Emilia Teasdale is reporting for The Columbia Paper Valatie Village Mayor Diane Argyle presented the Village Board with a $1.7-million proposed budget for 2018-19 at a special meeting, April 4. The budget calls for the tax rate to remain the same, so most village residents will not see an increase in their village taxes next year. The proposed budget includes funds for a deputy village clerk and for sidewalk repair. The village recently saw a spike in revenue from interest and late fees for overdue water bills, but that will decrease because residents are now paying their bills on time, Argyle said. “We have to expand our customer base with the water and sewer,” she said. The village is now actively looking for residences outside of the village that can connect to the village system. The mayor is also making an argument for the village to sell the leases on the cell towers in the village. Argyle says selling them for one upfront fee will give the village the funding it needs for critical road and water main projects. Trustee Frank Bevens opposed the idea, saying the county wanted to use one of the towers for its emergency 911 system. The next meeting of the village board will be 7 p.m., May 8 at the Glynn Building. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

Rachel Silberstein is reporting at Capitol Confidential Gov. Andrew Cuomo promised April 18, to sign an executive order giving those on parole the right to vote. Under the current law, anyone placed on parole following a felony conviction is barred from casting ballots in New York. People on probation and those who have completed their parole are permitted to vote. “Now how can that be? You did your time. You paid your debt. You’re released, but you still don’t have a right to vote,” said Cuomo at the National Action Network’s annual conference in Manhattan. The order authorizes conditional pardons restoring the voting rights of 35,000 New Yorkers, “without delay.” It is unclear if Cuomo’s move will prompt a legal challenge. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.

The Times Union is reporting Democrat gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon made an appearance on "The Late Show with Steven Colbert" April 18. Nixon made the case for her candidacy and explained why her celebrity run for office was different than President Donald Trump's campaign two years ago. "I'm running because I am a life-long New Yorker and I love this state and I just know we could do so much better," Nixon told Colbert. "Because we're a blue state, we're a proudly Democratic state but we've got a governor in there who governs like a Republican." Colbert suggested that Trump's experience in the White House shows amateurs might not be the best choice for higher office. "Should governor of New York before the first job you have?" he asked. "I don't think there is anything wrong with celebrity in politics. It gives you a platform but it's what do you choose to do with that platform," Nixon said.
Play full interview (10:12). (If playing on-air, skip ad at the beginning.)

Closings and delays for Thu., Apr. 19:

Hunter-Tannersville Central School District | Delayed two hours. No morning BOCES.
Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School District | Delayed two hours.

Local weather forecast:

TODAY: Partly sunny. High near 50. A storm system will bring rain and snow to the region Thursday, bringing a mixture of rain and snow. High near 42. Thursday night, pprecipitation will taper off. Mostly cloudy. Low around 31.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS:
FRIDAY: A slight chance of snow showers before 7 a.m., then a slight chance of rain after 2 p.m. Partly sunny. High near 45. Friday night, partly cloudy. Low around 31.
SATURDAY: Sunny. High near 53. Saturday night, sunny. High near 53.

Sunrise today: 6:06 a.m.
Sunset today: 7:41 p.m.
LENGTH OF THE DAY: 13:35 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS and POLITICAL EVENTS for Thu., Apr. 19:
Please see the WGXC Community Calendar.

The Hill reports that 15 Democratic senators including New York's Kirsten Gillibrand and Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts, sent a very strongly worded letter to the Federal Communications Commission about how there are so many automated solicitation calls, or robocalls. “In an era when the onslaught of unwanted and abusive robocalls is on the rise, we are concerned that the absence of these core protections could result in even more invasive calls and texts,” the senators wrote in a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. Last year the FCC gave out a $122M fine for one robocall scammer accused of nearly 100 million illegal robocalls over a three-month period. But going after robocallers one at a time won't work. And the governments "Do Not Call" lists are not working. The "Do Not Call" registry began in 2003, and since then the the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department have only filed 131 cases against violators. So in the letter to Pai, the senators propose making the do-not-call protections stronger.

Click here to download or play the April 18 town of Catskill meeting, recorded from live webstream. The webstream was interrupted near the beginning, so there are about seven minutes missing.

