Gov. Kathy Hochul's decision announced May 3 to make Rep. Antonio Delgado lieutenant governor adds another vote to a summer of elections in New York, with all sorts of cascading effects across ballots. Delgado will take the state oath of office this month at a date to be determined. "The only question is the exact timing he will resign from Congress," Hochul said. "There is work to be finished before he assumes these responsibilities." The day before, former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, recently indicted on corruption charges, removed himself from the ballot after the Legislature passed a law to allow political nominees charged with a crime to vacate a party ticket. So now Delgado will appear on the ballot for the statewide primary election for lieutenant governor scheduled for June 28, as Hochul's running mate. Then, Spectrum reports, a special election for Delgado's 19th District seat must be set within ten days of the resignation and must be held within three months. Marc Molinaro, the Republican Dutchess County Executive who is already running for the seat, will likely be on the ballot then against an at-this-point unknown Democrat. “You left an open seat in Congress,” Assembly Member Maritza Davila of Brooklyn told City & State about Hochul's decision. “This is what we're trying to avoid.” She said she feels confident that the seat will return to Republican hands now. “She has to live with her own choices,” Davila added. Other Democrats were more optimistic about retaining the seat. “We have strong Democratic candidates, I’m sure, looking at that seat,” state Sen. Brad Hoylman of Manhattan told City & State. “I would expect a worthy successor in the Democratic nomination.” State Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs told City & State that the party has several potential candidates in mind for the seat, but declined to say who exactly. Two local politicians are floating their names so far. Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan, who lost to Delgado in the Democratic primary in 2018, hinted at trying again in a May 3 Tweet. "After last night's devastating news, it’s clear that now more than ever we need champions in Congress who’ll protect fundamental rights and freedom and fight back against Washington extremism," Ryan wrote, referring to the news that the Supreme Court would overturn Roe v. Wade. "So, stay tuned." Anonymous sources also claim state Sen. Michelle Hinchey, of Saugerties, may run for the seat. "She's assessing where she can best help our communities - whether that's in Albany or Washington," a source with knowledge of the senator's plans said. Hinchey, in her only election, turned the 46th Senate District in the Hudson Valley from Republican-control to Democrats in 2020. "Everything is on the table," the source added. Both could run, and because redistricting has been thrown out and maps are being withdrawn, the primary election for Congressional seats will now happen in August. And if a current office holder such as Ryan or Hinchey runs for the Democrats, they will need to find a replacement. Hinchey, right now, is running for re-election this fall against Republican Rich Amedure.

There were several abortion-rights rallies in the Hudson Valley May 3, and hundreds around the country, hours after a leaked text showed the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the Roe vs. Wade decision that legalized the medical operation nationally. The Albany rally was held at West Capitol Park and organized by Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood, WTEN reported. There were also rallies in Kingston, in Ulster County, and in Newburgh and Washingtonville in Orange County. Gov. Kathy Hochul attended the Albany rally. New York currently allows abortion, but the decision means more women from other states may travel here for the procedure. At the event May 3, Hochul told women from out of the state to, "Come to New York." Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood CEO Chelly Hegan said she did not think that many women will be able be to afford a flight, hotel, and time off from work to come to New York. "We know that here in New York access will be safe and secure, that we are not anticipating any losses of abortion access in New York State. We know that here in the Capital Region, our health centers in the Capital Region , our health centers in Albany, Troy, and Hudson will remain open and will continue to provide abortion to anyone who needs it. But we don’t know how some folks will be able to access care at all,” said Hegan.

Liz Montgomery reports for Porcupine Soup that the Town of Cairo police their want to increase their staff by 50 percent. Sergeant-in-Charge Rick Busch said at a May 2 town meeting that they need to hire a third full-time police officer. “I’m looking to fix a problem where right now we’ll have quite a few shifts where there’s nobody working,” Busch said. “One of our guys works for state corrections. He’s getting stuck at corrections all the time. They can pretty much tell you that you’re not leaving,” Busch added. “Shifts that he was supposed to work end up not getting covered unless me or the other full-timer covers it on overtime.” The story reports that in April, the Town of Cairo Police Department received 919 calls, 107 of which required incident reports, but did not say whether that was an increase or decrease. The story also does not quote town board members on their views on the issue, but claims they will soon vote on hiring another officer. Read more about this story at Porcupine Soup.

