Steve LeBlanc reports in the Berkshire Eagle the Massachusetts House unanimously passed a bill outlawing so-called 'revenge porn' on Jan. 10. Massachusetts is currently among just a few states without a law prohibiting image-based sexual assault. The bill now moves to the Senate. Democratic House Speaker Ronald Mariano said, “This legislation modernizes our criminal laws by ensuring that those who share explicit images of others without their consent face punishment, while also educating minors on the dangers of sharing explicit images of themselves.” Read more about this story in the Berkshire Eagle.

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Michael Ryan reports for the Mountain Eagle that the Greene County Legislature reappointed Brent Bogardus as the county’s Board of Elections Republican Party commissioner, after several Republicans voted against him because of political reasons. As an election commissioner, Bogardus is there to make sure there is a fair election that follows the rules, but Bogardus is also chair of the Greene County’s Republican Party, where his job is to get Republicans elected. Three legislators voted against him in a committee vote for the first job because of how he did the second job. Patty Handel from Durham, legislature Chair Patrick Linger from New Baltimore, and Sherry True of Cairo voted against Bogardus in the Dec. 11 committee vote for political reasons. Handel said, “While I ran unopposed, I never got an email or a phone call, asking if there was anything they could do to help me with the process. In my opinion, Brent does not do anything for small, local elections. Many Republicans did not get assistance. We need to push hard to keep Republicans in office.” As election commissioner, voters, not candidates, should be his focus. By the full legislature vote on Dec. 20, the three Republicans had changed their vote to support Bogardus. Read the full story in Porcupine Soup.

Luke Parsnow reports for New York State of Politics that many of New York's 2024 Congressional elections will be reruns from the 2022 elections with the same candidates. In the Hudson Valley, Democrat Josh Riley is running again in the 19th District primary after losing to Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro in the 2022 general election. Democrat Steven Holden, who ran against Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney in in the 24th District in 2022, is now running against Rep. Elise Stefanik in the 21st District. In a new contest, Republican Alison Esposito is challenging Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan in the 18th Congressional District. Esposito was the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor in 2022 with Lee Zeldin, losing to Democrats Kathy Hochul and Antonio Delgado. Another local election that will be different is the 20th Congressional District, where Democrat Paul Tonko has long served. Republican Liz Joy has said she will not try a third time to unseat Tonko, and Ballotpedia says Alexander Dubois and Jonathon Locke are competing in the Republican primary there to take on Tonko. The filing deadline in New York for congressional bids is April 4, so other candidates could emerge. Primary elections are held over two weeks in June. Read more about this story in New York State of Politics.

Mid-Hudson News reports that the construction work that was scheduled to close down part of the New York State Thruway last weekend will be attempted this weekend. A snowstorm last weekend postponed work on the damaged Brookside Road overpass on the Thruway in New Paltz. So the New York State Thruway Authority has rescheduled the work for at 8 p.m. Saturday, January. 13, which will close northbound lanes of the Thruway from exit 17 in Newburgh to exit 18 in New Paltz for at least 12 hours. Vehicles will be detoured around the road work, if forecast storms this weekend don't cause a second delay in the work. Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.

