Click above to download or play the audio version of the local news update for Thu., Nov. 14. (Produced by Philip Grant.)

Sarah Trafton is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media Greene County officials have taken an option to purchase the building currently being used as a temporary sheriff's office in Coxsackie. The price tag is $400,000. The Legislature approved in October, an agreement to lease the space, located at 370 Mansion Street, for a three-year period to provide a place for the county to process those charged and taken into custody. Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden argues that buying the property would ultimately prove cheaper than renting. He communicated with legislators about the purchase option at the request of Coxsackie representative, Republican Charlie Martinez. “If we acquire it now, we save $125,000,” Groden said. “We have to sell it for $400,000 in order to save the $125,000.” Catskill representatives Matthew Luvera and Linda Overbaugh, both Republicans, expressed some concern about the county buying commercial property. "...Acquiring commercial property is a gamble," Luvera said. Overbaugh said the idea made her squeamish. Following the discussion, a resolution to move forward with the proposal was defeated by the Public Works Committee. However, an amended version of the same resolution could be brought before the Finance Committee on Nov. 18. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Amanda Purcell is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Hudson Common Council is examining a proposal to extend the terms for various elected positions. If approved, existing two-year terms would be expanded to four years, effective Jan. 1, 2022, for Mayor, Common Council president, city treasurer, the five county supervisors and 10 aldermen. The changes would then be subject to a public referendum on Election Day 2020. Majority Leader and 2nd Ward Alderwoman Tiffany Garriga spoke in favor of including council members in the proposal. “...[I]t gives us an opportunity to complete a task, so to speak,” she said at the council meeting, November 12. Some agreed with extending the mayor’s term. “Four years — it takes two years to figure out what you are supposed to do,” city resident Patrick Maloy said. Some strongly opposed the idea of longer terms for elected officials. “The power of the people to vote for members of this chamber should not be curtailed,” city resident Matt McGee said. Fourth Ward Supervisor Linda Mussmann urged the council to table the measure and allow for a larger public discussion. Mussmann said, “I have my doubts that this is a good idea. Holding public officials accountable every two years is perhaps the best idea for this moment in time..." First Ward Alderman Rob Bujan suggested adding staggered terms for council members to the proposal. An attempt was made to extend terms for the mayor and Common Council President a decade ago, but was ultimately rejected by the voters. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

The Daily Freeman is reporting Bard College was awarded a gold seal at the 2019 All In Challenge Awards ceremony for its student voting participation. The nonpartisan, national awards recognize colleges and universities that are committed to increasing student voting rates. Bard's student voting rate was between 40 and 49 percent. The voter registration rates for Bard College show 47.2 percent of students voted in 2018, while 82.5 percent of the students were registered and eligible to vote. Overall, student participation in elections has increased from the 2014 to 2018 midterm elections. According to the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement, voter turnout at more than 1,000 institutions participating in the study increased by 21 points, from 19 percent to 40 percent. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Patrick Connelly is reporting for the Buffalo Law Journal and Buffalo Business First New York lawmakers are looking into a proposal to consolidate some of the state's courts. The proposal was announced in September by state Court of Appeals Chief Judge Janet DiFiore who oversees New York’s unified court system. The new structure would have three parts: town and village courts, as they are currently set up; municipal courts (which includes city and district courts); and higher courts. Higher courts would include the current Supreme Court, county courts, family courts, surrogate's courts and the Court of Claims. Those courts would have six branches: criminal, claims, commercial, family, general and probate. Lawmakers held the first legislative hearing on the proposal November 13 in Albany, with a second scheduled for November 21. The changes proposed would require amendments to the state constitution. To become official, they would have to be approved by two consecutively elected state Legislatures and then ratified by the voters. Read the full story at BizJournals [dot] com.

Click above to download or play the audio version of the local news for Thu., Nov. 14. (Produced by Philip Grant.)

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

The early cold snap has some ski resorts busy, with Hunter Mountain opening November 15. Crews there are busy putting down artificial snow. Catamount Ski, in Columbia County, has not updated its website since spring, and seems caught off guard by the cold. That's also true of Windham Mountain which is not making snow yet because they are still finishing an autumn construction project. "We took on major snowmaking projects this summer, including automation on the West Peak, a new booster pump on the East Peak, and replacing over 10,000 feet of air and water pipe across the mountain. It has proved difficult to wrap up these projects and also actively make snow, so we have focused our efforts on finishing as many of these projects as we can over the last several days.... We knew it was a risk to take on these projects – the risk being that it would get this cold, this early in the season – and it did. The reward will be a more efficient, improved system for this winter," says a message on the Windham Mountain website.

Cayla Harris reports for Capitol Confidential that property values increased in Columbia County by more than 10 percent over the past two years. Only three other counties in the state -- Erie, Oswego, and Nassau -- had more than 10 percent growth in property value over the past two years. Overall, property taxes – excluding New York City – are up 2.4 percent from 2018 in New York State, the largest one-year change since 2014. In this year's state budget New York permanently implemented a property tax cap that generally restricts levy increases to two percent. Read more about this story at Capitol Confidential.

