Today's daily headlines.

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

Nick Reisman reports for New York State of Politics that four local hospitals are at 10 percent capacity or less as of Nov. 26. That was the day Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order allowing state health officials to limit non-essential procedures for in-hospitals or systems with limited capacity. Hochul signed the order because a winter wave of new COVID-19 cases has hit the state, and more are expected with the arrival of the new Omicron variant. The Albany Medical Center Hospital, the Samaritan Hospital in Rensselaer County, the Saratoga Hospital, and the Delaware Valley Hospital in Delaware County now all have only ten percent of beds available. Hochul said Nov. 29 she hoped the hospitals lacking space for new patients would increase bed capacity and fall off the list. Hochul's order goes into effect Dec. 3, and any hospital with 10 percent or less capacity then will be required to shut down most elective surgeries until Jan. 15, 2022. Hochul's executive order also allows the state to use National Guard units to add staff in New York hospitals. "We have surveyed our National Guard resources. We know that there are numbers who have EMT training or health care backgrounds, and we can deploy them in a targeted way to the health care facilities, the nursing homes and long-term health care facilities, where they're having a shortage because here's how it works - one of the reasons we have additional individuals still in hospitals who are non-COVID, who are ready to be discharged, is that the nursing homes don't have enough staff to take them," Hochul said.

Natasha Vaughn-Holdridge is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media officials at Columbia Memorial Health November 30, announce the temporary suspension of some visitation due to concerns over resurgent COVID cases and the uncertainty of the omicron variant. CMH is one of several area hospitals limiting visitors from inpatient units because of the recent increase in local COVID cases. “When we started to see the numbers ramp up we took that as a precaution to protect our patients, the staff and the community at large from transmission of the virus,” Columbia Memorial spokesperson Bill Van Slyke said. There are some exceptions to the new visitation policy, such s visits for patients near the end of life, parents or guardians of hospitalized children, patients requiring a support person and special circumstances at the discretion of staff such as discharge planning and family meetings. Van Slyke said the hospital will take each request under advisement on a case-by-case basis and ensure all possible protective measures are in place. According to the CMH website, the visitor policy remains unchanged in the emergency department, surgical services and behavioral health. Albany Medical Center began a new visitation policy November 29, allowing one visitor for patients in in-patient units and up to two visitors for patients in critical care units. CMH on Tuesday had 12 COVID patients in the hospital, which included two in the intensive care unit, Van Slyke said. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Kenneth C. Crowe II is reporting for the Times Union after a sixth round of testing, a source for the PFOA/PFOS contamination surrounding the Algonquin Middle School in Poestenkill [POST-en-kill], Rensselaer County has still not been determined, the county Health Department announced last week. The voluntary testing at 20 homes determined that none of them had results at or above the state-permitted limit of 10 parts per trillion, according to the county. So far, the county has announced test results for 77 homes. Of these, 10 homes have reported results over 10 ppt. “We are obviously happy to see no new cases for PFOA in Poestenkill ..., but recognize no source has been determined. We continue to work with the state to find the source or sources for the PFOA contamination and to get more answers,” county Public Health Director Mary Fran Wachunas said. The county has been working with town officials, the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the state Department of Health on the testing and investigation of the chemical pollution. The contamination became a concern after the Averill Park Central School District reported in January that water at the middle school exceeded the state level of 10 ppt. The county Health Department, DEC and the state Health Department will hold two public sessions on Wed., Dec. 8, at Algonquin Middle School to discuss the efforts underway to protect drinking water as well as the ongoing PFOA/PFAS investigation. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Patricia R. Doxsey is reporting for the Daily Freeman Central Hudson’s efforts to upgrade its billing system have resulted in some customers being overbilled, underbilled or not billed at all. In many cases, customers have not received a bill for several months. Others have had their accounts charged for massive electric usage, while still others say their accounts show no electric usage during the past several months. In some cases, Central Hudson customers enrolled in automatic payment plans have had unusually large and unexpected amounts withdrawn from their bank accounts. And many customers who have called Central Hudson for assistance with these issues have experienced extended hold times. The Poughkeepsie-based utility said it is aware of the billing problems and is working to get them resolved. Company spokesperson Joe Jenkins said some of the problems were anticipated as the company transitioned to a system better able to accommodate "the billing complexities of the diverse supply chain." Unfortunately, the company did not anticipate the extent of the problems its customers would experience, and was initially unable to handle the call volume, he said. Jenkins said the billing problems are, for the most part, impacting customers who have solar panels or who purchase their electricity through a community solar program. He said approximately 11,000 Central Hudson electricity customers, or about 3.5 percent of the total, are experiencing billing problems. James Denn, a spokesperson for the state Department of Public Service, said the department is aware of the problems Central Hudson customers are experiencing and is monitoring the situation. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Today's daily news update.

