Here is this week's WGXC Congressional Report, tracking the votes, statements, positions, and campaigns of the representatives and candidates for the 19th and 20th Congressional seats in New York. Current Democrat Reps. Antonio Delgado and Paul Tonko vote with the positions of President Joe Biden 100 percent of the time, according to the fivethirtyeight.com website. Click here to listen to this report.

Luis Ferré-Sadurní reports for The New York Times that on Feb. 3 a Republican-led group of voters filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn New York’s new congressional maps as unconstitutional. Democratic lawmakers in Albany last week approved district lines that would favor their party election's for the next decade. “This court should reject it as a matter of substance, as the map is an obviously unconstitutional partisan and incumbent-protection gerrymander,” said the lawsuit, which was brought by 14 voters. The lawsuit that claims the redistricting “brazenly enacted a congressional map that is undeniably politically gerrymandered in their party’s favor” was filed in State Supreme Court in Steuben County, a Republican stronghold in the state’s Southern Tier. The courts, however, have never turned down a map approved by the Legislature. "The state courts are really going to be really reluctant to overturn a state legislatively enacted plan," said Jeffrey Wice, who heads the New York Census and Redistricting Institute. “The question is whether the court will reject 50 years of precedent and reject the plan." Read more about this story in The New York Times.

Tonko and Delgado shared several votes this week in Congress. Both voted for the Postal Service Reform Act, which passed Feb. 9 342-92 with support from all Democrats and many Republicans, including Elise Stefanik. The upstate Republican did not join Delgado and Tonko in passing the Global Respect Act 227-206 on Feb. 9. The bill imposes visa-blocking sanctions on foreign persons responsible for or complicit in violating the human rights of individuals due to actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics.

Shaniece Holmes-Brown reports in the Times Union that Rep. Paul Tonko held an online press conference Feb. 5. The Democrat who represents Albany County and other Capital Region areas in the 20th Congressional District, used it as a chance to crow about the America COMPETES Act that passed in the House of Representatives on Feb. 4. “It takes a number of steps to enhance our global competitiveness by fixing broken supply chains, boosting American semiconductor manufacturing, and turbo-charging American scientific and technological leadership,” said Tonko of the bill with $52 billion in grants and subsidies and $45 million to help the supply chain. “The $45 billion will go a long way to enable (supply chains) to compete ... with greater efficacy,” Tonko said. He said the Albany Nanotech Center may benefit if the Senate also passes the bill, and President Joe Biden signs it into law because of the $52 billion in the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act. “Semiconductors are essential components to countless consumer goods, goods that we use every day,” Tonko said. Since the interview, Tonko's Republican opponent Liz Joy Tweeted often about children wearing masks to help everyone from catching a deadly disease, but has not mentioned anything about infrastructure spending. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

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

Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Capital Region Independent Media that the abrupt resignation of Coeymans' police chief and the budget battles between the town board and the officers’ union have unnerved residents and officials alike, with some expressing concerns that it could all lead to the end of the Coeymans Police Department. “There is no truth to that,” Town Supervisor George McHugh said. “We have said it a million times before, we will say it again – we have no intention of getting rid of the Coeymans Police or dissolving the Coeymans Police. We will look for a new chief and we will drive on. There have never been plans to dissolve the department." Police Chief Douglas Keyer, resigned Feb. 11, after serving the town for roughly one year. His resignation was effective immediately. Other members of the department submitted their resignations, as well. Keyer's departure comes during the ongoing budget squabbles between the town board and the Coeymans Police PBA, the union representing the local police force. The union is accusing the town board of defunding the department. “As of March 1, 2022, the Town of Coeymans Police Department will no longer be available for any calls for service, both emergency and non-emergency, on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from 12 a.m. to 8 a.m.,” according to the union. In addition to its own police force, Coeymans is also served by the Albany County Sheriff’s Office. The operation of the Coeymans Police Department falls under the jurisdiction of the town board. The police union stated the department’s budget woes will make it difficult to carry out its mission. McHugh said the town was looking for a department with a different focus and cited budgetary reasons. “... The town board wants a community-centric police department. We have the sheriff’s department here and they supplement us with two patrols 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” McHugh said.“That saves us money. I am not looking to build a metropolitan police department in Coeymans. We can’t afford it.” Sgt. Daniel Braden, who works part-time for the department, is now at the top of the department’s chain of command while the town searches for a new chief. Read more at TheUpStater [dot] com.

