Today's daily news audio update.

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

Molly Burke reports in the Times Union that on Sept. 15 multiple synagogues across the country were targeted with bomb threats, including Temple Israel in Albany. The bomb threats came as the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah began. Other bomb threats were made to synagogues in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Cleveland, and New York City. Rabbi Wendy Anderson said that police officers came to the synagogue when the evening service was almost complete, and asked everyone to move outside. No bomb was found inside, and services resumed the next day. Anderson said, “Why does some jerk with a phone and the ability to Google ‘when is Rosh Hashanah?’ get to interfere with our service?” Because of recurrent recent anti-semitic acts in America recently, the Albany synagogue is well practiced in emergency drills. Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan attended services there on Sept. 16 and said, “I went to Rosh Hashanah services to ensure that the members of Temple Israel know that they are not alone in this fight against hatred and bigotry, and I am grateful for the warm and welcoming reception I received.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Paul Kirby reports for the Daily Freeman that the Public Service Commission promised in-person public hearings about Central Hudson's proposed gas and electricity rate increases, but they have yet to happen. On Sept. 20, the utility holds its final online hearings with the Public Service Commission about the price hikes. State Sen.Michelle Hinchey continues to campaign against the rate increases, saying, “Central Hudson should not be considered for a rate increase, especially while it’s actively under investigation by the PSC for ongoing billing malfunctions.... Attempting to resolve their shortcomings by burdening customers with higher rates is an unjust and unacceptable approach.” Central Hudson wants a one-year 16 percent increase in delivery rate for electricity and 19 percent for gas beginning July 1, 2024. Currently, the number of Central Hudson's residential customers in arrears grew by 1,044 percent in the last year, to $96 million, while non-residential arrears grew by 1,971 percent, to $29 million. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Brianne Roesser reports in New York State of Politics that counties throughout New York state are looking for election workers. Jeremy Zellner, the Democratic elections commissioner in Erie County, said, “They’re critical. We simply can’t run our elections without good poll inspectors.... They are actually the people who are at the table signing people in. They’re the people giving you your ballot. And you know there’s thousands of them that work that one day who keep the election going every year.” Currently, elections in New York are held on multiple days. Brian Abram, the Republican elections commissioner in Chautauqua County, said usually about 400 people help with elections there, but they only have around 330 right now. Abram said, “It just seems like right now we’re all in the same boat of trying to find, you know, individuals that are willing to be part of what we’re all about.” Anyone interested in getting paid to work the polls can contact their county’s board of elections. Read more about this story in New York State of Politics.

Today's audio daily news update.

Melanie Lekocevic reports for Capital Region Independent Media that a proposal to buy the Grace United Methodist Church building and turn it into the new Coeymans town hall brought out a packed crowd at a public hearing Sept. 14. Town Supervisor George McHugh explained, “Last year the town board had voted to bond funds to build a brand-new town building here.... This building is partially being used and the rest is not being used because of mold. Rather than put money into this building, we looked at bonding money and borrowing some and using some fund balance to build a new building. That was voted down by the people of the town, which you have to respect, and so we are looking at other options.” The church is in a quiet residential cul-de-sac with limited ingress and egress, so not ideal for a municipal building with a police station and court. The church and school building is for sale for $549,000, with about $4 million needed to be spent for renovations. “It is one of the bigger buildings in the town and village and it is zoned for municipal building purposes,” McHugh said. “We are looking at it as an option. It is not something we have already decided, it’s not something that we made an offer on. We promised to bring options to the people and this is another option.” Resident Yvonne Shackleton was opposed to the purchase, saying, “People like to walk their babies and their dogs and their families there, and I feel that if we have lots of extra traffic up there it will destroy the aesthetic. We love it up there. It’s a little bit removed from the hustle and bustle of the town and we would be reluctant to see that change.” Resident Michael Klausen said he was concerned about police cars coming in and out of the property, but could see reasons to move town business there, saying, “No one wants to see a building crumbling in their neighborhood. That would bring the property values down, and it would still be owned by the residents, so you could still walk up there and probably utilize the space in off-hours.... If someone else buys the property, it won’t be like that. You’ve got to think about that, too.” Read more about this story in The Upstater.

Phillip Pantuso reports in the Times Union that Saugerties officials initially denied a request under New York’s Freedom of Information Law for the retirement and/or resignation records of former Police Chief Joseph Sinagra when he resigned last month. But on Sept. 18, the Saugerties town clerk released what she said was Sinagra’s entire retirement notice: a four-sentence email sent from a personal account to her and an administrative assistant for the chief. The Aug. 9 message said, “Please be advised that I am making notification of my retirement from the Town of Saugerties. My last day of employment will be Sunday September 24, 2023. I will be exercising all rights provided under Articles 7, 8, and 9 of the Chiefs CBA with the Town. Mary, I will reach out to you relative to the payouts.” That message was sent to Town Clerk Lisa Stanley and Mary Mirabella, the administrative assistant for the police chief. The email resignation came while Sinagra was suspended during an ongoing Ulster County district attorney’s office investigation of sexual assault and harassment allegations against an officer and the department’s handling of that case. Stanley denied the original Freedom of Information Law request for privacy reasons. An official with the state Committee on Open Government said the town would have a difficult time making that argument in court. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Dennis Yusko reports for New York State of Politics that a new Sienna College poll finds Republicans, Democrats, and independents in New York agreeing on the top issues facing the state, they just put them in different orders. Democrats have affordable housing and cost of living as their top issues, while Republicans focus on migrants being relocated here by southern Republican governors. Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said, “In assessing the severity of problems facing New York, there is, surprisingly, considerable agreement among Democrats, Republicans and independents.... At least 80 percent of each partisan group thinks the cost of living in the state is a major problem. At least 71 percent of each say affordable housing is a major problem, as do at least 64 percent of each about crime, and at least 51 percent of each about the migrant influx." The poll also found New York voters prefer President Joe Biden against former President Donald Trump by 52 percent to 31 percent, up from 47 percent to 34 percent last month. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Today's daily news audio update.

