MidHudson News is reporting Frontier Airlines announced Wed., Mar. 9, the launch of nonstop service between New York Stewart International Airport and Atlanta and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. According to the airline, tickets on the routes will be as low as $39. The service to Atlanta is scheduled to take off three times per week beginning May 26. North Carolina’s Research Triangle will be accessed via twice-weekly flights between Stewart and Raleigh-Durham International Airport, also beginning May 26. Will Evans, senior manager of sales and distribution for Frontier Airlines, said in a prepared statement, “With the addition of these new routes, we will offer nonstop service to a total of five destinations from New York Stewart International Airport.” Airline executives announced that the introductory fares between Stewart and Atlanta begin at $39 and flights to Raleigh-Durham start at $49. Tickets much be purchased by March 15, to take advantage of the lower introductory prices. Other restrictions and requirements are available on Frontier’s website at FlyFrontier [dot] com. Frontier already offers flights from Stewart Airport to Orlando, Miami and Tampa in Florida. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Pete DeMola is reporting for the Times Union New York's annual ban on residential brush burning will begin next week, on Wed., Mar.16, and continue through May 14. The spring comes with an increased risk of wildfires and open burning of debris is the single-greatest cause of wildfires statewide, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Each year, forest rangers extinguish dozens of wildfires that burn hundreds of acres, the DEC said. “In addition, local fire departments — many of which are staffed by volunteers — all too often have to leave their jobs and families to respond to wildfires caused by illegal debris fires,” the DEC said in a statement. The state has enforced the ban since 2009 to help prevent wildfires and reduce air pollution. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Closings and delays for March 10:

Closings in Columbia County:
Columbia-Greene Community College | Closing at 5 p.m. No afternoon activities.
Germantown Central School District | Closing at 1:30 p.m.
Ichabod Crane Central School District | Open. No afterschool program. No afternoon or evening activities. Regular dismissal.
New Lebanon Central School District |  Open, No afternoon or evening activities.

Closings in Greene County:
Cairo-Durham Central School District | Open. No after school program. No afternoon activities, No aftershock events.
Greenville Central School District | Open. No afterschool program. No afterschool events. Regular dismissal.
Hunter-Tannersville Central School District | Closing at 12:15 p.m.: Elementary at 12:30 p.m.; Middle/High schools at 12:15 p.m. No afternoon BOCES. No afternoon activities.
UMC Daycare Norton Hill | Closing at 4:30 p.m.

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Andrea Macko reports for Porcupine Soup that Richard Amedure, a Republican from Rensselaerville, will challenge Democrat state Senator Michelle Hinchey to a rematch in November. Hinchey beat Amedure by more than 3,000 votes in 2020, in the 46th District election. But not the district boundaries have changed, as has the name, now the 48th District. In 2020 the district included all of Montgomery and Greene Counties, along with parts of Albany, Schenectady, and Ulster Counties. The new district includes Ulster and Greene Counties and parts of Albany and Columbia counties. “There is no question―our state is moving in the wrong direction,” Amedure said. “This district, and our state, need a common-sense voice that will help lead New York State back in the right direction and stand up against the radical, unaffordable policies coming from Albany politicians.” Amedure is a U.S. Army veteran, retired New York State Trooper, and used to be on the Town of Rensselaerville Planning Board. Now he runs a small family farm. “One party rule has been a disaster for New Yorkers―it’s time to restore checks and balances in our government,” Amedure said. “We need to stop increasing taxes, particularly when inflation is at levels not seen in decades and our economy is still struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.” Hinchey has announced she will run again. “I ran for office to be an advocate for our upstate communities, making sure our issues are reflected at the table. I am proud that over my first two years in office I have been able to deliver on that promise and am a strong voice for our upstate communities,” Hinchey said. “In my first year alone, my office and I passed over 30 bills with broad bipartisan support on important issues ranging from expanding healthcare and broadband access to making agriculture a key partner in the fight against climate change.” Voters will decide who represents the district on November 8. Read more about this story at Porcupine Soup.

