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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

WABC-TV is reporting that on April. 4, state officials launched a new program intended to educate residents on the cannabis laws statewide after legalization in New York last year. "Cannabis Conversations" is the first public education campaign to teach people where cannabis can be consumed, who can consume it, and how to do so safely. Governor Kathy Hochul said, "With the 'Cannabis Conversations' campaign, we're following through on our commitment to provide New Yorkers with the information they need to safely navigate the new Cannabis Law. Education is the best tool to keep New Yorkers healthy as we continue to ramp up this safe, inclusive, and equitable industry." The program is being run by the Office of Cannabis Management, led by Executive Director Chris Alexander. The office says the campaign will give parents and caregivers the tools needed to protect youth, remind New Yorkers of the risks of driving while impaired by cannabis, and other messages to keep everyone safe and healthy as the new industry develops. The program will run advertisements on TV, radio, mass transit and on social media. Information is available at cannabis [dot] ny [dot] gov. Read more at abc7ny [dot] com.

Tom Vernon reports for Radio World that AM or FM radio stations are still the number one sounds in cars. The Infinite Dial 2022‘s survey of in-car media listening found 73 percent of people listen to the radio in their cars, while 53 percent listen to their own digital music or sounds, 35 percent use a CD player, 32 percent listen to online audio or subscribable audio, and 22 percent listen to satellite radio. The AM/FM listening numbers fell sharply during the pandemic, from 81 percent in 2020 to 75 percent in 2021. At home, though, 39 percent of those surveyed say they do not have a radio. And that grows to 57 percent for those age 12-34. Edison Research conducted the national telephone survey of 1502 people aged 12 and older, using random digit dialing techniques to both cell phones and landlines in January 2022. Read more about this story for Radio World.

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Nick Reisman reports for New York State of Politics that state lawmakers missed their April 1 budget deadline, and their predicted date of April 4 for passing a budget. Now they are predicting another week of negotiations on the state spending, with a stop-gap budget measure to fund government until a vote can be taken. That would keep state employees getting paid while talks drag on. Many subjects are holding up the budget passage including: allowing restaurants to provide alcoholic beverages as part of to-go orders; giving almost a billion dollars to billionaire owners of the Buffalo Bills for a new stadium; and undoing changes in bail laws to put more people considered innocent by the courts in jail. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Lauren Stanforth reports in the Times Union that three New York counties now have some of the highest COVID-19 rates in U.S. and New York officials are urging indoor mask wearing in Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga, and Oswego counties. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention only lists 16 counties in the country right now with a "high" COVID-19 transmission risk, and two of them are Oswego and Cayuga counties in central New York. A new omicron strain, BA.2, has taken over at the same time mask mandates have ceased across the country. Locally, the Capital Region COVID-19 positivity rate is slightly higher than the state average, with 3.7 percent of tests reporting coronavirus. Central New York, though, is at 9.6 percent as of April 2. "The high number of COVID-19 cases in Central New York suggests that transmission of the virus is widespread throughout the region, and levels remain above the state average,” State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett said April 1. The Columbia County Department of Health has not reported new statistics since March 31, when they said there were 15 new cases and 38 in total. On April 1, Greene County reported 10 more cases, for 48 current coronavirus cases. Read more about this story in the Times Union.