Today's daily news update.

Brian Hubert is reporting for the Daily Freeman that more than 100 people joined the March for Our Lives events in Saugerties on June 11, demanding universal background checks for firearm purchases following a wave of mass shootings across the country. “We all want to end the gun violence in our country. It’s enough,” said Lisa Ewart, who organized the march. “We don’t want thoughts and prayers. We want action and we want it now. It’s important that we not just march today,” she added, “but we have a call to action. What are we going to do after the march to get legislation to pass?’ She urged everyone on hand to call their senators and congressional representatives and not just ask for action but demand it and not accept the status quo. The Saugerties event was one of numerous March for Our Lives events held nationwide. There were also events locally in Chatham and Albany. The Saugerties march set off from a parking lot outside the Kiwanis Arena and turned onto Washington Avenue then onto Main Street. The march next proceeded down Main Street as passing cars honked their horns and one man snapped photos and cheered the march. On Market Street, the marchers encountered a counter protester riding a bike. Teachers, active and retired, from area school districts, including several from Saugerties Central School District, participated in the event. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Kate Lisa is reporting for State of Politics the New York State Assembly maps adopted by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul in February are now void, a state Appellate Court ruled on June 10. However, those district lines will remain in place for the June 28 primary and the Nov. 8 general election. "This was a great day, not just for me, not just the other petitioners, but for all New Yorkers who value the law and value the constitution," said New York Young Republican Club President Gavin Wax, who filed the initial challenge to the state Assembly maps. "Today is the day we went up against the Albany machine and we won." State Appellate Judge Susanna Molina Rojas ruled the maps were invalid because the Legislature drew its own lines after the state Independent Redistricting Commission failed to propose a second set of maps. Hochul's office said she is reviewing the decision. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie's office declined to comment. "It's a huge win for democracy in New York," said plaintiff Gary Greenberg, a Democrat and an activist based in New Baltimore. Molina Rojas wrote in the decision, "The request for a delay of the 2022 assembly primary elections is denied in any event, because the redrawing and implementing of a new assembly map before a 2022 primary election delayed even until September is, at this late date, no longer feasible." Read the more at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.

Mid-Hudson News is reporting a shooting on Woods Road in Clermont on June 10 resulted in one man being injured and led to the Germantown and Red Hook school districts calling a lockout while police searched for the suspect. After the shooting, the suspect fled the scene and was apprehended on Warren Street in Hudson by the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and members of the State Police. The man was identified as Tremaine Harris, age 21, of Ghent, and police charged him with attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon, and three counts of reckless endangerment. Police allege that Harris targeted and attempted to murder the owner of the Southwood Estate, a wedding and event venue on Woods Road in Germantown, by shooting a 12-gauge shotgun at the man several times, striking him in the leg. Several estate employees were nearby when the shooting took place. The injuries sustained by the victim are believed to be non-life-threatening. Police executed a search warrant June 10, at the Harris residence in Ghent where police found three guns — two stolen and all three illegally possessed by Terrence Harris, age 42. He was then arrested and charged with criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of stolen property. Both men were arraigned in Clermont Court and then remanded to the Columbia County Jail without bail. Read more at MidHudsonNews [dot] com.

Today's daily news update.

