Nick Reisman is reporting for State of Politics a proposal to increase spending for child care included the state budget proposal is running into problems. The development comes as lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul continue to negotiate a state spending plan that was expected to pass last week. The plan under consideration would provide child care support for families that earn 300 percent above the federal poverty rate with a subsidy rate of 80 percent. But the estimate that only 15 percent of the families that qualify would participate is considered "ludicrously low," according to a source. The concern is the lack of funding and low estimation of participation in child care programs would lead to it quickly running out of money. That could force county governments to pick up costs or create a waiting list. A push for child care in the budget this year was brought in large part by the COVID-19 pandemic and the complications families faced during the public health crisis. The $3 billion cost for the program was considered by many advocates to be the minimum amount needed for the program. Read more at spectrumlocalnews [dot] com.

Free speech seems like an endangered concept these days. The right wants to stop teachers from talking about many subjects with students, and ban books they do not agree with. The left is trying to quash a growing trend of racist political speech. Neither side is happy, and radio hosts, who talk for a living, are being fired for what they say. There are two recent radio firings in the news. Last week a radio host in Kazakhstan was fired after she wrote on Facebook, "we will call in Uncle Vova if you talk too much." Uncle Vova is Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who has ordered an invasion of Ukraine complete with mounting cases of war crimes with horrific attacks against civilians. Kazakhstan shares a large border with Russia, and partners with the country on many economic issues. The Europa Plus Kazakhstan radio station fired host Lyubov Panova after the comment. With a large Russian population, and rumors that Russia could invade Kazakhstan, any talk about Putin there is bound to be controversial, and it is understandable why a host supporting Putin might cause a radio station to let them go. In the United States, that's not the case, as Tucker Carlson almost nightly says things in support of Putin on Fox News. But WMAL, near Washington D.C., fired a host last week for posting a photo of Vice-President Kamala Harris wearing the color brown in a Tweet that read, "Kamala looks like a UPS employee — what can brown do for you? Nothing good, apparently.” Right-wing commentators have decried the decision as against the First Amendment, which is silly, since the government did not fire the host, and businesses can fire people in this country for what they post on social media. Amber Athey, the host, said owners of the station Cumulus Media, told her the Tweet was racist when they let her go. But she might have been fired for more than just one Tweet. The New York Post reports that after the UPS Tweet Athey “spoke critically of protests in favor of ‘trans kids’ at the University of North Texas” — and, as she wrote, “a group of maniacal left-wing activists who want to chemically castrate children in the name of ‘gender affirmation’ came after me.” Cumulus Media officials have yet to talk about the issue in the media.

Today's daily news update.

Noah Eckstein writes for Columbia-Greene Media that the city of Hudson is "in the middle of a housing and rental crisis." The apartment rental finder website Zumper says average rents for a one-bedroom apartment in Hudson rose six percent in 2021, to $1,900 per month. There have been no new affordable housing built there in many years, and many apartments and homes have been converted to short-term rentals, driving rents higher. Meanwhile, people keep moving to the Columbia County city, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic began. “You’re not going to find a two-bedroom for $700 per month in Hudson,” said Nancy Felcetto, a real estate agent with Brown Harris Stevens. “People who own properties want rental income and they will make more from Airbnb than from renting.” The story claims that there were only six one- bedroom apartments for rent in December 2021 in Hudson, averaging $1,450 for a one-bedroom. “I get calls everyday from people looking for apartments and I have nothing to show them,” said Robert Kavanaugh, a real estate broker for Barns & Farms Realty LLC. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Cloey Callahan reports in the Times Union that while the affordable housing crisis continues throughout the Hudson Valley a developer want to put a luxury 36-condo high-end residential housing development in Rhinebeck. Local opposition, though, is not about affordability or lack of housing for locals. “The main concern about Rock Ledge is that dumping 36 private condominium developments along a rural road that is zoned to have houses built only on five acres destroys the rural character of the area,” said David Weiner, a member of the Rhinebeck Coalition, formed to oppose the project. Charles Blaichman, a developer behind several luxury hotels in the region, including Hotel Kinsley, a boutique hotel in Kingston, and Inness, a resort and golf course in Accord, wants to build the 36-condominium project called Rock Ledge at 492 Ackert Hook Road in Rhinebeck. His argument to the opposition is that without his development the building would otherwise remain vacant and vulnerable to decay, and condos would create less traffic there than when it was as a drug rehabilitation facility decades ago. The Daytop Village Foundation, Inc. opened that facility in 1987 as a substance-abuse treatment center with 50 residents, staff offices, and a gym., but closed in 2009. The new proposal is for eight of the 36 condos within existing buildings that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the remaining 28 condos would be brand-new construction on the 135-acre site. So far the opposition says they have a petition with 600 signatures. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

