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Columbia Memorial Health hospital in Hudson continues to require masks on visitors. On Feb. 12 New York state health officials began allowing COVID-19 mask mandates in hospitals and other health care facilities to end, acting state Health Commissioner James McDonald said. Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranks Columbia and Greene counties "low" for "COVID-19 Community Level." Dutchess, Ulster, Rensselaer, and Albany counties all are ranked as "medium" for COVID-19 as of Feb. 12. The Hudson hospital put out a statement on social media explaining why they are keeping masks on visitors. The statement said, "The CDC recommendations are based on local COVID-19 Community Transmission Levels, which remain high in Columbia, Dutchess, and Greene County.... Based on high Community Transmission levels, CMH continues to require face masks in all areas where patients could be encountered. This applies to our staff, visitors, vendors, and anyone in an area where patients may be encountered."

Andrea Macko reports for Porcupine Soup that Cairo’s recycling center reopened this week after being shut down for two years. Town officials closed the recycling center in October, 2020 after they said there was too much trash at the facility. But then, “A number of people in Cairo asked to have it come back,” claims Greene County Legislator Harry Lennon of Cairo. So now the facility has new containers and fencing, and is staffed by a town employee as the fifth recycling center in Greene County. Lennon said, “People have to be very careful to bring in only recyclable materials. No garbage at all. That was the problem we had last time, and we don’t want to have to take the containers out again.” Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

Melissa Manno reports in the Times Union that the Coxsackie-Athens Central School District says it will be reviewing its social media policies, after the school posted on Facebook a photo of a snowman made from dirty snow with the caption: “This snowman is just as diverse as our students." The school deleted the post and apologized after receiving complaints. Superintendent Randall Squier wrote on the district’s website on Jan. 31 that, “The word ‘diverse’ was used to describe how every kid can make a snowman differently and this variety of creativity should be celebrated. When it was commented that this post could be interpreted about race the post was taken down.” Squier wants more training for employees posting on social media, and a two-step approval process for social media posts. Squier also said he wants to limit public comments on the school district's social media posts, which would block the way the school learned about a problem with the snowman social media post. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Nick Reisman reports at New York State of Politics that New York State United Teachers President Andy Pallotta announced Feb. 10 that he will retire from his leadership post in April. Pallotta wrote on Twitter, "After 37 years in education and the labor movement, it is with mixed emotions that I announce my retirement as President of NYSUT in April." He said the organization's executive director, Melinda Person, should become the next president. Currently, the teachers unions are opposing Gov. Kathy Hochul push to expand charter schools in New York. But teachers are happy with Hochul's proposed budget, which has more money for K-12 schools. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Today's audio daily news update.

Erin Nolan reports in the Times Herald-Record the Attorney General's Office says it will appeal an Ulster County judge's recent decision dismissing a murder charge against the New York State Trooper accused of killing 11-year-old Monica Goods during a high-speed chase on the New York Thruway in 2020. Last week Ulster County Judge Bryan Rounds ruled there was not enough evidence to prove Trooper Christopher Baldner acted with "depraved indifference to human life" when he crashed his patrol car into the Dodge Journey driven by the Brooklyn girl's father. No matter the outcome of the appeal, Baldner currently faces a second-degree manslaughter charge and three counts of second-degree reckless endangerment for the Brooklyn girl's parents and sister who were in the vehicle too. And Baldner also faces reckless endangerment charges for a different incident in 2019 when he crashed into another vehicle on the Thruway, and six reduced counts of first-degree reckless endangerment related to both incidents because the state failed to prove Baldner acted with "depraved indifference to human life." The appeal attempts to reinstate the second-degree murder charge. Read the full story in the Times Herald-Record.

Ted Remsnyder reports in the Daily Gazette that Ward Stone, New York’s wildlife pathologist for over four decades, died Feb. 8 at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Hudson. Stone, 84, grew up in Columbia County and is survived by six children and his longtime partner Mary Bayhan. His daughter Montana Stone said, “There’s not many people who have been able to come from a one-room schoolhouse in Spencertown, New York to accomplish all that he did. From being a Navy corpsman in Vietnam to speaking at the United Nations and discovering diseases like West Nile.” Roger Downs, the conservation director of the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, said, “In his position as state wildlife pathologist, Ward Stone shone a light on environmental threats long before others could notice them and gave a science-based voice to nature in times of crisis when few other state officials would listen." Stone’s work with the DEC ended after a New York’s inspector general report in 2012 claimed that Stone used his workspace at the DEC’s Wildlife Resource Center in Delmar as his residence and also used the agency’s vehicles for personal use. Read the full story in the Daily Gazette.

Mid-Hudson News reports that the Terramor Outdoor Resort has withdrawn its plan for a glamping resort along Route 212 in the Town of Saugerties. Spokesperson Jenny McCullough said in a Feb. 8 letter, “After careful evaluation, it was determined that the project did not meet criteria across several key benchmarks to warrant moving forward.” Kathy Nolan, senior research director for Catskill Mountainkeeper, said they opposed the project for environmental reasons, saying, “It became apparent that what was being proposed for this site, really an outdoor resort, was not going to be sustained by the water supply, was going to damage important ecological resources, and was going to greatly reduce the quality of life.” A grassroots group, Citizens Against Terramor, also formed to oppose the project. Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.

Liz Montgomery reports in Porcupine Soup that the Bank of Greene County is opening new branch in East Greenbush. President and CEO Donald Gibson said, “While we have had a significant presence for many years in the Capital Region, this will be our first branch in Rensselaer County.” They hope to have the new branch open at at 602 Columbia Turnpike, in East Greenbush later in the year. Currently, the Bank of Greene County has 21 branches and offices in Albany, Columbia, Greene, and Ulster counties. Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

Today's daily news audio update.