Brendan J. Lyons and Kenneth C. Crowe II report in the Times Union that Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin "is expected to face criminal charges" in a state attorney general's investigation into campaign issues from when he was a member of the state Assembly. The FBI is also a part of the investigation about the use of campaign funds that began in 2019, and was slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Times Union reported in January 2020 that the investigation concerned whether McLaughlin, "had given bonuses or pay increases to former staffers in the state Assembly in exchange for them returning some of the funds to him, or using the money to donate to his campaign account." Anonymous sources now tell the paper they expect court activity in the coming days. Neither McLaughlin nor Richard W. Crist, the Rensselaer County operations director, responded to requests for comment, and their attorneys could not be reached for comment. Crist was placed on leave from his $105,000-a-year county job in March 2019, after the Times Union reported that he was a focus of the criminal investigation. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Andrea Macko reports in Porcupine Soup that Tannersville village is the latest locality awarded a $10 million grant through the state’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative. “This $10 million in funding will allow Tannersville to continue its work towards becoming an affordable community that supports a four-season vacation and recreation industry,” Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin said Nov. 28 in the village for the announcement. “The residents of the 'Painted Village in the Sky' now join the residents of many other downtowns that have benefited from this important program.” Fourteen projects with a total cost of more than $66 million will get portions of the state funding. Sean Mahoney, executive director of the Hunter Foundation, said Tannersville is the smallest community to ever be awarded the DRI funds. Some of the money will go to affordable and workforce housing, upgrades at the Orpheum Theater, a mountain bike center and adaptive trails, a community center, an expanded childcare center, and a Kaaterskill Clove shuttle. Troy, Glens Falls, Hudson, Albany, and Schenectady have previously received the DRI funding. Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

MidHudson News reports about the latest candidate for governor in New York: Long Island Democratic Congressperson Tom Suozzi. He joins Governor Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James, and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams in the Democratic primary. Republicans so far have five candidates to choose from: Long Island Congressperson Lee Zeldin; Andrew Giulian, the son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani; former Westchester County executive Rob Astorino; Lewis County Sheriff Mike Carpinelli; and contractor and podcast host Derrick Gibson. Suozzi, 59, previously was mayor of the Long Island town of Glen Cove from 1994-2001 and then Nassau County Executive in 2002. Read more about this story at MidHudson News.

Today's daily headlines.

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

Pretty sure this makes @jimmalatras the first @SUNY chancellor in several decades to say that an alleged victim of sexual harassment should go ___ herself. https://t.co/qAKdbwoin9

