DOWNLOAD or PLAY the audio version of the local news headlines for Thu., Jul. 27 (8:03). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

Emilia Teasdale is reporting in The Columbia Paper the Chatham Police Department is celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Chatham Cares 4 U Outreach Initiative Program. To date the program has assisted 130 people into treatment. First launched on July 1, 2016, Chatham Cares encourages residents who want to overcome their drug addiction to walk into the police station, turn over their drugs and paraphernalia and ask for help. Those who come in are placed into a drug treatment program. They do not face criminal charges. “As a part-time agency, we have truly accomplished a miracle in our community...,” said Chatham Police Chief Peter Volkmann in a press release. “... We’re so proud of what we’ve accomplished and I plan to do all I can to continue saving lives.” Volkmann now travels the state speaking to police departments and other organizations about the program. In June, he declared his intention to run for Columbia County sheriff in November. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

Amanda Purcell is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Hudson Common Council became the first municipality in the state to pass a resolution in support of a proposed commission on prosecutorial conduct. If the bill is approved, the commission would be charged with investigating complaints of misconduct and impose discipline on prosecutors who violate the law. According to It Could Happen to You, a statewide advocacy organization for those wrongfully prosecuted and convicted, New York is one of the worse offenders nationwide when it comes to wrongful convictions, second only to Texas. Thirty-seven prosecutorial misconduct cases have been reported since 2010, according to a study conducted by the group. More than 50 percent of those cases occurred between 2014 and 2016, supporting the group's assertion that prosecutorial misconduct is on the rise. Hudson Second Ward Alderman Tiffany Garriga is a board member of It Could Happen to You, but she was absent for the Council's July 18 vote. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.

Jimmy Vielkind is reporting at Politico New York SEIU 1199, the powerful health care union, has launched radio ads in upstate New York to attack three Republican members of Congress for their efforts to repeal the federal Affordable Care Act. The union has made a "significant buy" at radio stations in Albany, Binghamton, Utica, Poughkeepsie, Watertown and Syracuse. The ads mention U.S. Reps. John Faso of Kinderhook, as well as Claudia Tenney of Utica, and Elise Stefanik of the North Country. All three voted for the House bill. Faso has argued against Obamacare and last year supported the GOP’s platform calling for a repeal of a law they say is broken and has not lowered costs for consumers. Democratic leaders, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo, have declared their intent to target all three seats in a coordinated campaign next year. Read the full story at Politico New York.

The Albany Times Union reports that farm distilleries can now sell beer, wine, and cider from New York for consumption on-site. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation July 25 approving the sales. Farm distilleries were recently allowed to sell state-labelled spirits for on-premises consumption, so this expands that policy to breweries and wineries. Read the full story in the Albany Times Union.

The Mid-Hudson News Network reports in The Daily Freeman that passenger traffic at Stewart International Airport in Orange County rose sharply in the first half of 2017. Norwegian Air began service to four European countries last month, and 147,000 passengers used Stewart in the first six months of 2017, up from about 129,800 in the beginning of 2016. Norwegian flights from Stewart to Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Norway began in mid-June, with fares between $99 and $300. In June the airport handled more than 30,000 passengers for the first time in five years. Allegiant also added flights to Myrtle Beach, S.C. this spring. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

Congressman John Faso (R-Kinderhook) voted July 25 to strengthen sanctions against Russia in response to the Kremlin’s efforts to undermine the 2016 US presidential election. H.R. 3364 passed 419-to-3 in the House and a similar bill passed 98-to-2 in the Senate. It is unclear if the president will sign the bill, but there are enough votes to override a veto. H.R. 3364, the Russia, Iran, and North Korea Sanctions Act, also penalized Iran and North Korea. “Vladimir Putin’s Russia is no ally of ours. The Kremlin’s efforts to influence the 2016 election cycle prove that its ultimate goal is to destabilize and divide the United States. Today my colleagues and I rebuked these provocative actions by Russia and sent a clear message to others who would attempt to disrupt our democratic process: Americans will always stand united in defense of our values,” said Faso.

Larry Rulison reports in the Albany Times Union that President Donald Trump said July 25 that he believes upstate New Yorkers should move to states such as Wisconsin. "You're going to need people to work in these massive plants," Trump said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. "...I'm going to start explaining to people: When you have an area that just isn't working like upper New York state, where people are getting very badly hurt, and then you'll have another area 500 miles away where you can't get people, I'm going to explain, you can leave. It's OK. Don't worry about your house." Read the full story in the Albany Times Union.

Local weather forecast:
TODAY : There is a chance of thunderstorms from 11 a.m. into Thursday night. While widespread severe weather is unlikely, the region is under a marginal risk for severe thunderstorms. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds and heavy rain. Cloudy. High near 76. Patchy fog after 10 p.m. Otherwise, mostly cloudy. Low around 61.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS:
FRIDAY: Patchy fog before 9 a.m. Otherwise, partly sunny. High near 77. Friday night, a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 59. SATURDAY: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny. High near 74. Saturday night, partly cloudy. Low around 55.

