Phillip Pantuso reports in the Times Union that Kingston's Rent Guidelines Board voted 5-to-3 June 21 to freeze rents for one- and two-year leases at rent-controlled apartments beginning Oct. 1, 2023. Many speakers at a June 17 public hearing had urged the board to freeze rents, but the decision is unprecedented among upstate municipalities. The rent freeze only applies to properties subject to the Emergency Tenant Protection Act, which covers 64 buildings with approximately 1,200 rental units in Kingston. The city has seen the average rent doubled since 2015 and home values have increased 50 percent since 2020. It is part of the affordable housing crisis cited by Gov. Kathy Hochul and others. Kingston adopted the Emergency Tenant Protection Act last summer, and has declared a housing emergency. Aaron Narraph Fernando, a spokesperson for the advocate group For the Many, said, “Keeping rents frozen will continue to provide rent-stabilized Kingston tenants with the relief they desperately need.... Kingston does not exist in a vacuum, and the rest of New York state is taking notice.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Paul Kirby reports in the Daily Freeman that the state legislature has approved measure to curb late billing from utilities such as Central Hudson. Michelle Hinchey, a Democrat from Saugerties, sponsored the bill in the state Senate. Hinchey said in a statement that utility bills, “should be accurate and on time, and we know, based on the lived experiences of people across the Hudson Valley, that these core responsibilities are not being honored by certain utility companies serving our communities.... This bill has the potential to put more money back into the pockets of New Yorkers while incentivizing utilities to send customer bills in a timely and transparent way, and we look forward to the Governor swiftly signing it into law.” Central Hudson spokesperson Joseph Jenkins said, “Central Hudson agrees that our customers deserve to receive their bills in a timely fashion.... However, this legislation is misguided and will likely result in unintended negative consequences.” Jenkins claims that the energy industry is “rapidly evolving and has resulted in increasingly complex billing scenarios that pull from numerous datapoints and involve variables like time of day usage, demand rates, net metering, community choice aggregation and electric vehicle charging tariffs.... These complexities have the potential to delay bills in order to ensure customer accounts are accurate.” Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Nick Reisman reports for New York State of Politics that in the state Assembly's brief special session this week, lawmakers passed a number of bills including a ban on wildlife killing competitions. “Most New Yorkers would be shocked to learn that dozens of horrific, unsporting contests take place each year in New York to kill the largest number of certain species of wildlife, or some other metric like the largest specimen,” said Assemblymember Deborah Glick, the bill's main sponsor in the Assembly. The state Senate had previously passed the bill, so it goes to Gov. Kathy Hochul for a signature or a veto. If Hochul signs the measure, New York will join California, Vermont, New Mexico, Arizona, Massachusetts, Colorado, Washington state, Maryland, and Oregon in banning wildlife killing competitions. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

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Nick Reisman reports at New York State of Politics that the state legislature approved a bill to stop the dumping of radiological waste from the Indian Point Energy Center nuclear plant into the Hudson River as it goes through the decommissioning process. But Gov. Kathy Hochul has not yet signaled her intentions to sign or veto the bill. A labor union that represents workers at the Westchester County site as well as the owner of Indian Point are about the only supporters of putting wastewater from the nuclear plant into the Hudson River, but some Republicans in Albany gave them some political cover. Republican Assemblyman Matt Slater said, "There are still a lot of questions I know I have and a lot of my colleagues have about the need to impose this type of legislation.... But now it goes to the governor's desk and we'll see what she'll do." Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Kathleen Moore reports in the Times Union that all Capital Region school districts are removing mascots and nicknames that refer to Indigenous people. The Mohonasen and Averill Park school districts had resisted but have now dropped their opposition to the state Education Department’s ban on such mascots, which was adopted by the Board of Regents in April. The Mechanicville Central School District has scheduled a special meeting June 21 to vote to retire the nickname. Superintendent Kevin Kolakowski said, “While this change may bring about a sense of uncertainty, it is important to remember that our identity as Mechanicville remains unchanged.... We are a resilient community, and our strength lies in our unity, irrespective of any names or images associated with us.” In 2021, the Coxsackie-Athens Board of Education voted 6 to 3 to retire the Indians as the district’s mascot and team name. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

