Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the village of Coxsackie $17 million sewer project will move forward as planned, leading to the lifting of a 15-year-old ban on new sewer hook-ups in the village. It will also eliminate untreated wastewater from being pumped into the Hudson River and the Coxsackie Creek during heavy rains. The infiltration of the river and creek was legal when the plant was built. The sewer plant project was deemed essential and has continued during the NY On PAUSE order. “The governor and the Department of Labor deemed that any municipal construction project is essential, so they could be continued,” Mayor Mark Evans said. “We thought at any time that the subcontractors might decide not to send their folks, but they continued working, and other than jockeying for timing on different parts of the project, it [has] continued unimpeded.” Construction began in July 2019. To pay for the project, the village received a $2.5 million grant from the state and a 30-year 0 percent loan through the state's Clean Water State Revolving Fund. A portion of the cost will also be borne by the state Department of Correctional and Community Supervision, which operates two correctional facilities in Coxsackie. Those facilities account for a large portion of the sewer usage, Evans said. But the precise amount to be covered by DOCCS will not be known for several months, he said. Under the plan, parts of the existing sewer plant are being upgraded, while others are being expanded. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

The Times Union is reporting Amtrak has announced that beginning Mon., May 11, passengers on trains and in stations will be required to wear a face mask or other covering over their mouth and nose in an effort to protect against COVID-19. Amtrak said in a statement, "this new policy will require customers wear a facial covering over their nose and mouth while in stations, on trains and thruway buses. Facial coverings can be removed when customers are eating in designated areas, in their private rooms, or seated alone or with a travel companion in their own pair of seats. Small children who are not able to maintain a facial covering are exempt from this requirement." Amtrak joins the nation's major airlines in requiring masks for travelers. Southwest, Delta and United already require passengers to wear face coverings, while JetBlue and American will require them as of May 11. Read the full story in the Times Union.

The offices of U.S. Representatives Antonio Delgado and Lee Zeldin, along with U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand have proposed new legislation to provide "local governments with direct federal relief that can be used to pay for essential services and offset lost revenues and increased costs from the COVID-19 emergency," according to a statement released May 7. Under the Direct Support for Communities Act, the local relief fund would be split 50/50, half committed to cities, towns and villages, and half committed to counties. Of the portion allocated for municipalities, 70 percent would go to Community Development Block Grant entitlement communities. The remaining 30 percent of would be sent to the states, which would be required to distribute the entire amount to all non-entitlement communities based on population. The emergency fiscal assistance for counties would be distributed across all counties based on population. “Upstate New York is facing an urgent, immediate funding crisis. Our counties and municipalities are laying off employees and the lack of funding going directly into local communities is jeopardizing the livelihood of our first responders, our emergency medical services, cops, teachers and more. We need to provide local government with funding expediently and I am glad to introduce a bipartisan, bicameral solution,” Delgado said. Read the full press release at binghamtonhomepage [dot] com.

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Cayla Harris is reporting for the Times Union the state court system will make an exception and allow new filings under the Child Victims Act in the coming weeks even as other non-essential court filings remain frozen during the pandemic, Lucian Chalfen, a spokesperson for the state Office of Court Administration said May 7. "We will not deny those litigants the ability to file," Chalfen said in an email. The decision comes as survivors and advocates increasingly call to extend the act's one-year look-back period that is set to expire in August. Chalfen points out that any extension of the window would require executive or legislative action. More than 1,700 lawsuits have been filed by people previously time-barred from lodging claims against their alleged sexual abusers. However, court filings were paused in March as the coronavirus pandemic effectively shut down the state court system. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed an order in March suspending statutes of limitations during the state of emergency, but it is uncertain whether the moratorium also applies to the Child Victims Act's one-year window. Read the full story in the Times Union.

The American Red Cross continues to encourage healthy people to make appointments to donate blood or platelets to ensure blood remains readily available for patients who still rely on transfusions. There are five blood drives scheduled to take place in Greene and Columbia counties in the coming weeks. A drive will be held 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fri., May 8 at Taconic Hills High School in Craryville; at the Catskill Elks Lodge Hall in Catskill, from noon until 6 p.m. on Mon., May 11; at Palatine Park and Youth Activity Building in Germantown, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Mon., Jun. 1; at the Chatham Firehouse in Chatham, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wed., Jun. 10; and at the Hudson Elks Lodge on Harry Howard Avenue, from 1 p.m. until 6 p.m. on Thu., Jun. 11. More details are available at redcrossblood [dot] org.

Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Capital Region Independent Media the Coeymans Town Board has imposed a six-month moratorium on the review of solar energy projects, effective immediately. The board conducted a public hearing April 23 to receive comment on the plan via telephone, due the restrictions imposed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Following the hearing, Local Law No. 3 was approved unanimously imposing the temporary moratorium thereby giving town officials the time needed to put a solar law on the books. “This law calls for six months, but it could be shorter, depending on how long it takes us to get a solar law in place,” Town Supervisor George McHugh said. “I don’t think it’s going to take us that long — I think it is going to take much less time. We’ve already got a good start on a template for a solar law.” Resident Trip Powell has proposed building a solar farm with the company Summit Ridge Energy at 87 Bronk Road. The project was first proposed in January 2019, so Summit Ridge Energy requested a waiver because the project was already under consideration. McHugh recommended to Powell the company request a partial waiver, which the town board approved. The partial waiver allows Summit Ridge Energy to send the plans out for review by an engineering firm and for a legal review as well, but nothing more. The solar law could be in place as soon as late May or, at the very latest, by late June, McHugh said. Read the full story in The Ravena News-Herald.

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Sarah Trafton is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media crews from Peckham Industries are expected to finish repaving the parking lot at Dutchman's Landing this week, Catskill Village Board member Peter Grasse Jr. said. Grasse also met with Jefferson Cafe, the new tenant of Dutchman’s Galley, and representatives of Hershey’s Ice Cream to review the details of leasing the galley, he said. “It’s a beautiful park and needed to be upgraded for sure,” Grasse said. Dutchman’s Galley was closed for the 2019 summer season. “The galley is back by popular demand and we are very excited about its reopening,” Village President Vincent Seeley said. “...We are making a targeted investment in our parks and outdoor facilities to give our residents, who have been stuck inside for over seven weeks, a place to get out and get active in a safe environment.” Operating the galley during the pandemic is likely to create issues, Grasse said, but he is confident Jefferson Cafe is up to the challenge. “They should be OK with window service,” he said. In addition to serving ice cream, the galley will sell hot dogs, hamburgers and french fries and could be open for business by the end of May, Grasse said. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

The city of Hudson is seeking public comment on the accessibility of curb ramps and sidewalks in the city. A form is available online where the public can describe the problems they know of and submit images of any problem spots. According to a statement released by the city, officials will use the information submitted to respond to requests and document those responses, as well as enforce the obligations of property owners to maintain and repair pedestrian level walkways consistent with local ordinances. The data received will be maintained by the city. In addition to accessing the online form, the public can also contact ADA Coordinator Michael Chameides at 518-828-5866. The public input process is part of a larger effort to increase accessibility in Hudson. In the past few months, the city has created an ADA Policy and ADA Grievance Procedure, and issued an RFP for an ADA Architect. And a callbox has been installed in front of City Hall. Read more at cityofhudson [dot] org.

Chris Sommerfeldt is reporting for the New York Daily News New York election officials announced May 6. they will appeal a federal court ruling requiring them to hold the state’s Democratic presidential primary. The appeal will kick start what could be a lengthy court battle. The commissioners and co-chairs of the state Board of Elections filed a brief in Manhattan Federal Court stating they will bring the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals with the intention of canceling the June 23 primary. The Board of Elections last month canceled the primary citing public health reasons, saying it would be dangerous to hold it as planned because of the coronavirus pandemic. Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang filed a lawsuit over the cancellation. Federal Court Judge Analisa Torres ruled May 5, the primary had to be reinstated. Torres found the cancellation was unconstitutional and could set a chilling precedent for future elections. The judge also noted the state has already taken public health precautions, including allowing all New Yorkers to vote by mail. Read the full story in The Daily News.

