Matthew Yglesias reports for Bloomberg that in September 2020, political scientists David Broockman of the University of California at Berkeley and Joshua Kalla of Yale paid viewers of Fox News to watch CNN for a month, and found the change altered their political views. The folks switching from Fox to CNN were then surveyed, and were found to be five percentage points more likely to believe that people suffer from long COVID-19 and six points more likely to believe that many foreign countries did a better job than America in controlling the virus. Those paid to watch CNN instead of Fox were seven points more likely to support voting by mail than the regular Fox-viewing control group. And those paid to watch CNN instead of Fox News were 13 points less likely to agree that if Biden were elected, “we’ll see many more police get shot by Black Lives Matter activists,” than the regular Fox News viewers. A seven-point increase in supporting voting by mail may seem like a lot, but only 24 percent of the CNN switchers in total said they supported voting by mail. Of course, the viewers only watched CNN for one month, so there could have been greater deviations if the channels stayed changed. Read more about this story at Bloomberg News.

Here is this week's Hudson Valley Congressional Report from WGXC, tracking the votes, statements, positions, and campaigns of the representatives of the Hudson Valley in Congress and the candidates who want to replace them. Current Democrat Reps. Antonio Delgado, Paul Tonko, and Sean Maloney vote with the positions of President Joe Biden 100 percent of the time, according to the fivethirtyeight.com website. Republican Elise Stefanik voted with Biden's positions 18 percent of the time. Click here to listen to this report.

Maury Thompson reports in the Post Star that on April 4 Ezra Watson dropped his Democrat election bid for the 21st Congressional District after failing to collect enough signatures on nominating petitions to get on the ballot. That leaves two Democrats attempting to unseat Republican Elise Stefanik. Another Democrat, Bridie Farrell, dropped out of the race in February. But Watson said he will attempt to run in the general election as an independent. “I have had Republicans that wanted to sign my (Democratic) nominating petitions — strange enough,” he said in a telephone interview on April 4. “It’s the way I’m going to proceed.” That made the Stefanik camp happy. “We welcome self-declared socialist Ezra Watson to the race as an independent,” said Alex Degrasse, senior adviser to Stefanik. But it will be harder for Watson. Just 1,250 valid signatures of members of the party are required to get on the primary ballot, but to run as an independent, 3,500 valid signatures are required. Meanwhile in the 19th Congressional District, MidHudson News reports that Rep. Antonio Delgado filed petitions with 11,131 signatures on April 4, to run for re-election. Republican Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro is also running in that election.

MidHudson News is reporting Colin Schmitt, the Republican and Conservative candidate for New York’s 18th Congressional District, April 4, filed designating petitions with the State Board of Elections. He will face incumbent Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney in the November election. Schmitt filed 6,188 signatures, five times the required number, for a spot on the Republican ballot line. He submitted 1,445 signatures, three times the required number, for Conservative Party access. He currently serves as a state assemblymember representing portions of Orange and Rockland counties. The new 18th Congressional District, if it withstands a court challenge, will represent portions of Dutchess, Orange, Ulster, Putnam, and Westchester counties The State Board of Elections has declared that the March 31 order of the State Supreme Court, which determined the 2022 Congressional, Senate and Assembly lines to be unconstitutional, has been stayed pending appeal. That means the filing period for candidate petitions will remain in place, from April 4 to April 7. Plus, all other deadlines set by law are still in effect pending further court action. Schmitt vowed to fight for residents of the Hudson Valley if elected to the House of Representatives. Read the full story at MidHudsonNews [dot] com.

