Sam Raudins is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media that the creation of new businesses in Greene County is on the rise, growing by nearly 18 percent from 2019 to 2020, according to a study by the Center for Economic Growth. In the eight-county Capital Region last year, 9,465 business formation applications were submitted to the Internal Revenue Service, a 3.2 percent increase over the previous year. Greene and Schenectady counties led the region in growth. The study defines a business as corporations, partnerships, nonprofits and sole proprietorships. Greene County Chamber of Commerce President Jeffrey Friedman said the county has seen a large number of businesses start up in the last few years, spanning many types of industries. “We’ve had lots of new restaurants, some new manufacturing businesses and new art-related and creative economy businesses. It has been a wide array of businesses across numerous industries,” Friedman said. He said the growth could be a factor of a few conditions: people discovering Greene County as they leave more heavily populated areas, the availability of storefronts and commercial real estate and the efforts of the chamber to promote the area. Greene County sales tax collection from January to May 2021 exceeded $15 million, an increase of more than $3 million over the first five months of 2020, according to a report from the Office of the state Comptroller. Greene County’s sales tax rate is 8 percent; half goes to the state and the other half to the county. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

The Daily Freeman is reporting that the only winning ticket in the Take 5 lottery drawing on July 31, worth almost $45,000, was sold at a convenience store in Claverack, according to the New York lottery division. The winning ticket was purchased at the Xtra Mart shop at the intersection of routes 9H and 23. The ticket matched all five numbers drawn — 5, 20, 21, 22 and 30 — to win the jackpot of $44,971.50. The odds of matching all five numbers picked are 575,757 to 1. New York lottery prizes can be claimed for up to one year from the date of the drawing. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Athens Village Board has asked Athens Performing Arts Corporation to require attendees at the group's weekly concerts to wear face masks and practice social distancing. The first event in the annual series hosted by APAC was held Fri., Jul. 30, in Riverfront Park. Village board member Joshua Lipsman, a physician and former public health official, suggested that face coverings be required in public spaces, arguing that Greene County is in a substantial state of transmission and has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the state. As of late last week, in Greene County, 61.9 percent of adults and 54.1 percent of all residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine. The seven-day rolling positivity rate in the county was 5 percent as of July 29. “We are on the verge, if we don’t do something, of having a significant outbreak in our area,” Lipsman said. Village board members expressed concern about the concert series, which typically draws hundreds of people to the village. “We don’t have any cases here in Athens right now, but APAC does attract people from other spots so I think some of these efforts will go a long way,” Mayor Amy Serrago said. “We will get through Friday and then see what is happening next week.” Serrago acknowledged that enforcement will be challenging. Rick Surrano, a representative of APAC, said he spoke with the group’s board of directors and they will comply with the village’s mandate. APAC is offering an abbreviated six-concert series this year. In a typical year, there are 10 performances, but the pandemic made for a shortened season. Information at AthensVillageNY [dot] com. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Andrea Macko is reporting for Porcupine Soup the historic former Freehold House located on County Route 67 at State Route 32, will be sold at auction August 10, by the Internal Revenue Service. The debtor and most recent owner, Bounty America Pharm New York is headquartered in Santa Ana, CA. According to the IRS, the minimum bid will be $73,192. The sale includes two parcels, located at 3645 County Road 67, and the parking lot across the street. The property has two commercial buildings previously used as a restaurant, event and wedding venue. One of the buildings has two apartments on the second floor. According to Greene County tax records, the main parcel is assessed at $345,000, while the smaller parking lot parcel is assessed at $18,000. Built in 1791, the large white structure was once a stagecoach stop, and is listed on the Greene County Historic Register. The properties were acquired by the Greene County Industrial Development Agency in 2011. In 2015, the IDA sold the properties to Bounty America Pharm New York for $110,000. The company specializes in ginseng and hoped to establish a restaurant, education center and retail store on the property, but those plans never materialized. Read the full story at porcupinesoup [dot] com.

