Olivia Beavers and Meridith McGraw report for Politico that there is now a full-on feud between Rep. Elise Stefanik and New York's Republican Party Chair Nick Langworthy. Stefanik quickly backed Carl Paladino, who has a history of racist statements, to fill a Buffalo-area Congressional seat. Then Langworthy announced he would run himself for the Congressional seat of resigning Republican Chris Jacobs. Then things got messy. "Langworthy’s political director for the state party restricted fundraising and voter contact data Stefanik’s team could access before the Republican National Committee intervened to restore it, according to one person familiar with the matter. Stefanik’s team suggested the RNC stop sending money to the New York GOP to pay for staff and instead hire New York-based RNC-paid staffers, this person added, insisting on anonymity to address the feud candidly," the story says. National Republicans are saying there is no problem. RNC spokesperson Emma Vaughn said in a statement that the national party committee “has a great partnership with NYGOP Chairman Langworthy and Republican Conference Chair Stefanik." Paladino, who Stefanik is backing, is seen in a 2021 video calling Adolf Hitler “the kind of leader we need.” Redistricting has Stefanik representing Rensselaer County if she is re-elected in November. Read more about this story at Politico.

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WPDH-FM [dot] com is reporting the two Mid-Hudson counties with the largest population of black residents did not recognize Juneteenth as a holiday. Juneteenth commemorates the date enslaved African Americans in Texas were finally notified that the Civil War was over and they were free. New York and other states recognized Juneteenth as a holiday in 2020 and June 19 officially became a federal holiday in 2021. All state and federal employees had the day off, but employees of Dutchess and Orange counties still had to show up for work. Both counties have traditionally closed on all federal holidays, including Columbus Day, Veterans Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In addition, they are also closed to observe other non-federal holidays such as Lincoln's Birthday and Election Day. However, despite being both a federal and New York state holiday, Juneteenth was not recognized by either Orange or Dutchess counties. Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus' office confirmed the county was open on June 20. Duchess County Executive and congressional candidate Marc Molinaro did not initially respond to a request for comment, but his office eventually reached out saying Molinaro "supports Juneteenth being a county holiday and he has gone on the record supporting it." His office cited a 2020 quote in which Molinaro said Juneteenth "should be a national celebration of freedom." but noted the approval of Juneteenth as a county holiday is the work of the County Legislature. Read the full story at wpdh [dot] com.

Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Capital Region Independent Media the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk school district is asking for community input on a potential capital construction project that could bring widespread changes to school facilities. A survey was posted on the district website last week asking community members to respond to questions about what changes they would like to see in district facilities. Survey responses will be used to inform a future construction project that could go to a referendum this fall. The district has brought together a Facilities Planning Committee of teachers, support staff, parents and guardians, board of education members, high school students and building and district leaders to come up with a proposed construction project. The committee held its first meeting June 9 and will hold subsequent meetings on June 30, July 28, August 11, and September 1 and 22, according to the district. The most recent capital project, which began during the 2015-16 academic year, has just been finished. Another smaller project, with a $2.3 million price tag, was approved by voters in the May budget vote. The committee will gather community input, look at past projects, and then come up with a five-year plan for facilities improvements, Superintendent Brian Bailey said. “We worked on the survey that went out to the entire community — questions about what our community priorities are, related to programs and outcomes for students, both in maintaining our existing facilities and doing repairs, and what do we dream about in the future,” Bailey said. The cost of the capital project is not yet known. The survey will close June 28 at 6 p.m. Read the full story at TheUpStater [dot] com.