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Lana Bellamy reports in the Times Union that New York's Office of Renewable Energy Siting on Jan. 9 postponed public hearings about a large solar project in Copake just hours before they were set to begin because of an effort by the town to have the project application dismissed. Last weekm an LLC purchased part of the property where the solar array was planned, putting the entire project in doubt. On Jan. 4, a judge denied the Town of Copake’s motion to dismiss Hecate Energy’s solar proposal after that sale. On Jan. 5, lawyers for Copake filed a request for appeal, which was granted on Jan. 9, which led to the postponement of the public hearings. Copake Supervisor Richard Wolf said about 150 chairs had been moved into a courtroom at Town Hall for the first hearing at 1:30 p.m. when they were told just after 10 a.m. that the public meeting was off. Wolf said, “This is the first inkling of a ruling in our favor since I’ve been doing this.” The original proposal was for solar arrays on 220 acres of an 880-acre plot in Copake and Craryville in Columbia County. Hecate Energy's Project Developer Matt Levine said, “We are steadfast in helping New York accomplish its renewable energy goals.” The state has special siting rules to speed approval of needed renewable energy projects, but this one has seen much local opposition. Opponents focus on falling property values and interrupted scenic views, while the company and the state hope to provide cheaper electricity that does less harm to the planet. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Nick Reisman reports for Politico that with a rise in Islamophobia and anti-semitism, Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to expand the number of offenses eligible for hate crimes in New York. Hochul announced her proposal as part of a package of measures in her State of the State address meant to address public safety in New York. Hochul said hate crimes have more than doubled between 2018 and 2022, and there have been many incidents since Hamas started a war with Israel on Oct. 7. Hochul, though, was short on specifics, besides saying she wants more offenses to count as hate crimes which receive harsher punishments. Read more about this story in Politico.

Andrea Macko reports in Porcupine Soup that the Columbia-Greene Humane Society/SPCA said on Jan. 9 that a donkey, a regular-sized horse and a mini horse that were removed from the former Friar Tuck Inn and Resort in Catskill in bad shape are getting better. On Dec. 4 The organization assisted State Police seizing the animals from the Route 32 property along with a peacock, turkey, goats, and chickens. The Humane Society said of the donkey and horses, “All three equines were underweight and dehydrated. The donkey, named Donny, had two lacerations, one to his neck, and one to his ‘coronary band,’ or top of his hoof. They have been sent to Oats’ Country Acres in Hannacroix and are expected to make a full recovery. Li Binghui, 57, of Elmhurst, NY, was arrested on Dec. 4 and charged with five misdemeanor counts of torturing or injuring animals/failure to provide sustenance. He reportedly worked for the property's owners, and could face up to a year in jail. Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

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Rachel Silberstein reports in the Times Union that New York's current COVID-19 wave is the largest since the end of the federal public health emergency in April, 2023. The JN.1 variant is the new form of the virus, In the state, more than 3,200 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Jan. 5, which was up 48 percent from the 2,250 that were hospitalized before Christmas, according to the New York Department of Health. The story says, "Wastewater viral levels, in particular, have increased rapidly in recent weeks, with COVID-19 presence estimated at 27 percent higher than it was a year ago." The good news from the Centers for Disease Control is that emergency room visits are 21 percent lower than they were at the same time last year. Some hospitals are now requiring masks again, because of the uptick in COVID-19, the flu and RSV. New York Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, "Because of potential health impacts and hospital capacity concerns, New Yorkers, especially those not feeling well or most susceptible to illness, should consider wearing a mask in crowded, indoor settings to help avoid getting sick or getting others sick." Read more about this story in the Times Union.

CBS News reports that Gov. Kathy Hochul presented more than 200 proposals that she said will make New York safer, more affordable, and more livable Jan. 9 during her "State of the State" speech. Hochul said, "I've listened as New Yorkers told me about the challenges they face, and the dreams they hold." Hochul faces a a $4 billion budget shortfall, a large problem with the lack of affordable housing, and southern governors busing many migrants to the state. She had many law enforcement proposals to stop hate crimes and shoplifting, and Hochul wants to plant 25 million trees in the next decade, buy up homes in flood zones, and add 15,000 housing units on state-owned land near train stations and prisons. Read more about this story at CBS News.

Porcupine Soup reports that local resident Simeon Bayles donated 21 acres to the Mountain Top Arboretum in Tannersville. Mountain Top Arboretum Board Chair Abby Coffin said, “We are so grateful to the Bayles family who have made an extraordinary gift of this special parcel of land.” Now the Mountain Top Arboretum has 200 acres of plants, meadows, wetlands, and forests. Bayles said of his donation, “This land, which is 80 percent wetland, will serve both future generations and the planet with its beauty, natural carbon capture and the habitat it provides for wildlife. It’s our hope that this gift inspires others to consider supporting and growing those organizations in their own backyards that protect and conserve our natural environment.” Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

