Click above to download or play the audio version of the local news for Mon., Jan 20. Produced by Philip Grant.

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

Amanda Purcell reports for Columbia-Greene Media that the Hudson Common Council is considering a new law that would move revenue from the lodging tax from just the Tourism Board to the general fund. “This revision will not get rid of the Tourism board,” Hudson Common Council President Tom DePietro said. “This will, for the future, eliminate that automatic dispersal of tax funds to the tourism board.” The Council is also still pursuing a six-month moratorium on short-term rentals. The Common Council meets at 7 p.m. Jan. 21 at City Hall and on a live wgxc.org webstream. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Robert Gavin reports for the Times Union that, though no one was explaining why, Albany County Court Judge William Carter was barred Jan. 16 from ruling on criminal matters brought by the office of Albany County District Attorney David Soares. State court officials would not say why Carter was reassigned, only saying it was not a suspension. "Judge Carter is still handling criminal matters but cannot handle any matters that are brought by the Albany County District Attorney. He will be assisting in other counties with criminal matters and will handle matters in Albany that do not involve the District Attorney’s Office," Lucian Chalfen, a spokesman for the state's Unified Court System, said. Carter and Soares are both Democrats, but have disagreed over the years. Carter was upset about Soares' decision not to prosecute minor charges against Occupy Albany protesters in 2013. The Court of Appeals sided with Soares in a legal dispute of the case, and then-Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman said there was a "personal issue back and forth" between Soares and Carter. In 2006, the Commission on Judicial Conduct censured Carter for taking off his robes and glasses and confronting a defendant, saying, "You want a piece of me?" Soares, meanwhile, said he will run for re-election in 2020, seeking his fifth term. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Tom Precious reports in the Buffalo News that efforts to legalize recreational marijuana in New York get under way again this week. State Sen. Liz Krueger, the sponsor of a legalization bill last year, previously said she thought it would be difficult to pass legalization in an election year. “I’ve changed my mind,’’ she said last week. On Jan. 21, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to include legalization in his 2020 state budget presentation, with $300 million in projected annual tax revenue. Some New York legislators have visited Western Massachusetts, where there are five stores selling legal weed in Berkshire County. Officials there have seen few negative effects, and more tax revenue. Still, there are plenty of opponents of legal marijuana in Albany. “I don’t understand why they would want to move forward with legalization," said Kyle Belokopitsky, executive director of the New York State PTA, noting the current vaping crisis that has moved legislators to pass other laws in the state capital. Read more about this story in the Buffalo News.

Brian Hubert reports in the Daily Freeman that hundreds of people turned out Jan. 18 for the fourth annual Woodstock Women's March. There were not similar Women's Marches this year in Hudson, Albany, and other towns that had previously held the event in conjunction with the main event in Washington D.C. In Woodstock, hundreds stepped off at the Woodstock Playhouse in support of women's rights, LGBTQ rights, and to protest the policies of President Donald Trump. Protesters marched to Woodstock's Village Green. "The march went very well. The moment for it is really important because we're coming up to a really important time to pull our country away from the edge of fascism into a true democracy and women can do it," Amy Trompetter said. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

This is WGXC's Congressional Report, tracking the votes, words, and actions of Rep. Antonio Delgado, a Democrat from Rhinebeck representing the 19th Congressional District, and Paul Tonko, a Democrat from Amsterdam from the 20th Congressional District. The Fivethirtyeight.com website reports that, so far, the first-term Congressperson Delgado votes with Donald Trump's positions 4.6 percent of the time. Since Democrats took over the House of Representatives Tonko also votes with Trump's positions 1.5 percent of the time. In the previous Congressional session, Tonko voted with Trump 22.6 percent of the time. Click here to play or download an audio version of this report.

• On Jan. 15 both Hudson Valley Democrats Paul Tonko and Antonio Delgado voted to move the impeachment to a trial in the U.S. Senate. Tonko, who represents the 20th Congressional District, and Delgado, who represents the 19th District, both also voted for the two articles of impeachment in December. The vote to send impeachment to the Senate was 228-to-193, almost entirely on party lines. The Senate trial will start on Jan. 21.