Kate Lisa is reporting for State of Politics the state's upcoming primary elections will proceed as scheduled, an appellate judge ruled April 8. In addition, the maps defining new congressional, Senate and Assembly districts will stay in place for the next several weeks until the next phase of the legal challenge to the state's redistricting process is adjudicated. State Supreme Court Appellate Division Justice Stephen Lindley Friday, issued a stay to allow New York candidates to continue to canvas, keeping the current general primary election scheduled for June 28. The state Board of Elections deadline for filing petitions is April 11. A judge with the Fourth Department of the state's Appellate Division is expected to issue a decision on the appeal on April 20. Steuben County Supreme Court Justice Patrick McAllister on March 31, struck down the new maps drawn by the Legislature after finding that lawmakers failed to comply with the state Constitution and amendments that established the Independent Redistricting Commission in 2014. The Legislature and state Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment could immediately start redrawing the new elective district maps, or take no action before then, and possibly be at the mercy of maps crafted by a neutral expert chosen by McAllister if the defendants lose their Court of Appeals challenge this month. Former congressperson John Faso has accused Democrats of gerrymandering and advocated for the maps to be overturned since they were first drafted in February. “We are pleased with the decision today, partially lifting the stay," Faso said in a statement April 8. "This will allow Judge McAllister to appoint a special master to redraw the congressional districts in a fair and nonpartisan way, as called for in the New York Constitution. ...Ultimately, the decision will rest with the NYS Court of Appeals, but we’re encouraged that the direct language in the Constitution prohibiting partisan gerrymandering will guide their ruling.” Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.

MidHudson News reports that on April 8 Rep. Antonio Delgado signed on to a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asking to prioritize legislation to suspend the gas tax. “As New Yorkers continue to feel the strain of higher prices at the pump and on their home heating bills, we must use every tool available to lower these costs,” said Delgado. “That’s why I am calling on Congress to immediately consider legislation to suspend the federal gas tax and take other steps to lower energy prices.” The same day, New York state announced a gas tax holiday beginning this summer. a href="https://midhudsonnews.com/2022/04/09/delgado-calls-for-immediate-suspension-of-federal-gas-tax/">Read more about this story at MidHudson News.

Kevin Frey reports at Spectrum News about the earmarks Hudson Valley members of Congress put into the $1.5 trillion federal budget for local projects. Rep. Paul Tonko, who represents the 20th Congressional District, crowed about one of the pork projects he secured for the Capital Region. “Three million in Cohoes for their reservoir floating solar project. I think that will be an example for the country,” Tonko said. He also mentioned the, "$450 million for ReConnect rural broadband, $382 million for the Federal Communications Commission, and funding for the Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth—established under my Access Broadband Act.” Delgado crowed about $829,594 for broadband projects in the Towns of Ghent, Canaan, New Lebanon, and Austerlitz and $82,000 for the Village of Philmont Fire Station. And he also mentioned $75,000 for the Greater Cobleskill Community Center in Schoharie County. Republican Elise Stefanik attempted to brag about projects she got funding, but she voted against the budget, so she won't get credit here. Read more about this story at Spectrum News.

Kate Lisa is reporting for State of Politics the state's upcoming primary elections will proceed as scheduled, an appellate judge ruled April 8. In addition, the maps defining new congressional, Senate and Assembly districts will stay in place for the next several weeks until the next phase of the legal challenge to the state's redistricting process is adjudicated. State Supreme Court Appellate Division Justice Stephen Lindley Friday, issued a stay to allow New York candidates to continue to canvas, keeping the current general primary election scheduled for June 28. The state Board of Elections deadline for filing petitions is April 11. A judge with the Fourth Department of the state's Appellate Division is expected to issue a decision on the appeal on April 20. Steuben County Supreme Court Justice Patrick McAllister on March 31, struck down the new maps drawn by the Legislature after finding that lawmakers failed to comply with the state Constitution and amendments that established the Independent Redistricting Commission in 2014. The Legislature and state Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment could immediately start redrawing the new elective district maps, or take no action before then, and possibly be at the mercy of maps crafted by a neutral expert chosen by McAllister if the defendants lose their Court of Appeals challenge this month. Former congressperson John Faso has accused Democrats of gerrymandering and advocated for the maps to be overturned since they were first drafted in February. “We are pleased with the decision today, partially lifting the stay," Faso said in a statement April 8. "This will allow Judge McAllister to appoint a special master to redraw the congressional districts in a fair and nonpartisan way, as called for in the New York Constitution. ...Ultimately, the decision will rest with the NYS Court of Appeals, but we’re encouraged that the direct language in the Constitution prohibiting partisan gerrymandering will guide their ruling.” Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.

