Today's daily news update.

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

Ted Remsnyder is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media Columbia-Greene Community College started the fall semester on September 6, with a 5 percent increase in enrollment since last year. Columbia-Greene President Carlee Drummer credited the enrollment increase to new curriculum programs the school launched in time for the 2022-23 school year. She said, “...The college has several exciting new programs, including the Cannabis Retail and Sales micro-credentials and the Police Basic Training certificate. In addition, the flagship programs in nursing and transfer programs in psychology and Individual Studies remain solidly enrolled. We’re all very optimistic about these trends.” Drummer said the referenced enrollment increase reflects the statistics for the first day of classes, but the final enrollment numbers will not be known until October. In the lead-up to the start of the fall semester, the Greenport-based community college hosted its first in-person student orientation in three years. More than half of the school’s class offerings are being offered in-person this year, but scheduling options for students who prefer online classes are still being accommodated. Read the full story at hudsonvalley360 [dot] com.

Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Capital Region Independent Media three Democrats will be on the ballot for the November Coeymans town election. Former town clerk Cindy Rowzee and Ron Hotaling are running for the two open seats on the town board, and Peter DeLuke is running for highway superintendent. At the party caucus in July, there were no nominations for town clerk and town justice so the Republican nominees are running unopposed. The town board and highway superintendent positions, as well as the town clerk slot, are vacant after those elected officials stepped down. Rowzee served as town clerk for four years before unsuccessfully running for town supervisor in 2021. “I have lived in this community for 11 years. ...I want to use the experience I have gained in working for local municipalities to make a difference on the Coeymans Town Board.” Her platform includes the implementation of a new ethics law, and transparency in government. Rowzee was one of the organizers to successfully file a petition to put the proposed $7 million town hall project on the ballot in November. Hotaling is a lifelong resident of Coeymans, said he also wants to see more transparency in local government. “Living in the town of Coeymans the majority of my life, I have served this community in many ways such as youth sports, local EMS and sitting on my church Parish Council, to name a few,” Hotaling said. He is calling for open government and fiscal responsibility. "We need more things for the youth and open collaboration between the village and the town. I want an out-in-the-open government," Hotaling said. He agreed the current town hall building has outlived its useful life, but questioned the process and wanted additional information to be shared with the community. Peter DeLuke is running for highway superintendent to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of longtime superintendent Scott Searles. “I am ready to serve the public and listen to their needs while working with the town board to budget for all phases of operations for the highway and beautification departments,” DeLuke said. “I will use my experience from my current position at New York State Department of Transportation to bring some of today’s technology and programs to the town. ...” The general election ends on November 8 this fall. Read the full story at theupstater [dot] com.

Liz Montgomery is reporting for Porcupine Soup forest rangers responded over the weekend to two separate calls for injured hikers, one who was found just feet from the edge of Kaaterskill Falls. Greene County 911 contacted the rangers on the afternoon of September 3, about a person with an unstable lower leg injury on the Mary's Glen trail. Rangers responded along with rescue crews and located a 32-year-old woman from Washington, D.C., splinted her injured ankle, gave her crutches, and helped carry her to a waiting ambulance that transported her to Kingston Hospital. On the morning of September 4, Greene County 911 contacted rangers with a report of a person falling from the top of Kaaterskill Falls. When the rangers responded they located a 22-year-old man from New Jersey with an unstable right ankle injury. He was found at the top of Kaaterskill Falls in the creek, approximately 12 feet from the edge of the 260-foot-high falls. After moving the injured person to a safer spot, rangers, Hunter police, and Hunter Ambulance administered first aid and carried him to the trail. The man was eventually transported to Kingston via ambulance. Read the full story at porcupine soup [dot] com.

Today's daily news update.

The Common Cause website is tracking Congress members votes on democracy-related legislation at the Democracy Scorecard. Democrat Rep. Paul Tonko, of the 20th Congressional District, gets the best score locally. Tonko voted for all 18 democracy-related legislation tracked here, and co-sponsored four of the bills. Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Republican from the 21st Congressional District, only voted for one of the 18 bills tracked, the Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act. Democrat Rep. Sean Maloney, currently representing the 18th Congressional District, got a 16 out of 18 score, while there is no score for the 19th Congressional District after Democrat Antonio Delgado resigned and recently-elected fill-in Pat Ryan has yet to cast a vote. "Common Cause does not endorse or oppose candidates; we simply provide constituents the facts about how your delegation voted, so you and the people you share this nonpartisan tool can make an informed and comprehensive evaluation of your legislators’ performance," the website says. See the Democracy Scorecard for more information.

