Here's the week in the news for Rep. John Faso (R-Kinderhook), the District 19 Congressman for the WGXC listening area. Click here to download or play an audio version of this report.

• The Catskill Republicans reported on Twitter Sat., Jun. 17, that U.S. Rep. John Faso was in Catskill for a community event that day, but the first-term Republican's public schedule noted no such appearance. Catskill Republicans tweeted that Faso was attending their Catskill Grillin and Chillin Community BBQ cookout in the Bronson Street parking lot in Catskill. Faso's schedule, according to his website, only included appearances at the Meredith Dairy Fest and the Bovina Valley Farm Tour. Previous local Congressional representatives, such as Democrat Scott Murphy and Republican Chris Gibson, included their complete schedule of community events online.

• Cayla Harris is reporting in the Times Union on mounting concerns that with opioid deaths on the rise nationwide, proposed cuts to Medicaid would prove harmful, or even fatal for many. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a more than 20 percent increase in opioid-related deaths statewide between 2014 and 2015 in New York. U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko said Medicaid funds are crucial to those seeking treatment for substance abuse disorders. The Amsterdam Democrat said the House-approved American Health Care Act, which proposes $880 billion in cuts to the Medicaid program over 10 years, would have "devastating consequences." Medicaid provides addicts the ability to access previously out-of-reach health care services. "Rollbacks on Medicaid expansion would exacerbate a public health crisis into a state of emergency,'' said Stephanie Campbell, the executive director of Friends of Recovery-New York. Representative John Faso supported the American Health Care Act. He said in a statement that Congress has approved billions for opioid treatment through various pieces of legislation. "I'm confident that there will remain sufficient resources through Medicaid which, when combined with these other specific appropriations, will fund treatment options," he said. Read the full story in the Times Union.

• The Catskill Mountain News reports that Rep. John Faso (R-Kinderhook) will make a rare public appearance July 7 at the Roxbury Arts Center in Roxbury. Faso, unlike Scott Murphy and Chris Gibson, the Democrat and Republican that previously represented the area, has not held any traditional town hall meetings. When he does appear at a public event, he only announces the event a few hours before on his website. Protesters have turned out at most publicly-announced Faso appearances since he took office in January. This event is put on by the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce, part of their “First Friday” breakfast series. Anyone who wants to attend must register in advance at delawarecounty.org or calling 607-746-2281. Read the full story in The Catskill Mountain News.

• As Republicans in Washington D.C. are about to reveal some details of their proposed new healthcare plan, Richard Moody in the Register-Star surveys local health officials and advocates who are universally opposed to what they know of the plan. "We’re very concerned about the American Health Care Act. The majority of Columbia Memorial Hospital patients rely on government insurance programs to pay for their care — disproportionately so compared to many other hospitals — which means that policy changes can have a very real impact here in our communities," hospital spokesman William Van Slyke said. "CMH and all providers are increasingly challenged with maintaining services under a reimbursement structure that fails to cover costs or keep pace with inflationary factors." The story also quotes National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson. "The correlation between a strong Medicaid program and the success of rural hospitals has become evident during the influx of rural hospital closures over the last six years," Johnson wrote in a letter to Congress. "Seventy-eight rural hospitals have closed since 2010 with over 80 percent of those located in states that opted out of the Medicaid expansion. With another 673 hospitals at risk of closure, the AHCA’s proposed Medicaid cap could have devastating consequences for rural communities." Dain Pascocello, Rep. John Faso’s chief of staff, had a different view. "The ACA is collapsing in many parts of the nation and New York has seen precipitous increases in premiums and deductibles. Standing by and doing nothing is not an alternative for Congressman Faso." Read the full story in the Register-Star.

• Matthew Hamilton reports in Capitol Confidential that the Republican Senate healthcare plan was unveiled June 22, and it includes an amendment from Rep. John Faso (R-Kinderhook). The amendment shifts $2.3 billion in Medicaid costs from counties to cost the state, and Faso crows that property tax bills would go down. When New York raises taxes in response, though, the poor who don't own homes will get a tax increase without any break elsewhere. On June 21, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said middle class New Yorkers could expect a 26 percent tax increase if the Faso-Collins provision becomes law. "Republicans in New York who voted for the House bill sent a clear message that they'd rather be puppets to ultra conservatives in Washington than protect the nearly three million New Yorkers who will lose their health care coverage because of this bill," Cuomo wrote in an email on June 21. "And now the Senate is ready to double-down on this disaster — despite the fact that the latest polls show only 17 percent of people support the AHCA." Faso is yet to engage Cuomo on the issue since the bill was unveiled, but in March said, "The 'cuts' which Mr. Cuomo suggests are an intentional effort to sow fear among vulnerable populations in our state.... The state has until 2020 to plan for takeover of Medicaid costs from counties and there is ample room in the state budget to cut spending by 1.5 percent to pay its fair share of Medicaid." New York Senator Chuck Schumer also commented on the proposal. "President Trump called the House healthcare bill, 'mean.' The @SenateGOP came out with their plan today. It's not mean. It's meaner." Hours after text of the bill was released, at least four Republican senators announced they would not vote for it as written, enough to block it in that chamber. And also just after the text was released, Cuomo also announced a series of panels about the plan, including a 6 p.m. June 26 panel at the Hudson Opera House, which now calls itself Hudson Hall, at 327 Warren Street. Read the full story in Capitol Confidential.

Here are some stories from the Hudson River this week. Click here to hear an audio version of this report.

• The Stevens Institute reports temperatures this week in the Hudson River at Schodack Island have been between 72 and 76 degrees.

