Andrea Macko reports at Porcupine Soup that the Sullivan-Teator VFW Post 770 in Catskill is getting an upgrade thanks to a $50,000 state grant secured by state Senator Michelle Hinchey. The veterans’ organization will maximize energy efficiency and reduce utility bills at their Main Street building with the grant. "We will be replacing all the windows and doors in the building along with the furnace, water heater, and central air conditioning systems, which will all serve to keep our energy usage down, resulting in lower energy costs for our post and allowing our post to give more back to both our veterans and the local community,” said Jason Borgen, quartermaster at Sullivan-Teator VFW Post 770. The VFW's home on Main Street was built before the Civil War. “Our local VFWs do so much to support veterans and our communities, and I’m happy to secure funding that will help Catskill Post 770 focus on that mission while keeping their energy use and utility costs down," Hinchey said. Read more about this story at Porcupine Soup.

Mike Gwizdala reports in the Troy Record that on Nov. 29 the Rensselaer County Legislature approved the 2023 county budget 16-2, with Democrats Peter Grimm and Cindy Doran both voting “no.” There's a one-percent tax reduction in the budget, the fifth year in a row of property tax cuts in the county. The main difference in this budget is that many programs and facilities run by the county will be shifting locations. The Reimagine Rensselaer County Facilities effort will move a number of offices into 99 Troy Rd., in East Greenbush, while many of the county's human and social services functions are going to the current County Office Building on Seventh Avenue in downtown Troy. “The county is reducing our reliance on rented space and providing a foundation to ensure continuity and efficient delivery of services. Services that will be provided by the county for future generations deserve a permanent and proper home,” Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin said. Neither the story in the Troy Record nor a very similar accounting on the News10 website give the total of the 2023 Rensselaer County budget. Read the full story in the Troy Record.

Mike Benischek reports in the Poughkeepsie Journal that the gasoline sales tax holiday in Dutchess and Ulster counties ended Dec. 1. Gasoline prices had been dropping locally recently, but the end of the tax holiday will mean slightly higher prices at the pump in those counties. Dutchess County returns to collecting a 3.75 percent tax per gallon, while Ulster County goes back to collecting a 4 percent tax per gallon. For six months, both counties collected a flat rate of eight cents per gallon, in an effort to lower prices for consumers during a period of high inflation. The state allowed counties to forgo their share of the gasoline tax, with Dutchess and Ulster counties opting in, while officials in Greene and Columbia counties choose to keep the gas tax as is. The American Automobile Association says gas prices are generally falling. “Increasing supply and fewer drivers fueling up have pushed pump prices lower,” AAA wrote. “As demand remains low and stocks grow, drivers will likely see pump prices keep falling.” Read more about this story in the Poughkeepsie Journal.

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Phillip Pantuso is reporting for the Times Union the state Thruway Authority Mon., Dec. 5, will propose the first widespread toll hikes for E-ZPass holders since 2010. If approved, New York E-ZPass users will see a 5 percent increase in tolls beginning Jan. 1, 2024, with a second 5 percent increase in January of 2027. A proposed 50-cent annual increase for the Mario Cuomo Bridge would go into effect over a four-year period from 2024 to 2027, increasing the base-rate toll on the bridge from $5.75 to $7.75. The news was first reported by LoHud [dot] com and confirmed by Thruway Authority spokesperson Jonathan Dougherty. Even if the increase gets the go-ahead, the tolls on the Thruway, one of the busiest toll highways in the U.S., will be among the lowest in the country compared to similar toll roads, Dougherty said. An analysis by the engineering firm Stantec determined that "there are additional revenues required for the Authority to fulfill its system-wide operating, debt service, and capital needs," Dougherty said in an email. If approved by the board of directors, the proposal will begin a lengthy public process that will include public hearings, a public comment period, potential revisions and ultimately final consideration by the board of directors within the next year. The last toll increase was on Jan. 1, 2021, when the Authority increased rates for non-E-ZPass customers and for all drivers on the Mario Cuomo Bridge. The state Thruway Authority receives no state, federal or local tax dollars to support its operations. Read more in the Times Union.

