Today's audio daily news update.

Patricia R. Doxsey reports in the Daily Freeman that Ulster County has been preparing emergency responders for the possibility of a train derailing there with hazardous materials. Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger said the county for years has held trainings to prepare for an accident, most recently at the beginning of this month. Metzger said in a Feb. 27 letter to town supervisors and mayors that she plans to do, “everything possible within the purview of my office” to protect communities against catastrophes similar to the Feb. 3 train derailment involving hazardous materials in Ohio. Ulster County has been asking that federal authorities notify them when hazardous materials are scheduled to be transported through the county and are “demanding regulatory action at the federal level to improve rail safety and prevent such a catastrophe from happening in the first place.” A major freight train line runs along the western shore of the Hudson River throughout the Hudson Valley, sometimes carrying hazardous materials. There are 39.65 miles of CSX track in Ulster County. Metzger wrote to her local officials, “We are preparing a letter to the National Transportation Security Board, Federal Railway Administration, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and our congressional representatives urging that tougher regulatory standards be put in place to prevent disasters like this from occurring in the future." Metzger said they have “a well-established hazardous material response plan” as well as “geographic response plans,” which she described as “map-based, location-specific incident plans that provide guidance to first responders to maintain situational awareness during the initial stages of incidents involving the transportation of crude oil and other hazardous substances.”

Jammel Cutler reports for Columbia-Greene Media that Hudson Mayor Kamal Johnson says he is running for a third two-year term, but might not finish his term if elected, as he is considering challenging fellow Democrat Assmeblymember Didi Barrett for her seat in the state legislature. Johnson said, “People need to feel that elections matter and they have to feel that the person that you’re putting in charge has their best needs and interests at heart.” Johnson said he will continue to focus on creating needed affordable housing if he is reelected as mayor. The Working Families Party has endorsed Johnson's reelection efforts. Andy Kaiser, of the Capital District Chapter of the New York Working Families Party, said, “Kamal has focused on creating a more equitable and affordable Hudson where all families have what they need to thrive." Jammel Cutler reports for Columbia-Greene Media

Melanie Lekocevic for Capital Region Independent Media interviews Dr. Dorothy Urschel, the new president and CEO of Columbia Memorial Health hospital in Hudson. Urschel, who took over Jan. 1, outlines plans and goals in the interview, but does not mention restoring child birthing services there. In 2019, the hospital ended birthing services, forcing pregnant women locally to trek to Albany, Dutchess County, or Massachusetts for medical help. “For me, I will look to develop centers of excellence,” Urschel said. “We provide a lot of great care. My centers of excellence will revolve around breast health, women’s health and uro-gynecology, orthopedics, pain [management], gastroenterology and, of course, primary care.” The hospital, like many others, currently faces a shortage of employees. “Ultimately we need more professionals entering the pipeline,” Urschel said. “That means building more capacity for training programs for nurses, radiology technicians, and for skilled physicians.” Read more about this story in TheUpstater.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.

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.

Paul Kirby reports in the Daily Freeman that there have been several recent reports of coyotes in the towns of Poughkeepsie and Hyde Park, according to the Dutchess County Department of Behavioral & Community Health. And the state Department of Environmental Conservation believes that the coyotes unusual behaviors are consistent with the animals being fed intentionally or unintentionally. The DEC urges citizens not to leave food outdoors or intentionally leave food for coyotes or other animals outdoors. January through March is when coyotes breed in New York state, and the animals are more territorial at this time of year. The DEC recommends not approaching wild animals, as they may be rabid; don't feed them; make garbage inaccessible.; and remove outside food sources. Anyone who sees a coyote should be aggressive and stand tall and hold your arms up or out to look as large as possible. Then make loud noises if a coyote lingers, and wave your arms and throw sticks and stones. The NYS DEC Bureau of Wildlife asks anyone seeing repeated visits or odd behavior from coyotes to call them at (845) 256-3098. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Mid-Hudson News reports that this week State Senator Rachel May introduced her “Bigger Better Bottle Bill” that would increase deposits for cans and bottles from a nickel to a dime. The nickel deposit was set in 1982, so it is a little behind inflation. Over 11 million tons of containers have been recycled in New York since the bottle bill became law, according to the Container Recycling Institute. May writes in the bill's memo that, “raising the deposit to ten cents will incentivize the public to return empty beverage containers, reduce litter, and provide additional income to individuals who collect and redeem such containers.” Opponents of the bill claim that the proposal adds to the inflation that consumers recently faced. Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.