Bernadette Hogan, Georgett Roberts, Priscilla DeGregory and Bruce Golding are reporting for the New York Post the current state moratorium on evictions will remain in place for another month even as a similar federal ban expires this weekend, giving New Yorkers who owe back rent at least 30 more days before landlords begin to take action. New York is one of nine states along with Washington, DC, where tenant protections run past the deadline set last month when Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended an order banning evictions “to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.” In May, Gov. Andrew Cuomo extended the state ban on virtually all eviction and foreclosure proceedings through Aug. 31. Olga Someras, general counsel of the pro-landlord Rent Stabilization Association, is predicting the housing courts will be overwhelmed by “the sheer volume of cases” once the moratorium ends. “I think what you will see is a lot of people going into foreclosure, being forced to sell to cash buyers or people able to take advantage of landlords who can’t wait anymore for the court to allow their case to proceed,” she said. Meanwhile, the state is sitting on a $2.7 billion that was set aside to cover up to 15 months of back rent and up to a year of utility bills owed by low- and moderate-income households, regardless of immigration status. Last week, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer blasted the Cuomo’ administration for not handing out the money, “before it’s too late for tenants and landlords.” Cuomo has now announced a streamlined application process that he said would result in payments to as many as 200,000 households. Read more in the New York Post.

Cloey Callahan reports in the Times Union on July 26 Gov. Andrew Cuomo identified two Greene County zip codes with COVID-19 vaccination rates below the statewide average and new positive cases per capita above the statewide average. The zip codes are 12058, for Earlton, and 12083, for Greenville. Cuomo also mentioned 12540, for Lagrangeville in Dutchess County, and three zip codes in Orange County. "The level of transmission in Greene County over the past seven days is now so high — 59 cases out of 100,000 as of Wednesday, the highest of any place in New York outside of the Bronx — that the county health department asked residents on its Facebook page on [July 28] to begin wearing masks indoors, whether vaccinated or not," Callahan wrote. Cuomo also announced a $15 million allocated towards a targeted vaccination campaign on July 26, but Greene County Public Administrator Shaun Groden said he did not know anything about that. So Cuomo announced he is targeting certain zip codes to get more vaccinations, but local officials do not know about any specific plans to get more vaccinations. Instead, Greene County is starting their own "Why Not?" campaign to increase vaccinations. “We get vaccinated as children for the measles and more,” said Groden. “No one complains about that. Schools have mandates for that.” In Greene County right now, pharmacies are the only places to get vaccinated, as county health officials are not holding any vaccine clinics. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Aliya Schneider reports for Columbia-Greene Media that a group of Hudson residents have formed a nonprofit organization to spruce up Hudson's Public Square. The city park is Hudson's centerpiece, the site of rallies, protests, and where many parades begin. Friends of the Public Square HUDSON wants to collaborate with the city and its citizens on park projects. “This group of people really is, I would say newly formed and newly energized,” co-chair Katherine Kanaga said. “We’ve also sought to build a board that is diverse and representative of the community. We’ve been reaching out to different groups like Operation Unite in addition, so we want to make sure that we reach out to all parts of the community.” The group would like to get the fountain working, paint benches a more attractive color and/or replace them, prune trees in poor condition, and mulch and plant bulbs in the Public Square that is Seventh Street and Warren Street. But the Historic Preservation Committee must sign off on any changes to the park. “Four people can’t just show up at the park and determine what’s right for the entire city,” Superintendent of Public Works Robert Perry said. “All I told them was what the department is capable of doing. Whether or not that will happen, that remains to be seen.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Nick Reisman reports for New York State of Politics a fourth-grade class at Cooperstown Elementary School near the Baseball Hall of Fame proposed making baseball New York's official sport. On July 30, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation to make their dream a reality. "Growing up a Queens boy, a love of baseball was instilled at an early age," Cuomo said. "From the '69 and '86 Amazin' Mets to 27 world championships by the Yankees and even having been the home of the Dodgers with Jackie Robinson and the Giants, New York is steeped in an expansive and diverse past with our great national past time. The fervor of the sport is as reflective of our great state as a sport can be, bringing together diverse crowds for the love of the game. New York is the birthplace of baseball and I'm proud to finally make it our official state sport." New York has a long history with baseball, with many minor league teams, Negro League clubs, and the first documented grand slam hit in Troy. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

