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.

Nick Reisman is reporting for State of Politics New York Attorney General Letitia [Leh-TISH-ah] James' campaign for a second term on February 8, was endorsed by a half-dozen state and national organizations that advocate for women. In announcing the endorsements, the groups cited James' efforts to preserve abortion rights and access to reproductive health care statewide, as well as standing up to "powerful forces" on behalf of women in the workplace. “It may be 2022 but the fight for women’s equality is far from over; in fact, women’s empowerment faces fresh and ever-evolving attacks from forces who want to turn back the clock of progress,” James said. “...I will never back down from standing up for women and making sure no boss or politician ever comes in between a woman and her constitutional rights.” James received the endorsements of Higher Heights for America, EMILY’s List, National Organization for Women New York, Eleanor’s Legacy, #VOTEPROCHOICE, and Downtown Women for Change. On Mon., Feb. 7, the Hotel Trades Council, a prominent and politically active labor union in state politics, announced its support for James. “Four years ago, we endorsed Tish James because we knew she'd be a fearless fighter for working people and for all New Yorkers,” said HTC President Rich Maroko. “Since then, she’s proven herself to be determined, formidable, and a solid ally for working families. We are thrilled to endorse Letitia ‘Tish’ James for re-election ... Our members look forward to working to get out every single vote that we can for Tish James – the People's Lawyer." The union represents nearly 40,000 workers in New York. James was previously endorsed by labor unions and organizations like the New York State AFL-CIO, NYSUT and TWU. Read more at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.

The Spencertown Academy Arts Center announced February 7, it has been awarded a grant totaling $49,500 from the New York State Council on the Arts to support the recovery of the nonprofit arts and culture sector. NYSCA [NISS-kah] has awarded more than $80 million since June 2021. Nick Van Alstine, President of Spencertown Academy Arts Center’s Board of Directors said, “What timing! This year we will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Spencertown Academy arts organization, and the 175th year since the Academy was built as a school back in 1847. The NYSCA grant is targeted at supporting artists of all types, and we are excited by projects we are currently developing that will do just that. We are so grateful to NYSCA and Governor [Kathy] Hochul for this generous grant in support of our goals.” The Academy’s new projects include partnerships with related non-profit arts groups, as well as a planned outreach to professional writers, a five-day writers’ conference. Academics, agents, and published writers will lead sessions in both craft and career management. Hochul said of the grantees, “These awardees represent the best of what New York’s vibrant communities have to offer and with this funding in hand, they will be able to not only continue their creative and inspiring work, but help spur revitalization in their own backyard as well.” Read more at SpencertownAcademy [dot] org.

Today's daily news update.

Today's daily news update.

Robert Gavin reports in the Times Union that Ancram's town justice, George K. Wittlinger, a non-attorney justice on the bench since 1999, has resigned. That exit came as an investigation into allegations he encouraged a minor to have sex with his teenage son and offering her gifts in exchange for sexual favors, according to the state Commission on Judicial Conduct, was about to become public. After the 87-year-old judge was told in December about the investigation, he was scheduled to testify on Jan. 12, but resigned effective Dec. 31, agreeing to never hold a judicial office again. “Claims of sexual impropriety, particularly where they involve a judge and a minor, must be dealt with promptly as well as fairly, in order to maintain public confidence in the courts,” the commission’s administrator, Robert Tembeckjian, said in a statement. “Whether or not such serious allegations lead to criminal or civil proceedings, the Judicial Conduct Commission will investigate and take appropriate disciplinary action.” The commission said Wittlinger denied the allegations, and his lawyer, William Dreyer, said Wittlinger resigned for health reasons. “After more than 21 years serving the Town of Ancram as Justice, I find it necessary to step down from the bench,” Wittlinger wrote in a Dec. 17 resignation letter to Ancram Town Supervisor Arthur Bassin. “ …(It) has been an honor serving the town and I would like to thank you, the board and the entire Ancram family for your support over all these years.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Roger Hannigan Gilson wonders in the Times Union why it took so long for public officials to notify the people of Valatie that there was a toxic chemical in their drinking water. In October last year, results showed Valatie's Well No. 4 exceeded the state's maximum level for the chemical PFOS and the well was immediately taken offline by the state Department of Health. But residents weren't notified until Jan. 31 by the village of Valatie, over three months later. A Columbia County press release was not released until Feb. 2. Valatie Mayor Frank Bevens said he followed the guidance of the Columbia County Health Department. "That notice went out when we were told to send the notice out," Bevens said. But couldn't Bevens have released the information sooner? "Our thought was to do what we were told to do," he said. Columbia County Environmental Health Director Maggie McBroom said residents were not informed for three months because, first, the Village of Valatie had to get a press release template from the state, something that could be accomplished in an afternoon. McBroom also said the press release needed approval from the state and county Health Department, something that could be accomplished in a matter of days. "There's a little back-and-forth with proofreading and whatnot," she said, explaining how "a little back-and-forth" took three months. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Ted Remsnyder reports for Columbia-Greene Media that Greene County Public Health is ending COVID-19 testing. Officials say people have not been turning out to twice-weekly testing clinics at 370 Mansion St. in Coxsackie on Mondays and Wednesdays. “It’s that (low turnout) and the distribution of home kits,” Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden said. “That will probably be our last one.” The last public COVID-19 testing clinic in Greene County ever? “If things turn around and all of a sudden things look worse, then absolutely they could resume,” Groden said. The announcement came with another: two more COVID-19 deaths in Greene County. The deaths were a woman in her 90s who was unvaccinated and had comorbidities, and a man in his late 80s who had been vaccinated and had received a booster shot but who also had underlying health issues. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

