Noah Eckstein is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media a local law intended to protect tenants from evictions without cause was rejected December 21, by the Hudson Common Council in a 5 to 5 tie. The vote was a shock to renters in the community, many of whom were hoping the law would cap rent increases at 5 percent. An earlier version of the Good Cause eviction law was approved by the council in September on a vote of 8 to 0. But 1st Ward Alderperson Rebecca Wolff argued that Mayor Kamal Johnson should veto the bill because it was missing key protections such as a guarantee that renters would not be displaced if a property owner chose to sell. The bill was vetoed in October. Wolff said, “Hindsight being 20/20, I wouldn’t have suggested the amendment." Further delays by the city's former council, Jeff Baker, and Council President Tom DePietro's failure to reintroduce the bill soon enough, caused it to languish, Wolff said. DePietro said he will make sure the Council gets back to the legislation in January. Claire Cousin, president of the board of Hudson/Catskill Housing Coalition, said, “The people who sit on the Council don’t represent the people in their district. They represent self-interest. I’m not surprised, but I’m very disappointed." Disheartened by the outcome, Second Ward Alderperson Tiffany Garriga said, “We have seen people in the city suffer for years. People are losing their houses and this law would have made it fair.” Third Ward representative Ryan Wallace and 4th Ward representative John Rosenthal said they voted against the measure over fears that property owners would sue the city. Voting "no" were Dominic Merante, Jane Trombley, Eileen Halloran, Rosenthal and Wallace. Those voting in favor of the measure were Dewan Sarowar, Malachi Walker, Wolff, Garriga and DePietro. Shershah Mizan abstained. Note: DePietro and Johnson are active on-air volunteer programmers at WGXC. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Bernadette Hogan and Nolan Hicks report in the New York Post that New York shattered its record of new COVID-19 cases by over 10,000 Dec. 23, announcing over 38,000 positive coronavirus cases. The fast-spreading Omicron variant of coronavirus is believed to be the cause of the record. The day before the state announced 28,924 new cases. "We are experiencing the winter surge, and numbers are expected to rise. You can also expect to reduce your chance of severe illness from COVID-19 if you get vaccinated and if you get the booster,” said Gov. Kathy Hochul in a statement. Another 63 New Yorkers also died from COVID-19, officials announced Dec. 23. Locally, Columbia County announced 69 new cases Dec. 23, and Greene County announced 86 more cases and another death. The only good news: Rensselaer County officials announced on social media that they received 70,000 KN95 masks from New York State for distribution throughout the county. That comes after Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Dec. 20 a mass mask distribution throughout the state, and funds for counties to distribute them and enforce the current mask mandate. Read more about this story in the New York Post.

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation December 23, announced that Roe-Jan Brewing Company in Hillsdale is one of nine projects and one individual being recognized with a 2021 New York State Preservation Award for their efforts to preserve the state’s history. Roe-Jan Brewing is being recognized for Excellence in Historic Rehabilitation for the adaptive reuse of the former Buckley Store building. Built in 1851, the building sat vacant for a time before it was rehabilitated into a craft brewery and restaurant with the help of Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits. Other recipients include the Wethersfield estate in Amenia, Dutchess County; Gloversville Public Library in Fulton County; Grant Cottage State Historic Site in Saratoga County; Building B at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in Brookyn; Point O'Woods historic district on Fire Island, Suffolk County; the Clinton Avenue Rowhouses in Albany; the Kreiner Malt House and Grain Elevator and Northland Corridor Redevelopment project, both in Buffalo; and Lucy Rockefeller Waletzky. State Parks Commissioner Erik Kulleseid said, "The diversity of the projects being recognized demonstrates that preservation begins with passionate local individuals expanding their advocacy into productive partnerships." Read more at parks [dot] ny [dot] org.

Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Capital Region Independent Media the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk school district inducted 18 former students into the district's Athletic Hall of Fame on December 18. The Hall of Fame was created three years ago to honor both athletes and coaches who have had an impact on the district. “We started this before the pandemic in 2018 and then we had another class in 2019,” said teacher and coach Bob Dorrance before the ceremony. A committee of six former coaches and athletic administrators from Ravena review lists of former players and coaches to choose the cream of the crop. Of the 18 2021 inductees, four were brothers from the Baranska family, each earning recognition in sports as diverse as wrestling, football, track and basketball. Two of the inductees are coaches and 16 were athletes, spanning the years 1953 to 2006. Four families had multiple inductees, the Baranska, Conners, Sinnigen and Stott families. Gary VanDerzee was one of two coaches inducted. He has coached five sports at RCS — football, wrestling, bowling, baseball and outdoor track. He also served as RCS athletic director from 1999 to 2005. Coach Bruce Stott was also inducted into the Hall of Fame for his work with the football, boys’ and girls’ basketball, and softball teams. Read the full story in The Ravena News-Herald.

