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.

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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.

The Daily Mail and Register Star report that the sale of both newspapers and Columbia-Greene Media to The Daily Gazette Co. now will be completed in late January. The sale was reported months ago, and then delayed. Now Daily Gazette Co. Publisher John DeAugustine said the company has reached an agreement. The sale, he says, will now be finalized on Jan. 29. DeAugustine said, “We really want to make sure that we have a great staff going into our takeover...who's going to stay with us, who's going to go, how that's going to work — I'm not exactly sure." Read the story in The Daily Mail and Register Star.

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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."

Andrea Macko reports for Porcupine Soup that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on Dec. 13 that the levels of groundwater contaminants around the former American Thermostat Co. site in south Cairo in Greene County have not decreased significantly after more than 25 years of extraction and treatment. The federal agency reported that the, “EPA is currently preparing a plan for an investigation to look for residual contamination and, if found, to evaluate options to address it.... Beginning this winter, EPA will collect soil and groundwater samples to identify any sources of contamination. Soil samples will be taken from borings that are made by drilling a hole in the ground. EPA will collect 82 soil borings in rows around the former manufacturing building and on either side of Route 23.” The American Thermostat Co. built thermostats for small appliances on eight acres between State Route 23 and Route 23B from 1954 to 1985. In 1981, New York's Department of Environmental Conservation found that American Thermostat employees had been pouring waste organic solvents down drains attached to an abandoned septic system for several years and dumping chemicals on the parking lot. Scientists have found the land contaminated with trichloroethylene and other volatile organic compounds, including tetrachloroethylene, which is cancer-causing. The site has been on the Superfund program’s National Priorities List since 1983. The EPA said on Dec. 13 that if more remediation work is needed, there will be a forum for the public to comment on the proposed cleanup plan. Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

Paul Kirby reports for the Daily Freeman that Gov. Kathy Hochul has signed into law state Sen. Michelle Hinchey’s bill, S1684A, that requires property owners to submit accurate vacancy rate surveys. The law, “specifies that property owners must provide the latest rent rolls and, if possible, records from the past three years upon municipal request and within a timeframe designated by the municipality.” A vacancy rate below five percent triggers "housing crisis" measures to free up more spaces. Hinchey said, “Our communities face a dire lack of housing supply, and having accurate vacancy rate data that shows how many homes are available is a vital tool that can help municipalities stabilize rents in a housing crisis.... My bill was needed to close a loophole that allowed property owners to evade vacancy rate surveys, and now, the law is clear – property owners must provide accurate data when a municipality requests a survey. This measure is essential for the Hudson Valley and all New York State communities to get the data they need to tackle the housing crisis and keep residents housed and safe.” Most local and state officials have acknowledged that there is an affordable housing crisis locally and throughout the New York. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

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Andrea Macko reports for Porcupine Soup that voters in the Coxsackie-Athens Central School District on Dec. 12 defeated a proposal for a $29.4 million capital improvement project, 465-to-232. Randy Squier, superintendent of Coxsackie-Athens Central School District, said, "While we are disappointed in the outcome of the vote, we respect the decision of the community. We will continue to work collaboratively with all stakeholders to address the challenges facing our school district and explore alternative avenues to renovate and improve our facilities to support our student's wellbeing." The election was not held in May, when schools approve their budgets, and usually elections on non-traditional voting days have low turnout. The proposal was for classroom renovations, improving the roof and air conditioning, expanding the fitness center, two new playing fields, and other items. In a statement, the district did not say what next steps will be other than considering their options. Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

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.

Ben Mitchell reports for News10 that Amtrak has received $2 million from the Federal Railroad Administration to improve and expand service on four New York projects. That includes $500,000 for Amtrak Empire Service between New York City and Niagara Falls via Albany, Utica, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo. The money will go to adding trains, reducing travel time, and improving reliability. Rep. Paul Tonko said, “As a lifelong Amtrak passenger, I know firsthand how crucial our public rail system is to improving the everyday lives of New Yorkers.... I’m thrilled to celebrate this critical infusion of funding that will enhance the safety, reliability, and speed of intercity rail service in our Capital Region and beyond.” Amtrak Adirondack service between New York City and Montreal is also getting $500,000 in the funding. Read more about this story at News10.

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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.

More than two-and-a-half years after New York legalized cannabis, there are finally some places locally to buy the drug. The City of Hudson has two temporary pop-up shops open through the end of the year with the Gotham Dispensary store on Front Street, and Legacy Dispensers selling cannabis on Union St. The Village of Catskill Planning Board is currently considering two retail cannabis stores on Route 9W. And The Troy Record reports a new adult-use cannabis dispensary called 420 Bliss opened in Troy on Dec. 7 in Brunswick Square. And the Mountain Eagle reports that Hunter resident Alexander Zivian wants to create a 10,800-square-foot cannabis growing and distribution center in the mountain town. That project, without retail sales, is on Hunter's January 2 planning board agenda.