Patricia R. Doxsey reports for the Daily Freeman that after being sworn in as the 19th Congressional District representative on Sept. 13, Democrat Pat Ryan named two staff members. Robert Dougherty, who was legislative director for former U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado, will be Ryan’s chief of staff. Ryan will have one local office, in Kingston, headed by Kayleen Scali, who was Ryan’s chief of staff while he was Ulster County executive. Ryan’s Kingston office is at 256 Clinton Ave. Its phone number is (845) 443–2930, and his Washington, DC Office is at 1007 Longworth Building. Its phone number is (202) 225–5614. Ryan will only be the 19th Congressional District representative for a few weeks, filling in the end of Delgado's term after he resigned to become lieutenant governor. Ryan is running for the new 18th Congressional District this fall, while Democrat Josh Riley and Republican Marc Molinaro compete for the new 19th Congressional District seat. Patricia R. Doxsey reports for the Daily Freeman.

Olivia Beavers reports at Politico that Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, is challenging Republican conference chair Elise Stefanik for the number three position among GOP House leadership. “At the end of the day, the members want us to make sure that the best person can represent the conference at a time where we’re up against some of the worst policies this country’s ever seen,” Donalds added. “And we have to reverse course immediately, and I think I have a unique ability to help with that.” Stefanik previously considered trying to move up to the number two role, as House whip. Instead, she decided to remain conference chair, if she is re-elected and can beat off Donalds challenge. On Sept. 13, Stefanik released a statement that only hinted at the new competition. “I am proud to have unified the entire Republican Conference around our country in crisis message and shattered fundraising records as House GOP Conference Chair raising over $10M for candidates and committees this cycle,” Stefanik said. Donalds, who is Black, said his decision to run for the post is “not really about Elise,” but about his ability to appeal to “people who typically are not Republicans.” Donalds has bragged that he did not get the COVID-19 vaccine. Stefanik voted against certifying results of the fair 2020 presidential election. Read the full story in Politico.

Nick Reisman reports for New York State of Politics that New York is expanding eligiblity for the monkeypox vaccine. Before, just people exposed to the virus could get the vaccine, now it is being made available to people who at risk of becoming infected. "By expanding eligibility, we are hopeful that many more New Yorkers will get immunized and prevent further transmission,” state Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett said. “This distribution plan, and the eligibility expansion, will enable us to get the vaccine to more individuals across the state before they are exposed.” Now eligibility includes people who have had a recent or suspected exposure to a case, people in the LGBTQ+ community, people who have had skin-to-skin contact with someone in a social network experiencing monkeypox activity, and anyone who may be at risk of future exposure to someone with monkeypox. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

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Ted Remsnyder is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media that the New York State Department of Public Service will hold a series of public meetings on a proposed New York State Electric and Gas Corporation rate hike. NYSEG [NIGH-SEGG], which provides electric service to portions of Greene and Columbia counties, has requested the PSC to approve changes to annual electric and natural gas delivery rates. NYSEG is proposing to increase its electric delivery revenue by approximately $274 million, a 31 percent hike in base delivery revenues for the company. If approved, the rate increases would take effect on May 1, 2023. The Department of Public Service will host a series of virtual public statement hearings on the rate hikes beginning Sept. 15, with hearings scheduled at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. State residents are able to provide their comments to the PSC about rate changes. Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden said the county is encouraging NYSEG customers to express their opinions about the rate changes to the state agency. “I think when people see those numbers, they’re going to say, ‘What?’” Groden said. “Why are these things going up so much? I don’t know if there’s a correlation between the fact that we’re pushing to more green energy, which is more expensive. There’s a benefit to green energy but now we’re going to agree to pay 50 percent more because we’re going to use solar?” Additional virtual Department of Public Service hearings on the NYSEG proposal will take place on September 28 and October 18, at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. each day. Last week National Grid announced its residential natural gas customers should expect to pay an estimated $263 more on their heating bills, beginning in November and continuing through the end of March. National Grid electric customers will pay approximately 22 percent more than last winter. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Rick Karlin is reporting for the Times Union that General Electric Co. has agreed to conduct a study of possible PCB and other contamination in the lower Hudson River from the Troy Dam to New York Harbor. The agreement was announced by the federal Environmental Protection Agency on September 13. New York parties, led by Department of Environmental Commissioner Basil Seggos as well as the Hudson Riverkeeper group, have maintained that more studies, as well as additional dredging, will likely have to be done. GE has taken the position that its dredging was completed in 2015 when, following an agreement with the EPA, they removed approximately 2.5 million cubic yards of PCB-laden sediment from a 40-mile stretch of the river between Fort Edward and Troy. The contamination dates from the 1940s to the 1970s, when GE regularly discharged PCBs into the Hudson from its capacitor plants in Fort Edward and Hudson Falls. While it was legal to do so at the time, the dumping sparked worries about pollution since PCB is now considered a probable carcinogen. Under the new agreement, GE will develop a plan for “extensive water, sediment, and fish sampling between the Troy Dam and the mouth of the New York Harbor.” The organization will look for evidence of PCBs and other contaminants as well. New data is needed to determine the best path forward, according to the EPA. This is being done in advance of what could be formal studies that could come before a cleanup plan. EPA Regional Administrator Lisa Garcia in a statement, “The information will help us determine whether and how to prioritize investigations in each portion of the lower Hudson and how to best address contamination.” Read the full story in the Times Union.

