Nick Reisman reports for Politico that Gov. Kathy Hochul will unveil her proposed state budget on Jan. 16, a $233 billion spending plan that closes a $4.3 billion gap and does not add any broad-based tax increases. Hochul's proposed 2.4 percent increase in school aid is smaller than in recent budget agreements and will likely be discussed in the negotiations with the Democratic-dominated Legislature. The proposed budget also has $1.9 billion in the coming fiscal year to address the ongoing migrant crisis. Republicans criticizing Hochul want her to do something else about the issue. Rep. Marc Molinaro, who represents the 19th Congressional District, told reporters during a Jan. 15 news conference that, “We can slow the flow, ensure border security and then rightfully help those who are honest and have the right to enter this country through the asylum-seeker process.” The 2024 presidential and Congressional elections will be the backdrop for budget negotiations this year. Read more about this story in Politico.

Patrick Tine reports for the Times Union that Hudson police officer Sgt. Christopher Filli died from a medical emergency on Jan. 12, while on duty. The police department said of the 5--year-old, 22-year veteran, “Filli’s dedicated service to our department and city will be remembered, and his loss is felt profoundly by our community.” The cause of Filli’s death is still currently unknown, but under investigation. He previously worked for the Copake and Philmont police departments. Filli also ran Chris Filli & Son Tree Service, a tree trimming and removal company, and there is a GoFundMe donation account set up by a family friend for the married father of six. Visitation hours are scheduled for between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Jan. 17 with a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. on Jan. 18 at Holy Trinity Church St. Mary’s Parish in Hudson. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Mid-Hudson News reports that the Executive Committee of the Greene County Conservative Party this week endorsed Republican Donald Trump for the presidency. Conservative Party Chair Michael Buttino said, “New York State is more than New York City. Our countryside, farming communities, and more remote areas often dominated by forests and woodlands have experienced heavy outward migration to other states during the Biden Presidency.... President Trump has not forgotten rural America and remains popular with Americans who take comfort in his direct approach to governing.... Trump will protect America the rights of American citizens.” Trump claims to be a Republican, but is running a fascist campaign, promising to be a dictator on day one and to take revenge on political rivals if elected. Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.

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The Hudson police on social media posted on Jan. 13, "It is with deep sorrow and heavy hearts that the City of Hudson Police Department announces the untimely passing of Senior Sergeant Christopher Filli after suffering a medical emergency while on duty Friday, January 12, 2024. Senior Sgt. Filli’s dedicated service to our Department and City will be remembered, and his loss is felt profoundly by our community. Senior Sgt. Filli was a respected and dedicated member of HPD for 22+ years. His commitment to duty and selfless service left an indelible mark on those who had the privilege of working alongside him. He was an exceptional officer and will be greatly missed by all. Our thoughts and prayers are with Senior Sergeant Filli’s family, friends, and colleagues during this challenging time. We extend our deepest condolences, and we stand together as a community to support each other through this loss. We would like to thank surrounding law enforcement and public safety agencies to include but not limited to: New York State Police, Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, Columbia County 911, Hudson Fire Department, Greenport Fire Department, Greenport Police and Greenport Rescue Squad for their unwavering support while our department mourns the loss of our Officer. At this time, the cause of Sr. Sgt. Filli's passing is unknown, and an ongoing investigation is underway. We ask for the privacy of the Filli family and members of HPD to be respected during this difficult period. Further information regarding memorial services and tributes will be communicated as details become available."

New York's Public Assistance grant amounts (shelter, basic grant) have not been updated in decades and are being criticized as inadequate. There are no rental units in the private market priced at or below the Shelter Allowance. Haley Kulakowski and Susan Antos, lawyers with the Empire Justice Center, discuss the need to raise the welfare grant with WOOC's Mark Dunlea.