Brendan J. Lyons reports for the Times Union that Gov. Kathy Hochul may have signed a new law to raise the age from 18 to 21 for purchasing any semiautomatic rifle and requires a license for someone to purchase those firearms. But the law does not go into effect for 90 days from signing, and in the meantime a gun store owner says sales of semiautomatic rifles are brisk. One local gun store owner who wished to remain anonymous said they had a "200 percent" increase in firearms sales since Hochul signed the bill. "That age group understands that they’re never going to be able to buy again and they have a 90-day window to purchase those firearms before the law takes effect," he said. "They’re not buying ARs, but they’re buying semiautomatic rimfires, which they’ll never be able to get again.... The governor just created a mass of people who now own firearms but may not otherwise have purchased a gun." Hochul claims signing several gun laws will have an effect in New York. "I am proud to sign a comprehensive bill package that prohibits the sale of semiautomatic weapons to people under 21, bans body armor sales outside of people in select professions, closes critical gun law loopholes and strengthens our Red Flag Law to keep guns away from dangerous people — new measures that I believe will save lives," she said when signing the bills. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Ted Remsnyder at Columbia-Greene Media features Jamie Cheney, the Rhinebeck-based farmer who has announced a run for Congress. Cheney faces Ithaca lawyer Josh Riley and OutHudson Executive Director Osun Zotique in the Democratic primary on Aug. 23. Cheney and her husband Christian own Falcon’s Field in Rhinebeck, a cattle farm on the Columbia and Dutchess county border that focuses on Angus beef. Cheney is a Yale graduate who earned her MBA from Harvard Business School. Originally, Cheney was running for state Senate in the 43rd district . Then redistricting upended the 43rd Districr, and put Cheney in the new 41st district, which meant she would have faced incumbent state Sen. Michelle Hinchey. Instead, she chose to run for Congress. “When the 19th district was redrawn, I unfortunately did not see a Democratic candidate in the race that I think can hold his seat and make sure we’re represented in D.C. in a way that represents our values and some of the key policy issues that we need,” Cheney said. “I feel very strongly that the 19th must be represented in that way.” And recent news headlines also helped spur her run. “I’m of a generation that never thought we’d go backwards on Roe and thought we’d always expand access to the ballot,” she said. Cheney also mentioned the lack of access to health care and broadband service as motivating issues. “The other priority for me is making sure our rural communities have a strong voice that reflects our policies in our smaller towns and smaller cities,” Cheney said. “I think we’ve had very well-intentioned policies, but particularly in the Democratic caucus it’s been written from our large urban centers.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Aaron Cerbone reports for the Adirondack Daily Enterprise that Rep. Elise Stefanik is sticking by her endorsement of Carl Paladino despite several controversial statements from the new candidate for New York's 23rd Congressional District. Incumbent Republican Chris Jacobs dropped his re-election campaign last week after his support of a few gun control measures in the wake of the Buffalo mass shooting caused widespread backlash among his GOP supporters. So Paladino stepped up to run for the office. In 2021, Paladino said Adolf Hitler is "the kind of leader we need today.... We need somebody inspirational. We need somebody that is a doer, has been there and done it.” Stefanik, whose new 21st District includes Rensselaer County told HuffPost on June 9 that Paladino’s statement was taken “out of context.” Last week, just before announcing his run for Congress, Paladino shared a post on Facebook with several false conspiracy theories, including that mass shootings are set up to create gun control legislation. Paladino first denied posting the writing, later admitted he did, and then told the Buffalo News “I don’t even know how to post on Facebook.” Stefanik’s press offices did not respond about the unsourced conspiracy theories. She continues to endorse Paladino. Read more about this story in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.

Today's daily news update.

