Mike Goodwin and H. Rose Schneider report in the Times Union that normal Amtrak service will be return on Nov. 17, and partial service be be back Nov. 16. Structural issues in a building near the tracks in New York City have halted service since Nov. 12. On Nov. 14, Gov. Kathy Hochul said, "While we know it can be difficult to repair aging infrastructure, a delay of this length is unacceptable." Travelers have been able to take Amtrak trains to the Croton-Harmon station and then transfer to Metro-North trains to get into New York City. During the disruption, Amtrak allowed customers on trains with similar departure times or on another day and waived additional charges for customers changing their reservations. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Patricia R. Doxsey reports for the Daily Freeman that Republican Michael Kavanagh has conceded to Democrat Emmanuel Nneji in the election for Ulster County District Attorney. Kavanagh said, “After consulting with my team, it appears that the current vote tally provides Manny Nneji an insurmountable lead in the race for Ulster County District Attorney.... Therefore, we have asked the Board of Elections to cease counting any remaining outstanding absentee ballots and declare Mr. Nneji the winner.” Nneji received 58 votes on Nov. 15, following the count of 98 absentee ballots. That put him up by 368 votes over Kavanagh, 24,206 to 23,838. And on Nov. 15, 12 more absentee ballots will be counted, but that will not be enough for Kavanagh. In the initial ballot count without absentee ballots, Nneji was only winning by 195 votes. Kavanagh said, “While we ultimately came up just short of our goal, I am very proud of my team and the campaign we ran.... In a county where Democrat candidates enjoy a staggering advantage, we nearly accomplished what many thought impossible.” Nneji will be the first Black man to hold a countywide elected office in Ulster County, and is only the second Democrat as District Attorney. In 2019, Democrat David Clegg defeated Kavanagh by just 76 votes. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Roger Hannigan Gilson reports in the Times Union that environmental groups Riverkeeper and the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Sierra Club and others say General Electric's cleanup of PCBs in the Hudson River was not as effective as the federal government predicted when they ordered the cleanup. They called the remedial dredging of the Hudson River a failure. The story says, "PCB levels on the river bottom are falling far more slowly than the EPA expected — and the PCB levels in the section of the upper Hudson, closest to the GE plants, actually rose between 2016 and 2021." Between 1947 to 1977 General Electric dumped 1.2 million pounds of the carcinogenic industrial “forever chemicals” that do not naturally break down into the Hudson River near its facilities north of Albany. GE was forced by the federal government to dredge the river bottom north of Troy, completing the cleanup in 2015. The concentrations of PCBs in fish rose between 2020 and 2021, according to a report from the environmental groups analyzing Environmental Protection Agency data. Officials recommend eating just one fish a month from the Hudson River and pregnant or breast-feeding women are not supposed to eat any. EPA spokesperson Larisa W. Romanowski said the agency’s review will be released early next year, “will assist EPA in further understanding how well and how quickly the fish and the river system are recovering.” The state Department of Environmental Conservation said the cleanup had not been adequately completed, but lost a lawsuit against GE in 2021. Last year, GE agreed to study the lower Hudson River for PCBs. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