MidHudson News reports that the Kingston Housing Authority is getting a 32-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement from the city’s common council for a housing project. But it is not for adding new units in the midst of a housing crisis. Instead, the money goes to modernize the Stuyvesant Apartments. “I think it’s important and prudent that the city, we assist as much as we can in regard to these residents – these constituents – having a good environment to go home to,” said Alderman Tony Davis at the April 5 common council meeting there the tax abatement was approved. “If we don’t do this PILOT, these apartments are just going to deteriorate even more.” Residents who currently live in the apartments spoke at the meeting in favor of the PILOT agreement. 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.

Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Capital Region Independent Media the developer of the South River Street Development project in Coxsackie is expected to submit a new site plan for the project by April 11. Work on the multi-million-dollar development was stopped March 27 after the village board issued a stop-work order because the building permit had expired and various components of the project "...were not in compliance with the village code and/or the planning board approved site plan,” according to a statement from the board. Among the issues cited is that the height of the hotel building does not conform with the original site plan. Mayor Mark Evans read a statement at the village board's April 4 organizational meeting outlining how the village will proceed. He read, “The village board is committed to working with our counsel and we are slowly piecing together a timeline and understanding of events and approvals and oversight of the Downtown Hotel/Event Center Project. ...Once a new site plan is submitted for review and a complete list of issues to be addressed is compiled we are committed to holding a public forum...” Evans said. “We will review any mistakes that were made, safeguards to be put in place, review and understand the issues that need to be addressed and our attorney can review the proper legal path forward.” The Newbury will be a 40-room boutique hotel located on South River Street in downtown Coxsackie. Renovation of the long-vacant building, along with construction of the event center behind it, is the first phase of a multi-year construction project expected to cost just over $10 million. Read the full story at TheUpStater [dot] com.

Ted Remsnyder is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the voters in the Catskill Central School District will be asked in May to approve a proposition that would fund the purchase of a new school bus. The final draft of the 2022-23 district budget proposal will be released April 6. If approved, the proposition would authorize the Catskill Board of Education to buy a school bus, as well as maintenance and grounds equipment, for a maximum cost of $400,000. Superintendent Ronel Cook said transportation is needed for students who participate in after-school activities. He wrote in an email April 4, “Since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been a shortage of bus drivers available for our after-school athletic runs. ....If the district is able to buy a bus, then this will provide us with more flexibility in case the driver shortage extends into the future.” Cook said the district is also developing a rotation plan to replace its outdated equipment. The superintendent said he and the district business official met with principals and department supervisors in February to assess the needs of their staff and departments for the upcoming school year. Three board of education seats will be up for grabs in May, with incumbents Allan Couser, Patricia Dushane and Andrew Varone eligible for reelection to three-year terms. Nominating petitions for candidates must be filed with the board clerk by April 18. A final budget workshop will be held this week, and the board is prepared to adopt the draft spending plan on April 12. A public hearing on the budget will be conducted on May 4. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Cloey Callahan is reporting for the Times Union New York’s 750-mile long Empire State Trail has been ranked number one on Outside Magazine’s rating of the top 25 rail trails in the U.S. The Empire State Trail runs from New York City to Canada and from Albany to Buffalo. Also on the list — New York’s 7-mile Keuka Lake Outlet Trail, which runs from Penn Yan to Dresden in the Finger Lakes, and includes a view the 40-foot Seneca Mills Falls, was ranked 25th. Including New York’s two trails, the Northeast captured six slots on Outside’s list, including the 73-mile Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park Trail in New Jersey, the 58-mile Northern Rail Trail in New Hampshire, Rhode Island’s 14-mile waterfront East Bay Bike Path, and Vermont’s popular 13-mile Island Line Rail Trail, which connects users with such state treasures as the Green Mountains and Lake Champlain. Outside Magazine describes the country’s nearly 25,000 miles of rail trails as having “transformed America’s outdoor spaces.” The Empire State Trail is 75 percent off-road and 25 percent on-road, and it is the longest multi-use trail in the country. It connects New York City to Albany with the Hudson Valley Greenway Trail, from Albany to Canada with the Champlain Valley Trail, and from Albany to Buffalo with the Erie Canalway Trail. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Inside Radio reports that it is five months since President Joe Biden nominated Gigi Sohn for the fifth commissioners seat on the Federal Communications Commission. Republicans have blocked the nomination so far, with a Senate Commerce Committee vote last month tied 14-14. That leaves the FCC commissioners in a 2-2 deadlock, meaning little can be done in the radio regulator's office. Democrats need a motion to discharge from the Senate Majority Leader in order have a vote scheduled in the full body. Then all 50 Democrats would have to be present to get a 50-50 vote, which Vice-President Kamala Harris could break. But Democrats are more concerned about Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson then Sohn. Republicans oppose Sohn's position on broadband net neutrality (Sohn favors making sure Amazon and Google get the same bandwidth as someone's personal website, an even playing field for all). They also say her past work for the now-closed television streaming service Locast should disqualify her from becoming an FCC commissioner. Sohn has said she would recuse herself from matters involving retransmission consent or television broadcast copyright for the first three years of her term. “Why on Earth should we choose a commissioner who would have to recuse herself from participating in substantial parts of the FCC's work? How does it serve Americans to have an FCC Commissioner who can't fully do her job,” said Republican South Dakota Senator John Thune. “Surely, there are other qualified nominees who don't have Ms. Sohn's conflict of interest.” The Media and Democracy Project, a progressive lobbying group, says, “She represents a tie-breaking fifth vote at an FCC that must create a more just, equitable and diverse media system,” claiming media companies of “trying to undermine” her nomination to avoid regulation. Read more about this story at Inside Radio.