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Diane Walden is reporting for The Columbia Paper Hecate [HEK-uh-tee] Energy is reportedly in the process of further shrinking its proposed industrial-sized solar facility slated for construction in the town of Copake. Headquartered in Chicago, Hecate Energy is a developer of solar and wind facilities, as well as energy storage projects. In his Hecate update delivered during the July 17, Copake Town Board meeting, Deputy Supervisor Richard Wolf said he and Supervisor Jeanne E. Mettler met with Hecate Partner and Chief Strategy Officer David Wilhelm, Senior Vice President of Environmental and Permitting Diane Sullivan, and Shepherd’s Run Project Manager Alex Campbell in June. During that meeting Mettler and Wolf “reiterated the town’s two primary objections to the project as currently proposed: (1) it is too big for Copake, and (2) the proposed siting is no good,” Wolf said. He said that while the meeting failed to produce any tangible progress, they had been told the company is currently in the process of revising its plan for Shepherd's Run. "We do not know when that will be, but we look forward to seeing the revised plan, and to further discussions with Hecate representatives,” Wolf said. In response, Project Manager Campbell responded by email, “Hecate continues to work diligently to refine and improve the Shepherd’s Run project. When we began, the project encompassed 480 acres inside the fence. ... The current size of the project is 255 acres inside the fence, a 47 percent reduction. In addition, we improved the project by adding pollinator planting plans with apiaries, creating a robust landscaping plan and removing the battery storage option of the project. We are proud of this project for doing something meaningful to address the climate change crisis that threatens to impact all of us. ....” Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

Rick Karlin is reporting for the Times Union the State Employees Federal Credit Union, or SEFCU, and the Capital Communications Federal Credit Union, or CAP COM are planning to merge. Once the process is complete, it would create the region’s largest financial institution at $8 billion and one of the top five credit unions in the state. Due diligence research and state and federal approval are ahead, but the merger plan was approved July 28, by the institutions' directors. The merger is expected to take place in 2022. Leaders of the credit unions say there will be no layoffs as a result, describing it as a union of two equals. One reason behind the merger was the need to compete as consolidation continues to grow in the credit union industry. Credit unions are similar to banks, offering consumer loans, credit cards and mortgages as well as deposits, but they are nonprofits technically owned by the members. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Nick Reisman is reporting for State of Politics the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on how public meetings in New York were conducted, making it possible for elected officials and members of the public to participate. As the state's emergency orders for the pandemic are ending, and concerns over the rising number of cases and the delta variant remain, good-government organizations are trying to find a way for public meetings to be held with both transparency and safety in mind. Led by Reinvent Albany, those groups called on the state's open government office this week to publish guidance on how public meetings should be conducted. And there are questions over how public bodies at the state and local level would provide accommodations for people with disabilities. The state Legislature, for instance, continued to meet through the crisis, though some lawmakers appeared remotely. A meeting of the Senate Ethics Committee earlier this month was postponed and rescheduled for August amid questions over whether lawmakers could attend remotely. "Ideally, the state will find a way to both resume in-person meetings and ensure remote access," the letter states. "...The Open Meetings Law strives for maximum transparency, and the end of the COVID-19 emergency must not result in diminished access for the public." Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.

