Steve Hughes is reporting for the Times Union thousands of families will now be eligible for child care support as part of a $2 billion expansion of child care funding in New York. Gov. Kathy Hochul said on May 20, the funding was part of the state’s recovery from the economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic, as well as a recognition of the lack of child care options for families statewide. “These historic investments in New York State's child care system will allow us to forge a new path forward for parents, especially mothers,” Hochul said in a statement. “It is the right thing to do, the moral thing to do, and will supercharge our economic recovery and support working families.” Approximately 1,500 child care providers closed between April 2020 and last February — a period of just 10 months, according to data from the Schuyler Center, a research and advocacy group focused on family issues. And the Capital Region was considered a child care desert, with not enough providers for the number of children in need, before the pandemic. As part of the investment, the state’s Office of Children and Family Services will expand the eligibility levels for families in August 2022 to up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level, or $83,250 for a family of four. The state also recently released $30 million in federal funding to expand child care programs in the parts of New York without enough childcare slots. The state has received more than 1,700 applications from potential new child care providers and awards for that program are expected in the coming weeks, Hochul’s office said. Information on the Child Care Assistance Program is available from local Departments of Social Services. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Bill Williams is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media motorists using the Taconic State Parkway, between Philmont and the Berkshire Connector, will have roadwork to contend with through the month of June. The extensive $11.5 million paving project will impact travelers in Columbia County, said Heather Pillsworth, public information officer for New York State Department of Transportation, Zone 8. The paving was scheduled to begin this week and will encompass more than 14 miles in both directions, between Exit 91 in Philmont and the Berkshire Connector of the New York State Thruway in Chatham, Pillsworth said. The roadwork will pass through parts of the towns of Claverack, Ghent and Chatham. One northbound and southbound lane is expected to be closed Monday through Fridays from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m., Pillsworth said. The construction is expected to be completed June 30. The project is one of the largest scheduled to take place in Columbia County this year. It will improve the quality of the pavement and increase its longevity, while maintaining safety attributes associated with roadway surfaces, Pillsworth said. Some areas throughout the work zone will be controlled by flaggers. Motorists are urged to slow down and drive responsibly in work zones; fines are doubled for speeding in a work zone. Up-to-date roadwork and travel information is available by calling 511. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Matthew Rozsa reports at Salon that the radio signals that humans have sent the farthest distance may be having problems getting any further. On Sept. 5, 1977, NASA launched the Voyager 1 space probe, which has now traveled 14.5 billion miles away from Earth. Radio signals to and from the Voyager 1 now take 20 hours and 33 minutes to reach each other. Voyager 1 is so far away it has left our universe, and is now in the interstellar void of the Milky Way. But it is losing power, and the interstellar void seems to be creating havoc. "The interstellar explorer is operating normally, receiving and executing commands from Earth, along with gathering and returning science data," NASA said on its website. "But readouts from the probe's attitude articulation and control system (AACS) don't reflect what's actually happening onboard." Suzanne Dodd, project manager for Voyager 1 and 2 at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, explains further. "We're also in interstellar space – a high-radiation environment that no spacecraft have flown in before. So there are some big challenges for the engineering team. But I think if there's a way to solve this issue with the AACS, our team will find it." The Voyager 1 probe is so far into space that astronomers can now hear the "hum" that our solar system produces as the spacecraft travels outside of it. The hum is "interstellar gas," also known as plasma waves, "It's very faint and monotone, because it is in a narrow frequency bandwidth," said Stella Koch Ocker, a doctoral student in the Department of Astronomy and Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science. "We're detecting the faint, persistent hum of interstellar gas." Scientists may keep hearing that hum through 2025, when the radioisotope thermoelectric generators will no longer have enough energy to keep transmitting. Read more about this story at Salon.

Today's daily news update.

Mid-Hudson News reports that Rep. Antonio Delgado is now a representative in name only. At the beginning of May Governor Kathy Hochul picked him to be her new lieutenant governor, but he did not immediately resign the seat. And Delgado has not been voting in person in the Capitol since at least May 10, just over a week after Hochul tapped him for the new job. In a May 10 letter to the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives, Delgado invoked a House of Representatives resolution that allows him to designate a proxy to vote in his absence. “I write to notify you of the designation of a proxy to cast my vote. I am unable to physically attend proceedings in the House Chamber due to the ongoing public health emergency,” Delgado wrote, adding “I hereby grant the authority to cast my vote by proxy to the Honorable Joe Neguse (CO), who has agreed to serve as my proxy.” Apparently Delgado is using COVID-19 as an excuse, although he has made no public announcement about contracting the virus recently. Rep. Neguse represents the Second Congressional District in the State of Colorado, and will now be casting votes for the 19th Congressional District in the Hudson Valley. Delgado’s office did not respond to requests from Mid-Hudson News seeking additional comments regarding the proxy votes. Delgado announced May 23 that he will resign on May 25, allowing a special election to fill his seat on the same day as the state's congressional and state Senate primaries, Aug. 23. Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.

