Today's daily news update.

Bill Williams is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media a man was shot on 3rd Street, between State and Columbia streets, in Hudson the morning of Thu., Apr. 29. He was immediately rushed to Albany Medical Center, city Police Chief L. Edward Moore said. The severity of the man's injuries was not immediately disclosed. At approximately 11:35 a.m., Hudson police responded to the area near North 3rd Street and Long Alley after receiving numerous reports of shots fired. Police sealed off the area. Four bullet casings were found at the scene, Moore said. State police and the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office were called in with investigators and police tracking dogs. Third Street was closed between Columbia and State while investigators combed the scene searching for potential evidence. Police interviewed residents and possible witnesses in the area and checked security camera video. Investigators at the scene were gathering leads in the case, Moore said. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Pete DeMola is reporting for the Times Union Albany police have launched an internal investigation into why officers covered their badge numbers before taking part in the forceful clearing of an encampment outside of South Station last week. Police Chief Eric Hawkins said the decision to obscure identifying information was a violation of department policy, but denied it was done with "nefarious" intent. It was simply a way to protect against threats to their families by activists. “This was widely known among the officers,” Hawkins said. “And they felt like they could minimize the risk to their families by concealing their badge numbers.” The department is also looking into whether officers covered the badges believing that police brass authorized them to do so. Hawkins addressed the Albany Common Council Wed., Apr. 28, and doubled down on his decision to clear the encampment outside of South Station, a measure which drew swift condemnation from activists and civil rights leaders. The chief said any officer's effort to avoid identification as a way to elude charges of wrongdoing would be futile because surveillance cameras would have captured any officer engaged in inappropriate conduct. Mayor Kathy Sheehan called their actions appalling. “That’s not OK and that erodes trust,” Sheehan said. The Albany Police Officers Union did not immediately comment on Wednesday night. Hawkins presented video from body-worn cameras and surveillance cameras that depicted activists barricading the camp and tending to bonfires before it was cleared by officers in riot gear. “It was very clear at that time that they were not peaceful protestors,” Hawkins said. Alexis Figuereo, an organizer who was arrested last week, said police cherry-picked the footage. “The video was purposely set to make us look like monsters,” Figuereo said. Several lawmakers expressed discomfort with the application of Blue Lives Matter insignia on department riot shields. Councilwoman Ginnie Farrell noted that activists view the iconography as representing a belief system that is diametrically opposed to the movement for racial justice. City police should find another way to honor fallen officers, she said. “It’s quite frankly seen as a racist image,” she said. Hawkins acknowledged the insignia was unauthorized and that the situation was being dealt with.Read the full story in the Times Union.

Larry Parnass reports in the Bennington Banner that employees of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art voted 53-15 to affiliate with UAW Local 2110, AFL-CIO, an April 28 National Labor Relations Board count revealed. "It's extremely gratifying and fills me with hope and optimism about the future," said Amanda Tobin, a museum employee. "And helping to usher Mass MoCA into this new future." Tracy Moore, the museum's interim director, said in a statement, "While we recognize the challenges we face as an institution, we believe in our staff and in our ability to meet these challenges together.... We respect the choice to unionize and look forward to working with UAW Local 2110 in continuing to cultivate an inclusive, diverse, and sustainable workplace." Twenhty-five employees did not cast mail-in ballots. The ones that did voted to be considered a single bargaining unit, rather than dividing employees into professionals and nonprofessionals. Read more about this story in the Bennington Banner.

Today's daily headlines.