Chris Bragg reports in Capitol Confidential that Schoharie Republican Chris Tague worked in 2011 as a "part-time constituent liaison" for former Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin, even though he lived far away from McLaughlin's district. Tague only listed weekday work for his job an hour away for McLaughlin on time sheets while he also worked full-time as general manager of Cobleskill Stone Products. Tague got a $10,000 a year salary and also received the state’s taxpayer-subsidized health care plan in the deal. He is now running for a different Assembly seat, in the 102nd District that covers Schoharie and Greene counties, in an April 24 special election against Democrat Aidan O’Connor and independent Wes Laraway. The McLaughlin job came after Tague, as vice president of the Schoharie County GOP, helped McLaughlin get elected to the Assembly in 2010. “I was a part-time constituent liaison and assisted with constituent casework, administrative duties, community outreach events, and attended local events on behalf of Mr. McLaughlin,” Tague said. “I stepped down from my position in September of 2011 because of new responsibilities at Cobleskill Stone. What also accelerated my decision was the emotional and physical toll of losing everything in the hurricane, which put into perspective that I needed to spend more time at home helping our community and my family rebuild.” Even after that storm on Aug. 28, 2011 Tague’s time sheets claim he worked 4.5 hours on Aug. 29 for the Assemblyperson, five hours the next day, and two hours the day after that. It is unclear if he also worked for his main employer on those days too. “Yes, my home was destroyed but my jobs and bills didn’t go away,” Tague said. “I was fortunate that my mother’s house was not harmed and I was able to live there. I simply could not afford to stop working and with everything in my home destroyed – there was nothing to save. So I continued to work and joined friends, family, neighbors, and volunteers when I could to clear out the house.” Read the full story in Capitol Confidential.

Glenn Blain reports in The New York Daily News that Governor Andrew Cuomo did not make any money last year on his book “All Things Possible: Setbacks and Success in Politics and Life.” In previous years publisher HarperCollins paid him $565,000 and $218,000 from the 2014 book that sold only a few thousand copies. Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi now says that the governor no longer expects to receive any money from the book. Cuomo's latest tax return showed an adjusted gross income of $212,776, which included $173,046 in wages from the state and investment earnings from a blind trust. Read the full story in The New York Daily News.

The Mid-Hudson New Network reports that the Hudson Valley has among the most polluted air in the state, according to an annual report released April 18 from the American Lung Association. In the report, Orange County got a "C" grade, and Dutchess and Putnam went from “C” to “D” grades this year for high levels of ozone and high particle pollution. Albany County received a "B" rating in the report, while there were no grades for Rensselaer, Greene, Columbia, Ulster or Delaware counties. Read the full story at the Mid-Hudson New Network.

Rep. John Faso (R-Kinderhook) released a statement on the death of former First Lady Barbara Bush that read, in part: "By all accounts, Barbara Bush is one of the most humble, decent, and kind-hearted people to ever serve our country. Her service as First Lady during and after President George H.W. Bush’s term serves as a beacon of decency in a political world that is often nasty and unrelenting. Nearly thirty years ago, I was in Maine and by chance had the opportunity to visit with the Bush Family. Without hesitation, Barbara welcomed us into her family’s home and gave my son, at the time three or four years old, the same toys to play with that her family’s children played with. My heart goes out to the Bush family as they mourn the loss of Barbara Bush. An entire nation is with them."

DOWNLOAD or PLAY the audio version of the local news headlines for Wed., Apr. 18 (7:08). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

Carly Miller is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media state transportation officials recently resumed spraying concrete on the cliff that overhangs the railroad tracks near the Hudson riverfront. Work on the Department of Transportation's stabilization project was halted last summer in response to concerns raised by some Hudson residents, city officials and the environmental advocacy organization, Scenic Hudson, about the impact of the project on the historic district and waterfront aesthetic. The cliff was being sprayed with white shotcrete to protect the railway and passengers from falling rocks and debris. The DOT and Amtrak eventually agreed to tint the shotcrete black and score the material, said Jeff Anzevino, director of Land Use Advocacy at Scenic Hudson. The design will mimic the rock face rather than “an amorphous blob,” he said April 17. The DOT and Amtrak also intend to plant native vines such as Virginia creeper to grow down the cliff face for a more natural look. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Emilia Teasdale is reporting for The Columbia Paper the Chatham Village Board held a public hearing on its proposed 2018-19 budget, April 5. The spending plan totals $2.1 million, with a general fund of $1.2 million and a separate water budget of nearly $499,000 and sewer of more than $483,000. The proposal includes a slight increase, so the tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value will go up 4 cents. The board continues to deal with a deficit in the water and sewer budgets. “We still have a deficit and we’re still anticipating an increase to cover it,” Mayor Tom Curran said of residents’ water and sewer bills. He said that property owners should look for that increase to take effect this summer. Village budgets run from June to May. Curran stressed that the budget is still a draft until the board approves a final version at the end of April. Budget workshops are planned throughout the month: on April 18 the board will meet to discuss the general fund budget lines at 6 p.m.; and there is a tentative budget meeting set for April 25 at noon. The public will be able to continue to offer comment on the budget throughout the process, the mayor said. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

