Ted Remsnyder is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media Ithaca attorney Josh Riley has now officially declared his candidacy in the Democratic primary in the newly drawn 19th district. Riley will compete in the August 23 primary, along with farmer and small business owner Jamie Cheney and OutHudson Executive Director Osun Zotique, for the Democratic line on the November ballot. Riley, 41, is an attorney in private practice. He launched his congressional campaign last fall in the old 22nd Congressional District. He previously served in the office of late Rep. Maurice Hinchey in a junior position opening mail and answering phones. “The congressman was really a role model for me and inspired me in a lot of ways to take on a career in public service,” Riley said. After law school graduation, Riley chose to partner with the American Academy of Pediatrics on a civil rights lawsuit representing children from low-income families having trouble getting access to health care services. He went on to serve as general counsel to then U.S. Sen. Al Franken on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Riley has never held elected office, but he said the upcoming congressional election was the right time to wade into the electoral pool. “I’ve been out to Columbia and Greene counties since the new district lines and I’ll be up there again next weekend,” Riley said. “With this new district there are a lot of counties and I’ve been in all of them at least once, and in most cases multiple times. It’s been so great getting around and meeting folks.” Environmental protection is a top priority for Riley, as is rebuilding New York's infrastructure and creating good jobs. Democratic Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan will face Republican Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro in a special election, also on August 23, to serve out the remainder of Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado’s term in the existing 19th Congressional District. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Kate Lisa is reporting for State of Politics a report from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's office released June 8, found that most New York school districts are inadequately providing mental health training to staff as required by the state Education Department and state law. The office audited 20 randomly selected school districts, and found that 18 of them, or 90 percent, either did not offer mental health training at all or failed to provide the full complement of training. DiNapoli said in a statement, “School personnel are often the first to notice if a student is having mental health challenges, and they need effective training to help them understand the signs and symptoms early on. Failure to do so can have devastating consequences for students, staff, families and communities. Unfortunately, my office has found much of this vital training is not taking place." The comptroller audited 20 districts outside of New York City with varying enrollment sizes, with approximately 10,000 total staff members and more than 39,000 students. The comptroller's office included the Coxsackie-Athens school district in its audit. It was among 14 districts, or 70 percent of those audited, that included less than the 12 recommended mental health training components. Faculty and staff working in all of New York's 800-plus school districts must receive every year safety and mental health training comprised of 12 components as outlined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Under the law, school administrators must develop a comprehensive, districtwide safety plan to address crisis intervention, emergency response and management for staff and students. Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.

Andrew Jones reports for Space.com that astronomers have discovered a second persistently active fast radio burst. There have been about 500 fast radio bursts -- intense, brief flashes of radio-frequency emissions, lasting for milliseconds -- found since the phenomenon was discovered in 2007. But only two are associated with a persistent radio source, and this one is within the fringes of a dwarf galaxy nearly three billion light-years from Earth. What causes these highly energetic transmissions is a mystery. Astronomers guess that the average FRB releases as much energy in a millisecond as the Sun puts out in three days. Most use radio frequencies around 1400 MHz; while a few have been detected at lower frequencies in the range of 400–800 MHz. "The big surprise for me was realizing that the new FRB seems to be such a perfect 'twin' to an earlier discovery," Casey Law, an astronomer at Caltech. "Perhaps some would have preferred to say that the first such association [between an FRB and radio source] was a coincidence, because it was hard to explain. Now the second example shows that this is a real and critical part of the life of an FRB." Di Li, of the National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC) and lead of the Commensal Radio Astronomy FAST Survey which detected the latest fast radio burst, told Space.com via email. "I personally favor an evolutionary picture in that all sources repeat, but the activity level drops precipitously as the source ages. Since FRB 20190520B is only the second of around 500 known FRBs to have a so-called PRS counterpart and both are extremely active, they could, in this hypothetical evolutionary picture, represent FRBs' youth, which lasts not very long." Read more about this story at Space.com.

The Equality Amendment to the New York State constitution would prohibit discrimination based on a person's race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, and sex (including a basis on pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression). Yet even with the Democrats having a supermajority in both Houses, lawmakers failed to act. Melanie Trimble of the NYCLU discusses the issue with WOOC's Mark Dunlea.

