Today's audio daily news update.

Alexandra Zissu reports in the Times Union that last winter's mild temperatures and below-average snowfall have meant more bees, wasps, and hornets this summer. Betty Jean Jansen of Hudson Valley Pest Control said, “We have been in business over 50 years and I don’t ever remember having anything like this.... It’s overwhelming.” Yellowjackets, are especially prevalent locally right now. Dan Gilrein, an entomologist at Cornell Cooperative Extension Suffolk County, said, “Unlike most ground-nesting bees, yellowjackets can be very defensive around nests, and their numbers are highest at this time of year.... The workers are often encountered foraging around trash bins and around picnic sites, attracted to food materials.” New York has a list of swarm catchers in every county that can relocate excess bees. But too many bees is considered a good thing by many, as the latest Empire State Native Pollinator Survey found that about one-third of pollinator species are at a high risk of becoming extinct in New York. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Tara Suter in The Hill reports that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee put out a video Sept. 7 attacking five New York Republican House members, including Rep. Marc Molinaro, for not moving to expel Rep. George Santos. In May, Molinaro, Anthony D’Esposito, Brandon Williams, Mike Lawler, and Nick LaLota all voted to refer a resolution of Santos’s expulsion to the House Ethics Panel, instead of voting to expel the Congressperson. Santos faces 13 federal criminal charges related to alleged financial crimes, and has been caught lying hundreds of times. Of course, Molinaro and other Republicans also support former President Donald Trump, who faces 91 criminal charges and has been caught lying thousands of times. Molinaro campaign advisor Dave Catalfamo said, “It’s political malpractice that the Washington Democrats are spending money to remind voters of Molinaro bashing Santos while the Biden-Hochul migrant crisis is overwhelming the state.” Read more about this story in The Hill.

Jeanette Wolfberg reports for The Upstater that construction on the redevelopment of Bliss Towers in Hudson won't begin until next fall. The Hudson Housing Authority runs the income-restricted Bliss Towers and Columbia apartments, with 135 apartments, but only 106 of them currently rentable. Mountco Construction and Development Corporation Executive Vice President John Madeo said of his firm's planned work on the project, “We want to make sure that when we finish, we’ll have improved people’s quality of life." Hudson Housing Authority Executive Director Jeffrey Dodson said he hopes the new facilities can double the number of apartments to 270. There is also a proposal to close State Street between where two new apartment buildings will go. Read more about this story in The Upstater.

Today's daily news audio update.

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

Andrea Macko reports for Porcupine Soup that Hunter Town Supervisor Sean Mahoney addressed the Greene County Legislature's Health Services Committee meeting Sept. 6 on behalf of the six other mountaintop supervisors and two mayors, requesting that county officials consider a countywide ambulance system. Mahoney said, “This could put all EMS coverage under one umbrella, reducing the costs to municipalities and increasing the effectiveness of our [advanced life support] and [basic life support providers].” A task force for the legislature considered the idea in 2014, but there was not enough support. Now Mahoney wants a new task force. Greene County Emergency Services says EMS agencies were dispatched in 8,672 times in 2022, up from 8,284 in 2021 and 7,323 in 2020. Legislators Matthew Luvera of Catskill and Harry Lennon from Cairo both said they supported the idea of an independent committee to look at the issue. Mahoney said, “We need to take a look at the whole picture and figure out if this is the right way and if not let’s figure out the right way.” Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

Phillip Pantuso reports in the Times Union that on August 6 the Saugerties Town Board tabled a motion to deny “any and all” requests and appeals under New York’s Freedom of Information Law for records about resignations and retirements in the town and village of Saugerties. The state Committee on Open Government says that, if passed, that would violate state laws governing public records. Towns can block Freedom of Information Law requests for “an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,” but cannot create a blanket exception to rights of access for personnel records, according to Kristin O’Neill, assistant director with the state Committee on Open Government. She said, “In our opinion, a policy to deny any and all FOIL requests and FOIL appeals pertaining to records of resignations and retirements — without conducting a review of each of the relevant records to determine whether disclosure would, in each instance, constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy — is inconsistent with an agency’s obligations under the law." Less than a month ago Saugerties Police Chief Joseph Sinagra retired. At the time he was suspended while the Ulster County district attorney’s office investigated sexual assault and harassment allegations against an officer and the department’s handling of those allegations. Saugerties Council member Mike Ivino would not say whether the issue was about Sinagra, but did say, "As far as releasing these records, if we set a precedent, it might impact future communications. We’re protecting employees’ confidentiality.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Diane Pineiro-Zucker reports in the Daily Freeman that the activist group Scenic Hudson held a press conference with Rep. Marc Molinaro, a Republican, and Rep. Pat Ryan, a Democrat, Sept. 7 at Stone Ridge Orchard in Ulster County, in support of the Farm Bill. That Congressional legislation is reintroduced and adopted every five years, including this one. Julie Tighe, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters said, “This is an opportunity we get every five years to make sure we’re supporting healthy food for all people, we’re uplifting rural communities and economies and securing good water quality … and addressing those challenges posed by climate change." Molinaro, who represents the 19th Congressional District, said, “We are in the midst of one of the most important American policies in our lifetime. … We’re facing, farmers know this first-hand, some significant challenges.” Ryan, who represents the 18th Congressional District, explained how difficult it will be to get the Farm Bill passed. “It’s going to require, on a personal level, folks like Marc and I coming together and saying, ‘How do we get this over the line.’ It’s a five-seat margin in a divided government. It’s going to take those personal connections to bring the seriousness we need to get this over the line.” Much of the Farm Bill is about helping poor people get enough nutrition. Molinaro complained that some states are “really good at processing payments and less good at empowering independence.” Ryan, on the other hand, said, the Farm Bill “is the bill in which we decide who goes hungry in the country and who doesn’t. And that is a point of significant debate” between Democrats and Republicans. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Today's audio daily news update.

