The Daily Freeman reports that voter turnout was light on election day in Ulster County. Democratic Commissioner Ashley Dittus said that turnout was low, but wait times at some polling places were longer than usual. Dittus attributed that to voters taking their time with the six propositions on the back of their ballots. Dittus said there was also some resistance from voters to the Board of Elections’ mandate for face masks at all times inside polling places. “We’re just asking them to wear a mask for five minutes, and some of them won’t,” Dittus said. “We’re just trying to keep people safe.” Voters who didn’t comply were not kept from voting, but after they left, poll workers sanitized anything they touched. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Today's daily headlines.

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

U.S. Rep. Christopher Jacobs is calling on the Federal Trade Commission to quickly approve a merger between Tops Friendly Markets and Price Chopper. The merger was announced a year ago and requires approval from the FTC, but there has so far been “radio silence” from the board, Jacobs said this week. “The financing for this project will expire on November 8,” he explained. “If the FTC does not act before then this deal is dead and there is potential that many of our Tops Markets will be forced to close.” Jacobs represents a district in western New York where there are almost 30 Tops Markets, he said, adding that “in many of the rural communities I represent, Tops is the only grocery option for more than an hour drive.” In Greene County, Tops has stores in Greenville, Tannersville and Coxsackie. Price Chopper has a store in Catskill. Jacobs sent a letter to the FTC highlighting his concerns and calling on the board to make a quick decision. The FTC did not respond to a request for comment. Price Chopper/Market 32 and Tops Markets first announced the planned merger in February 2021. Price Chopper/Market 32 is based in Schenectady and operates 130 Price Chopper and Market 32 grocery stores, employing 18,000 people. Based in Williamsville, Tops Markets operates 162 grocery stores; they are the largest private, for-profit employer in western New York with more than 14,000 associates. If the merger is approved, the new parent company will be headquartered in Schenectady.

MidHudson News is reporting Gov. Kathy Hochul has signed legislation that prohibits Insurance companies from canceling a homeowner policy just because the property owner has a pit bull, rottweiler, or other breeds of dog viewed as dangerous. Brian Shapiro of Woodstock, state director of the Humane Society of the United States, supports the measure. “This legislation would ensure that there is no discrimination against people who have pit bulls or German shepherds or dogs that might look like that and an insurance company saying you can’t have a homeowner’s policy; we’re going to discriminate against you. It is totally not found in science the basis for that. This is a good bill and we are pleased the governor has signed that,” he said. Owners of dogs that have been declared dangerous based on behavior are not covered by the bill, making it possible for insurance companies to base their decisions on actual risk rather than outdated stereotypes, Shapiro said. The next step, he said, will be to introduce legislation with the same protections for renters’ policies. Read the full story at MidHudsonNews [dot] com.

The Ravena News-Herald is reporting the New York State Department of Health has announced Greene County Family Planning, a division of Greene County Health, has been awarded funding to provide reproductive and other health services to the county in the coming year. The county has been awarded just under $229,000, an increase of $65,000 over the amount awarded in 2021. So far this year, the clinic has seen 842 clients for 1,800 visits. The clinic offers low-cost access to same-day contraception, pregnancy testing and pre-conception counseling, testing for sexually transmitted infections and HIV, hepatitis C and screening for breast, cervical and other cancers. The clinic also provides treatment for opioid-use disorder and harm reduction services, including Narcan and fentanyl test strips, as well as counseling by a licensed medical social worker. The department’s health educator provides health education to the local school districts and Columbia-Greene Community College on healthy reproductive decisions and staying well. The department plans to increase the number of clients it serves in the coming year. It also intends to partner with Greener Pathways for mobile outreach services in local communities. Read the full story in the Ravena News-Herald.

Today's daily news update.