Sunrise today: 5:44 a.m.
Sunset today: 8:19 p.m.
LENGTH OF THE DAY: 14:34 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS
Today is the fourth Thursday of the month.

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

ATHENS Town Planning Board meeting, 7 p.m. at community center, 2 First Street, Athens (945-1052).
CHATHAM Village Board meeting, 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 77 Main Street, Chatham (392-5821).
CHATHAM Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 488 Route 295, Chatham (392-1651).
COLUMBIA County Board of Supervisors Finance Committee meeting, 3 p.m. at 401 State Street, Hudson (828-1527).
COPAKE Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 230 Mt. View Road, Copake (329-1234).
COXSACKIE Town Board workshop meeting, 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 16 Reed St., Coxsackie (731-2727).
HUDSON Community Development and Planning Agency meeting is cancelled (751-1044).
WINDHAM Town Board meeting, 8 p.m. at Town Hall, 371 State Rt. 296, Hensonville (734-4170).

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 Waltz 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.

DOWNLOAD or PLAY the audio version of the local news headlines for Wed., Jul. 26 (7:55). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

Click here to play or download a recording of the first 20 minutes of the July 25 Greenport Planning Board meeting. The board issued a negative SEQR declaration on the Colarusso haul road proposal and discussed next steps. Audio and notes by Jess Puglisi.

Meeting called to order
:34 Minutes of the July special meeting approved.
1:12 William Rose and Walden Madsen Kipp Road sub-division public hearing.
No public comment received. Hearing closed. No engineering concerns. Project approved.
4:35 Prudence Property NAPA Auto parts project.
Engineering, traffic concerns addressed. The fire chief has concerns about accidents. 8:24 Colarusso Haul Road project.
Continuation of site plan review.
9:10 Colarusso engineer Pat Prendergast
Colarusso had a final walk through Tuesday (Jul. 25) with DEC people for the permit. Asked for less grass filter strip to have woody vegetation instead. More screening between haul road and wetland. Planting plan forthcoming. No mow areas to go back to wild.
12:00 Planning Board Chairman Edward Stiffler
We did a SEQR on July 11. Prepared a positive and negative declaration and narrative about SEQR. Has anything changed?
12:56 Greenport Planning Board engineer Ray Jurkowski
Not much. The question today from Department of State, whether they need to do the review. They do not. I would like to add that to the narrative.
14:20 Does the board have questions?
Board says he's done a good job, very thorough.
14:45 Do we want to offer positive or negative declaration?
15:00 [Unidentified] Planning Board member
It's been a long time since we've gone into such depth about anything. My conclusion regarding environmental and infrastructural is that we should offer a negative review. Seconded.
16:30 Roll call vote. Unanimous negative declaration.
16:50 Stiffler
Compliments the board on professionalism and effort.
17:24 Review is complete.
17:46 Public hearing set for August 22.
18:51 Hudson Planning Board will be invited to next GPB meeting in order to share ideas.

Bill Williams is reporting for WCTW-FM, The Cat, the Animalkind cat rescue facility in Hudson was recently exposed to a case of rabies. One cat was found to be positive for the viral disease that causes inflammation of the brain in mammals. The Columbia County Department of Health was called in to handle the exposure. According to a statement released by the department, Animalkind management and staff cooperated with the investigation. The shelter has agreed to close for 10 days in order to monitor and protect the animals housed there. "Anyone who may have had exposure to the cat has been identified and [was] either cleared or [is] receiving [a] post-exposure rabies vaccine. One cat does not indicate a rabies outbreak," the county of Department of Health said. The county Department of Health hosts rabies clinic throughout the year at no charge to county residents. Dates and times for the clinics can be found at Columbia County NY [dot] com, or by calling (518) 828-3358. Read the full at 985thecat.iheart.com.

The Times Union is reporting state officials are asking swimming pool owners to be on the look out for a tree-killing invasive beetle when they clean their pool filters. The Department of Environmental Conservation is conducting its annual Asian long-horned beetle swimming pool survey through Aug. 30. This is the time of year when the insects are active outside of the trees they are infesting. Volunteers are asked to check pool filters and skimmers and submit pictures of suspected Asian long-horned beetles to the DEC. The invasive species has killed hundreds of thousands of trees nationwide, including maple trees in New York City and on Long Island. More information and photos of the beetles are available on the DEC's ALB page at DEC [dot] NY [dot] gov. Read the full story in the Times Union.

Matthew Hamilton reported at Capitol Confidential Gov. Andrew Cuomo Tue., Jul. 25, signed into law a bill that bans the use of electronic cigarettes on school grounds. The bill is the latest effort by state lawmakers to curb the use of e-cigarettes, which have risen in popularity. Lawmakers also voted this year to add e-cigarettes to the Clean Indoor Air Act, which would ban vaping indoors at places like bars and restaurants. Cuomo contends the prohibition will make it harder for children to get e-cigarettes and reinforces the state’s effort to prevent childhood and teenage smoking. In addition to banning e-cigarettes from school property, e-cigarettes are also prohibited on buses and other vehicles that transport children or school employees. Read the full story at Capitol Confidential.