Here is this week's WGXC Congressional Report, tracking the votes, statements, positions, and campaigns of the representatives and candidates for the 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st Congressional seats in New York. Democrat Pat Ryan is representing the 18th Congressional District, Republican Marc Molinaro represents the 19th Congressional District, Democrat Rep. Paul Tonko represents the 20th District, and Republican Elise Stefanik represents the 21st District. Click here to listen to this report.

Jammel Cutler reports for Columbia-Greene Media that Battle Ground New York, with members of the Working Families Party, and 1199 SEIU and the Indivisible Communication Workers of America unions rallied against Rep. Marc Molinaro in Hudson's Public Square on Nov. 13. Several local politicians attended the rally, including Columbia County District Attorney-elect Chris Liberati-Conant, Columbia County Democratic Party Chairman Sam Hodge, Hudson Mayor Kamal Johnson, Hudson Third Ward Supervisor Michael Chameides and 4th Ward Supervisor Linda Mussmann. Crystal Perry, political organizer for 1199 SEIU United HealthCare Workers, said, “Today is to shed light for the constituents of Congressional District 19, on how we’re being misrepresented in Washington.... The folks of CD19 face a lot of issues, and they’re being failed by U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro. We want Molinaro to say what he means and mean what he says. Don’t tell the constituents that you believe in them, but in Washington you vote for something different.” Others at the rally complained about Molinaro's political positions on on abortion rights, and his votes supporting Rep. Jim Jordan and Rep. Mike Johnson for Speaker of the House. Molinaro did not comment for the story, but there is a quote from his spokesperson making an unsubstantiated allegation against some unnamed member or members of one of the group's involved in the rally. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

All four Hudson Valley Congressional representatives voted to keep the federal government open on Nov. 14. Republicans Elise Stefanik and Marc Molinaro and Democrats Pat Ryan and Paul Tonko all voted for "Further Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2024." The bill to temporarily fund the government until the beginning of 2024 passed 336-to-95 with 93 Republicans and two Democrats voting to shut down the government. Meanwhile, The Daily Freeman reports that the group Empire State Voices had planned a protest to demand that Molinaro do whatever he could to avoid a government shutdown on from 3-5 p.m. Nov. 15 on the Rip Van Winkle Bridge between Greene and Columbia counties. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Tiffany Greenwaldt-Simon reports for Columbia-Greene Media that on Nov. 13 an unknown number of protesters gathered outside of Rep. Marc Molinaro’s office in Leeds for a ceasefire in Gaza. The protest was part of the American Friends Service Committee’s Day of Action for peace in Palestine. Spee Braun, organizer of the Greene County protest, said of the makeshift memorials for those killed in the fighting, “We wanted to remember the children who have been killed up to now.” In a statement to the media, Molinaro said he does not support a ceasefire. He said, “There was a ceasefire on Oct. 6. Then, on Oct. 7, Hamas launched a savage attack, murdering innocent civilians and taking hostages. Israel has every right to defend itself against terrorism and the United States will stand with them.” Braun disagreed, saying, “Our tax dollars are paying for Israel’s actions, we’re paying for bombs to be dropped on hospitals.... We need Molinaro to stand up and say no tax dollars for war crimes.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

WGXC November Top 10
As of Nov. 17, 2023.
1. The Rolling Stones, "Hackney Diamonds" album
2. Laura Zarougian, "Cairo" from "Nayri" album
3. Matmos, "Return to Archive" album from Folkways Records archives
4. P.G. Six, "Murmurs & Whispers" album from Copake on Drag City
5. Negativland "Speech Free" album
6. Matana Roberts, "Coin Coin Chapter 5" album
7. The Replacements, "Let It Bleed" re-engineered reissue album
8. boygenius, "The Rest" EP
9. Bobby Previte and Ray Anderson "Double Trouble" album from Columbia County-based drummer
10. Arone Dyer and stargaze, "It's Over," "Define" new singles
11. Feist, "Multitudes" album
12. The Serfs, "Order Imposing Sentence"
13. Caroline Polachek, "Dang" single
14. d4vd, "You and I"
15. Meshell Ndegeocello, "The Omnichord Real Book" album

Today's audio daily news update.