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Nick Reisman is reporting for State of Politics with the possibility of the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling being overturned, the debate over abortion is set to return to New York amid an election year.  A draft SCOTUS opinion leaked to Politico on May 2, indicated the court has voted to overturn the Roe decision, ending federal constitutional protections of abortion rights and sending the issue back to the states to legislate. In a statement May 2, Gov. Kathy Hochul said she was "horrified" by the draft ruling. "New York will always be a place where abortion rights are protected and where abortion is safe and accessible. Just as the Statue of Liberty lifts her lamp tall in our harbor, New York will never stop fighting for what's right — unafraid and undeterred," Hochul said. For opponents of abortion, the news was seen as a potential relief. “While it is important that we wait for the justices of the United State Supreme Court to speak for themselves through an official opinion, tonight’s news is an exciting possibility for those of us in the trenches of America’s pro-life movement," the Rev. Jason McGuire, the executive director of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, said. In 2019, state lawmakers and then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo approved the Reproductive Health Act, a measure meant to strengthen New York abortion laws and codify the decision in state law. The law allows a pregnancy to be terminated after 24 weeks if a woman’s life is in danger or the fetus is not viable. It allows a licensed or certified health care practitioner to perform abortions. "Unfortunately, we knew this day was coming, and that is why when we took the Senate Majority we immediately codified Roe v. Wade into state law, allowing us to withstand any Supreme Court decision," said Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins. Abortion could now become an issue in the governor's race. Republican gubernatorial candidate, U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, told a group of abortion opponents he would support nominating a so-called pro-life state health commissioner if elected governor. Zeldin said Monday, “Those ruling Albany support late-term partial-birth abortions, and non-doctors performing abortions," the campaign said. "Instead, Kathy Hochul should be supporting adoption, health care, families, life, informed consent and parental consent." Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.

Jeanette Wolfberg is reporting for The Columbia Paper the Hudson Housing Authority Board of Commissioners voted April 25, to accept a grant from the Hudson Catskill Housing Coalition on behalf of its tenants to pay overdue rent. The Hudson Housing Authority manages the 135-unit Bliss residential complex on 2nd Street in Hudson. In February, the Housing Coalition made an offer to pay overdue rent for Housing Authority tenants. Since that time, the principals worked out the logistics for payment and now both the Housing Coalition and the Housing Authority have provided enough information to bring the payments closer to happening, Housing Authority Interim Executive Director Nick Zachos said. The Housing Authority Board voted to accept the grant after hearing from Zachos. The vote was unanimous with one abstention. Housing Authority board Vice-Chair Claire Cousin did not cast a vote because she is also Executive Director of the Housing Coalition board. “This is [a] very exciting [moment], on behalf of our tenants,” Zachos said. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

 Jeanne Tyler Moodee Lockman is reporting for CNYCentral one year from now, on May 3, 2023, the federal government will require a Real ID or another federally accepted document like an Enhanced ID or passport for U.S. citizens to board a flight within the country. The New York Department of Motor Vehicles is urging New Yorkers to apply for their Real ID or Enhanced ID now in order to avoid the rush next year. The DMV announced they will be making staff available in airports throughout the state beginning the week of May 8. An informational table will also be set up at Albany International Airport at peak travel times. DMV Commissioner Mark J.F. Schroeder said, “I encourage customers to visit our website, social media pages, or talk to our staff at the airports to find out what they need to apply for a Real ID or Enhanced ID so they can be successful on their first visit to a DMV office.” Anyone with a license or ID up for renewal can get a Real ID at no additional cost; those looking to upgrade without renewing will have to pay an extra $12.50. The Enhanced ID costs $30 more and can be used as identification when re-entering the U.S. by land or sea from Canada, Mexico, and some countries in the Caribbean. A passport is also an acceptable Real ID-compliant document, according to the DMV. Read the full story at cnycentral [dot] com.

