Raymond Pignone reports for Columbia-Greene Media that part of the land for the proposed Shepherd’s Run solar energy project in Columbia County from Hecate Energy has been sold, creating new questions for its approval. Craryville Farms LLC purchased 60 acres at the corner of Cambridge Road and county Route 7 on Jan. 2, part of a proposed 265-acre solar installation near Route 23, Route 7, and Route 11A in Craryville and Copake. Brittany Kenny, senior public affairs manager with Martin Group Marketing, which is working with Sensible Solar, a group opposing the project, said, “We don’t know what this will mean for the future of the project.... But we do know it brings everything into question, and we know it throws a monkey wrench into the project.” The town of Copake immediately after the sale filed a petition with the New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting for an immediate adjournment of two public hearings scheduled for Jan. 9 and Jan. 10 about the proposed solar project, and to dismiss Hecate’s application as “infeasible and inaccurate.” The newspaper could not get anyone from Hecate Energy's Chicago office to return calls or emails for comment. Kenny said, “The farmer who sold the land to the LLC wants it to remain forever agricultural, so the land will remain in active agricultural use.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

News 10 reports that just as it finally feels like winter, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation announced that online registration for the 2024 Summer Camps program will open at 1 p.m. on March 24. The DEC Summer Camps webpage lets guardians register youth for a week of camp, manage their accounts, and complete required forms and waivers. The DEC has offered the week-long camping trip with conservation education for children ages 11-17 for 77 years. Read more about this story at the News 10 website.

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Molly Burke reports in the Times Union that a majority of New Yorkers want increased taxes on profitable corporations and the top five percent of earners, according to a new Siena College poll. The poll shows that 67 percent of surveyed residents support tax increases, including 81 percent of Democrats, 59 percent of independents, and 46 percent of Republicans. New York is faced with budget deficits this year, and the poll says 71 percent of New Yorkers would prefer an increase in taxes on profitable corporations and high-income earners rather than cut state services and programs. But the survey also found that 60 percent of New Yorkers say they believe that raising taxes on the rich could result in “billionaire flight.” Don Levy, director of the Siena College Research Institute, said, “What’s really phenomenally interesting in this survey — I think you have to kind of wrestle with it a little bit yourself — is that even amongst people who hold that view, a majority say we need to raise taxes.... So I hope the governor takes a serious look and includes it in her and her team’s analysis moving forward.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

The Daily Freeman reports one of the first closures for the snowstorm forecast this weekend. The prediction of “several inches of snow” from Saturday night into Sunday has the New York State Thruway Authority postponing roadwork this weekend that would have closed the northbound lanes of the New York State Thruway between New Paltz and Newburgh. Thruway Authority officials said, “With several inches of snow expected to fall Saturday night into Sunday, the Thruway Authority has decided to postpone this work for the safety of all involved — our motorists, our employees and the crews involved in the removal of the overpass — and to allow our maintenance forces to focus their efforts on clearing and treating the highway.... The overpass removal will be rescheduled as soon as the weather allows. While this work won’t be happening this weekend, many motorists will be experiencing their first snowfall of the season and should exercise caution on the roads — remember to drive slowly and don’t crowd the plow.” A section of the Thruway would have been closed to traffic for at least 12 hours before the snowfall prediction came. The storm would be the first major snow storm of the winter in the Hudson Valley, with up to a foot of snow forecast in some areas. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Josh McMullen reports for News10 that Gov. Kathy Hochul keeps announcing proposals that will be in her Jan. 9 State of the State speech including a six-point plan to combat maternal and infant mortality in New York. Recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics show that the state has seen an increase in infant mortality for the first time in over two decades. Hochul said, “Make no mistake: we are facing a maternal and infant mortality crisis.... As New York’s first mom governor, this is personal to me. We are committed to tackling this crisis head-on with policies that lift up parents and children throughout the State of New York.” Her proposal would make New York the first state in the nation with statewide coverage for prenatal care. Read more about this story at News10.

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Andrea Macko reports for Porcupine Soup that at the Greene County Courthouse on Jan. 1, new Greene County Court Judge David Costanzo was sworn-in by retiring Judge Terry J. Wilhelm. Costanzo replaces Wilhelm, presiding over the County, Family and Surrogate's courts. Wilhelm was first elected county judge in 2013 and was Greene County’s district attorney for 14 years before that. He retired this year due to a mandated retirement age of 70 for judges in New York State. Costanzo, who lives in Greenville, has been prosecutor for 23 years, most recently as chief assistant district attorney to Greene County District Attorney Joseph Stanzione. He ran unopposed in the November election on both the Republican and Conservative lines. Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

Formal challenges to Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy have been filed in at least 33 states, according to a New York Times review of court records and other documents. New York State of Politics that in New York the State Board of Elections are expected to make a decision in early February on the matter. Election lawyer Jerry Goldfeder said, “The Board of Elections, of course, is made up of two Republicans and two Democrats and you need a majority to disqualify Trump.... So, ultimately it is going to the courts of the state of New York to make the final determination.” Trump is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a ruling by Colorado’s highest court that would ban him from the state’s ballot over his actions on January 6, 2021, urging on an attempt to overturn a free and fair election. That ruling would overrule any New York court ruling on the matter.