Jammel Cutler reports for Columbia-Greene Media that six projects in Columbia County won $5.6 million of more than $57 million of New York’s latest Regional Economic Development Council initiative awards. F. Michael Tucker, president and CEO of the Columbia Economic Development Corporation, said “Columbia County did really well.... We are very grateful to the governor’s office considering projects in Columbia County and awarding funds to the individual project sponsors to advance economic opportunities in Columbia County.” Montgomery Street Projects in Hudson received $1,526,168 for rehabilitation of the Kaz building; the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society gets $500,000 to fix the underwater foundation of the lighthouse; Friends of the Public Square Hudson receive $500,000 for renovations; the town of New Lebanon got $500,000 for improvements to Shatford Memorial Park and $25,000 for a public utilities project; Klocke Estate of Kinderhook received $275,000 for tourism events; and Hudson Hall gets $70,650 for the Hudson Jazz Festival. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Tiffany Greenwaldt-Simon reports for Columbia-Greene Media that there will be better cell service soon on Farm-to-Market Road in Coxsackie after the town's planning board approved a new tower on Nov. 14. a silo. The 136-foot high tower will look like a silo, behing 20, 12-foot-high evergreen trees. Planning Board Chair Scott Fischer said the town code meant a cell tower is allowed to be built. Fischer said, “My vote is not for the cell tower.... My vote is that if we say no, we lose our destiny in what this cell tower is going to look like." The tower passed the planning board 5-1, with Gerald Bunting opposing all three resolutions that needed approval. He said he was lodging a protest vote, and said, “The basis of our economy here is tourism, people come here for the scenery, they don’t come for the telecoms..... This is going to have a serious effect on property values, not just to the immediate residents, but residents further away because the overall value of the area is going to be negatively impacted. I understand why this needs to pass, but it can’t be unanimous.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

There are signs locally that winter is approaching. The Village of Catskill this week hung holiday lights and took down the statue of Rip Van Winkle at the top of Main St. for the winter so it is not hit by snow plows. After opening early on Nov. 16 and 17 for the area's first skiing, Belleayre Mountain closed again, and will open for the season on Nov. 24. Windham Mountain's website does not hint when they will start skiing, and Hunter Mountain's website also does not say when it will open and reports no snowfall yet this season.

Today's daily news audio update.

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

Michael Ryan reports for the Mountain Eagle that Republicans in the Greene County Legislator quarreled over spending on a new building for lawyers and judges next to the County Courthouse in Catskill, delaying a vote to a special meeting at 6 p.m. on Nov. 20. Public Safety Committee Chair Thomas Hobart, a Republican from Coxsackie, pulled four resolutions related to bids for construction of a new Justice Center. Hobart, and a few other Republicans, questioned whether the county needed to spend so much on the $28.5 million proposal. Hobart said, "We need to reconsider this fiscally, without pushing this on the people of Greene County for the next thirty years.” Then fellow Republican Legislator Patty Handel from Durham, who is also on the Public Safety Committee, said, “I believe it was very disrespectful of Tommy not to speak to other members of the committee before doing this. I feel sure he spoke to other people, but he did not speak to us.” Catskill Republican Legislators Matthew Luvera and Michael Bulich supported Hobart's blocking the vote on part of the proposal. Deputy County Administrator Warren Hart explained how the building had been designed. He said, “We went through the current staff, what they have and what they are lacking, and filled in a capacity for growth.” Legislative Chair Patrick Linger, a Republican from New Baltimore, said he was “not happy” that the resolutions were pulled, and said, “I think that should be a full board vote. If he wanted to gather the ‘no’ votes, that’s fine, but to pull it with no other plan to move forward is a copout.” Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

Tiffany Greenwaldt-Simon reports for Columbia-Greene Media that on Nov. 13 an unknown number of protesters gathered outside of Rep. Marc Molinaro’s office in Leeds for a ceasefire in Gaza. The protest was part of the American Friends Service Committee’s Day of Action for peace in Palestine. Spee Braun, organizer of the Greene County protest, said of the makeshift memorials for those killed in the fighting, “We wanted to remember the children who have been killed up to now.” In a statement to the media, Molinaro said he does not support a ceasefire. He said, “There was a ceasefire on Oct. 6. Then, on Oct. 7, Hamas launched a savage attack, murdering innocent civilians and taking hostages. Israel has every right to defend itself against terrorism and the United States will stand with them.” Braun disagreed, saying, “Our tax dollars are paying for Israel’s actions, we’re paying for bombs to be dropped on hospitals.... We need Molinaro to stand up and say no tax dollars for war crimes.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Porcupine Soup reports that Bridge Street Theatre's production of Hannah Moscovitch’s "East of Berlin" tied for Outstanding Production of a Play at the annual Berkshire Theatre Critics Association “Berkie” Awards. It was the second year in a row a Bridge Street Theatre production tied for the award. Bridge Street Theatre Artistic Director John Sowle. said, “This feels like it’s becoming a weird sort of pattern.” This year they tied with Shakespeare & Company’s production of August Wilson’s "Fences." Last year Bridge Street Theatre’s production of Eugene O’Neill’s "Long Day’s Journey Into Night" tied for Outstanding Production of a Play with Barrington Stage Company’s "Waiting for Godot." Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

Today's audio daily news update.

