Jesus Jiménez is reporting for The New York Times Johnson & Johnson July 14, issued a voluntary recall for five sunscreen sprays after low levels of benzene, a carcinogen, was found in the products. Consumers were told to stop using the products and to throw them away. The recall included four Neutrogena aerosol sprays — Beach Defense, Cool Dry Sport, Invisible Daily and Ultra Sheer — and the Aveeno Protect + Refresh spray. The company said in a statement on Wednesday, “While benzene is not an ingredient in any of our sunscreen products, it was detected in some samples of the impacted aerosol sunscreen finished products.” The company said it was investigating why there were traces of benzene. Benzene is a carcinogen, which can cause cancers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The highly flammable chemical is regularly found in products such as gasoline, plastics, detergents, pesticides, drugs, nylon and synthetic fibers. Cigarette smoke and forest fires are also sources of the carcinogen. Consumers with questions about the sprays or how to receive a refund can call 1-800-458-1673. Read the full story in The New York Times.

Today's daily news update.

Diane Valden reports in the Columbia Paper that towns around the state have until Dec. 31 to pass a law against cannabis sales in their jurisdictions. Ancram, Copake, and Kinderhook town officials are all looking into the pros and cons. In Ancram, an email survey asked residents: “Should the Town of Ancram opt out of provisions of the Marijuana Law that permit the establishment in the Town of Ancram of stores that sell marijuana and ‘lounges’ where you can smoke marijuana?” Of those polled, 61 percent want the town to allow sales, while 39 percent want Ancram to opt out. In Copake, resident Miranda Maganini told the board that a cannabis store in Great Barrington, Massachusetts does $60,000 worth of business every weekend, and could generate $125,000 a year in taxes for Copake. In Kinderhook, Supervisor Patsy Leader said that there are “a lot of pros and cons” to the issue. So far, the Kinderhook board has tabled making any decision on opting out of allowing the cannabis dispensaries. Read more about this story in the Columbia Paper.

Rep. Antonio Delgado gave a town hall meeting July 14 in Cairo's Angelo Canna Park, and spoke about the storm that wreaked havoc in Coxsackie last week, and how the proposed infrastructure bill being considered currently in Washington might address the water issues in that Greene County town. PLAY SHORT EXCERPT OF DELGADO'S MEETING. Video of the entire town hall meeting is available on Delgado's Facebook page with a link to it on the WGXC Newsroom page.

Andrea Macko reports in Porcupine Soup that a Cairo town board member wants to pass a new local law banning anyone cutting their lawn from spraying their grass clippings on a roadway. “This is someone’s life you are taking into your hands… it’s like running into an oil slick or ice,” said Powers. “People are going to go down, people are going to get hurt, and people are going to get killed.” If Powers is correct, then state law already bans spraying grass clippings on a roadway. Section 1219 of the New York State Vehicle & Traffic Law states: “No person shall throw or deposit upon any highway any glass bottle, glass, nails, tacks, wire, cans, snow or any other substance likely to injure any person, animal, or vehicle upon such highway.” Also, Section 1220 provides that “no person shall throw, dump, deposit or place, or cause to be thrown, dumped, deposited or placed upon any highway, or within the limits of the right of way of such highway, or upon private lands adjacent thereto, any refuse, trash, garbage, rubbish, litter or any nauseous or offensive matter.” Town Attorney Tal Rappleyea is drafting a bill with the first offense punishable by a $350 fine and a $750 fine for the second violation. Powers wants a a public hearing on the law in August. and to pass the measure in September in time for the Catskill Mountain Thunder Motorcycle Festival at Blackthorne Resort in neighboring East Durham. “There are going to be a lot of bikes on the road,” he said. Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

Today's daily headlines.

