Shannon Young reports for Politico that Teva Pharmaceuticals will pay New York up to $523 million for its role in the opioid crisis, Attorney General Letitia James on Nov. 3. A year ago, a Suffolk County jury found the drugmaker liable for helping to fuel opioid addictions and overdose deaths in New York. So far pharmaceutical companies have had to pay New York more than $2 billion over the issue. “I made a promise to put an end to the havoc wreaked by opioid manufacturers in New York and across the nation and to hold them accountable for the consequences,” James said in a statement. “This is a landmark day in our battle against the opioid crisis.” The state’s new Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Board will decide how the money from those settlements will be distributed in New York. Read more about this story in Politico.

Scott Stafford reports in The Berkshire Eagle that the Williamstown Police Department is the latest in Western Massachusetts to add body cameras. “In communities experiencing strained relations with the police, body cams provide another line of transparency and accountability. And they can provide critical evidence on calls and crimes.” Interim Police Chief Mike Ziemba says. Hugh Daley, chair of the town's Select Board, agrees. "I think body cams can enhance police effectiveness and foster a better relationship with the community," he said. "I believe this is further evidence of Chief Ziemba's — and the whole department's — commitment to increasing transparency and accountability at the WPD." But Jessica Dils, a town resident working for police reform in Williamstown, wonders whether body cams will achieve much. "Studies have shown that it is actually the engaged citizenry with their own cell phone footage that ends up being seen by the public in cases of police abuse and misconduct," Dils said. "The vast majority of footage collected by police-worn body cameras is never seen by those same citizens or anyone outside the departments in which they reside." In nearby Pittsfield, two police officers’ unions have derailed body cameras there, without saying why they oppose the effort. Meanwhile police officers in Great Barrington recently added body cameras. Read the full story in The Berkshire Eagle.

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Melissa Manno reports for the Times Union that an emergency motion has been filed seeking clarification of the November 3, Dutchess County Supreme Court ruling ordering the county Board of Elections to establish a polling site at Vassar College in accordance with state law. The League of Women Voters of the Mid-Hudson Region, a Vassar College student and a professor filed the motion over the weekend against the county Board of Elections, Republican Commissioner Erik J. Haight and Democratic Commissioner Hannah Black. State Supreme Court Justice Christie L. D’Alessio ordered the Board of Elections to comply with a new state law that requires any college with 300 or more registered voters to have a polling place on or near campus. The petition demonstrated the college has more than 1,000 registered voters and accused the county Board of Elections and Republican Commissioner Haight of violating state law by denying Vassar students an accessible polling place. Emails provided in the new case files, however, indicate that D'Alessio's ruling may have been interpreted differently by Haight and his Democratic counterpart, Black. In the emails, rather than adding another polling site specifically for students without means of transportation, Haight seemed to interpret the ruling as designating the Vassar voting site as a replacement for other sites in all three districts. That contradicts what Black said earlier on Nov. 4 — that the county intended to keep open existing poll sites for those election districts. “This will be an additional polling place,” she said. Haight said on Nov. 5 that he had agreed to comply with the order and was waiting for Black to respond to a message he sent regarding what needs to be done to prepare the space “she prefers” on the Vassar campus. It is unclear whether Vassar College is moving forward with establishing a polling site on campus until the ruling is clarified, but a representative of the college said in an affidavit that accompanied the suit that the college had already reserved the space, was ready to establish the polling site and had already prepared an email to publicize the location. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Pete DeMola reporting for the Times Union that the weekend-long period of warm weather is nearing record-breaking status in the Capital Region. Temperatures reached 71 degrees at Albany International Airport by 9 a.m. on Nov. 6, for three consecutive 70-degree-plus days, a rare record in November, according to the National Weather Service in Albany. A series of warm days in November has happened six times before, but the real record will be set if the streak continues on Nov. 7. Four straight days above 70 degrees have not occurred since records began in 1874. Joe Villani, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albany, said the temps on Nov. 7 are going to be very close at 69 or 70. Saturday’s high of 76 degrees broke the daily record of 75 degrees set on Nov. 5, 1994. The record high for Nov. 6 is 73 degrees, Villani said. The average high for November is 53 degrees with a low of 35, he said. The warm temperatures s in the northeast can be attributed to gusty winds helping to push a warm air mass up the East Coast, a product of a jet stream that is positioned in the north. Temperatures are forecast to drop back into the high 30s by the evening of Nov. 7, as the region eases back into a more conventional fall weather pattern. Albany also experienced three-day 70-degree streaks in November in 1928, 1931, 1975, 1982, 2005, and 2020. The record-high November temperature of 82 was set on Nov. 2, 1950. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Noah Zweifel reports in The Altamont Enterprise that the Logan Nonfiction Program offered by the Carey Institute for Global Good in Rensselaerville has gone on hiatus, owing to what are reported to be financial difficulties, according to a statement published on the program’s website. The program is a fellowship for long-form journalists funded by the Logan Family Foundation. “At this time, we have made the difficult decision to take a pause as we reimagine what the Logan Nonfiction Program might look like in the future and reassess the financial sustainability of the high-quality experience we have offered since 2015,” the statement said. “As such, we will not be accepting any inquiries or applications for the fellowship in 2023...” The statement concluded by saying that organizers are "optimistic about a new future for the program.” Gareth Crawford, president of the Carey Institute, said the hiatus is indefinite but did not answer other questions about what changes led to this decision, whether it had anything to do with the attempts to sell the Carey property, and what the program’s absence means for the institute. The heads of the Logan program could not be reached for comment. The Logan Nonfiction Program was founded in 2015 and has offered 15 classes for journalism fellows since it began, and had started experimenting with remote and semi-remote workshops since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Read more at altamontenterprise [dot] com.