Today's daily news update.

Diane Valden reports in the Columbia Paper that Columbia County District Attorney Paul Czajka will not present a beating case involving a Columbia County Sheriff's Deputy to the grand jury again after Columbia County Judge Richard Koweek dismissed several charges against the four defendants on Dec. 10. Czajka could have appealed the judge’s decision or presented the case to the grand jury again. Instead, he will go to trial with far fewer, and lesser, charges. Koweek dismissed second degree gang assault charges against all four defendants, and some other charges after four people beat Harold Handy of Kinderhook to near-death at the home of a sheriff's deputy on July 5, 2020. The judge said there was insufficient evidence for the gang assault charges against former Valatie gym owner Alex Rosenstrach, 38; County Sheriff's Deputy Kelly Briscoe Rosenstrach, 34; IRS law enforcement agent Bryan Haag, 37, and Cory Gaylord, 31, a contractor. Handy was hospitalized for two days and needed two surgeries because of the beating he took at the home of the Rosenstrachs on County Route 21. He had a large hematoma over his left eye, and a broken orbital bone and one of the surgeries was to put a "plate" to cover the area where the operation was performed, according to the judge's decision. Pretrial hearings on the few remaining charges will be held over two days starting April 4, 2022 at 9:15 a.m. Read more about this story in the Columbia Paper.

Porcupine Soup reports that State Police are warning local seniors about a "“grandparents scam” on phone calls recently. Scammers phone claiming that someone’s grandchild or other relative has been arrested and a bail as high as $30,000 needs to be paid immediately to get them out. In Chatham, the victims left $12,000 outside of their house to be picked up by a “courier.” In another case, state police say the callers got the victims to send payments of cash through the mail hidden inside old magazines. They calls also have claimed relatives are in serious accidents. Any phone request for cash should be treated skeptically, police say, first with a pause to figure things out, and make calls to other relatives to confirm any details. Seniors should also phone the police for help if they are unsure about the call. Police also warn to never send cash through the mail or buy pre-paid debit cards or gift cards to send money to someone requesting it by phone. Read more about this story at Porcupine Soup .

Cloey Callahan reports in the Times Union about the obituary that went viral across the nation this week that was written by a man from Prattsville, in Greene County. Andy Corren submitted electronically the obituary from the Fellow Mountain Café in Hunter to the Fayetteville Observer about his mother Renay Mandel Corren. “A plus-sized Jewish lady redneck died in El Paso on Saturday,” the obituary began, hinting at what was to come. “Renay lied a lot,” a later section read. “But on the plus side, Renay didn’t cook, she didn’t clean, and she was lousy with money, too.” The obituary also praised his mother for “dyeing her red roots, weekly manicures, dirty jokes, pier fishing, rolling joints and buying dirty magazines,” In a few days, the obituary had been shared, quoted, and liked by thousands of people all over the country. “How I write comes from a centered, daily practice,” said Corren, who described himself in the obit as his mother’s “favorite son, the gay one who writes catty obituaries in his spare time.” Corren said he doubted that the newspaper would publish the obituary, and did not think it would go viral. He had to go to Hunter to send the obituary because of the lack of internet service in Prattsville. “I lived there during the dark days of the pandemic until now,” Corren said of Prattsville. “It’s been a tremendous blessing in my life. I love Greene County.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Today's daily headlines.