Ted Remsnyder reports for Columbia-Greene Media that after a 24-year delay, and in the midst of a Hudson Valley housing crisis, Cairo officials finally approved the dispersal of $61,860 of funding from a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant in 1998. $50,000 goes to the Cairo Development Foundation and $5,930 apiece to Mountainview Enterprises and Emmy Cross to rehabilitate low-income housing. The $50,000 for the Cairo Development Foundation was approved for dispersal in 2019, to cover the cost of renovations to two residential apartments on 467 Main St. the foundation owns. But then the resolution was pulled and the funds were not dispersed for the past three years. “We’re elated to finally get it,” Susan True, a member of the Cairo Development Foundation board, said Monday. “Everything’s already been spent and now we can recoup this money for other purposes — that’s what it was intended for way back when. They did everything they needed to revamp those two apartments and they’re beautiful. Now, we can go forward with other projects.” Mountainview Enterprises and Emmy Cross now have one year to use, or return, the grant money. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Joshua Solomon reports in the Times Union that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo won't say whether he is running for office, the state's board of elections implies he is. "Although former Gov. Cuomo has not announced any explicit plan to run for a specific public office, his conduct fits the definition of candidate set forth in Election Law," New York's Board of Elections Chief Enforcement Counsel Michael L. Johnson wrote in response to a complaint filed by good governments over Cuomo's use of campaign funds since his resignation in August. Cuomo has recently aired television commercials to rehabilitate his image, and this week began public appearances, after being accused of sexual harassment by 11 women. "I'm not going anywhere," Cuomo said March 6 after a public appearance. "I said what I said today and that's all I'm going to say today." Johnson, who was appointed by Cuomo, said that state Election Law "does not prohibit a former office holder, or anyone else from using campaign funds to test the waters for a future political candidacy." Cuomo has $16.4 million in campaign funds from his time as governor. "This isn't right that someone can leave office with a gigantic sum of money and then basically spend it in a campaign of relentless self-promotion," said Blair Horner, executive director of the New York Public Interest Research Group. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

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Natasha Vaughn-Holdridge is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media a three-way mayoral race is underway in the village of Kinderhook and two of the three candidates — Mike Abrams and Quinn Murphy — spoke March 6 at a forum sponsored by the Kinderhook Business and Professional Association. Abrams is running on the Old Kinderhook party line and Barry Knights, 57, is on the Kinderhook Ole’timers line. Murphy, 19, is the Kinderhook People’s party candidate. Knights was unable to participate, citing a prior engagement, and he later declined to speak with reporters about the election. Abrams and Murphy answered questions submitted by the audience. In his opening statement, Abrams talked about the importance of leadership. “When we’re choosing a mayor, we’re not choosing a mayor who is just going to run the day-to-day operations of our village,” Abrams said. “We’re also choosing a leader. ...We need someone who is going to set the priorities for our village and how we’re going to continue to grow and prosper together and we’re also choosing someone who is going to impact how we treat each other.” Murphy spoke about the village’s need for a mayor who is open-minded, energetic and proactive. “I see the opportunities that can make our village even stronger and safer,” Murphy said. “Not only do I see these opportunities but I have the practical ideas to actually implement them.” He noted the importance of communication and outlined some of his ideas on how to improve that communication between the village leadership and residents. The candidates took questions about village parking, climate change, grant ideas, Airbnb regulation and who the candidates would most like to have a cup of coffee with. Abrams noted his military and how he founded and now leads a nonprofit organization that helps military veterans and their spouses secure employment. Abrams is member of the village board, elected in 2020. Murphy spoke about his experience as a lifetime resident of the village and how he is a political science major at Siena College. He talked about knowing “every little nook and cranny” of the village, which he said he knows inside and out. Knights, the candidate not at the event, is best known for pulling a gun on a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest when it passed by his house in July, 2020. “Protesters reported two Kinderhook subjects initiated a verbal argument while armed with a handgun," according to a statement from State Police at the time. Now he says he was only "sticking up for law enforcement." Knights claims he never waved or pointed the gun at marchers, and the incident "had nothing to do with race." Hudson Mayor Kamal Johnson marched in the protest and said at the time that the couple came out of their home yelling obscenities at the marchers, and then Knights wife waved the gun at the crowd before handing it to her husband. The couple was not charged with a crime. The winner of the March 15 election will replace Mayor Dale Leiser. The two candidates running unopposed for the two village board seats, Susan Patterson and Dorene Weir, also spoke at the candidates’ forum. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Brendan J. Lyons and Kenneth C. Crowe II are reporting for the Times Union that dozens of Rensselaer County workers and others have been served with federal grand jury subpoenas as part of a building FBI investigation focused on the filing of absentee ballots in elections over the past two years. The subpoenas for federal grand jury testimony later this month have been issued to rank-and-file county workers as well as to Jason Schofield, the Republican commissioner for the county's Board of Elections. Sources said the subpoenas were served on people who may have done campaign work or who had absentee ballots issued on their behalf. "I can't really discuss anything," Schofield said March 8. The latest series of subpoenas came after a group of subpoenas requesting documents from the Rensselaer County Board of Elections were served on February 3. They were served on the county days after FBI agents seized the mobile phones of county Operations Director Richard W. Crist and Jim Gordon, the county's director of purchasing. Both men are political allies of County Executive Steve McLaughlin. The seizures took place the same day McLaughlin appeared in Rensselaer County Court for a pre-trial conference in an unrelated criminal case involving the alleged theft and misuse of campaign funds. McLaughlin has pleaded not guilty to two felony charges in that case. The federal investigators are examining Gordon's role in gathering absentee ballots at a public housing complex in Lansingburgh. State Police investigators were reviewing Crist's involvement with absentee ballots in the Rensselaer mayoral race. Read more in the Times Union.