Ted Remsnyder reports for Columbia-Greene Media that on Sept. 7 Catskill Town Justice Richard Paolino ruled that a storage container on Stanley Livingston's Liberty Street property was too large and in violation of Catskill village law, and that two permanent tents there were in "violation of the Zoning/Buildings Laws that exists on the listed property.”. A week later, Catskill village officials withdrew its prosecution of Raven and let him keep the shipping container and tents on his property while the home repairs are ongoing. That upset Paolino. “I’m kind of like aggravated because the time wasted on this matter since June of this year and then all of a sudden now, because somebody doesn’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings, they’re going to change the law, but not really change the law, they’re just going to cover up the violations,” he said. “That doesn’t work in my court. So figure it out and come back to this court when it’s either figured out or for a bench trial or some kind of appeal notice to the county.” The judge continued. “You wasted my time for the last four or five months.... So don’t come back to me with stuff like this ever again,” he said. “Seriously. It’s totally wrong, and again, I feel the village is circumventing the actual law on the books.” Neighbor Paul Moyer says Livingston is getting special treatment. “Our issue is not with whether or not there’s a roof on the shipping container, it’s how the village board went out entering into this stipulation agreement,” he said. “Any normal citizen would go to code enforcement and apply for a building permit.” Catskill Village Board of Trustees President Peter Grasse said the village made the agreement because the container came before the village’s codes. “I didn’t want to believe that I would allow my code enforcement officer [Michael Ragaini] to be persuaded to interpret something to enforce new zoning on something that was there prior and doesn’t seem to be very clear,” he said. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Nick Reisman reports for New York State of Politics that while world leaders are deciding not to take too many big steps to slow global warming at the Glasgow Climate Change Conference, New York is taking small steps. On Nov. 2 Gov. Kathy Hochul signed laws making it easier to recycle and compost waste. "With the fate of the planet at stake, New York must continue to lead the way in the global fight against the climate crisis," Hochul said. "This package of legislation will make sure New Yorkers are recycling, composting and phasing out wasteful plastic products, putting our state on the path to a cleaner, greener future." One bill ends single-use plastics on SUNY and CUNY campuses, the other is meant to increase recycling and composting. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

William J. Kemble reports in the Daily Freeman that the Republican election commissioner in Dutchess County who has lost two court cases trying to block a polling site on the Bard College campus says he will keep up the fight next year. Dutchess County Republican Elections Commissioner Erik Haight said he will continue to fight the rulings next year. “It is unfortunate that the county leadership has condoned, actively or through their silence, Commissioner Haight’s efforts to undermine democracy, even as he has now wasted well over $100,000 of taxpayer money over the past decade in failed attempts at voter suppression that have been repeatedly rejected by the courts,” Bard College Executive Vice President Jonathan Becker said after an Oct. 29 State Supreme Court ruling mandating a polling place on campus. Haight calls the decision "stupid.... Voters, for a very good reason, don’t get to choose their own poll sites,” Haight said. “It’s up to the Board of Elections to choose … because the law assumes a certain level of impartiality. … So when the court … replaces its judgment for the Board of Elections’ judgment, then we end up with this stupid ruling for multiple poll sites in the same election district,” he said. But courts do get to overrule politicians when they make mistakes. Haight wants to move the polling spot from the center of the Bard College campus to the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard. But alcohol is sold there, making it ineligible to be a polling place. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Today's daily headlines.

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

Voting this year ends today, Nov. 2, with town posts, countywide positions, five statewide ballot propositions, and a few state Supreme Court seats at stake. Voting began Oct. 23 this year, and ends today with polls open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.. Absentee ballots in this year's election can be mailed in through Nov. 2. One change in this election: A new state law passed in 2021, restores the right to vote for a person convicted of a felony upon release from incarceration, regardless of if they are on parole or have a term of post-release supervision. If a convicted felon is not incarcerated, they are now eligible to register to vote in New York.

Natasha Vaughn-Holdridge is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media a lockout of all buildings in the Ichabod Crane school district on November 1, lasted approximately 30 minutes. A lockout means there was thought to a possible threat outside of the school, The threat that gave rise to district officials taking the action in Kinderhook on Monday was later determined to be false. “Our high school principal was notified by a parent of a possible threat to the campus,” Ichabod Crane School Superintendent Suzanne Guntlow said. “Out of an abundance of caution, while we investigated with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office we put the buildings on lockout.” The lockout keeps students in the buildings and prevents visitors from entering, Guntlow said. “It was first thing this morning; it only lasted about half-an-hour,” she said. The superintendent said she could not reveal any other details about the incident. The tip was shared by a parent with the high school principal and the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office investigated, she said. The county Sheriff’s Office deferred all questions to the school district. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Capital Region Independent Media two candidates will face off in the November 2 general election for Coeymans Town Supervisor: Incumbent Republican George McHugh and Democrat Cindy Rowzee. McHugh, 56, is a lifelong resident of Albany County. He is an attorney by profession and is seeking his second consecutive term. He previously served as town supervisor from 2000 to 2001. McHugh served in the U.S. Army for 30 years and retired honorably with the rank of colonel in 2017. He is running on the Republican and Conservative lines. McHugh believes the top issue facing the town of Coeymans "continues to be striking the proper balance between being a great place to work and also being a great place to live and raise a family. Just like in our own personal lives, Coeymans must strike a balance. The balance in this case being between developing industry and job creation, while at the same time maintaining a healthy and safe environment so that our children and young people choose Coeymans as a place to live and raise families." Rowzee, 45, has lived in the county for more than 10 years and currently resides in the village of Ravena. She has served as the Town of Coeymans Clerk for nearly four years; her term expires December 31. Rowzee is running on the Democratic and Working Families lines. Rowzee believes the top issue facing the community is the lack of economic development. "If we are able to bring in more small businesses many other problems will fix themselves. More businesses will bring less vacant buildings, less crime, a more beautiful 9W corridor and Main Street, more sales tax revenue, more property tax revenue, more residents and an improved quality of life," she said. Read the full story story in The Ravena News-Herald