Here is this week's WGXC Congressional Report, tracking the votes, statements, positions, and campaigns of the representatives and candidates for the 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st Congressional seats in New York. Democrat Pat Ryan is representing the 18th Congressional District, Republican Marc Molinaro represents the 19th Congressional District, Democrat Rep. Paul Tonko represents the 20th District, and Republican Elise Stefanik represents the 21st District. Click here to listen to this report.

Annie Karni in The New York Times reports that Rep. Marc Molinaro's first year in Congress was historic. The House of Representatives only voted for 27 bills that became law. That is an average of one law every two weeks. Many of the 27 bills passed were not substantial, such as naming a facility after someone. And Democrats provided more votes than the Republican majority to approve the most important governing bills, from funding the government to prevent a shutdown to raising the debt ceiling to avert a default. The Republican majority in the House held 724 votes in all, with only 27 becoming law, and that is more voting and less lawmaking than at any other time in the last decade, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. Last year, when Democrats had unified control of Congress, the House held 549 votes and passed 248 bills that were signed into law. The House did oust Republican serial-liar George Santos, and they also sanctioned three Democrats. But they. did not pass many laws. Read more about this story in The New York Times.

Mid-Hudson News reports that the Newburgh district office of Rep. Pat Ryan was vandalized by activists demanding the Democrat call for a ceasefire in the war in Gaza. The words “CEASEFIRE NOW” and “WAR CRIMINAL” were painted on the windows of Ryan's office on Broadway in Newburgh. Ryan continued to defend his support of the war in a statement, “War brings out the worst in humanity- making the urgent pursuit of peace both necessary and incredibly difficult to achieve." Ryan said he would support a ceasefire if certain benchmarks were reached first. But Ryan's demands before a ceasefire may not be realistic. The story says, "the likelihood that a new Palestinian government could be quickly constituted to end the bloodshed and that the new government would be able to negotiate a genuine two-state solution with Israel seems low." Several hundred people peacefully rallied in front of Ryan's office last month to convince him to support a ceasefire. Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.

Joshua Solomon reports for the Times Union that state Supreme Court Justice Christina L. Ryba rejected on Dec. 28 an attempt by Rep. Elise Stefanik and the Republican Party to temporarily suspend a new state law allowing any registered voter in New York to cast their ballot early by mail. The Republicans argue that the law violates the constitution, and will now make their case to an appellate court in Albany. Democrats in the legislature passed, and Gov. Kathy Hochul signed, the law allowing any registered voter to vote by mail. Before, voters needed an excuse to vote by mail, such as being away in the military. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the state allowed temporary voting by mail without any major problems. But Stefanik and the other Republicans say a constitutional amendment must be passed to allow voting by mail. The judge, though, ruled that the Republicans did not demonstrate they would face “irreparable harm” under the new law. At the same time that they are challenging the issue in court, Stefanik and the New York Republicans have been pushing “legal ballot harvesting” and encouraging its constituents to enroll to vote by mail to win the 2024 elections. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Jack Arpey reports for New York State of Politics that New York's Independent Redistricting Commission met on Dec. 28, charged yet again with drawing congressional boundaries. Chair Ken Jenkins said, “We’ll meet as much as is required to make sure the date is accomplished." This is the third attempt by the commission to construct congressional boundary lines. The commission has until Feb. 28 to announce the new lines. The Congressional map has changed several times since the 2020 census, as courts and the legislature have rejected maps from the commission and a special master appointed for the task. In 2022, New York Congressional elections helped shoft control of the House of Representatives from Democrats to Republicans, and the 2024 election is expected to be just as pivotal in New York. Read more ahout this story at New York State of Politics.

Our playlist system now counts which songs have been played the most on WGXC. Here is what has played most in January, 2024:

1. RAGER, "Presence is a Present" album
2. P.G. Six, "Murmurs & Whispers" album (Drag City)
3. Quintron, "Ephemeral Ponds" album
4. Matthew Shipp, "The Intrinsic Nature of Shipp" album (Mahakala Music)
5. Monday Mornings, "despise our world?" reissue
6. Bobby Previte and Ray Anderson, "Double Trouble" album
7. Matana Roberts, "Coin Coin Chapter 5" album
8. Lea Bertucci, "Of Shadow and Substance" album
9. Lynn Nandar Htoo, "Jamadevi" album
10. Joe Popp, "One Percent" EP

Today's audio daily news update.

