Andrea Macko is reporting for Porcupine Soup Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden is calling on the New York State Public Service Commission for answers about Central Hudson Gas and Electric Corp’s recent billing practices. In a letter sent March 4, to Rory Christian, PSC chair, Groden said county lawmakers have received a “substantial number of complaints” from residents about the Poughkeepsie-based utility. “The extreme increase in the cost of electricity by itself is more than enough to upset our constituents, but that is not their only complaint,” Groden wrote. “Citizens are complaining about Central Hudson’s ‘approximate’ billing, resulting in huge bills, plus others are not getting billed for several months, only to receive four or five enormous bills in a single day.” County residents have taken to social media, voicing frustration with electric bills that in some cases have gone from what would normally be hundreds of dollars per month to thousands. The utility advised the public last month that increases in supply prices for both electricity and natural gas as the region navigates a colder than average winter, and global energy factors, were causing an increase in the demand and price for energy. And while Central Hudson projected an average increase of 46 percent for electric customers, some have reported bills as much as 10 times higher than usual. Last week, Central Hudson warned that global events and strong demand for energy worldwide continue to press energy prices upward. Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan this week also submitted a letter to the PSC calling for an official investigation into Central Hudson’s billing practices and related price surges. According to Ryan, at least 11,000 Central Hudson electricity customers have experienced billing problems since September. Read the full story at porcupinesoup [dot] com.

Rick Karlin is reporting for the Times Union Cohoes Mayor William Keeler is blasting the Norlite aggregate plant and hazardous waste incinerator for a letter the company released claiming that the neighboring Saratoga Sites housing complex was not being evacuated because of dust from the facility. “That’s completely not true,” Keeler said March 4, referring to Norlite's denial that people were being moved from the complex due to dust. Residents of the complex have for some time complained of dust blowing from the rock and slag piles at Norlite, where shale is processed into aggregate for use in road building and construction. “The residents are not being moved because of the presence nearby of our Norlite facility,” reads part of the letter, dubbed “We Hear You, Cohoes, and We’d Like to Invest.” The letter can be found at NorliteCommunity [dot] com. The company is looking to purchase the housing complex, after the residents move out, and then turn it into a “research facility to investigate new ways to reduce the creation of waste and to safely dispose of it.” Keeler, in an email to the head of Tradebe, the Spanish firm that owns Norlite, said the Saratoga Sites complex is being emptied precisely because of the dust from Norlite and its potential health threats. Keeler wrote, “I assure you, the only reason I have been advocating for the relocation of 70 families from their homes in Saratoga Sites is because of Norlite’s uncontrolled fugitive dust, and chronic violations of regulations governing the company’s incineration of hazardous waste adjacent to this much-needed housing.” The Cohoes Housing Authority is currently moving to relocate the families who live in the apartment complex. Once that process is complete, the Housing Authority is looking to sell the land to the city. Keeler said he does not want to see Norlite closed down, and he did not totally dismiss the idea of selling the land to Norlite, but only if it can operate within regulations. Read more in the Times Union.

Today's daily news update.

Nick Reisman reports for New York State of Politics that Gov. Kathy Hochul said March 3 that New York is ready to welcome any refugees from the war in Ukraine. Department of Homeland Security officials earlier in the day approved special refugee status for nationals leaving the country amid the Russian invasion. New York state is already home to the largest Ukrainian community in the United States, including a small group in Jewett, in Greene County. Now, more than a million people are leaving Ukraine to escape Russian troops. "Russia's unjustified and unprovoked attack on the sovereign and democratic country of Ukraine has led to human rights abuses, senseless violence against innocent civilians and an unprecedented humanitarian crisis that has created more than one million refugees in only a week," Hochul said. "As I've said before, with the Statue of Liberty standing tall in our harbor, New York stands ready to open our arms and provide a safe haven to all Ukrainians." Afghan refugees have already been moving into the Hudson Valley, after the collapse of the government there and the takeover by the Taliban. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Steve Hughes reports for the Times Union that Albany County redistricting commission is beginning its process with the first of four public meetings on March 8. The commission needs to draw new maps for the 39 legislative districts. "The more we can get people aware and interested, the better off we'll be," Commission member Thomas Clingan said. The last three Albany County redistricting efforts led to federal lawsuits, that claimed the maps discriminated against minority neighborhoods in the city of Albany under the Voting Rights Act. Albany County lost all three lawsuits, as the maps were deemed discriminatory and taxpayers were forced to shell out $1.7 million. Legislator William Clay, head of the Legislative Black Caucus, said of the latest redistricting, "We're watching that process but we're watching from a distance." Read more about the story in the Times Union.

The Upstater.com prints a copy of LafargeHolcim's application for a Mined Land permit renewal. The Ravena cement plant is proposing to modify the currently approved Reclamation Plan with different reclamation grading for the 12-acre “life-of-mine” area. The plan says LafargeHolcim would "return the area to natural meadow vegetation" that is next to Route 9W. Public comments on the proposal must be submitted in writing by April 1 to: Patricia M. Gabriel, NYSDEC, 1130 N Westcott Rd., Schenectady, NY 12306. Find more information about the application at The Upstater.com.