William J. Kemble is reporting for the Daily Freeman the state Public Service Commission on Feb. 15, will conduct its public hearing on the proposed 1,250-megawatt electric transmission line project. At the hearing, the Hudson Champlain Power Express is expected to present examples of support for the project’s overland route, but it will likely not present the concerns expressed by Hudson River communities about the underwater section that constitutes about 60 percent of the line's 339-mile route. Consent resolutions from 33 of the 35 municipalities that have property along the route have been filed by the developers. In several instances, there are agreements stating how much the developers will pay in taxes and community benefits. Details as to how much money the project is having waived or exempted in property taxes has not been provided, however. The session is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 15, at 1 p.m. via Webex. Preregistration at webex [dot] com is required for anyone wanting to make comments. State officials said the hearing is scheduled to take comments on the developer’s request to receive a certificate of public convenience for the $2.2 billion project. A link to where comments can be made online for the hearing is available at the WGXC Newsroom page. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Nick Reisman is reporting for State of Politics that construction on New York's first offshore wind project started Feb. 11, off the coast of Long Island. The project, South Fork Wind, comes after federal regulators in January issued a final sale notice for the New York Bight, considered to be a key milestone in the push to build more offshore wind projects in the coming years. The New York Bight is the geological identification applied to a roughly triangular indentation along the Atlantic coast of the United States. It extends northeasterly from Cape May Inlet in New Jersey to Montauk Point on the eastern tip of Long Island. Gov. Kathy Hochul and U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland appeared together at the project site Feb. 11, calling the effort part of a major push to reduce the effects of climate change in New York. In her remarks, Hochul celebrated the project, saying it will also create jobs, and stimulate the post-COVID-19 economy. "... This is a historic day for New York, and I look forward to continue working with Secretary Haaland as we lead our nation toward a greener, brighter future for all," she said. State lawmakers previously approved a measure for the energy transition that includes the goal of producing 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind in the state by 2035. Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.

Today's daily news update.

Andrea Macko is reporting for Porcupine Soup angry, frustrated, and emotional parents and students packed the February 10, Coxsackie-Athens Board of Education meeting to demand the district stop enforcing the state’s mask mandate. The standing-room-only crowd in the Coxsackie Elementary School cafeteria lasted more than four hours, with the mask issue taking up a significant portion of the meeting. District officials say their hands are tied and disobeying the state’s order could have serious consequences. Board President Michael Donahue started the meeting at 7 p.m., holding off until all audience members put masks on, pursuant to state law. “We still have to live with the mask mandate from the governor,” Donahue said. “I’m sorry, I know we are in our third year of this. Nobody likes it.” Audience members shouted and threatened to unseat members at future elections. Some parents also vowed legal action against the district. “Before you are a group of parents — and there are more — who are willing to take the school back and take over the job that you are failing at immensely,” said Tiffany Russo, one of several parents to address the board. Several parents related stories of children being threatened or bullied for removing or pulling their masks down, especially during sports practice or competitions. District Superintendent Randy Squier said that staff members shaming students over masks “is not acceptable, and you have got to let us know [about this]. ....There is no excuse for a teacher making a kid feel uncomfortable for not wearing a mask,” Squier said. After a shouting match ensued, Donahue paused the meeting for 45 minutes. When the board returned most of the audience members were gone and Squier made a statement about what could happen should the district not follow the state’s mask rules. He said the administrators could lose their licenses, and the board, because they would have violated their oath of office, could be removed by the Commissioner of Education. And he said, there would be a negligent supervision liability risk. "Our insurance carrier could say 'you are on your own,'" Squier said. And the Department of Health could fine the district $1,000 a day. “We are obligated to follow this,” he said. "We do not make these rules. We are tired of masks, too.” That night, the board approved a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul and Department of Health Commissioner Mary T. Bassett asking the state to “consider working with school leaders to develop an off-ramp to move forward.” Read the full story at porcupinesoup [dot] com.

