Rick Karlin reports in the Times Union that Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill that partially bans neonicotinoids, a powerful and widely-used pesticide that environmentalists say is especially harmful for bees. The Birds and the Bees Protection Act includes so-called chapter amendments, meaning the state Legislature will tweak the bill in the coming session. For now, the law bans the sale of soy, wheat, and corn seeds treated with neonicotinoid pesticides, or neonics, starting in 2027. Adrienne Esposito, executive director, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said, “We are overjoyed and buzzing with excitement." Farmers, though, say they will miss an effective pesticide. Jim Czub, who grows corn and soybeans in Rensselaer County, said “I’m really disappointed in that.... It will make it more expensive to grow.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Mid-Hudson News reports that new unemployment statistics have Columbia County with the best numbers locally, while Greene County had the worst. Only 3.0 percent of Columbia County residents were unemployed in November, while the number was 4.0 across the Hudson River in Greene County. Dutchess County had a 3.3 percent unemployment rate, while it was 3.5 percent in Ulster County. 3.5 percent unemployment was also the average for the region in November. Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.

WNYT reports that New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of 23 attorneys general this week encourage the Supreme Court to uphold the government’s ability to work with social media companies. James said, “An open exchange of information between public authorities and social media platforms is critical to keeping people safe online.... If upheld, this decision would make it harder to stop the spread of dangerous misinformation, scams, and harmful content that puts Americans at risk.” There have been many warnings about the spread of misinformation on social media, especially ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Read more about this story at WNYT.

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Jammel Cutler reports for Columbia-Greene Media that Art Omi, the outdoor sculpture park in Ghent in Columbia County, was awarded a $2 million grant for a new visitor center and pavilions through a state Regional Economic Development Council. Art Omi officials say they will start work on the visitors center and 18 anchored pavilions in the spring, and they should be finished by the fall of 2025. Art Omi Co-executive Director Ruth Adams said, “This grant is a pivotal step in elevating Art Omi into global cultural prominence, enhancing Chatham’s charm.” The 120-acra sculpture park with a residency programs for international architects, artists, dancers, musicians, translators, and writers. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com..

Brian Hubert reports in the Daily Freeman State Assemblyperson Sarahana Shrestha cheered Gov. Kathy Hochul signing the LLC Transparency Act last week calling it a "breakthrough." But she says the law doesn’t make all information about limited liability companies available to public, and needs to be improved. Shrestha wants the owners of LLCs to be published in a searchable database with waivers for those needing privacy such as whistleblowers and participants in the state’s Address Confidentiality Program. She also complained about the wait to get the transparency program started. Shrestha’s office said, “That means the database will be created in 2026.... Once created, our office will plan on assisting constituents who need to access that information. Of course, we are frustrated that we have to wait till 2026, but if we had left it to the Governor’s wish, it was going to be even later.” Hochul’s office said the new law will let law enforcement investigate the ownership structure of LLCs for wage theft, money laundering, and tenant mistreatment. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

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.

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Michael Ryan from the Mountain Eagle reports that Greene County Legislature is asking for bids to work on stabilization of Catskill Point. The Freight Masters building and Maritime Museum are there on Catskill Point, the southernmost tip of the confluence of the Hudson River and Catskill Creek in Catskill. The story says there has been erosion behind the warehouse, next to the Museum, that threatens to undermine the structures and a landing dock. Legislators are also looking to stabilize the shoreline and install a sheet pile bulkhead, geo-grid tie backs, riprap, and stone fill. Greene County Legislature Chair Patrick Linger said, “The damage goes deep down into the river. We’ve sent divers down and we have determined this absolutely has to be done.” The story says the legislature has $1.25 million for the project. Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

Jammel Cutler reports for Columbia-Greene Media that Chatham Town Judge James F. Forster is retiring at the end of the year after 11 years as a town justice. Forster said, “I’m very excited and happy, and I’m looking forward to being able to do a lot of skiing at Hunter Mountain.... It was a great honor, and I feel like I was able to help the community.... Over the years, a lot of people have come up to me after they had issues in my court and expressed their appreciation to me for helping them by getting them assistance and helping them move forward with their lives.” Forster was also the village of Chatham justice. Michael A. Hart replaces him as town justice on Jan. 1, and Judge Michael Rosen will continue to serve as co-judge. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Mid-Hudson News reports that Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill sponsored by state Sen. Michelle Hinchey to stop chronic late billing by Central Hudson and other utility companies. Hinchey said, “Extreme backbilling creates unexpected financial burdens for families and small businesses, making budgeting nearly impossible since people can’t predict the arrival or amount of their next bills.... Our legislation finally cracks down on this predatory billing practice , and, for the first time, provides better protections for residents and small businesses alike by preventing utility companies from charging customers if they send a bill more than three months late.” The new law stops a utility from backbilling if a bill is issued more than three months late. Central Hudson has begun to move away from estimated billing and back to monthly meter reading. Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.