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

J. David Goodman, Jesse McKinley, and Danny Hakim report in The New York Times that aides to Gov. Andrew Cuomo repeatedly overruled state health officials over a span of at least five months about how to handle the COVID-19 crisis in New York's nursing homes. The reporters based their story on interviews and newly unearthed documents. "A scientific paper, which incorporated the data, was never published. An audit of the numbers by a top Cuomo aide was finished months before it became publicly known. Two letters, drafted by the Health Department and meant for state legislators, were never sent," the story says. Senior Cuomo aides worked to stop the state’s health officials, including the health commissioner, Howard Zucker, from reporting an accurate death toll in the nursing homes to the public or state lawmakers. Elkan Abramowitz, a lawyer representing Cuomo’s office, said the administration doubted Zucker's numbers. “The whole brouhaha here is overblown to the point where there are cynical suggestions offered for the plain and simple truth that the chamber wanted only to release accurate information that they believed was totally unassailable,” Abramowitz said. “The chamber was never satisfied that the numbers that they were getting from D.O.H. were accurate." But Cuomo has not hinted at firing Zucker, and has taken no disciplinary action against his health commissioner and his faulty nursing home death data. There is currently a federal investigation into how the Cuomo administration handled the COVID-19 pandemic in nursing homes, and several other state investigations into other issues, such as sexual assault and harassment. Read more about this story in The New York Times.

Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media Republicans and landlords statewide pushed back April 28, against a Democratic proposal to extend the eviction moratorium originally adopted to provide relief during the COVID-19 crisis. The Assembly Minority Conference held a virtual press conference calling on state lawmakers to end the moratorium that denies property owners the ability to evict tenants who do not pay their rent. A vote on the extension was originally slated for this week in the state Legislature, but by mid-week the vote had been delayed until Monday. The moratorium was first passed in May, early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Opponents of the moratorium argue that it is hurting small landlords who struggle to make mortgage payments. “We have crossed the line from protecting tenants facing difficulties to providing near immunity from paying rent,” Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay, said. “Temporarily halting evictions made sense as the state was coming to grips with an emerging pandemic, but forcing landlords to house tenants who refuse to pay rent month after month is nothing short of economic cruelty.” Rochester landlord Rick Tyson said “We reached a point where we had lost more than our entire property tax liability to both the city of Rochester and Monroe County, which at the time was $87,000,” Tyson said. “This moratorium is crushing us at this point.” Elyse Zaccaro, a West Hampton Beach landlord said. “Maybe the moratorium made sense early on, no doubt. Tenants in need needed some protection — there was panic, it was a pandemic, it was something unprecedented. ...Essentially the moratorium confiscates property in order to house people who the state should be helping, while denying tax-paying property owners the right to due process.” This week tenant advocates and the Hudson Catskill Housing Coalition held a rally outside the office of Assemblymember Didi Barrett’s office in Hudson, in a call for the state to extend the eviction moratorium and provide rent relief to those tenants financially impacted by the pandemic. Barrett said in a released statement she was asking the state to release funds aimed at helping those tenants experiencing hardship to pay their rent. “My priority is to deliver immediate, tangible assistance to our renters and small landlords across the state and I call upon the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance to swiftly establish the framework needed to bring relief to our residents,” Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Patricia Doxsey is reporting for the Daily Freeman an audit of the Ulster County Public Defender's Office shows significant improvements in grant management have been made in the past year. In 2020, County Executive Pat Ryan said that failures within the office led to the loss of nearly $2.5 million in state aid, including $1.9 million that would have covered money spent by the county. Still, county Comptroller March Gallagher said, there is room for improvement and she urged the Ryan administration to change how it budgets grant revenues and the corresponding expenses. Gallagher released the findings of the audit April 28. Her office conducted the review in response to the February 2020, call by Ryan to conduct a comprehensive review of the past six years of the public defender’s finances. The audit revealed three key problems: A lack of oversight and monitoring that resulted in the underutilization of grants; the failure of the administration to budget expenditures necessary to receive budgeted revenues, and its failure to document budget deviations from department requests; and, the failure of the Public Defender's Office to collect data metrics to assess improvements to indigent legal services. In 2017, 2018, and 2019, then-Public Defender Andrew Kossover requested additional positions that would have been paid for through state grants. Ryan's predecessor, Michael Hein rejected the requests, but failed to remove from the county budget the revenue the county would have received if the positions were filled. Gallagher said the Ryan administration initially claimed the documentation did not exist, but after months of wrangling she was able to obtain that information using the subpoena power of her office. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Edward McKinley is reporting for the Times Union the state Senate and Assembly on April 28, adopted resolutions to repeal three executive orders issued by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo under his COVID-19 emergency powers, marking lawmakers' first formal reprimand of the governor's pandemic directives. The first requirement was for food to be served with alcoholic drinks, which started the trend of "Cuomo chips" where bars and restaurants would sell small, inexpensive snacks along with drinks, to comply with the order. The second order rescinded a waiver allowing volunteers working on the state's pandemic response to avoid conflict-disclosure rules, and the last was for now outdated restrictions on the vaccination rollout that no longer apply. A legislative source told the Times Union that repeals of other executive orders and directives are under discussion, including removing the curfew on bars and restaurants and the so-called "Footloose Law" that bans dancing at those establishments. The governor announced on Twitter that the curfew for bars and restaurants would be lifted in May, but lawmakers are looking to act sooner. The governor also has proposed loosening rules for weddings and catered events on May 3. "Imagine being a bride told you cannot dance with your family and friends if you’re getting married this weekend, but beginning Monday, May 3, you could do so," said state Sen. Daphne Jordan. "The governor’s logic makes absolutely no sense, and these ridiculous restrictions on weddings should be lifted immediately." The governor's Senior Advisor Rich Azzopardi framed the lawmakers' actions as part of a collaborative effort. “With the numbers steadily decreasing, lifting this COVID-related restriction was something we were in the process of implementing in the coming days," Azzopardi said. "We are pleased that the Legislature agrees that we have made enough progress on COVID that New York is in a position to repeal this provision." Read the full story in the Times Union.