James Careless reports for Radio World that the British Broadcasting Corporation's World Service has turned 90 years old. It began as the “BBC Empire Service” in 1932, sending shortwave signals around the globe. “Created 10 years after the BBC itself was founded, the BBC World Service was there to send ‘voices out of the air,’ which sounds like a poem by Keats but are actually the words of King George V,” said Stephen Titherington, senior head of content for BBC World Service English. “Since the collapse of the Berlin Wall it has had a different relevancy to people in terms of sharing what is happening within the world, with also a chance for people to add their voice to what needs to be heard.” The BBC World Service provided alternative information to people in fascist countries in the 1930s and 1940s, then pivoted as a Cold War broadcaster, and now beams in signals to conflict zones in Ukraine, Yemen, Palestine, and Afghanistan. Lately it has focused on local broadcasts and streaming media while cutting back on shortwave, and ending shortwave service to North America. “One thing that has been consistent over the years is the BBC’s commitment to independent news,” said Dr. Kim Andrew Elliott, retired Voice of America audience research analyst/radio host and now producer/presenter of “Shortwave Radiogram,” heard on shortwave stations WINB and WRMI. The Voice of America, a similar radio service from the United States, always seemed more like a propagandists than the BBC. “To be sure, the BBC European services had partisan commentaries during World War II, but the news remained factual, mostly. Since World II, BBC World Service has been the de facto standard for comprehensive and objective news,” Elliot says. As of late 2021 the BBC broadcasts in 40 languages including Amharic, Gujarati, Igbo, Korean, Marathi, Pidgin, Punjabi, Serbian, Telugu, Tigrinya, and Yoruba. In March, after Russia invaded Ukraine, the BBC World Service announced it is broadcasting, "four hours of English news daily on two shortwave frequencies, both of which “can be received clearly in Kyiv and parts of Russia,” said a BBC media release. The shortwave frequencies are 15735 kHz operating from 1400 to 1600 UTC and on 5875 kHz from 2000 to 2200 UTC. “The audience for the BBC’s Russian language news website more than tripled its year-to-date weekly average, with a record reach of 10.7 million people in the last week (compared to 3.1 million). In English, bbc.com visitors in Russia were up 252% to 423,000 last week," a BBC press release said when the war was two weeks old. Elliot agrees that the service is often most needed where it is least wanted by the local government. “We have seen, in more and more countries, censorship and blocking of the internet. Shortwave can deliver information across national boundaries independent of the internet. Satellite television also sidesteps the internet, but satellite dishes are conspicuous. Shortwave reception is simpler, cheaper … and more discreet. (And) My ‘Shortwave Radiogram’ project shows that text and images can be transmitted by old analog shortwave transmitters, and received on any shortwave radio, with decoding by an app on a PC or mobile device,” Elliot says. Read more about this story at Radio World.

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Luis Ferré-Sadurní and Nicholas Fandos report in the New York Times that Gov. Kathy Hochul picked Rep. Antonio Delgado as her new lieutenant governor. The choice is considered strange for two reasons: typically a governor/lieutenant governor ticket includes one candidate representing New York City's large population, and the choice makes it much more difficult for Democrats to hold onto Delgado's 19th Congressional District. Delgado, though, is not mired in controversy, an important consideration for the replacement of Brian Benjamin, who was indicted on federal bribery charges last month, leading to his resignation. Democrats voted May 2 in Albany to change state election law, allowing Benjamin to take his name off the ballot, and Delgado to put his name on the ballot. “Having won competitive primary and general elections for Congress, Representative Antonio Delgado is a battle-tested campaigner who has the experience to serve New Yorkers and the work ethic to get our party’s message out to voters, unite communities and lift up Democratic candidates statewide,” Hochul said. In the June primary election Delgado gets two Latina women opponents, Diana Reyna, a former New York City Council member, and Ana María Archila, a progressive activist. Which Democrats might run for Delgado's NY-19 district is unclear. So far, Gareth Rhodes, a former state official, who previously attempted to win the seat, has ruled out running for the seat now. The New York Times reports that according to two people familiar with his thinking, Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan is seriously considering running for the now-open seat. Republican Marc Molinaro, the Dutchess County Executive who ran for governor in 2018, will run against whichever Democrat emerges for the seat. Read more about this story in the New York Times.

Rick Karlin reports in the Times Union that. nine towns in Schoharie County are suing New York state about new rules on how solar farms are taxed. The state's standardized taxing method includes a large discount, that the town's say costs them millions of dollars of school and property tax revenue. Solar developers say the different assessment was devised to make the solar farms economically possible to create less-polluting energy. Last week State Supreme Court Justice Christina Ryba's temporary restraining order halted, at least temporarily, use of the new assessment method. Arguments will be heard later this month. “Hopefully it can be resolved soon,” said Anne Reynolds, executive director of the Alliance for Clean Energy, which represents numerous solar farm developers. The Schoharie County towns of Blenheim, Carlisle, Cobleskill, Conesville, Esperance, Jefferson, Middleburgh, Sharon, and Summit are part of the lawsuit. “The real crux of this lawsuit was that they didn’t follow the State Administrative Procedures Act,” said Dylan Harris, the lawyer representing the towns. The municipalities want to protect their tax revenue, and the solar farms want to be economically successful, and the court will decide between the two positions. a href="https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/Solar-farm-tax-battle-lands-in-court-17142399.php">Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Today I was joined by farmers, educators, & nutritional experts at a press conference in announcing my bill (A.9990) to put NY-produced whole & 2% milk back in schools. Call your state Assemblyman and Senator and tell them to co-sponsor the bill and vote to bring back whole & 2%! pic.twitter.com/w4YNjsCGtX

— Chris Tague (@chrisWCtague) May 2, 2022

On May 2 Chris Tague, who represents the 102nd district in the New York State Assembly, held a press conference about a bill of his that would allow schools to purchase whole and two percent milk that’s produced within the state. Tague argues that that two percent and whole milk is healthier than fat free and one percent milk. But ten years ago the federal government believed otherwise, banning whole milk nationally — and therefore in all of New York state — in 2010. So Tague's bill (A.9990) is political theater, since New York law would not supersede federal law.

