Today's daily news update.

Natasha Vaughn-Holdridge is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Columbia County Board of Supervisors has approved $175,000 in funding to maintain the county Mobile Crisis Assessment Team. The team is charged with assessing people and connecting them to appropriate services. It is made up of a mix of licensed professionals and paraprofessionals with a full-time staff of six and about 20 total staff members. The team works with the backing of the Mental Health Association of Columbia-Greene Counties. Greene County will also fund the program by contributing $175,000, according to a statement from the Board of Supervisors. Funding for the team was previously provided through the state, but was discontinued at the end of 2021. Columbia County’s portion of the funding comes through the federal government’s American Rescue Plan Act. The Mobile Crisis Assessment Team has served 6,115 people since it was established in 2015, team director Katherine Oldakowski said in a statement. That amount includes 3,059 people from Columbia County and 3,056 individuals from Greene County. Oldakowski said, “We’ve been dispatched just about 4,000 times for in-person assessments. We maintain a 93 percent diversion rate from unnecessary hospitalization. We maintain a 99 percent diversion rate from further police intervention.” The team not only aids people with mental health issues, but it also responds to calls from those with substance abuse issues as well. The Mobile Crisis Assessment Team can be reached at 518-943-5555. The line is staffed 365 days a year from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Capital Region Independent Media two candidates will face off in the Ravena village mayoral election on Tue., Mar. 15. Incumbent Bill Misuraca is seeking his third term. He is a Republican, but did not secure the GOP endorsement during the January caucus. Misuraca was then nominated by the Democrats and his name will appear on the Democratic line. The name of challenger Dominic Ruggeri, also a Republican, will appear on the GOP line Tuesday. Misuraca is a lifelong resident of Ravena and graduated from Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk High School in 1990. He is the owner and operator of the Halfway House Tavern on Main Street in the village. The business has been in his family for 106 years. Misuraca is coming to the end of his second four-year term and is seeking a third. He said the village has much to be proud of. “We are on a roll,” he said. “We have managed to secure well over $7 million in grants to improve our infrastructure, wastewater retention and disposal, and we have some of the best rates and marks for our water quality in the state, so I am very proud of that. More recently, we received a grant for nearly $200,000 to improve [Mosher] park, ....” If re-elected, Misuraca said securing funding for infrastructure improvements would be at the top of his to-do list, plus continued efforts at economic development. This is Ruggeri's first mayoral bid; he previously ran for village justice. He has worked in the Human Services field for more than 30 years and is currently employed as the director of residential services for the non-profit organization Equinox, Inc., in Albany. He oversees residential housing for adult clients with a mental health diagnosis and teens in the Youth Transitional Living Program. Ruggeri has lived in the village for 11 years and holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in business from Southern Vermont College. He is running for office because he wants to see [a] change in the village. “...Taxes have gone up, and there is not much economic development that I have seen. I have seen little stuff here and there, but there is not a lot for the village residents. I want to get things back to where they were years ago. It’s not where it’s supposed to be,” Ruggeri said. He wants to secure funding to support small businesses and draw new businesses into the area. If elected, another top priority would be to create a community center to offer daycare and afterschool programs on a sliding scale based on household income to be affordable for working parents, he said. Improving infrastructure is also vital, he said. Read the full story at TheUpStater [dot] com.

Porcupine Soup is reporting after a two-year hiatus, the Greenville St. Patrick's Day Parade will return March 19 when the Greenville Irish American Club once again hosts its annual event. The parade, now in its 47th year, has not taken place since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On the 19th, marchers will line up at 12:30 p.m. in the parking lot of St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church, on State Route 81. The parade will step-off at 1 p.m., and then head down State Route 81 into town. Greenville’s parade is traditionally held on the Saturday after St. Patrick’s Day. According to historic records, a St. Patrick’s Day parade was held as early as March 17, 1601 in what is now St. Augustine, FL.  That city’s parade celebrates 422 years this month. The first New York City celebration was held in 1762. The annual corned beef and cabbage dinner hosted by the Durham Task Force will be held on March 17 at the Blackthorne Resort. Information is available on the Task Force's Facebook page. Read more at porcupinesoup [dot] com.

