Today's audio daily news update.

Pamela Brown and Gregory Krieg report for CNN about how important Rep. Elise Stefanik was to getting Rep. George Santos elected. Stefanik, a Republican, represents New York's 21st Congressional District, which now includes Rensselaer County. Santos was just elected as a Republican from Long Island, with a long list of outrageous lies that are being uncovered daily. “I would have never donated without Elise,” said Ken Salamone, who gave $5,800 to Santos’ campaign and more than $20,000 to his joint fundraising committee. “I assumed she did her homework. I always do my homework and didn’t. Shame on me.” Kristin Bianco is another Republican donor who said Stefanik convinced her to give to Santos. But after she gave Santos $550, she said he lied to her about whether Donald Trump had endorsed him. “He was after me to become a big donor…he was such a fraud,” Bianco said. “I tried to warn people.” CNN quotes a third, anonymous donor to Santos who said, “he donated to George Santos because of Elise Stefanik’s endorsement.” All Stefanik will say, through a spokesperson, is that she was not, “aware of the allegations (against Santos) prior to the New York Times reporting,” which came after the election. CNN also quotes a senior Republican strategist involved in campaigns before the midterms saying, “Stefanik’s team was laser focused on electing Santos to Congress – more than just about any other race in the country.” The Stefanik spokesperson denied any involvement with the campaign of Santos, saying, “At no point did any staff for Congresswoman Stefanik work or advise this candidate.” Stefanik Tweeted her endorsement of Santos on August 11, 2021. On May 23, 2022, Stefanik Tweeted that she had helped raise more than $100,000 for Santos. Read more about this story at CNN.

The Daily Freeman reports that four members of the far-right Oath Keepers group were convicted Jan. 23 of seditious conspiracy for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021 attempted coup and attack on the U.S. Capitol, in the second major trial associated with the attacks that day. One of the men convicted was Robert Minuta, the former owner of a Newburgh, New York tattoo shop. Minuta now lives in Prosper, Texas. The former owner of the Casa Di Dolore shop on Broadway in Newburgh was convicted with Joseph Hackett of Sarasota, Florida; David Moerschel of Punta Gorda, Florida; and Edward Vallejo of Phoenix. The men remain in home detention with electronic monitoring while awaiting sentencing. “Our democracy was under attack, but for the defendants it was everything they trained for and a moment to celebrate,” prosecutor Louis Manzo told jurors in his closing argument. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Nick Reisman at New York State of Politics reports that confirmed influenza cases have declined by 50 percent in New York, state health officials reported on Jan. 23. They urged people to remain cautious as the flu, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV remain widespread. Flu cases fee from 14,656 to 7,373 cases in the week ending Jan. 14, the fifth consecutive week of decline. Hospitalizations fell by 52 percent too. Acting State Department of Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, "Seeing fewer people sick with the flu is encouraging. But we are still seeing cases and protecting our children and the most vulnerable remains very important.... If you are sick with the flu, stay home so you do not spread this illness to others. If they haven’t already done so, New Yorkers should get a flu shot to help protect against getting serious disease from the flu.” The Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention moved Greene and Columbia counties to "low" spread of COVID-19 recently, while Albany and Rensselaer counties remain "high" for spread of COVID-19. Read the full story at New York State of Politics reports.

Emilia Teasdale reports in the Columbia Paper that the Kinderhook Town Board voted on January 9, amending the town code to prohibit hunting on town land. Town Attorney Andy Howard said it is a gray area in state law whether people can hunt on state land, and the law now makes it explicit that they cannot shoot at deer in the town park. The town’s Volunteer Park off State Farm Road includes 77 acres, but now, “it shall be unlawful to engage in any type of hunting, including but not limited to hunting with a bow, shotgun and/or rifle, upon the town park, playground or recreational areas.” The penalty for offenses “shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $250 or by imprisonment for not more than 15 days or both.” Read the full story in the Columbia Paper.

With Governor Hochul's proposed budget due by February 1, environmental groups are making a push for her to include the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Act by Senator May, which would require product manufacturers to detoxify packaging materials, and reduce packaging waste by 50 percent over the next decade; and to expand the 40-year old bottle bill to raise the deposit to a dime and to coverage more beverage containers. Ryan Carson of NYPIRG talks with WOOC's Mark Dunlea.

Today's daily news audio update.

