The Times Union reports two COVID-19 deaths this week from unvaccinated Columbia County residents under the age of 60. Currently, there are more coronavirus cases in Columbia County since the days when only a few people were vaccinated. "I think that’s a function of people doing their summer get-togethers and the contagiousness of the delta variant," Columbia County Health Director Jack Mabb said. "It’s also the case that the majority of the positives are still among the unvaccinated." Meanwhile, the Daily Freeman reports that Dutchess County announced another coronavirus death on Sept. 7, the eighth in six days. There have been 26 coronavirus deaths there since the beginning of August. Between May and August Dutchess County reported just five deaths. In Ulster County, the city of Kingston is now holding its public meetings online only due to the growing number of coronavirus cases. Ulster County reported 48 new COVID-19 cases Sept. 6. Greene County, with a much smaller population, announced 41 new cases Sept. 7. Albany County, with a much larger population than Greene County, announced 48 more cases Sept. 8.

Nick Reisman reports at New York State of Politics that Gov. Kathy Hochul says that New York is doing fairly well in the latest wave of COVID-19 cases. While hospitals in some parts of the country are overwhelmed with patients, New York current has 36 percent of hospital beds available and 26 percent of intensive care units open. "That is manageable today. They know what to do; they've done this before," Hochul said at a New York City news conference. "We stand ready to do what we need to do to trigger more hospital capacity." Now the state is preparing to dole out booster vaccine shots beginning Sept. 20. "We're looking very good," Hochul said of the booster shot plan. "They don't think we're going to have any capacity issues or volume." Local health departments are getting $65 million to give out the booster shots, one part of the plan to end the pandemic. "The bottom line is it's all about getting vaccinated and wearing the mask," Hochul said. "There's nothing new with how we're dealing with this next phase." Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Michelle Del Rey reports in the Times Union that a fourth Democrat is running in New York’s 21st Congressional District, even though where the district lines are drawn is still a mystery. Matt Castelli, a former CIA officer and counterterrorism official, announced Sept. 8 he is vying to take on Republican incumbent Elise Stefanik. Castelli was the director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council under the administrations of presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump and, before that, a CIA officer based in Afghanistan and Iraq. Castelli says he is running to “prioritize country before party and create better economic, health and education outcomes in North Country communities.” Castelli said he came decided to run after Stefanik wrongly attempted to blame Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the right-wing attempt to overthrow the United States earlier this year. “The American people deserve to know the truth – that Nancy Pelosi bears responsibility as speaker of the house, for the tragedy that occurred on Jan. 6,” Stefanik incorrectly said. Stefanik participated in the attempted overthrow by voting against certifying the free and fair Electoral College vote. Matthew Putorti, a lawyer from Whitehall, New York, Wilton resident Ezra Watson, and Brigid “Bridie” Farrell from Saratoge Springs, have also announced they are running for the Congressional seat. Redistricting, however, won't set the lines of the district until later this year. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

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MidHudson News is reporting Attorney Kyle Van De Water of Hyde Park, the Republican candidate for Congress against incumbent Antonio Delgado in 2020, died on Sept. 7. In July, Van De Water, 41, announced he would challenge the Rhinebeck Democrat again in 2022, but by mid-August, he disclosed on social media that he had changed his mind, saying, "Unfortunately, circumstances in my life have changed and I am no longer able to give 110 percent towards this endeavor. For the good of the party, and the district, I have decided to withdraw my candidacy." Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro confirmed Van de Water’s death in a statement Tuesday evening. “My heart is broken for Kyle’s children and family,” he said. “My prayers are with them as they attempt to come to grips with this absolute tragedy. Kyle was a war hero who put his life and well-being on the line for his country. We owe him, his family, and all of our brave service men and women everything for the sacrifices they have made.” Van De Water served eight years on active duty with the U.S. Army JAG Corps, and three years with the U.S. Army Reserve. He had been an associate with Corbally, Gartland and Rappleyea in Poughkeepsie since 2014. On Tuesday, the town of Poughkeepsie police responded to a call of a man down at the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery. Police located the man and later identified him as Van De Water. Police sources say that the death is being investigated as a likely suicide. No additional details have been made available. Read the full story at MidHudsonNews [dot] com.

Jeff Preval is reporting for WGRZ-TV the state of New York will not extend federal pandemic unemployment programs that expired this past weekend. Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state's unemployment insurance trust fund currently has a deficit of $11 billion as many employers continue to need help filling jobs and many New Yorkers remain unemployed. Even though the federal programs have expired, states are permitted to extend unemployment programs, according to the CARES Act. However, that will not happen in New York. Hochul said during a briefing Sunday about the Hurricane Ida cleanup, "What we determined was that the federal government has to okay allocations to us and secondly because our unemployment system was so overtaxed last year and a half that we now have an $11 billion deficit [unemployment insurance trust fund deficit] and the state law does not allow us any increases in resources as long as there is a deficit," Hochul said. The governor said she is instead focused on job retraining for the unemployed. Hochul said that she is looking for a detailed analysis on when the hospitality industry in Buffalo and other regions will come back. Read the full story at WGRZ [dot] com.