Ted Remsnyder is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Greene County Legislature has joined with the New York State Association of Counties to petition Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers to end the practice of sending county sales tax revenue to Albany to fund state programs. As part of her 2022-23 budget proposal, Hochul has called for eliminating the practice to support Aid and Incentives to Municipalities. “Local tax revenue should stay in the community where it is collected,” Greene County Legislature Vice Chairman Matthew Luvera said in a statement. “This is money that is meant to support the residents of Greene County... We shouldn’t be required to use it to foot the bill for state and federal expenditures.” Greene County voters select representatives such as Chris Tague and Michelle Hinchey in Albany. In 2021, the state diverted $250 million a year in local sales taxes to finance a temporary state-controlled distressed health facilities fund in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Nobody disputes aid to municipalities and distressed health care facilities are incredibly important, especially during the pandemic,” NYSAC Executive Director Stephen J. Acquario said in a statement. “What local governments are saying is that these programs should be funded by the state and federal government who have more capacity to raise revenue and are not reliant on regressive taxes. ...” The counties are recommending the distressed hospital fund expire on March 31, that the legislature should support Hochul’s proposal to stop the diversion of county sales tax and return the responsibility to the state general fund through the regular AIM program. Read more at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Emilia Teasdale is reporting for The Columbia Paper the four villages in Columbia County will hold elections on Tue., Mar. 15. In three of the villages, there are village board openings and the candidates in those races are running unopposed. Kinderhook is the only village with a mayoral race and it is contested. Voters can write-in candidates on election day and on absentee ballots. In Chatham, incumbent village board member Melony Spock is seeking reelection along with newcomer Karyn Schassler. Both are running on the Chatham Works Together ballot line and seeking two-year terms. Information is available at villageofchatham [dot] com. In the Kinderhook mayoral race, Michael Abrams, Barry Knights and Quinn Murphy are running. The mayor serves a two-year term. Two village board seats are on the ballot, as well. Incumbent Dorene Weir is seeking reelection and Susan Patterson is running to fill the two vacancies. Village board members serve two-year terms. March 8 was the last day for the Kinderhook Village Clerk to receive applications for absentee ballots that need to be mailed, but Mon., Mar. 14 is the last day for in-person applications for absentee ballots. Information is available at villageofkinderhook [dot] org. In the village of Philmont, two village board seats are on the ballot. Incumbents Debra Gitterman, on the Philmont Neighbors party line, and Douglas C. Cropper, on the Village Party line, are seeking reelection to two-year terms. Also on the ballot is Carla Ingersoll of the Philmont Party, running for village justice, a four-year term. Absentee ballots are available through the Village Office at 124 Main Street. The ballot request deadline is March 14 for pickup and Covid-19 is a qualified reason for voting absentee ballot again this year. Absentee ballots must be received by March 15. Information is available at philmont [dot] org. In Valatie, two candidates are looking to be elected to fill two open village board seats. Incumbent Angelo Nero and newcomer Patrick Rogers are seeking two-year terms. Information is available is valatievillage [dot] com Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

Liz Young is reporting for the New York Business Journal the Hudson company that offers workspaces and retreats at 320 Warren Street is expanding into Manhattan in pursuit of its goal to give members all kinds of remote work options. Barnfox is opening its first New York City location in Union Square at 821 Broadway, in a building across the street from The Strand bookstore. In addition to Hudson, the company has locations in Kingston and Livingston Manor, as well. Frederick Pikovsky founded the company two years ago with Tim Tedesco. They had envisioned remote work pre-COVID, sensing an opportunity. Pikovsky said. "We also felt like as remote work culture would grow, more people would have the ability to live in those sort of places as well, the sort of getaway destinations." As the pandemic progressed they received applications to join, with demand from people wanting to escape New York City either temporarily or permanently and from others seeking out new social connections and space beyond their homes. At present, the majority of New York office workers are still logging in from home. Last week, office buildings in the metro area had an average occupancy rate of about 31 percent. Barnfox currently has more than 300 members. Membership includes access to all locations, as well as access to road-cycling rides, kayaking trips, hikes and dinners, as well as educational workshops and weekend maker markets. Read the full story in the Albany Business Review.

