Jammel Cutler reports for Columbia-Greene Media that the Town of Copake is starting to keep track of the money and energy it is saving with climate-conscious policies. Town Supervisor Jeanne Metter said, “At our April meeting the Town Board passed a resolution to engage in benchmarking for Town buildings.... We were already tracking costs and usage but now we have formally committed the town of Copake to continue these efforts. The town board recently completed an energy audit with regard to Town Hall and we are exploring ways to both increase efficiency and effectiveness of systems in Town Hall, and also reduce energy costs and fossil fuel usage.” Copake will now track electricity, natural gas and fuel oil usage in their main town buildings. The benchmarking that Metter mentions measures the energy used per square foot by each building for comparisons with other buildings. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Jane Kaufman reports in The Berkshire Eagle that a swastika was found in a bathroom stall May 18 with antisemitic language in a boys bathroom at Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington. Monument Mountain Principal Kristina Farina wrote to parents that, “I am sorry to report that today, we had another hateful image shared in school.... This image was then photographed and shared.” Last week, a “racist and body shaming screenshot” from the school was found on Snapchat. “We are in the process of investigating and reviewing digital footage outside of the bathroom,” Farina’s email said. “In schools around the county and country, these incidents are all too common. We condemn these actions and we will not tolerate it.” Great Barrington police are now investigating. Read more about this story in The Berkshire Eagle.

Today's daily news audio update.

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

Ryan Whalen reports for New York State of Politics that there are now more than 71,000 migrants currently in New York with most in New York City. Gov. Kathy Hochul says she has been working with New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the federal government to find housing options. Hochul said, "We're working closely with them, literally hour by hour, trying to identify places where there are welcoming communities." Government officials in many upstate counties are now saying that they have enough migrants already and can't take anymore. Hochul countered, "There's not a cost to the locality. This is simply allowing people to be welcome whether it's in a hotel, if it is a campus, and the money follows them. The money will cover the costs of all the services they will need. I think a lot of people don't know that yet. They assume they'll be borne by the local community. That's not the case here." Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

WNYT reports that Rensselaer County officials are warning about a spike in deadly overdoses in the county since May 19. Cocaine and fentanyl is reported to be involved in the overdoses in Rensselaer County, the Health Department there said. Authorities are saying there may have been as many as five fatal overdoses this weekend in Rensselaer County. Anyone needing help should call the Rensselaer County Recovery Helpline at 1-833-467-3123 or Rensco.helpline@gmail.com. Read more about this story at the WNYT website.

The Troy Record reports that Brian Owens, the retired City of Troy Police Chief now running for Rensselaer County Sheriff, has chosen Kerrie Peter-Marble as his Rensselaer County Undersheriff. Peter-Marble has a 26-year law enforcement career from the North Greenbush Police Department to the New York State Police. There are two Republicans and two Conservative candidates running for sheriff in the primary election in June. Kyle R. Bourgault is running on both lines, against Republican Jason C. Stocklas, and against Conservative Brian G. Owens. Read more about this story in the Troy Record.

Here is this week's WGXC Congressional Report, tracking the votes, statements, positions, and campaigns of the representatives and candidates for the 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st Congressional seats in New York. Democrat Pat Ryan is representing the 18th Congressional District, Republican Marc Molinaro represents the 19th Congressional District, Democrat Rep. Paul Tonko represents the 20th District, and Republican Elise Stefanik represents the 21st District. Click here to listen to this report.

The Troy Record reports that Rep. Paul Tonko is crowing about the $936,414 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Center for Substance Abuse Treatment has awarded to the University at Albany for screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment to prevent and address gambling among college students. Tonko, a Democrat representing Albany County and the 20th Congressional District, has taken up gambling as his own cause lately. Tonko is trying to ban online and television advertising of sports gambling, but his HR 967 bill has no co-sponsors. But he is happy that UAlbany is getting more than $4.8 million over the next five years to support this research. Tonko said, “This funding will help ensure that young adults who are struggling with these issues have access to the timely and responsive support they need to lead healthy and fulfilling lives. Tonko serves as co-chair of the Addiction, Treatment, and Recovery Caucus, a bipartisan group of legislators committed to advancing solutions to the country’s multifaceted addiction crisis. Read more about this story in the Troy Record.