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

Patricia Doxsey is reporting for the Daily Freeman two Democratic Ulster County legislators are calling for County Executive Pat Ryan to resign, alleging that he is doing county residents a disservice by dividing his time between county business and his campaign for Congress. In a June 9, press release, legislators James Maloney and Laura Petit questioned Ryan’s ability to effectively run the county while actively campaigning in two separate congressional races. Petit said in the release, “The current situation for Ulster County government does not look good. It seems that the 6th floor of the county office building has gone dark, no one is doing anything for county government at the moment.” Maloney, who was re-elected to the Legislature in 2019, said, “There are too many things on the line right now to have an executive that is only half in it. There are things going on right now that we demand answers to, real solid answers.” The two said that while they have no objection to any elected official running for higher office, they think allegiances are split when an elected official tries to do both. “I just think it is impossible to do your current job effectively while running for another office,” said Petit. Maloney said Ryan’s decision-making could be clouded by the larger political climate. He also questioned whether anyone in the administration was working on Ryan’s campaign on the taxpayer’s dime. In a statement sent to the Freeman late Thursday, Ryan said, “In the last month alone, we have returned desperately needed mental health beds to our county, closed a transformational deal to revitalize the former IBM site, broken ground on our Veterans Cemetery expansion, and much more. From my very first day in office, I’ve worked nonstop for the people of Ulster County, and nothing will change that.” Ryan, a Democrat from Gardiner, is running in an August 23 special election against Republican Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro to fill the 19th Congressional District vacancy created when Antonio Delgado was appointed to serve as lieutenant governor, Ryan is also running in the November 8 general election for the seat in the newly created 18th Congressional District. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Ted Remsnyder is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the town of Catskill may soon approve a new 15-year agreement with MidHudson Cablevision. As part of the proposed contract, the town will continue to receive a franchise fee of 3 percent of the gross revenue received by Mid-Hudson Cablevision from recurring cable television subscriptions. The board held an initial public hearing on the agreement on May 3, but left the hearing open. Company representatives were invited to appear at a second public hearing on June 7. Finch said during the second hearing that the town received $60,300 last year between its contracts with Mid-Hudson Cable and Spectrum. Former Catskill Town Supervisor Joseph Izzo asked the board what would happen if the town declined to enter into a new 15-year agreement with Mid-Hudson. In response, town board member Jared Giordano said the town would continue to collect a 3 percent franchise fee from Spectrum. Rachel Puckett of Mid-Hudson Cablevision said the company has 860 cable TV subscribers in the town, with 2,237 customers receiving internet services from the cable company. She said the franchise fee applies only toward the cost of the actual cable. Puckett said the New York State Public Service Commission recommends a 15-year term for cable agreements with municipalities. Catskill resident William Hawthorne asked the board if it was possible to negotiate a shorter deal with MidHudson. He also raised the possibility of increasing the 3 percent franchise rate the town receives from the company. “I think the town should get a better cut on their costs,” he told the board. “I think we should increase the revenue for the town.” The board closed the public hearing and could take action on the proposed cable agreement at the board’s workshop meeting June 15 or its next regular meeting July 5. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Capital Region Independent Media the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk school district June 8, notified parents about a threat allegedly made by a local student on social media. The threat was made against a particular list of students at the high school, District Superintendent Brian Bailey said in a statement on the district’s website. “This threat was shared over social media and included a threat of harm to a specific list of students,” Bailey said. “The Albany County Sheriff’s Office is actively involved, has continued investigating and is taking proper action.” The district did not disclose the nature of the threat or the name of the student accused of making the threat, and the students targeted were not identified. All families involved were contacted by the district, according to Bailey, and the district has taken “appropriate disciplinary action.” Bailey said the sheriff’s office has a consistent presence in all district schools, including school resource officers and regular patrols of the campus and community. “...[A]ll RCS schools have secure entrances, exterior doors are locked, and students and staff perform training and safety drills throughout the year,” he said. Bailey urged students and the community to report any threats or suspicious activity to a trusted adult, administration or law enforcement. Read the full story at TheUpStater [dot] com.

Karl Bode reports in Techdirt that antitrust and telecom experts warned that a Sprint and T-Mobile merger would result in layoffs and higher prices. Now that the merger is approved and the number of major U.S. wireless services has been reduced from four to three, employees are being laid off and consumers are paying higher prices as predicted. T-Mobile almost immediately laid off more than 5,000 employees after the merger was approved. Now, over the last few weeks, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile have all raised costs to consumers. The telecoms are passing the price hikes off as "fees" and blaming them on everything except reduced competition. For instance, Verizon increased the “administrative charge” it places on millions of user wireless bills from $1.35 to $3.30. “To be clear, this is not a price plan increase for consumer lines,” a Verizon spokesperson told Fierce in a statement. “From time to time, we review and make adjustments to fees to defray some of Verizon’s administrative and telco expenses and costs of complying with regulatory requirements. To that end, Verizon Consumer will implement a change beginning in June.” AT&T also raised rates from $6 to $12 a month on different mobile service plans. T-Mobile also raised its upgrade and activation fees by $5. And if all three telecom services are raising rates, what is a poor customer to do? Change carriers? Read more about this story in Techdirt.