Andrea Macko reports for Porcupine Soup that the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society that is getting $500,000 from the state to help restore the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse. In an announcing the grant, Gov. Kathy Hochul's office said, “The Hudson-Athens Preservation Society will repair and restore the underwater foundation of the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse. This Phase II project will involve interior foundation floor core, foundation design, interior basement wall repairs, replacement of timber frame for the cast-iron bell, asbestos and coal removal and electrical system upgrade. This phase will allow the critical big work on the underwater foundation to begin shortly.” The non-profit Hudson-Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society announced in May that engineers were warning that the lighthouse could collapse into the Hudson River within five years if the foundation was not repaired. The grant is part of the Regional Economic Development Council Initiative. The Hudson-Athens Lighthouse has been guiding river traffic since November 14, 1874. It was a manned lighthouse until the 1950s, when it became automated. Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

Liz Montgomery reports for Porcupine Soup that the Old Factory Brewing Company in Cairo is getting a matching $34,500 grant from New York State to purchase new equipment. It is one of 108 projects awarded grants through New York's Craft Beverage Micro Grant Program. Old Factory Brewing Company plans to add a grain silo, grain auger, and walk-in cooler, to make more beer. This is another Regional Economic Development Council initiative project grant. Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, formerly the area's Congressional representative, said, "The Regional Economic Development Councils continue to help connect strategic investments to historically distressed communities throughout New York State.” Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

Mid-Hudson News reports that a few days after an election ended, and at the farthest point from facing voters again, the Dutchess County Legislature Budget, Finance, and Personnel Committee approved a substantial increase in salaries for most elected officials there. County legislators would get a 68 percent increase under the proposal. The county executive salary will go from $157,424 to $185,500, and the county clerk will see an increase from $119,330 to $150,000 in 2024. The Dutchess County comptroller and sheriff would not get pay increases until 2026 under the proposal. Legislator Michael Polasek said that the proposed pay hikes are “almost identical to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation rate for that time. For those reasons, we believe it was fair and equitable to the hardworking elected officials in their next term and I am pleased it garnered bipartisan support.” Only one Democrat voted for the measure, for "bipartisan" is a bit of an exaggeration in this case. Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.

Today's daily news audio update.

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

Lauren Stanforth reports in the Times Union that Amtrak now says all train service between Albany and New York City will return to normal on Nov. 16. A problem with a building over train tracks in Manhattan shut down the line since Nov. 12, and was supposed to resume on Nov. 17, but will be back a day earlier. Amtrak officials warn of minor delays until all tracks are fully restored on Nov. 18. Riders from the north have had to get off at the Croton-Harmon station in Westchester County and switch to Metro-North trains there to get into the city since Nov. 12. Amtrak officials said, “We remain in close coordination with the NYC Department of Buildings and the parking garage owner’s contractor, who made significant overnight progress on construction and anticipate completion tonight (Wednesday).... In addition, we have been assured by the NYC Department of Buildings, and other city and state agencies that we are collaborating with, that upon the garage work completion, it will be safe again for train travel.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Roger Hannigan Gilson reports in the Times Union that Windham Mountain skiing is going upscale this season, and some longtime skiers there are not happy. Now, one-day passes will not be sold on Saturdays from early January until early March, fewer skiers will be allowed on the mountain per day, and the resort’s mountain biking trails will close. The new “Windham Mountain Club,” offers the option of $175,000 lifetime memberships with annual dues that come with special amenities that are yet to be built. After the changes Windham’s Instagram account has turned off commenting for certain posts and a parody account making fun of the rebrand was blocked, as they receive many negative online comments. Kate Sullivan, a spokesperson for Windham Mountain, said, “The mountain has always been a place where generations of people have come to make memories all year round, and that, at our core, is still what we’re about.... I think that was lost in the rollout of the brand and we definitely listened and heard that feedback.” The creator of the parody Instagram account @windumb_mtn spoke on the condition of anonymity, saying, “It soon became clear they were kicking the mountain up-market,” and said many skiers felt the move was “ruining a small, affordable mountain for middle-class families.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Paul Kirby reports for the Daily Freeman one year after free bus rides began, ridership is up 39 percent compared to the same time period the year before on Ulster County Area Transit buses. Ridership rose from 277,211 riders in 2022, to 384,307 riders this year. Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger said, “Since the introduction of fareless service on our UCAT buses, we continue to see our ridership rates grow, which is a strong testament to the need for this affordable service in our communities.... In this time of high household expenses, any extra money in folks’ pockets can really make a difference. Higher ridership also means more state funding for our bus service since this funding is directly tied to ridership levels.” The county was already losing money from fares, as totals dropped from $409,640 in 2015 to $163,272 in 2021. It cost $6.39 million to run Ulster County buses in 2021. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.