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Tiffany Greenwaldt-Simon reports in Columbia-Greene Media that Greene County Legislature’s Finance Committee on Nov. 13 approved a tentative $131 million 2024 budget. That is $8.8 million more than last year's budget. The tax rate that comes with the budget varies by towns with increases in Cairo (3.3 percent), Coxsackie (0.8 percent), Greenville (2 percent), Halcott (6.2 percent), Hunter (1.9 percent), Jewett (3.6 percent) and Prattsville (2.9 percent) and decreases in Ashland (4.6 percent), Athens (33.1 percent), Catskill (7.7 percent), Durham (2 percent), Lexington (0.8 percent), New Baltimore (0.3 percent) and Windham (2.2 percent). The finance committee vote was 12-to-1, with Michael Bulich, a Republican from Catskill, voting against. Bulich said, “I believed the budget went up too much.... I’m not a fan of having to increase the budget by $3 million because the state is reneging on Medicaid coverage.” The county has $35 million in debt from the Greene County Jail has the largest amount outstanding at $35 million, $3.8 million for the 2016 Greene County Courthouse renovation, and $118,200 for Columbia-Greene Community College. The Greene County Legislature will vote on the budget on Nov. 15. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Jammel Cutler reports for Columbia-Greene Media that Battle Ground New York, with members of the Working Families Party, and 1199 SEIU and the Indivisible Communication Workers of America unions rallied against Rep. Marc Molinaro in Hudson's Public Square on Nov. 13. Several local politicians attended the rally, including Columbia County District Attorney-elect Chris Liberati-Conant, Columbia County Democratic Party Chairman Sam Hodge, Hudson Mayor Kamal Johnson, Hudson Third Ward Supervisor Michael Chameides and 4th Ward Supervisor Linda Mussmann. Crystal Perry, political organizer for 1199 SEIU United HealthCare Workers, said, “Today is to shed light for the constituents of Congressional District 19, on how we’re being misrepresented in Washington.... The folks of CD19 face a lot of issues, and they’re being failed by U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro. We want Molinaro to say what he means and mean what he says. Don’t tell the constituents that you believe in them, but in Washington you vote for something different.” Others at the rally complained about Molinaro's political positions on on abortion rights, and his votes supporting Rep. Jim Jordan and Rep. Mike Johnson for Speaker of the House. Molinaro did not comment for the story, but there is a quote from his spokesperson making an unsubstantiated allegation against some unnamed member or members of one of the group's involved in the rally. Jammel Cutler reports for Columbia-Greene Media

All four Hudson Valley Congressional representatives voted to keep the federal government open on Nov. 14. Republicans Elise Stefanik and Marc Molinaro and Democrats Pat Ryan and Paul Tonko all voted for "Further Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2024." The bill to temporarily fund the government until the beginning of 2024 passed 336-to-95 with 93 Republicans and two Democrats voting to shut down the government. Meanwhile, The Daily Freeman reports that the group Empire State Voices had planned a protest to demand that Molinaro do whatever he could to avoid a government shutdown on from 3-5 p.m. Nov. 15 on the Rip Van Winkle Bridge between Greene and Columbia counties. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

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Tiffany Greenwaldt-Simon reports for Columbia-Greene Media that the Greene County Animal Alliance wants to build an animal shelter in Greene County, and they are looking for a space. Mark Gorelick, board president of the Greene County Animal Alliance, said, “That’s our primary concern.... Without property, it’s very difficult to get grants, and the grants are available, but it’s kind of a catch-22. You need money to start a facility, and you need a facility to ask for a grant.” Gorelick said they want the shelter to be less like an adoption center, and more focused on reducing stray populations. He said, “Cats produce very quickly, and it doesn’t take long for a feral cat colony to grow out of hand.... The goal is to reduce what’s out there through humane procedures, and then after that if there are cats and kittens that come in, working to get them adopted.... We can’t build the Taj Mahal of rescue facilities. The money isn’t there, and we’re starting small. You have to start somewhere, and we hope that it grows and gathers more support. This is not a short-term plan. This is a long-term plan for the county.” The Greene County Animal Alliance will brief the public on the project at a meeting at 7 p.m. Nov. 16 at the Cairo Development Foundation. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Ben Mitchell reports for News10 in Albany that the City of Hudson has a temporary amnesty program, waiving late fees and other penalties on parking tickets through December 31. There is an online link to apply for amnesty or residents can email parkingbureau@cityofhudson.org with “Parking Ticket Amnesty Program Application” in the subject line. Hudson Mayor Kamal Johnson said, “We established this program to give folks with old parking tickets the chance to start 2024 off with a clean slate.... Temporarily waiving late fees – which in many cases now far exceeds the original cost of the ticket – is one tool we have to help make that happen.” Read more about this story at the News10 website.