Today's daily news update.

Rebekah F. Ward reports in the Times Union that New York's cannabis regulators approved rules on March 10 that would give business owners with documented cannabis offenses the first chances in the state to open a retail cannabis store. Owners or a family member of applicants must have been ticketed or arrested for a cannabis offense in New York, to get the first licenses issued in New York. "The marijuana arrest crusade in New York enforcement was targeted disproportionately at Black and (Latino) people, who comprised nearly 90 percent of marijuana arrests despite using at rates similar to white people," the Drug Policy Alliance's executive director, Kassandra Frederique said, adding that she was encouraged to see the state "attempting to innovate" with its policy decisions. A representative of the Office of Cannabis Management explained the policy. "The dispensaries and retailers would be selling the product that would have (been grown by) New York farmers," said Axel Bernabe, the office's senior policy director. "We would be looking for individuals that come from communities that have been impacted ... by over-criminalization." Even with the announcement, it may be more than a year before stores are open. "We're anticipating July or so for the application tied to these conditional retail licenses," Chris Alexander, the executive director of the Office of Cannabis Management, said. "I want to emphasize again, this is a small segment of the potential dispensary licenses ... but we found it prudent to get this market off the ground as soon as possible." Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Paul Kirby reports in the Daily Freeman that dairy farms have been complaining recently about having to pay overtime wages to workers, the kind that grocery store employees get. Now they also want New York City not to ban chocolate milk because they say they will sell less of the dairy product. And they have Democrats such as Rep. Antonio Delgado and Republicans such as Assemblymember Chris Tague on their side. “It is critical that children have access to school meals that support their growth and wellbeing,” Delgado said in a statement. “I am deeply concerned by attempts to ban flavored milk from New York City Schools. This would limit access to the life-enhancing nutrients within milk and negatively impact our dairy farmers, producers, and agriculture partners across New York.” Delgado and other New York state members of the Congress have signed a letter objecting to the removal of chocolate milk from New York City schools. They include Republicans Elise Stefanik, John Katiko, Tom Redd, Claudia Teeney, Chris Jacobs, and L:e Zeldin and Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney. “Studies have shown that reducing or eliminating the availability of flavored milk in schools has led to overall decreased milk consumption and increased food waste,” the letter said. “In fact, a study of Oregon schools by Cornell found total daily milk sales declined by 9.9 percent when flavored milk was removed from the cafeteria and was associated with 6.8 percent fewer students eating lunch.” Tague agreed. “Cold, refreshing chocolate milk with a school lunch is a small, timeless joy that has carried students through the challenges of academia for decades,” Tague said in a statement. “The thought of taking this small treat from our children, along with significant revenue from our dairy farmers, is incredibly callous and reeks of nanny-statism.” The elected officials did not tout chocolate milk as better nutrionally for children, but instead focused on sales of milk for dairy farmers. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Ted Remsnyder reports for Columbia-Greene Media that six candidates are competing for three seats on the Catskill Village board in the March 15. election. Jeffrey Holliday and Michelle Williams are running against each other for a two-year term, and Diane Petrianni-March, Jamie Hyer-Mitchell, Megan Henry, and Natasha Law compete for the two three-year terms. Petrianni-March works for the Catskill Central School District and is running on the Republican and Village Visions lines. “I’d like to improve the parks,” Petrianni-March said. “I want to make them safe for kids to play. I want to continue to improve the sidewalks and create housing opportunities in the village." Hyer-Mitchell works for Greene Meadows Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and started the the nonprofit animal rescue organization Hyer Ground Rescue, and is running on the Republican and Village Visions lines. Hyer-Mitchell says priorities include, “Fiscal responsibility and to ensure that services like fire, police and sewer and water are maintained efficiently and proficiently,” Hyer-Mitchell said. “I want to improve the infrastructure in the village and maintain village roadways." Holliday is an incumbent, and a retired police officer running on the Republican and Village Visions lines. “I want to make sure we find a place for our community center,” Holliday said. “We lost it a couple of years ago and we need something for our youth." Henry is the Founder/Executive Director of Catskill Food Pantry and private vocal teacher running on the Democrat and Action Party lines. Priotities include, “After school programs for children and our teens, as well as programming for adults and seniors. We need daycare centers that are affordable. Right now we have nothing and our community is suffering from this," Henry said. Williams owns Mermaid Cafe/Bittersweet, and is running on the Democratic and Action Party lines. There are many things that can be done to improve and help the village, (i.e. affordable housing, revitalizing Main Street and village businesses, a community center, children and resident activities, affordable day care) but it all comes down to funding and allocating the money to make these things a reality," Williams said. Law owns The Juice Branch and is an incumbent Democrat. "We’ve created a filming ordinance and I hope to get it adopted once elected after a public hearing is set. This ordinance provides protection of the quality of life of residents but also welcomes filming companies and provides much needed revenue for the village of Catskill," Law said. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Today's daily news update.

