Ted Remsnyder is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the town of Catskill may soon approve a new 15-year agreement with MidHudson Cablevision. As part of the proposed contract, the town will continue to receive a franchise fee of 3 percent of the gross revenue received by Mid-Hudson Cablevision from recurring cable television subscriptions. The board held an initial public hearing on the agreement on May 3, but left the hearing open. Company representatives were invited to appear at a second public hearing on June 7. Finch said during the second hearing that the town received $60,300 last year between its contracts with Mid-Hudson Cable and Spectrum. Former Catskill Town Supervisor Joseph Izzo asked the board what would happen if the town declined to enter into a new 15-year agreement with Mid-Hudson. In response, town board member Jared Giordano said the town would continue to collect a 3 percent franchise fee from Spectrum. Rachel Puckett of Mid-Hudson Cablevision said the company has 860 cable TV subscribers in the town, with 2,237 customers receiving internet services from the cable company. She said the franchise fee applies only toward the cost of the actual cable. Puckett said the New York State Public Service Commission recommends a 15-year term for cable agreements with municipalities. Catskill resident William Hawthorne asked the board if it was possible to negotiate a shorter deal with MidHudson. He also raised the possibility of increasing the 3 percent franchise rate the town receives from the company. “I think the town should get a better cut on their costs,” he told the board. “I think we should increase the revenue for the town.” The board closed the public hearing and could take action on the proposed cable agreement at the board’s workshop meeting June 15 or its next regular meeting July 5. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Capital Region Independent Media the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk school district June 8, notified parents about a threat allegedly made by a local student on social media. The threat was made against a particular list of students at the high school, District Superintendent Brian Bailey said in a statement on the district’s website. “This threat was shared over social media and included a threat of harm to a specific list of students,” Bailey said. “The Albany County Sheriff’s Office is actively involved, has continued investigating and is taking proper action.” The district did not disclose the nature of the threat or the name of the student accused of making the threat, and the students targeted were not identified. All families involved were contacted by the district, according to Bailey, and the district has taken “appropriate disciplinary action.” Bailey said the sheriff’s office has a consistent presence in all district schools, including school resource officers and regular patrols of the campus and community. “...[A]ll RCS schools have secure entrances, exterior doors are locked, and students and staff perform training and safety drills throughout the year,” he said. Bailey urged students and the community to report any threats or suspicious activity to a trusted adult, administration or law enforcement. Read the full story at TheUpStater [dot] com.

Karl Bode reports in Techdirt that antitrust and telecom experts warned that a Sprint and T-Mobile merger would result in layoffs and higher prices. Now that the merger is approved and the number of major U.S. wireless services has been reduced from four to three, employees are being laid off and consumers are paying higher prices as predicted. T-Mobile almost immediately laid off more than 5,000 employees after the merger was approved. Now, over the last few weeks, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile have all raised costs to consumers. The telecoms are passing the price hikes off as "fees" and blaming them on everything except reduced competition. For instance, Verizon increased the “administrative charge” it places on millions of user wireless bills from $1.35 to $3.30. “To be clear, this is not a price plan increase for consumer lines,” a Verizon spokesperson told Fierce in a statement. “From time to time, we review and make adjustments to fees to defray some of Verizon’s administrative and telco expenses and costs of complying with regulatory requirements. To that end, Verizon Consumer will implement a change beginning in June.” AT&T also raised rates from $6 to $12 a month on different mobile service plans. T-Mobile also raised its upgrade and activation fees by $5. And if all three telecom services are raising rates, what is a poor customer to do? Change carriers? Read more about this story in Techdirt.

The Democrats have challenged all the independent petitions for Governor after ramming through changes to the law to make it largely impossible for independent third parties to get on the ballot for statewide office. Howie Hawkins, the Green Party nominee for Governor, discusses with WOOC's Mark Dunlea, the Democrats' ongoing efforts to suppress electoral challenges in New York.

Today's daily news update.

As Congress begins public hearings on the attempted coup of Jan. 6, 2021, here in the Hudson Valley several local politicians either went to Washington D.C. that day, cheered those attending, and continue to embrace the lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. Liz Joy, the Republican again running against Rep. Paul Tonko in New York's 20th Congressional District, Tweeted the day before that she was attending the DC riot, and Tweeted during the disturbance that, "Hundreds of thousands of people attended today’s rally to stand for Election Integrity." Joy said that if she had been in office on Jan. 6, 2021, she would have voted against certifying the election. “Joe Biden is the president — period,” Joy said. “But I do believe there was massive voter fraud in our 2020 elections. And we have to get it right before we have the 2022 election.” Rep. Elise Stefanik, from New York's 21 District which will include Rensselaer County next year, continues to support the coup and overturning a fair and free election, even after the violence. She posted on Twitter after the riot that, "Americans have a Constitutional right to protest and freedom of speech, but violence in any form is absolutely unacceptable and anti-American." But Stefanik's Senior Advisor Alex deGrasse retweeted a message during the riot claiming the rioters were undercover leftists, without any evidence. Farther south, MidHudson News reported that state Assemblymember Colin Schmitt, a New Windsor Republican, was photographed the morning of Jan. 6, speaking maskless to a busload of people departing for the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Schmitt is running for the 18th Congressional seat this year. But before the photo of Schmitt talking to the busload of people en route to Washington surfaced, he issued a statement saying, “I am deeply disturbed by the assault on the United States Capitol today. There is absolutely no justification for any form of violence against the pillars of our democracy.”

