Danny Jin reports in The Berkshire Eagle that 15 Afghan evacuees have moved into Berkshire County, and another 16 more are coming by the end of January. Jewish Family Services of Western Massachusetts is ready, having resettled many Jewish refugees from the former Soviet Union in Berkshire County during the 1980s and 1990s. And Jewish Family Services teamed with elected officials and community partners in 2016 to resettle refugees from Syria and Iraq. Those plans were scuttled in 2017 when President Donald Trump cut refugee admissions and banned Syrian refugees from entering the U.S. for several months. “We were about to launch a robust Berkshires program when the presidential administration changed, and the immigration policies changed,” said Maxine Stein, president and CEO of Jewish Family Services of Western Massachusetts. “And then the situation in Afghanistan pops up, but even before that we already had started engaging in the hopes that the Berkshires might be interested in trying this again.” But there is already an affordable housing shortage in Western Massachusetts and throughout the Hudson Valley. Jewish Family Services continues to look for affordable three-bedroom apartments or larger, and some Afghan evacuees will stay temporarily at a home in Williamstown through June, while other families will have permanent housing in the Pittsfield area. The group is working with the AlKhalil Islamic Center in Pittsfield, and attempting to integrate the newcomers into the community. “You can go into a community and say, ‘We are resettling here,’ but that’s not the way that we want to do it,” said Maxine Stein, president and CEO of Jewish Family Services of Western Massachusetts. “We really want to engage with the community and make sure it is not just your agenda but their agenda as well.” Read more about this story in The Berkshire Eagle.

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Natasha Vaughn-Holdridge is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media Columbia Memorial Health in Hudson is again diverting some non-emergency patients to other medical facilities as the number of COVID-related cases grows in the area, hospital spokesperson Bill Van Slyke said December 28. The diversions are used as a way to ease the strain on hospital services. The Emergency Department at CMH is one of the busiest emergency care centers in the Hudson Valley. “Like hospitals nearly everywhere, we are seeing increased volumes of COVID and non-COVID illnesses,” Van Slyke said. “The occasional use of diversion helps us better balance patient load across our system and the region. We reassess the need for diversion every four hours.' Columbia Memorial has 26 COVID-19 in-patients as of Tuesday morning, Van Slyke said. The Columbia County Department of Health reported 13 of the county’s 26 COVID hospitalizations are at CMH. “It’s very important to note that nearly all of our COVID positive in-patients are unvaccinated,” Van Slyke said. He encouraged everyone eligible in the community, to get fully vaccinated as soon as possible. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 71.2 percent of Columbia County residents are fully vaccinated. In Greene County, 59.7 percent of all residents are fully vaccinated. With the diversion protocol in place, Columbia Memorial is seeing patients in person at the Catskill and Valatie rapid care centers. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

The Town of Catskill Board voted 3-1 to opt-out of cannabis lounges on Dec. 29. Here is how the vote went, from WGXC's live webstream of the Catskill Town meeting. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO EXCERPT OF MEETING. The vote came after an hour of a public hearing, with almost all citizens in support of cannabis in Catskill. The board previously decided to allow retail sales in the Town of Catskill. Towns and villages in New York have only until Dec. 31 to opt out of retail sales and/or cannabis lounges, after the state made cannabis legal last April. So far in Greene County, Ashland, Cairo, the Town and Village of Hunter, Jewett, Prattsville, and Windham have opted out of both retail sales and cannabis lounges, according to the Rockefeller Institute of Government website tracking the issue. Everywhere else, cannabis sales will be allowed, unless the town votes before the new year. In Columbia County, the Village of Chatham, Clermont, the Village of Kinderhook, and Livingston have opted out of both. Ancram, Copake, the Town of Kinderhook, and the Village of Valatie will allow retail sales, but not lounges. Everywhere else in Columbia County will allow both, unless a town takes action before the new year.

