment I took office, I knew I needed to root out the culture of harassment that had previously plagued the Executive Chamber and implement strong policies to promote a safe workplace for all employees, and took immediate action to do so.... I am pleased that the U.S. Department of Justice has acknowledged the significance of those efforts, and look forward to partnering with them as we continue to build upon that success." Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

On social media Jan. 28 local activist Dan Udell announced, "the passing of our dearest Mary Elizabeth Udell on Friday, January 26, 2024. She died peacefully among her family." The couple have been active community members in the Hudson Valley since moving to Taghkanic in 2002. A few year later the couple launched Hudson Reads, a program where volunteers read to middle school children who need extra tutoring, and the Video Generation Club, where they trained young people to record community meetings and events on video. The Udells worked with WGXC to get the recordings of local town meetings and community events on the radio. Mary Udell also volunteered with Black Arts and Culture Festival every year, operating a exhibition tent for visual artists and published a yearly guide book of summer activities for low income youth, "Hudson is a Summer Festival." There was no announcement about any services.

Andrea Macko reports in Porcupine Soup that Cornwallville's Gavin’s Irish Country Inn is for sale. The resort has been one of the Durham-area live music venues for six decades. Bernadette Gavin Palmieri and her husband Brian Palmieri are third generation owners, and Bernadette said, “My husband Brian and I just feel it is the time to sell, if possible, due primarily to financial loss over the past few years due to payroll increases, taking on an additional mortgage, and inflation of goods." In February of 2022, the couple also reopened the old Saloon of East Durham on Route 145 as an Irish café, pub, bakery, and gift shop named Nellie’s after Bernadette’s grandmother, which has been for sale since last summer. The resort now for sale is listed for $4.25 million for 40 acres with a motel with 56 units, two single-family homes, a bar, a dining hall, a restaurant, a commercial kitchen, an outdoor pool, an outdoor stage, outdoor seating areas, and a playground. Bernadette Gavin Palmieri also said, "our children are at a critical age and we want to have that time with them that has been lost trying to save our business these past few years during the pandemic.” Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.