Noah Eckstein reports for Columbia-Greene Media that Quinnie’s New York, a restaurant on Route 66 in Columbia County, announced June 7 that it will no longer use Martin’s brand potato rolls because the company’s executive chair and former president Jim Martin backs Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor of Pennsylvania. Mastriano was subpoenaed for his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021 attempted coup in Washington D.C. Martin donated $110,000 to Mastriano’s campaign last year. “Doug Mastriano is an open anti-Semitic, election fraud conspirator, anti-abortion, racist, homophobic who attended the insurrection on Jan 6,” according to the Hudson-based restaurant Quinnie’s in an Instagram post on Tuesday. “We don’t want to take part in the support of something we so strongly disagree with.” The Shake Shack restuarant chain also uses Martin’s brand potato rolls and the company released a statement this week that they are in conversation with the company about its ties to Mastriano. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Luke Parsnow reports for New York State of Politics that three New York Republicans voted June 8 for a bill that would raise the age for certain gun purchases from 18 to 21. But only two Hudson Valley Democrats, not three, voted for the bill. Republican Reps. Chris Jacobs, of Western New York; John Katko of Central New York; and Nicole Malliotakis, of Staten Island voted for the bill, as did Democrats Paul Tonko and Sean Maloney from Hudson Valley districts. But Antonio Delgado did not vote for the bill, as he has resigned his Congressional office to become New York's lieutenant governor. No vote on the bill from New York's 19th Congressional District was cast, as voters there have no say in Washington until after an Aug. 23 special election to fill the seat. Republican Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro takes on Democrat Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan then to decide who will vote in that seat until November, when a different election will decide who votes there for the next two years. The bill raising the age of purchase on certain assault rifles passed 223-204, with only five Republicans voting with the majority. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

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Roger Hannigan Gilson is reporting for the Times Union in a surprise announcement June 7, third-year students at Hudson Senior High School were granted "instant admission" to Columbia-Greene Community College. The students and their parents were called to a meeting at the school under the pretense of "a symbolic send-off" before they learned the true purpose of the gathering. Students were then given QR codes that led them to a form allowing the high school to transmit student information and transcripts to the college. Hudson Superintendent Lisamarie Spindler said the instant admission was important to "create equality and access." All students who graduate from Hudson High School, including those who receive a Career Development Occupational Studies Commencement Credential, are able to attend Columbia-Greene under the initiative, Spinder added. The college wants the juniors to take advantage of its offerings, though the main focus is not about students attending this local college, but about pursuing post-secondary education in general, Drummer said. "We mostly want you to continue your education and not be distracted by some of the things going on with the workforce, where (students) are being offered incredible jobs without a college degree," she said. "We think that's a disrupter — the value of a college education can not be matched." Forty-seven percent of Hudson High School graduates in 2019 planned to attend a two-year school, according to data reported to the state Education Department, a number that dropped to 43 percent last year, while the percentage of graduates who said they were directly entering the workforce rose from 18 percent to 24 percent. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Ted Remsnyder is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media Ithaca attorney Josh Riley has now officially declared his candidacy in the Democratic primary in the newly drawn 19th district. Riley will compete in the August 23 primary, along with farmer and small business owner Jamie Cheney and OutHudson Executive Director Osun Zotique, for the Democratic line on the November ballot. Riley, 41, is an attorney in private practice. He launched his congressional campaign last fall in the old 22nd Congressional District. He previously served in the office of late Rep. Maurice Hinchey in a junior position opening mail and answering phones. “The congressman was really a role model for me and inspired me in a lot of ways to take on a career in public service,” Riley said. After law school graduation, Riley chose to partner with the American Academy of Pediatrics on a civil rights lawsuit representing children from low-income families having trouble getting access to health care services. He went on to serve as general counsel to then U.S. Sen. Al Franken on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Riley has never held elected office, but he said the upcoming congressional election was the right time to wade into the electoral pool. “I’ve been out to Columbia and Greene counties since the new district lines and I’ll be up there again next weekend,” Riley said. “With this new district there are a lot of counties and I’ve been in all of them at least once, and in most cases multiple times. It’s been so great getting around and meeting folks.” Environmental protection is a top priority for Riley, as is rebuilding New York's infrastructure and creating good jobs. Democratic Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan will face Republican Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro in a special election, also on August 23, to serve out the remainder of Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado’s term in the existing 19th Congressional District. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Kate Lisa is reporting for State of Politics a report from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's office released June 8, found that most New York school districts are inadequately providing mental health training to staff as required by the state Education Department and state law. The office audited 20 randomly selected school districts, and found that 18 of them, or 90 percent, either did not offer mental health training at all or failed to provide the full complement of training. DiNapoli said in a statement, “School personnel are often the first to notice if a student is having mental health challenges, and they need effective training to help them understand the signs and symptoms early on. Failure to do so can have devastating consequences for students, staff, families and communities. Unfortunately, my office has found much of this vital training is not taking place." The comptroller audited 20 districts outside of New York City with varying enrollment sizes, with approximately 10,000 total staff members and more than 39,000 students. The comptroller's office included the Coxsackie-Athens school district in its audit. It was among 14 districts, or 70 percent of those audited, that included less than the 12 recommended mental health training components. Faculty and staff working in all of New York's 800-plus school districts must receive every year safety and mental health training comprised of 12 components as outlined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Under the law, school administrators must develop a comprehensive, districtwide safety plan to address crisis intervention, emergency response and management for staff and students. Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.