Paul Kirby is reporting for the Daily Freeman Central Hudson Gas and Electric Corporation customers are about to get hit with higher bills. In a press release, Central Hudson said it is projecting that bills for natural gas service will increase on average about 19 percent; about 46 percent for electric service; and about 29 percent for combined electric and natural gas. “These bill increases are temporary and may vary for individual customers depending on energy usage and their billing cycle,” Central Hudson said. The utility said the main factors for the new prices are the increased supply prices for both electricity and natural gas as the region navigates a colder than average winter and as global energy factors come into play. “Locally, this January featured sustained temperatures that were 11 percent colder than average and 16 percent colder than January 2021,” a Central Hudson representative said. “This contributed to driving gas usage up more than 13 percent and electric usage up nearly 6 percent over January 2021.” Factors contributing to higher prices include increased domestic demand because of colder weather and from economic recovery after the pandemic; constrained capacity; lower electric production; and increased reliance on natural gas following the closure of the Indian Point nuclear plant. The February supply charge for natural gas rose 33 percent as compared to January, while electric supply charges have more than doubled, Central Hudson said. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Diane Valden is reporting for The Columbia Paper Deputy Copake Town Supervisor Richard Wolf, January 13, in his monthly report to the town board on the Hecate [HEK-uh-tee] Energy solar project said the Chicago-based company had made a project presentation to “an expert working group” assembled by the citizen group Sensible Solar, together with Friends of Columbia Solar. Other group experts include representatives from Scenic Hudson, Columbia Land Conservancy, two Cornell University teams — from the Ag School and from the Department of City and Regional Planning — and two volunteer landscape architects, Wolf said. “The working group is preparing a report with recommendations to improve the Shepherd’s Run proposal, and will presumably opine on screening, fencing, protecting forested areas and other concerns,” Wolf said. The project alls for the clearing of 40 acres of trees and shrubs. Copake officials asked the company to delay filing its siting application until the working group’s report has been received and considered. In answer to a February 7 email from The Columbia Paper, Hecate Project Developer Alex Campbell said “Hecate hasn’t filed its application.” Wolf said the town maintains the hope that Hecate will consider what the working group has to say. Once the Shepherd’s Run project application is filed with the state Office of Renewable Energy Siting, the agency has 60 days to review it and determine its completeness and define deficiencies, if any. If all goes smoothly for Hecate they plan to start construction activities in the second quarter of 2023. Hecate proposes to build a solar-powered electric generating facility with 200,000 solar panels on several sites along State Route 23 and County Route 7 in and around the Copake hamlet of Craryville. The total project area is 880 acres and the panels will physically occupy 220 acres, which will be fenced in. The industrial-scale project is not permitted under Copake Zoning Law, yet it is moving forward because Hecate has bypassed local law and is seeking site approval from ORES under the state’s new siting process for renewable energy projects, known as 94-c. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

Today's daily news update.