Sarah Taddeo is reporting for lohud [dot] com the minimum wage in New York will increase on December 31. Minimum wage workers in Westchester County and in Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island will see their wages increase to $15 an hour in the new year, a rate equal to workers employed by large firms in New York City, who have been making $15 an hour since the end of 2018. Fast food workers statewide also make $15 an hour, regardless of location. Workers in the rest of the state will see an increase in their hourly rate to $13.20, a 70-cent raise from the current rate of $12.50, on December 31. The state minimum wage package was passed in 2016 by the state Legislature and then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo with a five-year rising scale of wages, staggered across the state based on location. Last year, some lawmakers and business groups condemned the state’s decision to raise the minimum wage as scheduled, saying it would harm struggling businesses. The state argued that low-wage workers were some of the hardest hit in 2020, particularly in the hospitality and retail sectors, and therefore they should receive a bump in pay. This year, New York’s Division of the Budget again found that the low-wage sector was the most severely impacted by the pandemic. Nationally, President Joe Biden signed an executive order in April, requiring a $15 an hour minimum wage for federal contractors beginning January 30, 2022. Read the full story at lohud [dot] com.

Luke Parsnow is reporting for New York State of Politics $78 million in federal funds are now available for New York communities to use in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Kathy Hochul's office announced December 29. The money comes from the Community Development Block Grant, a part of the CARES Act passed by Congress in early 2021. The federal program, administered by New York State Homes and Community Renewal, is now accepting applications to help eligible communities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus. Three recently approved awards will provide $2.8 million for upgrades at senior centers in the town of Somers in Westchester County, the town of Tonawanda in Erie County and the town of Pittsford in Monroe County. Hochul said in a statement, "Mayors, communities, and nonprofits tell us your vision, tell us where you believe the vulnerabilities are greatest in your communities, wherever you think you need the extra help. These additional funds will help, and we will get through this together." Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.

Today's daily news update.

Steve Hughes reports in the Times Union that Albany County announced 471 new coronavirus cases Dec. 29, the largest single-day count since the pandemic began. And eight more residents were hospitalized because of coronavirus, and one more died. A woman in her 60s became the 470th death in Albany County. Currently 58 residents are hospitalized there, with seven are in intensive care. The last time Albany County had this many new cases was Jan. 12, when they recorded 351 cases. That was a time when only the elderly and health-care workers were eligible for vaccinations. “We know vaccinations and boosters are doing their jobs in preventing many serious illnesses and hospitalizations caused by the virus, and the initial evidence is showing that the omicron variant is comparatively less dangerous than delta," Albany County Executive Dan McCoy said. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