Ted Remsnyder is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media that Greene County Legislature Chair Patrick Linger returned to his duties April 6, presiding over a meeting for the first time in three months after experiencing a major health scare. While Linger appeared via Zoom at the Legislature’s last regular meeting on March 16, the last session he attended in person was the January 3 reorganizational meeting. On January 4, Linger experienced chest pains and was rushed to the hospital, where it was determined he had suffered an aortic dissection, a condition caused by a tear in the inner layer of the aorta. “...They found it through a CT scan and then I went through eight hours of emergency surgery that night. While I was there for that, I had a second surgery to do a carotid bypass on the carotid artery,” Linger said. After the second surgery, Linger was put on a blood thinner. “That coagulated my blood, which gave me a stroke,” he said. “So I had a heck of a couple of months.” Linger said he is working his way back to full strength. “They’re working on my stamina so I can make it through an entire day of doing work,” he said. He is now working between four and five hours a day at his full-time job, plus two hours of therapy twice a week. Linger said he followed county business while he was out. “By the second week of February, I was in regular contact with the county administrator and the leadership with (legislators) Harry Lennon and Matt Luvera throughout February and March,” he said. In Linger’s absence, Legislature Vice Chair Luvera ran the Legislature meetings. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Capital Region Independent Media that the parent company of the LafarargeHolcim cement plant on Route 9W is being rebranded with the new name of Holcim US, the company announced in a statement April 7. The company will focus on building “smarter infrastructure” and pursuing green climate initiatives, according to a company statement. Jay Moreau, CEO of Holcim US Aggregates and Construction Materials said, “We’re coming together as one team to accomplish ambitious goals in sustainability and innovation, and to deliver on the value proposition for us and our stakeholders.” Coeymans Town Supervisor George McHugh said he has been in regular contact with the local plant manager and supports the company’s changes. “We are excited to see these changes, especially as the local plant becomes greener and focuses on the goal of net-zero carbon emissions and improved environmental and living conditions for the residents of Coeymans and the surrounding area,” he said. Ravena Mayor Bill Misuraca said he has had “zero communication” from the company about any changes the rebranding might bring to the local community. In the past year, the state Department of Environmental Conservation withdrew authorization for the plant to burn tires for fuel at the facility, which had not yet been implemented but was being planned for. The company also reached an $850,000 settlement with the state in 2021 resolving alleged environmental violations at that location between 2015 and 2019. There were two fires at the facility April 3 that brought out many area fire-fighting units. Formerly known as Lafarge, the plant was renamed LafargeHolcim after the two companies merged in 2015. Read the full story at TheUpstater [dot] com.

Today's daily news update.

Bill Mahoney reports at Politico that several candidates have filed to be on the ballot in June for the Democrat's primary election for governor. Incumbent Kathy Hochul, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, and Long Island Rep. Tom Suozzi filed more than enough signatures. Paul Nichols said earlier this week that he planned to file enough, but did not have the evidence April 7, and Vladimy Joseph and Agha Muhammad Saleh submitted petitions but nowhere near the number of required signatures to get on the ballot. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo did not submit a petition. Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin got his ballot spot with the party's endorsment at his party’s convention in March. Businessperson Harry Wilson and former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino both delivered more signatures than required. Former New York City first son Andrew Giuliani filed to run, though did not share signatures with the media on deadline day. Forest Hills resident Derrick Gibson also submitted petitions. Election officials now need to verify those signatures. Read more about this story at Politico.

Emilia Teasdale reports for the Columbia Paper about the push and pull of solar energy opinions locally at a Kinderhook town meeting. Some folks want more solar energy panels in many places to save the planet from the current climate change, and others don't want to lose their viewshed, or more farmland. AT the April 4 Kinderhook Board meeting there was talk both of the Community Solar program the board agreed to join in February, and from one resident about how the town's proposed solar law would gobble up too much farmland. A representative from Neighborhood Sun, one of the two companies approved by the county for a Community Solar campaign, spoke at the meeting, explaining how Community Solar allows residential and commercial electrical customers to subscribe to an offsite solar project. To sign up for the program, there is a link on the WGXC Newsroom (https://sites.google.com/columbiacountyny.com/emc/communitysolar). Kinderhook resident Karyn Watt also spoke at the meeting. When solar companies choose prime farmland and not non-viable or retired agricultural locations this creates concerns,” she said, asking the board to, “carefully evaluate the location of these commercial facilities.” Read more about this story in the Columbia Paper.