Dareh Gregorian and Tom Winter report for NBC News that former advisor to President Donald Trump Steve Bannon was charged with money laundering and conspiracy in a fraud case in New York on Sept. 8. Bannon had similar federal charges leveled against him in August 2020 but was later pardoned by then-President Trump. But the pardon only covered federal charges, and states could still indict Bannon, which is what New York did. The fraud alleged was on donations meant to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Bannon "acted as the architect of a multi-million dollar scheme to defraud thousands of donors across the country — including hundreds of Manhattan residents.... It is a crime to turn a profit by lying to donors, and in New York, you will be held accountable.” Bannon said, “This is nothing more than a partisan political weaponization of the criminal justice system.”

Nada Shalash reports in the Times Union about how New York’s new package policy is affecting incarcerated individuals. The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision announced earlier this year that in New York family and friends can no longer bring care packages during visits to incarcerated loved ones or mail them directly to correctional facilities in order to improve prison security. Instead, packages can only be mailed directly from approved vendors, including the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx, and UPS. Render Stetson-Shanahan, incarcerated at the Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy, misses the packages his mother brought him. “She made the packages lovingly, always trying to add something different and surprising,” he said in an email to the Times Union. “I do not believe the new policy will result in a significant change to the influx of contraband, nor do I believe that packages were ever the primary (or secondary) mode of introducing contraband to facilities.” Priscila Echevarria de Sepulveda, whose husband is incarcerated at the Fishkill Correctional Facility in Beacon, said, “How are they going to get fresh vegetables? Fresh produce? Fresh fruit? In transit, it’s going to get rotten.” Cooked meat, for instance, is now effectively banned by the policy. A similar package ban in 2018 was later retracted after a public backlash. Officials from the Department of Corrections and Community declined to be interviewed for this story, but DOCCS spokesperson Nicole Sheremeta referred to a statement saying the package ban “was driven by the increasing number of packages found to contain contraband drugs and weapons.” The department also said “it is inaccurate to label this a package ban.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Today's daily news update.

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

Robert Gavin is reporting for the Times Union that Raymond J. Kennedy, a justice in Durham Town Court, was disciplined with a censure Sept. 7, after he name-dropped his judicial status in a small claims matter involving his wife. Kennedy has served as a justice since Jan. 1, 2008. He also tried to serve as his wife Debi's attorney while not a lawyer, according to the decision by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct. Censure is the second-most severe punishment meted out by the commission; Kennedy agreed to the punishment. “Public confidence in the integrity of the judiciary is undermined whenever a judge invokes the prestige of office for a private benefit," Robert Tembeckjian, the commission's administrator, said in a statement. "It was plainly improper for Judge Kennedy to make references to his judicial position when his wife was sued, and to act as her lawyer in the case when in fact he is not a lawyer.” Kennedy told Catskill Village Justice William P. Wootton in making the case for his wife on April 17, 2019, "Your Honor, I'll state that to the court that it's no secret I'm a judge in another locality — and prior to that, I was a state trooper for 30 years." The case involved a rental property in Hopewell Junction in Dutchess County owned by the judge and his wife. While appearing before Wootton, Kennedy spoke in his wife's defense and cross-examined one of the plaintiffs. He also offered testimony about his wife's interactions with the plaintiffs which he did not witness. Justice Wootton ultimately found for the plaintiffs and the Kennedys had to pay them $3,000. Kennedy represented himself in the disciplinary hearing, and in an April letter to the commission, he admitted acting and speaking inappropriately in the matter. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Meg Britton-Mehlisch is reporting for The Berkshire Eagle that Timothy Shugrue, a former prosecutor and local defense attorney defeated incumbent Andrea Harrington in the Democratic primary for Berkshire County District Attorney that ended Sept. 6. Shugrue, of Pittsfield, told supporters at an election night watch party that voters had sent a clear message on their expectations for the office. “The message tonight, as you saw in the turnout — which was a nice turnout — and you saw it in the manner in which we won: people wanted a change,” Shugrue said. About 9:45 p.m., Harrington called Shugrue to concede and congratulate him on his campaign. She then appeared before a crowd of family, office staff and campaign supporters to let them know about her decision to concede. “I’m very dedicated to ensuring that we have a smooth transition in the District Attorney’s Office,” she said. Shugrue will become the next DA in January after his victory in the Democratic primary because there are no Republican challengers in the race. During the campaign, Shugrue, 62, drew strong differences between himself and Harrington, contrasting their views on what it means to be an effective progressive leader. During her tenure, Harrington focused on reducing racial bias in the criminal justice system, took a hard line against gender-based violence and brought an evidence-based approach to personal-use drug crimes. In the DA's contest she received support from U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Massachusetts Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Maura Healey. Shugrue said he intends to rebuild what he said was the "broken" relatioinship between the DA's office and local law enforcement. In the final weeks of the campaign, he was endorsed by the unions representing the Massachusetts State Police, North Adams police and supervisors, as well as the Pittsfield police. Shugrue said, “We need both campaigns to work together now in unison. To work together to bring crime under control in Berkshire County and to fairly reaffirm and reform the criminal justice system ... The stakes are high. We must come together once and for all because justice [is] for all.” Read the full story in The Berkshire Eagle.