Joshua Solomon reports in the Times Union that while "Good Cause" eviction laws have been passed on the local level, but efforts by progressive Democrats to pass a statewide law have stalled. A bill in Albany has been referred to a housing committee, but has made little in the early days of the current legislative session. Meanwhile the cities of Albany, Newburgh, and Poughkeepsie passed their own good cause eviction bills. Hudson passed a law that was vetoed by Hudson Mayor Kamal Johnson, and a replacement bill then failed with the Hudson Common Council. "Good cause" eviction laws require the automatic renewal of leases, removing the ability for landlords to displace tenants at the end of their lease. Landlords can still evict tenants for a variety of reasons, such as conducting illegal activity, damaging property, or nonpayment of rent but only if rent increases have been kept under five percent a year. But while there has been some success locally passing the tenant protection legislation, it is being undermined by the lack of a statewide measure. Asked about the "Good Cause" law passed in the City of Albany during a state budget public hearing with Feb. 9, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said, "Well, we've been sued." That's because the city is preempted by the state. If New York passed statewide eviction standards, that "would allow us to move forward with something that is really important," Sheehan said. "When you have security in housing, then you have security in families," the mayor said. "We have such transience that we see and it impacts school performance, it impacts peoples' mental health, it creates anxiety and it takes resources from people who are in the least position to be able to marshal those resources." Jumaane Williams, the New York City public advocate now running for governor against incumbent Democrat Kathy Hochul, said that he thought Democratic leadership are not backing "Good Cause" legislation because they are beholden to developers and property owners. Hochul, for instance, held a "small, private" dinner for donors Feb. 10 in Manhattan at Hudson Yards, a massive recent development in the city that was developed by Related Companies, cost between $10,000 and $45,200 to attend. Hochul's office claims the governor has "taken decisive action to protect tenants.... We will continue to work closely with the legislature and members of the advocacy community to protect vulnerable New Yorkers and keep tenants in their homes," the governor's office said in its statement. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Andrea Macko reports for Porcupine Soup that the Town of Cairo will hold a public hearing about a proposed snowstorm parking law at 7 p.m. March 7 at town hall. Cairo would copy Catskill's law requiring vehicles to be parked on the even side of the street from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and then moved to the odd side of village streets from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. Switching sides of the street continues every 12 hours, until the snow emergency has ended. The town would ticket and tow violator's vehicles at the owner’s expense. Read more about this story at Porcupine Soup>

Noah Zweifel reports in the Altamont Enterprise that the town of Knox in Albany County celebrates its bicentennial this year, with the town spending $4,000 on events from the end of February into August. Feb. 28 is the official 200th anniversary of the town's formation, and Knox holds a proclamation ceremony at the Town Hall that day. There's also an essay contest in March when local students will write about a favorite object in the Knox Historical Association's museum. There will also be a pageant and quilt show in April, and bicentennial activities at the Pucker Street Fair, on June 17 and 18. The celebration concludes with a barbecue fundraiser at the Knox Reformed Church on Aug. 5, and a car show, live music, and fireworks on Aug. 6. Read more about this story in the Altamont Enterprise.

Today's daily news update.

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

Brendan J. Lyons is reporting for the Times Union Rensselaer County was served with a federal grand jury subpoena on Feb. 8, seeking materials from the Rensselaer County Board of Elections, as the FBI investigation into the handling of absentee ballots in 2021 and 2020 continues to expand. Federal authorities are looking to obtain absentee ballot documents and communications of various Rensselaer County officials. The subpoenas were served five days after FBI agents seized the mobile phones of county Operations Director Richard W. Crist and Jim Gordon, the county's director of purchasing and a political ally of county Executive Steve McLaughlin. The phones were seized on the morning of February 3, and 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. The State Police also have been conducting a separate investigation of alleged ballot fraud in the city of Rensselaer's mayoral race last November. Multiple county officials, most of them tied to the Republican Party, have retained legal counsel as FBI agents have been conducting interviews during the past several months. Gordon's role in gathering absentee ballots at a Lansingburgh apartment complex is a focus of the FBI's investigation. Crist's involvement with absentee ballots in the Rensselaer mayoral race has also been examined by the State Police. The county GOP leadership said it was unaware of any fraudulent activity by the party during the 2021 election, and that party members had simply taken advantage of a directive from the state Board of Elections that allowed individuals to use absentee ballots if they did not want to vote in person due to the pandemic. Crist, a longtime Republican operative and McLaughlin confidant. who serves as his spokesperson, has declined to respond to questions for more than a month. Gordon also previously declined to comment. Read more in the Times Union.

