Brian Hubert reports for the Daily Freeman that supporters of proposed legislation to add gender expression as a protected class to Ulster County’s Human Rights Law turned out for a public hearing June 13. They rallied outside the Ulster County Office Building and packed the hearing at the evening’s Ulster County Legislature meeting. The “Drag is Not a Crime Act” would add protections for gender expression to Ulster County’s 2018 Human Rights Protection Act, which already covers race, color, religion, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship status, familial status, gender which included gender identity, gender dysphoria, and transgender status, as well as group identity, marital status and disability. Peter Criswell introduced the legislation, and said, “Gender identity is how someone identifies internally and gender expression is how you express it outside in the world.... With all the anti-drag legislation that’s being passed all around the country, we had protections to be able to express themselves in any way they want to.” Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger said, “We’re seeing incredible discriminatory, cruel laws passed across the country and while in New York I don’t think we’re in danger of seeing those kinds of laws anytime soon, the hate is still there, and it affects people’s lives daily. No one should have to live in fear for being who they are, and expressing who they are.” Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

On June 14 Republican Marc Molinaro voted with 19 other Republicans and all Democrats to table a motion, "Censuring and condemning Adam Schiff, Representative of California’s 30th Congressional District." Molinaro voted with local Democrats Paul Tonko and Pat Ryan to table the motion, effectively killing a bill backed by the Republican leadership. Republican Elise Stefanik, who represents Rensselaer County and the rest of the 21st Congressional District, voted against tabling the motion that condemned Schiff “for conduct that misleads the American people in a way that is not befitting an elected Member of the House of Representatives.” The Hill reported that part of the motion said Schiff could be fined $16 million if the Ethics Committee finds that he “lied, made misrepresentations, and abused sensitive information.” Schiff is a prominent Democrat who is often interviewed on cable news shows. Last week a far-right group of representatives broke with Republican leadership to halt all proceedings in the House of Representatives. This week, 20 more moderate Republicans, including Molinaro, are breaking from leadership on this vote.

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William J. Kemble reports for the Daily Freeman that on June 15 Woodstock Library board members will consider three requests to have the Drag Story Time and Sparkle Party cancelled from a planned show June 17 on the facility’s lawn. Two Woodstock residents and one person in Shandaken made the complaints. Board President Jeffrey Collins said, “The tone and tenor (were) that … they do not believe it’s appropriate for us to have events that do not agree with their beliefs that there are only two genders and God only made two genders and we shouldn’t introduce kids to the possibility of a spectrum of genders.... That’s putting it as mildly and generically as I can do it. It was a diatribe against LGBT inclusion.” The event is part of National Pride Month. Library Director Ivy Gocker said, “This has been in the works for several months and it was in response to members of the community in person and social media asking us at the library why we haven’t done one yet given how popular they are." Performers Amber Guesa and Katarina Mirage will be at the event on the themes of “supporting your community the way you wish to be supported” and spreading “love, kindness and acceptance.” Collins said, “Given the context of the nation it’s not necessarily unexpected but it’s the first time this has ever happened as far as I know at the library.” Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.

Jeanette Wolfberg reports in The Columbia Paper that while other local schools have been adding cameras to the exterior of school buses to catch motorists making illegally passes, the Columbia County Board of Supervisors Public Safety Committee has been discussing also putting cameras on the inside of buses. The interior cameras would monitor student behavior. The New Lebanon Central School District would like to use the cameras this September. In more than a year, Dutchess County school buses with cameras have recorded vehicles passing stopped buses 11,100 times. The interior cameras are more controversial because students lose privacy. The Hudson district already has interior cameras, and Dr. Lisamarie Spindler, the outgoing superintendent of the Hudson City School District said that “as a mother and a superintendent I wholeheartedly support the use of cameras on buses.... The cameras provide video evidence when we have incidents on the bus, and they also aid in the investigation of accidents.” Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