Paul Kirby reports in the Daily Freeman that a report released this week by the Dutchess County Comptroller’s Office said that a government lease of a luxury vehicle by former Republican Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro gave the “appearance of circumventing normal legislative approval (as required by a purchase) and public transparency.” Dutchess County Comptroller Robin Lois, a Democrat, wrote the report, and focused on an inventory of county vehicles between 2018 and 2023. A summary in the report said, “This report also addresses the 2021 lease of a $75,876 Chevy Tahoe by the County Executive and identifies the execution of said lease, after a 2020 purchase denial, as giving the appearance of circumventing normal legislative approval (as required by a purchase) and public transparency.... Leasing decisions should be held to the same standards as any purchase in the procurement policy by, ‘assuring the prudent and economical use of public monies in the best interest of taxpayers of Dutchess County,’ and to, ‘guard against extravagance.’ It is evident that the lease in question was not held to the same standard expected of all departments.” Molinaro did not comment on the report, but his advisor Dave Catalfamo did, avoiding mentioning anything specific in the report, saying, “Marc Molinaro’s fiscal stewardship as County Executive is indisputable.... He cut taxes, improved the county’s bond rating, and left his successor with significant reserves. This audit has been extensively reported on and thoroughly explained well before its release.” The report showed how previously county executive vehicles were purchased through bonding and budget requests that go through the Legislature for approval, while Molinaro circumvented that process. Democrat Josh Riley, who lost to Molinaro in 2022 and has announced another campaign for the 19th Congressional District in 2024, said, “It’s ironic that Marc Molinaro is lecturing voters about ‘reckless spending’ even as an independent audit concludes that he wasted taxpayers’ hard-earned money on a luxury vehicle for himself.” Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Tyler A. McNeil reports for the Daily Gazette that Republican Liz Joy will not run for a third time against Democrat Paul Tonko for the 20th Congressional District. Joy is a right-wing Republican who lost in 2020 and 2022 to Tonko by a wide margin in the Capital Region district. Joy attended Trump's rally near the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, though did not enter the House of Representatives during the attempted coup. Now Joy said on social media that she plans on turning her attention to advocate for state-level “election integrity," saying, "Together, we were able to bring serious national attention to the NY Capital Region 20th Congressional District, something that had never been done before. It is a direct result of citizen grass-roots support, our strong common sense message, and daily interacting with the people that live here and work here.” Albany County Republican Chair Randy Bashwinger said he was surprised that Joy won't run again, saying, “I’m sure we’ll find somebody, but it’s going to be tough to find anybody as strong as she was.” Joy lost to Tonko by about a 55-45 percent margin in 2022. Even though she was beaten by about 30,000 votes, Joy’s attorney requested an audit of the election, which the state denied. Joy claimed the state voter rolls have never been “formally audited.” But New York State Board of Elections spokesperson Jennifer Wilson said in an email that Joy is “factually incorrect” on the auditing process. Republican Elise Stefanik, who represents the 21st District, called Joy a “dear friend” and “inspiring patriot" and said, "I look forward to continuing to work with Liz Joy as she begins her next chapter to restore election integrity and to secure our elections in New York." Read more about this story in the Daily Gazette.

Mid-Hudson News reports that that seven men have come forth to say they were paid to act as homeless veterans displaced from upstate hotels by incoming migrants. The men were staying at a homeless shelter in Poughkeepsie, and said they were among 15 men recruited for the scam by the non-profit YIT Foundation. They were told to pretend they were veterans that had been kicked out of the Crossroads Hotel in the Town of Newburgh last week, before the arrival of actual migrants bused there from New York City. Assemblyperson Brian Maher now says he was duped by YIT Foundation's director, Sharon Toney-Finch, who appears to have fabricated the entire story. “When Sharon and several veterans explained to me their situation, I believed them at their word,” Maher said on May 19. “I had absolutely no knowledge of any wrongdoing and believed that their stories were real until a phone conversation with Sharon yesterday afternoon when she explained to me that this did not happen the way she purported it to.” The men said they were paid $200 and given food and alcohol to scam the public into believing that homeless veterans were being kicked out of shelters to make room for migrants. One of the homeless men said about Sharon Toney-Finch, “She told us to act like we were the veterans that had been displaced. And she told us that if asked, we were supposed to say we had been kicked out and Sharon found us rooms in Fishkill.” The man also said that anyone in the group who was unwilling to answer was told to respond with, “I am too traumatized to talk about it." The false story that migrants were displacing homeless veterans was repeated widely, both locally and nationally. Local Rep. Marc Molinaro was one of many politicians that amplified a false story. Molinaro quoted a New York Post story about the false story on May 12, writing, "This is absolutely inexcusable and should not be happening in America. This is the result of incompetence and lack of compassion. This be won’t tolerated." Molinaro, a Republican, then commented after the hoax was made public saying, “The fabrication is so disheartening and wrong. It undermines the work of helping our veterans and makes more difficult our efforts to stop NYC from illegally moving migrants to Upstate New York communities without resources or their approval. This must stop.” Read the full story at Mid-Hudson News.

