MidHudson News reports that Ulster County is starting an “Environmental Considerations Checklist” for capital projects and updating the county’s purchasing policies to stave off global warming. Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan says that now items purchased by the county will meet green standards for environmental protection as it moves towards its goal of using 100 percent renewable electricity by 2030. Ryan says the county will take into account greenhouse gas reduction, renewable energy expansion, natural resource protection, and other issues when making purchases. Ulster County will also prioritize vendors who produce recycled products. 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.

Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the sale of Confederate flags by a vendor at a firefighters’ parade last weekend has caused a furor on social media and led to threats against an event organizer. Confederate flags have been deemed a hate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League and in December, under legislation signed by former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, the flags were prohibited from being sold or displayed on state-owned property in New York. The flags were being sold by a vendor at McQuade Park in Coxsackie after the Mardi Gras parade on October 8. McQuade Park is owned by the village. The issue was raised at the October 12, meeting of the Coxsackie Village Board. Mayor Mark Evans explained that the fire company sought permission to hold the event at McQuade Park as part of the 150th anniversary celebration of D.M. Hamilton Steamer Co. No. 2. Resident Carly Lynch asked that the village develop guidelines for use of the park that are in line with the 2020 state legislation. “I expect the village to move swiftly to create guidelines that align with this state law, making it unlawful to sell or display the Confederate flag or other ‘symbols of hate’ on community property like McQuade Park or at community events,” Lynch said. She called having the Confederate flag at a local park offensive and distressing. “I was totally shocked,” Lynch said. Evans said the fire company asked the vendor to remove the Confederate flags after it was made aware of them. The vendor agreed to take the flags down around 9:30 p.m. Friday, D.M. Hamilton Steamer Co. President T.J. Moore said. Organizers and officials declined to identify the vendor. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Patricia R. Doxsey is reporting for the Daily Freeman Dutchess County residents would see the largest property tax cut in the county’s history under the 2022 spending plan proposed by County Executive Marc Molinaro. In an October 13 press release, Molinaro said his tentative budget would cut the property tax levy by $5.5 million, resulting in a decrease in the average property tax rate of more than 10 percent. His spending plan would also restore funding for all positions in county government and expand and enhance programs, including mental health services, domestic violence victim advocacy, expanded in-home senior care support, emergency preparedness, small business promotion and support, parks investments, opioid abuse treatment and case management. Molinaro will unveil the proposed budget on Oct. 27. If approved by the county Legislature as presented, the county will see the eighth consecutive property tax levy cut and the seventh consecutive property tax cut since Molinaro took office in 2011. Earlier this month he announced his annual spending plan would include the elimination of the county’s 4 percent sales tax on clothing and footwear costing up to $110. Molinaro, a Republican, has declared his candidacy for New York’s 19th Congressional District seat. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Noah Zweifel is reporting for The Altamont Enterprise in the town of Berne incumbents are not running for re-election and both the Republicans and the Democrats have fielded full slates of candidates. Democrats had dominated town politics for decades, but with the 2016 election, even with an enrollment heavily favoring the Democrats, the town went for Donald Trump, and the GOP found a way into local politics. In 2020, a majority Republican town board took office and this year the one remaining Democrat on the town board is not running for re-election. In the November, Democrat Peggy Christman, a retired State Police lieutenant, is facing off against Republican Dennis Palow, who is retired from the U.S. Army and is now serving as the town's deputy supervisor. Republican incumbent Sean Lyons is not seeking re-election. In the race for a seat on the town board, carrying a two-year term because of a resignation, Democrat Timothy Lippert, the town’s former code-enforcement officer, is running against long-time town clerk, Anita Clayton. Clayton, a registered Democrat, did not win the Democratic line in the June primary, so she is running on the GOP line. A four-way race for two four-year terms on the board pits Democrats Jennifer Merrill-Fuller, a community volunteer, and retired biologist Patrick Martin, against Republicans Thomas Doolin, a physician’s assistant and Leo Vane, a retired pilot who was appointed to the board in March. Six of the eight town board candidates participated in an online live forum last week. Doolin, who was working at the time of the live event, answered questions prior to the event. Palow, the GOP candidate for supervisor, declined to participate and Vane, a Republican candidate for town board, failed to respond to multiple invitations. Read the details of the forum in The Altamont Enterprise.

Jerry Zremski reports in the Buffalo News that vaccinated Canadians can cross the border into the United States in early November, the Biden administration announced Oct. 12. The border has been closed to all but essential Canadian travelers for 19 months because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccinated Americans have been allowed into Canada since August. “Since the beginning of the pandemic, members of our shared cross-border community have felt the pain and economic hardship of the land border closures," said New York Senator Chuck Schumer. "That pain is about to end. Very soon, the link between New York and our northern neighbors will finally be re-established, reuniting families, bolstering businesses and ending a frustrating cycle of waiting for everyone involved.” While Canada requires vaccinated Americans show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of their arrival, the United States will not have that requirement. Read more about this story in the Buffalo News.

