Bernadette Hogan reports in The New York Post that New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams is the latest to file paperwork to run for governor in New York next year. Williams lost a primary challenge against now Gov. Kathy Hochul for lieutenant governor in 2018. Attorney General Letitia James is expected any day to announce she will join the June primary field too. Former governor Andrew Cuomo and other Democrats could still join the race. Republicans running campaigns for governor include Rep. Lee Zeldin, Andrew Giuliani, Rob Astorino, Derrick Gibson, and Mike Carpinelli. Bernadette Hogan reports in The New York Post.

Andrea Macko reports for Porcupine Soup that a Greene County-based state trooper, Christopher Baldner, was indicted for murder, for ramming his car into another and killing an 11-year-old girl during a 2020 police pursuit on the New York State Thruway. During a summer that saw a truck drive into protesters in Minnesota, and a police car drive into protesters in New York City, Baldner drove his police car into a vehicle driven by Tristan Goods, killing his 11-year-old daughter Monica. Baldner had pulled over Goods for allegedly going too fast on I-87 in Ulster County, and while writing a ticket, things somehow escalated and he sprayed the interior of the car with pepper spray. Goods then drove off, and the chase ended with Baldner ramming the car, and Monica Goods ejected from the vehicle and dead. “Police officers are entrusted to protect and serve, but Trooper Baldner allegedly violated that trust when he used his car as a deadly weapon and killed a young girl,” said Attorney General Letitia James said, announcing the indictment Oct. 27. “While nothing will bring Monica back, we must hold law enforcement to the highest standards, which is why my office is committed to seeking justice in this case.” Baldner currently has a home in Greenville, and formerly owned a house in Catskill. He was indicted on charges of murder in the second degree, manslaughter in the second degree, and reckless endangerment in the first degree. Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

Melanie Lekocevic reports for Columbia-Greene Media that Heather Campbell and Michael Hofmann are competing at the polls through Nov. 2 to be the City of Hudson treasurer. Campbell is the incumbent, running on the Democratic and Heather4Hudson ballot lines, while Hofmann is challenging on the Working Families Party line. Campbell says she wants "to develop a long-range planning process that would forecast costs out two to five years, so that the city can better predict upcoming capital expenses, such as dump trucks, police cars and fire trucks that are aging out." She says she has worked on "cleaning up the city’s general ledger system," "providing early guidance on the impact of COVID-19 on city financials," and implementing Hudson's lodging-tax law. Hofmann is currently aide to Mayor Kamal Johnson, City of Hudson; development operations manager at the Fisher Center at Bard College; and a freelance stage director and stage manager, graphic designer, and singer. Hofmann says, "the single largest hurdle we face is the systemic racism embedded in our society... and we must have financial leadership that not only supports existing initiatives to mend the damage that’s been done over all these years, but also actively seeks out new opportunities for investment that prioritizes the needs of our historically marginalized neighbors." He wants new standards for public budget presentation, a long-range financial forecast, and to upgrade the city’s antiquated accounting system. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

The Village of Catskill has issued a boil water advisory until further notice. Heavy rains fell earlier this week, overwhelming the village water system. Anyone with questions should call the village at 518-943-3830.

Today's daily headlines.

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The New York Times reports that New York's attorney general, Letitia James, will announce "as soon as Thursday" that she will run for governor. James will be in a primary with incumbent Kathy Hochul, who took over the seat this summer when Andrew Cuomo resigned amid 11 sexual harassment allegations. The story was revealed by Democrats who said that the attorney general’s team was seeking commitments for early endorsements from key members of the party throughout the state. “Attorney General Letitia James has made a decision regarding the governor’s race,” an adviser, Kimberly Peeler-Allen, said in a statement. “She will be announcing it in the coming days.” Hochul is New York's first female governor; if James is elected she would be the first Black woman ever elected governor in the United States. Read more about this story in The New York Times.