Maura Rosner is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media six years after developers made their initial proposal, the Flint Mine Solar Project has been given the green light. The project is located at the southern end of the town of Coxsackie and the northern section of the town of Athens. Flint Mine will advance New York’s emissions goals, according to Athens Town Supervisor Michael Pirrone. “This will help reduce the community’s reliance on fossil fuels," he said. Hudson Solar and Amber Infrastructure are the current investors in the Flint Mine Solar project. The project will supply 175,000-megawatt hours of renewable energy equivalent to the average annual electricity of 21,000 Greene County homes. The project will include the construction of internal infrastructure including transformers, inverters, voltage cable collection systems, an onsite substation, access roads, a temporary laydown area and security fencing, Pirrone said. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Matt Burgess reports for Wired that for an hour on May 30, there was no internet service in the city of Kherson in south Ukraine. There was not a bombing of a cell tower, or a warehouse of servers that day. Russia was taking over the internet then, switching to its service providers and online censorship, moving from KhersonTelecom to Miranda Media, a Crimea-based company. "Multiple Ukrainian ISPs are now forced to switch their services to Russian providers and expose their customers to the country’s vast surveillance and censorship network, according to senior Ukrainian officials and technical analysis viewed by Wired," Burgess wrote. Internet companies are being given a choice: reroute their connections under Russian control or shut down entirely. “We understand this is a gross violation of human rights,” Victor Zhora, the deputy head of Ukraine’s cybersecurity agency, said. “Since all traffic will be controlled by Russian special services, it will be monitored, and Russian invaders will restrict the access to information resources that share true information.” There are many media reports that Ukraine is doing well, holding off Russian invaders, but this story says the Russians are taking over not just land but infrastructure. In occupied regions of Ukraine around most of the 1,200 ISPs have been switched to Russian control. “We understand that most of them are forced to connect to Russian telecom infrastructure and reroute traffic,” Zhora said. The war in Ukraine has been fought on the radio waves, with Russia bombing Ukraine TV stations, using satellites for cyberattacks, and sending out misinformation on all sorts of frequencies. And Russia's System for Operative Investigative Activities is used to read people’s emails, intercept text messages, and surveil other communications. “They are afraid that the news about the progress of the Ukrainian army will encourage resistance in the Kherson region and facilitate real activities,” Zhora claims. Read more about this story at Wired.

New York 19 Congressional Candidate Forum with candidates Jamie Cheney, Josh Riley, and Osun Zotique on June 20, 2022, hosted by the Tompkins County Democratic Committee.

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Maysoon Khan reports in the Troy Record that New York legislators rushed to pass legislation after the mass murder of grocery shoppers in Buffalo recently. But the ban on sales of bullet-resistant vests to most civilians that legislators enacted does not cover the type of armor worn by the gunman who killed 10 people at that Buffalo supermarket. The shooter there wore a steel-plated vest, while the new law restricts sales of vests defined as “bullet-resistant soft body armor.” The soft vests, now banned in New York, stop pistol shots, while a steel-plated vest will stop most rifle rounds. “I’m not convinced that this legislation is very meaningful,” said Warren Eller, a public policy professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Brad Pedell runs 221B Tactical, a tactical gear and body armor store in New York City, and said his store sells more hard-plated armor than the soft type being banned. Gov. Kathy Hochul seems to realize she signed an inadequate bill, putting out a statement that said: “Governor Hochul was proud to sign the groundbreaking new law passed by the legislature to restrict sales of body armor, and will work with the legislature to expand the definitions in the law at the first available opportunity.” Assemblymember Jonathon Jacobson admits the legislation he was the lead sponsor on is flawed. “We wanted to get things done as quickly as possible, and not let the perfect get in the way of the good,” said Jacobson. “Like all laws in New York State, we always try to make them better in the future. Of course we’ll try to make this law better.” Read more about this story in the Troy Record.

Gothamist reports that on June 20 Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the "John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York" into law. “As always, when the federal government fails to act, you can count on New York to punch back and fight even harder,” Hochul said. “No state in the nation has stood up with the courage and the conviction and the power that we have by protecting these important rights.” The new law prohibits local election administrators from taking actions that could suppress votes based on race and requires election administrators in jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination to seek an authorization before a change is made, from the state attorney general’s office or a local court. Hochul signed the bill on the federal Juneteenth holiday, which commemorates when the last enslaved Africans were told they were freed two years after the end of the Civil War. Read more about this story at Gothamist.