MidHudson News is reporting Ulster County State Supreme Court Justice David Gandin, November 30, signed an order temporarily blocking implementation of Kingston rent control as adopted by the Kingston Rent Guidelines Board. Genevieve Rand, statewide housing organizer for Citizen Action of New York said her organization is confident the decision will ultimately be upheld in court, but this order “will cause irreversible harm to countless tenants in Kingston.” She said it was “disgusting that the real estate industry funds this campaign to deter tenants from asserting their right to safe, stable housing and other cities from enacting policy to protect that right.” Rand said the justice’s order “means that the renters of Kingston will lose an important step toward housing security that was legally afforded to them. Instead they will struggle with unaffordable rents now and in the future, leading to housing instability and, in some cases, homelessness.” Read the full story at MidHudsonNews [dot] com.

Emilie Munson is reporting for the Times Union the demand for food and cash assistance for New York residents spiked recently to levels not seen in years, state data shows. Experts said the rising need is likely fueled by inflation, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy and workforce and the winding down of many pandemic-assistance programs that helped keep people fed and housed for the past two years. "The number of people coming in to apply for benefits [this fall] is astronomical," said Albany County Department of Social Services Commissioner Michele McClave. "Not all are eligible, but they feel a need." More than 530,000 state residents received temporary cash assistance in September, a level higher than any month since March 2018, according to the latest data from the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Likewise, the number of people receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP benefits, was greater in the spring and summer than it was at any other time over the past several years. While data for October and November are not yet available, McClave and other officials said they have seen high demand continue. Local food pantries are also observing a substantial surge in hunger cases. In a survey of Capital Region food pantries this fall, 83 percent said they were feeding more people this year than last and nearly half raised concerns about having adequate funding or being able to source products, according to the Food Pantries for the Capital District, a coalition of 70 food pantries in Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga and Schenectady counties.SNAP benefits are used to buy groceries. Cash assistance helps families with children and certain eligible individuals cover their expenses. Recipients must meet strict criteria to receive the benefits and may be required to have a job. The government programs provide benefits through a combination of state and federal money. Read more in the Times Union.

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Andrea Macko reports for Porcupine Soup that former Prattsville Town Supervisor Kory O’Hara is asking for probation for the financial fraud he admits to, taking grant money in the wake of Hurricane Irene. Federal prosecutors are in partial agreement over that proposed sentence. While he could be sentenced for 20 years in prison, O’Hara is asking for one year of probation from Justice Frederick J. Scullin, while the U.S. Attorney’s Office is recommending one to five years’ probation. O’Hara admits that between 2013 and 2015, he obtained false invoices from Stephen Baker, the owner of Moore’s Homes in Prattsville, faking construction work performed on his automotive garage, O’Hara’s Service Station. Baker returned all of the money from O’Hara, who submitted the false invoices to fraudulently obtain $24,915 in grant proceeds. At the time, Prattsville businesses were getting all sorts of grants after the remnants of Hurricane Irene wiped out much of the town in 2011. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyrus P.W. Rieck wrote a memo to the court that said O’Hara, as town supervisor, knew “full well that grantees were required to pay for projects in full and provide proof of payment before collecting grant proceeds under the New York Main Steet Program." In July, O’Hara pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and agreed to $24,915 in restitution to get all the other charges against him dropped. O'Hara's lawyer suggested that local reporting of O'Hara's fraud will stop him from any future crimes. “The local press has caused him to lose customers and affected his reputation in Prattsville," O’Hara’s attorney Lauren Owens said. "O’Hara has been adequately deterred from any future criminal conduct and there is no need to protect the public from any future crimes by Mr. O’Hara." Read the full story at Porcupine Soup.