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

Rebecca C. Lewis reports in City and State that New York Republicans in the state senate are suing to force a vote on Gov. Kathy Hochul's chief judge nominee Hector LaSalle. Democrats already voted the nomination down in committee, but now Republicans want to force a full Senate vote on the judge. Republican State Sen. Anthony Palumbo, the ranking minority member of the Judiciary Committee, filed the lawsuit in state court Feb. 9. Last month, the Judiciary Committee voted 10-to-9 against LaSalle's nomination. Generally, if a nominee or a bill is voted down in a committee it does not reach the Senate floor for a vote. But Palumbo said in a statement. “Justice LaSalle is entitled to a full up or down vote by the full Senate, not as a courtesy, but because the Constitution requires it.” Mike Murphy, a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, said in a statement. “It is embarrassing but not surprising that the Senate Republicans have no basic understanding of law or the constitution.” Read more about this story in City and State.

Larry Rulison reports in the Times Union that the Bethlehem Planning Board on Feb. 7 approved the 72-unit Selkirk Reserve apartment complex off Route 9W, bringing some affordable housing in southern Albany County closer to reality. Town Board approval is still necessary to approve the $20 million project. The development is getting more than $12 million in tax credits from the state. Everyone from the governor to activists agree there is an affordable housing crisis in the Hudson Valley and throughout New York. U.S. Census Bureau data reports that the average rent in Bethlehem is $1,800 a month, above of the "affordable" price range for the average Albany County resident. At this project, called Selkirk Reserve, rents would be lower around $1,400 for a three bedroom unit, and 12 apartments would be set aside for military veterans. If the town approves the project that is located on vacant land near near the Jericho Drive-In, construction could begin in the spring. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Andrea Macko reports at Porcupine Soup that Prattsville is getting some state grant money to improve some of its major roads. On Feb. 9 New York State announced $100 million in funding for state roads impacted by extreme weather. In Prattsville, there is $759,000 to resurface Route 23 from the bridge over the Schoharie Creek to Route 23A, and $448,800 to resurface Route 23A from 0.3 miles east of Route 23 to 0.2 miles west of Airport Road. State Senator Michelle Hinchey was included in the press release for the funding announcement, saying, “Our local roads are essential to a thriving economy and public safety, and these substantial investments will have a direct impact on improving the infrastructure people rely on every day while also ensuring that the costs of upgrades don’t fall on local municipalities.” Read more about this story at Porcupine Soup.

Today's audio daily news update.

Joshua Solomon reports in the Times Union about what has happened in the nearly six months since New York's new concealed carry law went into effect. Since then, State Police say their agency has not received any complaints that could lead to arrests for violations of the new law. Pro-Second Amendment groups continue to mount legal challenges against the new law. New York did see a significant increase in the number of fingerprints it received for people applying for a pistol permit in the past six months, according to data on file with the state Division of Criminal Justice Services. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against New York's previous concealed carry law last year, and legislators in Albany quickly responded with the Concealed Carry Improvement Act, which opponents have been trying to throw out in court ever since. Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple says the new law is a non-issue, with no complaints or investigations of violations. Apple said, "The biggest issue we’re having is about people complaining about the whole process to get a rifle," he said, about added regulations. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Nick Reisman reports for Spectrum News that Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro is telling reporters that on Feb. 9 he will go on the House floor to complain about New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's $227 billion budget plan, which Congress does not vote on. Molinaro is upset that Hochul's proposal could shift Medicaid money away from county governments. Molinaro says he will say, "Governor Hochul’s budget puts these programs and the people served at risk. Her budget steals one billion in federal Medicaid dollars from the most vulnerable to subsidize a bloated and broken state bureaucracy.... Gov. Hochul is stealing from programs that help children, seniors, and those living in poverty – and putting Albany bureaucracy in control of another billion in taxpayer dollars." Molinaro represents the 19th Congressional District, though he lives in the 18th Congressional District. Last week, Pat Ryan, who represents the 18th District, went on the House floor to call for the CEO of Central Hudson to resign, because of controversial billing practices. Read the full story at Spectrum News.

Both Roll Call and Mid-Hudson News report that Democrat Pat Ryan and Republican Marc Molinaro are part of the SALT Caucus for the 118th Congress. They want restore the State and Local Tax deduction that Republicans took out in a 2017 tax law. New York, New Jersey, and some other states claim their citizens now pay double the tax. Ryan said, “The SALT deduction cap is blatant double taxation and unjustly punishes hard working families across the Hudson Valley. I’m proud to stand and fight with colleagues from both parties to reinstate this deduction and put dollars back in the pockets of Hudson Valley families.” The 2017 tax law put a $10,000 cap on the SALT deduction for taxpayers, and New York representatives so far have different plans for changing that. Read more about this story at Roll Call and Mid-Hudson News.

Rebecca C. Lewis reports for City and State that activists in Albany are pushing for a constitutional amendment to ban prison slave labor, and legislation to require incarcerated people receive at least minimum wage for work while incarcerated. Currently, eight states have passed amendments to ban forced prison labor, but prisoners in New York make just pennies an hour for work such as making hand sanitizer during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Constitution bans slavery among citizens, but not for incarcerated individuals. Assembly Member Harvey Epstein, who is sponsoring the amendment to ban slave labor in New York prisons, told City & State, "I think we just need to line up our values with our laws." Read the full story at City and State.