The Daily Freeman tracks the votes last week of Democrat Pat Ryan and Republican Marc Molinaro, in the 18th and 19th Congressional Districts. The House on May 17 voted, 221-204, to avoid a direct vote on expelling Rep. George Santos from Congress. The freshman lawmaker from Long Island is under federal indictment on 13 charges of wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public money, and making false statements to Congress. Local Republicans Marc Molinaro and Elise Stefanik voted to adopt a Republican motion to refer a Democratic expulsion measure, H Res 114, to the Ethics Committee. The Ethics Committee is already looking in to misconduct by Santos before and after his election to the House. So Republicans voted to avoid a vote on expulsion. Local Democrats Pat Ryan and Paul Tonko voted against the measure, or in favor of holding an expulsion vote on Santos. Also on May 17, the House voted 232-to-198 to pass HR 3091, that would allow federal law enforcement officers to buy firearms including handguns and AR 15-style assault rifles that federal agencies have retired from their arsenals. The police officers would be allowed as citizens to purchase retired firearms at fair market value for lawful civilian purposes. Currently the Secret Service and Customs and Border Protection must destroy or transfer to another agency weapons they retire from use. Locally, again the score was partisan, with Republicans Molinaro and Stefanik voting for the measure, and Democrats Ryan and Tonko voting against. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Today's audio daily news update.

Mid-Hudson News reports that that seven men have come forth to say they were paid to act as homeless veterans displaced from upstate hotels by incoming migrants. The men were staying at a homeless shelter in Poughkeepsie, and said they were among 15 men recruited for the scam by the non-profit YIT Foundation. They were told to pretend they were veterans that had been kicked out of the Crossroads Hotel in the Town of Newburgh last week, before the arrival of actual migrants bused there from New York City. Assemblyperson Brian Maher now says he was duped by YIT Foundation's director, Sharon Toney-Finch, who appears to have fabricated the entire story. “When Sharon and several veterans explained to me their situation, I believed them at their word,” Maher said on May 19. “I had absolutely no knowledge of any wrongdoing and believed that their stories were real until a phone conversation with Sharon yesterday afternoon when she explained to me that this did not happen the way she purported it to.” The men said they were paid $200 and given food and alcohol to scam the public into believing that homeless veterans were being kicked out of shelters to make room for migrants. One of the homeless men said about Sharon Toney-Finch, “She told us to act like we were the veterans that had been displaced. And she told us that if asked, we were supposed to say we had been kicked out and Sharon found us rooms in Fishkill.” The man also said that anyone in the group who was unwilling to answer was told to respond with, “I am too traumatized to talk about it." The false story that migrants were displacing homeless veterans was repeated widely, both locally and nationally. Local Rep. Marc Molinaro was one of many politicians that amplified a false story. Molinaro quoted a New York Post story about the false story on May 12, writing, "This is absolutely inexcusable and should not be happening in America. This is the result of incompetence and lack of compassion. This be won’t tolerated." Molinaro, a Republican, then commented after the hoax was made public saying, “The fabrication is so disheartening and wrong. It undermines the work of helping our veterans and makes more difficult our efforts to stop NYC from illegally moving migrants to Upstate New York communities without resources or their approval. This must stop.” Read the full story at Mid-Hudson News.

Nick Reisman reports in New York State of Politics that during the COVID-19 pandemic New York state officials made it easier for people to receive an absentee ballot, and advocates for open government would like that to continue. Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group said, "Lawmakers would have to act on legislation to extend that this year.... They haven’t done it yet. And the primary election is merely six weeks away." Primary voting this year takes place June 17 through June 27. Common Cause’s Susan Lerner agrees it should be easy for a voter to receive an absentee ballot because they do not want to be in a small room with so many other people for health reasons. "This isn’t about some special favor.... This is a reasonable definition in our unfortunately highly contagious world.... That would be relevant, for instance, if you’re a cancer patient under chemotherapy.... It would be relevant if you’re immune compromised. It would be relevant if you’re an older person at risk for COVID." Republicans such as state Sen. Mark Walczyk are opposed, saying, "We should be doing things to restore faith in the electoral process and get people out on Election Day." But there is no longer one single election day, but many days when voters may cast their ballot at the polls. Locally, Republicans in Rensselaer County have been charged with fraud about absentee ballots, but otherwise there have been no problems with absentee voting lately. Read more about this story in New York State of Politics.

Scott Stafford reports for The Berkshire Eagle that local allergy expert Dr. Jasdeep S. Badwal says that, "This spring has been particularly bad" for allergies. The specialist at Berkshire Allergy Care on South Street in Pittsfield said, “And climate change is not helping. We are in the thick of it.” The forecast of pollen counts from Pollen.com predicts that to remain the case this week. Kari Nadeau, professor of Climate and Population Studies and chair of the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, says that pollen seasons are starting earlier and lasting longer. With more carbon dioxide in the air, plants release more pollen. Over-the-counter allergy medicines just mask symptoms, and only a series of shots can actually help those suffering. “These allergy symptoms can have a heavy impact on someone’s quality of life,” Badwal said. “But a lot of people don’t know that shots are available.” Read more about this story in The Berkshire Eagle.