Paul Kirby reports for the Daily Freeman that Central Hudson is considering reducing estimated billing, after many complaints from customers, and a current investigation of the company's business practices from the Public Service Commission. “We have heard our customers’ concerns on this issue and are in the preliminary stages of evaluating pathways to potentially reduce the frequency of estimates on customer bills,” the company told the Daily Freeman. “We understand that more recently, billing estimates have become a source of stress and confusion for our customers — especially during this time of heightened energy market volatility.” In 2016, Central Hudson switched from reading meters every other month, to sending out monthly bills with half estimated based on the time of the year and previous consumption. And moving to fewer estimated bills will mean higher charges for customers. “There are significant costs associated with transitioning away from bi-monthly estimates — either via technology or additional manpower — and we want to ensure we’re meeting our customers’ needs in a financially responsible way. We are in the early stages of this process, so we don’t yet have a time frame for when any changes would take place," a Central Hudson official wrote to the newspaper. The change from Central Hudson may have come partially from a bill in the state legislature pending from state Sen. Michelle Hinchey, a Democrat from Saugerties, that would require the utility to stop the estimated billing practice unless meters can’t be read. “My bill to ban estimated billing passed the Senate unanimously last year but did not make it through the Assembly, and it is among my top priorities to get it passed through the full legislature this session to protect peoples’ wallets and bring transparency to the utility industry as a whole in New York,” Hinchey said in a statement. “What we know, based on the lived experiences of thousands of constituents here in the Hudson Valley, is that utility companies are using proprietary estimation formulas that are clearly not based on previous usage, making it impossible for everyday New Yorkers to afford their bills.” Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Steve Benen reports for MSNBC that Rep. Elise Stefanik is keeping up her full-throated defense of former President Donald Trump, but is so far mum on his dinner with a leading figure among white supremacists and anti-semites. After Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith to oversee the criminal investigations into Trump, the former president ordered his backers to defend him saying, “You people have to fight. You have to fight. You have to be strong.” So on Nov. 29 Stefanik told the far-right Breitbart News that, “The facts are clear: Jack Smith is compromised.... Joe Biden’s weaponized DOJ has launched an illegitimate special counsel to investigate his number one political opponent.” She said when Republicans take over the House of Representatives in January, they will launch a counter-investigation, although she did not say exactly what they would investigate. Meanwhile Stefanik is quiet so far on Trump's dinner meeting with notorious anti-Semites Kanye West and Nick Fuentes. PBS News Hour asked 57 Republican lawmakers for comment on that meeting, and Stefanik is one of many not responding with any comment about the former president meeting with fringe political figures with hateful political views. Stefanik represents the 21st Congressional District in New York that includes Rensselaer County. Read more about this story at the MSNBC website.

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Roger Hannigan Gilson reports for the Times Union that the trial of four people charged with unlawful imprisonment and assault for the alleged 2020 beating of local mechanic Harold Handy was abruptly adjourned November 28, after a private discussion between the judge and the district attorney prosecuting the case. Columbia County Judge Richard Koweek's decision was made without any input from defense counsel. The matter is now unlikely to go to trial before next year. Neither Koweek nor DA Paul Czajka [CHAI-kah] would speak afterward about the circumstances that led to the private confab or what prompted it. The four defendants — Columbia County Sheriff's Deputy Kelly Rosenstrach; her husband, businessman Alex Rosenstrach; IRS agent Bryan Haag; and local contractor Corey Gaylord — were indicted on gang assault charges following an incident in the Rosenstrach home in the early morning hours of July 5, 2020. The top charges, carrying the potential for lengthy prison terms, were dismissed by Koweek in December. Gaylord's attorney, Stephen Coffey, said the adjournment followed a request by Czajka for a private discussion between himself and the judge. "They (talked) for about 20 minutes, and then the judge came out and said that the case was now adjourned — did not give a reason, except he said, 'This was pursuant to my discussion with Mr. Czajka,'" Coffey said. The reasoning for the adjournment was sealed by the court, according to Coffey. Handy's personal counsel, Paul Freeman, said his office was trying to figure out why the case was adjourned. "We were told the determination to adjourn — for whatever reason — is sealed, and so they're not releasing the rationale or reasons," he said. Haag's attorney, Paul DerOhannesian [Deh-ROH-hann-eesian] II, plans to make a motion to unseal the minutes of the ex parte [par-tay] communication "to get more insight" into why the decision was made, he said, but it would be up to Koweek whether to grant the motion. It is also up to the judge's discretion whether to make the minutes publicly available or only available to the defense. Neither Czajka or Koweek responded to inquiries. A new trial date has not been set, but there is a conference on the schedule for February. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Andrea Macko is reporting for Porcupine Soup the Article 78 proceeding that alleged the Cairo Town Board wrongly awarded federal grant money to the Cairo Development Foundation has been dismissed. On November 28, Acting State Supreme Court Justice Adam Silverman ruled the lawsuit initiated by Mountain View Enterprises and Cairo resident Emmy Cross was filed 11 days past the state’s four-month statute of limitations. “The alleged facts of this case are unusual and concerning,” Silverman wrote to begin his eight-page decision. “The petition is dismissed because the resolution being challenged became final and binding more than four months prior to the commencement of this special proceeding,” he ruled. The case stems from the town board’s March 7 vote to release U.S. Housing and Urban Development Residential Rehabilitation Grant funds that sat idle in the town coffers for decades. Three applicants ― Cross, Mountainview Enterprises and the Cairo Development Foundation ― were awarded funds, but not in the amounts approved by Delaware Engineering. Catskill attorney Monica Kenny-Keff initiated the proceedings in State Supreme Court arguing the board’s resolution was “unlawful, arbitrary and capricious… and as a result of their personal conflicts of interest, and personal and political interests with respect to [the] CDF.” The complainants asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction against the defendants to stop disbursement of the grant funds and order the money be distributed as originally recommended by Delaware Engineering. The original HUD grant was in the amount of $400,000, and awarded to the town in 1998, for distribution to low-income residents of Cairo. In 2015, then-Supervisor Ted Banta found there was still approximately $60,000 left in the pot. According to August 3, 2015 town board meeting minutes, those funds were to be distributed to more than 20 candidates who applied for the funding, but that never happened. Silverman wrote in his decision. “...Nearly a quarter century after the funds were first obtained and seven years after they were mysteriously ‘discovered,’ the parties agree that these funds have yet to be disbursed for their intended purpose. Regardless of the outcome of this case, it remains clear that the low to moderate income residents who were intended to benefit from these funds have suffered an unexplained and seemingly unreasonable delay,” Silverman added. Read more at porcupine soup [dot] com.