Today's daily news update.

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 Marcus Molinaro is also running in that election.

Greta Jochem reports in The Berkshire Eagle Brian McCreary from North Adams in western Massachusetts, was sentenced last week to three years probation April 1 for his role in the attempted coup of the U.S. government last year. In D.C. District Court McCreary received three years probation and 42 days of intermittent confinement and two months of home confinement. McCreary admitted to the misdemeanor offense of entering or remaining in a restricted building but charges of disorderly conduct and "obstruction of an official proceeding," were dropped. He may have gotten the light sentence partially because he contacted the FBI on Jan. 7, 2021, the day after the attempted coup, and gave them video footage he took at the riot. “I went to D.C. to support the idea behind having audits. In no way to support an ‘insurrection,’ or that Trump was the ‘rightful’ winner of the election. Just audits,” McCreary told newspaper last year. Read more about this story in The Berkshire Eagle.

Aaron Barker reports in the New York Post that it is spring, a time when many of the 50 million Americans who suffer from some type of allergy battle new blooms. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America put out their rankings of “allergy capitals,” the most-challenging cities to live in based on spring and fall pollen data, the use of allergy medication and the number of board-certified allergists or immunologists in each place. “We see spikes in emergency room visits that coincide with spikes in pollen seasons,” said Kenneth Mendez, CEO and president of the organization. “Around 3,600 people per year die from asthma, so it is important to address and manage asthma and allergy triggers where you live.” This year Albany, New York finished tenth on the list. Nearby New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut finished ninth and seventh, respectively. Buffalo ranked eighth, and Scranton, Pennsylvania was number one, and the only other city listed from the northeastern states. Read more about this story in the New York Post.

Today's daily news update.

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

Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Capital Region Independent Media that the town of Greenville is considering changes to its existing laws governing commercial solar facilities. A public hearing for community input on the proposed modifications will be conducted before the Greenville Town Board regular meeting later this month. The planning board developed the changes, working with town attorney Tal Rappleyea {Rapple-YAY] with input from town board members during a three-hour meeting held two months ago. The changes apply only to commercial solar farms, not to solar energy projects that generate power for individual homes, planning board chair Don Teator said. The solar industry is in a state of constant change, requiring the need for an updated law, but there was not one specific project or issue that called for the update, Teator said. The proposed modified zoning law adds language that requires solar projects be designed and built to be “as compatible as possible with the character of the surrounding community.” The public hearing on the zoning law modifications will be held 6;30 p.m., April 18 at the Pioneer Building on Route 32 in Greenville. Read the full story at The UpStater [dot] com.

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.