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.

Today's daily news audio update.

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

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.

Today's audio daily news update.

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.

Today's daily news audio update.

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

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.

Mid-Hudson News reports that the executive committee of the Ulster County Conservative Party unanimously endorsed former President Donald Trump for re-election. Trump lost the 2020 election, and then tried to overthrow the government and keep the presidency with a Jan. 6 attempted coup. But that did not stop Ulster County Conservative Party Chair Jack Hayes from saying, “America needs to once again regain energy independence, secure its national borders, and ensure the safety and security of the American people and the respect of the world community.... We need a president who will once against lead by a ‘promises made; promises kept’ contract with the American people.” Trump is the Republican primary frontrunner, who will likely face incumbent Democrat Joe Biden in the 2024 election. Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.

Today's daily news audio update.

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

Joshua Solomon reports in the Times Union that during a political battle over Gov. Kathy Hochul's initial nomination of a new chief judge of the Court of Appeals, a loophole in lobbying laws was exposed. But now Hochul has vetoed bipartisan legislation intended to close that loophole. After Hochul nominated Justice Hector D. LaSalle as the top jurist on the state’s highest court a gap in state law was revealed that allowed unregistered lobbying in judicial nominations and other top state offices. The law Hochul struck down would have put lobbying of judicial nominees in line with other attempts to influence state government and elections. Democrats and Republicans supported the bill. Hochul’s memo explaining her veto of the bill said it “would broadly expand the definition of reportable lobbying to include the nomination of a person to state office or their confirmation by the state Senate.... This bill would impose significant new reporting requirements on people who might not already be reporters, retroactive to (Jan. 1). Additionally, this would impose implementation costs not already accounted for in the state financial plan.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

While the valleys near the Hudson River got a lot of rain, higher elevations did get snow for the first time on Dec. 11. After some school children who were delayed two hours or missed school on Monday, local ski resorts were probably the happiest to see the flakes falling. The ski resorts hope for snow on Thanksgiving weekend every year, but have had to wait until mid-December this time for any measurable amounts. Windham Mountain reported eight inches fell there during the storm, and that they currently have a base depth from 12"-to-24" of real and manufactured snow. Hunter Mountain reported six inches of snow from the storm, and an 18" base depth. Catamount Ski in Columbia County has not updated its website since the storm, and has not opened for the season.

Carina Dominguez reports for News10 that the season's first winter storm was also a first test for the new New York State Weather Risk Communication Center at UAlbany’s Atmospheric Sciences Research Center. Trey Ryan, one of the three meteorologists working for the new center, said, "First things first we went through and saw what happened.... So snowfalls, wind gusts, rain totals. We compared a few different sites from the MESONET and the National Weather Service and we tried to compile it into our briefing for emergency managers so they can refer to it for their actions.” Nick Bassill, the director of the center, said this storm was typical of the kind this area sees when it gets warmer. He said, “It’s a really wet kind of snow, and that’s a signal that scientists have said that we should expect more of as we continue with climate change. We’re gonna have more of those kinds of mixed precipitation, wet-snow, rain-snow challenges.” Read more about this story at News10.