Today's daily news update.

New York State Senator Michelle Hinchey, a Democrat representing the 46th District, held a press conference on April 28, at Coxsackie Town Hall to promote the record levels of state transportation infrastructure spending and how it will impact locally. Greene County is getting a 33 percent increase in highway spending from New York compared to last year’s budget allotment, with more than $6.3 million additional funds. Click here to download or play an excerpt from Hinchey speaking at the press conference. Greene County Legislature Chair Patrick Linger explained that local highway departments will not be hiring to complete these projects, as they are bidded out to Hudson Valley firms such as Callanan Industries, Inc, Peckham Industries Inc, and A. Colarusso & Son Inc. Those bidding companies may be hiring, but there are reports of many other local businesses having trouble finding workers. Click here to download or play an excerpt of Linger talking about the employment impact of the highway funding.

Senate Transportation Committee Chair Senator Tim Kennedy, from Buffalo, and a large group of Greene County highway officials, and legislative leaders were also on hand. They included Greene County Legislature Chairman Pat Linger, Greene County Highway Superintendent Scott Templeton, Greene County Highway Association President John Farrell, Greene County Deputy County Administrator Warren Hart, Coxsackie Highway Superintendent Larry Ross, Coxsackie Town Supervisor Rich Hanse, and Village of Coxsackie Mayor Mark Evans. Click here to download or play an audio recording from WGXC of the press conference.

Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the New Baltimore Town Board April 26, unanimously approved a resolution granting municipal consent for the $3 billion Champlain Hudson Power Express proposal, despite the presence of a small, but vocal group of opponents. “Sometimes David has to challenge Goliath,” resident James Eckl said as he left the town board meeting. The project would run 338 miles of power line from the U.S.-Canada border to New York City, with 60 percent of the line buried underwater and 40 percent underground and would supply enough power for 1 million homes in New York City. Municipalities along the transmission line were asked to adopt resolutions granting consent for the line to be installed on an existing right of way. Town Supervisor Jeff Ruso said the line would run parallel along the CSX railroad track. He has met with the developers, he added. The only town-owned road the project is expected to cross is New Baltimore Road. It would also cross Route 144, but that is a state road, Ruso said. New Baltimore would receive $120,000 a year through a Payment in Lieu of Taxes agreement, he said. Town board member Shelly Van Etten said there was nothing the town could do about the project, one way or another and the supervisor agreed. “It comes down to this,” he said. “There are a lot of bigger players than the town of New Baltimore or [residents] Ellie [Alfeld] or Jeff [Ruso], who are worried about their stretch of property. There are a lot of big bucks in this.” Alfeld scoffed. Eckl expressed skepticism and wanted to see the town gain more from the project. New Baltimore was the last town in Greene and Albany counties to vote on the municipal consent resolution, Ruso said. “We did struggle like a fish on a line, but that’s all we were — a fish on a line,” he said. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Diane Valden is reporting for The Columbia Paper the proposed Hecate [HEK-uh-tee] Energy 60 megawatt Shepherd’s Run Solar Farm is now on the fast track to approval. The industrial-scale project is not permitted under the Copake zoning laws, but it is moving forward because Hecate bypassed the local law and requested site approval from the New York State Siting Board, under procedures in Article 10 of the Public Service Law. In an announcement last week, Hecate said it has transferred the application from Article 10 to “the state’s new siting process for renewable energy projects, known as ‘94-c’ for the section of state Executive Law that established the new system, [and] sets the standards and conditions for siting, design, construction, operation and permitting that Shepherd’s Run will be required to follow.” Though the switch was not unexpected, the news drew an angry reaction from town officials and opponents. “Hecate’s announcement that it is switching to 94-c is more bad news for Copake,” Town Supervisor Jeanne E. Mettler said in a press release. “Now Hecate has jumped from Article 10 which had little regard for local zoning to 94-c which is geared to totally ignore local laws in favor of a quick state rubber-stamping for solar projects,” she said. Hecate Energy Project Developer Alex Campbell noted, “The transfer to the state’s new comprehensive siting and permitting process ensures a rigorous and responsible environmental review process. It will also help provide real benefits and safeguard input opportunities for the local community.” Republican State Senator Daphne Jordan said April 16, that she has stood with Copake citizens and officials for months “in expressing my many serious concerns about Hecate Energy’s proposed massive project and its potential negative impact on the town’s special quality of life.” Jordan is critical of the project due to Hecate's failure to respect and recognize local Home Rule and to include proper protection provisions for local farmland. She has urged the NYS Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment to deny the company its required certificate in her official public comment. Hecate does have supporters, including Friends of Columbia Solar, which argues that solar power will be crucial to making the state's mandate of 70 percent renewable electricity by 2030. The Chicago-based Hecate is a developer of solar farms, wind farms and energy storage projects. The Shepherd's Run proposal calls for the installation of 200,000 solar panels on steel-tracking mounts on 280 acres of a 360-acre fenced-in area located on both sides of state Route 23 and county Route 7 in the Copake hamlet of Craryville, near the Taconic Hills Central School and the Copake Lake community. Most of the land earmarked for the facility is currently used for agriculture. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

MidHudson News is reporting the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan, Westchester County, will stop producing energy on April 30, when its last component, Reactor Unit 3 is taken out of service. Holtec International will take it over and dismantle it, but not before the State Public Service Commission gives its okay, said Holtec spokesperson Joe Delmar. “The PSC does have a hearing scheduled for May 13, when they will make a determination to either approve or not approve the transaction,” he said. “Hopefully the transaction is approved and if that is the case, the plan is for Entergy and Holtec to complete the sale transaction on May 28.” If the sale is approved, Holtec would then move the remaining spent fuel into dry casks and begin dismantling the facility. That is projected to take 12 to 15 years. The work will be paid for through the Decommissioning Trust Fund. Read the full story at MidHudsonNews [dot] com.

Today's daily headlines.