MidHudson News reports that Bard College has been studying Kingston's air quality, and it could be better. Bard's air monitor was installed on the roof of the Andy Murphy Neighborhood Center on Broadway just before the COVID-19 pandemic began, said Bard Assistant Professor of Environmental and Urban Studies and Director of the Center for the Environment Sciences and Humanities. Elias Dueker. “There were observed reductions in air pollution during some parts of the COVID shutdown, but the reality is the cars are still going and in a place like Kingston, we still needed to heat our homes with oil and gas heat and we also have in Kingston, a growing and concerning number of woodburning establishments, both restaurants and in people’s homes,” he said. In 2021, the American Lung Association gave Dutchess County's air quality a grade of a D for high ozone days. High ozone days occur when pollution and weather create dangerously higher levels of ozone that can be harmful. Read more about this story at MidHudson News.

Today's daily news update.

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

Joshua Solomon is reporting for the Times Union that Gov. Kathy Hochul announced April 7, a deal had been reached on the state's $220 billion budget, one week past deadline. "The long-awaited day has arrived," the governor told reporters at the Capitol. This is her first budget negotiation since taking office in August. The spending plan is supported by federal post-pandemic aid and designed to help the state move beyond the two-year health crisis. With that in mind, Hochul said 15 percent of state funding will be kept in reserve, up from four percent. The governor said under the agreement reached, judges would have greater discretion to impose bail for gun charges that were previously subject to release, though additional details were not immediately available. She said a new ethics enforcement body, the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government, will replace the embattled state Joint Commission on Public Ethics. The commission members will still be selected by elected officials, though the list of nominees will be vetted by a panel of law school deans. Good-government groups have criticized that arrangement as insufficient to achieve genuine independence. Key items of the budget agreed to earlier in the day included allowing takeout cocktails and suspending the state gas tax. A suspension of the gas tax will go into effect from June to the end of the year. It would strike the state's sales and use tax on gas and allow local governments to suspend their share of the tax. The governor said the state will invest $32.8 billion in infrastructure over the next five years, a plan that represents a 40 percent increase over the previous five-year plan. The budget also includes an accelerated tax cut for middle-class families and small businesses, pay increases for health care workers, and tuition aid for part-time students. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Heather Bellow is reporting for The Berkshire Eagle Great Barrington and Sheffield expect to be the first municipal police departments in Berkshire County, Mass., to have body-worn cameras for all officers before the end of the year. Massachusetts State Police are already using them. The cameras are paid for by grants awarded by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, which is promoting use of body cams for police officers. The towns will have to contribute some funds for related costs. Police chiefs from both towns said a letter of support from their union was required for the funding. Both said it was their officers who pushed for the technology. “I think it’s better for both the police and the public,” said Great Barrington Police Chief Paul Storti. “It protects the public in case we do anything wrong, and protects officers who are accused of doing something wrong.” It will also help them train new officers and review policies, said both Storti and Sheffield Police Chief Eric Munson III. The Sheffield department cruisers have had dashboard cameras for about eight years. Criminal justice reformers have encouraged the use of cameras as a way to increase accountability and transparency. The issue gained attention in the Berkshires last week after a Pittsfield police officer shot and killed a man who had a knife and had allegedly advanced on officers, according to the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office. The Pittsfield department currently does not have body cameras, and some in the community have called for their use. Read the full story in The Berkshire Eagle.

Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Capital Region Independent Media an underground industrial fire at the LafargeHolcim cement plant in Ravena late April 3 brought out more than a dozen agencies, but resulted in no injuries. Both the Ravena and Coeymans fire departments responded to the call at the cement plant on Route 9W. “It was determined that the industrial fire was located in a lengthy underground tunnel,” according to a statement released by the village of Ravena Fire Department. “Crews started the physically demanding task of reaching the fire and started extinguishing the fire.” The fire started in equipment located in an underground tunnel, according to Lafarge plant officials. “The cause of the incident and extent of the damage remain under review, and the plant continues to operate as normal,” officials said. More than a dozen fire, rescue and other agencies assisted at the scene. The Lafarge fire was the second that night, the call coming in 30 minutes after firefighters finished battling a residential structure fire in the village. “After all was said and done, there was a lot of sweat and sore muscles, followed by even more hose to clean up, but we are happy to state that there were no major injuries," Ravena fire officials said. Read more at TheUpStater [dot] com.

Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine is not just a war of people and weapons, but of radio waves. In early February Russia began by bombing TV towers and attacking internet services. Then a major story in the war was that Russian troops were using unencrypted signals to communicate. Here is an excerpt of a New York Times report on intercepting Russian war transmissions. Click here to download or play excerpt. On April 7 Der Spiegel magazine reported that German intelligence intercepted radio exchanges between Russian soldiers who discussed killing civilians outside Kyiv, possible further evidence of Russian war crimes. In one conversation recorded by the Germans, a Russian soldier claims he shot and killed a cyclist. In another, a Russian soldier can be heard saying that bystanders should initially be questioned, then shot. And the information war is also taking place outside of Ukraine. The British Broadcasting Corporation in early March restarted restarted broadcasts on two shortwave radio frequencies – 15735 kHz and 5875 kHz – with their World Service news in English that can be received clearly in Kyiv and parts of Russia. The BBC had stopped broadcasting to Europe on shortwave frequencies in 2008. Now, though, the BBC’s Russian language news website's weekly audience has more than tripled since the invasion began, with a record 10.7 million people in early March compared to a usual average of 3.1 million. Radio Miami International is also beaming all sorts of signals into the conflict, providing news that is not allowed to be heard otherwise in Russia, and may be difficult to receive otherwise with the infrastructure damage in Ukraine. WTWW in Lubbock, Texas is also beaming music and information into the area. “I got a friend in the Ukraine that I’ve been emailing back and forth with and corresponding with and he loves Creedence Clearwater Revival,” said Dan Collins from the station. “He loves it. I mean, he’s a big fan. It’s just kind of cool to be able to entertain the folks and also put some things in that they may not know. We have listeners in Russia. They don’t get the truth. They’ll never get the truth, but they can’t stop us. That’s the beauty of it.”

Today's daily news update.

Andrea Macko reports for Porcupine Soup that the Durham Town Board gave preliminary approval on April 5 for a 12-home subdivision on 95 acres in the hamlet of Cornwallville. Many community members opposed the project. Town Supervisor Shawn Marriot said. “Obviously, this is an incredibly tough decision for the board to be able to make for the community.” The town imposed 50 conditions on the project before final approval is granted. For instance, Bosque Development LLC of Hudson and owner Preston Jones now have additional pump test requirements and must limit the number of people allowed to congregate around the common barn area. Meanwhile, the Cornwallville Residents for Rural Preservation, a group opposed to the project, has sued the town to stop it with a court hearing set for April 22. “There will be other public hearings for this,” Marriott said. Read more about this story for Porcupine Soup.

Residents of the town of Catskill will get a vote on cannabis lounges, while citizens in Cairo will not get to decide if the newly legal drug is sold there. Roger Hannigan Gilson reports in the Times Union that in Catskill residents gathered enough signatures to force a referendum on the whether to allow cannabis lounges. The town board voted last year to allow cannabis sales, but to bar consumption lounges. But that decision will be overturned if a majority of voters disagree with their town board. In the village of Catskill, both sales and lounges will be allowed, and village voters will also get their say in the Nov. 8 vote on whether to allow lounges in the town. "We just want the other parts of the town of Catskill to have the ability to benefit from the revenue, to be able to benefit from having another option for tourism," said Sara Pickens Verdon, one of the folks gathering signatures there to get the measure on the ballot. If the vote does not pass, the town of Catskill will not get any tax revenue from the lounges in the village. Meanwhile in Cairo, Melanie Lekocevic repports for Capital Region Independent Media that voters in Cairo will not get a say in whether their town allows cannabis sales. Town attorney Tal Rappleyea says a referendum is not allowed unless local residents gathered enough signatures within 30 days of a decision. “If we did put it out to a vote, we would be violating New York state law,” Rappleyea said. “We would not have the authority to do that. It’s a great idea and I think it would be great if we could have a specific say on a vote from folks, whether they want it or not, but the time for that has come and gone.”

MidHudson News reports that on April 5 there were 598 new COVID-19 cases reported in the Hudson Valley. There were only ten new cases in Greene County, and three in Columbia County, but there were 57 more in Dutchess County, 98 new cases in Orange County, and 42 in Ulster County. A few days before the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed Oswego and Cayuga counties in central New York among 16 in the country right now with a "high" COVID-19 transmission risk. A new omicron strain, BA.2, has taken over at the same time mask mandates have ceased across the country. Read more about this story at MidHudson News.

Today's daily news update.