Kevin Frey reports for New York State of Politics that Rep. Marc Molinaro is refusing to criticize Rep. Elise Stefanik for calling some of those arrested for participating in the attempted violent overthrow of the government on Jan. 6, 2021 as “hostages.” More than 1,200 people have been charged with federal crimes for their role in the Jan. 6 events, including trespassing and assaulting police officers. And more than 700 have pleaded guilty. Stefanik called them "hostages" on the "Meet The Press" television show Jan. 7, after former President Donald Trump had used the same term several times. Molinaro said, “I don’t judge how other members comport themselves. I haven’t done that, I'm not going to start now.” Actually, Molinaro was one of the representatives recently leading the charge to oust the serial liar George Santos from the House. Molinaro, who represents the 19th Congressional District, also said “My perspective is, by the way, every person in this country deserves due process in a public and speedy trial,” and he said he and Stefanik “work really closely together, we have a great deal of respect for one another.” Brooklyn Rep. Hakeem Jeffries questioned this week why Republicans in New York such as Molinaro have not “denounced” Stefanik for her comments and why they “continue to rely on her fundraising support in order to try to fool the voters in New York and pretend like they believe in moderation.” Read more about this story in New York State of Politics.

Jeanette Wolfberg reports for The Upstater that the Columbia County Board of Supervisors passed the county’s budget for 2024 on Dec. 13 with a 1.4 percent tax levy increase. The budget totalled $172.4 million, a 5.6 percent increase from the year before. Board Chair Matt Murell guessed that property owners on the average should see a tax rate decrease of 3.2 percent because property values in the county increased. Raymond Staats from Clermont and John Reilly of Gallatin voted against the budget, with Reilly saying, “I don’t like the salary increase for supervisors,” and “I agree with Mr. Staats, we shouldn’t be building reserves.” Most supervisors’ salaries are increasing $1000 a year in the budget. Read more about this story in The Upstater.

Max Bevington reports for News10 that Forbes magazine ranks New York as the 10th healthiest state in the nation. Northeastern states topped the rankings with Connecticut as the third healthiest state. Massachusetts in fifth, and New Jersey and New Hampshire at seventh and eighth, respectively. The magazine used 21 metrics across three major categories of disease risk factor, substance abuse, and lifestyle habits. New York ranked ninth and 12th in the first two categories, but was 21st in the nation for substance abuse, including the misuse of alcohol, opioids, illicit drugs, and prescription pain relievers, along with drug overdose rates. West Virginia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Kentucky finished at the bottom of the rankings. Read more about this story at the News10 website.

Today's audio daily news update.

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Tiffany Greenwaldt-Simon reports for Columbia-Greene Media that the Hudson Common Council passed a resolution Dec. 19 asking Gov. Kathy Hochul to block the expansion of the Iroquois natural gas pipeline in Athens. Food and Water Watch, a non-governmental group that advocates for safe food, clean water and a livable climate, authored the resoultion. Emily Skydel, the Hudson Valley organizer for the group, said, “This resolution represents that municipalities as a whole do not support this expansion.... There’s a real concern that pollution from the proposed project could hurt local communities in Hudson.” Iroquois wants to expand their pipeline to allow an additional 125 million cubic feet of natural gas to pass through the pipeline per day. That would mean changes to the Athens station, including the addition of 12,000 horsepower of compression and gas cooling by November 2025. In December, more than 60 local elected officials, including state Sen. Michelle Hinchey and state Assemblymember Didi Barrett sent a letter to Hochul demanding she deny the proposed expansion. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Kevin Frey reports in New York State of Politics that Rep. Marc Molinaro surprised no one by formally announcing on Jan. 12 his campaign for a second term in the U.S. House. Molinaro released a campaign ad saying, “Every day in Washington, I put politics aside and work for everyone of every party who calls Upstate New York home.... It’s about the middle ground - where most of us live.” Molinaro regularly votes with very conservative members of Congress on issues such as who should be House Speaker. Molinaro beat Democrat Josh Riley in 2022, after now Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado resigned from his term in the 19th Congressional District. Molinaro's win, and a few other flipped districts in New York, gave Republicans control of the House, and this election may also determine who controls the legislative body. Riley is running again for Molinaro's seat, as is Democrat Dan Buttermann, who previously ran for the state Assembly. Read more about this story in New York State of Politics.

