Natasha Vaughn-Holdridge is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media early voting in Columbia and Greene counties begins on June 18 for registered voters enrolled in the Democratic or Republican primaries. Columbia County Democratic Elections Commissioner Ken Dow said, “For all practical purposes [early voting] is identical to going on Election Day. The voter checks in if they are someone who’s eligible to vote in this election they are given a ballot. It goes right into the voting machine to be scanned. It’s really identical, from the voter’s point of view to going on Election Day, except, of course, the locations. They are either in Hudson or Kinderhook, but it may be more convenient to come on a weekend or on one of the other days.” The primary election will be held on June 28. In Columbia County, Democrats will choosing a candidate for governor and lieutenant governor; on the Republican side, there is a contested primary for governor, but not for lieutenant governor. Republicans also have a primary for the 106th Assembly District seat. Dow said no other parties have primaries. A separate special election will be held on August 23 to choose a candidate to fill the remainder of the two-year term for the 19th Congressional District seat. The candidate chosen will fill the vacancy created by the resignation of now Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado. August 23 is also the primary date for congressional and Senate elections. Early voting in Columbia County will take place at two locations — the Columbia County Office Building at 401 State Street in Hudson, and the Martin H. Glynn Municipal Building at 3211 Church Street in Valatie. Early voters in Columbia County can cast ballots at either of the two locations, regardless of where they reside in Columbia County. Early voting hours are as follows: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 18, 19, 21, 23, 24, 25 and 26; from noon to 8 p.m. on June 20 and 22. Early voting in Greene County will take place in Suite 430 on the fourth floor of the Greene County Office Building, 411 Main St., in Catskill. Early voting hours are as follows: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 18, 19, 21, 23, 24, 25, and 26; from noon to 8 p.m. on June 20 and 22. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Lauren Harkawik is reporting for the Times Union New York residents and visitors are being urged to watch out for ticks this summer. One insect that may be gaining in numbers in the Hudson Valley is the lone star tick, which can transmit the bacteria that cause ehrlichiosis, an illness with flu-like symptoms, as well as alpha-gal syndrome, a condition that results in a red meat allergy. In its adult form, the lone star tick is characterized by a light yellow dot on its back. Rick Ostfeld, disease ecologist and senior scientist for the Cary Institute said, “They’ve been known to occur in this area for a long time, as shown by the 2011 map, but they may now be increasing in abundance.” Unlike black-legged ticks, lone star ticks are quite a bit faster and are capable of pursuing a host. “When they detect a host is nearby, from CO2 or heat we emit, they pursue the host quickly. ... {T]he lone stars really seem to motor, and it can be intimidating,” said Ostfeld. Lone star ticks are found to latch onto turkeys and deer more than on other hosts. Ehrlichiosis, which is passed on by lone star ticks, causes fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, and sometimes upset stomach, according to the CDC. The disease can be fatal, but antibiotics typically clear it. Alpha-gal syndrome causes the body to develop a sometimes severe, life-threatening allergy to alpha-gal, a sugar molecule found in most mammals and, therefore, in their meat. There is much still not understood about alpha-gal syndrome, but the CDC says there is growing evidence it may be “triggered” by a lone star tick bite. In a statement released in May, New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett said prevention of bites is preferable to treatment of symptoms from a bite and she urged individuals to take prevention measures and to take ticks seriously this summer. Common tick-bite prevention measures include wearing long-sleeved light clothing, checking for ticks after being outdoors, performing full-body checks throughout the day while outdoors, and using repellents such as DEET, picaridin and IR3535. Read more in the Times Union.

Mike Masnick at Techdirt reports about the likely unconstitutional law that New York passed in the wake of the Buffalo mass shooting. The law requires websites to have a “hateful conduct policy.” Of course, website do not really have any conduct, but they contain speech. And the government is not allowed to regulate speech, outside yelling fire in a crowded theater. The law defines hateful conduct as "the use of a social media network to vilify, humiliate, or incite violence against a group or a class of persons on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnicity, national origin, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression." That describes speech, not conduct. And speech is protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The law claims that it has nothing to do with free speech: "Nothing in this section shall be construed (a) as an obligation imposed on a social media network that adversely affects the rights or freedoms of any persons, such as exercising the right of free speech pursuant to the first amendment to the United States Constitution," the law says. If it does not regulate speech, what exactly is the "conduct" of websites that it seeks to alter?