— Casey Seiler (@CaseySeiler) November 29, 2021

Nick Reisman reports at New York State of Politics that Attorney General Letitia James' office on Nov. 29 released more transcripts that were part of the investigation into former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and they show his staff repeatedly working to attack the women making sexual harassment claims against him. The newly released public information shows his brother, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, forwarded documents to a Cuomo advisor about one woman accuser, Charlotte Bennett, pertaining to her time in college. Cuomo aides also leaked personnel files to the media about Lindsay Boylan, one of the first women to make her allegations public. And Jim Malatras, who was appointed by Cuomo as SUNY chancello,r is quoted in documents telling one of the alleged victims of sexual harassment that she should "go f--- herself." Cuomo, meanwhile, denied playing any role in responding to the sexual harassment allegations. "No one ever suggested that we were doing it or would do it," he said. "So no." Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Massarah Mikati is reporting for the Times Union after more than a year of discussion about the possible merger of St. Peter’s Health Partners and Ellis Medicine, the two healthcare organizations have announced plans to join in a management services agreement. Ellis and St. Peter's issued a joint press release November 29, announcing they had received approval from the state Department of Health to combine and collaborate their services for the next two years. Under the agreement, Schenectady-based Ellis Medicine will remain independent from Albany-based St. Peter’s, which is owned by the national company Trinity Health. Ellis’ board of trustees will retain local control, and two St. Peter’s executives will join Ellis’ senior leadership team. The goal is to officially merge the two organizations at the end of the two-year term. “Partnering with Ellis on this agreement is the natural evolution of our already strong relationship and will allow us to expand and enhance the availability of high-quality health care services in the Capital Region,” said James Reed, president and CEO of St. Peter’s. Some of the anticipated changes from merging services have raised concerns in the community. Paul Milton, Ellis CEO and president, said at a Schenectady City Council committee meeting in August that abortions would no longer be performed under the merger. “You need to comply with the ethical and religious directives of a Catholic organization,” he said at the time. In the press release Monday, Milton noted, “We anticipate the community will see more and even better care as a result of this partnership." He said that no reproductive services will be affected by the agreement, but that abortions would no longer be provided by Ellis if the merger takes place in two years. With the management services agreement, the focus will be on improving information technology, patient experience, quality improvement and more. Read more in the Times Union.

Diane Valden is reporting for The Columbia Paper an announcement is expected Tue., Nov. 30, from Hecate [HEK-uh-tee] Energy about a plan to further reduce the size of its proposed Shepherd's Run solar facility in Craryville. The announcement is expected during an in-person open house at the Hillsdale Fire House. Copake Deputy Town Supervisor Richard Wolf has been reporting for several months that Hecate officials are talking about shrinking the project area for the 60-megawatt industrial-sized solar facility. Hecate, a developer of solar and wind facilities and energy storage projects, first proposed to site its 200,000 solar panel installation on 500 acres at several sites along State Route 23 and County Route 7 in and around the Copake hamlet of Craryville. Wolf reported at the November 11, Copake Town Board meeting, the most recent estimate for the project size was down to 208 acres. “Although generating capacity remains the same 60 MWs [megawatts], the ‘inside-the-fence’ acreage is now well less than half of what Hecate originally sought when it unveiled Shepherd’s Run in January 2020. This is encouraging… but more needs to be done," Wolf said. A public information session will be held from 5 to 8 p.m., Tue., Nov. 30, at the Hillsdale Firehouse on State Route 22. Hecate representatives and consultants will be present to answer questions and discuss the updated layout for Shepherd’s Run and more. Information is available at shepherdsrunsolar [dot] com. Read more in The Columbia Paper.

Bill Williams is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media that a fast-moving fire destroyed the Kaaterskill Inn, a popular wedding venue and bed and breakfast, said Kiskatom Fire Chief Pete Kusminsky, Sun., Nov. 28. There was nothing left of the inn by the end of the day, the chief said. At about 12:26 p.m., the fire company was dispatched by Greene County 911 after receiving multiple reports of a structure fire on the second floor of the main building. When the first firefighters arrived minutes later, flames were shooting through the roof of the converted barn and the fire spread quickly to all parts of the building, Kusminsky said. Guests at the inn were able to evacuate safely before crews arrived. The fire burned for several hours through the afternoon. Kusminsky said extensive modifications to the building thwarted firefighters in their efforts to access certain areas. Central Hudson Gas and Electric responded to disconnect the power and High Falls Road Extension was closed to traffic while crews worked. The thick black smoke from the fire could be seen from miles away. An investigation found the fire started accidentally when logs from a fireplace were left on a porch, Kusminsky said. There were no reported injuries to firefighters. The destroyed main building housed six guest suites. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Today's daily news update.