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Nick Reisman is reporting for State of Politics on May 2, the two remaining candidates for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor rebuked the effort to change New York's election law in order to remove Brian Benjamin's name from the ballot, calling the effort an unfair change to the rules midway through the election season, and a sign of sloppiness in state government. "This is the messiest election that anyone has seen," said former New York City Councilmember Diana Reyna, the preferred running mate of U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi. "I think everyone can agree with that." The measure will make it easier to remove a candidate from the ballot if they are facing criminal charges. Benjamin was Gov. Kathy Hochul's lieutenant governor, but resigned last month amid federal bribery and fraud charges. He has suspended his campaign, but his name remains on the ballot. If Benjamin's name is removed from the ballot, the state Democratic Party's committee on vacancies will then formally begin the process of selecting a new candidate. Progressive activist Ana Maria Archila, the preferred running mate of New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, also knocked the bill, the product of a negotiation between Hochul and lawmakers who had been reluctant to take it up. "New Yorkers deserve free and fair elections, and that means elections where no one can change the rules of the game at the last minute," she said. The legislature barely passed the bill May 2, with many Democrats joining Republicans in opposition, and Hochul signed the bill into law. Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.

Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Capital Region Independent Media the Coeymans Town Board last week voted unanimously to award a $200,000 project to State Telephone Company to install high-speed broadband service in an underserved part of the community. Partial funding for the project will come from COVID-19 relief funds the town was awarded by the federal government, The broadband expansion project will bring high-speed internet to 70 properties along Starr and Bushendorf roads. The town issued a Request for Proposal for the project on April 7 and last week opened the three bids that were submitted. In addition to State Telephone, bids were received from Mid-Hudson Cable and Spectrum. The three companies were comparable on several criteria, but there were differences. Among the biggest difference was the cost for consumers, both the monthly fee and installation costs. State Tel was unique among the three providers, offering free installation, Town Supervisor George McHugh said. McHugh said there was also a difference between the three companies in the monthly cost all customers would pay for the broadband service and State Tel was the lowest at $59.95. Board member Stephen Schmitt presented the resolution approving State Telephone for the project to bring high-speed broadband service to properties on Starr and Bushendorf roads. The resolution was unanimously approved. Read the full story at TheUpStater [dot] com.

Noah Eckstein is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media a march and day of awareness for missing and murdered indigenous people will take place the evening of May 6 in Hudson. The event is sponsored by Forge Project, a private native-led art, culture and decolonial education initiative in partnership with Radical Indigenous Survivance and Empowermen, or RISE, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the education, dissemination and evolution of indigenous culture. Candice Hopkins, executive director of the Forge Project, said, “Our role at Forge is to raise awareness across the United States creating an understanding that this part of the Hudson Valley has been a place of displacement of natives." Indigenous women and girls are murdered at a rate 10 times higher than other ethnicities, according to Native Women’s Wilderness, a group that supports indigenous women. Many tribal nations consider the kidnapping and murder of indigenous people an epidemic, with some even considering it to be a form of genocide. The event will begin at the Henry Hudson Riverfront Park at 5:30 p.m., May 6, and conclude at Hudson City Hall around 7 p.m. During the event, remarks and chants will be offered for the purpose of raising awareness for those who go missing or are murdered. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

In popular culture, the wireless, untethered charger for a phone is like a hovercraft, something long promised, but never delivered. Last week, though, Wi-Charge founder and chief business officer Ori Mor gave an interview to TechCrunch where he claimed that Belkin would release a specific, “center-stage consumer product” to charge phones remotely later this year. But the next day, however, Belkin spokesperson Jen Wei said nothing is imminent. "Currently, our agreement with Wi-Charge only commits us to R&D on some product concepts, so it’s too early to comment on the timing of viable consumer products," Wei told Ars Technica. "The Belkin method is to thoroughly investigate technology viability and perform deep user testing before committing to a product concept. Here at Belkin, we only launch products when we confirm technical feasibility backed by deep consumer insights." What we do know about that research and development is that Wi-Charge's technology has a small, mounted transmitter plugged into an AC or DC outlet to "convert electricity into safe infrared beams," the company's website says. The transmitter sends up to one watt of power to devices holding a Wi-Charge receiver within a 40-foot range and line of sight. The radio wave receivers then turn that light into power to charge phones and computer notebooks. Infrared waves are electromagnetic waves that have frequency range around 300 GHz, and can only travel a short distance. A Belkin official makes clear this cable- and pad-free wireless charging technology is coming soon, just not right away. "We are excited to uncover the full potential of Wi-Charge’s unparalleled over-the-air wireless charging technology,” said Brian Van Harlingen, the CTO at Belkin. “The future of charging has been transitioning from wired to wireless for years now and we anticipate over the air wireless charging to accelerate this evolution."

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