Andrew Jones reports for Space.com that astronomers have discovered a second persistently active fast radio burst. There have been about 500 fast radio bursts -- intense, brief flashes of radio-frequency emissions, lasting for milliseconds -- found since the phenomenon was discovered in 2007. But only two are associated with a persistent radio source, and this one is within the fringes of a dwarf galaxy nearly three billion light-years from Earth. What causes these highly energetic transmissions is a mystery. Astronomers guess that the average FRB releases as much energy in a millisecond as the Sun puts out in three days. Most use radio frequencies around 1400 MHz; while a few have been detected at lower frequencies in the range of 400–800 MHz. "The big surprise for me was realizing that the new FRB seems to be such a perfect 'twin' to an earlier discovery," Casey Law, an astronomer at Caltech. "Perhaps some would have preferred to say that the first such association [between an FRB and radio source] was a coincidence, because it was hard to explain. Now the second example shows that this is a real and critical part of the life of an FRB." Di Li, of the National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC) and lead of the Commensal Radio Astronomy FAST Survey which detected the latest fast radio burst, told Space.com via email. "I personally favor an evolutionary picture in that all sources repeat, but the activity level drops precipitously as the source ages. Since FRB 20190520B is only the second of around 500 known FRBs to have a so-called PRS counterpart and both are extremely active, they could, in this hypothetical evolutionary picture, represent FRBs' youth, which lasts not very long." Read more about this story at Space.com.

The Equality Amendment to the New York State constitution would prohibit discrimination based on a person's race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, and sex (including a basis on pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression). Yet even with the Democrats having a supermajority in both Houses, lawmakers failed to act. Melanie Trimble of the NYCLU discusses the issue with WOOC's Mark Dunlea.

Today's daily news update.

Brendan J. Lyons reports in the Times Union about the first person convicted in a federal grand jury investigation examining widespread ballot-fraud allegations in Rensselaer County. Republican Troy Councilperson Kim Ashe-McPherson admitted to fraudulently submitting absentee ballots in last year's primary and general elections. Ashe-McPherson, after she pleaded guilty to a felony criminal charge in U.S. District Court, could be sentenced to up to 12 months in jail for submitting three illegal absentee ballots. An FBI-led investigation has been examining the filing of absentee ballots in multiple elections over the past two years in Rensselaer County. There have been subpoenas issued for Jason Schofield, the Republican commissioner for the county's Board of Elections, and subpoenas requesting documents from the Rensselaer County Board of Elections. FBI agents also seized the mobile phones of county Operations Director Richard W. Crist and Jim Gordon, the county's director of purchasing. Both Crist and Gordon are political allies of county Executive Steve McLaughlin. Rensselaer County Republican leaders previously told the Times Union that they were unaware of any fraudulent activity by the party during the 2021 election. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Rebecca C. Lewis reports in City and State that after ducking Rep. Tom Suozzi and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams at the first debate last week, incumbent Kathy Hochul turned up June 7 and took fire from her challengers. Hochul currently has several scandals: the $850 million deal to build a new Buffalo Bills stadium with a off-the-record meeting with NFL officials, her Lt. Gov. resigning after being indicted on corruption charges, and a last-minute $10 billion tax break pushed by Hochul and quietly passed by the legislature last week. Hochul’s past “A” rating from the National Rifle Association was also brought up by Suozzi, who bragged about his "F" rating. Williams also hit Hochul on the NRA rating. “Ten years ago, I wrote my first report on how to deal with gun violence while the governor touted her ‘A ’rating from the NRA,” Williams said. Hochul criticized Suozzi’s past support for the Hyde Amendment, which limits the use of federal dollars for abortion care. Democratic consultant Camille Rivera, who works on progressive issues, scored the debate for both Hochul and Williams. “(If) Kathy Hochul’s goal was to keep the status quo, she did well,” Rivera said. “If Jumaane’s goal was to define himself on issues, he did well.” Read more about this story in City and State.

Noah Eckstein reports for Columbia-Greene Media that a New England energy company is proposing a 20-megawatt solar facility in the town of Stuyvesant. “They still need to go through a planning board process,” said Stuyvesant Town Supervisor Ron Knott. “Our concern for large scale solar is about protecting farmland and our agricultural community.” The proposal would build utility-scale solar facility generating solar power and feeding it into the electric grid. “These projects will allow us to not just meet but exceed our goal of obtaining 70 percent of our electricity from renewable resources and will further cement New York as a national leader in the fight against climate change,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Today's daily news update.