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Sam Raudins reports for Columbia-Greene Media that seven Greene County municipalities have the lowest vaccination rates in Capital Region. In Durham, Maplecrest, Jewett, Surprise, Coxsackie, Lexington, and Oak Hill less than 37 percent of their total populations have received at least one dose of the vaccine. In Surprise, the statistics are the lowest, with just 28.4 percent of the population with at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Coxsackie is only at 32.1 percent, Durham is at 34.6 percent, Jewett reports 34.7 percent, in Maplecrest 35.2 percent of the population has received at least one dose, Lexington is at 36 percent, and Oak Hill follows at 36.1 percent. Greene County Public Health announced on July 28, it is asking everyone to wear a mask in all public indoor settings to help prevent the spread of COVID regardless of their vaccination status. The request comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined the county is at substantial risk of community transmission. “Each person who is immune protects those around them. Although this system is not an exact science, it has been incredibly effective in reducing the transmission of all communicable diseases, not just COVID-19,” read a social media post from Greene County Public Health. The Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus is much more contagious, and spreading rapidly locally and across the country. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Patricia R. Doxsey reports in the Daily Freeman that the Ulster County Legislature has a rule prohibiting resolutions defeated in committee from being reintroduced for consideration. In July, in July Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan requested the positions of director of recovery and resilience at an annual salary of $126,374; recovery and resilience project manager at an annual salary of $79,875; and assistant director of recovery and resilience at an annual salary of $56,564 to administer the $34 million in American Rescue Plan funds allocated to the county. But that resolution was voted down in the Legislature’s Ways and Means Committee on July 20. So Ryan introduced an identical resolution for the August meeting, but with a $1 reduction in the director’s salary. Legislature Chair Dave Donaldson said he expects to rule the resolution “out of order.... Despite the idea that I support (the creation of the positions), I don’t believe it fits within our rules.” Assistant Deputy County Executive Dan Torres said the administration “resubmitted [the resolution] to allow us to continue the conversation with the Legislature on having staff administer the $34 million dollars of federal funds.” If the legislature does debate the issue, Ryan will have to deal with several members of the Ways and Means Committee who thought the proposed salaries were too high. a href="https://www.dailyfreeman.com/2021/07/28/ulster-county-legislature-rebukes-executives-resolution-to-create-three-positions/">Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Melanie Lekocevic reports for Capital Region Independent Media that Mayor Bill Misuraca said Ravena has a duck problem at the July 20 town meeting. “Certain people, maybe a group of people, think they are cute. I think little fuzzy ducks are cute, too, but they are not cute when they are defecating in your swimming pool and on your patio and creating a health hazard,” Misuraca said. “Also, there is a noise factor, too.” Complaints have come in from Biechman Road, Cary Street, and Woodlawn Drive. “I have been talking to people who live in the affected areas and they are upset, understandably so,” Misuraca said. “We have tried to reach out to the people that are feeding them, that are enabling these ducks and keeping them around. The more they feed them, the more they breed, and there is overpopulation. It’s not fair to the animals and it’s not fair to the people.” The village cannot trap them, since ducks are a federally protected species. Instead Misuraca is proposing a local law prohibiting feeding any wildlife, with the exception of birds, as long as the bird feeder is at least four feet off the ground, so it is not accessible to ducks. At this stage, he's calling for a fine of $300 for a first offense and $600 for a second offense, but still finalizing the law's language. But it may not matter since, “We are really hoping that we don’t have to have the police enforce this law and that people finally get the point to stop feeding the ducks,” Misuraca said. Read more about this story in the Ravena News-Herald.

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Nick Reisman is reporting for State of Politics Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced July 28, that all state workers will be required to be vaccinated by Labor Day, or be tested weekly for COVID-19. Cuomo also encouraged local governments to take similar steps as well as school districts in areas where there are high COVID-19 positivity rates. Patient-facing healthcare workers at public-run hospitals will also be required to be vaccinated, Cuomo said. The federal government is expected to set a similar mandate for federal workers and contractors. "New York state is ... working with our unions to implicate this fairly," Cuomo said. "I encourage all local governments the same. It's smart, it's fair, it's in everyone's interest." The Civil Service Employees Association Wednesday announced its support for the policy; the union that represents State Troopers said it had been caught off guard by Cuomo's announcement and was reviewing its legal options. The Public Employees Federation, a union that represents mostly white-collar workers, said the mandate would have to be part of a collective bargaining agreement with the state. The New York State United Teachers in a statement said it wanted to encourage more shots on the local level. Reisman is also reporting the state bar association on Wednesday announced the formation of a task force to review vaccination mandates. That task force will look at whether broad mandates for vaccinations are needed and examine vaccine hesitancy among vulnerable groups such as people of color and Indigenous people. Roughly 75 percent of New York adults have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Read both stories at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.