Davis Dunavin is reporting for WSHU-FM the response of New York and Connecticut has been better than average for how those state prison systems responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a nationwide criminal justice group. However, advocates said both states could still do more. The Prison Policy Initiative gave the majority of states an F, while New York and Connecticut were given an F-plus. Wanda Bertram is with the Prison Policy Initiative and she said the people incarcerated in the nation's prisons are are dying of COVID-19 at much higher rates than the general population. “Because prisons have never been safe places for people to be during a pandemic, or really ever,” Bertram said. The group graded each state based on about 30 metrics, like vaccination efforts for the incarcerated, or early release for those at highest risk. “Releasing people and letting them go home during the pandemic is the best way of slowing down this virus inside prisons and jails,” Bertram said. She said both states left key policy options on the table. “For instance, Connecticut and New York actually released fewer people on parole in 2020 than they had in 2019. Which is astonishing to me,” Bertram said. She said New York fell short on some surprising metrics, too. “All too often we think about mass incarceration and inhuman treatment as something that only happens in those famous tough-on-crime states, like the gulf states. But in New York, the vaccination rate behind bars is only 40 percent. So people are in real danger,” Bertram said. The report gave New Jersey its highest grade — a C. The state led the country in releasing people. California got a C-, and no other state scored above a D. Read the full story at WSHU [dot] org.


Melanie Lekocevic reports for Columbia-Greene Media that the toll takers on the Rip Van Winkle Bridge are about to lose their jobs. The electronic gantries to implement cashless tolling have been installed next to the toll booths on the west bank of the Hudson River, but officials aren't saying when exactly the current toll-takers lose their jobs. “No official date has been set yet for the launch of cashless tolling at the Rip Van Winkle Bridge, but we are still on track to do so this fall,” said Christopher Steber, public information officer for the New York State Bridge Authority. “We continue to install equipment at the facility and once complete, we will begin tests to ensure the equipment is properly functioning.” EZ-Pass users continue to pay $1.45 to enter Columbia County, while the sensors will read license plates of cars without EZ-Pass, and send 1 $1.75 charge to the car owner. All five Bridge Authority toll booths are being taken down, and the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge went live July 7 with the new sensors. The Bear Mountain Bridge will be next, followed by the Rip Van Winkle Bridge. The current toll booth on the bridge won't be removed until next year. “Next spring, when construction can occur, we plan to start reconfiguring the toll plaza to allow for seamless travel through the plaza,” Steber said. “Notably, westbound travelers who have just crossed the bridge will no longer have to hook to the right in order to pass around the tollbooths like they currently do. Rather, they will keep traveling straight through, in the vicinity of where lanes 2 and 3 currently are.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Today's daily news update.

Roger Hannigan Gilson in the Times Union reports that environmentalists are concerned about a proposal by a Yonkers-based company attempting to build a plant in the Catskill Park to convert food waste and other trash into paper products and “biofuel pellets” that could replace coal. The plant would go in Delaware County, less than 2,000 feet from the Schoharie Creek, near the Greene County border. Hughes Energy would attempt the first use of this technology in the U.S., with a goal of diverting more than 176,000 tons of garbage from landfills each year. So far there have been two public information sessions about the proposal. Wes Gillingham, the associate director of Catskill Mountainkeeper, said there was a lot of opposition. “[Hughes Energy CEO Dane McSpedon] had a really hard time getting through his program because people were so angry,” Gillingham said. “Something that needs to be considered in any proposal is whether the community where it’s being placed wants it there – it’s their community,” he added. Municipal garbage would be trucked to the plant from transfer stations within a 50-mile radius, if the proposal is approved. The state Department of Environmental Conservation needs to decide whether the proposal could have enough impact on its surroundings to require a full environmental review. LaFarge in Ravena has attempted to burn trash in its kilns, and, so far has not been allowed. A proposal to bury waste in Catskill was withdrawn a few years ago too. Gillingham says, “At this point this looks like a really bad proposal for the Catskills.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Mid-Hudson News reports that a bill that would prohibit elected officials from serving on the boards of industrial development agencies failed this year in the state legislature. State Senator James Skoufis, a Democrat, sponsored the measure, which was approved in the Senate, did not win approval in the Assembly. “I won’t name names, but you can read between the lines. You had elected officials that served on the Orange County IDA board and many other IDA boards for many years. They will give out all these tax breaks, all these PILOTS, some of which are warranted and some of which are unwarranted, and then they run for higher office, and then the Rolodex comes out and they call up all these folks,” he said. Skoufis also suggested that some elected officials who serve on IDA boards get campaign contributions from those getting tax relief. Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.