Bill Mahoney reports for Politico that Antonio Delgado resigned as a Congressperson, leaving citizens in the 19th Congressional District without a vote in Washington, D.C., and with the possibility he may lose his bid to become lieutenant governor. “This is a race with question marks and not exclamation points,” said Democratic consultant Bruce Gyory, about the election that includes Delgado, progressive activist Ana Maria Archila, and former New York City Council Member Diana Reyna. Delgado explains what his role would be if elected: “My job as a partner is to make sure that in our shared capacities — we bring to the table different outlooks different perspectives, different experiences — that we try our best to complement each other for the betterment of the state,” Delgado said in an interview. “That is our shared objective, that is our shared goal, and that is certainly my orientation to this role.” Archila sees the job differently. “The lieutenant governor’s role is an elected role, but it’s used as if it were an appointed role by the governor, just as a surrogate,” Archila said. “It could be an office that actually is used to make sure that the people who actually need government to work, the people whose lives are most at stake … that those folks actually have the ear of somebody in the executive branch.” There has not been public polling on this election. Early voting is going on now and the polls close on June 28. Read more about this story at Politico.

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JeanneTyler Moodee Lockman is reporting for CNY Central the New York State Attorney General's Office has made its Election Protection Hotline available for the June 28 primary election during the early voting period, which runs from June 18 through June 26. The hotline is available to troubleshoot and resolve a range of issues encountered by voters, including voting by absentee ballot because of COVID or in-person at a polling location. Voters experiencing problems can report their situation to the AG's office by calling the hotline number at 866-390-2992, submitting a complaint online at ag [dot] ny [dot] gov, or emailing election [dot] hotline [at] ag [dot] ny [dot] gov. The hotline is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on early voting days, and between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. on Election Day, June 28. “As states throughout the country try to strip communities of their fundamental right to vote, we are continuing to make sure that the polls remain accessible for voters across New York,” said Attorney General Letitia James. “For years, New Yorkers have relied on our election protection hotline to address any challenges they face across the state and to provide guidance for those casting a ballot.” Read the full story at CBS6Albany [dot] com.

Michelle Del Rey is reporting for the Times Union nearly 80,000 of New York state’s original COVID-19 Excelsior passes are set to expire on June 30 for e-certificates received after March 1. This has prompted state health officials  to encourage those vaccinated to get the latest version of the Excelsior Pass Plus app. Many of the original electronic passes issued over the past year have already expired, but the state no longer requires restaurants and entertainment venues demand proof of vaccination to enter. At this point, requiring someone to provide a coronavirus vaccination record is so rare that it is unclear why the state is continuing to promote the Excelsior app. An exception is the state Capitol and Legislative Office Building in Albany, where visitors still must show a proof of vaccination to enter. But that policy has its caveats and security officers will allow someone with an expired Excelsior app to enter the government complex. According to the state Department of Health, there are no plans for the "Plus Pass" to be discontinued. They noted it also can be used out of state. As of March 1, nearly 733,000 upgraded versions of the pass have been obtained in New York. Since then Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's administration launched the Excelsior Pass initiative in 2021, more than 10.8 million passes have been issued, including more than 3.9 million Plus Passes. There are no major differences between the original pass and the latest version. The Plus Pass can be obtained by anyone who has had the initial vaccination series on file in the New York State Immunization Information System. Despite receiving vaccines and booster shots, breakthrough infections still occur. Masks are still required to be worn on most public transportation across New York — but not on airlines — and in some in-state facilities. Read more in the Times Union.

