The Daily Freeman reports that among all seven candidates for the 2018 19th Congressional District, Democrat Antonio Delgado raised the most money for his campaign in the third quarter of 2017. Delgado, of Rhinebeck, raised $1,053,989.11 in July, August, and September, according to campaign finance filings posted online by the Federal Election Commission. Delgado has spent $173,368.34, and his campaign had $880,620.77 as of Sept. 30. Democrat Brian Flynn of Elka Park raised $1,044,650.66in the same period. But of that, $650,000 came in loans from himself, and only $35,400 was from public contributions. Flynn has spent $133,288.10, and had $911,362.56 as of Sept. 30. Republican incumbent John Faso, of Kinderhook, was next, raising $893,266.20 as of Sept. 30. Almost half of that came from Republican fundraising committees. Faso has spent $424,383.35, with $572,311.84 in his bank as of Sept. 30. Patrick Ryan of Gardiner said he raised $589,769.99, spending $68,113.81, and leaving him with $521,656.18. Gareth Rhodes of Kerhonkson reported raising $297,146.25, spending $40,700.51, and keeping $256,446.44 in cash. David Clegg of Woodstock raised $217,180.81, but more than half, $110,000, came from a loan from himself, and raising just $11,182.18 from contributions. Clegg spent $37,637.67, and reports $179,543.14 in his campaign as of Sept. 30. Jeffrey Beals of Woodstock raised $114,757.72, with a loan of $56,000 from himself. Beals spent $32,389.83, and reports having $82,367.89 as of Sept. 30. Steven Brisee of Walden dropped out of the race Oct. 17 with a campaign fund of 38 cents. And Democrat Sue Sullivan of Plattekill left the race on Sept. 25. Together, the Democrats raised more than three times the amount of the Republican. Residents of Ulster, Greene, Columbia, Sullivan, Delaware, Schoharie, and Otsego counties; most of Dutchess County; parts of Rensselaer and Montgomery counties; and a small piece of Broome County will vote on which candidate represents the area in a primary and a general election in 2018. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

H. Rose Schneider reports in The Altamont Enterprise that at the Oct. 10 Knox town board meeting, council members of the southern Albany County town debated how much of a raise to give some town workers. Councilperson Amy Pokorny, who is running against the current supervisor, Vasilios Lefkaditis, wanted a seven percent increase for transfer-station workers. Lefkaditis had proposed a two-percent increase. Increases for highway workers were also discussed, and no consensus was reached. So the board punted the decision until after the election, when a public budget hearing will be held at 7 p.m. Nov. 8. Read the full story in The Altamont Enterprise.

Emilia Teasdale reports in The Columbia Paper that Valatie passed two new local laws Oct. 10. Beginning in February, property owners with fire alarms that call in false alarms to the fire department will be fined. "Designs for private alarm systems must be submitted to the village building inspector and there is an application fee," Teasdale reports, but does not detail the amount of the fines or the fee. The Valatie board also passed a law mandating commercial building and any residential building with four or more units to dispose of their own garbage rather than using the municipal hauler. That law takes effect Jan. 1. And the village clerk says that Valatie offices will be closed Election Day, Nov. 7. Valatie's Village Board meets next at 7 p.m. Nov. 14. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

Glenn Bain reports in the New York Daily News that $121.2 million was spent to influence state and local governments during the first six months of 2017 according to the Joint Commission on Public Ethics. Uber, a company that provides taxi service without having to follow the same rules as taxi services, spent the most on lobbying, nearly $1.8 million. That investment seemingly paid off, as the state legislature made ride services that don't have to follow taxi regulations legal in April. The other biggest lobbying spenders in the state so far this year, according to JCOPE, are: The Greater New York Hospital Association, at $1.45 million; the Rent Stabilization Association of New York, with $943,280; the New York State United Teachers, at $858,846; and AARP, the seniors lobby, at $790,717. Uber agreed to a $98,000 settlement with JCOPE in June because it underreported its lobbying expenses in 2015 and 2016. Read the full story in the New York Daily News.

Dan Freedman reports for the Albany Times Union that the Federal Communications Commission is proposing lowering the standard of what broadband is, so a slower internet service would be considered broadband. New York Senator Chuck Schumer isn't happy about that. "We don’t want our rural folks to be second-class citizens," Schumer said on Oct. 18. "What we’re calling for is every home in America should get high-speed internet service." Currently, the broadband standard is defined as 25 megabits per second for downloads, and 3 megabits per second for uploads. The new proposal would almost cut that by two-thirds, to 10 Mbps for downloads and 1 Mbps for uploads. "You couldn’t check your email with these new speeds, let alone watch a movie on Netflix," Schumer said. Read the full story in the Albany Times Union.