The special master's finalized district maps for the state Senate had one major change locally: Columbia and Greene counties are together in one district after receiving public in favor of the union. Both counties are now in the new 41st District, which stretches west to Binghamton and Ithaca. The district lost part of Ulster County, to make the changes. That sets up a.contest between two incumbents: Republican Sue Serino, who represents the current version of the 41st District, and Democrat Michelle Hinchey, whose 46th District got shifted to Schoharie and Albany counties and points north, but who lives in Saugerties, in the future 41st District. “Upstate New York has faced decades of underinvestment. It’s why I ran for office in 2020 – to fight for the needs of the community that raised me by finally investing in our aging infrastructure, supporting our family farms, funding education, ending the housing crisis, and battling the opioid epidemic that is ravaging our towns and cities,” Hinchey said on May 22, officially announcing her campaign for the seat.

Pete DeMola reports in the Times Union that the finalized map for the new state Senate 46th District finds veteran state Sen. Neil Breslin now vying to represent the area. The newly mapped 46th District will now include Schenectady County -- but without the city of Schenectady and Niskayuna -- and Albany County (without Colonie) and Montgomery County. Breslin, who is 79 and from Bethlehem, currently represents the 44th District, which currently covers parts of Albany and Rensselaer counties, including all of the cities of Albany and Rensselaer and the western fourth of the city of Troy. The changes move Republican incumbent Senator Daphne Jordan, who lives in Halfmoon and represents 43rd District, further north and out of Rensselaer County. Instead, Jordan faces a primary battle against another Republican incumbent state Senator. Republican Jim Tedisco, who currently represents New York’s 49th Senate District, now says he will run in the newly-created 44th District instead of in the redrawn 46th District. “I and many other Saratoga County Republicans — the majority of them GOP committee people — that I’ve spoken to are upset and disappointed with Jim Tedisco’s actions,” said former GOP state Senator Kathy Marchione. Marchione formerly represented the 43rd District. “This new 44th state Senate District has large areas I’ve run and won in with big numbers for years and we can’t let it get into Democratic hands,” Tedisco said. Schenectady County Legislator Michelle Ostrelich and Thearse McCalmon, both Democrats, have announced bids for the seat. The other local state Senate election with a major shakeup is the new Democratic-leaning 43rd District that includes Colonie, Rensselaer County, and parts of Washington County. Democrats Andrea Smyth and Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple have announced campaigns there, as has Republican incumbent Assemblyperson Jake Ashby, who lives in Castleton-on-Hudson. Primary elections for U.S. House seats and state Senate seats will be held Aug. 23, while the primary election for the governor’s race and state Assembly contests is June 28. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Today's daily news update.

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MidHudson News is reporting that Hudson resident Osun “O” Zotique, 30, has announced their intention to be the “nation’s first openly transgender, non-binary congressional candidate for the new NY-19 Congressional District." In a statement, Zotique said, “I am running for U.S. Congress because, as a strong transformative community artist/leader who is neither man nor woman, I embody the unity that this country needs right now." They praised current U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado who is stepping down to become the state's lieutenant governor. Zotique is a teacher, community leader, and Ph.D. candidate. Zotique has served as director of OutHudson since February. They were a write-in candidate in the recent Hudson school board election. Zotique finished sixth in the field of six candidates. Read the full story at MidHudsonNews [dot] com.