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Liz Montgomery reports for Porcupine Soup that the town of Windham has received $300,000 to fund construction of its new ambulance building and community center. State Senator Michelle Hinchey announced November 3 that she had secured the grant as well as $100,000 for Diaz Memorial Ambulance in Saugerties to purchase new emergency medical equipment. "The new, centrally located Windham Ambulance Center will be a game-changer for providing faster connections to emergency care and a comfortable home base for our hardworking 24/7 ambulance crews,” said Hinchey. The facility is under construction at the corner of County Route 12 and State Route 23 on town-owned land. The roughly 4,800-square-foot building includes three bays, sleeping quarters and living space for the crews, office and storage areas, and a helicopter pad, as well as room for community events. Windham voters approved a 2020 proposition authorizing the town to borrow up to $1.85 million to cover design and construction of a new structure. The money secured by Hinchey will offset the costs, through the State and Municipal Facilities Capital Program. Town Supervisor Tom Hoyt said, “Having a new ambulance building in a central location will allow us to proactively care for residents, provide a space for us to practice telemedicine, and will lay the foundation for better shared services across Windham and neighboring communities.” Windham’s existing ambulance facility is located at the Main Care building at the intersection of State Route 23 and Brooksberg Road. According to town officials, crews have had to deal with maintenance issues, including leaks and electrical problems at that location. Read the full story at porcupinesoup [dot] com.

Mid-Hudson News reports that the New York state Department of Motor Vehicles is encouraging travelers to get their REAL-ID driver's license now. State DMV Commissioner Mark Schroeder and TSA Federal Security Director Robert Duffy spoke at New York Stewart International Airport on November 3, to drive that message home. Duffy said that having that type of license will be a federal requirement. Effective May 3, 2023, passengers taking domestic flights will need either a passport or a REAL-ID-compliant document to fly. A standard driver’s license will no longer be acceptable under federal law. An Enhanced ID is acceptable for REAL-ID purposes and can also be used instead of a passport to return to the US by land or sea from Canada, Mexico, and some Caribbean countries. Read the full story at MidHudsonNews [dot] com.