Today's daily news audio update.

Roger Hannigan Gilson reports in the Times Union that the Greene County legislature, through Chairperson Patrick Linger, voted May 17 to declare a state of emergency because at some time in the future someone might send a busload of migrants to the county. So Greene County voted to fine any hotel that accepts a migrant. The state of emergency did not mention the southern Republican governors who might bus migrants their way, but did target the mayor of New York City, a Democrat. County legislators blamed, “New York City’s program to rapidly increase the number of migrants in the County to unsustainable levels,” even though no plan to bus migrants to Greene County has been reported or unveiled. Nevertheless, Greene County is now fining up to $2,000 per migrant per day against a hotel that violates the law, which is in effect for five days but can be extended. On May 17, Greene County sheriff’s deputies delivered copies of the emergency order to hotels and motels. Read more about this story in the Times Union

Raymond Pignone reports for Columbia-Greene Media that engineers predict that the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse will collapse and sink into the Hudson River within five years unless work begins soon to repair the foundation. So far the biggest names in politics from both parties say they are working on securing the $7.5 million in federal funding needed to repair, restore, and protect the damaged underwater foundation in the Hudson River between Athens and Hudson. Sen. Chuck Schumer, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Rep. Marc Molinaro, state Sen. Michelle Hinchey, and state Assemblypersons Didi Barrett, and Chris Tague are all supporting the funding effort. The Hudson-Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society President Kristin Gamble said they are distributing petitions in area shops urging the legislators to get the funding. The Hudson-Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society said in a statement, "the lighthouse is held up by 200 underwater wooden pilings pounded 50 feet into the riverbed and protected by packing mud and large boulders, or rip rap. The foundation was an 1874 engineering marvel. A 2021 underwater survey using lidar technology revealed the alarming and accelerated foundation damage. River currents, tides. and weather have taken their toll.” So far the Society has raised more than $200,000 in donations and grants to restore the foundation. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Nick Reisman reports for New York State of Politics the the state's Department of Labor reported on May 18 that the unemployment rate declined from March to April from 4.1 percent to 4 percent, with the number of unemployed people falling from 391,600 in March to 385,000 in April. The private sector lost 25,000 jobs in April, but the public sector did better. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Today's audio daily news update.

Andrea Macko reports for Porcupine Soup that Melissa Barrow is no longer superintendent of the Catskill schools. But it is unclear when she left, and why she left. At the May 17 Catskill school meeting, the Board of Education approved a “settlement and separation agreement” with Barrow who “resigned” from the position for “personal reasons,” according to a statement from the district that did not elaborate on the timing or the reason. The board appointed Dr. Dan Wilson, Catskill’s assistant superintendent for pupil personnel, as interim superintendent of schools for the remainder of the school year. Barrow only spent a few months on the job, as she was Barrow was appointed on Jan. 11 at an annual salary of $171,000 effective Feb. 12, 2023. The terms of the “settlement and separation agreement” were not made public. Wilson was previously interim superintendent from January 1 to Feb. 12 this year. Read more about this story in Porcupine Soup.

Nancy Kern reports for Columbia-Greene Media that schools in Catskill, Chatham, Hudson, and Kinderhook will add full-day pre-kindergarten in the 2023-2024 school year, state Sen. Michelle Hinchey announced on May 15. Catskill Central Schools will receive $466,349 in Universal Pre-K funding for 20 new Pre-K seats; Chatham gets $226,800 for 22 new Pre-K seats; Hudson receives $538,441 for 20 new Pre-K seats; and Kinderhook gets $541,192 for 41 new Pre-K seats. Hinchey said, “This is a huge win for our students, teachers and taxpayers — it means more money for Hudson Valley classrooms, which helps our kids build the foundational skills they need to succeed throughout their lives while helping districts keep a lid on local school property taxes. Every student in New York deserves a good public education, like the one I had in the Ulster County public school system, and I’ll always stand with parents and teachers in championing transformative investments in our public schools.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Kate Lisa reports for New York State of Politics that Anthony J. Annucci, the acting New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Commissioner, will retire effective Aug. 11 after 38 years with the department. He said, “It has been an honor and a privilege to oversee the department for the last 10 years.... Every day throughout my 38-plus years in the agency, I have learned something new and have developed nothing but the utmost respect and appreciation for this department and its incredible workforce.” DOCCS Executive Deputy Commissioner Daniel F. Martuscello III will take over operational oversight of the agency after Annucci leaves. Gov. Kathy Hochul will nominate Annucci's successor, with state senators voting to reject or appoint her nominee. Read more about this story in New York State of Politics.