Emilie Munson reports in the Times Union that federal data and Times Union research show that now nearly every public school classroom in New York now has Wi-Fi, or wireless internet access. Superintendent Joshua Meyer, from the Boquet Valley Central School District in the Adirondacks, said his students there will finally get Wi-Fi in every classroom next month. U.S. Department of Education information released last month showed about 96 percent of New York schools reported having Wi-Fi in every classroom in the 2020-21 school year, and more recent interviews show those numbers have increased since then. Mindy Fiscus, who serves on the board of the State Educational Technology Directors Association, says, “It’s refreshing to see, but that evolution took a lot of time because there was a lot of expense involved.... It did ramp up rather quickly during the pandemic. … It really stepped us into a new digital age.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Today's audio daily news update.

Diane Pineiro-Zucker reports in the Daily Freeman that heavy rains wreaked havoc on the area on Dec. 18, with flooding, power outages, and school closings. More than four inches of rain fell on parts of the region. A weather center in Tannersville recorded 4.3 inches of rain before 8 a.m. Monday, with much more falling after that. Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. said they were, “responding to emergencies and restoring customers impacted by today’s storm activity.” Saugerties’ schools closed due to “deteriorating road conditions” and the Onteora Central School District also closed. Catskill schools closed early, as water from the Catskill Creek overflowed into a neighboring parking lot next to the high school. Coxsackie-Athens schools also closed early. Saugerties police told residents to “Watch for heavy rain and flooded roadways in the area,” and said to expect and prepare for road closings. The National Weather Service put up a flood watch for the region, saying all the water from rain and snow runoff “will result in minor to moderate river flooding, as well as flooding of urban, low lying and poor drainage locations in all of eastern New York and western New England through Monday night." Mid-Hudson News reports that people were evacuated from homes and apartments in Dutchess County because of all the water. The Times Union reported that there were also evacuations in Ulster County. Gov. Kathy Hochul said about 5,000 utility crews were working on the storm and that, "this is basically hitting two-thirds of New York state.... So, you have to pinpoint with as much precision as you can where you send those crews in advance and monitor very, very closely and hope they can do their jobs safely as well.” After the rain stops Monday, none is forecast for several days. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Mid-Hudson News reports that about 100 people marched through Rhinebeck on Dec. 17, supporting an end to the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip. Felice Gelman said she was there, “So that we can call attention to the fact that so many people are being killed and that our government should join with European governments that have already called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.” An estimated 19,000 Palestinians have been killed over the last two months, and over 1,000 Israeli citizens were killed in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. Palestinian journalist, filmmaker, and Rhinebeck resident Talal Jabari was also there, and said, “as tragic as 19,000 dead people is, what really breaks my heart are those that are still living; they’re cold; they’re sick or injured; they’re thirsty’; they’re hungry; they’re scared and absolutely nowhere is safe for them.” Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.

Mid-Hudson News reports that part of Dutchess County’s urban trail project in the City and Town of Poughkeepsie was named the Marcus J. Molinaro Northside Line at a ceremony celebrating its opening. Molinaro is currently Congressional representative in another part of the state and has moved to Catskill, but before his current term he served seven others as Dutchess County Executive. The current, but soon retiring, Dutchess County Executive Bill O’Neil said, "Thanks to the vision and dedication of our own former County Executive, Marc Molinaro, as well as community stakeholders, we are proud to bring this new kind of trail – which will be open, lit and monitored 24/7/365 – to fruition.” Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News reports.

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Liz Montgomery reports for Porcupine Soup that the Village of Athens is getting two grants totaling $1,087,787, and the Village of Coxsackie is getting one $1.4 grant for water infrastructure projects. The money comes from the $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act that was approved by New York voters in 2022. Athens can use $288,984 for wastewater collection and mitigation, and another $798,803 for water treatment plant improvements, while Coxsackie gets $1,490,772 for a wastewater collection system plan. Gov. Kathy Hochul said, "No one in New York should ever fear that they don't have access to clean water.... This investment will make life saving improvements to our water infrastructure and safeguard drinking water for millions of people, in addition to saving New Yorkers money and creating tens of thousands of jobs." Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

