Today's daily headlines.

It is November, and just like last year, coronavirus cases are roaring back in time for the holidays. The Daily Freeman reported Nov. 15 that the number of active coronavirus cases in Ulster County jumped 118 percent since Nov. 4. In Dutchess County, case counts are up 62 percent since Nov. 1. Sam Raudins reports for Columbia-Greene Media that in Columbia County schools, COVID-19 cases have nearly tripled since Oct. 1. In Chatham schools there have been 29 cases since the school year began, in a district with about 950 students. “The district will communicate directly with families affected by confirmed COVID-19 cases, such as close contacts to positive cases, but we will not email the entire school following each individual case,” according to a district statement on its website. “We continue to work closely with the Columbia County Department of Health and follow their guidance each time there is a positive case reported to us.” Ichabod Crane Central Schools report 106 cases this school year as of Nov. 15. “Ichabod got hit pretty hard,” Columbia County Department of Health Director Jack Mabb said after the school year began. “That’s a lot for that size school district. I think that there is still that concept out there that some people just really do spread it more quickly and more readily than others.” Greene County, meanwhile, announced 21 more cases Nov. 16. No local official in any county has taken any action, or changed any COVID-19 policy to slow the spread of the disease in many months.

Brendan J. Lyons is reporting for the Times Union the state inspector general's office is investigating allegations of widespread cheating in the state's driver permit program, involving a scheme to illegally obtain driving credentials for undocumented people. It is further alleged that those involved may have used the licenses to establish residency and receive unemployment benefits under the state's newly established Excluded Worker Fund. Investigators from the inspector general's office visited the Albany office of the state Department of Motor Vehicles in October and interviewed employees about suspected rampant cheating that took place in a licensing program enacted during the coronavirus pandemic that allowed people to take the driver's permit test online. The investigators told DMV workers they suspected people had been paying $3,000 or more to have someone take the online driver's permit tests for them, and were also using fraudulent residency documents and fake mailing addresses. A spokesperson for the inspector general's office this week confirmed the office "has an ongoing investigation into possible misuse of the DMV's driver's permits program," but declined further comment. In early October, advocates complained that too many New Yorkers were being frozen out of the program. It is unclear when the suspected fraud was detected, or whether the Department of Labor is involved in the inspector general's investigation. The agency did not respond to questions about the matter. State Sen. Jessica Ramos, who was a leading sponsor for the creation of the Excluded Workers Fund, could not immediately be reached for comment. At the time the legislation passed in April, Ramos had said it would benefit about 500,000 workers who had been ineligible for unemployment assistance. Read the full story in the Times Union.

William J. Kemble is reporting for the Daily Freeman the Saugerties Village Board has approved the bonding of $571,000 to cover the cost of dredging the Blue Mountain Reservoir. The bonding, approved November 15, will have a five-year payback period. Village Water Superintendent Mike Hopf said the dredging is expected to remove approximately 18,000 cubic yards of silt and add 4 to 6 feet of depth to the reservoir. The project is scheduled to begin before the summer of 2022 and should be completed by October. Hopf said the work will go out to bid in the next month or two. The reservoir draws its water from the Plattekill Creek and has a capacity of 12 million gallons. It has not been dredged since 2008. Hopf said, “silt and debris [are] starting to affect the intake area,” and that during the last heavy storm, "...the intake became impacted with leaves and debris," which can have an impact on the quality of the water. The village of Saugerties water system has 4,200 connections in the village and 5,500 in the town. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Sara Rizzo is reporting for news10 [dot] com an elderly man was rescued from his Hudson residence on November 15 after the city police received a call from the US Postal Service. A postal carrier was concerned that a man on his route had not picked up his mail in more than three days. When officers arrived at the residence, they knocked on all the windows and doors and got no response. The officers spoke with neighbors and learned that no one had seen the man for days. Police officers entered the house through a window and found the man lying next to the front door on the living room floor. The man was conscious but needed immediate medical attention. Police said it appeared the man was on the floor for a long time before being found. Police identified the man as 79-year-old Paul Schuman. He was transported to Albany Medical Center for emergency medical treatment. Adult Protective Services and Hudson Code Enforcement are working with police to contact Schuman’s family members. Those who might have information about Schuman's next of kin, are asked to contact the Hudson Police Department at (518) 828-3388. Read the full story at news10 [dot] com.