• William J. Kemble reports in The Daily Freeman that in the final moments of the New York legislature, the the state senate passed a bill 61-1 giving New York the authority to establish “tanker avoidance zones” on the lower Hudson River. The Coast Guard has been holding hearings about possible anchorage sites for large barges on the Hudson River this year, and this bill might shut that process down if signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. State Sen. Sue Serino (R-Hyde Park) and State Sen. George Amedore (R-Rotterdam) sponsored and co-sponsored the bill, which was introduced in the Assembly by Didi Barrett (D-Hudson) where it passed 93-2. Paul Gallay, president of the environmental protection group Riverkeeper, said the state legislation, “gives the Hudson River, and all who care about it, new momentum in the fight against current attempts to expand the industrial use of the river, particularly for crude oil transport.” Cuomo has not said whether he will sign the bill. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

• Nina Schutzman reports in the Poughkeepsie Journal that a woman's body, possibly a suicide, was recovered from the Hudson River "just south of Kaal Rock" in the City of Poughkeepsie June 17, according to the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office. Kaal Rock Point is near Victor C. Waryas Park. The police haven't identified the body yet.

• The Environmental Protection Agency is holding one of just two public hearings on whether there needs to be more removal of PCBs from the Hudson River or not June 28 in Poughkeepsie. The hearing will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel in the Terrace Ballroom at 40 Civic Center Plaza, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601. Written comments can be sent to the EPA no later than September 1, 2017 to:
Gary Klawinski, Director
EPA Region 2, Hudson River Office
187 Wolf Road, Suite 303
Albany, NY 12205
Email: epahrfo@outlook.com

• Heavy rains earlier in the week meant more sewer discharges into the Hudson River. On June 19, the Village of Coxsackie Wastewater Treatment Facility had an eight-hour sewage discharge into the river. The same day, the City of Hudson Wastewater Treatment Facility had a 12-hour sewage discharge into the river.

Richard Moody in the Register-Star reports that former U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson (R-Kinderhook) spoke June 22 at the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel about the healthcare plan being debated in Washington D.C. Taking questions after his speech, he was asked about healthcare. “I think both parties are in denial. The partisan Democrats believe this system is going to work but we have seen the percentage of counties with one insurer go from 7 percent to 32 percent in one year’s time,” Gibson said. “The Republicans think they are going to replace this with only Republican policy. They didn’t learn anything from what happened in 2010. How can you be surprised if the Congressional Budget Office comes out and doesn’t score it well.” He is not hopeful. “Republican-only plans are not going to get enacted and I think ultimately we are going to need real leadership that says, ‘We are going to have to do this together,’” Gibson said. “If we don’t do anything, we are going to continue to see the degradation of the kind of health care we want to have.” Read the full story in the Register-Star.

William J. Kemble reports in The Daily Freeman that State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman spoke to about 115 anti-Trump activists in Kingston at City Hall for Citizens Action of New York June 22. “What’s very clear is that people here and people all across America clearly are fed up with the status quo from both the Democratic and Republican parties,” Schneiderman, a Democrat, said. Schneiderman has prosecuted the president over Trump University, with Trump agreeing to pay $25 million to former customers of a real estate course. He told activists upset with the president to work locally. “The first line of defense and the first line of progressive change in the Trump era really is to be active at the state level,” Schneiderman said. “State governors, attorneys general, legislatures are going to be tremendously important. So never take your eye off that ball as we move forward.” Schneiderman refused to take non-screened questions from the audience or press at the event. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

Melanie Lekocevic reports in the Ravena News-Herald that town officials are talking to state officials about lowering speed limits on Route 144 and Route 9W in Coeymans. Town Supervisor Philip Crandall said, “About two weeks ago, town officials met with the Department of Transportation and an engineer from DOT. I brought up Routes 144 and 9W. I asked why we have to wait until someone dies before something is done.” Currently, there is a 55 mph speed limit on both roads, and Crandall prefers it be 45 mph. “At least once a week, sometimes daily, people talk to me about this,” Town Councilman Tom Dolan said. “They want the speed limits lowered.” Read the full story in the Ravena News-Herald.

Debby Mayer reports in The Columbia Paper that Otto’s Market in Germantown will shift from Otto Leuschel to Noah Bernamoff June 30. “I’m so happy about Noah,” Leuschel said about the new owner.” He’ll take the store great places. I spent some time with him at the store in the beginning of June, and I can’t wait to visit later and see what he does. Leuschel has moved to Washington state, working at Whole Foods, and looking after his mother. Otto's Market opened in 2008 and Germantown Variety in 2012. The Germantown Variety space has now been divided in two, with a coffee bar and a woodworker’s shop moving in. The new owner Bernamoff, 34, is from Montreal and then Brooklyn, where he opened the Mile End Deli in 2010 with his wife. They rented a second home in Ulster County until they recently bought a house in the town. He said, “we want Otto’s to be a one-stop shop—produce, butcher, quick coffee, baked goods, sandwich, or a supper of meatloaf, a vegetable and a slice of pie. Simple but super delicious.” Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

The WGXC Radios in Motion 2017 Spring Pledge Drive continues. WGXC programmers, volunteers and staff must raise $20,000 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. Thank you for supporting creative community radio in New York's Greene and Columbia counties.

Local weather forecast:
TODAY: Mostly sunny, with a high near 79, and a low around 57.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
SUNDAY: There is a 30 percent chance of showers after 2 p.m., but it is more likely to be mostly sunny with a high near 78. Sunday night, partly cloudy with a low around 54.
MONDAY: There is a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 2 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 71.

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local news update for Fri., Jun. 23 (4:08). (Produced by Alanna Medlock.)