Andrea Macko reports in Porcupine Soup that Wesley Schultz, guitarist and singer for The Lumineers is performing a benefit concert Jan. 12 in Palenville to help the Circle W general store which opened in 1908. The store closed in the 1990s, but was reopened by Patti Harvey. Since 2015 it has been run by her son, songwriter, author and poet Simone Felice and his wife Jessica Walsh. Because of state regulations they moved the Circle W food service across the street to Griffin House, where there is a Department of Health-approved water source. An social media post by Harvey and Walsh said, “Everybody misses the old W, and this new setup is not only confusing to our customers, but unsustainable.... We are actively working with the DOH in hopes of finding a solution and securing an acceptable water source, but it will be a major financial commitment.” So Schultz and others will perform at the Griffin House at 7 p.m. on Friday, January 12. The Lumineers featured the Palenville Firehouse siren on their 2022 song “Remington." Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

Today's audio daily news update.

Roger Hannigan Gilson reports in the Times Union former District Attorney Paul Czajka (pronounced chi-kah) improperly withheld key evidence, and that revelation has led to a judge dismissing a case against a 75-year-old Chatham man who had been charged with sexually abusing a girl. Lawrence R. Thomas of Chatham had been indicted in July 2021 on the 31 felony counts for child sex abuse crimes, including seven charges that carried the maximum sentence. Those charges have now been dismissed. Shane Hug, an attorney for Thomas called the actions of prosecutors “deplorable” and “well below the acceptable standards that prosecutors should be held to.” Czajka, who is now retired, said, “I am solely responsible for that error and not disclosing (the material) if (the defendant) already knew anyway.... Any adverse decisions to the people were solely a result of my acts or omissions, no one else’s.” Czajka district attorney for six terms, but did not seek reelection last year. Chris Liberati-Contant, a Democrat, beat Czajka’s former chief assistant district attorney, Ryan M. Carty, in the election. Liberati-Conant said he is looking at the dismissal by state Supreme Court Justice Meagan K. Galligan to decide whether to appeal the decision. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Raymond Pignone reports for Columbia-Greene Media that the Department of Labor says that Rep. Marc Molinaro's claim that Gov. Kathy Hochul directed it to identify job openings for illegal immigrants statewide is false. Beau Duffy, deputy commissioner of strategic communications for the Labor Department, said, “The New York state Department of Labor initiative is only available to individuals who have attained legal work status.... It is illegal under federal law to employ individuals without legal work status, and we follow federal law in all cases.” The Labor Department did create a portal on its website where employers can tell them if they would be willing to hire asylum seekers once they have federal work authorization. The story says that the Department of Labor does not place workers in jobs, but gets them in touch with employment opportunities. Hochul did authorize a survey to that found more than 18,000 private sector job openings at 379 companies who have identified roles that could be filled by immigrants with legal work status. Molinaro complained about those policies, saying, “Upstate New York job seekers should come first.... If Gov. Hochul can have a campaign that identified thousands of job openings for illegal immigrants, then it’s within her authority to launch a similar campaign with just as much resources and effort to help upstate New Yorkers land jobs.” Read moore about this story at HudsonValley360.com.