Former Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan was sworn in as the new Congressperson in New York's 19th Congressional District on Sept. 13. Ryan, a Democrat, fills the final weeks of Antonio Delgado's term, after he resigned to become New York's lieutenant governor. Ryan spoke briefly, standing next to local Reps. Paul Tonko and Sean Maloney, on the U.S. House floor after he was sworn in. Click here to download or play a short excerpt of Ryan's speech. Ryan was assigned to the Armed Services committee.

Ryan: I pledge that I will fight every single day with every ounce of my being to deliver for the great people of New York's 19th district and renew trust and faith in our nation. pic.twitter.com/93dDTGtoS1

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 13, 2022

Patricia Doxsey is reporting for the Daily Freeman the next Ulster County executive will be chosen as part of the November 8 general election, not at a special election in December as had been originally anticipated. Elections officials initially believed there would have to be a special election in December to fill the seat, but officials said on Sept. 13 that the county administrative code requires that the election be held on the same day as the general. The code states: “If said vacancy may be filled by a general election to be held no more than 180 days after the vacancy occurs, then no special election shall be held, and the vacancy shall be filled by a general election.” Ulster County Republican Elections Commissioner John Quigley said that holding the election for county executive at the same time as the general election will save taxpayers approximately $300,000. Former executive Pat Ryan resigned on September 9 after winning election to the 19th Congressional District seat. He was sworn into Congress on Sept. 13. Quigley said political parties have until September 19 to file nominating certificates designating their candidates for the election. Democrats will hold a nominating convention on September 17, to select their candidate. Ulster County Comptroller March Gallagher, former state Senator Jen Metzger and Deputy County Executive Marc Rider have all said they will seek the nomination. Quigley said the Republican Committee’s executive board will select a candidate if someone interested comes forward. The Conservative and Working Families Party must also nominate a candidate by September 19; independent nominating petitions must be filed no later than September 23. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

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Brendan J. Lyons reports in the Times Union that Federal Bureau of Investigation officials arrested Jason T. Schofield, the Republican Rensselaer County Board of Elections commissioner, on Sept. 13. Schofield and other Republican officials have been under investigation for alleged election fraud there in recent elections. In June, Troy councilperson Kimberly Ashe-McPherson plead guilty to federal criminal charge in the investigation examining ballot-fraud allegations. The Times Union reports that Mary E. Sweeney, the county's Democratic deputy elections commissioner, testified last week before a federal grand jury in Albany "as federal authorities zeroed in on Schofield's use of an online portal to obtain absentee ballots." The newspaper also reports that several Republican employees at the board of elections were also subpoenaed this summer to testify before the federal grand jury in Albany and the county itself received a federal grand jury subpoena for materials related to absentee ballots that had been handled by Schofield last year, including through a state-run online portal. Ashe-McPherson, who has since resigned from the Troy city council, admitted she had fraudulently submitted absentee ballots in last year's primary and general elections. Her plea agreement names Schofield as the unidentified board of elections official listed as "Individual-3." According to the plea document, Schofield allegedly helped Ashe-McPherson obtain an absentee ballot through an online portal using the name and date of birth of a voter without "lawful authority." Besides the federal probe of Republican election irregularities, the State Police are conducting a separate investigation of alleged ballot fraud in the city of Rensselaer's mayoral race last November. In addition, Republican Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin plead not guilty to two felony charges involving his alleged theft and misuse of campaign funds. Republicans in Rensselaer County caught up in the election investigations there have denied any wrongdoing, saying they were taking advantage of a directive from the state Board of Elections that allowed individuals to use absentee ballots if they did not want to vote in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Mid-Hudson News reports that the state health department reported eight more deaths in the Hudson Valley from COVID-19. Three of those deaths were in Orange County, while while the other deaths were in Columbia, Putnam, Ulster, and Westchester counties. As the deaths continue, elected officials keep removing mandates meant to protect individuals from the virus. Masks, for instance, are not required any longer on mass transit in New York. Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.