Bill Williams is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media that an air quality warning was issued for Columbia County on October 27, because of smoke from a large scrap metal fire at the Port of Coeymans south of Albany. Fire companies from Albany and Greene counties helped battle the blaze. The fire was burning in a large pile of crushed cars and scrap metal, fire officials said. The site of the fire is rented by Eastern Metal Recycling and no buildings were damaged. Heavy black smoke from the blaze could be seen 15 miles away. Columbia County Emergency Management recommended that residents keep windows closed, air conditioners off, if possible, and recommended that people with a medical history of breathing issues avoid prolonged time outside, due to the amount of smoke in the air all day. The Hudson Fire Department was called to an odor of smoke at Columbia Memorial Health, but it turned out to be smoke from the Coeymans fire. The fire began at around 6:30 a.m., when departments from Selkirk, Ravena, Coeymans Hollow, and New Baltimore were sent to the scene at 2170 River Road. The large fire burned out of control until crews were able to knock it down about three hours later. Excavators were brought in to pull apart the large pile, so water could reach the areas that were burning. The piles of metal were three stories high in some areas. The State Department of Environmental Conservation responded to the scene with their Spill Response Team and Emergency Management, to work with firefighters and the state office of Fire Prevention and Control. The fire could burn for up to 24 hours before it is fully extinguished. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Natasha Vaughn-Holdridge is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media an unvaccinated Columbia County man under the age of 40 has succumbed to COVID-19, an indication that the pandemic is maintaining its grip on the area. The Columbia County Department of Health marked the occasion on October 26. “It’s tragic, he had comorbidities, and his parents didn’t think that he should get the shot because of the comorbidities,” Columbia County Department of Health Director Jack Mabb said. “A lot of doctors would say, get the shot. It just continues the same story that we’ve seen with unvaccinated people.” The man's death was the second to occur in the county this month. As of October 26, 288 new coronavirus cases were reported in the month of October. “I think it’s interesting, I watch the other counties around us and we’re all experiencing numbers that aren’t going down,” Mabb said. “This past week I think was the highest by, I think, just a few positives, that we’ve had all month long. It’s not relenting, it’s not going down. A lot of it is schools, a lot of it is kids,” he said. The state COVID report card tracker shows that since the beginning of the school year, districts in Columbia County have recorded positive rates that range from two students and one staff member testing positive in the New Lebanon school district to 77 students, four teachers and three staff members testing positive in the Ichabod Crane school district. According to state data, the six school districts located in the county have reported 132 students tested positive since the beginning of the school year. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com. Meanwhile in Greene County, there was another death there Oct. 22 from COVID-19. Andrea Macko reports in Porcupine Soup that last week three Scott M. Ellis Elementary School students tested positive for COVID-19, putting 48 students in quarantine. The Greenville school has had 10 students, and two staff members and two teachers test positive for COVID-19 this year. Those in quarantine will not be allowed to attend the trunk or treat event at the school on October 29, but parents can email ellispta@greenvillecsd.org for a quarantine candy pick up. Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

Raymond Pignone has a rundown for Columbia-Greene Media of the Greene County Legislature District 7 contest between Daryl Legg, running on the Democratic line and Charlotte Meigs, running on the Republican and Conservative lines. Both are hoping to represent Halcott, Lexington, and Hunter in the county legislature. Legg, 55, was born and raised in Greene County and is a resident of Haines Falls. He is a business owner. Legg previously served as a member of the Hunter Town Board for six years; and has been the Hunter Town Supervisor for ten years. Legg said, "I believe housing and employment in Greene County are a current issue and would advocate for affordable housing within the county. The housing market has reached a level that it is not affordable for residents to remain within the county. We have growing businesses in our community that will require and continues to require more employees. ...The county must participate with local offices and contractors to create affordable housing to sustain the current economy." He said as a first-term legislator, his objective would be to ensure the county spends its funds efficiently "...while conducting business...to its full potential." Meigs is a lifelong resident of the county and now lives in Hunter. She is employed as a Senior Investigator with the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, according to her Linkedin profile. Meigs says, "I have witnessed our district go through highs and lows, economically, financially and personally. We have rallied through natural disasters and slowly regaining footage in the midst of our global pandemic. ..." She said the community's core goals remains the same: to maintain and improve infrastructure; economic growth; availability of services for youth, elderly, health; affordable housing; job opportunities and growth; public safety; promoting small and start up businesses; travel and tourism. " I will be an aggressive advocate for meeting these needs, in whatever shape it takes. I am no stranger to grant researching and writing, budgets, subcommittees. I have the follow-through to make sure we see the end result. ...I have been engaged in county legislative meetings and have a good working relationship with the current Greene County Legislature. I am well informed of the top issues of our county," Meigs said. Read more at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Today's daily news update.