Robert Gavin is reporting for the Times Union  the United States Supreme Court November 1, issued a decision vacating a New York appellate court decision in a lawsuit brought by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany that challenged the state's mandate that required employers to offer abortion services as part of health insurance benefits. The diocese challenged a 2017 regulation that included what opponents argued was an excessively narrow religious exemption. “We are gratified and grateful that the Supreme Court has recognized the serious constitutional concerns over New York state’s heavy-handed abortion mandate on religious employers,” Bishop Edward Scharfenberger said in a statement. The bishop said he was “confident that ... the unconstitutional regulatory action taken by New York state will ultimately be completely overturned as incompatible with our country’s First Amendment guarantee of religious liberty.” The case will be reconsidered. The decision was credited to Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch, members of the court's conservative majority. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Today's daily news update.

COVID-19 cases continue to surge in the area. Spectrum News reports that in Pittsfield, in Western Massachusetts, the rate of cases is the highest it’s been since April. There are now 34 positive cases per 100,000 people there, and the positive test rate is also climbing, up to 3.6 percent. There are now 108 actives cases of COVID-19 in Pittsfield, which is also the highest since April. The Daily Freeman reports a smaller uptick in cases in Dutchess and Ulster counties. In Ulster County there were 458 with COVID-19 as of Oct. 31, up seven from the day before. Ulster County reported 284 coronavirus cases Oct. 29, up 17 from the the day before. In Columbia County, officials reported 12 new cases Oct. 30, and 11 more Oct. 29. Greene County, with a smaller population, announced more new cases than that, with 18 more on Oct. 29. In Albany County, officials announced another death Nov. 1. But the number of cases there dropped to 52, down from 83 new cases reported on Oct. 31, the Times Union reports.

Nick Reisman reports for Spectrum News that New York's court system is backed up because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But it is not because of court workers not getting vaccinated. Chief Judge Janet DiFiore says "almost 100 percent of our judges and professional staff" have submitted either proof of vaccination or a medical/religious exemption. But the mix of in-person trials and video conferencing during the pandemic has slowed the courts down. On Nov. 1 DiFiore said court officials were asking state leaders to put "modifications to the current social distancing rules" to increase trial capacity, even in the face of persistent case counts locally. "Now, we are all aware that the pending dockets in some of our courts have grown in response to the extended impact of the pandemic on court operations. But we cannot, and of course, we will not, use the public health crisis as an excuse for mounting backlogs in those courts," she said. "We have an obligation to move and resolve cases efficiently and promptly, and we are determined to get back to the outstanding progress that we were making under the Excellence Initiative to manage our dockets efficiently and effectively." Read more about this story in Spectrum News.

Sam Raudins reports for Columbia-Greene Media that the day after an Oct. 21 letter from Hudson First Ward Alderperson Jane Trombley to Mayor Kamal Johnson “insisting” Hudson Corporate Counsel Cheryl Roberts recuse herself from matters involving A. Colarusso and Sons, Roberts agreed. Roberts is also executive director of the nonprofit Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice. That nonprofit got a land donation from Colarusso in May for the development of a “wellness hub.” Roberts said the claims of conflict are “unfounded” but still agreed to recuse herself in any matters involving the company, which works on many projects for the city. Trombley said, “That was it. Not that there was any wrongdoing, not that it affected her decisions. But the appearance just was way too close for my taste.” A. Colarusso and Sons runs a sand and gravel mine, stone quarry, and blacktop plant in Greenport. “If there was a conflict, I would have recused myself long ago,” Roberts said in a statement. “There is nothing secret about the proposed land donation.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.