Roger Hannigan Gilson reports in the Times Union that Kleinkill Airport in Columbia County is for sale for $1.5 million. The 37-acre Chatham airport has a 4,000-foot grass landing strip and 10 hangers that currently keep 39 small planes. George Kerner, a former American Airlines pilot, and Peter Nelson are both 80, and have decided it is, “time to think about unloading some things that we own.” The Federal Aviation Administration reports 900 flights there between summer 2019 and summer 2020, the most recent year on record, with 100 of the flights non-local. This private facility opened in the 1980s, and a publicly accessible airport owned by the county in the town of Ghent, are the only airports in Columbia County. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Katherine Doyle and Megan Lebowitz report for NBC News that Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., filed another complaint about a judge who has ruled on several cases of protesters attempting to overthrow the government on Jan. 6, 2021. Stefanik alleged judicial misconduct because U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell, who has overseen various Jan. 6-related cases, spoke in favor of democracy and against authoritarianism. Accepting an award at a Women’s White Collar Defense Association gala, the judge said, “My D.C. judicial colleagues and I regularly see the impact of big lies at the sentencing of hundreds, hundreds of individuals who have been convicted for offense conduct on Jan. 6, 2021, when they disrupted the certification of the 2020 presidential election at the U.S. Capitol.... As district court judges, we are all about the facts.” Stefanik calls that "highly inappropriate political speech.” Stefanik submitted a complaint to D.C. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan. Stefanik filed a different legal complaint on Nov. 10 against state Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, who is currently presiding over Donald J. Trump’s civil fraud trial. Stefanik represents Rensselaer County and the rest of the 21st Congressional District. Read more about this story at NBC News.

From WOOC: On December 14, 2023, at the NY State Capital, the Center for Community Alternatives organized a rally with lawmakers and advocates calling for prison sentencing reform. With the approach of the 2024 legislative session, New Yorkers are calling for The Second Look Act, The Eliminate Mandatory Minimums Act, and The Earned Time Act as top priority. Groups argue that mass incarceration is ineffective and costly and suggest that the billions of dollars spent on incarceration could go to education, housing, healthcare, community-based anti-violence and restorative justice programs. Find more info: communityalternatives.org. WOOC's Andrea Cunliffe reported from this event.

Here is this week's WGXC Congressional Report, tracking the votes, statements, positions, and campaigns of the representatives and candidates for the 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st Congressional seats in New York. Democrat Pat Ryan is representing the 18th Congressional District, Republican Marc Molinaro represents the 19th Congressional District, Democrat Rep. Paul Tonko represents the 20th District, and Republican Elise Stefanik represents the 21st District. Click here to listen to this report.

Paul Kirby reports for the Daily Freeman that Rep. Marc Molinaro and state Assemblyperson Chris Tague are complaining about a shortage of milk cartons. Molinaro, a Republican who represents the 19th Congressional District, said, “supply chain problems at one of the two major manufacturers of milk cartons in the United States.... has caused schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and other institutions in Upstate New York to forgo serving milk.” Molinaro wrote to the Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, asking him to use “any means at his disposal to swiftly provide relief and prevent a disruption like this from happening again.” Molinaro also said, “We saw how disruptive the baby formula shortage was.... If this supply chain disruption persists, it’s going to cause real harm for young people and local farmers.” Tague, a Republican who represents Greene and Schoharie counties, said, “There are obvious solutions like opting for recyclable plastic bottles or dispensers and cups, but the anti-milk Democrats aren’t even attempting to implement these options. How we handle this shortage will set a precedent for the availability of milk in schools, and right now, it is not going in the right direction.” No Democrats have come out against milk. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Kevin Frey reports for New York State of Politics that Rep. Marc Molinaro says he will vote for an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. Molinaro, a Republican, did not say why he wanted to start impeachment against the Democrat President. Molinaro said, “I think that the President needs to be held accountable and that there needs to be answers to some very serious questions regarding impropriety.” Top House Democrat, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of Brooklyn, said, “Why are extreme MAGA Republicans wasting so much time on these efforts? … It’s because the extreme MAGA Republicans have nothing to show for their narrow, fading and decreasing majority." The story does not speculate on why the Republicans are starting an impeachment inquiry into the president, or what, specifically, he may have done wrong. Republicans are expected to vote for the impeachment inquiry on Dec. 13. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Brendan J. Lyons and Joshua Solomon report in the Times Union the New York Court of Appeals ruled on Dec. 12 that the state's Congressional lines must be redrawn again. This time New York’s Independent Redistricting Commission will again attempt to draw the lines. A 4-3 majority of the court sided with the Democratic plaintiffs and ordered the Independent Redistricting Commission to submit new maps to the Democrat-controlled Legislature by the end of February. Congressional lines are redrawn every ten years after the census, but in New York they have been redrawn several times by a Special Master appointed by the court and by the Independent Redistricting Commission. New Yorkers flipped several Congressional districts from Democrats to Republicans in the 2022 election, and Democrats hope the new lines will help them win back those seats, and win back a majority in the House of Representatives. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Republicans Reps. Marc Molinaro and Elise Stefanik voted to begin an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden on Dec. 13, even though no Republicans could explain what, specifically, they were investigating. All 221 Republicans voted for the impeachment inquiry, and all 212 Democrats voted against. Stefanik released a statement that hinted that the investigation was because of Biden's son Hunter and his private business dealings. Molinaro would only say voting for the inquiry gives Republicans more subpoena power, but did not say what specifically the will investigate. President Biden called the inquiry a, “baseless political stunt that even Republicans in Congress admit is not supported by facts."

