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Mid-Hudson News reports that Acting New York State Police Superintendent Steven Nigrelli resigned on Sept. 22 after Governor Hochul told him that he was no longer being considered for permanently taking the position. Sources claimed to Mid-Hudson News that Hochul found out that Nigrelli had previously been investigated for sexual harassment during his 32 years as a member of the New York State Police. Nigrelli became Acting Superintendent after former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s appointment, Kevin Bruen, resigned last year during an investigation into his special treatment of MaryEllen Tedesco, the former human resources director for the state police. Nigrelli on Sept. 22 sent a memo to all state troopers, saying in part, “After being informed by Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration that I am no longer being considered for nomination to be superintendent, I immediately made the difficult decision that I have already been contemplating for the past year. While the decision to retire is not easy, primarily because I truly love being a trooper, it is my time to step aside and let the next generation lead this great agency.” Read more about this story in Mid-Hudson News.

Mid-Hudson News reports that the State Comptroller’s Office says the Germantown Central School District did not have adequate payroll processes to ensure accurate employee pay. The report found $41,000 in payroll payments to 12 employees that were either inaccurate or not authorized by the board. The Comptroller’s report recommended assigning personnel and payroll processing duties to separate individuals to provide oversight and ensure that employees are paid accurately. Germantown school officials generally agreed with the recommendations and plan to take corrective action. Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.

Liz Montgomery reports in Porcupine Soup that Lee Heim has been chosen by the Catskill Board of Education Sept. 20 to fill the vacant seat created by the resignation of board member Deborah Johnson. Johnson's departure was unexpected, and "personal reasons" were given as the only explanation for the board president's departure. Heim will serve an eight-month term running from until May 21, 2024. He was the runner up in May election's for a board seat. Heim also has two children in the school district amd works for the Columbia County municipalities of Canaan, Hillsdale, and Philmont as code enforcement officer, and is also on the Town of Catskill Zoning Board of Appeals. Former board vice president Jeremy Engelin is the new president and board member Ryan Osswald is now vice president. Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

Michael Frank reports in the Times Union about how some places in the Hudson Valley are becoming more bike friendly. In 2019, for instance, the state connected the Empire State Trail, a 750-mile cycling and walking trail, to the Walkway over the Hudson, through the town of Lloyd and into New Paltz. New Paltz Town Supervisor Neil Bettez said, “No question, it’s been a huge boost.... Everyone in the village’s home value went up.” Todd Littman, executive director of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute in British Columbia, cites a 2023 National Association of Realtors survey that shows 42 percent saying they’d pay more for a home in a bike-friendly neighborhood. Kingston now has a major plan to improve its bikeways, and Poughkeepsie’s new Northside Line connects the Walkway to Marist College and the Hudson Heritage shopping development. And New Paltz is adding a route through town that separates walkers and cyclists from cars. The Dutchess County Transportation Council's studies have recommended adding bike laned on parts of Route 9 near Rhinebeck. In Kingston, a Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan was unveiled in July, but it uncovered some of the city's problems, saying one designated bike route, "has no markings. Bicyclists have to share a tight roadway with high-speed traffic coming from/approaching the Thruway.” Emily Flynn, Kingston’s director of health and wellness, said, “The more we do these projects, the more people will use them.... Ten years ago there was pushback, but I’m not hearing that now.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Andrea Macko reports for Porcupine Soup construction in Greene County of the Champlain Hudson Power Express transmission line will begin next year. The line will deliver 1,250 megawatts of electricity from a hydroelectric plant in Québec to New York City, mostly in the Hudson River. Locally it comes on land in Greene County, following the CSX railroad tracks in New Baltimore, Coxsackie, Athens, and Catskill. In Coxsackie, it briefly runs along the right-of-way on County Route 61. In Catskill, about three-quarters of a mile west of the Rip Van Winkle Bridge it runs under State Route 23, along Allen Street and down Route 9W, crossing under the Catskill Creek. Raymond Ward, director of Greene County Real Property Tax Services, told county legislators this week that, “It’s subterrestrial until we hit Cementon and then it goes back into the river.” Constuction begins next year and will take two years to complete. County Administrator Shaun Groden said, “There is no stopping this.... There is no litigation. This is coming through. It is all approved.” Read more about this story for Porcupine Soup.

Patricia R. Doxsey reports in the Daily Freeman that incumbent Democratic Ulster County Legislator Joseph Maloney from Saugerties is running unopposed for a third term in District 2. “We need to stop the corruption,” Maloney said about his candidacy. He wants to “open investigations and inquiries into the millions we have so inefficiently given away or wasted or turned a blind eye to,” and wants to reduce the county’s fleet of vehicles taken home, and investigate “time theft and unnecessary” overtime. And the Democrat wants the county to become more vocal about “the dangers to our county posed by the migrant crisis.” Maloney switched to the Democratic Party seven months after being elected to his first term, which then shifted the balance of power in the Legislature to the Democrats. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

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Paul Kirby reports in the Daily Freeman that at online public hearings Sept. 20, local citizens were united against proposed rate increases from Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. Melanie Crouch of Hyde Park, who is disabled, said “If these rates happen, I have nowhere else to cut." Pat Pellicano had a different complaint, saying, “My bills are delayed for months.” Rosemary DaCruz of Poughkeepsie said, “We should not be rewarding a company that can’t do the bare minimum of giving an accurate bill." Central Hudson wants a one-year 16 percent jump in delivery rate for electricity and 19 percent for gas. They say that would add $1 a day to the typical electric customer and $1 a day to natural gas customers. The Public Service Commission has promised in-person hearings on the rate hikes, but none have been scheduled at this time. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Deanna Garcia reports in New York State of Politics that Gov. Kathy Hochul was crowing Sept. 20 about the Biden administration’s announcement that it was granting Temporary Protective Status to expedite work permits for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who are already in the country. Hochul said it is “an important first step” for her request to get expedited work status for all migrants. Hochul said, "We have all been working so hard to persuade the White House that these individuals who came to this country and are living in New York City shelters don't have to. They came here to work." Right now migrants can't work in the U.S for 180 days, but Hochul wants that number reduced to 30. Hochul said, “We have to have more workers, and this is going to be a very, very positive development for our state's economy, for these individuals and our desire to start not opening more shelters, but starting to shut down shelters.” Read more about this story in New York State of Politics.