Today's daily news update.

Massarah Mikati reports in the Times Union that the Albany area is expecting 500 refugees this fiscal year, while an affordable housing crisis throughout the Hudson Valley means there are few options for them. “We had everybody looking for an apartment, and it just wasn’t there,” said Tim Doherty, executive director of the West Hill Refugee Welcome Center. “We don’t know how many (refugees) are going to come — where can we even house them?” Of the incoming residents, 100 come from Afghanistan. "The group is probably experiencing first-hand what low-income residents and communities of color in Albany have been experiencing for decades and has only worsened, which is a severe lack of affordable housing,” said Rebecca Garrard, legislative director and housing advocate with Citizen Action of New York. The Albany Housing Authority waitlist for public and Section 8 housing was around 10,000 before the COVID-19 pandemic, now it is at almost 13,400. A report recently showed Greene County with fewer houses and buildings than 10 years ago, thanks to decay, powerful global warming-fueled storms, and other factors. Short-term rentals are way up, fueled by the lack of hotel rooms, taking more rental properties off the market. And as the supply of housing shrinks, the demand has increased, especially since the pandemic. Under a capitalist system, when supply dwindles, and demand increases, prices go up. And the pandemic has made it all worse. “We know that a lot of (income) should be coming back to the landlords through (emergency rental assistance), but there’s a lack of patience,” Garrard said. “What we’ve seen is landlords increasing rents to recoup the losses they suffered during the pandemic.” And developers make more money on high-end housing than affordable units, and governments locally have not stepped in to build new spaces. And Albany typically gets about 100 refugees a year, so five times that many is problematic. “The (refugee resettlement) collaborative is having these big conversations and calling attention to the complicated historical and current factors that are truly contributing to this impossible situation,” Ali Schaeffing, a board member at the West Hill Refugee Welcome Center said. “We’re having these conversations, while also getting creative about housing solutions.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Jackie Lieske reports at The River Newsroom that in the Hudson Valley, one in 10 adults and one in six children experience hunger, according to Hunger Solutions NY, as just 31 percent of food produced in the Hudson Valley is sold here. In 2014 the group Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley launched its Hudson Valley Farm Fresh Food Initiative, and in 2017, became the first nonprofit to license and customize ChowMatch, an app connecting food donations to food pantries through a network of volunteers. The idea is to divert food that would have gone to waste with those in need. They call their version of the app FeedHV, where farmers can track donations by pallets and bushels and let volunteers go directly to a farm to glean (or harvest excess) produce for donation. The Hudson Valley Agribusiness Development Corporation now runs the app. “FeedHV fits with our holistic approach to food system development and investment in farms,” says Mary Ann Johnson, deputy director of HVADC. “The app provides our farmers with an option to make donations easy and places their food where it’s needed. FeedHV has helped us fulfill our programmatic goals and move closer to our vision of a viable food system.” So far, the app has diverted 378,487 pounds of food from the waste stream to hungry mouths, and prevented 394 metric tons of carbon emissions from food waste and provided 315,706 meals to local families. Read more about this story at The River Newsroom.

Nick Reisman reports for New York State of Politics that at the Citizens Budget Commission's annual gala Oct. 12, Gov. Kathy Hochul said she wants to make "historic investments" in green infrastructure projects meant to counter climate change. "I'm committed to New York making historic investments in smart, resilient and green infrastructure," Hochul said. "We're going to be rebuilding our roads and investing in water and climate infrastructure, leading the way on clean energy and transforming our airports, and affordable housing as well. And delivering the public transportation systems that New Yorkers deserve." Democrats in Congress have a similar plan, though two Democrats and Republicans may not let that happen. "We're going to be bold and aggressive because we have no choice," Hochul said. "And that's how I am anyhow. And we could not have a better partner in federal government and I'm a former member of Congress. I know how the levers of government are so incredibly powerful in Washington when they work closely with the states." Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Today's daily headlines.

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

Brendan J. Lyons is reporting for the Times Union a federal judge in Utica October 12, granted a preliminary injunction on behalf of 17 unidentified medical workers who contend that the state, in establishing its vaccine mandate for health-care workers, failed to consider religious exemptions thereby violating their constitutional rights. Under the ruling, state health officials must allow employers to grant religious exemptions for healthcare workers while a lawsuit challenging the mandate makes its way through the courts. Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a statement immediately following the decision, saying her "responsibility as governor is to protect the people of this state, and requiring health care workers to get vaccinated accomplishes that. I stand behind this mandate, and I will fight this decision in court to keep New Yorkers safe." In his decision, U.S. District Judge David N. Hurd noted that the state offered no adequate explanation as to why a health care worker who qualified as medically exempt from vaccination could be afforded the ability to submit to daily testing before each shift and wearing a fitted N95 mask, but a worker with a sincere religious objection could not. Hurd concluded there is a good possibility the plaintiffs will prevail at trial by arguing the state's mandate does not meet the requirements for religious accommodations under the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, and that it violates the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause. In this case, the plaintiffs are arguing that it goes against their religious beliefs to be vaccinated because the COVID-19 vaccines that are available used fetal stem cell tissues derived from abortions as part of their research and development. The court's decision will not affect health care workers who have not invoked a religious exemption as their reason for not getting vaccinated. Read the full story in the Times Union.

