Natasha Vaughn-Holdridge reports for Columbia-Greene Media that the Copake Town Board voted unanimously Dec. 9 to block the equivalent of liquor bars for cannabis. Last month the town decided not to stop retail cannabis stores. New York legalized cannabis in April, and towns and villages have until Dec. 31 to opt-out of retail stores and/or consumption lounges. Deputy Supervisor Richard Wolf said he favored consumption lounges there, though he voted against them. “I also understand, though, that we need more information, and don’t disagree with that at all. May the same person or business obtain permits for both uses? We don’t know and where would Copake allow an on-site consumption facility to operate? As Jeanne already mentioned, we would have to make changes to the zoning law.” So next door Hillsdale will allow both dispensaries and on-site consumption sites, while Copake will only allow the retail stores. There are also currently many legal cannabis stores across the border in Massachusetts, while New York stores are not expected to be allowed to open until late 2022 or 2023. The Copake Town Board also voted Dec. 9 to create a three-person ad-hoc zoning advisory committee, to report back to the town board with recommendations about what, if any, amendments should be made to the town’s zoning code if on-site consumption locations are to be allowed within the town. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Porcupine Soup is reporting property owners statewide will soon be able to apply to the New York State Historic Preservation Office for a 25 percent tax credit to restore barns. State Senator Michelle Hinchey and Assemblymember Didi Barrett announced on December 12, that their bill to create the new tax program had been signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul. To qualify, the barn being restored must have been built before 1945 and be returned to productive use or into small businesses such as craft breweries or event spaces to support economic growth. The Historic Barn Rehabilitation Tax Credit, once a federal program, was eliminated in 2018 as a result of changes in the federal tax code. The state bill revives the tax incentive by codifying it into state Tax Law and expanding eligibility so that more historic barns may qualify. Jay DiLorenzo, President of the Preservation League of New York State, said the tax credit will be a boon to rural areas. Hinchey said in a press release, “Historic preservation is a pivotal strategy for rural revitalization, and by instituting the Historic Barn Rehabilitation Tax Credit we are making it more affordable for New Yorkers to save these beloved buildings from disrepair and explore new uses in agritourism, arts and culture.” Read the full story at porcupine soup [dot] com.

Today's daily news update.

Paul Kirby reports in the Daily Freeman that as the United States nears 800,000 deaths from COVID-19, Ulster County on Dec. 14 began distributing free COVID-19 test kits. COVID-19 cases are reaching pre-vaccine levels, and most counties are not taking any steps at all to stop the spread. Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a statewide mask mandate that began on Dec. 13, and ended a few minutes later, as county officials in Dutchess, Greene, and other counties said they would just ignore the rules, and Hochul let them. Last week, Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan declared a state of emergency there because of the rising case counts, and secured 33,000 test kits to give out to residents. Meanwhile in Columbia County, two more COVID-19 deaths were announced Dec. 13. “One of them had been on a vent for awhile, his condition was never really all that great,” Columbia County Department of Health Director Jack Mabb said. “The other one it happened kind of quick, it was an unexpected quick decline.” That is now five COVID-19 deaths in Columbia County in the first half of December. The health department is overwhelmed. “Like a lot of health departments out there, we’re kind of maxed out,” Mabb said. “When it comes to vaccination effort, we’re behind with the numbers that we pulled in over the weekend, in terms of contact tracing and calling people. What we will do is, if we get calls from somebody that’s saying a certain establishment isn’t enforcing the mask mandate, I have a few people from environmental who can go to an establishment and talk to them, educate them about the mask requirement.”