The Times Union reports that beginning Jan. 16 and continuing until early spring, there will be a few Metro-North cancelations due to work to replace track and switches near Grand Central Terminal. On the Hudson Line, the 7:03 a.m. train from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central will not run. Affected riders should take either the 6:48 or 7:11 a.m. train instead. The 7:35 a.m. train from Irvington to Grand Central will not run. The 7:31 a.m. train from Croton-Harmon to Grand Central will leave 9 minutes earlier and make the stops of both trains. The 6:11 p.m. train from Grand Central to Poughkeepsie will not run. Affected riders should take the 6:15 p.m. train instead. The 6:22 p.m. train from Grand Central to Croton-Harmon will not run. Affected riders should take the 6:25 p.m. train instead. The MTA also says that some trains will leave on different tracks than they currently do. Metro-North Railroad President Catherine Rinaldi said in a statement, “The tracks and switches in and around the Grand Central Terminal complex are at the heart of the Metro-North system.... It is vital that we keep those tracks in a state of good repair to ensure that our Hudson, Harlem and New Haven customers can continue to enjoy safe and reliable service into Grand Central Terminal.” Read the full story in the Times Union.

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Liz Montgomery reports for Porcupine Soup that a report released Jan. 3 by the New York State Department of Health found that approximately one in four adults in New York experienced food insecurity in 2021. Food insecurity is the percentage of adults who say that they were always, usually, or sometimes worried about having enough money to buy nutritious meals in the past 12 months. The numbers locally were better than the statewide figure of 24.9 percent. Greene County is listed at 16.6 percent, Columbia County at 12.3 percent, Delaware County at 18.6 percent, Ulster County at 13.4 percent, and Albany County at 21.3 percent. State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, "Hunger stresses the body and mind, and can result in malnutrition, inability to concentrate, anxiety, and depression.... In addition, adults who experience food insecurity are more likely to report chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, asthma, and cancer.” The results are from during the COVID-19 pandemic. More recent local data is not available, but the Census Bureau’s November 2023 Household Pulse Survey found that nearly 28 million people in the U.S. reported experiencing food scarcity this past October, which was the highest number recorded by the survey since December of 2020. Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

Bernadette Hogan reports for New York State of Politics that legislators returned to Albany on Jan. 3, to start a new session, and leaders again said the lack of affordable housing is the state's biggest issue. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said, “Every community in this state is feeling the effects of our housing crisis, and it is up to us to enact solutions. All stakeholders must come to the table and have a serious discussion about how we can work together to solve New York’s affordable housing crisis.” Last year, Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed to build 800,000 new housing units in the next decade, but legislators did not pass her proposal. The legislative session began Jan. 3, and lawmakers have until April 1 to pass a budget. Hochul gives her State of the State speech on Jan. 9. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Brian Hubert reports in the Daily Freeman that the Hudson Valley Philharmonic says its musicians want to split from the Bardavon, the non-profit that runs the Ulster Performing Arts Center in Kingston and the Bardavon in Poughkeepsie. Philharmonic musicians said in a joint statement, “Separating from our current management at the Bardavon is necessary for us because we have more to offer the community than the Bardavon is willing to plan and produce.” The orchestra members said a lack of concert dates, the cancellation of Young People’s Concerts and auditions, and not filling the role of its late music director Randall Craig Fleischer forced the split. Bardavon Executive Director Chris Silva said they presented a three-year contract in spring 2023 to the musicians, with “substantial salary increases” and just three concerts per season. But the musicians rejected that contract offer and the 2023-2024 season was canceled. Silve said, “Musicians saying ‘we want more programming’ when the existing programming is already not financially sustainable ignores the issues at hand and is not a realistic path forward.” A large donation covered recent orchestra deficits, but Silva said, “We can’t make budget projections based on the possibility of future bequests.... Symphony orchestras large and small across the country have been failing or struggling to survive both pre and post-pandemic." The musicians say they are talking to other venues about performing, and looking for sponsorship. The orchestra currently has 51 members with 10 open positions. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

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Kathleen Moore reports in the Times Union that New York's SUNY colleges will have a $1.1 billion annual deficit unless funding increases or costs fall. School officials want regular increases in aid or permission to increase tuition. State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. said in a report written with his staff that, “SUNY will fail to achieve operational sustainability,” unless steps are taken. Already, the SUNY Fredonia and Potsdam schools have made cuts. School officials say “modest, differential tuition increases.... could be readily managed through efficiencies, collaboration and other actions.” Last year, the state legislature gave the SUNY system $163 million in additional funding, but the state is also facing large deficits. Cuts are also in the future for SUNY schools. SUNY officials say they may not offer every typical major at every campus and majors with few students enrolled might be dropped. They are also likely to cut programs in the humanities, which saw the greatest loss in enrollment over the last 20 years. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Jamie DeLine reports at News10 that Gov. Kathy Hochul gives her State of the State speech on Jan. 9, Hochul's staff is starting to tell the press what issues she will focus on, and insulin is one. Hochul is proposing a bill to ban co-pays for insulin on certain insurance plans. Hochul said, “This will be the most expansive insulin cost-sharing prohibition in the nation. It will give financial relief for 1.6 million New Yorkers." Dr. Pasquale Passarella, Assistant Professor of Medicine and facility member of Albany Medical Center, said, “The cost of a vial of insulin can vary— and I’m taking this from GoodRX, anywhere from $30 up to $130 per vial. A single vial of insulin may last someone a couple days up to a few weeks.” Read more about this story at News10.

Phillip Pantuso reports for the Times Union that northbound lanes of the I-87 interstate highway will be closed for at least 12 hours on Saturday, Jan. 6, for construction work. The damaged Brookside Road overpass in New Paltz will be removed overnight. The overpass has been hit 27 times since 2019, and is now structurally unsound. Northbound traffic will be detoured onto local roads at exit 17 for 24 miles during the construction, and there should be large delays, and an increase in travel time. Read more about this story in the Times Union.