Kate Lisa reports for New York State of Politics that the state legislature failed to pass most of Gov. Kathy Hochul's plans to address the affordable housing crisis in New York. Assemblymembers are returning next week to complete a few items, but not housing issues. So Hochul is vowing to take some sort of executive action to address housing issues in the state, saying, "I have to focus on, yes protect tenants, but No. 1, I have to build more housing.... We need units built, otherwise, landlords will always be able to charge more because it's a simple matter of supply and demand. And that is something the Legislature didn't quite understand it in a way I hope they will do in the future, and understand if we build more like other cities, it drives the price down. That's all I'm asking for. I think there's still an opportunity." The legislature did not pass Hochul's plan to build 800,000 new housing units around the state. Hochul did not say exactly what executive action she would take, but she may declare state of emergency to construct more affordable housing, or direct state funds to expand tax incentives to build or maintain existing units. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

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Kate Lisa reports for New York State of Politics that thousands more New York workers will get 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave after Gov. Kathy Hochul reached a contractual agreement with the state Civil Service Employees Association, Public Employees Federation, and United University Professions labor unions. Workers there will now be eligible for up to 12 weeks of fully paid leave for mothers and fathers bringing a new baby, fostered, or adopted child home. If ratified, the agreements would add almost 140,000 workers, covering more than 80 percent of New York's workforce. Hochul said, "We want to make sure that we break down the stigma or any barriers to men feeling that they cannot take the time to be with their child because they will never regret a moment of it.... They'll never regret being home." The story says that, "The United States is the only developed country in the world without a national paid parental leave policy." Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

Mid-Hudson News reports that Rep. Pat Ryan is joining other Democrats in trying to get around the Republican majority in the House of Representatives to force floor votes on an assault weapons ban, universal background checks, and closing the Charleston Loophole. They need to get 218 representatives to sign on, so the Democrats need a few Republicans to join them in an attempt to lessen the gun violence in the United States. Ryan is vice chairman of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, and represents the 18th Congressional District. Ryan said, "We’re not going to wait for Kevin McCarthy, his MAGA extremist allies, who all day long lecture about public safety and crime.... You want to talk about public safety? Let’s stop having our kids gunned down by the same weapons that I carried in combat for 27 months. That’s public safety.” Read more about this story at Mid-Hudson News.

Jammel Cutler reports at Columbia-Greene Media that Democrats in Kinderhook nominated Sally Naramore for the town council, Natalay D. Jones for Town Clerk/Tax Collector, and Ken Golden for Town Justice. Naramore said, “My major reason for running is that I feel we need more visibility as a town through social media and events.” Jones said, "I have very strong computer, clerical, communication and personal skills.... In addition to experience in customer and public service. I can also maintain databases and websites." Golden said, "I see this position of town justice as an important one in trying to instill confidence in the public’s sense of the rule of law and that justice is still an important part of our society, and we all need to play an important role in that.” Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

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Elias Sorich reports for the Times Union that in Ulster County from Kingston to Saugerties and over to Phoenicia, 99 percent of adult ash trees have died as of last year because of the emerald ash borer, an insect native to East Asia that was first detected in New York state in 2009. Charles Canham, senior scientist emeritus at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, says it is only a matter of time before most of the ash trees in New York, and North America, are gone. Canham said, “At this point, most adult white ash across its entire range, which spreads from northern Maine out to Oklahoma and Texas, I expect most of them to die,” he said. “Some will survive because the insects won’t find them all. Isolated individuals will survive. But I would not be surprised if we lose 80-90 percent of adult white ash trees.” Most of the dead trees are still standing, and when they fall they may cause more problems. “It’s a big problem for private landowners, for utilities, for anybody who’s managing public areas. And I think it’s going to continue to be a big problem for quite some time,” said Jason Denham, a forester with the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Bureau of Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health. “There are a lot of ash trees around hiking trails, picnic areas, campsites, homes and power lines. I’ve talked with private homeowners who have 30 dead ash trees on their small property. It’s not financially feasible for them to have them all taken down.” And the trees did provide air quality help and heat mitigation, but won't when they die. Canham said, “We’ve only got 15 to 20 common tree species in the Northeastern U.S..... We’re whittling that list down. Every decade, we’re losing another player on the stage. … I find that both ethically and ecologically alarming.” Read more about this story in the Times Union.