Bethany Bump reports in the Times Union that a ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products failed by two votes in the Albany County Legislature Nov. 12. The Legislature voted 18 to 17 for the ban, with one abstention and several absences. In September New York used emergency regulations for a temporary ban on flavored e-cigarette products. But a court granted a temporary restraining order delaying the ban until a lower court considers a legal challenge seeking to overturn the law. On Nov. 13 another New York law went into effect, raising the minimum age to buy tobacco and electronic cigarettes to 21 years old, from 18. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

New York's hunting season begins at sunrise, 6:47 a.m. Nov. 16 for deer and black bear. Hunting continues in the southern zone through Dec. 8. Crossbow season ends locally on Nov. 15. Hunters should go to the DEC website to make sure their licenses are up to date and they are following all rules.

Today's local news update.

Sarah Trafton and Amanda Purcell are reporting for Columbia-Greene Media Columbia and Greene counties are among 15 counties in New York to receive national funding for participation in an opioid study. The goal of the study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, is to reduce opioid-related deaths by 40 percent over three years. The School of Social Work at Columbia University will work alongside the 15 counties to reduce opioid use, increase medication-based treatment, increase treatment retention beyond six months, provide recovery services and expand the distribution of naloxone. The Greene County Legislature last week approved a resolution authorizing the agreement between the Greene County Community Services Board and Columbia University. The Columbia County Board of Supervisors is expected to vote on a similar resolution November 13. Counties qualified for the funding as being the top counties for opioid deaths in the state, board Chairman Matt Murell said. Not a distinction the county is proud of, but officials are grateful for the funds to help solve the problem, Murrell added. In Greene County, mortalities from opioid overdoses have increased "since 2010...from 8.1 per 100,000 to 23.1 per 100,000 in 2017,” Columbia-Greene Addiction and Recovery Coordinator Danielle Hotaling said. “That is a significant increase.” And so far this year, Greene County has had about twice as many overdoses as Columbia County, Hotaling said. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Chris McKenna is reporting for The Fray the absentee count in the very tight Ulster County District Attorney race will commence Mon., Nov. 18. County election officials have approximately 2,800 absentee and affidavit ballots to tally. The contestants in the race to succeed retiring District Attorney Holley Carnright are Democrat Dave Clegg and Republican Michael Kavanagh. The count on election night put Kavanagh in the lead by only three votes. As of November 12, 2,275 of the nearly 3,700 absentee ballots issued to Ulster voters had been returned and reviewed by Tom Turco, the county’s Republican election commissioner and Democratic election commissioner Ashley Dittus. An additional 142 absentee ballots have yet to be viewed by Dittus. The county also has 428 affidavit votes that have not been inspected yet. Turco said the counting of absentee and affidavit ballots will start at 10 a.m. on Monday and could take at least two weeks to complete. Read the full story at The Fray.

Columbia-Greene Media is reporting the Hendrick Hudson Chapter, of the Daughters of the American Revolution has announced it will present Hudson resident Carole Osterink with its Community Service Award. The DAR presents its Community Service Awards on the local, state and national levels to individuals and groups who have "contributed to their communities in an outstanding voluntary, heroic, civil or benevolent manner, or who have participated in or organized community activities." Osterink is a native of Michigan, and has lived in Hudson since the early 1990s. She is a former city alderperson and now maintains The Gossips of Rivertown blog. Osterink will be presented her award at a ceremony to be held the Robert Jenkins House on Warren Street in Hudson, Sat., Nov. 18. Read the full press release at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Rick Karlin is reporting for the Times Union U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has announced she will put forward legislation to place perfluorinated alkylated substances, or PFAS, under the purview of the federal Clean Water Act. PFAS includes compounds such as PFOA. Discovery of PFOA in the drinking water supply in Hoosick Falls three years ago led to a crisis that authorities are still working to clean up. The toxic substances have been linked to thyroid illnesses as well as cancers and immune disorders. The Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency will decide by year’s end whether to propose regulatory standards for how much PFAS should be allowed in drinking water. Gillibrand’s bill would require the EPA to review the sources of PFAS in waterways and to set limits on the amounts that can be released. She also supports bipartisan legislation that would require the EPA to set up a process for adding PFAS to its Toxic Release Inventory. That inventory is a central database showing which chemicals are being released and where. Read the full story in the Times Union.

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

Click above to download or play the audio version of the local news for Wed., Nov. 13. Produced by Philip Grant.

Nick Reisman reports for New York State of Politics that Rensselaer County Clerk Frank Merola's lawsuit against New York State and its new "Green Light" law may be back on. The local effort to stop undocumented immigrants from receiving driver's licenses was put on hold while Erie County Clerk Mickey Kearns challenged the law. But a federal judge threw out that effort last week, writing that Kearns did not have standing to challenge the law. Now Merola says he is filing an injunction to block the measure from taking effect. “Fifty-one county clerks are doing DMV business across the state,” Merola said. “We run over 100 DMV offices. I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t have more standing than the county clerks.” Right now the law is set to take effect on Dec. 14. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Amanda Purcell reports for Columbia-Greene Media that Columbia County Republican Election Commissioner Jason Natske said Nov. 12 that a hand count of 700 early votes caused the three-day delay in releasing election results last week. The complete Columbia County election results, in fact, have still not been published. Natske said the election officials did not have a working plan for how to count election day votes and early voting votes. “We were required to essentially wait until 9 p.m. to reopen the early vote machines and which from all three sites had transported back to the board of elections,” Natske said. “The challenge for us was we had programmed each poll site individually, and we had to, the following day, merge the results of the three polls sites in order to have one tabulated early vote.” He said county-wide election results will be announced some time this week. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.