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Matt Stieb reports for New York Magazine that New York's COVID-19 death count is 11,000 fewer than the federal government has counted. As of this week, New York says there have been 43,000 COVID deaths, while the federal tally of New York’s deaths is at around 54,000. Follow New York's count, and the state is third in the nation for COVID-19 deaths. Listen to the federal government, and New York only trails California’s 64,000 deaths, even though that state has double the population. An Associated Press review of New York State Department of Health data found 3,200 more deaths as three probes into allegations that Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration altered documents on nursing-home deaths continue. “It’s a little strange,” said Bob Anderson, chief of the Mortality Statistics Branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. “They’re providing us with the death-certificate information so they have it. I don’t know why they wouldn’t use those numbers.” The Cuomo administration seems to be leaving out people who died at home, in hospice, in state prisons, or state-run homes for people living with disabilities. The Associated Press reports state death counts are usually higher than CDC numbers, as the federal agency must wait for the data to be reported up to them. “The Feds are always going to be behind,” said Georges Benjamin, executive director at the American Public Health Association. “They’ve got to do their due diligence to validate their numbers they’ve got.” But for COVID-19, New York trails the federal data. Read more about this story at New York Magazine.

Sam Raudins is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Greene County Legislature Public Work Committee July 12, approved a proposal from the engineering firm Barton and Loguidice to build a new recycling center to the east of the existing Catskill transfer station. The committee approved an $82,650 agreement to begin development of the project. The purpose of the new facility is to improve and increase the efficiency of the recycling process, Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden said. Currently, haulers dump municipal waste at the Catskill station and take recyclables to a another facility for packaging. Under the proposal, recyclables can be packaged and shipped to a processing facility without the extra trip, Groden said. He said the hope is to complete the recycling facility before year’s end. Greene County Highway Superintendent and Solid Waste Department Director Scott Templeton said the facility will be the first of its kind for the county and will cater to commercial haulers, which can dump recyclable items without being sorted. The facility proposed will be similar to the recently constructed Hunter Transfer Station, a single-story building with an upper-level dump floor and a lower-level trailer load area. The construction of the Catskill recycling facility comes after the Hunter Transfer Station was reconditioned. Templeton said the Hunter facility has saved 1,100 man-hours usually put toward driving to the Catskill facility, and shipped 3,300 tons of waste directly from Hunter to landfills that would have previously been shipped from Catskill. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Andrea Macko is reporting for Porcupine Soup Democrats in the town of Greenville caucused on July 12, for the first time in 10 years, to officially nominate a candidate for town board. The Democrats unanimously backed political newcomer Michelle Clark to run for an open seat on the town board. Clark will take on Republican incumbents Travis Richards and Richard Bear in November. “I[t] didn’t take long for me to realize the importance of diversity and representation on the Greenville Town Board,” said Clark, adding that the current board is made up of Republican men. “Greenville is not a solely Republican town comprised of men,” she added. If elected, Clark said her goals include recreation programs for youth and adults, improving access to the town barn, user-accessible recreation equipment for the disabled, and prioritizing cleanliness of the town pond and safety of the ducks. Clark indicated an interest in running for town clerk earlier in the year, but opted to seek a town board seat instead. Greenville Democratic Chairwoman Beth Schneck said having young people like Clark take an interest in local politics is what led them to caucus for the first time since 2011. Clark was the only candidate the Democrats nominated. The town GOP nominated Bear and Richards for re-election. They also nominated newcomer Jessica Lewis for clerk and tax collector, and incumbent Supervisor Paul Macko and Highway Superintendent Michael Dudley. The general election is Nov. 2. Read the full story at porcupinesoup [dot] com.