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

Rachel Silberstein reports in the Times Union that dozens of people testified in favor of keeping the Burdett Birth Center at Samaritan Hospital in Troy open at a public hearing on Sept. 18 at Russell Sage Bush Memorial Center. If the center closes, there will be no birthing services in Rensselaer County, and there are already no birthing services in Greene or Columbia counties. Zanetta Gary with the Save Burdett Birth Center Coalition said, “The closure of Burdett Birth Center is not just going to create issues in this community, but it’s going to exacerbate existing issues.... Anyone with any exposure to public health ... knows that Black women are in danger and this closure is only going to further that.” The state Department of Health must sign off on the planned closure of the center at the end of the year. Officials with St. Peter's Health Partners say the birthing center is losing $2.3 million annually. A 2020 merger by the hospital eliminated services such as tubal ligations and vasectomies at Samaritan Hospital, but also had officials promising other services would remain. Attorney General Letitia James said at the hearing, “We must address the fact that the closure will break a promise made to the community at the time of the original merger.... Promises to their community, to their donors and to my office. Promises about the level of care that will be provided. The closure would not only undermine this process, but it may very well erode trust in the hospital system altogether.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Luke Parsnow reports in New York State of Politics that sales tax collections in New York were up four percent in August over a year ago, according to state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli's office. DiNapoli said in a statement, “Local sales tax collections in August continue a pattern of moderate increases in 2023.... With overall growth having all but returned to pre-pandemic rates, local officials should budget accordingly and monitor cash flow for the foreseeable future.” Read more about this story in New York State of Politics.

Thomas C. Zambito reports in the Democrat and Chronicle that tolls on the New York State Thruway will increase by five percent in January. Another toll increase in 2027 will have EZ Pass users paying about a nickel per mile, up from the current 4.5 cents. Those paying tolls by mail in passenger cars would pay 8.6 cents per mile, up from the current 5.8 cents. Thruway officials say 85 bridges need to be replaced over the next ten years, costing $800 million. Officials said, “Factoring the hundreds of bridges that will require replacement not long thereafter, the costs escalate into the $6 to $7 billion range which the existing toll rate structure will not support.” Read more about this story in the Democrat and Chronicle.

Today's audio daily news update.

Alexandra Zissu in the Times Union talks with Ben Fain, the developer with businesses around Hudson's Amtrak station. That is the third-busiest station in New York, with approximately 220,000 people arriving or departing. Fain said, “Every 45 minutes, it’s like a faucet of people coming off the train.” Fain opened Kitty’s Market Cafe in the fall of 2020, with breakfast and lunch and expanded into the adjoining space as Kitty’s Restaurant last spring. In October, the restaurant will open for dinner five nights a week. He also owns the nearby Grapefruit Wines, and now he is opening The Caboose, a 3,500-square-foot carbon-neutral private event space in a 19th-century coal barn. That space had a ribbon-cutting on Sept. 12 with Gov. Kathy Hochul, state Sen. Michelle Hinchey, Assemblyperson Didi Barrett, and Hudson Mayor Kamal Johnson in attendance. Grapefruit Wines will soon move into The Caboose space, next to Kitty's. The Caboose opens Oct. 3. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Thomas Christopher reports for the Berkshire Eagle that the imported kousa dogwood tree was once championed as a replacement for dying native dogwood trees, but now it is considered an invasive species. The tree, introduced into North America from East Asia in the 19th century, has recently been identified as an emerging invasive in the state of New Jersey. In East Asia, monkeys help spread the kousa dogwood’s fruits that are the size and color of raspberries. Bethany Bradley, Ph.D., a scientist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, researches invasion ecology, and said, that there is often a lag between when a plant species is introduced and when it begins to behave invasively. Sometimes that is because of how many plants are introduced, or current climate conditions. Read more about this story in the Berkshire Eagle.

Austin Jefferson talks to local band Babehoven in the Daily Freeman. The Claverack-based duo of Maya Bon and Ryan Braun are bandmates and a couple. Braun said, “We have such a deep understanding of each other that a lot of the time I feel like we communicate without words and the only other time I’ve heard people talk about that is within musicianship and playing in a band together.” They met in Los Angeles, moved to Philadelphia, then to Braun’s hometown in Arlington, Vermont, before finding Hudson. Babehoven is currently on the road playing songs from their 2022 album “Light Moving Time,” opening for indie-rock band Slowpulp. They say they make more money selling merch on tour than selling music. Bon said, “I don’t want to be a traveling clothing salesperson. I am one and I’m pretty good at it ’cause I like to make clothes and I like to talk to people. But we’re musicians.” The band says the streaming service Spotify grew their audience but pays them very little. Braun said, “The trade-off is they’ve completely made our work valueless.” Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Today's daily news audio update.

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