David Lee reports in The Columbia Paper Rep. Marc Molinaro said conflicting statements about local broadband recently. Molinaro, who represents the 19th Congressional District, said in a press release, “Rural communities can no longer be an afterthought. For too long, rural communities in Columbia County, Greene County, and across Upstate New York have had to deal with significant gaps in internet connectivity and deteriorating infrastructure.” So many people locally lack internet service. But then, June 2 at the Ghent firehouse, Molinaro said, “I want to commend Columbia County and former Congressman Delgado who worked together with Assemblymember Barrett very effectively to move both your planning process forward and investment.... Now we are not in the last mile, but the last hundred feet." The New York State Public Service Commission Broadband Map says Columbia County is 95.9 percent covered. But others say things are not so good. Andrew Ledoux, dean of Student Development at Columbia-Greene Community College said that in a survey conducted last year, 27 percent of students at the college reported that cellular and internet access at home was a barrier for them. Read more about this story in The Upstater.

Nick Reisman reports for New York State of Politics that New York Assembly lawmakers will return to Albany June 20 for two days of legislative work, a source familiar with the discussion said on June 13. Several bills were passed by the state Senate in the legislative session, but not voted on by the Assembly, such as a ban on releasing radioactive wastewater into the Hudson River. The Assembly could vote on these bills, and send them to the governor for a signature or a veto. The Assembly is also looking at finalizing a deal for a casino for Seneca Nation near Rochester. Another bill being considered would extend state subsidized health care coverage to New Yorkers without legal status living in the state. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

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Noah Zweifel reports in the Altamont Enterprise that Rensselaerville’s 2022 drinking-water-quality report shows high levels of TTHMs and HAA5, two chemical byproducts of the disinfection process and that may cause health issues. The Rensselaerville water averaged a 69.9 micrograms per liter for TTHMS, or trihalomethanes, just below the state limit of 80 micrograms per liter. But the average reading for HAA5, or haloacetic acids five, was 77.2, above the state limit of 60 micrograms per liter. The report also said that the Rensselaerville filtration system was not working effectively as the average water turbidity also exceeded state limits during an August test period. The good news is that these bad numbers were worse in 2021, when the town averaged 101.15 micrograms per liter for TTHMs and 136.9 for HAA5. Ed Csukas recently took over the town’s water committee, and is looking for grant money to overhaul the Rensselaerville water treatment facility. The town's water is drawn from Lake Myosotis, which is susceptible to algal blooms. Read more about this story in the Altamont Enterprise.

Nick Reisman reports for New York State of Politics that the New York State Bar Association on June 12 recommended that the state no longer allow non-attorneys to be local justices, and that town and village courts should be consolidated into district courts. Sherry Levin Wallach, who was the association’s immediate past president, said, "All judges must have a legal education and at least five years of experience practicing law before taking the bench.” Richard Lewis, the president of the New York State Bar Association, said, “We need to continue to adapt to our changing society and improve our system so that all stakeholders, plaintiffs’ attorneys, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and of course, the parties can achieve justice." The state legislature would have to pass a law to make the bar association's changes. Read more about this story at New York State of Politics.

On June 12 the Summit Lake Conservation Group filed a second Article 78 lawsuit against the Philmont Planning Board, the Board of Trustees, and Clover Reach Partners LLC, developers of “The Woods,” a 22-acre subdivision of luxury homes proposed in the town. Last year the group successfully overturned the Planning Board’s first approval of “The Woods” with an Article 78 lawsuit. Then, the Planning Board again approved the large development without adding much oversight, and so the group is suing again. According to the group's statement, "The Woods luxury development is wildly unpopular in Philmont. Lawn signs around town display the slogans “Save Summit Lake/Stop Clover Reach” and “Save the woods/Stop ‘The Woods.’” Many residents see houses speculatively priced at three-quarters of a million dollars and up as a sign of gentrification and an attack on a beloved natural asset. Summit Lake’s wooded viewshed has been prized by residents and visitors for generations." The group says the only change the developers promised the planning board at their second go-round was to increase the right-of-way around the loop road from 33 to 50 feet to accommodate a full-width road, should the village eventually decide one is needed. "This essentially kicks the cost of widening the road onto village taxpayers, and skirts the responsibility of supplying accurate visual simulations to reflect the increased grading and added tree removal required to accommodate a road safe enough for multiple emergency vehicles,"the group says.