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Natasha Vaughn-Holdridge is reporting for Columbia-Greene the Hudson Board of Education Tue., Dec. 21, announced the appointment of Lisamarie Spindler as the district's new superintendent. Spindler, 43, succeeds Maria L. Suttmeier, who will retire in January after 23 years with the Hudson City School District, the last 10 as superintendent. Spindler said, “I am excited to build upon the school district’s mission and vision and look forward to meeting our scholars, staff and community members and getting to work.” Spindler previously served as assistant superintendent of finance at the Newburgh Enlarged City School District, and the assistant superintendent of curriculum and a kindergarten through fifth grade principal in Newburgh. Before that she was employed by the Warwick Valley Central School District and the Monroe-Woodbury Central School District, both in Orange County. Hudson City School District Human Resources Manager Rachel Rissetto said Spindler will be paid an annual salary of $185,000. No other contractual details were made public. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Nick Reisman is reporting for State of Politics the labor union that represents correction officers in New York on Wed, Dec, 22, called on state prison officials to either temporarily suspend visitations or put stricter rules in place as the number of COVID-19 cases surges statewide. The union has proposed requiring visitors and vendors to show either proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test. Gov. Kathy Hochul December 22, announced that more than 28,000 people in New York had tested positive for the virus during the most recent 24-hour period, a new record daily total, up from 20,000 on each of the previous three days. Officials are watching to see if the more contagious omicron variant will result in a similar increase in hospitalizations. Prisons, like any congregate setting, have seen the virus spread quickly during the nearly two years of the pandemic. More than 7,000 members of the New York State Correctional Officers PBA have tested positive for the virus since the start of the pandemic, as have 7,995 incarcerated people. Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.

Brendan J. Lyons is reporting for the Times Union the Rensselaer County Legislature December 21 voted to give Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin a $20,000 annual salary increase, just three weeks after being arrested and indicted on charges that he misused campaign funds and falsified campaign filings. Democratic county Legislator Cynthia B. Doran of Troy was one of four lawmakers to vote against the package of raises for McLaughlin and dozens of other county employees. She said the paperwork with the details of the pay hikes had been shared with legislators one hour before the meeting. Doran said that Michael E. Stammel, chairman of the Legislature, defended the raise for McLaughlin, whose annual salary of $121,300 will now increase to $142,000. "I think the county executive and his operatives, ... have brought a bad name to the county, and we are looked upon as being possibly a bit corrupt," Doran said. Peter Grimm, the Legislature's Democratic minority leader said, "It’s interesting that Mike Stammel, who is also being investigated, introduced and sponsored a bill that would give the county executive — who has been arrested for (alleged) criminal behavior — such a raise. It’s just defining the corruption that’s here." Stammel's own conduct is one area of focus in an unrelated investigation of alleged ballot fraud in the November election. Grimm said a second resolution, which would have given McLaughlin and other elected officials in the county automatic 2 percent annual raises, was withdrawn after he questioned whether it was legal for the lawmakers to vote to raise their own salaries. McLaughlin, a Republican, has been indicted on two felony counts, grand larceny and offering a false instrument for filing. His second term begins in January. Under state law, McLaughlin would have to leave office if he's convicted of a felony. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Today's daily news update.

Spectrum News reports that Rep. Antonio Delgado has tested positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 21. On social media, Delgado wrote he is "currently experiencing mild symptoms," and that, "I'm grateful for the protection of a safe and effective vaccine and booster and encourage all who are able to get both." Several other Congresspeople and Senators including Rep. Jason Crow (D - Colo.), and Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D - Mass.) and Cory Booker (D - N.J.) have tested positive recently. Read more about this story at Spectrum News.