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

MidHudson News is reporting Jamie Cheney, a candidate for State Senate in the newly created District 43, has been endorsed unanimously by the Democratic committees in Columbia, Dutchess and Rensselaer counties. Cheney will challenge Republican incumbent Sue Serino. Cheney and her husband run Falcon’s Fields, a 70-head Wagyu and Angus beef farm in Dutchess County. Cheney also founded a recruiting firm focused on creating flexible roles for working parents. Cheney serves on the Leadership Council of the National Small Business Association and is active in developing youth agriculture in New York State. Read the full story at MidHudsonNews [dot] com.

Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Capital Region Independent Media the Greenville board of education is looking to propose to district voters a nearly $33.7 million budget for the 2022-23 school year. School officials presented the program component of the preliminary spending plan at the February 28 board meeting. The proposal represents a 2.43 percent increase of the district's current budget of $32.89 million and would carry a 2.35 percent tax levy increase. Superintendent Tammy Sutherland said there are still some financial details coming in that could change the bottom line. She said several staff members have announced their impending retirement, which would lead to cost savings in the budget. “At this point, we have seven individuals retiring and that breakage is just over $292,000, so that’s a savings to the budget,” Sutherland said. Elementary school enrollment is expected to remain steady at 474 students this year and 476 next year, and the student population is expected to drop slightly in the middle school, from 256 this year to 233 next year. But those figures will be offset by a slight rise in the number of high school students, from 355 this year to 369 next year. Overall, the student K-12 enrollment is will remain steady, declining only slightly from 1,085 this year to 1,078 next year. During the 2022-23 school year, 88 students are expected to be home schooled, compared to 53 in 2019-20, before COVID. The budgets for technology purchases and contracts, and for BOCES service requests for specialized programming like Tech Valley, New Visions and Career-Tech, will increase; while the spending plan for pupil personnel services and districtwide equipment purchases will decrease. The funding for the athletics and physical education department will remain steady. The board of education is expected to vote on the tentative budget at its April 11 meeting. A public hearing on the spending plan will be conducted May 3. The annual budget vote and board of education election will be held from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m., May 17, in the Scott M. Ellis Elementary School cafeteria. Read the full story at TheUpStater [dot] com.