The Democrats have challenged all the independent petitions for Governor after ramming through changes to the law to make it largely impossible for independent third parties to get on the ballot for statewide office. Howie Hawkins, the Green Party nominee for Governor, discusses with WOOC's Mark Dunlea, the Democrats' ongoing efforts to suppress electoral challenges in New York.

Today's daily news update.

As Congress begins public hearings on the attempted coup of Jan. 6, 2021, here in the Hudson Valley several local politicians either went to Washington D.C. that day, cheered those attending, and continue to embrace the lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. Liz Joy, the Republican again running against Rep. Paul Tonko in New York's 20th Congressional District, Tweeted the day before that she was attending the DC riot, and Tweeted during the disturbance that, "Hundreds of thousands of people attended today’s rally to stand for Election Integrity." Joy said that if she had been in office on Jan. 6, 2021, she would have voted against certifying the election. “Joe Biden is the president — period,” Joy said. “But I do believe there was massive voter fraud in our 2020 elections. And we have to get it right before we have the 2022 election.” Rep. Elise Stefanik, from New York's 21 District which will include Rensselaer County next year, continues to support the coup and overturning a fair and free election, even after the violence. She posted on Twitter after the riot that, "Americans have a Constitutional right to protest and freedom of speech, but violence in any form is absolutely unacceptable and anti-American." But Stefanik's Senior Advisor Alex deGrasse retweeted a message during the riot claiming the rioters were undercover leftists, without any evidence. Farther south, MidHudson News reported that state Assemblymember Colin Schmitt, a New Windsor Republican, was photographed the morning of Jan. 6, speaking maskless to a busload of people departing for the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Schmitt is running for the 18th Congressional seat this year. But before the photo of Schmitt talking to the busload of people en route to Washington surfaced, he issued a statement saying, “I am deeply disturbed by the assault on the United States Capitol today. There is absolutely no justification for any form of violence against the pillars of our democracy.”

Noah Eckstein reports for Columbia-Greene Media that Quinnie’s New York, a restaurant on Route 66 in Columbia County, announced June 7 that it will no longer use Martin’s brand potato rolls because the company’s executive chair and former president Jim Martin backs Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor of Pennsylvania. Mastriano was subpoenaed for his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021 attempted coup in Washington D.C. Martin donated $110,000 to Mastriano’s campaign last year. “Doug Mastriano is an open anti-Semitic, election fraud conspirator, anti-abortion, racist, homophobic who attended the insurrection on Jan 6,” according to the Hudson-based restaurant Quinnie’s in an Instagram post on Tuesday. “We don’t want to take part in the support of something we so strongly disagree with.” The Shake Shack restuarant chain also uses Martin’s brand potato rolls and the company released a statement this week that they are in conversation with the company about its ties to Mastriano. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Luke Parsnow reports for New York State of Politics that three New York Republicans voted June 8 for a bill that would raise the age for certain gun purchases from 18 to 21. But only two Hudson Valley Democrats, not three, voted for the bill. Republican Reps. Chris Jacobs, of Western New York; John Katko of Central New York; and Nicole Malliotakis, of Staten Island voted for the bill, as did Democrats Paul Tonko and Sean Maloney from Hudson Valley districts. But Antonio Delgado did not vote for the bill, as he has resigned his Congressional office to become New York's lieutenant governor. No vote on the bill from New York's 19th Congressional District was cast, as voters there have no say in Washington until after an Aug. 23 special election to fill the seat. Republican Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro takes on Democrat Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan then to decide who will vote in that seat until November, when a different election will decide who votes there for the next two years. The bill raising the age of purchase on certain assault rifles passed 223-204, with only five Republicans voting with the majority. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Today's daily news update.