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Brendan J. Lyons reports in the Times Union about the first person convicted in a federal grand jury investigation examining widespread ballot-fraud allegations in Rensselaer County. Republican Troy Councilperson Kim Ashe-McPherson admitted to fraudulently submitting absentee ballots in last year's primary and general elections. Ashe-McPherson, after she pleaded guilty to a felony criminal charge in U.S. District Court, could be sentenced to up to 12 months in jail for submitting three illegal absentee ballots. An FBI-led investigation has been examining the filing of absentee ballots in multiple elections over the past two years in Rensselaer County. There have been subpoenas issued for Jason Schofield, the Republican commissioner for the county's Board of Elections, and subpoenas requesting documents from the Rensselaer County Board of Elections. FBI agents also seized the mobile phones of county Operations Director Richard W. Crist and Jim Gordon, the county's director of purchasing. Both Crist and Gordon are political allies of county Executive Steve McLaughlin. Rensselaer County Republican leaders previously told the Times Union that they were unaware of any fraudulent activity by the party during the 2021 election. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Rebecca C. Lewis reports in City and State that after ducking Rep. Tom Suozzi and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams at the first debate last week, incumbent Kathy Hochul turned up June 7 and took fire from her challengers. Hochul currently has several scandals: the $850 million deal to build a new Buffalo Bills stadium with a off-the-record meeting with NFL officials, her Lt. Gov. resigning after being indicted on corruption charges, and a last-minute $10 billion tax break pushed by Hochul and quietly passed by the legislature last week. Hochul’s past “A” rating from the National Rifle Association was also brought up by Suozzi, who bragged about his "F" rating. Williams also hit Hochul on the NRA rating. “Ten years ago, I wrote my first report on how to deal with gun violence while the governor touted her ‘A ’rating from the NRA,” Williams said. Hochul criticized Suozzi’s past support for the Hyde Amendment, which limits the use of federal dollars for abortion care. Democratic consultant Camille Rivera, who works on progressive issues, scored the debate for both Hochul and Williams. “(If) Kathy Hochul’s goal was to keep the status quo, she did well,” Rivera said. “If Jumaane’s goal was to define himself on issues, he did well.” Read more about this story in City and State.

Noah Eckstein reports for Columbia-Greene Media that a New England energy company is proposing a 20-megawatt solar facility in the town of Stuyvesant. “They still need to go through a planning board process,” said Stuyvesant Town Supervisor Ron Knott. “Our concern for large scale solar is about protecting farmland and our agricultural community.” The proposal would build utility-scale solar facility generating solar power and feeding it into the electric grid. “These projects will allow us to not just meet but exceed our goal of obtaining 70 percent of our electricity from renewable resources and will further cement New York as a national leader in the fight against climate change,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

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Patricia R. Doxsey reports for the Daily Freeman that Dutchess County Legislature Chairman Gregg Pulver is mulling a 2023 run for county executive. “I’m giving it serious consideration,” said the Pine Plains Republican. “I’ve got an exploratory committee kind of looking at things.” Pulver has served on the County Legislature for eight years, and as its chairman for the past four. Before his election to the Legislature, Pulver served for 12 years as Pine Plains supervisor. If tapped by the GOP, Pulver would run in the November 2023 race for the seat now held by Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro. Molinaro, a Republican from Red Hook, is running in the Aug. 23 special election for the 19th Congressional District seat vacated by former U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado, who has been appointed lieutenant governor. Molinaro will face off against Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan for a congressional district that, as a result of redistricting, will no longer exist after Dec. 31. If Molinaro’s bid for a two-year Congressional term is successful, Dutchess County leadership could be left in the hands of an unelected leader for a year or more. Molinaro would surrender his position as county executive and the government would be left in the hands of Deputy County Executive William O’Neill, a Republican who has served in his administration since 2012, but has never been elected to public office. O’Neill could serve as long as 16 months as the unelected acting county executive as the result of a quirk in the county’s charter. With the special election for Congress scheduled for Aug. 23, it is too late to put the race for county executive on the ballot for the November 2022 election, meaning that an election for that office would not take place until November 2023. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Robert Gavin is reporting for the Times Union a protester on June 7 snuck hundreds of cockroaches into Albany City Court and set the critters loose during a courtroom scuffle over the arraignment of rent activists. The spectacle prompted the closure of the Morton Avenue courthouse for the remainder of the day as a crew of exterminators dealt with the insects. A source told the Times Union the action occurred during an arraignment by City Court Judge Joshua Farrell of four defendants who had been arrested last month while objecting to state rent issues at the Capitol. As supporters of the defendants objected in the courtroom, one person tried to film the proceeding. As others continued to object, another person dropped lettuce covered with cockroaches onto the floor. Police charged Clyanna Lightbourn, 34, with tampering with physical evidence, a felony, as well as criminal contempt, obstruction of governmental administration, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. She was not identified as the person who allegedly released the bugs. Lucian Chalfen, spokesman for the state Office of Court Administration, provided a photo of large cockroaches on the floor of the courtroom, along with pieces of lettuce and other dark material that appeared to be dirt or insect bedding. "What transpired is not advocacy or activism, it is criminal behavior with the intent to disrupt a proceeding and cause damage," said Chalfen in a statement. Prosecution would include seeking restitution for the cleanup, he said. "Taxpayers shouldn’t foot the bill for these actions." The incident remains under investigation, according to law enforcement. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Capital Region Independent Media a long-vacant building on Main Street in Ravena will be demolished this summer, Mayor Bill Misuraca said. The mixed-use structure located at 136 Main Street, has had a sign posted in the window for years identifying it as a property to be sold at auction. The structure was supposed to be razed a couple of years ago, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the process. The building was built in 1950, and has been in poor condition for years. It housed a business on the ground floor and apartments above, but has been vacant for well over a decade, the mayor said. “There was a bar there many, many years ago that was Sandy’s Tavern,” Misuraca said. “Then it was Wingnuts, The Lighthouse — it was always a restaurant or bar of some sort.” Demolition of the two-story vacant building is expected to take place sometime this summer and will be paid for by Albany County, the mayor said. A specific date has not yet been set for the building’s removal. It is not yet known what will be done with the property after the structure is demolished. Read the full story at TheUpStater [dot] com.

