Patricia R. Doxsey reports in The Daily Freeman that last week President Donald Trump "joked" that it’s OK for police officers to rough up people who have been arrested. Local law-enforcement officials told Doxsey that those comments are not being taken seriously by officers. “I think that was just a figure of speech,” said Dutchess County Sheriff Adrian “Butch” Anderson, who served as the co-chairman of Trump’s New York transition team. Ulster County Sheriff Paul VanBlarcum, who met Trump at the White House in May, also said the president was “joking around” and that the comments have been taken, “totally out of context.... He wasn’t encouraging police brutality,” VanBlarcum said. “No police officer took that as saying it the way the media sensationalized it.” Saugerties Police Chief Joseph Sinagra said, “I don’t honestly believe police officers would look at these comments and think that its a signal to mistreat the public.... If any of my police officers think that’s it’s a green light to mistreat the public, they will find themselves unemployed.... When we’re in the midst of trying to rebuild trust in the community, comments like that don’t just detract from the conversation, they make us go backwards rather than forward.” Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

Joseph Spector reports in The Poughkeepsie Journal that crime rates in New York state and in the Hudson Valley have been dropping. Crime rates in the state fell 20 percent over the last decade. Crime in Dutchess County fell 30 percent from 2012 and 2016. "Although we are very encouraged by the overall downward trend in the crime index figures, Dutchess continues to be pro active in our commitment to aggressively hold offenders accountable and reduce violent crime," Dutchess County District Attorney William Grady said in a statement. Ulster County had a 33 percent drop in crime over the five-year period. New York's prison population fell 28 percent between 1999 and 2016 -- from 72,600 to about 52,000 with two dozen prisons closing since 2011. Read the full story in The Poughkeepsie Journal. "This all-time low in reported crime — the fewest incidents on record since statewide reporting began in 1975 – was also reached at a time when New York’s incarceration declined, so we are clearly doing something right," Green said.

Local weather forecast:
TODAY : Isolated showers, then scattered thunderstorms will develop Wednesday afternoon. Some thunderstorms may produce gusty winds, small hail, and locally heavy rainfall. Partly sunny. High near 83. Wednesday night, scattered showers and thunderstorms before 11 p.m., then isolated showers between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. Patchy fog after 5 a.m. Otherwise, mostly cloudy. Low around 61.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS:
THURSDAY: Scattered showers, with thunderstorms also possible after noon. Patchy fog before 8 a.m. Otherwise, partly sunny. High near 84. Thursday night, a chance of showers and thunderstorms before 2 a.m., then a slight chance of showers between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m., then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 5 a.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 65.
FRIDAY: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 6 a.m., then a chance of showers between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m., then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11 a.m. Mostly cloudy. High near 83. Friday night, a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy. Low around 65.

Sunrise today: 5:50 a.m.
Sunset today: 8:12 p.m.
LENGTH OF THE DAY: 14:22 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS
Today is the first Wednesday of the month.

WGXC suggests calling ahead to confirm time and location.
All numbers are in the 518 area code unless otherwise noted.

COPAKE Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 230 Mt. View Road, Copake (329-1234).
GREENE County Legislature Health Workshop meeting, 5 p.m.; special Finance Committee meeting to hear report on the Countywide Shared Services Initiative, Health Services Committee, County Resources Committee and Public Safety Committee meetings, 6 p.m. at 411 Main Street, Catskill (719-3200).
GREENPORT Town Board on meeting on proposed sewer line connection between Commerce Park and the Greenport wastewater facility, 6:15 p.m.; public hearing on Local Law No 4 of 2017, to establish a PILOT program for the taxation of large-scale solar and wind energy systems, 6:50 p.m.; regular meeting, 7 p.m.; all at Town Hall, 600 Town Hall Drive, Greenport (828-4656).
GREENVILLE Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 11159 Route 32, Greenville (966-5055).
HUDSON Common Council Youth and Aging Committee meeting, 5:30 p.m.; Arts, Entertainment and Tourism Committee meeting, 6:45 p.m., at City Hall, 520 Warren St., Hudson (828-1030).
JEWETT Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 7 p.m. at municipal building, 3547 Co. Rte. 23C, Jewett (263-4646).
KINDERHOOK Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 4 Church St, Niverville (784-2233).
PRATTSVILLE Planning Board meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 14517 Main St., Prattsville (299-3125).
VALATIE Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Martin H. Glynn Municipal Building, 3211 Church St., Valatie (758-9806).

POLITICAL EVENTS
Weekly events:
Citizen Action HV Action Night, 5:30 p.m., every Tuesday at 7 Grand Street, Kingston. Information at hudsonvalley@citizenactionny.org, or facebook.com/HVCitizenActionNY.
New Paltz Climate Action Coalition, 5 p.m., every Thursday at New Paltz Village Hall, 23 Plattekill Ave., New Paltz. Information at (845) 419-3786 or newpaltzclimateaction@gmail.com.
Faso Friday, 12 p.m., every Friday at U.S. Rep. John Faso's District Office, 2 Hudson Street, Kinderhook. Information at erinpersists@gmail.com.

Click here to download or play a recording from the live webstream of the August 1 Catskill Town Board meeting.