Today's daily news update.

Brendan J. Lyons reports in the Times Union that an anonymous 32-year-old Rensselaer man claims someone forged their signatures on the voting documents, and that the absentee ballots applied for on behalf of him and his wife were fraudulent as he has never voted in an election or applied to vote by absentee ballot. The man claims he has never met Rich Crist, the Republican operative listed on the absentee applications as the person authorized to pick up the couple's ballots from the board of elections. Crist is the county's operations director, and works closely with Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin. The two ballots are currently part of 120 ballots in a court battle over an election where the Republican is leading the Democrat by just 11 votes. Incumbent Rensselaer Mayor Michael E. Stammel leads Democratic challenger Richard J. Mooney by 11 votes so far in the contested election. Crist refused to directly address the man's allegations. "This is an issue we look forward to having resolved as the review of ballots for the Rensselaer city elections continue," he said in a statement. The anonymous man said that he told state police investigating the issue that his wife's first name was misspelled on one of the election documents. The man also claims that the Republican mayor called hims Nov. 14. "I told him me and my wife would not be talking about this matter, and his exact words were (that) it would be in my best interest just to say that this vote was mine and just that nothing was done wrong," the man said. "To tell you the truth, me and my wife know nothing about this — we don’t know why ballots were applied for in our name; we didn’t take part in the election. ... It’s now affecting our lives. We want nothing to do with it. We didn’t vote. We don’t vote. I don’t like either of the candidates." Stammel said he did call the man, but claims he made no threat. "I said nothing about his best interest," Stammel said. "It might have been I said if you did vote for me and you want your ballot counted, it would probably be best to sign this affidavit when the guys contact you." Rea more about this story in the Times Union.

Bill Mahoney reports in Politico that New York state's Joint Commission on Public Ethics on Nov. 16 revoked the approval for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to publish his 2020 memoir a year after the book was published. Now Cuomo must reapply for authorization and, if denied, the board could take the $5.1 million Cuomo was paid for being the author of “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the Covid-19 Pandemic.” "These JCOPE members are acting outside the scope of their authority and are carrying the water of the politicians who appointed them,” Cuomo flack Rich Azzopardi said. “It is the height of hypocrisy for [Gov. Kathy] Hochul and the legislature's appointees to take this position, given that these elected officials routinely use their own staff for political and personal assistance on their own time.” Cuomo resigned this summer after being accused of sexually harassing 11 women. But revoking the book approval comes after evidence emerged that state workers helped Cuomo with the book on state time. Cuomo insists they were volunteering. Read more about this story in Politico.

Sam Raudins reports for Columbia-Greene Media that Hudson's planning board approved Nov. 9 Basilica Hudson's conditional use permit to convert an a residency center for artists to make and exhibit work into an art gallery. The approval only came after planning board members questioned if anything was changing. “My issue is now it becomes a building of interest for weddings, parties — I mean an art gallery can be used for a party, so are we giving you a platinum card to take this beautiful art gallery and do what you like?” planning board member Theresa Joyner said. But the board approved the art gallery, and project manager David Szlasa said Basilica Hudson would be back before the board soon with new, unidentified plans for its large performance space building. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Today's daily headlines.