Michael Mahar reports for News10 that Hudson police officials launched a widespread search for missing resident Robert Coons on on Sept. 21. Coons was first reported missing on July 13 and was last seen on July 9 around 10:30 a.m. The search includes Hudson Police, the New York State Police, Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, New York State Forest Rangers, Amtrak Police personnel, K9s, and aviation units. Anyone with information about Coons whereabouts should call (518) 828-9900. Read more about this story at the News10 website.

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Joshua Solomon reports in the Times Union that on Sept. 20 Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill that allows any New Yorker to cast their vote by mail. Hochul said, "It's finally time to allow people to vote by mail.... Why not? What is so sinister? Why would this be attacked? What are you afraid of?" Rep. Elise Stefanik leads a Republican lawsuit filed in the state Supreme Court of Albany County Sept. 20 against the measure. The lawsuit says the state's constitution only allows absentee voting in cases of not being in your registered county on Election Day or an illness or disability. Stefanik said, “Kathy Hochul and extreme New York Democrats are trying to destroy what is left of election integrity in New York." But Hochul framed the issue differently, saying, "There's a more sinister, slow-motion insurrection going on, a little more under the surface perhaps than what we saw on Jan. 6.... It's happening quietly in Republican legislatures all across America ... They're stripping away these rights. They're doing the exact opposite of what needs to happen." Voting by mail was used nationally throughout the COVID-19 pandemic with few reports of any problems. The bill Hochul signed also expands same-day voter registration and requires officials at prisons to provide voting rights information when prisoners are released from incarceration. And the new law also creates a penalty if an electoral college "elector" votes against the will of the people. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Andrea Macko reports for Porcupine Soup that New York State Senator Michelle Hinchey is definitely opposing Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation's proposal to add another dollar a day in costs to gas and electricity customers bills. “Central Hudson should not be considered for a rate increase, especially while it's actively under investigation by the PSC for ongoing billing malfunctions,” said Hinchey in a letter submitted to the Public Service Commission, which will approve or deny the price hike. “Attempting to resolve their shortcomings by burdening customers with higher rates is an unjust and unacceptable approach.” Joe Hally, vice president of Regulatory Affairs for Central Hudson, has said, "We believe that this proposed rate plan is essential to address our infrastructure needs, recover from the impacts of COVID-19, and ensure that we can respond effectively to extreme weather events―which are occurring more frequently." The Public Service Commission is also investigating Central Hudson for bill practices the last several years. Hinchey said, "Hudson Valley residents still today face issues with inaccurate and inflated bills, large automatic withdrawals from their savings accounts after not receiving bills for many months, unclear and confusing bills, and others receiving multiple bills in one month.... Until Central Hudson has resolved these issues with its billing system, a rate increase should not be an option on the table.” Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

New York State of Politics reports that Gov. Kathy Hochul moved the state’s presidential primary to April 2 this year. No matter what date New York picked, it would likely conflict with a coming court date for the current leading Republican running for president, Donald Trump. A hush-money criminal case could be going on in Manhattan, and election-stealing case could be on in Georgia, and there are also two federal cases against the former president and two civil trials in New York. The Manhattan trial currently is scheduled to begin on March 25. None of the other candidates for president face court dates that might conflict with their campaign schedules. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

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Porcupine Soup reports that another hiker died on the Greene County mountaintop last weekend, but this time it appears to be from natural causes. On Sept. 16 a 50-year-old New Jersey man complained of chest discomfort and breathing difficulty before collapsing on the Diamond Notch Trail in the Hunter-West Kill Wilderness near Hunter. When Greene County paramedics arrived they determined the man was deceased. New York State Police are investigating, but did not release the man's name. There have been several accidents on the mountaintop this summer, including a 16-year-old male dying Aug. 8 at Fawn’s Leap in Haines Falls. Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

Mid-Hudson News reports that Columbia County had the lowest unemployment rate in the Hudson Valley in August, and Greene County had the highest. Both unemployment rates were unchanged from a year ago, with Columbia County at three percent unemployed, and Greene County at 3.8 percent. Dutchess County reported a 3.3 percent unemployment rate, while it was 3.5 percent in Ulster County. All Hudson Valley counties were below the statewide unemployment rate of 4.4 percent. Read more about this story in Mid-Hudson News.

News10 reports that Leah Penniman, the co-founder of Soul Fire Farm in Rensselaer County, is a recipient of the 28th Heinz Awards for the Economy. Penniman will get an unrestricted cash award of $250,000. Soul Fire Farm teaches regenerative farming best practices and land stewardship to Black, Indigenous and People of Color. The 80-acre non-profit farm has youth education programs, urban plantings, mobilization training and a community-supported agriculture program, with more than 38,000 people participating in the trainings last year. Penniman said, “We have a very ambitious mission, which is justice in the food system.... We want to train and equip and support the next generation of Black and Brown farmers. Stewarding our own land, growing our own food, educating our own youth, participating in our own health care and justice systems, this is the source of real power and dignity.” Read more about this story at the News10 website.

Today's daily news audio update.