• Also this week both Tonko and Delgado voted Jan. 15 for a bill that amends the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to establish an unlawful employment practice when the complaining party demonstrates that age or participation in investigations, proceedings, or litigation under such Act was a motivating factor for any unlawful employment practice, even though other factors also motivated the practice. That passed 261-to-155. Delgado and Tonko also voted for reversing a Department of Education regulation on student loans, which passed 231-to-180. Neither bill is likely to pass the U.S. Senate, or even be given a vote there by Republican leadership.

• Chris Churchill reports in the Times Union that Tony German, the retired two-star general running in the Republican primary to take on Rep. Antonio Delgado, announced Jan. 13 an end to his campaign. German, a former adjutant general of the New York National Guard, said he hasn't raised enough money to keep his campaign operating. That leaves just Michael Roth, who lives in Ellenville and Brooklyn, and runs a nonprofit charity called Ulster Heights Kingdom, which received no contributions and generated no in revenue in 2018. Roth has seven followers on Twitter. The other candidate is Ola Hawatmeh, a fashion designer who grew up in Poughkeepsie, but has lived in St. Louis most of her life and moved back to Dutchess County four months ago. Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro said last week he will not run for this Congressional seat. Churchill writes that Bartle Bull, a writer and businessman in Dutchess County, "is being mentioned," though he does not say by whom, as someone who might also run for the 19th Congressional seat. Republican Donald Trump won the 19th District by seven points in 2016. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

• Emilie Munson reports for the Times Union that Rep. Paul Tonko has a fundraising lead over his Republican and Democratic opponents. In the fourth quarter of 2019, Tonko raised $179,920, giving the six-term incumbent $771,510 in campaign cash. Republican Liz Joy, a Schenectady-based real estate agent, said she raised $57,765 in the fourth quarter, giving her $115,730. Republican Michael Seney, a Rensselaer Country sheriff's deputy, said he raised $40,202 in the fourth quarter, and now has $27,702 in campaign cash. But before Tonko faces either Republican, he must defeat Riley Seaburg in a June primary. Seaburg, a military veteran who owns a marketing company, just declared his candidacy on Jan. 1 and has not filed any fundraising reports. Seaburg is Tonko's first primary challenge since he was elected to Congress in 2009. “I think competition is good for the soul," Tonko said. "Obviously, the general public deserves a choice." Read more about this story in the Times Union.

• Paul Tonko does list any public events this week on his website. Antonio Delgado lists public appearances on his website only if his staff organizes the events. He has none listed this week.

Meeting of residents of the First Ward in Hudson Jan. 17, 2020.

Hudson Common Council President Tom DePietro previews the Jan. 21 regular city meeting.

Today's Better Weather includes a snow storm report.

Click above to download or play the audio version of the local news update for Fri., Jan. 17. (Produced by Philip Grant.)

Rachel Silberstein is reporting for the Times Union graduation rates rose in the Capital Region and throughout New York in 2019, according to data released by the state Education Department, January 16. Statewide, 83.4 percent of students who entered high school in 2015 graduated in 2019, 0.8 percentage points above the rate reported in 2018. In Columbia County, the cumulative completion rate was 86 percent; in Greene County, 84 percent, both above the state rate for all students. The schools reporting the highest percentage of four-year graduates in the two counties were Chatham High School (91 percent) and Catskill High School (90 percent). Although there was general improvement measured statewide, significant gaps in achievement based racial and socioeconomic factors still exist, said state Board of Regents Chancellor Betty A. Rosa. New York schools are going in the right direction, she said in a statement, "but we can never truly close achievement gaps until we address opportunity gaps." Some of the gains seen in the past year can be attributed to New York's increased reliance on local diplomas, an alternative to passing the Regents exams for students from underserved groups, according to Ian Rosenblum, executive director of the education advocacy group, Education Trust–New York. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Sarah Trafton is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media Catskill village officials have announced the village trustees and planning board, along with local real estate agents, will be undertaking a review of all vacant and underdeveloped properties in the village. The results of the review will help officials decide on potential future use. Village President Vince Seeley said the properties to be evaluated include the 55 acres located behind the Price Chopper, the former Rite Aid building on Route 9W and the former Condor vehicle dealership. “The information [gathered] will be used to see if the parcels are priced right,” Seeley said. “What are the challenges to selling them? What could be some optimal uses of the parcels?” Seeley said there are also concerns about housing to be addressed. He said, “Can we accelerate the development of one of these vacant parcels to meet our affordable housing needs?” Planning Board Chairman Patrick McCulloch said once the property review is finished, the planning board will meet with local realtors to identify the businesses that might be interested in the parcels available. Angela Lanuto, president of Columbia Greene Northern Dutchess Multiple Listing Service has been invited to participate, Seeley said. The group of trustees, planning board members and real estate agents will begin its monthly meetings in February, Seeley said. He said the review will continue through 2020. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Jennifer Gould Keil is reporting for the New York Post socialite Cornelia Guest has put her 456-plus-acre estate in Ancramdale, Columbia County, on the market for $4.75 million. Guest is moving, along with her collection of rescue animals to Texas. “I have a mini horse and a donkey rescue,” Guest said. She purchased the property in 2015, for an undisclosed sum. Guest is the daughter of the late socialite C.Z. Guest and polo champion Winston Frederick Churchill Guest. The Ancramdale property includes a 6,000-square-foot main house with six bedrooms and five bathrooms, plus a guest house, barns, fields and trails. “It is really beautiful,” Guest said. “Every window I look out of is just gorgeous.” Read the full story in the New York Post.