Diane Pineiro-Zucker reports in the Daily Freeman that Ulster County Sheriff’s Office disciplinary records for 2019 and 2020 show 20 separate incidents ranging from harassment to insubordination by corrections officers, deputies, and other employees. “I think 20 in almost three years is a lot,” Ulster County Sheriff Juan Figueroa said. “It shows that when people make complaints that we look at it. … These aren’t any egregious complaints but nonetheless they are complaints. … These things happen in every organization.” In one incident, former deputy Daniel Kopec allegedly used an agency-issued baton and firearm to threaten an unnamed guest at his home on Dec. 9, 2019, after drinking alcohol at a party he hosted. “He resigned because he probably was going to get fired,” Figueroa said. In 2020 Deputy Anthony Scarselli was investigated for another off-duty incident: allegedly harassing a neighbor and “overstepping his bounds,” Figueroa said. Scarselli was docked three vacation days for intimidating his neighbors who were setting off legal fireworks. On the clock, Deputy Brian Woltmann was found to have used “excessive force” while detaining a suspect, and deputies Michael Rizzo and John Maguire demonstrated “unprofessional behavior.” Rizzo was recorded on video saying, “Why don’t you take her over to Poughkeepsie and throw her off the [bridge]” and Maguire was recorded saying, “Drop her off on the side of the road for all I care.” Also, corrections officer Carel Soltys was accused of “unnecessary/excessive force and other potential policy violations” against an inmate. And Robin Anderson was found to have violated policy by allowing the inmate a phone call and not handcuffing him to a bed. Corrections Officer Jarrett Speenburgh was issued a warning for a pattern of “unprofessional/inappropriate comments.” There were other incidents. Figueroa said he uses “progressive discipline” to address most disciplinary problems. “If you violate one of the policies it gets documented, evaluated and trained, but if it happens again it gets more severe … if it happens another time you’re probably going to get terminated depending on the severity of the case,” he said. “… Training is key because you can refer to that when anything happens. Is that how you were trained to do it? No, it’s not. And looking at your record and what you did in the past now there’s a more heftier penalty, which could include termination.” Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Andrea Macko reports for Porcupine Soup that Scott Myers, known locally as a critic of the building of a new Greene County Jail, was found murdered in Catskill on Nov. 27. State Police charged Carrie E. Weiser, 32, of Catskill with second-degree murder, and she was sent to the new Greene County Jail building. Myers posted often on social media about the costs to taxpayers of the new Greene County Jail, also speaking at meetings and on local radio, and writing letters to newspapers. In 2019 the Register Star reported that the "Catskill resident and staunch anti-jail advocate Scott Myers filed a lawsuit ... involving the construction of a new Greene County Jail." Here is Myers speaking to the Greene County Legislature in 2018 about the jail proposal. Click here to play brief excerpt. Police said Myers and Weiser knew each other, but released few other details. This is the third murder in Greene County this year, while there had not been a murder in the county since 2018. Read more about this story at Porcupine Soup.

Massarah Mikati reports in the Times Union that Albany County announced another new COVID-19-related death on Nov. 29, as case counts and hospitalizations rise to las winter's levels. There were 75 more coronavirus cases announced Nov. 29 in Albany County, and 53 county residents hospitalized due to COVID-19. "The alarming trend of increasing hospitalizations continues today, exceeding the levels last seen at the end of February," Albany County Executive Dan McCoy said. "Between what we’re seeing here locally and the news that the Omicron variant has been detected in a growing list of countries around the world, including Canada, it’s critical that we all remain vigilant and take the proper precautions we know are effective." Albany County has not had this many hospitalizations since Feb. 25. McCoy said last week that an indoor mask mandate in Albany County may come if case counts surge after Thanksgiving. "If it is really at the point where we're in the critical zone, yeah, you'll see me some time next week," McCoy said. Read more about this story in the Times Union.