The Federal Communications Commission approved the renewal of the WGXC FM license to Wave Farm on May 25. The message from the FCC read, "This is to notify you that your Application for Renewal of License 0000182419, was granted on 05/25/2022 for a term expiring on 06/01/2030." This is the second time WGXC's license was renewed, after the station first went on the air on February, 2011. Wave Farm, the licensee for WGXC, is a non-profit arts organization that works with transmission artists from around the world. "Transmission" artists work with some part of the radio dial, including shortwave radio, baby monitors, webstreams, CB radios, and other broadcast forums.

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Callie Patteson reports in the New York Post that Rep. Elise Stefanik currently represents the North Country, and her district moves slightly to include Rensselaer County beginning next year. But after that, political analysts are floating several possibilities for Stefanik. A year ago Stefanik, a Republican, became the third-ranking House Republican, replacing Liz Cheney who truthfully said Joe Biden was elected president. Presumably, as third in line, if Republicans take the House majority in the November elections, Stefanik would become majority whip. But last week the Washington Examiner reported that Stefanik is leaning against seeking the whip position. That might be because of competition for that position from Chief Deputy Whip Drew Ferguson and Republican Study Committee Chair Jim Banks. Others are guessing that Stefanik could end up as Donald Trump's running mate if he launches another bid for the presidency. “There is a part of Trump who thinks he needs a female VP,” a Trump adviser told CNN this week. “He definitely likes her, likely because of how effusive she is to him.” Trump communications director Taylor Budowich said this week, “Elise is a well-known fighter for her district and knows how to communicate our America First message on offense and win.” Last October, Stefanik even commented on working for Trump. “If President Trump is reelected president I think it would be an honor to serve in his administration,” she said. “I hope he runs, I will continue doing the best job I can serving my district and serving as conference chair — and being the best mom I can be to Sam [her infant son].” Read more about this story in the New York Post.

Mid-Hudson News reports that state officials have ended the temporary ban on live poultry shows that had been set in March as a result the spread of avian influenza spread. Now live poultry shows, exhibitions, auctions, sales, meets, and swaps can go on in New York State. That's good news for county fairs set to begin across the state this summer. Officials said they were able to end the ban as studies showed that the majority of flocks affected in the current flu outbreak were infected by introductions from wild birds, rather than by farm-to-farm transmission. New York State Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball said, “New York has taken an aggressive approach to slowing the spread of avian influenza and it has paid off. With cases decreasing in our state and throughout the country, as well as new data showing very low rates of farm-to-farm transmission of HPAI during the current outbreak, I am confident that it is time to lift the bans on live poultry shows and sales.” Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.

Kenneth C. Crowe II reports in the Times Union that S.A. Dunn & Co. will hold a public meeting June 14 about its application to renew its state operating permit for its construction and demolition debris landfill. The meeting will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Rensselaer Junior/Senior High School, a neighbor of the landfill. The state requires a public meeting for the permit application that is being submitted to the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Those attending can talk to Dunn representatives, comment about the permit renewal and proposed berm on the northern and eastern side of the property, and get information about other issues. The Rensselaer City School District opposes the renewal of the permit, as does the Rensselaer Environmental Coalition, largely because of dust, debris, and traffic near the site. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

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