News10 in Albany reports that on Feb. 23 the City of Pittsfield announced the expansion of its downtown public Wi-Fi network. The Pittsfield_Free_WiFi signals now reach from the intersection of East and West Housatonic Streets and South Street north to the intersection of Linden Street and Maplewood Avenue, and North Street. Pittsfield's Chief Information Officer Kevin Zawistowski said, “The expanded network provides free wireless internet to those who need access to this resource while complementing our existing indoor public Wi-Fi access points.” Read more about this story at News10's website.

Today's audio daily news update.

Liz Montgomery reports in Porcupine Soup that the Greene County Legislature has voted unanimously to spend $2,195,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act for high-speed fiber internet on approximately 112 miles of unserved roadways in the county. Most of those roads are in the Towns of Catskill, Durham, Windham, Ashland, and Prattsville. The money goes to Mid-Hudson Cable, Margaretville Telephone Company, and Charter Communications. Greene County officials, in a news release touting the spending, claimed that, “With the completion of this effort, virtually all existing Greene County addresses that currently have electric service (on-grid) will have access to high-speed internet.” Officials did not say when the broadband service would be available, but said construction may take place in 2023 and 2024.

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.

Nancy Kern reports in Columbia-Greene Media that the FindByPlate.com website has named the Taconic State Parkway one of the deadliest roads in the United States. The Taconic State Parkway runs between Kensico Dam Plaza in Westchester County and Chatham in Columbia County. The story says the roadway was, "commissioned during the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, [and] the Taconic was designed to be a scenic road connecting the numerous state parks in the Hudson River Valley Region." The story, however, does not cite any accident statistics to back up the ranking, but does say that in 2021 the New York State Department of Transportation improved a part of the Taconic in Putnam County that was previously averaging one accident per month. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Nick Reisman reports for New York State of Politics that the New York Association of Convenience Stores is trying to stop Gov. Kathy Hochul's proposals to increase taxes on cigarettes and ban flavored products such as menthol cigarettes. Hochul proposes to raise cigarette taxes from $4.35 to $5.35 in her state budget. New York Association of Convenience Stores President Kent Sopris says of Hochul's proposal, "What it won't do is stop smoking and the more New Yorkers hear the facts the more they realize that prohibition doesn't work." Anti-tobacco organizations have an opposite view of the proposals, saying they will help significantly reduce smoking-linked illnesses such as cancer. A Siena College poll released Feb. 27 showed that a majority of voters support both proposals by wide margins. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Today's daily news audio update.

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

Andrea Macko reports in Porcupine Soup that Greene County Republicans backed David Costanzo to run for an open Greene County Court judge seat at their nominating meeting Feb. 25 in Catskill. Terry Wilhelm is stepping down as Greene County Judge Jan. 1, because of a mandated retirement age of 70 for judges in New York. The Republicans picked Constanzo over Catskill attorney Monica Kenny-Keff. In an interview, Costanzo stressed his support for gun rights. Constanzo said, “The Second Amendment is a fundamental Constitutional right, and the protection of that Constitutional right is of the utmost importance to me.” Republicans also backed incumbents Sheriff Peter Kusminsky and County Clerk Marilyn Farrell, and endorsed Gerard Buckley and Breanna Lennon for county coroner. Voting for these posts is in October and November. Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

Steve Hughes reports in the Times Union that area residents are questioning Coeymans Supervisor George McHugh's ties to one of the biggest businesses in his small town. McHugh's previous job was as general counsel and spokesperson for the Port of Coeymans. McHugh is also an attorney for three surrounding towns as well as full-time legal counsel for Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple. And McHugh's wife is in charge of coordinating Albany County's economic development efforts. McHugh has also installed a local business owner as Planning Board chair, and then moved his town office to a building that businessman owns. McHugh's adult son works for a port in South Carolina with the same owners as the Port of Coeymans. Several residents complaining about all these potential conflicts of interest would not speak on the record because they said they feared possible retribution. Sara Pruiskma would go on the record, saying of the trouble speaking out brings, "I don't need it, I don't want it, but I'll be damned if I'm going to be quiet." McHugh himself also refused to comment for the story, instead emailing a statement that had nothing to do with potential conflicts of interest. Read the full story in the Times Union.

On January 1, 2023 the Art Omi sculpture park in Ghent started not allowing any dogs in the Sculpture and Architecture Park after 8:30 a.m. This has caused consternation among those who regularly walk with their dogs through the sculpture park, and so Art Omi will hold what they are calling a "Dog Policy Public Forum" at the Benenson Center at Art Omi from 6-7 p.m. on March 8. Their social media post on the forum says that attendees can, "share your thoughts and contribute to Art Omi’s work in making our grounds a safe, clean, and accessible space for all," but it does not say that the sculpture park is considering a change in policy. Anyone who cannot attend the meeting can email feedback to media@artomi.org.