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

Closings and delays for Tue, Jan. 24

Closings in Greene County:
Hunter-Tannersville Central School District | Delayed two hours. No morning BOCES.
Windham-Ashland-Jewett Centra School District | Delayed two hours.

Brendan J. Lyons reports for the Times Union that. the estate of the late Jason Jones, the man who died more than a year ago after he was set on fire when a police officer fired a Taser at him, has taken legal action against the village of Catskill. Justin Jones filed a federal lawsuit on January 20, against the village of Catskill, as well as police officers Mark Nazi, who fired the Taser, Daniel Goldpaugh and Nicholas Craig, alleging Jason's civil rights were violated. Nazi, Goldpaugh, and Craig were all accused of using excessive force, failing to follow their training, and running away rather than coming to Jones' aid as he burned in the lobby of the village police station in October 2021. Goldpaugh and Craig are also accused of failing to stop Nazi from discharging his Taser in a way believed to be in violation of their training. "Jason was burned to death solely through unnecessary and excessive force by Catskill police in their own police station," said Kevin A. Luibrand, an attorney representing Jones' family. The state attorney general's office has been investigating the incident for more than a year, but has not yet issued a formal report or filed any charges in the matter. Jason Jones suffered burns to almost 30 percent of his body as well as critical wounds to his lungs. He was transported to Albany Medical Center Hospital following the incident, but later transferred to a burn unit at Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, where he remained in a coma and on a ventilator until succumbing to his injuries 47 days later. Jones had not been charged with a crime when he walked into the police station on October 30, but he "exhibited signs of emotional distress," according to the lawsuit. He was speaking with the officers in the lobby of the station for about eight minutes before he was shot with a Taser. Jones had doused himself with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer moments before the incident and after emptying his pockets and stripping off his shirt and shoes. The electrodes fired from Nazi's Taser struck his torso and caused him to catch fire. The three officers were captured on a police station video camera running away from Jones after he burst into flames. The encounter between the police officers and Jones, a one-time celebrated athlete at Catskill High School, began when village police responded to a disturbance at the Avalon Lounge located about 400 feet from the police department. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Patricia Doxsey reports for the Daily Freeman that Ulster County District Attorney David Clegg announced January 23, he will not seek a second term as the county’s top prosecutor. The one-term Democrat said in a press release. “I have decided to pass the torch.... This has been a very difficult decision.... Those who know me, know that I am extremely competitive and never back down from a fight. Nevertheless, I must balance what is in the best interests of my family, including making them my number one priority while we deal with a serious health issue affecting a family member." Clegg won a closely contested election in 2019 against Republican Michael J. Kanavagh to become the first Democrat to hold the office in more than a century. Almost immediately, the office was hit with a wave of resignations and missteps that resulted in dozens of felony charges against individuals dismissed for the DA office’s failure to prosecute within the time frames required by law. Clegg conceded the missteps, but still, he said, the office has had many successes, such as obtaining the first criminally negligent homicide conviction as well as the first manslaughter conviction for the sale of fentanyl and heroin, the expansion of the Intimate Partner Violence Intervention Program, the diversification of the office to better reflect the community, and the creation of a grand jury bureau to ensure immediate oversight of cases going before the grand jury. Clegg said he plans to focus his attention on his family and vocation as an ordained minister with the United Methodist Church. Kavanagh recently announced he will make a second bid for the office. Democrat Jarrid Blades, a former Ulster County ADA who now works in the county Sheriff’s Office, announced last week he will seek the Democratic line for the office. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Tony Dobrowolski reports for The Berkshire Eagle that three years after opening a customer call center in Pittsfield, Mass., online retailer Wayfair has now decided to close it. The company said January 23, it will be closing its facility in the Clock Tower Business Center on South Church Street when its lease expires in July. The call center opened in October 2019. The 40 employees currently working for Wayfair in Pittsfield will join the company's virtual customer service team, said company spokesperson Susan Frechette. On January 20, Wayfair announced its plans to eliminate 1,750 jobs companywide, roughly 10 percent of its total workforce. Wayfair is a Boston-based e-commerce company that sells furniture and home goods online. Formerly known as CSN Stores, it was founded in 2002. Read more in The Berkshire Eagle.