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Andrea Macko reports in Porcupine Soup that during the current Hudson Valley housing crisis, few affordable housing projects are being proposed locally, but one development is back on the table in Coxsackie. UMH Properties, Inc. recently filed a new site plan application for Mountainview Estates, a 360-unit manufactured home community on what was once farmland off Van Dyke Street that the company, based in Freehold, NJ, purchased in 2005. Local opposition has stimied previous plans for affordable housing there. UMH filed a federal lawsuit against the Village in 2018 that complained that "residents of the Village of Coxsackie mounted a full-scale campaign in opposition to the development.” The Village of Coxsackie settled that lawsuit by paying $275,000 in damages, attorney’s fees, and costs, and allowing a new application for the development to move forward. The new proposal would put 360 homes on 99 acres with a 6,000-square-foot clubhouse, multiple playgrounds, basketball courts, a boat and trailer storage area, multiple trails for pedestrians and horses and 85 acres of “habitat reserve area.” If the project is eventually approved if approved, UMH officials guess it will be completed in seven phases over the course of the next 10 years. Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

Roger Hannigan Gilson in the Times Union reports that in Greene County, the number of new permits for single-family homes rose 57.4 percent in 2021, and rose 42.3 percent in Columbia County. The Greene County percentage was the fourth-highest rise in the state. Those were the largest number of new permits issued in Greene County since 2009, and in Columbia County since 2008, according to a report by the Center for Economic Growth, a Capital Region-based business development nonprofit. And Greene County's population rose 1.3 percent last year, while Columbia County's population rose by .4 percent. Demand for new homes far outstrips supply in both counties, which has led to a surge in prices with the average value of a home rising 20 percent in Greene County last year. Center for Economic Growth Chief Economic Development Officer Katie Newcombe said she was "not sure if the new permits are enough to satisfy that demand." Read more about this story in the Times Union reports.

The Troy Record reports that New York’s highest court on June 14 turned down former President Donald Trump’s latest effort to avoid testifying in the state attorney general’s civil investigation into allegations of corrupt business practices. Trump will be forced to give a deposition in July. The state’s Court of Appeals said there was no “substantial constitutional question” to rule on an intermediate appellate court’s previous decision last month enforcing a subpoena for Trump’s testimony. Trump and his two eldest children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr., will have to answer questions under oath starting July 15. The state’s Court of Appeals upheld the appellate division of the state’s trial court May 26 ruling that the Trumps had to undergo a deposition. The Trump Organization is accused of exaggerating the value of assets including buildings, golf courses, and his Manhattan penthouse to get loans, insurance, and tax breaks. Read more about this story in the Troy Record.

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Diane Pineiro-Zucker is reporting for the Daily Freeman with less than a day to go before the Saugerties Town Board decides the fate of the Father’s Day weekend gun show at the Kiwanis Ice Arena, venue manager Rob Klegman says the show will happen while Town Supervisor Fred Costello disagrees. In a conversation on June 14, Costello said he wants to honor the show organizer’s last-minute cancellation announced last week. He said, “I have the feeling I have the support of the board” to finally put the kibosh on the New East-Coast Arms Collectors Associates Arms Fair at the Kiwanis Arena on June 17, 18, and 19. Until the board takes a vote, however, Klegman said he is expecting the show will go on. The ice arena is town property. Costello has said he hoped the town board would agree to refund the arms fair’s down payment for the show as he promised the group's president. Last week, the gun show was canceled “by mutual agreement between the town and the promoter,” according to a joint press release from Costello, David Petronis, president of NEACA and Saugerties Police Chief Joseph Sinagra. The decision to cancel was made following a June 8 meeting between the three men. In the press release, Petronis said he had agreed to the cancellation but on June 10, he changed his mind. “At this point, I am asking the town board to disregard my statement that I will cancel the gun show but rather that I be allowed to continue with my contract as written and of your agreement,” Petronis wrote in an email. Costello said Petronis’ change of heart was based on a belief that “controversy equals customers.” The supervisor said, “...[H]e thinks he’s going to have a successful show at our expense. He really doesn’t care about Saugerties. He just wants to make as much money as possible. …” Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Henry Rosoff is reporting for News 10-Albany with roughly a week to go before early voting begins, a PIX11/Emerson College/The Hill poll shows Gov. Kathy Hochul heavily favored to win the Democratic nomination in the gubernatorial race and U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin favored to claim the Republican nomination. Gun violence and inflation are the top issues for voters in both parties, although there is disagreement about the underlying causes. Hochul is the choice of 57 percent of the Democratic voters surveyed. U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi were chosen by 17 percent and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams was picked by 6 percent. Twenty percent of those surveyed were undecided. Among GOP voters, Zeldin is the choice of 34 percent. Tied for second place is Rob Astorino at 16 percent, businessman Harry Wilson at 15 percent and Andrew Giuliani at 13 percent. Twenty-two percent are undecided. Gun violence remains a top issue for voters in both parties: 90 percent of Democrats and 79 percent of Republicans say they are very or somewhat concerned. The Republicans surveyed consider mental health issues to be the source of the violence, with only 10 percent believing that gun access alone is the main cause. Democrats point to guns as the main cause 30 percent of the time, or consider the violence is a combination of mental health and gun access 51 percent of the time. Voters of both parties share a bleak outlook when it comes to inflation and rising costs — with Republicans more concerned than Democrats. The poll was conducted on June 9 and 10 of 1,000 voters. Read more at news10 [dot] com.

