From WOOC: "Liz Moran of Earth Justice discusses Governor Hochul's proposed budget for environmental issues with Mark Dunlea of WGXC partner station WOOC in Troy. Keep topics include the NY Heat Act and funding for water infrastructure."

Today's audio daily news update.

Tiffany Greenwaldt-Simon reports in Columbia-Greene Media that a flyer for the hate group White Lives Matter was found on a utility pole at Dutchman’s Landing in Catskill on Jan. 12. Elliot Matos, director of operations for the Hudson-Catskill Housing Coalition, said, “It’s sad.... People justhave a lot of hate in their heart.” The flyer had two QR codes and the words “CALLING ON NEW YORK WHITES! JOIN OTHER EUROPEAN DESCENDANTS IN ACTIVISM!” The Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit legal advocacy organization, deemed the "White Lives Matter" organization as a hate group in 2016. Matos said. “This is what happens when there isn’t Black representation on Main Street.... This is a very conservative county and people feel comfortable to do something like this.” Michael Richardson, a community activist and producer of local Hate-Watch Report, said he believes the flyer came from the same group responsible for similar activities in Columbia County. Richardson said, “We have every reason to believe this group is local.... They keep showing up with their stuff in the area and it’s indicating that they’re not a pass-through group.” In 2021, White Lives Matter stickers were spotted in Hudson, Stockport, and Valatie, and the next year the group put up a White Lives Matter banner at the village gazebo in Chatham. Richardson said this is the first report of the group in Greene County. He said, “For the last six or seven months, there have been no reports of white supremacy, and I don’t recall there being anything in Catskill or Greene County before this.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Luke Parsnow reports in New York State of Politics that Rep. Marc Molinaro raised $447,701 in the fourth quarter of 2023, for nearly $2.2 million throughout the year, for the Republican's reelection campaign his office said on Jan. 18. So fare Democrat Josh Riley, who lost to Molinaro in 2022, and Democrat Dan Buttermann, are also running for the 19th Congressional District seat. Riley, a former congressional aide and law clerk for the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, last by two points to Molinaro, and is begind on fundraising this year. Riley said recently that he raised $696,556 in the fourth quarter of 2023, and has more than $1.45 million cash on hand. Republicans took control of the House of Representatives in 2022 by flipping several seats including the 19th Congressional District. The New York elections are again expected to tilt control of the House to the winners. Read more about this story in New York State of Politics.

The Daily Freeman reports that this weekend the southbound lanes of the New York State Thruway Authority between New Paltz (exit 18) and Newburgh (exit 17) will be closed to traffic from at 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 20, to at least 8 a.m. the next morning. Last weekend northbround lanes were closed to remove the damaged Brookside Road overpass in New Paltz. Motorists “should seek alternate routes while this work takes place or avoid travel in the area during these times, if possible,” according to a press release. A detour will take vehicles off the interstate, and around the construction on on Routes 299 and 9W. On Sunday morning, Jan. 21, “the detour at southbound exit 18 will be lifted and two travel lanes will be available except in the construction zone where there will only be one travel lane available.” Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Today's audio daily news update.

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CBS News reports that the U.S. Senate passed a continuing resolution 68-to-13 on Jan. 16, with Democrats leading efforts to avoid a government shutdown. The House, led by Republicans, has not made as much progress on passing continuing resolutions extending government funding deadlines to March 1 and March 8 to give both chambers time to approve longer-term funding. The U.S. government will run out of money at the end of the week. New York Senator Chuck Schumer, the leading Democrat, said they want funds for Ukraine and Israel to fight wars, while House Speaker Mike Johnson spoke about funding for border security. PLAY OR DOWNLOAD SHORT EXCERPT OF SCHUMER AND JOHNSON. Read more about this story at CBS News.

Liz Montgomery reports for Porcupine Soup that the Catskill school district wants input on future plans at a community forum at 6 p.m. Jan. 18 in the school library. The meeting is especially for community members that do not have children in the district or parents who cannot attend the parent forum that is part of the planning process for the district's long-range strategic plan. There's also a parent forum at 5 p.m. January 24 in the Catskill High School Library before the Board of Education meeting. Dr. Dan Wilson, superintendent of schools said, “I am delighted to share with you an exciting initiative that will shape the future of our school district: the creation of a Long-Range Strategic Plan in collaboration with the Capital Area School Development Association." Students get to weigh in at meetings on Jan. 31. Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

WNYT reports that the group New Yorkers for a Fair Economy Coalition have the Amazon warehouse in Schodack at the top of a new list of the most dangerous in New York state. The Amazon warehouse in Schodack, in Rensselaer County, had an injury rate of nearly 19 per 100 workers, or nearly one injury for every five workers, according to the group. That would be 165 workers with a serious injury in a single year. Neighbors filed an Article 78 lawsuit against the warehouse in 2019 before it opened, and employees unsuccessfully attempted to unionize last year, with the union organizer saying she received an intimidating call about the warehouse. Read more about this story at WNYT.