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Rick Karlin is reporting for the Times Union several Capital Region supermarkets and big box stores are limiting sales of beef, pork and poultry due to supply chain disruptions and slowdowns in major Midwest slaughterhouses. ShopRite is limiting purchases of beef, ground beef, pork and chicken to two each per customer. Price Chopper is limiting sales of advertised specials. Hannaford has not limited sales but has not ruled out doing so in the future. “This is a dynamic situation and we are constantly evaluating buying habits to determine which items require purchase limits,” said company spokesman Eric Blom. At Walmart, a company spokeswoman said, “meat continues to be in high demand,” but there are no purchase limits currently in place. BJ’s in Colonie was limiting purchases to one per customer, and the store was out of ground beef and boneless pork early on May 6, but those supplies would likely be replenished with their next shipment. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Diane Rutherford is reporting for WWNY-TV the state teachers union and other education advocates are expressing concern following Gov. Andrew Cuomo's announcement May 5, that the state is collaborating with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to reimagine public education in New York. Cuomo said as plans are developed to reopen K-12 schools and colleges, the state and the Gates Foundation will consider what education should look like in the future with technology as part of the plan. A group of as yet undesignated individuals will discuss how technology can meet the educational needs of students with disabilities; how the state can provide educators with more tools to use technology; and ways the state can use classroom technology to recreate larger class or lecture hall environments in different locations. The education advocacy group Alliance for Quality Education said the plan "could be a threat to public schools as we know them." Jasmine Gripper, Alliance for Quality Education executive director, said, “Both the Gates Foundation and Andrew Cuomo have a history of pushing privatization and agendas that have the potential to destroy public schools. This collaboration raises a red flag and real questions about what shape our “reimagined” public schools will take post-pandemic, and whether they will be recognizable as public schools at all..." Read the full story at wwnytiv [dot] com.

The Hudson Arts Emergency Program May 6, announced it has awarded stipends to four artists in the program's first round of emergency funding. Cat Tyc, Spencer Bambrick, Sam Meyerson and Timothy McDowell will each receive a $500 stipend from the program, a community-funded project created to support individual artists for work that speaks to life in Hudson during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. Cat Tyc will work on a chapbook of poetry about life in Hudson during lockdown. Spencer Bambrick will create an interactive audiovisual installation, incorporating community participation. Timothy McDowell will document life in the city during the shutdown through still photography and video. Sam Meyerson will paint a wall mural on the side of the Time & Space Limited building facing Long Alley. Emergency Cultural Task Force member Linda Mussmann is TSL co-director. The Hudson-based nonprofit will contribute additional funds for Meyerson’s project in the form of a matching grant. A total of nine applications for funding have been received, and $10,000 has been raised so far. The program will be administered through the Hudson Development Corporation, a 501(c)(3) organization. The Hudson Arts Emergency Program takes its inspiration from the mid-1930s Works Progress Administration, a New Deal agency established in the wake of the Great Depression. Read more at ReimagineHudson [dot] com.

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Stephen Rex Brown and Chris Sommerfeldt are reporting for the New York Daily News Manhattan Federal Court Judge Analisa Torres has reinstated New York's Democratic presidential primary. Torres ruled the state's decision to cancel the contest amid the coronavirus pandemic unconstitutionally deprived millions of residents of the right to vote. Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang filed the lawsuit that prompted the decision that now puts the primary back on for June 23. Yang had argued that even though Joe Biden is already the party’s presumptive presidential nominee, the state Board of Elections’ decision to cancel the election set a dangerous precedent and prevents Bernie Sanders and other candidates from the ability to collect delegates. Torres said the Board of Elections’ decision stripped New York’s Democratic primary voters of what she described as the constitutional right to elect delegates who can “push their point of view” at the party’s convention this summer. “They will be deprived of the right to cast a vote for an otherwise qualified candidate and the political views expressed by that candidate,” Torres wrote. Read the full story in the Daily News.

Susan Arbetter is reporting for State of Politics New York state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said this week that when the time is right, “there will be an accounting” by the legislature of the Cuomo administration’s spending during the pandemic. Stewart-Cousins also promised to hold hearings on how the pandemic gained a foothold in the state’s nursing homes. The Buffalo News has reported that the Cuomo administration has not been forthcoming about how money to fight the pandemic is being spent. The same article quotes Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause, saying the legislature is not doing its job. “I know that there are a lot of conversations about how things happen[ed] and whether or not there has been too much power given to the governor,” Stewart-Cousins said.  “We have never abrogated [our] responsibility.” On March 2, lawmakers approved $40 million in emergency pandemic funding; at the same time, they expanded the governor’s powers to handle the pandemic and other emergencies. Stewart-Cousins said there will eventually be an examination of what was done, but only when the time is right. That time is not now. “For now, our responsibility is to be a government that works together for the people,” she said. Read the full story at spectrumlocalnews [dot] com.