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.

Today's audio daily news update.

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.

Today's audio daily news update.

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

Roger Hannigan Gilson reports in the Times Union that the City of Hudson’s Department of Public Works began tearing down the historic the Furgary Shacks fishing village last week with a plan to complete the work in the summer. The shacks date to the 1800s, built on state land with mostly found materials. The shantytown was a recreational and commercial fishing village from the late 1800s until Hudson police forcibly cleared people from the shacks in 2012, two years after the city took ownership of the area from the state in a land swap. The city is using part of its Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant to pay for the demolition. Hudson Mayor Kamal Johnson said the city ran out of grant money to preserve the shacks and blamed past administrations. Johnson said, “This was the plan created by those before me — I’m just kind of following the DRI process," and that his “overall goal would be to preserve a couple of structures and make it parkland.” New York Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation spokesperson Dan Keefe said, “Our review is ongoing.... However, we anticipate recommending that a portion of the grant funds go to preserving one or more of the buildings, and/or installing educational signage and photographic documentation.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Liz Montgomery reports for Porcupine Soup that interest rates on infrastructure improvements mean property owners in Greenville’s water district saw tax bills up more than 1,000 percent. Greenville water district users were charged $3.06 for every $1,000 of assessed value, up from just 29 cents per thousand last year. The extension of water lines to an additional 20 homes on State Route 81 east, replacement of a 1975 water storage tank, installation of a pressure-reducing valve, and replacement of hydrants and valves are the construction projects raising costs for Greenville residents. Councilperson and Deputy Supervisor Paul Macko, who was supervisor for the last 14 years before this year, took the blame, saying,“This is the first project we have had to pay interest on.... We have lived a charmed life up until now paying zero percent on projects, but nothing is free anymore." The town is paying 3.78 percent interest on the money for the project. Macko predicted that the tax bills will be $1 per thousand of assessed value less next year. Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

New York State of Politics reports that Gov. Kathy Hochul will propose additional duties for Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado in her State of the State speech on Jan. 9. Hochul is proposing a new Office of Service and Civic Engagement. Delgado said, “Gov. Hochul and I realized there needs to be a statewide service and engagement effort." The office will be similar to Americorps, and will partner with both the State University of New York and City University of New York to create a corps of both paid positions and volunteers for service needs in nursing homes, schools, parks, farms, and cities. Delgado said, “The loneliness epidemic post-COVID 19; the rise of hate and intolerance born of discrimination; extreme partisanship and divisiveness; all of this must be combatted in the name of service, compassion and mutual understanding." Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Today's audio daily news update.

NBC News reports that Rep. Elise Stefanik refused to say that she would accept the 2024 election results and refused to criticize former President Donald Trump for his Hitler echo about migrants “poisoning the blood” of America in a "Meet The Press" interview on Jan. 8. Stefanik said, “We will see if this is a legal and valid election.... What we’re seeing so far is that Democrats are so desperate, they’re trying to remove President Trump from the ballot." Actually, Republicans, independents, and Democrats have made efforts to remove Trump from the ballot for attempting to overthrow the government with his support of the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection. The 2020 presidential election was free and fair, and Trump lost over 60 court cases trying to prove otherwise. Stefanik also broke with the police, and supported the rioters who ransacked the U.S. Capitol, saying about those who have been jailed for breaking the law, “I call them hostages. Some people call them prisoners. I call them hostages. Release the J6 hostages, Joe. Release them, Joe. You can do it real easy, Joe.” Previously, Stefanik has ran for her seat saying she supported the police, not criminals. Previously, Stefanik called Jan. 6, 2021 a “truly tragic day for America.” Stefanik represents Rensselaer County and the rest of the 21st Congressional District. Read more about this story at NBC News.

Steve Hughes reports in the Times Union that Bethlehem Democrat Joanne Cunningham is the first woman to chair the Albany County Legislature. Since its founding in 1898 as the Albany County Board of Supervisors, no woman has bee the leader. Now Cunningham is chair and Albany Democrat Wanda Willingham is deputy chair. Last year, Cunningham tried to depose former chair Andrew Joyce. That failed, but this year Willingham had the votes to win the seat. Cunningham said, “What I envisioned in the past did not work.... The respect was not there. I felt like not only was I being overshadowed but minimized and stonewalled.” Joyce said, “I think I was more focused on the work and the job than I was managing all these multiple personalities.... And that was my big mistake.” Cunningham said it is important for women to be in charge sometimes, saying, “I do think it’s really, really important to celebrate that, because women do bring a different leadership style and different leadership skills.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Mid-Hudson News reports that after the winter's first major snow storm, rain forecast for Jan. 9 may cause flooding. The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch for Tuesday and Wednesday ahead of two to four inches of rain expected throughout the region. The National Weather Service said, “Excessive runoff from heavy rainfall and snow melt may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations." In parts of Ulster County, a foot or more of snow fell over the weekend, with about eight inches in Dutchess County, and more like six inches in Greene and Columbia counties. Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.

Today's audio daily news update.

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

Phillip Pantuso reports in the Times Union that Athens town judge E. Timothy Mercer misappropriated town funds and approved a falsified invoice in 2020, according to the state Commission on Judicial Conduct. The Commission said the judge used his position to financially benefit his own company. The state Commission on Judicial Conduct recommended that Mercer, be removed from office. So while Mercer’s term on the Athens Town Court ended Dec. 31, removal would stop him from ever returning to the bench. The report, released Jan. 5, found Mercer awarded a contract to his own company, Mercer Associates to install a security camera. He bought a camera that cost $760 less than the one identified in the application for funds, according to the Commission on Judicial Conduct report. Then he installed it himself, with a court clerk telling him that she did not think he should be performing that work because “it didn’t look good” and “that we should use someone not associated” with the office. A $3,329.99 invoice from Mercer then said the cost of the camera system was $2,329.99, not the actual cost of $1,569.99. Mercer then approved the invoice himself as town justice, checking a box on the form labeled “Department Approval.” The town bookkeeper told the town supervisor about the issue, and the town's attorney recommended withholding the payment. month, A month later the part-time judge submitted another invoice to the town, with an “Overdue Balance” of $3,329.99 and a new “finance charge” of $66.59. Commission Administrator Robert H. Tembeckjian said in a statement, “Leveraging judicial office for personal financial gain, and dealing dishonestly with town and court system officials in the process, undermines public confidence in the integrity of the courts and disqualifies a person from further service on the bench.” Mercer now has 30 days from Dec. 30 to appeal the ruling or the Court of Appeals will remove him from the bench. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Andrea Macko reports for Porcupine Soup that there is a rare case of equine rabies in Schoharie County. A test from the Wadsworth Laboratory in Albany showed a horse, who lived on Lawyersville Road in Cobleskill, with the deadly virus, according to the Schoharie County Department of Health. Rabies testing in animals must be done after the animal is dead, and the Wadsworth Laboratory does not accept live animals. In 2020 New York had just 347 animals diagnosed with rabies including, but not limited to, 159 raccoons, 71 bats, 28 skunks, 31 cats, 34 foxes, four horses, four woodchucks, four deer, three bobcat, three cattle, two fishers, two dogs, and a ferret. The American Association of Equine Practitioners says, “While the incidence of rabies in horses is low, the disease is invariably fatal and has considerable public health significance.” Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.