DOWNLOAD or PLAY the audio version of the local news headlines for Thu., Oct. 19 (5:51). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

Ann Friedman is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Hudson Business Coalition has launched a website to aid in its efforts to promote the city of Hudson. The two-year-old nonprofit business league has more than 60 members. VisitHudsonNY [dot] com offers a list of city businesses, a calendar of events and editorial content with headlines such as, "Nine Spots to Take Selfies That'll Light Up Your Instagram," and "An Ode to Watermelon Agua Fresca," plus information on activities and profiles of business owners. “It serves as a way to attract people to Hudson and give them a sense of the character of Hudson,” coalition President Chuck Rosenthal said. “It’s a great resource for people in the community and visitors.” Rosenthal is the owner of Valley Variety on upper Warren Street. He said the coalition has identified food and design, particularly interior design and furnishings, as the main reasons people come to Hudson. “Also, more recently, the number of new and vintage fashion stores has been growing, so those are three areas we’re looking at to produce events,” he said. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Matthew Hamilton is reporting at Capitol Confidential Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro has formed a gubernatorial campaign committee for 2018. The Tivoli Republican is one of the several potential challengers to Democrat incumbent Andrew M. Cuomo next year. Molinaro has traveled the state in recent months and has discussed a possible bid with supporters in different areas, Hamilton writes. “This is a progression of those discussions,” a Molinaro spokesman said. “This will allow the people that want to help Marc explore to do so.” Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, who represents Ontario County, Harry Wilson, a former candidate for comptroller, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino and state Senate Deputy Republican Majority Leader John DeFrancisco of Syracuse have been mentioned as potential GOP candidates as well. Molinaro is the first among the group to form a committee. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.

Daniel Zuckerman is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Greenville Town Board is considering the possibility of moving an eight-acre parcel of land into the town's sewer and water districts. The site is the proposed location of the new Tractor Supply Co. store. The question was discussed with representatives from Delaware Engineering and Bohler Engineering during the town board meeting, Mon., Oct. 16. The site is located north of the Tops Plaza on Route 32, and close to the existing water line, Greenville Town Supervisor Paul Macko said. Delaware Engineering is creating documents to amend the sewer and water district boundaries to include the parcel. The initial proposal for the new store was made to the town planning board at its meeting in August. The building will require sprinklers and holding tankers for those sprinklers. Town attorney Tax Rappleyea said once a plan is finalized and produced the process will require two to three months of public hearings. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Rick Karlin is reporting at Capitol Confidential 30 professors of government and constitutional law have released a letter explaining why they intend to vote "yes" in November on the statewide Constitutional Convention question. The first signer of the letter is SUNY's New Paltz's Gerald Benjamin, an expert on the state constitution. The academics argue a convention would restore democratic accountability, impose political ethics, reform the state judiciary and bring opportunities for positive change, including strengthening environmental protections, improving the quality of the state education system and ensuring that the rights threatened by the federal government be protected in New York. Read the full letter at Capitol Confidential, a Times Union blog.

Today is Day 16 of the WGXC 2017 Fall 2017 Harvest Pledge Drive. WGXC programmers, volunteers and staff must raise $25,000 to keep WGXC Hands-on Radio on the air, live and local during the coming months. Your support will make all the difference. Call (518) 697-7400 or go online to wgxc.org [slash] donate, and make your commitment to programming curated by humans, not algorithms, that is responsive to your needs and interests. Thank you for supporting creative community radio in New York's Greene and Columbia counties.

Local weather forecast:
TODAY : Sunny. High near 73. Thursday night, mostly clear. Low around 48.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS:
FRIDAY: Sunny. High near 67. Friday night, clear. Low around 40.
SATURDAY: Sunny. High near 73. Friday night, clear. Low around 47.

Sunrise today: 7:14 a.m.
Sunset today: 6:06 p.m.
LENGTH OF THE DAY: 10:52 hrs.

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

Dan Udell recorded and uploaded this video of the Oct. 17 Hudson Common Council meeting.

Click here to play or download audio of the Oct. 18 Catskill town meeting recorded from a live WGXC webstream.