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Today's daily news update.

Natasha Vaughn-Holdridge is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media just two months into the new year Columbia County has already reported 13 drug overdoses and three fatalities, statistics that worry addiction recovery advocates. During the same period in 2021, the county reported 16 overdoses but no fatalities. In 2021 altogether, the county had 93 overdoses and 14 fatalities, or an average of slightly more than one death per month. “When we look at our overdose numbers, Philmont statistically has incidents of overdose,” Greener Pathways Program Director Carl Quinn said. “So we wanted to target that as a way to get in touch with the most at-risk population that we’re working with.” As a result, Greener Pathways, or the Mobile Outreach Program of Twin County Recovery Services, Inc., will be available at the Philmont Community Center every Thursday from noon to 2 p.m. Quinn said the organizations' greatest hope is "...that people will come in and say they know someone who needs help or say I want to get help myself.” Mayor Brian Johnson said, “When I got elected mayor, one of my goals was to curb some of the drug use in Philmont. So we asked Greener Pathways to come in and set up at the community center.” Narcan and Fentanyl test strips will be available at the center for anyone who wants or needs them, Quinn said. “Really, this is just another way for us to try and connect with people in the community, who maybe won’t want to come to our office or don’t want to go to the Twin Counties Clinic in Hudson,” Quinn said. Fentanyl test strips allow a person to determine if their supply contains the synthetic opioid used for treating severe pain. Johnson said, “What we’re actually trying to do is instead of getting these people arrested or in trouble, we’re trying to get them some help.” The village wants it known that help is available, he said. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Noah Eckstein is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media that Neannette “Nea” McKinney was chosen February 28, as Hudson’s Senior Services commissioner for the 2022-23 term. McKinney will oversee the department to serve as the city’s main resource for residents ages 62 or older. “Seniors are the backbone of our community,” McKinney said. “If it wasn’t for them and all they had to go through, we wouldn’t be here.” McKinney, in her 50s, has lived in Hudson for three years and has five years’ experience as a leader of a senior assistance program in California. She was born in Cheshire, Connecticut, and grew up in Playa del Rey, Los Angeles. McKinney studied radio and television broadcasting and business management at Elizabeth Seton College in Yonkers. She has an eclectic range of interests and a track record for bringing people together. Roughly 14 percent of Hudson’s 5,894 residents are senior citizens, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau. “Nea’s experience, skills and dedication to the well-being of seniors will be a boon to the city of Hudson,” Mayor Kamal Johnson said. McKinney plans to bring in a nutritionist to help seniors form a more balanced and healthy diet. She also plans on helping coordinate rides for seniors to and from different locations. Her main duty right now is getting to know Hudson’s senior communities. “I plan to hit the pavement, knock on doors, and get my face out there,” she said. An estimated 25 percent of all New Yorkers will be over the age of 60 by the year 2030. The appointment of a commissioner of Senior Services is a first step to put the needs of seniors at the forefront of community discussions, officials said. McKinney's professional experience is expansive, including work in business development and international television, film, and concert production. The Hudson Senior Center is located on the second floor of the Hudson Area Library at 51 N. Fifth Street. Information about the center and its programs is available at hudsonnyseniorcenter [dot] com or 518-828-3200. Note: Johnson is a volunteer WGXC on-air programmer. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Jane Wester is reporting for the New York Law Journal that a Manhattan judge on March 2, dismissed New York Attorney General Letitia James’ effort to dissolve the National Rifle Association. The court found the gun-rights advocacy group’s alleged failures can be addressed through “targeted, less intrusive relief” instead. James’ office is now considering its legal options, according to a statement released Wednesday. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Joel Cohen wrote the AG’s allegations, “if proven, tell a grim story of greed, self-dealing, and lax financial oversight at the highest levels of the National Rifle Association.” Cohen determined the allegations involve mostly “private harm” to the NRA and its members and donors, noting that the AG portrayed the organization as a “victim of its executives’ schemes” despite moving for dissolution. “The complaint does not allege that any financial misconduct benefited the NRA, or that the NRA exists primarily to carry out such activity, or that the NRA is incapable of continuing its legitimate activities on behalf of its millions of members. In short, the complaint does not allege the type of public harm that is the legal linchpin for imposing the ‘corporate death penalty,’” Cohen found. The NRA’s lead attorney, Brewer, Attorneys and Counselors partner William A. Brewer III, he applauds Cohen’s ruling on dissolution and looks forward to continuing to defend the organization as the suit moves ahead. “...[S]ince taking office in 2019, the Attorney General has pushed a contrived narrative about the NRA in her attempt to support a dissolution claim that is improper. This is a victory for not only the NRA, but all who believe in the right to free speech and association,” Brewer said. James’ office sued the NRA and four of its current or former executives in 2020, arguing that they had failed to properly manage the organization’s funds. A legal battle, including an effort by the NRA to move the case out of Manhattan, followed. The NRA also filed for bankruptcy and announced it would move to Texas; in May 2021, a Texas bankruptcy judge dismissed the NRA’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition, finding that it was not filed in good faith. Read more at law [dot] com.