Today's audio daily news update.

Jammel Cutler reports in Columbia-Greene Media the Hudson City Planning Board voted this week 5-to-1 for conditional approval of A. Colarusso & Son’s application for a conditional use permit to build a paved, two-lane road through South Bay. That was a victory for the company, and for advocates of safe roads, as it takes many trucks over Hudson's city streets, but a loss for environmentalists who did not want a road built through the wetlands. Hudson 4th Ward Supervisor Linda Mussmann said, “Many of the trucks pass by the neighborhoods of the elderly and low-income folks on the north side of the city, and they’ve paid a high price.... That’s one issue that the most important. The other issue is that the infrastructure takes a beating from the trucks. It’s a long time coming and we’re happy about the outcome.” The story does not quote anyone who was opposed to the haul road. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Maeve Lampman reports in the Greenville Pioneer that the Greenville Mental Health Advocates are addressing mental health issues at Greenville High School. Former member Olivia Ruso said, “The group is not very structured like other groups and is more student run.” Greenville school psychologist Samantha Zimmermann leads the group that tries to raise awareness about mental health issues, and teach students coping skills. The group also advocates for students about mental health issues with state legislators. Zimmermann said, “The goal of the group is to create a stronger community at Greenville High School, one that supports mental health and really embodies our vision of a place where everyone learns, teaches and belongs." Read more about this story in the Greenville Pioneer.

Jammel Cutler reports for Columbia-Greene Media that local villages and towns aren't building affordable housing, but many are addressing the housing crisis in other ways, The village of Philmont, for instance, has just been awarded $50,000 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to assess housing needs. Unnamed officials in the story say, “The project will involve collecting and analyzing data which will help the village identify priorities and effective, litigation-proof policies to protect and provide high-quality, affordable and workforce housing. They will work with the analyst to address the most pressing needs of low-income residents and develop a concrete action plan for meeting those needs.” Village Trustee Debra Gitterman said, “The village of Philmont wants to develop slowly, without displacing community members.... We’re grateful to HUD for this opportunity to conduct a much-needed housing study, identify housing gaps and opportunities and develop a policy framework to guide future housing development to achieve that goal. Already, we’re getting reports of significant rent increases leading to potential displacement.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Today's audio daily news update.

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

Tiffany Greenwaldt-Simon reports for Columbia-Greene Media that local food pantries are struggling to keep up with rising demand. Judy Matthews, co-president of the Chatham Area Silent Pantry, said, “Our donations are down.... They were up a bit during the pandemic. People were very generous, and we had a cushion, but donations are down as far as 2024 goes.” While the supply of donations is down at most local food pantries, the demand is up. A Hunger Free America survey found that the number of people without enough food over a seven-day period in New York State increased by 35 percent recently. Darcy Connor, the director of the Salvation Army Service Center in Hudson, said, “We don’t have enough meat.... Across the board, the prices of groceries are through the roof. The grocery store buys a certain amount of meat to sell. If that doesn’t sell, we get the meat. The grocery stores are realizing that people aren’t buying as much meat. We get donations from all the grocery stores in our community. If the supermarkets don’t have a lot of meat left, then we don’t get it.” A 2022 survey by Community Action of Greene County found that 46 percent of Greene County residents used a food pantry during the year. Patti Dushane, executive director of the Matthew 25 Food Pantry in Catskill, said, “I have seen a change.... The food we normally get is not always there, and there has been a change in the quantity of food.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Kate Lisa reports at New York State of Politics that Gov. Kathy Hochul has been saying cuts will need to be made to this year's state budget, and rural housing advocates, fighting an affordable housing crisis, are asking to be spared. Lawmakers are also discussing tax breaks to promote new development, programs to transform unused office or retail space into new apartments, and legal protections for tenants. Hochul wanted to include funding to build 800,000 housing units across the state over a decade in her last budget, but the legislature shot down that idea. Instead, little new affordable housing is being built anywhere in the state, and the crisis is growing as prices and rents continue to rise. This summer Hochul signed executive orders for $650 million in grants to build affordable housing. Hochul spokesperson Justin Henry said, "Like 73 percent of New Yorkers, Gov. Hochul believes housing affordability is a major problem.... The housing crisis is pushing New Yorkers out of state to Connecticut and New Jersey that have built thousands more homes over the last decade than New York has. That's why Gov. Hochul proposed the boldest plan in a generation to drive down housing costs by building more supply. After the Legislature flatly rejected it and failed to introduce a viable alternative, Gov. Hochul refocused her efforts on sweeping executive action that took effect in July. Until the Legislature is ready to come back to the table with a serious approach to build more housing in New York, the governor is focusing on using her executive powers to address the housing crisis." Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.