Sam Raudins reports for Columbia-Greene Media that the Hudson Board of Estimate and Apportionment on Oct. 25 proposed raising Mayor Kamal Johnson's salary by $15,000. The proposal goes to the Common Council on Nov. 10, just a week after voters decide whether to give Johnson a second term. Johnson, Common Council President Thomas DePietro, and Treasurer Heather Campbell were among those discussing the mayor's raise at the meeting. DePietro said it was “awkward” discussing the raise with the mayor present, but the decision was to make the mayor's income commensurate with others. “Heather (Campbell) gets $75,000 so it would be kind of appropriate for the mayor to,” DePietro said. Currently, Johnson makes $60,000 a year for the full-time position. “I think it’s less about me and more about the position,” Johnson said. Former Mayor Tiffany Martin Hamilton said the mayor's salary was decreased years ago. “The $60,000 is level with what the mayor was paid in 2005,” Hamilton said. “And the salary was then decreased to accommodate the pension requirements of the other people that were in office between 2005 and when I entered office.” The reason raises are an issue now is that the city is doing well. “Revenues have been excellent,” DePietro said. “We won’t be raising any city taxes for the second straight year.” NOTE: Both Johnson and DePietro are WGXC volunteer programmers. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Raymond Pignone reports for Columbia-Greene Media that four candidates are competing for two seats on the Jewett Town Council this fall. Elide Bell and Taylor Coloton are running on the Democratic party line and John Giordano and James Pelletteri are on the Republican and Conservative party lines. Coloton and Pelleteri did not respond to requests for information. Giordano owns a dairy farm and has never run for office before but says, "I am a community-minded person and have been a member of the Jewett Fire Department for 40 years. I built a home on my family’s dairy farm and chose to live in this special town." His most important issue is "keeping our tax base as low as possible so our local people, seniors and children can continue to afford to live here." Bell works in management consulting and marketing, and has also never run for office before. "The top issues facing our local government in Jewett are communication, transparency, accessibility, organization, delegation/accountability and fair/consistent implementation. By correcting these issues, all of the challenges facing the community can be properly prioritized and addressed in an efficient manner," Bell said. "We must be thinking about the long term." Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Cloey Callahan reports in the Times Union that on Oct. 27 the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation denied an air permit for Danskammer Energy Center near the Town of Newburgh in Orange County. Danskammer wanted to build a new natural gas-fired power generation facility, while New York is busy converting energy generation to sustainable sources. DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said that the proposed project did not comply with the the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and its greenhouse gas limit. “We are delighted to see the DEC made this decision,” said Dan Shapley, Vice President of Programs at Riverkeeper, a nonprofit environmental organization. “We’re glad to see the state is standing firm in the face of the reality that we need to reduce emissions, not increase them. This is a really important decision and a great day for our future.” There were more than 4,500 public comments on the proposal, most against. Currently, there is a smaller plant on the site that only runs when additional power is needed for the statewide grid. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

The National Weather Service has released its long-term winter outlook, which is slightly warmer and wetter this year. "Above-average temperatures are favored across the South and most of the eastern U.S. as La Nina climate conditions have emerged for the second winter in a row according to NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center," the National Weather Service reports. "Wetter-than-average conditions are anticipated across portions of the Northern U.S.," and they are also predicting slightly higher temperatures in New York and the rest of the eastern seaboard this winter. Read more about the long-term predictions at the National Weather Service website.

Today's daily headlines.