Michael DeMasi reports in the Albany Business Review that the former Thomson House Resort, a 141-year-old, 110-room resort on Route 296 in Windham, has begun renovations. Wylder Hotels of Los Angeles bought the resort in June for $2.27 million, according to a deed filed in the county clerk's office. They are now calling the property Wylder Windham, and expect to open in spring 2022. Wylder owns resorts in Hope Valley, California, and Tilghman Island, Maryland, and their Wylder Hope Valley in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains was named one of the best new properties in the world by Travel + Leisure recently. The resort, with 20 acres and the Batavia Kill crossing the property, was owned by members of the Goettsche family since 1880 but Eric Goettsche of Windham couldn't be reached for comment. John Flannigan, founder and CEO of Wylder Hotels, would not say how much the company is spending on renovations. Read more about this story in the Albany Business Review.

Today's daily headlines.

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Paul Nelson is reporting for the Times Union on Sept. 5, Amtrak will resume all scheduled service between New York City and the Albany-Rensselear station along with other services, the rail service has announced. Trains will also be operating again along the Empire Service and Maple Leaf routes, the Ethan Allen Express and Amtrak Trains 48 and 49 and the Lake Shore Limited to and from Chicago. The service and others along the Hudson River were temporarily shut down after the area was hit hard last week by the remnants of Hurricane Ida. Anyone looking for more information is advised to call 800-USA-RAIL. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Nick Reisman is reporting for State of Politics that good-government organizations, press groups, and advocates for people with disabilities in New York last week called for a public hearing on the state's open meetings law after state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul agreed to allow government bodies to meet remotely until January 15. Local and state government entities must provide electronic access to meetings for the public. The measure was approved as the more contagious delta variant has led to a spike in transmissions and hospitalizations. The state of emergency previously allowed government bodies to meet remotely during the pandemic has expired. Hochul said after signing the measure into law, "This commonsense legislation extends a privilege that not only helps New Yorkers participate safely in the political process, but also increases New Yorkers' access to their government by allowing for more options to view public meetings." However, the new measure has created concerns from open government advocates that in-person access to elected officials will be limited by the move to allow a return to remote meetings. "New Yorkers should not have to choose between remote access and in-person public meetings," a letter from advocacy groups said last week. "It’s possible to do both, and many public agencies have." The groups, including Reinvent Albany, the New York Public Interest Research Group, Common Cause, the New York News Publishers Association and the Center for the Independence of the Disabled, New York, are arguing to continue remote access for people who cannot otherwise attend in-person meetings. According to the coalition's letter, "Unfortunately, many public bodies across the state returned to in-person meetings without remote access and participation for New Yorkers at home. This was a burden for those unable to make it to meeting locations, which can often be hours away." The groups say a public hearing would provide an opportunity for the public, the press, and officials to weigh in on how the Open Meetings Law should be amended to reflect stakeholders’ changing needs. Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.

Sam Raudins is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the city of Hudson is in the process of applying for a community development block grant and is looking for residents interested in participating in the program. “The intention is of course to rehabilitate homes to live in safely, not to flip it for profit,” Mayor’s Aide Michael Hofmann said. Applicants must own and occupy the home as their primary residence, according to the application. Grant funds can also be used to rehabilitate up to two rental units — provided the units remain affordable. The city must submit grant material by the end of September, and interested property owners should apply by September 20, Hofmann said. The maximum grant award is $500,000, which translates to $30,000 to $40,000 per unit being renovated, Hofmann said. Applicants must make less than approximately $54,000 for a family of three, to qualify; preference will be given to who earn $36,600 or less. If the award is granted, the city would receive the funds in 2022. The Common Council last month adopted the resolution authorizing Mayor Kamal Johnson to apply for the grant on the city’s behalf. Those interested can apply on the city’s website. Note: Johnson is a volunteer WGXC on-air programmer. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Shaniece Holmes-Brown reports in the Times Union that the number of deaths from motorcycle crashes in New York increased by 35 percent from 2019 to 2020, according to the state Department of Motor Vehicle. “Despite fewer vehicles on the road last year, we saw a startling increase in deadly motorcycle crashes and every life lost was someone’s loved one,” DMV Commissioner Mark J.F. Schroeder said in a written statement. Officials said one explanation for the increase in motorcycle fatalities is that more people bought motorcycles during the pandemic, state officials said. “I think the pandemic made people look a little bit more at outside activities. People wanted to be more outside-oriented because anything that was happening indoors got canceled,” said State Police Trooper Ian DeGiovine. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said “driving patterns and behaviors" changed last year and "drivers who remained on the roads engaged in more risky behavior, including speeding, failing to wear seat belts, and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Friends of Chamber Music Troy NY announce their new concert season and the start of their interactive discussion "Performance in Context" with the current season's musicians, The Escher String Quartet. Jennifer Laursen talks with WOOC's Andrea Cunliffe about Chamber Music, its history, and its future in an experimental technological journey. The "Performance in Context" interactive discussion begins with the Escher String Quartet on Sept 9 and their concert performance Sept 12 at SUNY Albany's spacious Page Hall auditorium. See www.friendsofchambermusic.org for details.