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Molly Burke reports in the Times Union that Joshua Eisen, a Westchester County business person, has announced a bid for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand. Her seat is up for election in 2024. In 2020 Eisen ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in New York’s 17th Congressional District, but dropped out before the Republican primary and then unsuccessfully sought to revive his campaign. Eisen's business is background checks, and he says his campaign will focus on reducing government regulation and involvement in daily life. Eisen specifically says he wants to help businesses with large loans from the government, but not students burdened with debt. During his campaign for the U.S. House, City & State reported that Eisen was sanctioned twice by judges between 2014 and 2017 for “harassing his legal opponents and their family members, their lawyers and their lawyers’ family members.” The story also said that court filings showed evidence of Eisen “repeatedly using the n-word in emails, [described] the sexual appetite and anatomy of an opposing lawyer’s daughter, and [told] a legal opponent’s wife in an email that she would 'bathe in the warm semen of Mengele,' a reference to the Nazi doctor Josef Mengele.” Eisen then called the old comments in emails, “just frivolous commentary from a lawyer in a civil case.” Evan Lukaske, a spokesperson for Gillibrand’s campaign, said, “MAGA-Republican Josh Eisen's long and documented history of stalking, harassment, misogyny and racism are utterly disqualifying for the office he seeks.... Every Republican member of Congress in New York state should and will have to answer for Eisen's candidacy.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Joshua Solomon reports in the Times Union that Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation on Dec. 22 moving most local elections to even years, when major elections for president and Congressional seats are held. The hope is that more people will vote in these elections on these dates, instead of the normally low-turnout local municipal odd-year contests. Many Republicans, the New York State Association of Counties, and some Democratic elections commissioners opposed the move, and some worried the local elections would get less attention when paired with higher-profile votes. Hochul signed the bill just before the holiday break, where it would get little attention. She hailed it as a “significant step towards expanding access to the ballot box and promoting a more inclusive democracy.” Elections for mayor, district attorneys, judges, local school boards, and fire districts will remain on their regularly scheduled dates, but other votes will now move to even years. Hochul said she would support a constitutional amendment to align all elections to even years, since it would consolidate elections and save taxpayers money. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

William J. Kemble reports for the Daily Freeman that affordable housing is a key issue for he Ulster County Industrial Development Agency for 2024. The group says solving the lack of affordable housing is key for new businesses to attract and keep employees. Chair of the agency, Mike Ham, admitted some were not happy with the group's progress so far on the issue. He said, “Despite some passionate conversations in here, the board’s moving ahead here." There are 880 housing units planned for a 2024 development in iPark 87 in the town of Ulster. Ham said, “Manufacturing and housing are walking hand-in-hand because you can’t anticipate hiring 400 people for a large-scale manufacturing project if they have no place to live.... The IDA is not the entity to solve the housing crisis.... We don’t have the funding for that.” Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

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Mid-Hudson News reports that the Newburgh district office of Rep. Pat Ryan was vandalized by activists demanding the Democrat call for a ceasefire in the war in Gaza. The words “CEASEFIRE NOW” and “WAR CRIMINAL” were painted on the windows of Ryan's office on Broadway in Newburgh. Ryan continued to defend his support of the war in a statement, “War brings out the worst in humanity- making the urgent pursuit of peace both necessary and incredibly difficult to achieve." Ryan said he would support a ceasefire if certain benchmarks were reached first. But Ryan's demands before a ceasefire may not be realistic. The story says, "the likelihood that a new Palestinian government could be quickly constituted to end the bloodshed and that the new government would be able to negotiate a genuine two-state solution with Israel seems low." Several hundred people peacefully rallied in front of Ryan's office last month to convince him to support a ceasefire. Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.

Andrea Macko reports for Porcupine Soup that the Greene County Legislature voted unanimously on Dec. 20 to increase funding for the Greene County Youth Fair from $24,284 to $40,000. Greene County Legislative Chair Patrick Linger explained that setting up the fair is a lot of work and that, “They would like to erect a storage building on-site so they can move it all in a day.... We'd like to help.” Greene County Agricultural Society President Alex Johnk said, “Since 2020 when the fair was cancelled due to Covid, we have had to scale some things back especially the entertainment.... This additional funding will allow us to add more entertainment acts and educational exhibits and displays. The funds will also be added to our general fund to continue making upgrades to enhance and improve both exhibitor and guest experiences.” The fair is held at the end of July in Angelo Canna Town Park in Cairo. Read more about this story at Porcupine Soup.