William J. Kemble reports for the Daily Freeman that the seven municipalities that take drinking water from the Hudson River want to be included in discussions about the discharge of muddy water from Ashokan Reservoir into the Lower Esopus Creek. Esopus, Lloyd, Hyde Park, the town and city of Poughkeepsie, and the town and village of Rhinebeck are known as the Hudson 7, and want to be full members of Ashokan Releases Working Group, which meets monthly to discuss problems associated with the discharged water. But an attorney for New York City Department of Environmental Protection, which operates the reservoir, opposes allowing a representative on the board. “It’s really the DEP’s lawyer who’s not having any of it,” said Shannon Harris, a Hudson 7 representative from Esopus. The Ashokan Releases Working Group includes representatives from Lower Esopus Creek municipalities, Ulster County, Riverkeeper, the Hurley-based Farm Hub, the DEP, the state Department of Environmental Conservation, and the state Department of Health. The issue the towns want to address is the 600 million gallons of turbid, muddy water per day from the reservoir into the creek that the DEP has state permission to discharge. Village of Rhinebeck Mayor Gary Bassett said that is impacting the drinking water there. “When the turbidity exceeds a certain level, we have to shut off two of our pumps because they can’t handle it,” he said. “That slows down the processing of water, and then we also have an increase in the amount of our waste product that we have to deal with to haul away.” State Senator Michelle Hinchey, a Democrat based in Saugerties, agrees that the municipalities should be included. “Our watershed communities and the local organizations that are directly impacted by the suggestions and outcomes of this working group should have every opportunity to participate in the working group,” Hichney said in an email. “We’re hopeful that the working group will expand its membership to ensure that all voices are at the table….” Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Danny Jin reports in The Berkshire Eagle that Berkshire County residents are being asked to fill out a survey about whether they would use an on-demand ride-sharing service if it were reasonably priced and publicly operated. Berkshire Regional Planning Commission is working with Tate Coleman, who chairs the Great Barrington Regional Transportation Advisory Committee, about new transportation options in the western Massachusetts county. “These are not exactly the same but similar to a shared-ride Uber or Lyft service, but the idea is it would be a lot more affordable, more convenient and more flexible,” Coleman said. Berkshire County currently has some bus service. The survey questions ask if Berkshire residents would pay $0, $1.55, $3 or $5 for a one-way trip across two towns or fewer, and if they would pay $0, $4, $8 or $10 for a one-way trip across three or more towns. So far, 2,000 people have filled out the survey at berkshiretransitsurvey.com, which is available through late January. “This is most certainly still in the relatively early planning stages,” Coleman said. “We’re not exactly sure what a pilot would look like at this point, and that’s why we’re collecting the data.” Read more about this story in The Berkshire Eagle.

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Shaniece Holmes-Brown reports in the Times Union that Albany County officials announced Dec. 28 277 new coronavirus cases there, almost double the 141 reported on Dec. 27. That comes as 13.4 percent of New Yorkers tested positive for coronavirus. Locally, the test results are a little better, but not much. The seven-day average test positivity rate is at 12.9 percent in Greene County, 11.4 percent in Columbia County, and 9.9 percent in Albany County. There, Albany County Health Commissioner Dr. Elizabeth Whalen confirmed that "(w)e are seeing a sharp uptick in cases likely due to the highly transmissible omicron variant.... It is therefore likely that the steep upward trajectory of cases will continue through the first few weeks of January and possibly beyond that," she said. Albany County Executive Dan McCoy reported that of the 61 people hospitalized Dec. 28 with the virus, 59 percent were not vaccinated. “We know that getting the shot helps fight COVID-19 and if there are breakthrough cases, symptoms are often less severe and may keep you out of the hospital,” McCoy said. Meanwhile, Columbia County reported 44 new COVID-19 cases and one more death Dec. 27, and 103 more cases on Dec. 28. Greene County reported 132 more cases on Dec. 27, and 62 new cases and one more death on Dec. 28. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Spectrum News and the Associated Press are reporting former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will not face criminal charges based on allegations of unwanted kissing by two women, one of them a state trooper assigned to his detail, Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah said December 28. Rocah said that while there was evidence to conclude the conduct alleged by the women did occur, it did not merit charges. “In both instances, my office has determined that, although the allegations and witnesses were credible, and the conduct concerning, we cannot pursue criminal charges due to the statutory requirements of the criminal laws of New York,” Rocah said in a statement. The alleged Westchester County incident involving the trooper happened at Cuomo’s home in Mount Kisco, according to the DA’s office. The trooper told investigators that after she asked the governor if he needed anything, he responded by asking her if he could kiss her. The trooper was concerned about what would happen if she said "no," so she answered, “Sure.” In the other incident, Cuomo was accused of greeting the woman by grabbing her arm, pulling her toward him and kissing her on the cheek while they attended an event at White Plains High School, according to the DA’s office. Last week, a Long Island prosecutor said Cuomo would not be charged criminally after the same trooper said she felt “completely violated” by his unwanted touching at an event at Belmont Park in September 2019. Acting Nassau County District Attorney Joyce Smith said the allegations were credible and troubling but not criminal under state law. A report in August by Attorney General Letitia James chronicled accusations from 11 women against Cuomo. The accusations led to Cuomo's resignation, but he has attacked the findings as biased and inaccurate. Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.