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Paul Kirby reports for the Daily Freeman that the number of active coronavirus cases in Ulster County jumped 118 percent since Nov. 4. On Nov. 14 the number of active COVID-19 cases in Ulster County was 523, while there were just 204 cases ten days before, more than doubling its case count in the last ten days. Neighboring Dutchess County reported 608 active cases as of Nov. 13, up 62 percent from the 375 total of Nov. 1. Almost all Ulster cases come from the unvaccinated, as Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan reported last week that just 1.15 percent of vaccinated county residents have contracted COVID. Ulster County currently has a 4.4 percent positivity rate among those tested, while Dutchess County is at 2.95 percent. Columbia County has stopped reporting daily COVID-19 figures, but currently has 100 active cases, up 20 from the week before. Greene County, meanwhile, reported 34 more cases Nov. 15, with 129 current active cases, and with a smaller population, that is a much higher rate than across the Hudson River.

Ted Remsnyder is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media that the town of Catskill is asking for public input on whether the town should opt-out of allowing cannabis dispensaries or on-site cannabis consumption bars. Municipalities have until December 31, to decide to take action. The Catskill Town Board will hold a special public forum on this question, on November 17, at the Robert C. Antonelli Senior Center in the village. “It’s going to be a public forum where we want to get the feelings of the community,” Catskill Town Supervisor Dale Finch said. “We want to see whether they’re for or against having dispensaries. The other part of the equation is whether or not they want to allow what you could call lounges in the community. So there are two options under the cannabis law. You can opt-out of both of them or one or the other.” Possession and use of marijuana are now legal for adults 21 and older, and the state and municipalities are not allowed to opt-out of that portion of the legislation. The board is not required to hold a public forum, but Finch said he would strongly consider the public’s will before making a decision. “Honestly, I really want to hear from the people of the town of Catskill to get opinions on it first,” he said. “It’s a revenue-driven thing through the state of New York. ...We want to see what other impacts it would have on our community. ...” Finch said the town has received only one inquiry from an outside business about establishing a cannabis dispensary in town. “It wasn’t site-specific at all,” he said. “They really just wanted to feel the town out a little bit to see if we were leaning one way or the other.” Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Dylan Moscoso is reporting for The Legislative Gazette that a Troy-based barge operation has proposed the construction of a new mooring site on the Hudson River, at the dock of the former Atlas Cement company located just south of Hudson. While the new barge mooring would provide sites for boats to dock for loading and unloading of sand and gravel, the plan is being proposed by a Troy-based operator and would not benefit the local community, and might harm local tourism. In a letter to the Army Corp of Engineers, Scenic Hudson has expressed its opposition to the plan. Citing a concern for the Olana State Historic Site, the group noted that while the proposed one-acre mooring site is past the 5-mile threshold for “visual impact,” it only passes the threshold by a third of a mile and precautionary measures alongside visual analysis of the proposed sites impact is necessary. Scenic Hudson has requested that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hold a public hearing in Germantown to give stakeholders to ask questions and be heard. The group is also asking that the public comment period be held open for at least 30 days after the public hearing is concluded. Hayley Carlock, the director of environmental advocacy and legal affairs at Scenic Hudson, said, “We are also concerned that the action may set a precedent for additional moorings in the vicinity, which would cause cumulative impacts on views and may set precedent for moorings for oil barges in other reaches of the Hudson River.” In 2016, a similar proposal, introduced by the United States Coast Guard, to park oil barges in the Mid-Hudson River, ultimately failed when a law was passed prohibiting the parking of oil barges. However, the loading and unloading of products unrelated to oil are permitted; the current proposal is for the shipment of crushed rocks. Read more at legislativegazette [dot] com.