The Daily Freeman reports about ways to discourage bears from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The DEC says they have fielded 63 reports of “human-bear conflicts” in Ulster County this year, up just three from the same point last year. The weather has been dry locally, and if that trend continues, bears might be looking for food in areas they do not usually travel. The DEC website says “bears will readily utilize human-created food sources" and that “repeat access” can make them bolder and “lead to an increase in human-bear conflicts around homes and residential areas, especially when natural food sources are scarce.” The DEC recommends securing trash bins and residents can consider masking garbage odors with ammonia-soaked rags. The DEC also recommends removing bird feeders and says that “any food items used to attract birds, squirrels, or other wildlife will also attract bears." The DEC also says, “If you frequently find bears foraging in your garbage cans, despite proper storage, consider using a bear-resistant trash container and, if you use a trash service, take out trash just before your scheduled pickup. Do not put garbage at the curb the night before." The agency also recommends turning up the heat on the grill to high for several minutes after you’re done cooking to burn off residual odors. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

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Robert Harding reports in the Auburn Citizen that the New York Air National Guard began June 19 helping with the search for the submersible carrying five disaster tourists missing since Sunday during a dive to view the wreckage of the Titanic. New York taxpayers are sending an HC-130J Combat King search and rescue aircraft to the scene to help with the search for the submersible. Gov. Kathy Hochul said, "The women and men of New York's Air National Guard are always ready to lend a helping hand.... I commend the members of the 106th Rescue Wing for their efforts to assist the U.S. Coast Guard in this search and rescue operation." Thirteen Airmen, including pararescue jumpers, are on the plane, which uses infrared radar to search the Atlantic Ocean for the submersible. Read more about this story in the Auburn Citizen.

News10 in Albany reports that 100 people turned out to protest at Samaritan Hospital in Troy, which is expected to close its maternity unit, Burdett Birth Center, within six months. That eliminates the only birthing facility in Rensselaer County. In 2019 Columbia Memorial Hospital in Hudson ended birthing services at the only birthing facility in Columbia County. Greene County also does not have a birthing facility. Chelly Hegan, who leads the local Planned Parenthood chapter, said at the protest, “It is shameful that access to high-quality maternal care is being cut off here in Rensselaer County.” Jessica Schaeffer, an emergency room nurse at Samaritan Hospital, complained that inevitably there will be births in the emergency room now, saying, “You know, in the emergency room, we deal with emergency situations. We deal with a lot of different things.... And to put that in the emergency room, and to put that stress on the doctors and the nurses who do so much for the community already is ridiculous.” There have been reproductive and birthing services at the Samaritan Hospital's Burdett Birth Center since 2011, when it was formed out of a merger between the maternity units of Samaritan Hospital and St. Mary's/Seton Health. So the shrinking of birthing services locally has been going on for years. Read the full story at News10 in Albany.

Patrick Tine reports in the Times Union that Stuart Hunt, who had served with the Ancram Volunteer Fire Company for 21 years, died while responding to a call on June 20. The 37-year-old Hunt suffered a medical event, according to the story, at the scene of a motor vehicle emergency in Ancram. Hunt also worked for the Columbia County Highway Department as a motor equipment operator. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Republican who represents Rensselaer County and the rest of the 21st Congressional District, released a statement June 20 after the Justice Department charged Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden's son, with federal tax and weapons offenses. Stefanik said, “This is the epitome of the politicization and Weaponization of Joe Biden’s Department of Justice as they give a slap on the wrist to President Biden’s son – a tax fraud and corrupt pay-to-play criminal. It’s never been more clear that we have a two-tiered system of justice." The other Hudson Valley Republican representative, Marc Molinaro, did not release a statement about Biden, but continued to clamor for the censure of California Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff, though Molinaro has not said why, exactly, Schiff deserves censure.