Steuben County Supreme Court Judge Patrick McAllister on May 20 approved the congressional and state Senate maps drawn up by a court-appointed expert, after a few changes to the maps released earlier in the week. There are now four different Congressional Districts for the upper Hudson Valley. The biggest change locally to the final maps is that Rensselaer County was moved from the Capital District district's 20th District, to Rep. Elise Stefanik's North Country district, the 21st. The 20th District loses Rensselaer County and gains Saratoga Springs, on the new maps. But Amsterdam, where current 20th District Congressperson Paul Tonko lives, was kept out of his own district, but he says he will still run for re-election there, in a rematch against Republican Liz Joy. The other big change locally, the Daily Freeman reports, is that Ulster County is still split between the 19th and 18th Congressional districts, but the city of Kingston will now lie entirely within the newly formed 18th Congressional District, while the towns of Wawarsing and Ellenville will now be split between the 18th and the newly formed 19th District. Current Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan, a Democrat, faces Republican state Assemblyperson Colin Schmitt in the 18th District election in November. But first, Ryan is running in the 19th Congressional District special election to replace Antonio Delgado, who is expected to resign soon to become lieutenant governor. Ryan will face Republican Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro in that special election. Then Molinaro will be in the general election for the 19th Congressional District against either Jamie Cheney, a Democrat from Rhinebeck, or political newcomer Josh Riley, of Ithaca, or Hudson resident Osun Zotique.

Noah Eckstein is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media that the Hudson Zoning Board of Appeals has approved plans to convert the former Terry-Gillette Mansion on Union Street into a 30-room boutique hotel, cafe, and lounge. In March, five members of the ZBA voted unanimously to grant a zoning use variance to Montecito Venture Partners, an investment group focused on real estate development and hospitality. The area of Hudson where the building is located is considered a residential area, but because the hotel has its own on-site parking and received minimal complaints from neighbors, the ZBA approved the variance. The mansion building was constructed between 1850 and 1865, and it sold in the last century to the Hudson Elks Lodge around 1935. “I think all in all this is good for Hudson,” Zoning Board of Appeals Chair Lisa Kenneally said. “Tourists have no place to stay on the weekends. The company is very community-friendly, they were open to hearing ideas and didn’t want to change Hudson.” California-based Montecito Venture Partners owns Casa Cody, the oldest operating hotel in Palm Springs, California, Silver Lake Church in Los Angeles, California, and Hotel Willa in Taos, New Mexico. "601 Union should make a fine hotel with ample parking already on site and only one residential neighbor,” Common Council President Thomas DePietro said. Note: DePietro is an active WGXC on-air volunteer. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Lauren Stanforth is reporting for the Times Union that on May 20 the state Department of Health released information on two possible cases of monkeypox under investigation in New York City. The U.S. reported its first confirmed case in a Massachusetts resident two days before. The state is awaiting official confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is contact tracing for the case. Monkeypox is similar to smallpox in that it causes lesions all over the body and can lead to serious illness; one in ten people who contracted it in Africa died, according to the CDC. This particular pox virus was first discovered in the late 1950s in African lab monkeys; the first human case was found in 1970. Monkeypox was first reported outside of Africa in 2003. The CDC said it is tracking multiple clusters of monkeypox that have been reported in early- to mid-May in several countries that do not normally report monkeypox, including in Europe. "Based on the limited information available at this time, the risk to the general public appears low," the state Health Department said when asked if monkeypox is something to worry about. It is considered a rare virus, and while it can be spread through respiratory droplets, contracting it demands very close contact with an infected person for an extended period of time. Read the full story in the Times Union.

In the analog era of broadcasting, television stations transmitting on Channel 6 could also be heard on 87.7-FM. WRGB-TV in Albany, for instance, used to be heard on both Channel 6 television, and 87.7-FM, on radio receivers that could be tuned below 88. But since the full-power television stations switched to digital broadcasts, now all that is heard on FM there is static. In July 2021, all of the remaining analog low-power television stations, except 13, were required to convert to digital. That means there is just static on the dial, or pirate radio stations, on 87.7-FM around the country, except for 13 stations. That could change. The Broadcast Law Blog reports that the Federal Communications Commission has issued a draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for its June 8 open meeting on a proposal to authorize low-power TV stations operating Channel 6 to continue to provide an analog audio stream on FM radios at 87.7. The broadcast industry calls these stations "Franken-FMs," since they are both television and radio stations. More importantly, the FCC proposal also asks for comments about whether, with the elimination of most Channel 6 television stations broadcasting audio on 87.7-FM, the frequencies 82-88 MHz could be used for more radio stations in geographic areas where it is not currently used for TV services. So, in Albany, where you could once hear the audio from the Channel 6 TV station, a new FM radio station could possibly be broadcasting in a few years.