Ted Remsnyder is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media Cairo town officials are moving forward with a plan to convert a former martial arts facility into a community center. In November, the town purchased the former Dojo Martial Arts and Fitness Academy on Route 32 with plans to convert it into a senior center, and as a location for the town’s ambulance service. During the Cairo Town Board’s February 7 meeting, it unanimously approved a pair of resolutions to hire the Albany-based Barton and Loguidice engineering consulting firm to apply for grants to fund the senior center and to prepare a project site plan. The board authorized $5,500 to the firm for grant writing, $4,600 for interior layout design, $1,200 for asbestos abatement and $1,900 for lab analysis. “We need to knock down some walls, redo the electric and put in a kitchen,” Town Supervisor Jason Watts said. “It would be a community center where they could do Meals on Wheels and the seniors can come in and we’ll put a TV up and have some games there that they can do. We’ve talked about putting some gardens outside for people to work with.” According to Watts, Barton and Loguidice said if they could secure a grant, it could be for more than $1 million. "...That would put us right where we need to be to start really moving forward. A kitchen is going to be $70,000 to $80,000. Just by ourselves, we might be able to afford to do the community part with the help of the county. The ambulance part might have to wait because we definitely don’t have the money for that. But we do have to do something,” Watts said. There is no timeline for when the center could be completed, board member Tim Powers said. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Capital Region Independent Media five months after the village of Ravena passed a law banning the feeding of wildlife within the village, ducks continue to be drawn to the area. Large flocks of the waddling waterbirds can still be seen on local streets, especially in the Faith Plaza parking lot on Route 9W, where there are sometimes dozens sitting and walking around the lot. In September, the village board adopted a measure prohibiting the feeding of wildlife, including waterfowl, in an attempt to discourage the birds from congregating in the village. They were causing property damage and creating a public health concern, village officials said at the time. The “Wildlife Feeding Law for the Village of Ravena” outlaws the feeding of all wildlife, with the exception of songbirds. Anyone in Ravena looking to feed a songbird must do it in a feeder that stands at least 4 feet from the ground, according to the law. At the village board meeting last month, a resident noted that the shopping plaza continues to draw ducks by the dozens in spite of the local law. Management at the Shop ‘N’ Save supermarket has posted signs asking customers not to feed the animals. Ravena Mayor Bill Misuraca said, “If the people didn’t feed them, they would leave. That is the bottom line.” Village officials have been unsuccessful in getting the state to relocate the ducks, the mayor said. Officials have also contacted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the federal agency that protects endangered species, to no avail. “These things (the ducks) are federally protected,” Misuraca said. Deputy Mayor Nancy Warner said she has been contacted by people who have seen others feeding the ducks, but she advised them to call the police instead so they can enforce the law. Read the full story at TheUpstater [dot] com.

Today's daily news update.

Nick Reisman reports in New York State of Politics that a group of state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul are far apart on child care proposals. Hochul's budget proposal includes expanding child care access for up to 100,000 families in the state. The governor would increase eligibility for aid to 200 percent above the federal poverty line to 225 percent. And Hochul wants $75 million in funding to increase pay for the child care workers. But some Democratic lawmakers want to institute universal child care in New York, which would cost about $5 billion. Child care is essential to the growth of our communities. For our families to thrive and our economy to be healthy, we need to ensure that everyone has access to quality child care. We need to make sure that program providers and teachers are being compensated for the important work and service they provide for New York's families," said Stevie Vargas, campaign coordinator, Alliance for Quality Education. "AQE stands with parents, providers, and child care teachers in calling on New York State to invest $5 billion for universal child care." Several lawmakers are discussing the proposal, but it is unknown if it has the support to pass this year. "The legislature has the opportunity to provide quality care and early education to children regardless of income level with universal child care — the question is, will they work to create a system which leaves out protections for some children, or work toward a compassionate system for all?" said Matthew Mackey, a member of Citizen Action of New York in the Hudson Valley. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.