Noah Zweifel is reporting for The Altamont Enterprise the Berne Republican Committee has named its candidates for the November general election, minus two town justices who declined the committee's support. Incumbent justices Alan Zuk and Albert Raymond were nominated by the GOP after previously receiving the endorsements of the Democratic and Conservative parties. Zuk is a registered Democrat and Raymond is a Conservative. Zuk was appointed to town justice in 2012 and subsequently re-elected twice. He told The Enterprise that he has declined GOP nominations in the past. “Just being consistent, I declined it again this time,” Zuk said. When asked if the decision was related to ideology, Zuk said yes, adding, “I’m a Democrat.” Zuk had served as a Berne town justice for four years before he was elected supervisor in 1985. He remained in that post for 16 years before being ousted by Kevin Crosier, a Democrat who challenged Zuk on the GOP line and won. Crosier now chairs Berne’s Democratic committee. The GOP plans to replace Raymond and Zuk with other candidates. On social media the Republicans are characterizing Zuk and Raymond's decision as Democratic hypocrisy, saying that Democrats have been erecting signs that promote cooperation within the town. “Alan Zuk would have never accepted it anyway,” Albany County GOP Chairman and former Berne Republican Party Chairman Randy Bashwinger told The Enterprise. “We just figured that we’d try working together with them. The big signs [put up by Democrats] that say ‘Berne working together’ are kind of a joke." He said GOP officials were told the Democrats are "not allowed to accept the nomination from the Republicans," something the Democrats deny. The Berne Republicans endorsed Dennis Palow for town supervisor; Leo Vane, Tom Doolin and Anita Clayton for town board; and Incumbent Randy Bashwinger for highway superintendent. Read more in The Altamont Enterprise.

Today's daily news update.

Christopher Cicchiello reports in the Times Union that the relentless rain this past week throughout the Hudson Valley may mean a smaller crop for farmers. “I could foresee up to like 50 percent less [of a total yield] than last year, that is a possibility” Pat Lang, head of farm production at the Poughkeepsie Farm Project, said. “It’s hard to predict … And certainly if it continues — and they are expecting a lot of wet weather this week — through next week or the week after that, then none of what I’m saying would be an exaggeration. I think it’s a very, very real effect.” The National Weather Service in Albany reports between three and five inches of rain for much of the Hudson Valley in the past week. And that larger rainfall is not just this year. Climate data from the Northeast Regional Climate Center reports that annual rainfall locally is steadily climbing, with an average of 9.1 more inches of rain in 2010 than in 1957. Branchwater Farms in Milan in Dutchess County lost 25 acres of wheat and rye crop to strong storm winds and hail last week. Luke Franco of Tiny Hearts Farm in Copake, in Columbia County is waiting for the rain to stop. “I think we’ll see in 4 to 6 weeks that a lot of farms might start to have gaps in their production," Franco said. "This is a pause button. You can’t plant or seed or whatever. If we totally miss this window, that means weeks from now we’ll have empty spots where we’ll normally have a crop.... Maybe it’ll stop raining? Some years you get a super wet year, some years you get a super dry year. We’re just waiting for our Goldilocks year.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Patricia R. Doxsey reports in the Daily Freeman that all the Republicans in the Dutchess County Legislature voted July 12 to have voters decide whether to reduce the size of the legislature. No Democrats voted for the referendum that would, if passed, reduce the current 25-member Legislature to a 21-member body. Dutchess County Republicans are acting and voting the way other Republicans across the country who control legislative bodies are, to change things so they retain power. Legislators also voted on party lines to create a new independent Reapportionment Commission, with Republicans controlling the process. Democrat Kristopher Munn said the resolution to reduce the size of the legislature was "dumped on us at the last minute.... This was the last possible meeting that this could go on the agenda to be on the November ballot, and they didn't even give a full month's notice. They did it 10 days before the meeting," Munn said. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Aliya Schneider reports for Columbia-Greene Media that for years Hudson politicians have discussed rerouting truck traffic that now goes down busy urban streets to more rural roads. Now that there are maps with possible plans, a group of 23 Claverack residents are telling the Hudson Common Council they don't want more trucks on their streets either. MJ Engineering and Land Surveying, P.C., of Clifton Park, is working on an alternate truck route for Hudson using $100,000 from the Department of Transportation. So far they have identified five alternate truck routes that would circumvent the city that would cost between $1.4 million to $25.8 million to prepare. “We believe the truck traffic issue is a subregional challenge that affects multiple communities, including Hudson, Greenport and Claverack,” according to a statement from the Claverack residents. “Any redrawing of the truck route in Hudson must respect neighboring communities’ needs for safety and livability.” Specifically, they don't want heavy truck traffic on the residential parts of state Route 23/23B. “None of the proposed options should interfere with Claverack’s plans to create a walkable town center with related improvements, including better traffic control, sidewalks, crosswalks and crossing signals,” according to the letter from the group to the Hudson Common Council. “This is among the busiest intersections in Columbia County and it is in the middle of a heavily residential area.” But so far the three most popular of the proposed alternate truck routes all go through that Claverack intersection. Mayoral Aide Michael Hofmann said July 13 that, "Feedback from area residents makes the report stronger and helps us get closer to a real solution, and we appreciate the detailed and thorough recommendations included in the letter. We have extended the study period to help collect this type of feedback and ensure the study incorporates these perspectives.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Today's daily headlines.