Nick Reisman reports for New York State of Politics that on Sept. 12, Gov. Kathy Hochul's office announced that the New York Power Authority was giving an Israeli firm a $1 million grant to help develop fast-charging battery capabilities for electric vehicles. To phase-out gas-fueled vehicles in New York, the state will need to have many fast-charging stations for cars and trucks throughout the state. "Through key strategic partnerships, New York is driving the advancement of cutting-edge clean energy technologies that will have a global impact in the fight against climate change," Hochul said. "New York's collaboration with the state of Israel, a hub for innovative, clean energy technologies, will deliver forward-thinking solutions that will strengthen New York's EV infrastructure." While California has mandated that no more fossil fuel-powered cars will be sold there after 2035, New York has yet to announce a similar mandate. Read the full story at New York State of Politics.

Sara Rizzo reports for News10 in Albany that the New York State Board for Historic Preservation has recommended adding two properties in Columbia County to the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The Muldor-Miller House and the Red Rock Schoolhouse in Columbia County were among 27 locations throughout the state recommended to be added to the state and national lists of historic places. The Muldor-Miller House is a Greek Revival farmhouse built around 1790 and is a rare surviving example of an early house in Claverack. The property has ties to the region’s Dutch colonial period, with slaves there. The Red Rock Schoolhouse was built around 1830 and taught children through 1943. The one-room schoolhouse was also built in an early 19th century Greek Revival style. Read more about this story at the News10 website.

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Kathleen Moore is reporting for the Times Union that a state Board of Regents committee unanimously voted on Sept. 12 to require all private schools to teach classes in English and ensure all students study math, science, history, and English. The decision would mandate a significant change in how yeshivas and other private schools teach high school classes. Approximately 100 ultra-Orthodox Jews gathered outside the state Education Department on Sept. 12, promising to ignore the new rules. The full Board of Regents will vote on the rules on Sept. 13. The rules would also require that teachers demonstrate competence in the subjects they teach. The regulations would go into effect on September 28, but schools would have until June 2025 to comply. The changes would impact private schools throughout the state. In the Capital Region, few schools are likely to be affected by the rules, which will enforce a long-standing requirement for private schools to provide an education that is “substantially equivalent” to that offered in public schools. The rules would change how high school is currently taught to boys in many yeshivas. In those schools, boys study only the Talmud, a collection of thousands of analytical pieces about the Torah. Boys learn critical thinking as they evaluate the works in the sacred text — but they do not study math, science, history and English as their public school counterparts do throughout high school. At yeshivas, courses are frequently taught in Yiddish. Read the full story in the Times Union.

The Daily Freeman is reporting that three people were injured on Sept. 12, in a crash involving an SUV and a Catskill ambulance. Shortly before noon, Columbia County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a crash involving a 2020 Subaru Crosstrek and a 2016 Chevrolet ambulance from the town of Catskill, according to a press release. The collision occurred on state Route 23 at Middle Road in Greenport. The ambulance was eastbound on Route 23, transporting a patient to the Columbia Memorial Hospital in Hudson when it was struck by the Subaru, traveling south through the intersection from Middle Road, police said. The passenger in the Subaru was taken to CMH for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, police said. The driver was not injured. The ambulance driver was not injured, but an emergency medical services worker and a patient in the ambulance suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The EMS worker and patient, who were not identified, were also taken to CMH police said. The Subaru driver was ticketed for failure to yield the right of way at an intersection. State Route 23 was closed to both east- and west-bound traffic for approximately an hour after the crash. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Ted Remsnyder is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the CREATE Council on the Arts is looking to renew its relationship with Greene County. The county contributes $34,000 a year for the administration of the council and $40,000 for grants to be distributed to county arts groups. This year the county did not dispense the $34,000 in funds for administrative costs after the group went on hiatus following the departure of former Executive Director Marline Martin. Two of the agencies that receive funding from the council — the Bronck Museum in Coxsackie and the Michael J. Quill Irish Cultural and Sports Centre in East Durham — collected their portions of the funding after contacting the county. The rest of the money allocated has yet to be disbursed this year. “They basically went dormant,” Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden said of CREATE. “Without an executive director, all of the programmatic things were shelved. So they just kind of went dark. So we never got their annual application for funding, so the funding just sat there unexpended.” Former CREATE Executive Director Kay Stamer over the summer offered to volunteer to help jumpstart the council and shortly thereafter a new executive team was put in place. Executive Director Nathan McLaughlin and new Council President Anthony DeSantis appeared before the Legislature’s County Resources Committee last week to express their commitment to Greene County and propose the nonprofit group continue its arrangement in distributing the county’s arts grant funding. McLaughlin said the group plans to stay in its space on Main Street in Catskill, where it has been headquartered since the 1980s. Greene County Legislator Matthew Luvera said he wants to see the grant funding dispersed. “We didn’t really want to see the grants go away,” he said. “We were actually in the process of renaming it the Greene County Cultural Fund so we could issue the funds.” Ed. note: WGXC-FM is a program of Wave Farm, a recipient of financial support from the county Legislature through the County Initiative Program, administered by CREATE. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

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