The Daily Freeman is reporting the Woodstock Farm Sanctuary recently rescued 29 animals from a farm in Pennsylvania. The organization said the situation was one of extreme neglect and animal hoarding. Included in the rescue was one cow, two ducks, two goats, four geese and 20 chickens, according to the High Falls-based sanctuary. The Woodstock group worked with other rescuers and sanctuaries, including the Lancaster [Pennsylvania] Farm Sanctuary, which was at the scene for more than a week trying to place hundreds of animals in safe, forever homes. The surviving animals had been exposed to cold weather, were without food and water and were surrounded by dead animals. Woodstock Farm Sanctuary Director Hervé Breuil said in a statement, “We weren’t planning on doing another rescue this year, but when I got the call from Lancaster Farm Sanctuary that they needed help with this huge neglect case with hundreds of animals, we couldn’t say ‘no.' These new residents strain our resources, which are already tight due to the pandemic, but our mission is to save the lives of farm animals and we had to step up.” The Woodstock team provided medical care to the rescued animals over the Christmas weekend. Many of the animals were suffering from infections and diseases, and malnourished from long-term neglect. The rescued cow is now housed at the Cornell Animal Hospital in Ithaca, while the other 28 rescued animals are in residence at the sanctuary in High Falls. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

WRGB-Albany is reporting Gov. Kathy Hochul's executive order issued over the weekend will allow state lawmakers to meet virtually through January 15. At the same time, the order leaves a question as to how the 2021 State-of-the-State address will be delivered. Legislation adopted in September permits public bodies to socially distance while conducting their meetings, as long as the meetings are made available to the public. That provision could impact the state of the state and the opening of the legislative session scheduled for January 5. Hochul has already discussed the possibility of a scaled-down address with a limited number of guests because of the pandemic. In her COVID briefing December 27, the governor was asked about whether she would consider extending the utility moratorium which expired last week. She said her goal was to get people back to work so that they would not need that kind of assistance. Read the full story at CBS6Albany [dot] com.

Today's daily news update.

Alexander Tin at CBS News reports that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Dec. 27 that Americans testing positive for COVID-19 without symptoms can now stop isolating after five days as long as they wear masks everywhere. Previously, the CDC wanted a ten-day quarantine after a positive test. Also, the CDC now says Americans who are fully vaccinated and boosted do not need to quarantine after an exposure to someone with COVID-19. Previously, anyone in close contact to someone with coronavirus needed to quarantine. "The Omicron variant is spreading quickly and has the potential to impact all facets of our society. CDC's updated recommendations for isolation and quarantine balance what we know about the spread of the virus and the protection provided by vaccination and booster doses. These updates ensure people can safely continue their daily lives," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a statement. Now many communities locally and across the country are seeing record numbers of cases and rising hospitalizations fueled by the new Omicron variant. "Prevention is our best option: get vaccinated, get boosted, wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas of substantial and high community transmission, and take a test before you gather," said Walensky. Read more about this story at CBS News.

Brendan J. Lyons reports in the Times Union that last week 12 members of New York's ethics commission wanted to send a letter to the state attorney general's office pushing back on that office's assertion that the panel did not issue a valid order when it voted to have former Gov. Andrew Cuomo surrender the $5.1 million that he received for his COVID-19 memoir. But the executive director of the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, Sanford Berland, refused to sign on to the letter. The controversy comes as Gov. Kathy Hochul has publicly said that the ethics panel should be disbanded and replaced by an oversight board that is not handpicked by the lawmakers it's supposed to police. Meanwhile, Richard Azzopardi, a spokesperson for Cuomo, continues to claim there were no ethical errors concerning the book. "Staff who volunteered took time off, evidencing that they were volunteering and not on state time," he claims. Read more about this story in the Times Union.