Residents in the city of Hudson are mourning the loss of Sheila Ann Ramsey, age 83, an educator and childcare professional. Ramsay was born Sheila Williams in Hudson in 1938. She graduated with high honors from Hudson High School in 1956. She married Richard Ramsey, her third husband, in 1975 and they joined their blended families until his passing in 1997. Ramsay made it her life's work to nurture the community's youth and working along with her good friend, Jean Cobb, she served for more than 40 years as a teacher, financier and parent counselor at Hudson City Daycare. Ramsay also served as a representative of Hudson's 4th Ward on the Common Council for nine years. She was appointed by then-Mayor Richard Tracy in 2007 and subsequently re-elected multiple times. Tracy said at the time, “I think Sheila has longevity here and her connection with the constituents in the ward put her as more of a front runner.” Her obituary noted that throughout her life she "loved dancing, music, parades, jazz festivals, and drum corps competitions. ...She leaves a legacy of love and a lifetime of memories. She will be greatly missed." Read more at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

The Broadcast Law Blog reports that the Federal Communications Commission is back with its monthly public meeting in July in person. The FCC closed its old office building to outside visitors on March 12, 2020. The agency has since moved to a new building. Axios reports that things are not all back to normal, though. The FCC is still a commissioner short, locked in a two-two tie between Republicans and Democrats so nothing much can get accomplished. "Biden was historically slow in picking his nominee," Gigi Sohn, Axios reports, who was nominated last October and has yet to get a full confirmation vote from the U.S. Senate. "The absence of effort from the White House to see this through by pushing a nominee through is frustrating beyond belief," one anonymous advocate for progressive radio policies told Axios. They report that President Joe Biden does not yet have the votes to get his nominee through, with Democrat Joe Manchin undecided, and Democrat Mark Kelly still evaluating her nomination. Sohn authored the net neutrality legislation, and is considered a progressive Democrat. By comparison, former President Trump promoted former FCC commissioner Ajit Pai to chair less than a week after taking office, and got Brendan Carr confirmed for the Republican majority seat by August in his first year.

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Nick Reisman reports for New York State of Politics that Republican incumbent state Sen. Daphne Jordan has ended her re-election campaign, though her name will still be on the Aug. 23 primary ballot in what will be the 44th Senate district. Redistricting placed Jordan and another incumbent, Republican Sen. Jim Tedisco, in the same district. Jordan currently represents the 43rd District, which includes Rensselaer County and part of Columbia County. Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt had backed Jordan's bid for the 44th district, but Tedisco received support from Saratoga County Republicans. Jordan claimed Tedisco had created a "circus atmosphere" in the election. "I want no part of this sideshow," Jordan said. "I’m not going to play a political game that would be destructive, divisive, and undermine the principles that I care deeply about." Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, one of the Republicans who voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election results despite no evidence of voter fraud, will be in Greene County on June 16. Stefanik will attend a fundraiser for state Assemblymember Chris Tague at Furlong's Pub and Motel in East Durham. It is also Tague's 53rd birthday. Tague, a Republican, is running for re-election in the 102nd Assembly District against Democrat Nicholas Chase, a substitute teacher from Delaware County.

I invite you to join me in celebrating my 53rd birthday this Thursday, June 16th at Furlong's Pub and Motel in East Durham. View our event page to see details about the event and how to RSVP. As always, your friendship and support are greatly appreciated!https://t.co/8LojZBvNKd pic.twitter.com/iKet6uMmwO

— Chris Tague (@chrisWCtague) June 14, 2022

Kenneth C. Crowe II reports in the Times Union that state Supreme Court Justice Patrick J. McGrath ruled in favor of the Town of Nassau in Rensselaer County last week, to shut down a large junkyard spread across four properties and will receive $509,000 in civil penalties. The estate of Barbara Secor, and its executor Stephen B. Nalley, violated a 2011 zoning ordinance that outlawed the junkyards in town, the judge ruled. "This latest court decision follows a decades-long effort to clean up illegal junkyards to bring properties into compliance. Successive town boards have been clear. There is one set of laws in Nassau and they apply equally to everyone," Supervisor David Fleming said on June 13. The judge ruled that the properties be cleaned in 30 days, with no more dumping, and that the property owners are forever banned from operating junkyards at the four locations, and that the town gets legal fees and $509,000 in civil penalties within in 60 days. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Perry L. Novak reports in the Times Union that Ichabod Crane Riders won the Class B state high school softball title last weekend. They won definitively, beating Depew 14-2 in the semifinals then Chenango Valley 12-0 in the title game. The team finished the year undefeated. Ichabod Crane only allowed other teams to score 13 runs all season. Both the semifinal and final games were ended early due to the mercy rule. The team also got state titles in 2018 and 2021. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

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