Andrea Macko is reporting for Porcupine Soup that the Windham-Ashland-Jewett school district went into lockdown on May 19, after a reported stabbing. However, according to a statement from the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, the building was locked down “briefly to address a student altercation.” And while police and EMS were dispatched to the school, no patient was transported. The sheriff’s office did not provide details, but sources say that a high school student was injured, but not seriously. A high school student was subsequently removed from the school grounds and is now facing several charges in Greene County Family Court, according to the sheriff’s office. Due to their age, the student's name is not being released. The Sheriff’s office said in a statement that investigators believe this was an isolated incident and there is no current threat to students or staff. The investigation remains ongoing. Windham-Ashland-Jewett reported an enrollment of 301 students during the 2020-21 school year; 83 percent of the student body is white. Read the full story at porcupinesoup [dot] com.

Natasha Vaughn-Holdridge is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media nationwide, children ages 5 to 11 will now be eligible to receive a COVID-19 booster vaccination, but Greene County is holding out for more information before deciding on a course of action. The COVID-19 Community Level is considered to be high in both Columbia and Greene counties by the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention. Approximately 65.5 percent of Greene County's population age 5 and older is fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. In Columbia County, that rate is about 78.5 percent. “I don’t know if that’s going to be something that a pediatrician has to make a decision on versus public health but at this point, we would have no plan to establish a pod,” Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden said on May 20. Columbia County Department of Health Director Jack Mabb said, “We found we had great success at AB Shaw and at the Chatham Fire House because we were able to segregate the kids and they didn’t have to see other kids getting the shot at both locations. So we are planning on contacting both of those firehouses again to see if we can run pods there, specifically for those 5 to 11.” Adults who are age 50 or older and received a first booster shot at least four months ago or people 12 or older and are moderately or severely immunocompromised, and received a first booster shot at least four months ago are eligible for a second booster shot. New York State will issue guidance on the booster for 5 to 11-year-olds in the near future, Gov. Kathy Hochul said after the CDC announcement. During the pandemic more than 4.8 million children between the ages of 5 and 11 have been diagnosed with COVID-19, 15,000 have been hospitalized and more than 180 have died. “Vaccination continues to be the most effective way to prevent COVID-19 and its severe consequences, and it is safe,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert M. Califf said. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Denis Slattery is reporting for the Daily News Steuben County Supreme Court Judge Patrick McAllister on May 20 approved the congressional and state Senate maps drawn up by a court-appointed expert. The new districts were finalized one month after the state’s highest court rejected the maps drawn up by Democrats. “Unfortunately some people have encouraged the public to believe that now the court gets to create its own gerrymandered maps that favor Republicans,” McAllister wrote in his approval filed near midnight. “Such could not be further from the truth. The court is not politically biased." Thousands of letters poured into the court calling on the judge to amend the maps before finalizing them. The maps created by the Democrats would have given the party an advantage in 22 of the state’s 26 congressional districts. Now, the newly proposed lines include eight competitive districts. The new lines will be in place for the next decade. New York’s congressional and state Senate primaries were rescheduled to August 23. Assembly and gubernatorial primaries are still scheduled for June 28. A federal lawsuit attempting to combine the state’s primaries in August was filed on May 19, by the League of Women Voters. That suit argues the Board of Elections unlawfully certified primary ballots for statewide races, including the governor’s race, since candidates collected signatures based on the now defunct congressional maps. Democrats could initiate another legal challenge against the new maps, further complicating the process and adding to the uncertainty surrounding the state’s primaries. Read more in the Daily Freeman.


Today's daily news update.

Noah Eckstein reports for Columbia-Greene Media that on May 31 Hudson's Common Council holds a special meeting to vote on changing the city’s ward boundaries. In February the Legal Committee voted unanimously to recommend the “least change” option for ward reapportionment in the annual update of the ward boundaries. Under the proposal, 75 residents from the 1st Ward move to the 3rd Ward and 40 residents from the 3rd Ward switch to the 4th Ward. If voters approve in a November referendum, the changes would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2023. “The point is that some people are going to wake up and find out they are in a new ward,” Common Council President Thomas DePietro said. “I don’t know if that is a big deal or not.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Nick Reisman reports for New York State of Politics that the unemployment rate continues to fall in New York. In April, unemployment fell from 4.6 percent to 4.5 percent, the state Department of Labor announced May 19. New York added 23,600 jobs in the private sector in April, a 0.3 percent increase. Last April, New York's unemployment rate was much worse, at 7.7 percent. But the state still is not as employed as the rest of the country, where there is a national 3.6 percent unemployment rate. If you remove New York City, though, the state's rate is better than the national rate, at 3.1 percent. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.