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

Sarah Trafton is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media a Connecticut man’s plans to film at the abandoned Friar Tuck Inn have likely failed. The town of Catskill last week took legal action against the owners of the resort, alleging unauthorized construction and prohibited paramilitary activity. Thomas O’Rourke, of Military Simulations and Tactical Operations, of Wallingford, Conn., claimed he was given permission to film at the property from April 30 to May 2. O’Rourke was in contact with Film in Greene, a county resource for moviemakers looking to film in the area. However, the department has no authority to approve or deny projects, Greene County Tourism Director Heather Bagshaw said. Film in Greene does not issue permits, she said. “We’re strictly an information provider and truthfully it’s the municipalities that are driving a lot of this,” she said. “We’re taking a back seat as to whether or not this [event] is going to happen. It’s really out of my purview.” The admission price for O'Rourke's event was set at $180 per person, with a maximum of 500 participants allowed. The group's first event was held March 13 and 14, which Catskill Town Supervisor Dale Finch and Town Assessor Christine Julig witnessed. Bagshaw said. According to court papers, Finch observed 35 or so people dressed in camouflage military attire and guns were on display. Julig described men on balconies, shooting at other participants on the ground, with what she believed to be air rifles. She described hearing explosions as well. Bagshaw said she saw the proposal as a film and not an event. “I think this could very well be a gray area and can be perceived both ways ... whether it’s an event, whether it’s a film, it’s in the eyes of the beholder.” she said. “Some people do pay to be a part of reality shows and that’s why I viewed it in that manner,” she said, referring to the tickets being advertised. The town has no certificates of occupancy or building permits on file for the property, and the state Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit expired in 2011, according to the lawsuit. The owners of the property, along with O’Rourke, are being represented by Buffalo-based attorney Michael Brandi. “It’s an interesting issue,” Brandi said. “This case has a lot more under the surface than the town’s papers reveal.” Among the many violations alleged, if O'Rourke and his group continue to operate the site their actions will pose a risk to the wetlands on the property, as well as being exposed to asbestos, according to the town, which has requested a temporary restraining order until an application for a injunction can be heard. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Emilia Teasdale is reporting for The Columbia Paper the Ghent Town Board April 15 voted to cancel the town's summer program this year due to the pandemic. Supervisor Mike Benvenuto said that if something “miraculous happens,” the board can always revisit the decision. Benvenuto noted that the kids enrolled in the program would not be able to use Fox Hill in Austerlitz for swimming and could not go on field trips. He stressed that the town plans to open the park and get the tennis court nets up. Board members Patti Matheney [MAH-thane-ee] and Koethi [COE-thee] Zan [Zahn] concurred and voted to cancel the program. In the workshop meeting, held before the regular meeting began, board member Charles Wood said he spoke with village of Chatham officials about the Harlem Valley Rail Trail, a section of which runs from Ghent to the village. Wood said he spoke with Mayor John Howe about finding a board member who might be interested in working with the town on the trail. The section of the trail in Ghent and Chatham is currently in development, according to the Harlem Valley Rail Trail website. Parts of the trail are currently open in southern Columbia County. The board also discussed the $560,000 the town is expected to receive from the federal American Rescue Plan. The board still requires information on how the money can be spent. Matheney said the funding is expected to come in two lump sums, though she stressed that could change. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

Noah Zweifel is reporting for The Altamont Enterprise the town of Berne’s controversial dog-control officer, Jodi Jansen, submitted his resignation April 19. Supervisor Sean Lyons said Jansen tendered his resignation verbally, citing personal obligations that take him out of town too often to do his job effectively. “Jodi’s business has him traveling outside the area and unable to fulfill the duties. He asked me to extend thanks and gratitude to the town board and the residents for allowing him to serve,” Lyons wrote in an email. When contacted by the Enterprise and asked why he resigned, Jansen said only, “I think that’s nobody’s business but mine, so don’t call me back.” Jansen was first appointed to the position in early 2020, and reappointed again this year. Because of his abrupt departure, the former dog-control officer, Cheryl Baitsholts, has been helping the Albany County Sheriff’s Office after they contacted her about a dog was dropped off at the town's ambulance bay, which required local animal control. They had been unable to reach Jansen. “So they called,” Baitsholts said, “and said they had gone through everybody and wouldn’t I please take this dog, and I said, ‘Absolutely not.’ She then called Berne councilwoman Bonnie Conklin. “I told her that sheriffs were looking for the dog control officer but couldn’t get him to respond, so maybe she could go and pick up the dog, She said she’d take care of it and that was it. The sheriffs told me that Jansen resigned so I assume there was an issue.” When asked if Jansen’s resignation related to the ambulance-bay dog incident, Lyons told The Enterprise, “If it did, he did not mention that to me. I suspect that has something to do with it but that is only my speculation.” The next day, on April 20, deputies responded to a call about a dog laying on the side of Peasley Road, in Berne, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office. The dog, which was alive, was brought to a clinic, where it was discovered that the animal had suffered gunshot wounds to the head. The dog has since been euthanized. Undersheriff Bill Rice said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing. Baitsholts said she is expecting the owner to be charged with neglect once an arrest is made. Read the full story in The Altamont Enterprise.