Nick Reisman is reporting for State of Politics that, according to a Siena College poll released on September 7, a majority of New York residents support President Joe Biden's plan for student debt relief. However, the issue sharply divides Democrats, Republicans, and independents along generational and political lines. New Yorkers over the age of 65 were less likely to support the plan, while it is most popular with people under the age of 50. The plan would affect student loan debt of up to $10,000 in federal loans for borrowers who earn less than $125,000 a year, and couples who make less than $250,000. Relief would also apply for up to $20,000 in Pell Grant recipients as well. The poll found that 56 percent of respondents support the plan with 33 percent opposed. Support was most popular among black residents, at 77 percent. Debt forgiveness is also most popular for people between the ages of 35 to 49, 67 to 20 percent. Democrats backed the plan by 82 percent. GOP voters rejected the idea, with 61 percent of those surveyed saying it went too far. Independents are divided: 38 percent in support, 46 percent against. The poll was conducted from August 28 to September 1. Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.

Today's daily news update.

NBC New York reports that while COVID-19 deaths and cases continue locally and worldwide, Gov. Kathy Hochul is ending mask mandates on mass transit in the state. "Masks are encouraged but optional on our mass transit across our state of New York," Hochul said. "If you choose not to have a mask, it's your own risk assessment. You make your own determination but do not judge your fellow passengers on what their choices are." Masks are still required in health care facilities, nursing homes, jails, prisons, and domestic violence shelters. Even as more COVID-19 cases and deaths are reported locally and globally, masks are coming off. The mask mandate "was there for the right reason, to protect our health," Hochul said. "This is watching the trends and we're seeing a stabilization. We're very optimistic that we will be assuring each others' safety." Read the full story at NBC New York.

Briana Supardi reports for CNY Central that the New York Farm Wage Board voted Sept. 6 to recommend lowering overtime threshold for farm workers. But it will be ten years before farm workers get overtime after 40 hours of work, like grocery store employees or record store clerks. Currently, farm workers do not receive overtime pay until they work 60 hours in a week. "Every industry has to pay overtime pay after 40 hours,” said Lisa Zucker, Senior Attorney of Legislative Affairs with New York Civil Liberties Union. "We have doctors talk about the stress injuries they see everyday because farm workers working their bodies 60 hours a week, a week, a week, a week on end,” said Zucker. “And if you’re going to do that, you’re really essentially shortening your career risking injury, you need to be compensated for that just like with every other industry.” Raymond Dykeman, who co-owns Dykeman & Sons dairy farm, says he will downsize his farm if forced to pay employees just like other employers. “Pricing on the farm — we get whatever we’re paid, we can demand higher pricing,” Dykeman said. New York lawmakers are giving farmers a 118-percent tax credit for every dollar they spend on overtime pay. New York's Department of Labor has 45 days to accept, reject, or modify the board’s recommendation.

Amanda Burke reports for The Berkshire Eagle that Thomas Bowler won the Democratic primary election for sheriff of Berkshire County. And since there is no Republican running, he will have a third six-year term as sheriff. Bowler beat challenger Alfred E. "Alf" Barbalunga, the chief probation officer of the Southern Berkshire District Court, with 80 percent of the vote. Celebrating his victory at the Berkshire Hills Country Club, fireworks erupted outside, visible through the windows behind Bowler. “Those are illegal in Massachusetts,” Bowler quipped. “We got a permit!” someone shouted, drawing laughter from the crowd. "We are going to continue to try and give you the quality of life that each and every one of you deserve,” Bowler said at the event. In the race for Massachusetts governor, Maura Healey won the Democrats nomination, and Geoff Diehl will be the Republican nominee in the general election in November. Read more about this story in The Berkshire Eagle.

Today's daily news update.

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