Nick Reisman is reporting for State of Politics that a new effort is underway to return the name Tappan Zee to the twin cable-stayed bridge that spans the Hudson River between Tarrytown and Nyack. Democrat Assemblymember Tom Abinanti, who represents central Westchester County, has introduced a proposal that would restore Tappan Zee, a reference to the Native Americans who lived in the Hudson Valley region as well as the Dutch settlers in the area, and keep the name Mario Cuomo alongside it. A landing bridge at a welcome center on the Westchester County side of the river would be named in honor of Malcolm Wilson, a Republican who succeeded Nelson Rockefeller as governor. “Tappan Zee symbolizes the history and heritage of the area,” Abinanti said. The bridge was opened in 2018, and lawmakers subsequently approved a bill that named the new bridge after former Governor Andrew Cuomo's father. But the bridge naming was controversial, with Republicans in the Hudson Valley and residents alike backing efforts to change the name to the original Tappan Zee. “It’s time that we all came together and reached a compromise,” Abinanti said. “Let’s stop the war over the name, it’s time to heal.” Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.

Today's daily news update.

Joseph Spector reports in the Poughkeepsie Journal that coronavirus cases jumped 25 percent in New York in the week ending Nov. 14. Most of the new cases came in the Finger Lakes and western New York area where COVID-19 positivity rates were above eight percent for the first time in months. In the Hudson Valley 2.5 percent of those tested had the virus. New York now ranks 27th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, according to USA Today. "As the weather gets colder and the holiday season approaches, friends and family will be spending more time indoors, increasing the risk of transmission and threatening the incredible progress we've made so far," Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement. "In order to keep our loved ones safe and reduce the spread of both COVID-19 and seasonal influenza, I encourage New Yorkers to get vaccinated, wear a mask indoors and remember to wash your hands." Read more about this story in the Poughkeepsie Journal.

Cloey Callahan reports for the Times Union that a new state law goes into effect Jan. 1 requiring institutions that generate an annual average of two tons of unused food per week to donate excess edible food, and recycle all remaining food scraps if they are close to an organics recycler. The New York State Food Scraps Recycling law will impact restaurants, grocery stores, hotels and motels, colleges and universities, malls, event centers and other large generators of food scraps, but. not hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities, farms, and K-12 schools. The hope is it will also impact the environment, and cut greenhouse gas emissions generated by food waste. Much composting has already begun in the Hudson Valley. “I think the law was written as a starting point,” said Josephine Papagni, co-owner operator of Ulster-based Greenway Environmental Services, who started collecting food scraps in 2000. “Many of those who are generating two tons a week are really already collecting and sending their food waste to be composted. The law creates awareness for those few who don’t know, and sets the stage to make sure we have adequate food waste processing resources.” The DEC says about 40 percent of the food produced in this country goes uneaten, and an estimated 2.8 million New Yorkers are food insecure. The hope is the new law moves some of that excess edible food from landfills to hungry mouths. Ulster County passed the similar “Food Waste Prevention and Recovery Act” in 2019 and will move from a two tons per week average requirement to just half a ton per week on July 1, 2023. Bard College is already composting and praises the new law. “It’s like a triple win ­– it helps lower our carbon emissions while saving in our wallets and helping people too,” said Laurie Husted, Chief Sustainability Officer at Bard College. “This is a great opportunity to question the systems we’re a part of and to think can we do things differently, and that’s what a law does. I’m very pleased it’s here.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Heather Bellow reports in The Berkshire Eagle that supply shortages, bidding problems, and cost increases, have made it difficult for the town of Great Barrington to complete various roadwork projects and a downtown parking lot overhaul. Department of Public Works Superintendent Sean VanDeusen said work will be completed soon on front steps at Town Hall, the retaining wall under the railroad trestle on Taconic Avenue, and a downtown parking lot with drainage problems. But coronavirus pandemic-related supply shortages, delays, inflation, and inundated contractors have nearly doubled projected costs. “It’s really crippled our ability to get projects done,” VanDeusen said. “Prices are all over the board. You can’t estimate them properly.” Replacing the Ramsdell Library boiler cost 40 percent more, and its arrival date is a mystery. But the downtown Triplex Cinema lot will be done by Thanksgiving, VanDeusen says, with new lighting and a charger station with two stalls for electric vehicles. Read more about this story in The Berkshire Eagle.

Today's daily headlines.