Bill Williams reports for Columbia-Greene Media that the Columbia-Greene Humane Society is waiving adoption fees for all pets again during the month of November, Ron Perez, the organization's president and CEO said November 1. The Empty the Shelter for the Holidays campaign will continue through November 30. One anonymous shelter supporter has agreed to sponsor the fees for all pets adopted to their new homes, Perez said. The Humane Society currently lists 27 dogs, 68 cats, and one hamster available for adoption. “There is currently a great selection of dogs and cats that we’d like to find homes for,” Perez said. The sponsorships cover the adoption fees for cats, dogs and guinea pigs. In addition, all adopted pets are spayed or neutered, have been examined by a veterinarian and had all their shots and flea protection. Cats will go home with a cat carrier and dogs with a leash, Perez said. This is the second consecutive year that the Columbia-Greene Humane Society has held the Empty the Shelter campaign. “We were able to hold it in 2020 and it was a success, so we’re doing it again,” Perez said. Anyone interested in adopting is urged to visit the shelter’s website at cghs [dot] org or to call 518-828-6044, ext. 106, to learn more. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

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Nick Reisman reports for New York State of Politics that Spectrum News 1/Siena College poll released Nov. 4 shows Democrat Josh Riley five points ahead of Republican Marc Molinaro in their contest to represent the new 19th Congressional District. An Oct. 6 poll showed a similar lead, both within the poll's five-percent margin of error. Then Riley led Molinaro 46 percent to 41 percent. Now Riley polls 48 percent support to 43 percent for Molinaro. Riley is from near Ithaca, while Molinaro lives outside of the district, in Dutchess County. The poll has Republican candidate for governor Lee Zeldin leading Democratic incumbent Kathy Hochul inside the district, 50 percent to 45 percent. The geographical area favored Democrat Joe Biden by four percentage points over Republican Donald Trump in 2020. Voting continues through Nov. 8. Read the full story in New York State of Politics.

Mid-Hudson News reports that Dutchess County Supreme Court Judge Christie D’Alessio ruled Nov. 3 that Dutchess County Republican Elections Commissioner Erik Haight must follow state law and establish a polling place on the campus of Vassar College. The League of Women Voters Mid-Hudson Region and a Vassar student and professor brought the lawsuit. Haight has lost several lawsuits about his policies to prevent college students at both Bard and Vassar Colleges from having their own polling places. County taxpayers have shelled out more than $120,000 in legal fees in Haight’s repeated defeats over issues at Bard and Vassar. D’Alessio wrote in her opinion that, "The plain language of Election Law g 4-104[5-a] which includes the word ‘shall’ (as opposed to ‘may’ or ‘should’) specifically mandates the designation of a voting polling place on a college or university campus where, as here. the petitioner demonstrated that the college or university campus contains three hundred or more registrants to vote at an address on such college or university campus.” Haight had not yet decided his next step, telling Mid-Hudson News that he is “reviewing the decision with my attorney (David Jensen) that was just issued a few minutes ago to determine our next steps.” Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.

Raymond Pignone reports in Columbia-Greene Media that Stottville's Church of St. Joseph holds its last Mass on Nov. 5. “St. Joseph is not technically closed in the eyes of the Church,” Albany Diocese spokesperson Kathy Barrans said. “It is still a sacred building designated for divine worship.” But declining attendance since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic means there won't be regular services any longer at the Roman Catholic church. It is unclear whether the food pantry operated by St. Joseph will remain open. Building of the church began 100 years ago, with services beginning in 1925. “What is going to happen to the church?” Barrans said. “We really don’t know.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

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Patricia R. Doxsey is reporting for the Daily Freeman Ulster County lawmakers are preparing to call on the county’s Commission on Reapportionment to reconvene and create a district map that would meet legal requirements. Legislator Brian Cahill has introduced a resolution for consideration this month asking that the commission meet “as soon as practicable” to redraw a legislative district map to meet the criteria under state and federal law. The measure is cosponsored by seven other legislators. The resolution will be considered by the Legislature’s Ways and Means Committee when it meets on November 10. If approved, it will go to the full Legislature for consideration on November 15. But even if the resolution is approved, it will likely have no effect, since the Legislature lacks the ability to compel the commission to meet. And commission members have already decided that short of a court order they will not meet to create a new map, even though the one they submitted to the Board of Elections does not comport with state law. The commission created the map and submitted a final plan to the county Board of Elections in July. However, in September, County Attorney Clinton Johnson notified the commission that the map was illegal because it did not conform with the size parameters required by law. Johnson directed the commission to reconvene and redo the map to correct the error, but commission members are of the opinion that they cannot redraw the map without a court order directing them to do so. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.