From WOOC: "Tuesday January 16, Gov. Kathy Hochul released the proposed 2024-25 state budget. This is the official start to negotiations with the legislature over a final budget, which is supposed to be adopted by April 1, the start of the state’s fiscal year, but last year went a month late. With all of the state legislators up for re-election this year, there is more pressure to adopt an on-time budget. WOOC's Mark Dunlea helped us to understand what was proposed."

Today's audio daily news update.

Raymond Pignone reports for Columbia-Greene Media that the Art Omi sculpture park in Ghent begins its $60 million construction project this spring, building 18 art pavilions and a visitor center in the 190-acre site. Part of that is being paid for by a $2 million grant through the state’s Regional Economic Development Council initiative and a $5 million grant from the New York state Council on the Arts. Ruth Adams, co-executive director of Art Omi with Jeremy Adams, said, “The Pavilions, envisioned as an international arts haven, will beckon visitors to experience unique architectural expressions and legacy art exhibitions and will offer exposure to world-class art collections. This transformative project not only fosters creativity and diversity but also solidifies Art Omi as a beacon that will attract tourists, locals and art enthusiasts worldwide.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Maria M. Silva reports in the Times Union that a Bard College faculty member and research scholar, and his wife will receive the American Psychological Association's 2024 International Humanitarian award for their work providing mental health support, psychological education, and research in Afghanistan. The psychologists Sayed Jafar Ahmadi and his wife, Zeinab Musavi provided counseling for victims of trauma, bombings, the COVID-19 pandemic, and earthquakes in Afghanistan for two decades. The award recognizes “extraordinary humanitarian service and activism by a psychologist or a team of psychologists, including professional and/or volunteer work conducted primarily in the field with underserved populations.” The couple founded the Behrawan Research and Psychology Services Organization in Afghanistan to provide counseling services to victims of war, to educate future psychologists, and to conduct research. Ahmadi said in a statement, “The contributions of Behrawan have not only saved lives but also restored hope and resilience in communities facing adversity.... We hope that our legacy serves as an inspiration to psychologists and humanitarian organizations worldwide, emphasizing the profound impact that psychological services can have in times of crisis.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Porcupine Soup reports that officials from the Greene County Bancorp, Inc. will ring the bell to close the Nasdaq stock exchange on January 22. January 22 is the local bank’s 135th anniversary and 2024 is the bank's 25th year as a publicly traded company on Nasdaq. Greene County Bank President and CEO Donald Gibson said, “We’re grateful to all of the people who have contributed to the company’s remarkable growth since our humble little bank in upstate New York went public in 1999.” The bank has 18 branches across the Hudson Valley and Capital Region with its assets rising from $151 million in 1999 to more than $2.6 billion today. Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

Today's audio daily news update.

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

Brendan J. Lyons reports in the Times Union that Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive budgetannounced on Jan. 16 proposes repealing a state “potency tax” on cannabis products. The tax was meant to make more money for the state from sales of high potency cannabis, while store owners say it sends consumers looking for cheaper prices from unlicensed vendors. New York state has been slow to roll out legal stores in the two-and-a-half-years since cannabis was legalized. Many illegal stores have been open at the same time. Hochul wants to replace the potency tax with a wholesale excise tax of nine percent, which would be charged to consumers in addition to the state and local retail excise taxes of nine and four percent, respectively. State Sen. Jeremy Cooney, a Rochester Democrat, also wants to repeal the potency tax and said, "I think we also need to look at other states like Colorado that have actually had a lower tax rate than New York but has realized higher revenues. … If we’re able to really increase the volume of sales overall, even though it’s a lower tax rate, it’s better than losing it to the illicit market where we get nothing.” Allan Gandelman, president of the Cannabis Association of New York, said, “It’s definitely a big win to revise that potency tax and make it a flat tax.... I have to run the numbers and see what that (9 percent excise tax) looks like, but honestly, right now, anything is better than the potency tax because that thing was completely untenable.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Luke Parsnow reports at New York State of Politics that Rep. Elise Stefanik told the other Republicans running for president to drop out of the race after her man, former President Donald Trump, trounced all comers in the Iowa primary election on Jan. 15. Trump took 51 percent of the votes in Iowa, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis with 21 percent, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley with just above 19 percent, and Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at just under eight percent. Stefanik said, “As I have said for over a year, President Trump will be our Republican nominee and will defeat Joe Biden in November. I am calling on every other candidate - all of whom have no chance to win - to drop out so we can unify and immediately rally behind President Trump so that we can focus 100 percent of our resources on defeating Joe Biden to Save America.” Stefanik represents Rensselaer County and the rest of the 21st Congressional District, and is the chair of House GOP conference, the third highest ranking Republican in Congress. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Jammel Cutler reports for Columbia-Greene Media that the Hudson Rabbi Daniel Fried died Jan. 12 at the age of 78. He led Congregation Anshe Emeth and served for 43 years at the Hudson synagogue. Fried and his wife, Denise, have two children, according to Congregation Anshe Emeth's website. Arlene Levinson, president of Congregation Anshe Emeth, said, "I can't wrap my head around the impact he had on the community.... Rabbi Fried has been around for the birth of babies, bar mitzvahs, weddings, and funerals. What I learned from him was that he was passionate and dedicated to the community. The synagogue, and this community, have been his life." Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.