Nick Reisman reports at New York State of Politics that New York's Joint Commission on Public Ethics voted Dec. 14 to require that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo return the proceeds from his book "American Crisis" about the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier, JCOPE voted to rescind approval in 2020 for the ex-governor to write the book, because Cuomo broke his promise to not use government resources to write it. The Assembly Judiciary Committee found Cuomo used state resources to write the book, with staffers working on it while being paid by taxpayers. Cuomo attorney Jim McGuire said the former governor will challenge the vote. “JCOPE’s actions today are unconstitutional, exceed its own authority, and appear to be driven by political interests rather than the facts and the law," McGuire said. Cuomo is supposed to get $5.1 million for the book, but has not received all payments yet. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Tom Gogola reports in the Times Union that Dave LoVerde of the Friends of the Feathered and Furry Wildlife Center in Hunter wants hunters to switch to non-lead bullets and shells. The Department of Environmental Protection recently found a bald eagle with lead poisoning near the Cannonsville Reservoir dam in Delaware County. “I tested it for lead levels and the levels were off the chart,” says LoVerde, whose animal-rescue organization, founded by his late wife, Missy Runyan, has treated numerous birds of prey for lead poisoning. The American Bird Conservancy agrees it is a problem, estimating that 16 million birds a year are poisoned by lead. The birds feast on fish, waterfowl, or animal carcasses with lead fragments or pellets from hunters’ bullets and shotgun shells. LoVerde guesses this bald eagle may have fed on lead-peppered entrails left by a hunter after field-dressing an animal, or on a carcass left by state wildlife agents after killing a deer or other wounded animal. The eagle died two hours after the test, and on an X-ray the next day “you could see the specks of lead in his digestive tract.” LoVerde wants hunters and law enforcement agencies to switch from lead ammunition to copper or other metal and metal alloys that don’t have the same health impacts on animals. California already phased out the use of lead ammunition in 2019 and Rep. Ted Lieu from California introduced a bill in Congress in 2020 that would ban lead ammunition from U.S. Fish & Wildlife lands. A bill from Democratic Assemblywoman Deborah Glick in New York did not proceed to a law this year. Bill Conners, a Hudson Valley hunter and fisher, chair of the New York State Fish and Wildlife Management Board, and Legislative Vice President at the Federation of Dutchess County Fish & Game Clubs, says a switch is possible. “The bottom line for me is – I could support legislation that eventually limits the use of traditional lead ammo,” said Conners. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Today's daily headlines.

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Roger Hannigan Gilson in the Times Union looks at more of the details in the decision of Columbia County Judge Richard Koweek to dismiss most of the charges against four Columbia County residents who beat a man nearly to death in the late hours of a July 4, 2019 party in Kinderhook. Columbia County Sheriff's Deputy Kelly Rosenstrach; Alex, her husband; IRS agent Bryan Haag; and Cory Gaylord, a contractor, were indicted on multiple felonies in October 2020 after a grand jury heard evidence in the case. They were indicted on gang assault and other charges, but Koweek dismissed most of those. Columbia County District Attorney Paul Czajka said Dec. 13 that he has not decided whether to re-present the case to a new grand jury. "We're considering our options," he said. Koweek dismissed the gang assault charges because he said, the defendant, Harold Handy, was noy seriously injured. Handy spent two and a half days at Albany Medical Center with two bones in his face fractured, and a large hematoma over his left eye. But the DA's office did not present any medical records or details about an operation to have a plate inserted in his face near the fractures. Other new facts emerged in Koweek's 42-page decision. For instance, Cory Gaylord and Alex Rosenstrach both allegedly fired shots during the party while drunk. But neither has been charged with any form of attempted assault or menacing. Handy was allegedly "restrained and beaten on three occasions," but his wife was not allowed to call 911. But the partygoers did let her use her phone, checking each time what number she called. The four defendants now each face a single felony count of unlawful imprisonment, and several misdemeanor charges. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Ted Remsnyder is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media Windham town officials have chosen to place a six-month moratorium on commercial solar and wind projects as they work to craft legislation for renewable energy farms. The moratorium is focused exclusively on commercial solar and wind projects, not residential solar panels on residents’ homes. The Windham Town Board December 9, unanimously approved a local law establishing the moratorium. The ban will remain in effect through June 30. “We have no guidelines currently,” Windham Town Supervisor Thomas Hoyt said following the meeting. “With this renewable energy push, I want to be prepared. So if somebody comes with a project for our town, we have the right guidance to say it’s got to have setbacks and there’s a plan to decommission it. All of that good stuff that has to be in a solar law.” Hoyt noted that no company has approached Windham about creating a large-scale solar or wind farm, but the town wants to make sure it has legislation in place if such a project emerges. Greene County Legislator Larry Gardner said. “...[W[e’re pausing the process for anyone that wants to come in and do this.” The local law states that Windham “desires to adopt regulations that govern commercial solar-fueled electric generating facilities and commercial wind-fueled electric generating facilities.” At the public hearing on the moratorium last week, no one spoke for or against the local law. Gardner said, “This is for huge projects where people want to buy five acres and put down four acres of solar panels. There are no renewable energy facilities in the town currently, but the town wants to have guidelines in place if an energy company arrives to pitch one." Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Democratic state Sen. Brad Hoylman might not always like what his neighborhood weekly newspapers write about him, but he recognizes their importance to the community. "They criticize us routinely. They hold our feet to the fire," he said. "But they are fading. And unless we act now, I'm afraid all these newspapers are going to be out of business in short order." Hoylman and Assemblymember Carrie Woerner are backing proposals that would encourage people to subscribe to local media and have those local media organizations hire reporters by creating tax credits. The tax credits would be targeted at small media companies, those that employ fewer than 1,500 people. Local news can help constituents keep up to date on what's happening down the street. "It's really about making sure our citizenry, our residents are informed," Hoylman said. Studies have shown the death of local newspapers, and a lack of information about community events and issues has led to a rise in polarization across the country. At the same time, municipalities have measurably suffered when local news dies. "When you don't have local journalists covering local communities, it's easy to lose track of what's happening around the country," Woerner said. "It does feel to me that we are overweighted on national news and underweighted on local information."