There are signs the latest surge in COVID-19 cases locally is abating, and other reports show no improvement. The Daily Freeman reports that the case count in Ulster County has fallen to a two-month low. On Oct. 12, Ulster County officials reported 257 coronavirus cases, down 31 Oct. 8. That is the first time Ulster County reported fewer than 260 active cases since Aug. 7, and far below the 698 active cases on Sept. 12. In Dutchess County, though, the numbers are still bad, with 660 COVID-19 cases as of Oct. 12, up six from the day before. Dutchess County has reported 600 cases or more since the last week in September. Both those numbers are much better than the more than 2,500 COVID-19 cases reported in January. Columbia County reported 79 cases Oct. 12, up from 67 on Oct. 9. Greene County reported 42 new cases since Oct. 8, but has the same total since then, 180 people testing positive. Albany County, meanwhile, has announced one new COVID-19 death on each of the last six days. There is no evidence that Rensselaer County has reported to the public how many cases there are there recently.

Andrea Macko is reporting for Porcupine Soup the Durham Town Board last week issued a negative declaration on the Bosque subdivision State Environmental Quality Review, thereby determining the development will not have significant adverse environmental impact. The decision brings the developer closer to building a housing development in the hamlet of Cornwallville. Durham does not have a planning board so the town board serves in that capacity. Bosque Development, of Hudson, submitted its proposal to the town in November 2020, seeking to subdivide 95 acres that border Strong and Cornwallville roads. Bosque intends to build a housing development with 12 new high-end homes and a farming operation. According to a letter from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, “the proposed project will have no adverse Impact to historic and cultural resources. ...” Since the project was first proposed, public comment at meetings and in correspondence has been abundant and largely opposed to the development. Concerns from community members range from environmental and traffic impact to the effect the development will have on the historic character of the hamlet. At the next workshop meeting on November 2, the board is expected to go over standards for a preliminary subdivision review and site plan review. A public hearing is required before the board can approve or deny the project. That hearing has not yet been scheduled. Read the full story at porcupinesoup [dot] com.

Morgan McKay is reporting for State of Politics Governor Kathy Hochul's approval rate has shot up 18 percentage points after 50 days in office, according to a new Marist Poll released October 12. Hochul now has a 49 percent approval rating, but at the same time, 20 percent of New York residents say they are not sure about the job she is doing. The majority of New Yorkers polled, or 77 percent, do not want former Governor Andrew Cuomo to run for office again, including 74 percent of Democrats. The poll also matched up Hochul in two hypothetical Democratic primaries and in each one, Hochul led the 2022 race. In a three-way race with Attorney General Letitia James and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Hochul received 44 percent of the vote compared to 28 percent for James and 15 percent for Williams, while 13 percent said they are unsure. With Cuomo in the race, Hochul would lead with 36 percent of the vote, James with 24 percent, Cuomo at 19 percent, Williams with 9 percent and 12 percent of those polled were unsure. Both James and Williams have yet to officially declare they are running. The poll also showed that New Yorkers have a negative view of the current direction of the state. A total of 54 percent say the state is going in the wrong direction and 39 percent say it is going in the right direction. Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.

Today's daily news update.

Mike Goodwin reports in the Times Union that Albany County announced another COVID-19 death Oct. 12, the sixth day in a row that the virus took the life of a resident there. So far, 413 people have died from coronavirus in Albany County. County officials did not say whether the person was vaccinated or not. Last week, Columbia County officials said that no one there who was vaccinated has died from COVID-19. Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy did say in a statement, “The best way to protect yourselves and loved ones and stop the spread of the virus is by getting the shot if you haven’t already and encouraging family and friends to do the same. And whether or not you’ve been vaccinated, I’m urging everyone to wear a mask while at indoor public places, because we know the virus can still spread among those who have gotten the shot.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Sam Raudins reports at Columbia-Greene Media that two candidates for Hudson's Common Council have dropped out but are still on the ballot, while two other candidates have initiated write-in campaigns for the seats. First Ward Alderperson candidate Gary Purnhagen said July 2 he has taken another job that precludes him from serving, and in the Third Ward, Calvin Lewis recently accepted the assistant director position with Hudson’s Youth Department, and declined to run for Common Council. Margaret Morris is attempting a write-in campaign for the First Ward seat, and Shershah Mizan is attempting a write-in campaign for the Third Ward seat. All four are Democrats, and Lewis will also appear on the Working Families line on the ballot. The deadline to change the ballot is four days after the final day to file petitions to appear in late March. “It is too late to change the ballots, so if elected, the Council will appoint representatives of its choosing in January when their term begins,” the Hudson Democratic Committee posted on Facebook. Voting begins on Oct. 23 and continues through Nov. 2. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.