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

Joseph Spector and Mike Stucka report in the Poughkeepsie Journal that the COVID-19 pandemic may not be over yet. For the week ending Monday, July 12, 47 states reported higher case counts. New coronavirus cases in New York for the week ending Sunday, July 11, rose 66 percent. That's only 3,970 cases since numbers were previously very low. But the newer Delta COVID-19 variant is much more contagious and spreading rapidly, while new vaccinations have slowed. "New Yorkers are continuing to fight COVID-19 throughout the state, and it's critical to remember that getting shots in arms is the key to our ultimate success," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement July 12. Read more about this story in the Poughkeepsie Journal.

Bethany Bump is reporting for the Times Union local and state health officials are reporting a significant increase in the number of cases of a potentially deadly and once-rare tick-borne disease in the region. A surge in anaplasmosis cases has been reported in both Warren and Rensselaer counties so far this year. The disease is transmitted by infected ticks and can cause fever, chills, muscle aches, headache, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. If left untreated, it can cause respiratory problems, bleeding, organ failure and even death especially among the elderly and immunocompromised. Warren County Health Services reported it has seen 40 cases of the disease so far this year, a fourfold increase over the nine cases recorded during the same period last year, and more than double the number of cases in 2018 and 2019 combined. Rensselaer County officials warned residents of a similar surge late last month. County Public Health Director Mary Fran Wachunas said, “Residents should be aware of the increased tick activity and be ready to protect themselves as they enjoy the outdoors this summer.” Lyme remains the most widespread tick-borne disease in New York, but anaplasmosis and babesiosis, another potentially fatal tick-borne disease, have been on the rise in recent years. Climate change is one reason for the growing spread of ticks, as warming weather increases the likelihood of a tick surviving the winter. It also extends the seasons they are out and active, which in this part of the country has been late spring, early summer and fall. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Sam Raudins is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media for the second year in a row, home sales in Greene County have hit record levels, according to a report from the state Association of Realtors. The association found that from May 2020 to May 2021, home values increased by more than 70 percent. Greene County Director of Economic Development and Planning Karl Heck said the spike can be attributed to high demand versus a low supply of homes. In 2020, a record 903 houses were sold countywide, according to the Association of Realtors. Heck said the postal service reported 800 people moved to the area over the course of the past year. As of May 2021, the median home value in the county was $332,500, an increase from $195,450 in 2020. Catskill saw the biggest increase while the mountain top continues to draw second homeowners, but the entire county appears to be drawing buyers, Heck said. County Administrator Shaun Groden said 30 percent of the housing stock consists of second homes. In the long run, people buying homes in the area can stimulate the economy, Heck said. Groden added it could cause expansion of internet access, allowing more people to work remotely from the county and driving sales. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.