Diane Valden is reporting for The Columbia Paper on the December 2 public hearing before the Ancram Planning Board on the pending applications to locate the Star Retreat Center on 146 acres at 2540 State Route 82. The property is owned by P & M Farms, RSG Farms and SSG Farms. The project drew a full house in-person in the town hall meeting room plus an additional 75 people on Zoom. The proposed retreat center would include the adaptive reuse of an existing residence for a five guest room inn, and the development of four separate cottages, or creek houses for overnight accommodations, including three separate buildings for associated recreational support uses on the east side of the property. On the west side of the property, the proposed development would include a glamping area with 22 individual camping structures. The inn would also have a restaurant featuring produce from the onsite organic farming operation that would include two buildings to support produce processing and equipment storage. Amenities would include massage, horseback riding, swimming, exercise and art. The project developers have petitioned the town board for a zoning amendment to permit a 13-acre portion of the property to be rezoned from Hamlet Residential to the Agriculture District. Iron Star Founder Stacey Shurgin, the president of a New York City real estate management and development company, was present and said she has been in Ancram for two years. “I came for the land,” which she found “magical and beautiful.” The questions and comments from Planning Board members varied from a note that an endangered species of cottontail rabbit lives on or near the property; a query about whether the center is going to be a year-round operation; and when the traffic study presented was done. Resident comments concerned the ability to maintain community character, concerns over increased demands for water and electricity; how the zoning changes would conflict with the town's Comprehensive Plan; the project's financial viability; the fire company's worries about the development's impact on traffic, emergency access roads and the availability of water for fire suppression; and the questionable choice of developing a resort when affordable housing is so desperately needed. The Planning Board chose to keep the public hearing open; it will possibly resume in January. Read more in The Columbia Paper.

Today's daily news update.

Ted Remsnyder reports for Columbia-Greene Media that as Greene County officials ignore the state's new mask mandate, they announced yet another local death from COVID-19. The 88th COVID-19 death in Greene County was an unidentified man in his mid-70s who had comorbidity issues and was not vaccinated. COVID-19 case counts have been rising locally, and a new variant of the virus is reportedly more easily transmitted. “All of our positive numbers have been as high as they’ve been in a year, but the few times when someone who is vaccinated gets positive, the symptoms are very mild,” Groden said. “I know a gentleman who didn’t get vaxxed and he wound up in the hospital. So if that’s your option, would you rather just have a mild case of the flu with typical flu-like symptoms, or do you want to run the risk of being in the emergency room? I guess I just don’t understand why you wouldn’t get vaxxed.” Even in the face of mounting cases, Greene County officials have not taken any actions to slow the spread besides holding vaccine and testing clinics. Greene County Administrator Groden has gone on record, saying the county will not enforce the state mask mandate that goes into effect Dec. 13, saying the county does not have the staffing to do so. Greene County Legislative Chair Patrick Linger said he needs to be explained the science of how masks work to slow transmission. “Before we take that step, I'd like some confirmation of the science involved in determining [that] reverting to this mask mandate slows a spread,” he said. Instead of taking any new action in the face of the rising numbers, county officials are seeing the local results. “We had 83 people that made COVID testing appointments the other day (Dec. 6),” Groden said. “We had 16 of those tests turn positive on us.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Michelle Del Rey is reporting for the Times Union Zephyr Teachout has dropped out of the race for Attorney General, according to a press release sent out December 12. "Our campaign for New York Attorney General has always been rooted in doing the best for New Yorkers. Attorney General Letitia James is an exceptional leader and dedicated public servant. Given her decision to seek re-election, I will be immediately suspending my own campaign," Teachout wrote in a statement. James had declared her candidacy for governor, but ended that campaign this week to pursue re-election to her post, writing on Twitter, “I have come to the conclusion that I must continue my work as attorney general. ...There are a number of important investigations and cases that are underway, and I intend to finish the job. I am running for re-election to complete the work New Yorkers elected me to do,” James wrote. Teachout, a progressive, first ran for AG in 2018 but lost to James, but won the Capitol Region in the process. Before that, she ran for governor in 2014. Former assistant United States attorney, Dan Goldman, also called off his campaign Friday in light of James’ announcement. Read the full story in the Times Union.