DOWNLOAD or PLAY the audio version of the local news headlines for Tue., Aug. 1 (8:59). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

Melanie Lekocevic is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Port of Coeymans is scheduled to move a 4,000-ton heat recovery steam generator from the port onto a barge, Tue., Aug. 2. The heating structure will then be transported south on the Hudson River to a power plant in Sewaren, New Jersey. This is the first time a structure of this size has been built off-site and then transported, and it is the largest project of this size in the United States. The parts for the 8-million-pound generator were shipped to the port in November 2016, and workers have been putting it together 24 hours a day, six days a week, ever since. The structure will be welded onto the deck of a barge 100 feet wide and 400 feet long, and then pulled by three tugboats down the river. The barge will leave Coeymans Mon., Aug. 7. The trip to New Jersey is expected to take 24 hours. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Daniel Zuckerman is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media U.S. Rep. John Faso was in Athens Mon., Jul. 31. The first-term congressman made a stop at Field Goods, a produce delivery business located in Athens, for a tour of the facility and conversation about the various labor issues facing farmers. Field Goods Founder and President Donna Williams hears most often from farmers that the difficulty finding skilled labor is limiting their ability to grow and expand. The minimum wage increase to nearly $15 per hour in two years was another concern raised by those in the meeting. “We really need to solve the immigrant labor question and to do it in a way that keeps these experienced farm workers here and encourages them to come back and also treats people fairly,” Faso said. According to Faso's online public schedule, he also visited the Salvation Army in Hudson, and the Lehigh Hanson Cement facility in Catskill on Monday. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

The Daily Freeman is reporting 19th Congressional District candidate, Democrat Jeff Beals, will host a health care forum in Woodstock, Wed., Aug. 2. The forum will bring together local citizens, experts and artists to discuss the issue. The event will feature stories, songs, presentations and an open question-and-answer session. This is the first in a series of #UniteNY19 Forums the Beals campaign will hold. Future events will focus on the opioid addiction crisis, education, jobs, Lyme disease and the environment. The forum Tuesday will be held from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Colony Woodstock, 22 Rock City Road. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.

Click here to download or play the recording by Sam Sebren of the Water Walk for Life potluck supper held in New Baltimore, Mon., Jul. 31 (33:35).

Mon., Jul. 31, was day 10 of the Water Walk for Life, a 13-day, 170-mile walk to raise awareness about the proposed Pilgrim Pipelines project, and the importance of protecting clean water in communities along the Hudson River. The walk is being led by Japanese Buddhist nun, Jun Yasuda, known as Jun-San, from the Grafton Peace Pagoda. The group of 15 walkers were joined by local supporters throughout the day during the walk from Catskill to New Baltimore. The walk began July 22 at the Ramapough Lenape Split Rock Sweetwater Prayer Camp in Mahwah, NJ. It will continue for three more days until the group reaches Troy. A final ceremony will be held Sat., Aug. 5, at the Grafton Peace Pagoda. Information about the walk is available at graftonpeacepagoda.org. Organizer Jim Suriano can be reached at (518) 542-4543.

Opening prayer chants
1:31 Jun-San speaks about origins of this walk, walking for water.
3:04  Jun-San introduces Unitarian Minister Phil Schulman, who speaks about his reasons for doing 30 years of peace walks.
13:34 Sam Sebren speaks about the importance of visibility to raise awareness.
14:48 Roger Downs explains the source of the oil for proposed Pilgrim Pipelines and the increased risks to waterways by fossil fuel transport in the Hudson Valley; history of permitting in New York.
21:44 Downs speaks about the impacts of of the pipelines on cultural heritage, environment, future land use and climate change.
24:41 Downs on successful resistance to the pipelines and continuing public protests 25:40 Jun-San on where they stay on walks.
27:32 Liz LoGiudice on continuing to protect the Hudson River and water sources.
29:50 Water Walk organizer Jim Suriano on the next day course on U.S. Route 9W to Bethlehem.
30:52 Traditional Haudenosaunee water prayer song, sung by walk organizers Megan McLean and Suriano.
32:21 Suriano makes connection between local water protecting issues with recent similar problems in Okinawa, Japan.

Daniel Zuckerman reported for Columbia-Greene Media it is a local election year, and various races in Greene County are shaping up. Towns have until Sept. 19 to hold caucuses. The 14 towns in the county are electing supervisors, town board members and other officials. Most of the candidates that have filed are Republicans, with some exceptions. In Athens, Republican Town Supervisor Robert Butler Jr. is running again, and he will be challenged by Michael Pirrone, a Democrat. Democrats PhyllisAnn Dinkelacker and Martin Miller, as well as incumbent Republicans Anthony Paluch and Mary Brandow are all vying for town board seats. Candidates that have filed in Cairo, Catskill, Durham, New Baltimore and Windham are all Republicans. In Cairo, incumbent Town Supervisor Daniel Benoit is running unopposed, and incumbent town board member Mary Jo Cords is being challenged by Jason Watts. Incumbent Jared Giordano and newcomer Dawn Scannapieco are running for Catskill Town Board. In Coxsackie, Town Supervisor Richard Hanse is running unopposed. In Durham, Town Supervisor William Carr Jr. is seeking re-election, but he will be challenged in a primary by Shawn Marriott. Incumbent Nick Nahas, Carmel Rustick and Linda Sutton are running for town board. Joseph VanHolsteyn is running for highway superintendent. In New Baltimore, Jeffrey Ruso is running for town supervisor, and Kelly Downes and Shelly VanEtten are seeking town board seats. Windham Town Supervisor Robert Pelham is unopposed, and Ian Peters and Wayne VanValin are running for town board. Stephen Walker is looking to fill an unexpired term on the Windham Town Board. Gary Thorington is the candidate for town highway superintendent. In Greenville, longtime town supervisor Paul Macko, a Conservative, is running unopposed. Conservatives Richard Bear and Kenneth Stern are vying for town board seats. Terry Williams is running for highway superintendent. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.