Tiffany Greenwaldt-Simon reports in Columbia-Greene Media that on Nov. 7 the Catskill Town Board passed a $7.7 million budget for 2024 with a 2.81 percent tax levy increase. Anyone with a house assessed at $100,000, will see a roughly $21 increase in taxes. Spending is up 3.6 percent in the new budget. Catskill Town Supervisor Dale Finch said, “I think it’s a very reasonable budget.... I think we’re providing a great service to our residents, and I feel we’re doing it at a reasonable cost.” Employees who work in the town hall and highway employees are getting a 3.5 percent raise increase, and ambulance employee salaries will increase 11 percent. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

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Joshua Solomon reports for the Times Union that with an outbreak of antisemitic and islamophobic incidents in New York and across the country. Hochul said on Nov. 13, “We’ve not seen this level of hate crimes and fear since Sept. 12, 2001.” So Hochul has added $2.5 million for about seven 10 State Police investigators to work with an FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force. Hochul said of the recent rise in hate incidents toward Jewish and Muslim residents of the state, “It’s painful to see the cruelty with which New Yorkers are treating each other.” While some recent hate crimes have been fueled by recent news events. New York's Division of Criminal Justice Services reported about 1,000 hate crimes in New York last year. Of 419 reported anti-religion hate crimes, nearly all were against people who are Jewish. Previously, Hochul got former state Court of Appeals Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman to study antisemitism at CUNY schools and issue a report later this year. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Patricia R. Doxsey reports in the Daily Freeman that once again the U.S. Coast Guard has floated a plan to allow barges to drop anchor up and down the Hudson River between New York City and Albany, and once again public opposition has scuttled the proposal. Rep. Pat Ryan said on Nov. 13, “We won this initial victory because our community stood up and fought together.... But unfortunately, we know this success is temporary. Now is the time for all of us to double down on our commitment to stop big corporations from turning our Hudson River into a parking lot for dangerous barges.” Since 2010 there have been several proposal to anchor large vessels on the Hudson River between Kingston and Yonkers, and each time the plans were stopped by public opposition. Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger said, “Today’s news shows that we have the power to protect our communities if we stand up with one voice to protect our Hudson River.... The Coast Guard has done the right thing by pausing their planned policy to park dangerous barges in the Hudson River, but we must continue to support Congressman Ryan and our other federal representatives to ensure this disastrous policy is never enacted.” Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Kate Lisa reports for New York State of Politics that the company getting $4 million to study the state's coronavirus pandemic response needs more time. The Olson Group was supposed to release their findings in January, but say they need more time. Gov. Kathy Hochul said, "I'm frustrated at the pace that's taking so long for the COVID report to come out.... I am anxious for the results. I requested this. I want to know what they are and get them out to the public. And it's important." Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services spokesperson Colin Brennan said in a statement. "Commissioner [Jackie] Bray has been formally briefed three times by the Olson Group on progress and receives weekly updates from the DHSES project team." Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

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Victor Mather and Matthew Haag in The New York Times reports that Amtrak train service on the line between New York City and Albany remained disrupted for a second day with structural issues in a parking Manhattan garage halting the trains. Amtrak service between Pennsylvania Station in New York and the Croton-Harmon station in Westchester County was stopped because of problems with the garage. Amtrak says it does not know when the building owner will fix the problems, so it is unknown when normal train service will resume. Metro-North trains are still running between Grand Central Terminal and Croton-Harmon, and Amtrak tickets are being honored on that line. Read more about this story in The New York Times.

Roger Hannigan Gilson reports in the Times Union that the first local cannabis stores have finally opened after the state legalized the drug more than two and a half years ago. But the two stores in Hudson are only temporary pop-up shops operating only until the end of the year. Gotham Dispensary’s pop-up store is on Front Street, and Legacy Dispensers are selling cannabis on Union St. In October, New York officials opened up licensing for temporary pop-up shops to sell some of the cannabis that has been piling up with few stores officially open. So far, the only other official cannabis stores open nearby are in Albany and Rensselaer County. Read more about this story in the Times Union.