Natasha Vaughn-Holdridge reports for Columbia-Greene Media that Columbia County is currently recording near-record numbers of hospitalizations for COVID-19 cases. “We have seen the case numbers increasing over the last six weeks,” Columbia Memorial Hospital spokesperson Bill VanSlyke said Tuesday. “So what’s occurring nationally is in our community as well.” The hospital currently has 26 COVID-19 cases. “We had some days in the 30s back in January, February, but this is the highest since last winter,” Columbia County Department of Health Director Jack Mabb said. In January 2021 Columbia County has its highest numbers of hospitalizations with 36. “Interestingly enough, nine of the 26 are vaccinated people,” Mabb said. “I think there’s one individual under 60, but they’re all pretty elderly. We have one vaccinated individual in the ICU. He’s vaccinated but he’s got a lot of comorbidities.” Finding a booster shot in Columbia County is getting more difficult. “This morning we had a run on people who wanted boosters,” Mabb said. “It’s clear that there’s a certain urgency for them, they want that booster now and the assumption has to be that they’ll have some sort of immunity, which they would to some degree, improved immunity by Christmas time. I think that people are definitely hearing that information coming out of Washington.” Local officials have not confirmed any cases of the new Omicron variant of COVID-19, but officials believe it is here. “We haven’t gotten any direct word from any laboratory that we have the new variant here,” Mabb said. “But, given that they are now claiming that it’s 75 percent of the cases out there, and that New York City is a hot bed for it, I think you have to assume it’s migrated its way up here.” The Omicron variant seems more easily transferred, but it was only discovered less than a month ago, and scientists continue to study results. Columbia County officials have not announced any new policies, or changes in policies, in the face of the rising case counts. Meanwhile, across the Hudson River in Greene County, officials are avaoiding taking efforts to slow the spread. Previously, Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden said Dec. 13 that Greene County would not enforce the new state mask mandate. He said it was because the state was not providing money to enforce the mandate. But now that Gov. Kathy Hochul is giving counties millions of dollars to help, Greene County Legislature Chairman Patrick Linger is still letting Greene County citizens catch a deadly disease rather than take any efforts to stop it. “If they’re going to make things like PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) available like we had in the beginning of the pandemic where counties were handing it out, we’d certainly take that and give it out to our businesses,” he said. “But if this is a ploy to get people to go out there and enforce this at the county level, the resources just aren’t available. That doesn’t translate to money, that translates to people.” Hochul's offer does include masks for counties, and people can be hired with money. “We’re putting $65 million on the table to help counties associate with the costs for the protocols we put in place,” Hochul said in a press conference Dec. 20. “I’m ensuring there’s at least $1 million available for the small counties and up to $2 million for the larger counties. They will be able to use this for creative ways, either for enforcement, or masks, or signs. We want to make sure that we pick up the costs for this.” Linger also complained about a lack of testing. “I would love to run a vaccine booster clinic once a week or testing three of four days a week,” Linger said. “Those are all good things that we’d like to be able to do, but we don’t have the staffing for it.” President Joe Biden and Hochul have both recently announced funding for testing. Hochul announced 10 million tests for New Yorkers Dec. 20, and 26 million more on Dec. 22. That's because COVID-19 case counts are climbing everywhere. Albany County, for instance, reported 299 more cases on Dec. 22, up from 218 on Dec. 21, and some Albany schools shifted to remote learning this week. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Patricia R. Doxsey reports in the Daily Freeman that Ulster County legislators voted 16-6 Dec. 21 against a resolution that would have put the Ulster County Legislature on record opposing “COVID-19 vaccine mandates by any local, state or federal government that affects citizens’ rights to make their own health care choices.” Legislators Mary Wawro and Laura Petit sponsored the resolution. Currently, New York requires vaccines to attend school for Diphtheria and Tetanus; Hepatitis B; Measles, Mumps and Rubella; Polio; and Chickenpox. “This is about risk of harm to others,” said Eve Walter, D-New Paltz, who is an epidemiologist and senior research scientist with The Institute For Family Health. “The only way we are going to eradicate this virus is if we have full vaccination or close to full vaccination.... If we ever want to see this virus eradicated, we have to be OK with requiring everyone to be vaccinated,” she said. Legislators heard similar arguments about infringing on individual freedoms when the Ulster County Legislature voted to ban smoking in restaurants, Legislature Chairman David Donaldson said. Besides Wawro and Petit, other voting for the resolution against vaccine mandates included Thomas Corcoran, Craig Lopez, Kevin Roberts, and Herbet Litts. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Today's daily headlines.

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William J. Kemble is reporting for the Daily Freeman the members of the Saugerties Town Board are asking residents to turn out for a new public hearing on December 29, and comment on whether the town should opt out of a state law permitting cannabis retail businesses and on-site consumption sites. Supervisor Fred Costello said the hearing was set after some board members said they wanted to make sure comments on the cannabis law were specific. “There is consensus among the board members to hear from people specifically on the question of opting out,” Costello said. During a November public hearing on where cannabis establishments would be allowed if the town does not opt out, only a few people spoke; most in opposition to sales do support sales for medical cannabis. A December 15, session drew about a dozen speakers, with everyone against allowing cannabis lounges. One person said they would be less opposed to retail sales than lounges. Costello said a vote on opting out could still occur following the hearing next week, which is taking place only two days in advance of the state deadline for board action. Costello noted that board members have not indicated whether they would vote to opt out of the state law and that his position has evolved during the past two hearings. Many of the concerns that emerged at the previous hearing focused on the perception that cannabis sales sites would change the community character. “Do you really want to be known as a destination for pot?” resident Suzanne VanWagenen said. “Do we really want to take down our ‘Welcome to Friendly Saugerties’ signs and replace them with ‘Let’s Get Stoned in Saugerties’ signs?" Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.