Paul Kirby is reporting for the Daily Freeman that Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan announced March 8 the formation of the COVID-19 Commemoration Commission to develop a memorial honoring frontline workers and “memorializing the lives of Ulster County residents lost to COVID-19.” March 8 marked the two-year anniversary of the first reported COVID-19 case in Ulster County. Ryan has now named the 22 members of the commission responsible for “citing and curating a permanent monument in Ulster County to tell the story of the response and impact of the pandemic, and to highlight how the entire community rallied and supported each other during the course of this once-in-a-century pandemic,” according to a press release from Ryan’s office. Ryan said in the release, “...The COVID-19 Commemoration Commission will both highlight the service of our community members — from our doctors and nurses, to our teachers, to our first responders, and beyond — who rose to the challenge and risked their lives to protect us, as well as memorialize the hundreds of lives we tragically lost.” There is no cost estimate for the memorial yet, but it is expected to be included in the 2023 budget, according to Assistant Deputy County Executive Dan Torres. The members of the commission include Ulster County Legislature Chairperson Tracey Bartels; Ulster County Legislature Minority Leader Ken Ronk; Communication Workers of America Local 1120 representative Rob Pinto; United Way of Ulster County President Stacey Rein; and, New York State Nurses Association representative Estela Woych-Aquino. The commission will hold its first meeting in April, with a timeline for project completion, pending budget approval, in 2023. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Today's daily news update.