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Michael Ryan reports in Porcupine Soup that an official from Windham Mountain Club said at a Dec. 21 planning board meeting that it has scrapped plans for an onsite hotel and amphitheater, but still plans to build 60-plus townhouses and get new members at $175,000 each with access to services others will not have. The ski resort also plans improvements to their golf course and to the Adventure Center tubing park where tennis, pickle ball, and skeet shooting will placed, but they do not have all finalized plans yet. A memo from the resort's engineering firm said, “We recommend that the planning board provide [Windham Mountain Club] time to provide said information and consider issuing a determination of significance at your January 18 [2024] meeting.” Windham residents have expressed concern that the resort is changing from a place where they could ski, to something they cannot afford. Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

Brian Hubert reports for the Daily Freeman a staff member for Rep. Pat Ryan claims protesters at a pro-Palestinian rally on Jan. 5 attempted to “forcibly enter” the congressman’s office. Protesters have been regularly asking for Ryan to support a ceasefire in the Gaza war. Dan Torres, Ryan’s deputy chief of staff and district director, said, “I saw over a dozen protesters around the door, who have masks on, and I heard walkie-talkie noises and chanting." And he saw a fellow Ryan staffer. He said, “I see half of her face through the cracked door and she’s terrified and in a state of distress..... Two of the protesters are on the door, one has their body partially in, the other had her back pushing back on the door attempting to enter the space." Torres said he calmly engaged the protesters, who talked, and occasionally chanted and yelled. Other protesters got on the building's roof and lowered banners, one with the names of some of the more than 22,000 Palestinians who have died since Hamas militants invaded Israel on Oct. 7, and another banner read, “Pat Ryan: stop the genocide” and a third stated, “90 Days, 22,000 killed.” Torres said he filed a police report, but the writer was unable to get a police comment. Ryan, a Democrat representing the 18th Congressional District, said he has “tremendous respect for people peacefully protesting,” but it was “very concerning to see his staff threatened..... The vast majority of people at Friday’s event were peacefully protesting,” he said. “Unfortunately about 20 individuals decided to enter the building and forcefully open the door.” The Daily Freeman story did not quote any protesters, but the Times Union spoke with Daniel Atonna, a member of the steering committee of the Mid-Hudson Valley Democratic Socialists of America, which helped organize the event. He said, “It was hundreds of Hudson Valley residents coming together for pro-cease-fire, pro-peace and pro-Palestine.... It is frustrating that in Congressman Ryan’s statement … he calls us a ‘crowd of people’ and accuses us of all kinds of things that just did not happen, but does not acknowledge that we’re his constituents. We’re local people from local organizations who organized this event.” The protest was organized by the Mid-Hudson Valley Democratic Socialists of America, Wednesday Walks 4 Black Lives, Jewish Voice for Peace, Middle-East Crisis Response, Mid-Hudson Islamic Community, Veterans for Peace, Vassar Students for Justice in Palestine, Poughkeepsie4Palestine and the Communist Party of the Hudson Valley. Mie Inouye, a member of the Mid-Hudson Democratic Socialists of America and one of the rally’s speakers, said, “I think civil disobedience has a long tradition on the left and in the anti-war movement. That’s one of the tactics we use.... I think it’s completely appropriate given the extremity of the violence that we’re witnessing every day.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Mid-Hudson News reports that the Dutchess County Conservative Party has endorsed a candidate for president who is currently facing 91 criminal charges and previously attempted to overturn the results of a free and fair election. Don Minichino, local committee chair, said, “President Trump understood the serious problems our nation faced and was fearless in addressing them.... Under President Trump America was respected throughout the world and feared by our enemies. Domestically Americans knew that our borders were being secured, law enforcement supported and second amendment freedoms protected.” Trump was president from 2016-to-2020, and passed few new laws and a giant tax cut for rich Americans. He currently faces several trials for fraud, insurrection, sexual assault, and other charges. Read more about this story in Mid-Hudson News.

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