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Ted Remsnyder is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media online shopping and retail sales totaled more than $1 billion in Greene County in 2021. Online sales fueled the county’s 12th consecutive year of growth in sales tax revenue. According to the Greene County Economic Development Corporation, the county surpassed its sales tax payments from the state by $6.5 million in 2021, over the level recorded in 2020. The impact of online shopping on sales tax revenue grew in 2018 when a U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowed taxes to be collected on the receiving end of online sales instead of where the products were shipped from. “It’s a game-changer,” Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden said. “The sales tax now is applied to the receiving address, not the shipping address. Previously, when you went online [in New York] and you ordered your sneakers and it came from someplace like Philadelphia, there was no sales tax. But if you went to the mall or Walmart, there would be sales tax. ..." Groden said, “When you throw in the pandemic, for many months the malls [were] closed. But the federal stimulus money was being pushed out to stimulate the economy. So people still bought their sneakers; they just went online to do it. They did more shopping and they did it online. ...” Groden noted that sales tax is the county’s single-largest revenue stream. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Jeanette Wolfberg is reporting for The Columbia Paper public school enrollment in Columbia County has fallen to its lowest level in more than 40 years. But the decline is in line with the reduction in the total county population under the age of 18. THE county’s six school districts counted 6,267 enrolled students for the 2020-21 school year, 3.9 percent lower than the enrollment of 6,521 during the previous year. The overall enrollment countywide is 44.5 percent less than the 12,127 students enrolled during the 1976-77 school year, the first school year included in the state Education Department’s current public data set. Enrollment in the Columbia County schools declined every year since 1997-98. Between 2010 and 2020, the county population under age 18 dropped by 16.3 percent. That’s almost as much as the loss of enrollment between 2009-10 and 2019-20 of 17.4 percent. The state defines school enrollment for a year as the number of students counted in October. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

 MidHudson News is reporting at a news conference in Kingston on Mon., Feb. 7, Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said there is currently an interview process taking place to name a new sheriff for Dutchess County. Sheriff Butch Anderson died in September and Undersheriff Kirk Imperati, a registered Republican, was named Acting County Sheriff. Dutchess County Sheriff’s Deputy Adrienne Licari is currently being vetted for the position. Licari, a Democrat, is the daughter of Wappinger Democratic Committee Chairperson Robin Licari. “We have individuals that are being interviewed,” said Hochul.  “There’s a process — very strong vetting — background vetting that goes on and we interview people,” she added. Hochul explained that she recommends a candidate to the Senate for approval. "We want to make sure there is someone who has permanent authority in that place as soon as possible, so the process is very much ongoing," Hochul said. Just last week, Republican Imperati announced he would run for sheriff in the upcoming election. Imperati was interviewed to be appointed with Hochul’s staff in November. He said, “I told them that I am not a political person and I am willing to help everyone.” He said he would appreciate it if the governor allowed him to remain in the position until the voters decide who they want to fill the position in November. Read the full story at MidHudsonNews [dot] com.

Today's daily news update.

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.