The Berkshire Eagle is reporting longtime Pittsfield, Mass.-based trial attorney Timothy J. Shugrue Wed., Mar. 9, announced that he is a candidate for Berkshire district attorney. He made the announcement in a Facebook post with a photo of himself and his wife at the door of the Registrar of Voters in Pittsfield City Hall. "I enter this race to make Berkshire County a safe place for all the residents of our county," he wrote. "I’m committed to providing experience, integrity and justice for all." Shugrue is a former assistant district attorney in Springfield, Mass., and he touted his 36 years of experience as a trial lawyer, including 28 years in private practice. Shugrue said he is also the founder of the The Kids' Place, which provides services for children who are victims of domestic violence. Incumbent Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington has not formally announced her candidacy, but has signaled her intention to run again. Harrington gained notoriety last summer when she took the unusual step of calling the judge who regularly presides over her district court cases a “significant threat to public safety” and asked Judge Jennifer Tyne’s bosses to remove her from the bench. Harrington’s bid failed when the chief justice of the court system said he could find “no factual basis” to support the allegations, claims that ranged from “dangerous rulings” to “hostile treatment of victims and prosecutors” in the DA’s office. Defense attorney and former prosecutor Robert Sullivan is also running. Read the full story in the Berkshire Eagle.

Today's daily news update.

There aren't too many times the entire Hudson Valley delegation in the House of Representatives votes the same way, but they did March 9 on the "Suspending Energy Imports from Russia Act." Republican Elise Stefanik and Democrats Antonio Delgado, Paul Tonko, and Sean Maloney all voted for the measure, which passed 414-17. The bill to cut off American oil funds from Russia after their invasion of Ukraine was opposed by two far-left Democrats, Ilhan Omar and Cori Bush, and 15 far-right Republicans such as Marjorie Taylor Greene, Madison Cawthorn, and Paul Gosar.

Andrea Macko reports at Porcupine Soup that after the town board removed the chair of the Durham Historic Preservation Commission, three members of the group have resigned. Ellen Fried, Rosemary O’Brien, and Ken Mabey resigned March 4. That came after the town board did not reappoint Patrick Ciccone, the chair of the Town of Durham Historic Preservation Committee, after he wrote an affidavit against the town board in a lawsuit about a proposed housing development in the town. "We believe contempt for the commission was fully exposed when its chairperson, a professional historic preservationist with seven years on the commission, was dismissed without warning or explanation of any kind; and without even some minimal communication with the five remaining members of the commission, either before, or since the dismissal took place,” the three members of the commission wrote in their resignation letter. At the March 1 town board meeting, Durham Town Supervisor Shawn Marriott said, “It is a personnel issue, yes I can confirm Patrick was not reappointed.... But we do not discuss personnel matters… There are many things I would love to say, but cannot, so we will leave it at that.” Many Durham residents have spoken out against the Bosque Subdivision, a proposal to put 12 homes on 95 acres in Cornwallville. Read more about this story at Porcupine Soup.

Ted Remsnyder reports for Columbia-Greene Media that John Gallagher, Kimberly Thompson, and Susan Timpson are competing for two seats on the Tannersville Village Board in the March 15 election. Timpson is a Democrat who works for New York State, and previously served as a Tannersville Village Trustee. “I want to make sure that all voices are heard and that important issues are advanced,” Timpson said. “I think that my past elected experience in the Village of Tannersville and my professional experience will allow me to be an effective trustee and to meet the needs of our residents.” Thompson is a Republican, who is a counselor at a substance use disorder facility in Kingston and operates the Tannersville Laundromat. "I want to ensure the Village Water Department has what it needs to deliver safe and abundant water. I want to ensure that the Village Highway Department has what they need in order to keep pedestrian and vehicle traffic safely moving throughout the village. As our village grows the infrastructure needs to grow and improve as well," Thompson said. Gallagher is a Democrat, and a partner at a public affairs firm in New York City. "I think figuring out how we accommodate the tremendous amount of growth in the village, there’s some housing affordability issues for local people. I think figuring out how we create more workforce housing and protect workforce housing for local people is key," Gallagher said. Voting takes place 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., on March 15. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.