Today's daily news update.

Liz Montgomery reports for Porcupine Soup that a Cairo woman has been in Ukraine for a month trying to get her mother out, and is stuck there. Svetlana, whose last name is being withheld for security reasons, left Cairo on Feb. 3 to get her mother, who suffers from dementia, out of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. Now she is in the middle of a war. “I started to hear explosions,” Svetlana told the CBS6 TV station in Albany. “Our walls started to shake. Our windows.... You just cannot leave the house, otherwise you will be shot because there are a lot of Russian spies that penetrated into Kyiv,” Svetlana added. Her family is in contact with Congressman Antonio Delgado’s office to try and get the American and her mother out of the war-torn capital. Locally, there is a Ukranian population in Jewett in Greene County, and there will be a special prayer service at 2 p.m., March 6 at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church on Route 23A in Jewett. Read more about this story at Porcupine Soup.

CBS News reports that New York's Attorney General Letitia James has taken on Donald Trump and Andrew Cuomo. Now she's taking on the National Weather Service. James wants weather warnings to be in more languages than just English and Spanish. James is doing it mostly because last September 18 New Yorkers died during the September storm caused by Hurricane Ida. Most of them were of Asian descent and had limited proficiency in English or Spanish. And throughout New York, there are pockets with many immigrants who speak a different language. Hudson, in Columbia County, for instance, has a large population that speaks Bengali. James sent a letter this week to the to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Acting Director of the National Weather Service Mary C. Erickson calling for weather alerts from the National Weather Service to broadcast alerts in multiple languages. Read more about this story at CBS News.

Robert Gavin reports in the Times Union that Anthony Pastel, 38, a former public defender in Greene County who fractured his girlfriend's skull, was formally disbarred March 3. The Catskill-based Pastel faced automatic disbarment after he pleaded guilty in January to second-degree assault, a felony, in Greene County Court after initially being indicted with attempted murder. Pastel was arrested on Aug. 4, 2020, after attacking his girlfriend in the village of Athens. Besides disbarment, Pastel faces two to seven years in prison. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Today's daily news update.

Closings and delays for Thu., Mar. 2:

Greene County
Catskill Central School District | Delayed two hours. No morning BOCES. No breakfast.
Hunter-Tannersville Central School District | Delayed two hours. No morning BOCES.
Questar III Catskill Academy | Delayed two hours.
Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School District | Delayed two hours.

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Roger Hannigan Gilson is reporting for the Times Union the price of homes in the Hudson Valley continued to increase through 2021, according to a new report from Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress. People are moving to the Hudson Valley in extraordinary numbers, especially from the New York metropolitan area, and there are not enough homes for sale to meet the demand. Every county in the region except Sullivan was considered a seller's market in 2021, according to the report. The total inventory in the Hudson Valley in 2021 was about half of what it was in 2019, according to the report. Pattern for Progress reported that Columbia County had 4.1 months of inventory at the end of 2021, a year in which the average sales price jumped nearly 18 percent. In Greene County, there was only 3.9 months of inventory, with home prices rising almost 20 percent. Home prices in Ulster County jumped nearly 20 percent, with only 2.8 months of inventory. In Dutchess County, prices rose 15 percent with 2.1 months of inventory. The report notes that the average home price rose nearly $50,000 in the last year in the nine counties in the Hudson Valley; sales prices in the mid and upper-Hudson Valley were far above the peak during the mid-2000s housing bubble. According to the report, rising mortgage interest rates could weaken the surge. In December 2020, the rate for a 30-year loan was 2.65 percent, but it has since risen to 3.56 percent. The report asserts that housing prices in the region will continue to rise in 2022, but at a slower rate than in 2021. Read the full story in the Times Union.

MidHudson News is reporting a group of citizens gathered early February 28, in the parking lot of the Silk Factory in Newburgh demanding answers to state Assemblymember Colin Schmitt’s motivation and thoughts during the insurrection on January 6, 2021. The group was looking to have Schmitt release video footage of his speech to protestors that day before they headed to Washington D.C. where the U.S. Capitol was attacked by a mob made up of people who did not accept the results of the 2020 Presidential election. “Colin Schmitt had a role in the January 6th insurrection. Early morning he dispatched a busload of people from the Hudson Valley down to Washington,” said Matt Rettig, who helped organize the protest. “We want to know what he said to that crowd, why he was encouraging them, and what role he had at egging them [on] to do the horrible things they ended up doing. We know a few people on that bus have already been arrested.” Three months after the insurrection, Schmitt, 31, a Republican representing the 99th Assembly District from New Windsor, announced his bid to unseat incumbent Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney in the 18th Congressional District. “We already have too many people in Congress denying and playing games with the January 6 insurrection, and we don’t need another from the Hudson Valley,” said Rettig. Read the full story at MidHudsonNews [dot] com.