Joshua Solomon reports in the Times Union that Gov. Kathy Hochul is proposing a subsidy for farmers, so they can pay there workers in the same way that grocery store employees are compensated. Currently, most workers in New York get overtime pay after 40 hours, but farmworkers do not receive extra wages until they reach 60 hours of work. Last month the state's Farm Laborer Wage Board voted to slowly lower the threshold for overtime from 60 to 40 hours over the course of a decade. Farmers claim they do not have enough money to pay workers for the hours they are employed, and faced with Hochul's subsidy proposal claim they would not be able to make it to the end of the tax year for reimbursement. "While we appreciate the governor's proposal, we hope to continue the conversation with her to find the best possible outcome," New York Farm Bureau spokesman Steve Ammerman said in an email. "Ultimately, we are asking for her to maintain the 60-hour threshold so a tax credit would not be needed." Those standing up for the right's of workers have a different view. "The Department of Labor must prevent another generation of workers from suffering by accepting the wage board’s recommendation, and with Gov. Hochul’s dollar-for-dollar refundable tax credit, there is no reason that the overtime threshold cannot be lowered to 40 hours in 2024, eradicating this racist Jim Crow policy once and for all," New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna Lieberman said in a statement. Hochul's office says the subsidy would cost taxpayers $130 million annually. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Nick Reisman reports for New York State of Politics that 84 Assemblymembers and 39 State Senators are backing a bill to boost wages for home care workers. There are 12 Republicans on that list, making it one of the most bipartisan proposals in Albany. “There is a real shortage of home care workers because more and more people can't go into that line of work," said Assemblyperson Richard Gottfried, the lead sponsor of the legislation. "We need to enact fair pay for home care so home care workers can be adequately paid, so people can get the care they need without either having to go into a nursing home or forcing a member of the family to give up their career.” Gov. Kathy Hochul raised the issue in her State of the State address last month, so the bill should see little resistance this year. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Today's daily news update.

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Natasha Vaughn-Holdridge is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media some parents of students enrolled in the Ichabod Crane Central School District are threatening to sue Superintendent Suzanne Guntlow for following the state mask requirement. Several people who addressed the board during its February 1 public meeting spoke about the legal action they plan to take. “The papers that were served basically are indicating the possibility of a legal action...,” Guntlow said. “And we as always would work with our school attorneys to respond to any claim, which we feel has absolutely no merit.” School districts across the state have been advised to follow the guidelines issued by the state Education Department until the appeal of a court-ordered stay is resolved, Guntlow said. “I know that there’s individuals who are very vocal that want us to discontinue the mask wearing, but its not a local decision. Unfortunately for every person that wants to remove the masks there’s another person that wants us to continue that practice,” she said. Several of the public who spoke during the meeting were members of Unmask Ichabod Crane, a Facebook group started by Darrick Williams. Williams, at the meeting last week, said he did not start the group to cause turmoil. Instead, he said, it was started for concerned parents who feel masks are a health issue, whether mentally or physically. Several speakers threatened to sue Guntlow personally if she did not reject the state-required mask policy. “In my opinion, this is child abuse, whether you agree or not at this point doesn’t matter,” parent Rick Lawrence said at the meeting. Another parent, Krishna Culver, said, “I’m tired of the rhetoric, I’m tired of hearing about all of the clinics that you’re offering to 5-11-year-olds,” Culver said. “Anyone in our community has a doctor and they can go get vaccinated if they want to and they can bring their child. It is not your job to be giving us this information and I would like it to stop. ...” Jessica Brown accused Guntlow of violating her oath of office and the constitutions of New York and the United States. “Unmask our children now,” Brown said. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Nick Reisman is reporting for State of Politics in his bid for the Democratic nomination for governor, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams was endorsed February 4, by the progressive nonprofit Citizen Action. Williams said he believes the endorsement, in addition to other support nnounced last week, will help build some momentum behind his campaign in advance of the state Democratic convention, which begins February 16. "I believe people are just now starting to begin, over the next four to eight weeks, starting to pay attention to this race, so getting this momentum at this moment in time couldn't be a better time period," Williams said. "It's going to begin to send a message of a very real alternative to the way things have been operating for a long time." Williams is challenging incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul for the Democratic nomination. Hochul also faces a challenge from U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi. The party primary is scheduled for June. Citizen Action New York President Ivette Alfonso said, "We really feel that it's important that we have someone in office who really champions those values and is not beholden to the real estate interests, to the pharmaceuticals, to the hedge funds and really put forth the voice of the working class people in this state." Williams last challenged Hochul in a primary for lieutenant governor in 2018. He has since been elected New York City public advocate; Hochul was elevated to the governor's office in August. Williams is pledging to make the state more equitable and address issues ranging from climate change to criminal justice. "We really have to lean into a vision of who we have to vote for," Williams said. "I keep hearing people want to go back to normal from before the pandemic. Normal didn't work for most New Yorkers, so what I want most New Yorkers to realize is we can't go back to normal. We shouldn't go back to normal." Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.