Paul McLane at Radio World reports that a lobbying group for community radio stations does not want the Federal Communications Commission to mandate that the mostly small stations take extreme cybersecurity defensive measure to prevent the next Joni Mitchell song to be interrupted by propaganda from Russia or pornography. “Any effort by the commission to impose mandatory cybersecurity requirements on community [community] NCE radio stations in this proceeding would have the inevitable impact of diverting already severely limited resources away from the core mission of serving their communities,” wrote Sally Kane, chief executive officer of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters, in comments to the FCC. Extensive cybersecurity risk management, reporting, and infrastructure improvements could cost too much in money and labor for small stations run by tiny staffs. The FCC's interest in the issue mostly concerns the nationwide Emergency Alert System, or EAS. That system allows one government message to be broadcast on many stations live at once to quickly pass on emergency information such as tornado alerts. FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said of the proposal to mandate cybersecurity upgrades that, “This effort will help ensure the function of these essential systems in emergencies and that the public can trust the warnings they receive." The commission will need to weigh the importance of that issue with the cost to the stations. “Community radio’s role is to educate, inform and entertain the public. Its role is not to anticipate or investigate criminal activity leveraged against it or its systems,” Kane said. “That is the role of government, law enforcement, and legal professionals. It is an undue burden to require this of NCEs.”

Today's audio daily news update.

H. Rose Schneider reports in the Times Union that New York Comptroller Tom DiNapoli says the state could be doing more to protect bees and other pollinators. DiNapoli recommended doing more to detect diseases and parasites, and improving the registry and inspection of apiaries and developing new procedures to inspect honeybee shipments. Paul MacThail, the owner and beekeeper at Bee Hollow Farm and Apiary in Schodack Landing, said finding a safe place for his 400 to 500 beehives in the area has become more and more difficult as diseases, parasites, and pesticides threaten honey bees. Last year's drought conditions also worsened the rate of bee colony decline locally with MacThail saying, "I see more and more beekeepers folding.... I think that's yet an even bigger problem. Because we need more beehives.” DiNapoli agreed in his report. "New York's farmers know how important honey bees and other pollinators are to our food supply and environmental health," DiNapoli said in a statement. "The state has designed a program to protect their declining populations, and my latest audit found the Department of Agriculture and Markets can do more to detect the diseases and parasites that destroy bee colonies." Read the full story in the Times Union.

Nick Reisman reports for Spectrum News that a Siena College poll released Jan. 23 gives Gov. Kathy Hochul high marks from New York voters. Hochul's approval rating was 56 percent, with 36 percent disapproval, her highest rating in office. “Kicking off the 2023 legislative session with her first State of the State address, chock full of proposals that have strong voter support, Hochul sees her job approval rating hit its highest level, jumping from a positive five points last month to a 20-point positive approval rating today. The jump – despite continued strong partisan divide – is largely thanks to independent and downstate voters,” said Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg. Meanwhile, Hochul is fighting a losing battle with Democrats in the legislature, who shot down her nominee for the state's highest court last week. Read more about this story at Spectrum News.

Heidi Przybyla, Julia Marsh, and Jessica Piper report for Politico that the New York Young Republican Club "has feted and supported a roster of relatively extreme figures," and that Marc Molinaro and Elise Stefanik, who represent local Congressional Districts, are members. The group, Politico reports, "has closely aligned itself with former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon and “Pizzagate” conspiracist Jack Posobiec." The New York Young Republican Club recently endorsed Hungary’s autocratic leader, Viktor Orbán, and have backed other authoritarian leaders. The club’s president, Gavin Wax, donated $500 to the joint fundraising committee of repeated liar George Santos, who was elected to Congress from Long Island last fall. Wax admits that not everyone will care for the group that includes Molinaro and Stefanik. “If you believe the Trump wing is racist, then there’s nothing we can do,” Wax said. “They’re big names in the conservative right wing of the party. If that’s the new level of controversy then, sure, we’re controversial.” Of the group's backing of authoritarian leaders around the world, Wax said: “We reject the premise and narrative that these parties are beyond the pale and outside of polite society.” Molinaro, who represents the 19th Congressional District, ran as a moderate, but, so far, has voted with conservatives, hired far-right staff, and is a member of the New York Young Republican Club. Read more about this story in Politico.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has changed the community level of COVID-19 to low in both Greene and Columbia counties. Delaware and Schoharie counties, and Berkshire County in Massachusetts, are also considered low currently by the CDC. Albany and Rensselaer counties continue to be labeled high, and Ulster and Duchess counties are considered medium.

Today's daily news audio update.

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