Chris McKenna reports in the Poughkeepsie Journal that a group calling itself New York Citizens Audit is going to the homes of New Yorkers and questioning their voter registration status. Officials are concerned because in some encounters the group appears to be posing as board of election workers, and in other cases telling people they have committed a felony by being registered to vote in two places. Raymond Riley III, the state board of election's co-executive director, said in a statement, “We are extremely alarmed by these actions.... These individuals are impersonating government officials in an effort to intimidate voters based on inaccurate and misleading information.” Marly Hornik, executive director of New York Citizens Audit, says her group is not pretending to be election workers. "Absolutely not.... We are researchers who use lawful methods." There has been little evidence of any voter fraud in recent elections in New York and nationally. The group has reportedly approached voters in Albany County, but not in Greene or Columbia counties. William VanNess, Warren County's Republican election commissioner, said he fears that the visits to voters homes might discourage people from voting. "We want people to vote," he said. "We work exceptionally hard to do that." Read more about this story in the Poughkeepsie Journal.

Kate Lisa reports for New York State of Politics that as school reopens this year New York faces a 15 percent statewide shortage of school bus drivers. David Christopher, executive director of the state Association for Pupil Transportation, said, "The situation is dire.... We just did a poll, and 80 percent of our members said they're short of drivers and we need to recruit more." The Legislature recently addressed the issue, passing legislation to allow New Yorkers 18 to 20 years old with a driver's license to obtain a Class A Commercial Driver's License if they complete the state's new training program for young adults. Assemblyperson Bill Magnarelli said, "Everybody is trying to do whatever they can to get more people with the CDL license — that's No. 1.... It's something that is a priority for lawmakers.... We want to make sure that all the children are safe and that they get to school because that's where we want them." Read more about this story in New York State of Politics.

Andrea Macko reports in Porcupine Soup that someone defaced the four pillars of the Greene County Courthouse in Catskill with the letters S-E-E-N overnight Sept. 5. Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden said, “It is not art, it is not self-expression, it is vandalism.” And Groden's team failed to clean the pillars on its first attempt. Groden said, “Research suggested to use mineral oils, as a less abrasive solution, that won’t cause more decolorization than the spray paint. Now we will move to an ‘acid waste.’ After that perhaps sanding down the stone, but that will certainly result in complete damage to the viewshed.” Security cameras could not make out faces, officials said, implying more than one culprit. The Beattie Powers Place, a historic 1837 Greek Revival Mansion in Catskill, also had the letter “V” spraypainted on a sign. Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

Today's daily news audio update.

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

Kathleen Moore reports for the Times Union that a state comptroller’s office audit showed that Chatham residents were taxed too much by their school district. The audit found that the district, “annually appropriated over $1.3 million of fund balance they did not need or use to finance operations. Therefore, taxpayers were taxed more than necessary.” The school board says it used the excess money for a $22 million capital project. The audit showed that the Chatham school district raised the tax levy by an average of 1.6 percent a year even though they had surpluses every year. The comptroller's office said, Chatham officials, “intentionally overestimat[ed] appropriations for the purpose of not using appropriated fund balance — while purporting to plan to use fund balance to cover an operating deficit − is both misleading to voters and interested parties and lacks transparency.” School officials claim there was no mismanagement, even though they overtaxed citizens, and boasted that their mistake gave the school system a strong credit rating, which saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest. But in their statements, school officials never admit their error. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

With the heatwave continuing in the Hudson Valley, the state Department of Health reminds local residents about cooling centers. In Greene County, two libraries and a senior center are designated as cooling centers. They are the Catskill Public Library, the Heermance Memorial Library in Coxsackie, and the Robert C. Antonelli Senior Center in Catskill. In Columbia County the Claverack Free Library, the Germantown Library, the Hudson Area Library, the Kinderhook Memorial Library, the New Lebanon Library, and the Roeliff Jansen Community Library in Hillsdale are all cooling centers. The National Weather Service in Albany has issued a Heat Advisory from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Sept. 7. Forecasters warn that hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses.

Billboard reports that Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have postponed all September dates on their tour, including a stop in Albany. The band released a statement on social media that said, “Mr. Springsteen is being treated for symptoms of peptic ulcer disease and the decision of his medical advisors is that he should postpone the remainder of his September shows.” The band was scheduled to perform in Albany Sept. 19. Makeup shows will be announced later. Read more about this story in Billboard.

Today's audio daily news update.

Nancy Kern reports for Columbia-Greene Media that the Greene County Industrial Development Agency only has one property left to sell in its Exit 21 East development next to the interstate entrance in Catskill. IDA Director April Ernst said on Sept. 4 that the agency wants to sell the final space of the development to a restaurant which might be helped with business from guests at the Hampton Inn. Ernst said, “We’ve just started putting the word out.... I haven’t put up the For Sale sign yet. We’re definitely interested in having a restaurant because the hotel doesn’t have a restaurant.” The other parts of the development include a new Tourism Center and moving the Stewart’s Shops across Route 23. Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden explained why the county wants to develop this spot. “The location is prime, because as people get off the Thruway it’s a very visible facility,” Groden said. “If you have questions and don’t know where to go, you stop in the Visitors’ Center and decide.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.