Mid-Hudson News reports that state Senator Michelle Hinchey’s legislation to expand eligibility under the New York State Young Farmers Loan Forgiveness Incentive Program has been signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul. The measure helps alleviate a student's debt burden by providing grant awards for individuals who earn an undergraduate degree from a New York state college or university and plan to pursue a career in farming. Eligibility for the program was previously contingent on the applicant having graduated from college within the previous two years. Hinchey’s bill removes that eligibility requirement, replacing it with the qualification that an applicant must not have previously farmed for more than 10 consecutive years. Hinchey said the new law makes it more reasonable for young people to start a career in farming while having more money in the bank to invest in their businesses. Read more at Mid-HudsonNews [dot] com.

Today's daily news update.

Patricia R. Doxsey is reporting for the Daily Freeman with fewer than 1,000 votes separating the two lowest vote-getters, the boards of elections in the seven counties that make up the state Supreme Court Third Judicial District are preparing for a hand count of the more than 1 million ballots cast in the race to determine who will claim the third seat on the bench. In the November 8 general election, voters in Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Schoharie, Sullivan and Ulster counties, were asked to choose from four candidates to fill three seats on the court. According to data reported by the state Board of Elections, the two top vote-getters were Democrats Meagan K. Galligan with 167,627 votes and Sharon A. Graff, with 165,824 votes. Meanwhile, Republican Thomas Marcelle received 164,776 votes, while Democrat Heidi Thais Cochrane got 163,777 votes, a difference of only 999 votes. Under state elections law, a hand count of all ballots cast in a race is triggered when 1 million or more ballots are cast in a race and the margin of victory is less than 5,000 votes. Ulster County Republican Elections Commissioner John Quigley said the Ulster County Board of Elections will likely schedule the hand count next week, once the board has certified the results of the other races. Read more in the Daily Freeman.

Kate Lisa reports for New York State of Politics that New York's power grid is ready for the winter season, according to an assessment announced Nov. 28 by New York Independent System Operator. "We're well-positioned to meet this winter's forecast," said Kevin Lanahan, NYISO's vice president of external affairs and corporate communications. New York Independent System Operator estimates a surplus of 1,620 megawatts at peak demand this winter. "The real concern we have is whether or not that's going to impact fuel supplies here in the state," Lanahan said. "Right now, it doesn't look like that's an issue, but the pricing issue is definitely something that we're concerned about and we want to make sure consumers understand going into the heating season." New York residents could see electric bills increase by more than 30 percent this winter compared to last year. "We expect high prices going into the new year," Lanahan said. National Grid estimates a 39 percent price increase for its natural gas customers this winter compared to last. New York Independent System Operator also reported that slowly, the state is moving away from fossil fuels and using more solar and wind power. National Grid spokesperson Patrick Stella said that means more electricity is being used. "There's going to be much more load on these electric systems than there has been in the past, so we're trying to build them," Stella said. "We're trying to build more capacity and early on." Read the full story at New York State of Politics.