Joshua Solomon reports in the Times Union that New York's Legislature voted March 7 to let voters continue to request an absentee ballot on the basis of COVID-19 concerns in school district elections this spring. Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the measure into law. "I have to believe that there are some people who appreciate their right to vote but still have not gone back to their church congregation yet because they're still concerned," Assembly Majority Leader Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, a Democrat from Buffalo, said on the chamber floor. Republicans disagreed, even as Greene County officials reported new COVID-19 deaths on March 3, March 4, and March 7. "There has to be an end point and we have to get back to the normal course of action," said Lawler, who touted his own vaccination status and the need for the state to continue to push for increased vaccinations among the public. "But let's stop using this as a bludgeon to change every law we don't like." School board and budget elections are May 18 this year. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Ted Remsnyder reports for Columbia-Greene Media that Patrick Ciccone, the chair of the Town of Durham Historic Preservation Committee, recently testified against the town board in a lawsuit about a proposed housing development in the town. said he was not reappointed to his post after he gave a sworn affidavit in a lawsuit against the town board and a proposed housing development in the town. Durham Town Supervisor Shawn Marriott then sent a letter to Ciccone on Feb. 27 telling him that his term on the Durham Historic Preservation Committee had expired at the end of 2019. “Effective immediately, that holdover status will not continue and you will not be reappointed,” according to the letter. “Please immediately return all town- and DHPC-related materials, etc., to the town hall within 24 hours.” Marriott, though, won't own up to why he removed Ciccone from the board. “I can confirm that he was not reappointed to the position,” Marriott said. “He was not fired, he was not reappointed to his position as chair. It was due to personnel matters that I cannot discuss.” Ciccone disagreed. “I was not an employee of the town,” he said. “I was an appointed expert on this commission. The town openly discusses all appointments in public, so they can’t hide behind calling this a personnel matter.” The lawsuit that Ciccone participated in was filed in November in New York State Supreme Court by the Cornwallville Residents for Rural Preservation, a group opposed to building 12 homes in Cornwallville. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Evelyn F. Preston reports for The Legislative Gazette that the Department of Environmental Conservation is warning New Yorkers that coyotes are now active. “This is the time of year when New York’s resident coyotes breed and set up dens for pups that will arrive in the spring,” said DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos. “While conflicts with people and pets are rare, New Yorkers should remain alert and follow DEC’s common-sense guidelines to minimize the risk for potential conflicts with coyotes.” Like with bears, residents should secure garbage, and be careful with pet food. "If coyotes exhibit aggressive behavior and fail to show fear of people, or if it is spotted consistently in residential areas, people are urged to contact their Regional DEC Wildlife Office for assistance. In emergency situations, people are urged to contact the local police department," the DEC says. Read more about this story at The Legislative Gazette.

Today's daily news update.

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Patricia Doxsey is reporting for the Daily Freeman there are hundreds of charitable organizations collecting donations to help the Ukrainian people, but the situation has not surprisingly also created an opportunity for fraud. “Many New Yorkers are eager to do their part to help the Ukrainian people, but scammers often take advantage of crises to exploit our generosity and compassion,” state Attorney General Letitia James said in a press release last week. At Woodland Pond in New Paltz recently a number of the residents at the retirement community were targeted via email by scammers. Those efforts were thwarted by employees of the Sawyer Savings Bank, after residents approached them looking to withdraw money from their accounts. Sawyer Savings Bank CEO Doug Sturges said, “They came in with emails that basically were saying ‘my relatives are in Ukraine and they don’t have any access to money, but if you send the money to me, I can get it [to] them." Bank employees urged the customers to instead work through a national organization if they want to donate money. A flier has been distributed at the facility, advising residents to protect themselves by checking with staff or family members before sending any money even if seemed unkind to not respond to the pleas for help. Ulster County District Attorney David Clegg said his office has not received any complaints about scams involving the Ukraine crisis to date. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Cloey Callahan is reporting for the Times Union that Ulster County led the region in new Airbnb host income last year, with county homeowners who rented out their homes for the first time in 2021 collectively making more than $7 million, a 133 percent increase over 2019. It also represents a 6 percent share of the total new host market statewide. In the first six months of 2021, the Catskills and Hudson Valley region were among the top 10 most profitable areas for new hosts with one listing, according to an earlier report. New Airbnb hosts in Greene County, an especially popular skiing and snowboarding destination, earned more than $3.5 million collectively last year, while new hosts in Columbia and Sullivan made more than $2 million each. In Dutchess, where there are many hotels and where more towns are considering short-term rental regulations, income levels for new Airbnb hosts remained flat at $1.5 million. New York ranked fourth nationwide among the top five most profitable states for new host income in 2021. Suffolk County, home of the Hamptons, is one of the state’s biggest short-term rental markets recording $17 million in new host income in 2021, nearly as much as the entire Hudson Valley region. California leads the nation in new host income with Florida and Texas ranked second and third, respectively. According to market data from StayMarquis, a vacation rental company, there are currently nearly 8,000 available vacation properties across 10 Hudson Valley counties. Read the full story in the Times Union.