Andrea Macko is reporting for Porcupine Soup that Greene County Sheriff’s Deputy Kristopher Danko was presented with the 2022 Chairman’s Award by Greene County Legislative Chair Patrick Linger on June 15. Danko handles two dogs as a K9 handler, oversees the marine unit, is the department’s lead drone operator, serves as a field training officer, and is the elected union president. He has been with the Sheriff’s Office since 2013 and is also in charge of the county’s Project Lifesaver program that provides locater devices to those diagnosed with Alzheimer's, Dementia, Down syndrome, Autism, or other cognitive disabilities. The award acknowledges his dedication and efforts for the department. “His work ethic is second-to-none,” said Linger. The chairman noted that Danko’s ability to work well with both children and animals is a testament to his demeanor and temperament. At the same meeting, the Greene County Employee of the Year Award went to the entire Department of Social Services Fraud Investigation Team. “They have been a shining example of teamwork in achieving our mission for taxpayers,” said Linger, explaining that the unit has saved the county more than $717,000 in estimated costs in the past year. Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden was also acknowledged on his 10-year anniversary with the county. Read the full story at porcupinesoup [dot] com.

The Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act on May 14, 2018, allowing states to legalize gambling on sporting events. That led to radio and television stations being able to accept advertisements for sports gambling. Anyone in a state that recently legalized gambling, saw and heard thousands of ads for sports betting on TV and radio. Since 1996, 37 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have adopted laws allowing legal access to cannabis, with 15 states and the District of Columbia passing laws legalizing cannabis for adult recreational use. Many radio and television executives hope they get the same advertising bonanza from cannabis that they received from the gambling industry. The difference is there has been no Supreme Court ruling, nor any national legislation passed, or federal executive order decreed, allowing those advertisements on the public airwaves. The Federal government still considers cannabis illegal, and while the drug is currently allowed in both New York and Massachusetts, it is a federal offense to buy cannabis in one state, and then take it across state lines. The Republican-appointed FCC Commissioners Nathan Simington and Brendan Carr have both spoken recently about how broadcasters in states where cannabis has been decriminalized or legalized cannot accept ad dollars from dispensaries, Inside Radio reports. That could change, at least temporarily, soon. Broadcasters backed the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (H.R. 3617), which passed the U.S. House of Representatives in April and would decriminalize cannabis in federal law. But Republicans in the Senate are blocking the bill. To get around that, Democrats in the House have recently included language in the Financial Services and General Government funding bill that says the FCC could not use federal funds to penalize TV or radio broadcasters for airing cannabis ads where it is legal. If passed, this funding bill would legalize cannabis ads in states where it is legal, but only for the one year the bill covers, from this Oct. 1 until Sept. 30, 2023. The spending bill was voted out of the subcommittee on June 16 and now heads to the full House Appropriations Committee for a voice vote, before the entire House can vote on it. But Republicans are still attempting to strip the cannabis language out of the bill before future votes, so an influx of cannabis ads may or may not be coming to the public airwaves.

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Paul Kirby is reporting for the Daily Freeman the revenues of Central Hudson Gas and Electric Corp. and other upstate utilities will be cut by $19.5 million as a result of performance findings for 2021 by the New York State Public Service Commission, according to that agency. Central Hudson itself is set to make about $5.2 million less for failure to meet reliability targets. The PSC said in a statement that New York State Electric & Gas Corporation and Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation each failed to meet their frequency target. As a result, NYSEG incurred a negative revenue adjustment of $7 million, and RG&E incurred a negative revenue adjustment of $5 million. The PSC reviewed the state’s major utilities in terms of their performance in a number of key areas in 2021, including electric reliability service, gas safety, electric safety, and customer service. As a result of the review, utility revenues collected from customers will be reduced for failing to meet reliability and customer service targets, the press release said. The reduced utility revenues will occur in the next rate case of each of the respective utilities. “While most utilities are doing a good job providing safe and reliable service, several utilities have fallen short of our expectations in certain areas and we will continue to act aggressively to ensure utilities improve performance,” said Commission Chairman Rory M. Christian. This year, Central Hudson has been under fire for billing complaints and skyrocketing customer bills. The PSC as well as a state Senate committee are investigating those matters. Read more in the Daily Freeman.