Rebecca Carballo is reporting for the Times Union the town of Colonie’s computer system was reported down on Fri., Jan. 17, due to a cyber attack. City officials said things should slowly start to come back online before the weekend. The attack was discovered late Wednesday and forced many of the town departments to take operations offline. The town has not paid any ransom to the hacker. Town Supervisor Paula Mahan said a team of law enforcement and various state agencies have been working to respond to the attack. She also said the town’s data was backed up and many of the departments were able to work without using the computer system, but the town's news release about the attack had to go out by fax because the email systems were down. About a week ago, the Albany County Airport Authority's network was also hacked, and the airport had to pay a ransom. The amount paid was not disclosed, but airport officials said it was "under six figures." It is unknown if there was any connection between the Albany and Colonie events. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Click above to download or play the audio version of the local news for Fri., Jan. 17. Produced by Philip Grant.

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

Brendan J. Lyons reports in the Times Union that they have sources saying that the year-long investigation by the FBI and state attorney general's office into the financial dealings of Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin and his political aide Richard W. Crist is just about done and is "expected to result in criminal charges." Last March, Crist was put on leave from his $105,000-a-year county job after the criminal investigation was made public. Crist returned to his county job five months later. Times Union sources claim investigators are looking at campaign fund problems when Crist ran McLaughlin's successful county executive campaign in 2017, and how McLaughin, a Republican, handled campaign funds from his Assembly elections. McLaughlin was an Assemblyperson in Rensselaer County from 2011 to 2017. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Peter Flierl reports in the Columbia Paper that more than 75 persons turned out Jan. 13 to a Canaan town meeting to hear about a new program for “unaccompanied alien children” at the Berkshire Farm Center and Services for Youth on state Route 22. The "Sheltered Hearts" program would bring about 300 migrant children, primarily teens and boys, to the center each year. The center is overseen by the Administration for Children and Families and the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement. The Berkshire Farm Center used to host up to 250 youth in residence, but the capacity now is 60, and there are currently 17 residents. The group provided statistics: 54 percent of the children come from Guatemala, 26 percent from Honduras, 12 percent from El Salvador, and eight percent from elsewhere. About 73 percent of children are over 14 years of age, and about 71 percent are boys who are in the program an average of 93 days in 2018. That lowered to an average of 50 days in late 2019. Berkshire Farm Center CEO Brian Parchesky denied there are any plans to sell its Queechy Lake property. Read more about this story in the Columbia Paper.

Sarah Trafton reports for Columbia-Greene Media that inmate Kyle Johnson was arrested Jan. 14 and charged of assault for attacking a correctional officer at the Coxsackie Correctional Facility in November. Johnson allegedly attacked an unidentified correctional officer when he was being searched. The officer got a bloody nose and bruises to his head and face, and “he was sent to Albany Med for further evaluation,” state police Public Information Officer Steven Nevel said. Johnson was in the prison after being convicted of first-degree burglary and first-degree use of a firearm from an incident in Rockland County in 2017, Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.