MidHudson News reports that the City of Newburgh wants to celebrate the one-year anniversary of an attempted takeover of the U.S. government by declaring every January 6 as “Civics Day.” On January 6 this year, an armed, angry mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, attempting to stop government officials from declaring Joe Biden president after he won more votes in the election. Several police officers and one insurrectionist died in the ensuing battle. Newburgh Mayor Torrance Harvey is also a history teacher, and he proposed the Civics Day idea. “This shall be the first day where, we, the people, celebrate our tradition gained through gained through decades of struggle, of enabling American citizens to have the right to vote, to have free elections,” he said. “We know we live in a divided nation unfortunately at the current time. We know that everything is weaponized now.” Others already celebrate a National Civics Day on October 27, the anniversary of when the Federalist Papers were first published in 1787. Read more about this story at MidHudson News.

Today's daily headlines.

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Typically, when public officials release news of interest late on a Friday, it is considered a news dump, giving the story less impact as more people aren't paying attention to the media while they enjoy their weekend. Late on Friday, Dec. 10, Columbia County Judge Richard Koweek announced he was dismissing several charges against the public servants who beat a man nearly to death during a July 4 party in Kinderhook in 2019. Tim Blydenburgh and Mike Goodwin report in the Times Union that a Columbia County sheriff's deputy and her husband, an IRS agent, and a fourth man all had four of 12 counts against them dismissed by Koweek. 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. Harold Handy, the victim, 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. But the judge said there was not enough evidence that Handy suffered serious physical injury to warrant the gang assault charges. The judge wrote, "No evidence about permanent impairment of a body organ or disfigurement or permanent scarring was received," as he also dismissed second-degree assault counts against Alex Rosenstrach and Haag. The judge also dismissed two counts against Kelly Rosenstrach for allegedly reading discovery requests that police officers have access to, but criminal defendants are not supposed to see. While another sheriff's deputy testified to the grand jury that he saw Kelly Rosenstrach looking at discovery requests, the judge wrote that "he did not know exactly what he was looking at." That comment hints at the ethical minefield the case has, with the police investigating the police. Soon after the incident went public, residents and politicians raised concerns about how the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office was handling the investigation of the Rosenstrachs with the apparent conflicts of interest. Besides Kelly Rosenstrach working as a deputy sheriff, her husband Alex Rosenstrach also donated to Republican Sheriff David Bartlett’s 2017 campaign. And the investigation got off to a rough start when Columbia County deputies told a supervisor Handy was not severely hurt and that partygoers were too drunk to be interviewed. Eventually, the State Police Investigations Unit took over the investigation. Now, the defense team is making similar ethical charges. Deputy Rosenstrach wants the judge to remove District Attorney Paul Czajka as the prosecutor because the district attorney's office and her employer, the sheriff's department, regularly work together. Rosenstrach's attorney also argued that she had testified in other cases, but Koweek rejected her request to remove the prosecutor. Pretrial hearings on the remaining charges are now scheduled to begin April 4. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Natasha Vaughn-Holdridge is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Columbia County Board of Supervisors December 8, approved the county's 2022 budget. The $170.5 million spending plan includes a 2 percent decrease in the tax levy, county Controller and Auditor Ronald Caponera said. “Combined with our taxable property values going up to $389 million, your tax rate will go down 6 percent,” Caponera said. “What does that mean? The average tax rate of $5.35 will be down from $5.69, or a 35-cents per-$1,000 savings.” Taxes will diminish by approximately $92 on an average home in the county, valued at $270,389, Caponera said. “There are no cuts in services or staff in this budget as in years before,” Caponera said. “And all the raises and everything according to the unions and non-unions is in this budget.” County elected officials will see a $2,000 increase in salary in 2022. Supervisors will now be paid $16,000, the majority and minority leaders $19,000, and the chairman of the board of supervisors will now be paid $32,000. “And we had the ability to do this,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Matt Murell said. “I mean all those years from 2010, we hadn’t really had that ability. ... I will say that I heard from both sides of the aisle and I didn’t hear anything negative from either side.” Minority Leader and New Lebanon Town Supervisor Tistrya Houghtling praised the board and unions for creating a workable budget in tough times. The full board unanimously approved the 2022 spending plan during a virtual meeting. Read more at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.