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

Sam Raudins is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the as-yet-unidentified buyer of the Kaz warehouse site in the city of Hudson has signed off on the deal for a still undisclosed sum of money, the Hudson Development Corporation announced October 26. The sale of the site, located on Montgomery Street in the city's 1st Ward, needs only the approval of a court because the sale will consist of most of the corporation’s assets. An application for the courts is being prepared — the court must see how the money from the sale will be spent. According to the state Attorney General’s office, sales of this nature must be approved by the attorney general or the state Supreme Court. Approval could take three to six weeks. HDC officials say the deal will be finalized within 10 business days of court approval. It remains unclear what the mystery buyer plans to do with the land, but HDC Board of Directors President Robert Rasner claims the buyer has plans and dreams for a new Hudson neighborhood. “We have worked so long for this, it’s such good news,” he added. Rasner said the pending sale will provide revenue that can steer the future direction of the organization. HDC board treasurer Philip Forman said the organization should focus on creating new jobs with the anticipated revenue and suggested using “our funds to maximize impact on job creation and economic opportunities in Hudson.” Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Melissa Hale-Spencer is reporting for The Altamont Enterprise in addition to the election of various county and municipal officials on November 2, New Yorkers will vote on five amendments to the state constitution. Any proposal to amend the state constitution must be approved by voters statewide. The amendments put forward this year deal with elections, redistricting, the environment, and the courts. Proposal 1 would amend the apportionment and redistricting process. The number of state senators would be frozen at 63. The process for the state’s population would be amended, deleting provisions that violate the United States Constitution. The state assembly and senate district lines would be based on the total population of the state and the state would be required to count all residents, including non-citizens and Native Americans if the federal census fails to include them. It would also provide for incarcerated people to be counted at their place of last residence rather than at their place of incarceration for the purpose of redistricting. Proposal 2 would add just one sentence to the Bill of Rights in Article I of the New York Constitution: “Each person shall have a right to clean air and water, and a healthful environment.” Proposal 3 would remove the constitution’s current requirement that a citizen be registered to vote at least 10 days before an election and would allow the legislature to enact laws permitting a citizen to register to vote less than 10 days before the election. Proposal 4 is a no-excuse-needed for absentee voting amendment. It would eliminate the requirement that an absentee voter must be unable to appear at the polls due to absence from the county or illness or physical disability. Currently, the state constitution allows only these two specific circumstances for an absentee ballot. An emergency executive order signed by then-Governor Andrew Cuomo during the pandemic, and then a state law following that, allowed no-excuse-needed absentee voting to stem the spread of COVID-19. If this amendment is approved, no-excuse-needed absentee voting would become part of the constitution, reform long sought by voting-rights advocates. Proposal 5 applies only to New York City Civil Court but must be passed statewide in order to amend the constitution. The amendment would increase the jurisdiction of the city’s civil court, a trial court, to hear and decide claims for up to $50,000 instead of the current limit of $25,000. A detailed  description of the five ballot proposals is available at the state Board of Elections website. Note: the five propositions are printed on the reverse side of the ballot. Read more in The Altamont Enterprise

Raymond Pignone has rundown for Columbia-Greene Media of the three candidates running for two open seats on the Greenville Town Board: Richard Bear and Travis J. Richards running on the Republican and Conservatives lines, and Michelle Clark, on the Democratic and Working Families lines. Richards failed to submit responses to the paper's questions in time for the final deadline. Incumbent Bear, 68, is a lifelong resident of Greene County. He is retired from full-time employment, but currently works as a school bus driver. He previously served as Greenville's assessor and its highway superintendent. Bear says, "Our sewer and water system has always been a top issue. We have been working on that a lot. Our highway and roads are very much a top issue. Our community has grown very quickly in the last couple of years." He is proud to be a community member — being a town board member, but also someone who volunteers for events, such as Greenville Day. "I am proud of working to get our community moving forward by doing the sidewalk program and also our sewer and water. I am very proud of getting those things moving forward," Bear said. Clark, 29, is a resident of Freehold and has lived in the county for eight years. She is employed as an auto parts specialist. Clarks says, "There are several areas of concern here in Greenville so to focus on one is difficult. I would say, our emergency services including the Greenville Volunteer Fire Department as well as the Greenville Rescue Squad are facing difficulties regarding their current buildings. There is inadequate space and, in some situations, can present hazards to personnel and exposing equipment to the elements unnecessarily. ..." Clark said if elected she would like to have inclusive playground equipment installed at the town park, bring in social programs to enhance quality of life for both young and old, and take extensive measures to bring in more businesses and medical providers, and to advocate for better wages for town employees. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.