Dan Freedman is reporting for the Times Union U.S. Rep. John Faso is leading the effort by House Republicans to strengthen the work requirement for American citizens receiving food stamps. Currently, 44 million people receive food stamps nationwide, including 2.8 million New Yorkers, many living in impoverished upstate rural communities. The Kinderhook Republican said he believes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is “an essential program for many families,” but he insists the recipients of the federal nutrition program should be working and they are not. “The best path to economic independence is a job,” Faso said in an interview. “This isn’t rocket science.” According to USDA data, 10.2 percent of those in the 19th Congressional District receives SNAP, compared to 15 percent statewide and 12.7 percent nationwide. Among SNAP families, 31.9 percent had no workers, 40.5 percent had one worker and 27.6 percent had two workers. Faso is a member of the House Agriculture Committee, which is considering SNAP provisions as part of broader deliberation on the Farm Bill. Democrats including Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, denounce the GOP job requirement. The GOP House plan “is only going to increase hunger in our communities” and “could kick millions of households off of the program,” Gillibrand said on a conference call with reporters April 17. “I believe no New Yorker, no American, should ever have to suffer from hunger — especially a child.” Under the Faso-backed measure, anyone receiving benefits between the ages of 18 and 59 without children under 6 would be required to work or be in job training (or a combination) for 20 hours a week. The GOP approach also would intensify the punishment for those who fail to abide by the work requirements. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

The Daily Freeman is reporting Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's favorability rating has fallen, but he maintains big leads over his challengers in the upcoming gubernatorial contest, according to a new Siena poll. The poll, released April 17, found that 49 percent of respondents view Cuomo favorably, compared to 44 percent who view him unfavorably. The poll found that among registered Democrats, Cuomo leads Cynthia Nixon, his primary opponent, 58 to 27 percent. Cuomo's lead over Nixon was 66 to 19 percent before she formally declared her candidacy. The poll also found GOP hopefuls Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro and state Sen. John DeFrancisco of Syracuse, are unknown to 75 percent of New York voters. And both trail the governor by wide margins. Cuomo leads Molinaro 51 to 37 percent, and DeFrancisco, 56 to 32 percent, according to Siena. The poll also showed that more than half of registered Republicans do not know who they would support in a primary between Molinaro and DeFrancisco. The poll was conducted April 8 through 12. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Local weather forecast:

TODAY: Partly sunny. High near 50. A storm system will approach the region Wednesday night, bringing a mixture of rain and snow. Increasing clouds. Low around 34.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS:
THURSDAY: Rain and snow will continue Thursday into Thursday night. High near 38. Thursday night, Rain will mix with snow before 11 p.m. Cloudy. Low around 31.
FRIDAY: Mostly cloudy. High near 45. Friday night, mostly cloudy. Low around 32.

Sunrise today: 6:08 a.m.
Sunset today: 7:40 p.m.
LENGTH OF THE DAY: 13:32 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS and POLITICAL EVENTS for Wed., Apr. 18:
Please see the WGXC Community Calendar.

Ars Technica reports that, after nine years, Democrat Mignon Clyburn is leaving the Federal Communications Commission. Clyburn was known for her votes for consumer-protection regulations over the objections of Internet service providers, championing net neutrality and other issues. Her term expired in June 2017, but FCC rules let her to stay until the end of 2018. But she decided to leave early and not seek another five-year term. Former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler frequently called Clyburn "the conscience of the commission." Other Democrats had more praise. "Mignon Clyburn will go down in history as one of the best FCC commissioners of all time," former FCC official and consumer advocate Gigi Sohn said. "For nearly nine years, she has been a vocal and passionate advocate for the public interest and defender of the most vulnerable in our society." If President Donald Trump follows protocol, he will appoint a Democrat recommended by the Senate's Democratic leadership, and the Senate will then vote to confirm the new commissioner. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said last month that FCC official Geoffrey Starks, an assistant chief in the agency's enforcement bureau, would be the nominee. An enforcement official will hardly be a replacement for a public advocate like Clyburn.

Click here to download or play the full recording of the April 17 Hudson Common Council meeting. Full recording of the April 17 Hudson Common Council meeting recorded from a live webstream created by Dan Udell through the Wave Farm Radio app.

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local news update for Tues., April 17 (3:57). (Produced by Alanna Medlock.)