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Nancy Kern reports for Columbia-Greene Media that Greene County Industrial Development Agency Executive Director April Ernst said last week that the Town of Athens has agreed to a tax break for the Athens Generating Plant. The town was last remaining entity needed to sign onto the deal, after previous approvals by Catskill Central School District, and and Greene County. The Athens Generating Plant is not a new company lured to the area by the tax break. The power plant has been in Greene County for two decades and is not going anywhere. Still, Greene County is giving them a discount on their taxes. The story does not say how much less in taxes Athens Generating Plant will pay because of the tax break. While almost all public comments in this matter have been against the tax break, in the Greene County Legislature, only only Republican Ed Bloomer from Athens voted against it, and he said, "I voted against it on the county level not because I didn’t believe in it, but because I went with the will of my constituents.” At the Catskill Central School District Board of Education only Brittany Williams did not vote for the tax break, abstaining instead. At public hearings, taxpayers wondered why this company should get tax breaks, when others do not, and complained about the plant's contributions to global warming and bad environmental effects. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Andrea Macko reports for Porcupine Soup that Catskill schools are paying for two superintendents, but only getting work out of one. Former Catskill Superintendent of Schools Melissa Barrow is still on the payroll through next June as part of a settlement and separation deal with the district, even though she resigned from the position effective May 17, after only serving since February 12. Porcupine Soup learned from a Freedom of Information Law request that Barrow will continue to be paid “at the contractual rate of $171,000 pro-rated for the remainder of the 2022-23 school year and at the 2023-24 contractual rate of $172,710 for the 2023-24 school year.” Barrow also gets to keep her health insurance coverage with 87 percent of the premium paid by the district through December 31, 2024, unless she obtains “comparable health insurance in coverage and cost” from another employer prior to that date. What do the Catskill schools get? Barrow will not file any claims, charges, grievances, or lawsuits against the district, Board of Education, agents, or employees, according to the agreement. The settlement was approved May 17, but it is unclear when exactly Barrow stopped working for the school district. Dr. Dan Wilson, Catskill’s assistant superintendent for pupil personnel, was appointed as interim superintendent of schools for the remainder of the school year. Read more about this story at Porcupine Soup.

Jammel Cutler reports in Columbia-Greene Media that Claverack Democrats have nominated Selha Graham and Tracy Hennige as the party’s candidates for town board in this fall's election. And Chris Liberati-Conant of the village of Chatham was endorsed for Columbia County District Attorney during the Claverack Democrat caucus. Hennige is an associate attorney with the New York State Department of Health, and has volunteered as a foster mom for Peppertree Rescue, a dog rescue group. Hennige said, “I’m fair, I believe in transparency and accountability.... Most of all, I believe in listening to one’s constituents, ensuring that they are heard. It’s fundamental for elected representatives to be engaged with their community.” Graham co-founded Rolling Grocer 19, and was also appointed to the Hudson Tourism Board and elected to the Hudson City School District Board of Education. She is also a volunteer programmer on WGXC. Graham said, “I believe representation matters.... Having a diverse town board with varied skills and passions will enrich Claverack by fostering innovation and creativity.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

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Siobhan Burke reports in the New York Times that the Petronio Residency Center for dance in Round Top is closing after just six years. The final residency is this month, then the Stephen Petronio Company will close the center and put the 175-acre property up for sale. In the story, neither Stephen Petronio nor, Jill Brienza, the board chair of the Stephen Petronio Company, which owns the center, said exactly why the dance residency program in Greene County is closing. Brienza said, “We talked with a lot of people. Thought about every option. We didn’t do this lightly.” Petronio hinted that maybe they treated artists too well, with room and board, a stipend, and locally sourced meals prepared by chefs on site. The center had a 2,500-square-foot studio; a five-bedroom, eight-bathroom, two-kitchen house; an organic garden; and 77 acres conserved through a $500,000 grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. But Petronio also blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for the fall of his residency center, saying, “If all things had continued the way they were going before the pandemic, we would be OK.” Or maybe, instead of a failed residency program, it was a successfull real estate investment. They are listing the property for $4.2 million, after buying it in 2016 for $1.3 million. Petronio lives next door to the center, and the story does not say if he is leaving. Read more about this story in the New York Times.