Richard Moody in The Daily Mail reports that when John Faso (R-Kinderhook) voted for the recent version of the Republican healthcare plan, he didn't wait for the Congressional Budget Office to release a report on the proposal. Now the CBO says 23 million Americans will lose health insurance under the plan, and many more could have much higher costs if any states opt out of certain provisions. “I do not agree with the CBO’s analysis as to losses of insurance coverage and specifically do not agree with their belief that some states will seek the waiver option permitted under the legislation,” Faso said. “I intend to fully review the contents of the report, just as I reviewed the initial analysis of the underlying elements of the American Health Care Act prior to its passage.” Under the plan, states are allowed waivers for required minimum standards of coverage and insurers are allowed to set premiums on the basis of an individual’s health if that person had a lapse in coverage. "People who are less healthy, including those with pre-existing or newly acquired medical conditions, would ultimately be unable to purchase comprehensive nongroup health insurance at premiums comparable to those under current law," the CBO report says. But Faso then says the report that is about one thing -- the new proposal -- should have been about something else -- the current Affordable Care Act law. “The CBO also ignores the fact that the ACA exchanges are unraveling in many parts of the nation. The key in my mind is to lower premiums and deductibles while maintaining protections for those with pre-existing conditions,” Faso said Thursday. “I expect the Senate to improve on the House-passed bill on both counts and I look forward to continuing to work to improve the health insurance system for all Americans.” Protesters turned out in the rain May 25 at Faso's Kinderhook office to protest his healthcare position. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.

Diane Valden reports in The Columbia Paper that Columbia County Acting Supreme Court Judge Jonathan Nichols again kept Salvatore Cascino in jail May 18 for not cleaning up his Copake property. He has been in jail for over 270 days for his failure to obey the part of the court order mandating removal of 9,650 cubic yards of illegally dumped solid waste from his 300-acre Copake property. After lawyers proved to the judge's satisfaction that the material had not been removed, he ruled Cascino stay imprisoned, at least until an August 9 hearing. Cascino has battled local officials for 19 years with violations of federal, state, and town laws for illegal dumping, building, and excavating in Copake. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

The Register Star reports that the Ichabod Crane softball team plays for the state Class B championship May 27. The game was originally scheduled for May 26, but heavy rains made field conditions unsafe. The second-ranked Ichabod Crane team beat third-ranked Schalmont 5-1 May 24 in the Section II, Class B varsity softball semifinals. The 16-2 Lady Riders face the top-ranked Cohoes team in Ballston Spa at 5 p.m. at Luther Forest (Field 2) for the state championship. Sixth-ranked Greenville also faces fifth-ranked Lake George in the state Class C softball championship May 27. The Greenville Lady Spartans are attempting a repeat after winning last year's title. Read the full story in the Register Star.

The Daily Freeman reports on closings for Memorial Day, Mon., May 29.

Amtrak: Holiday schedule
Banks: Closed
County offices: Closed
Federal offices: Closed
Financial markets: Closed
Greene County Transit: No service
Mail delivery: None
Metro-North: Sunday Schedule
Schools: Closed
State offices: Closed
Trailways: Holiday schedule

DOWNLOAD or PLAY the audio version of the local news headlines for Fri., May 26 (8:12). (Produced by Philip Grant.)

Emilia Teasdale is reporting in The Columbia Paper the towns of Chatham and Ghent have been awarded state grants to install electric car charging stations in the village of Chatham. The stations will be located within the village, which straddles both towns. One charging station will be installed in the Main Street parking lot co-owned by the town and village of Chatham, and the second in the village parking lot off Park Row, located within the town of Ghent. It is not clear how many electric cars will use the chargers. The state Department of Environmental Conservation grants provide funding for installation costs, plus two years of electricity costs incurred by the charging stations. The total cost of the project is $16,000; the state will pay 80 percent and the town pays the remaining 20 percent. Once the contract with the DEC is signed, the stations will be ready to charge cars within six months. There are 757 electric stations and 1,572 charging outlets available to the general public in New York. The town of Greenport has the only other public charging station in the county, at present. It is located in the parking lot of Kohl's Hudson on Fairview Avenue. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.

Brian Nearing is reporting in the Times Union federal officials have one week left to grade the success of General Electric's effort to remove toxic PCBs from the Hudson River. In the meantime, elected officials and environmental activists are telling the Environmental Protection Agency the river cleanup is far from finished. U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and U.S. representatives Paul Tonko and Nita Lowey, Sean Maloney and Eliot Engle of the Hudson Valley area, wrote to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt this week urging the agency to consider complaints made last year by the state Department of Environmental Conservation that too many PCBs remain. The letter advised the EPA to weigh DEC data that shows the remedy as prescribed is not "protective of human health and the environment." The letter further warned that "New Yorkers must not be left holding the bag for contamination that will render the Hudson River a Superfund site for generations to come." Under federal Superfund pollution rules, the EPA must review the effectiveness of its cleanup projects every five years. The federal agency had expected to issue its five-year review of the Hudson River clean-up in April, well in advance of a June 1 deadline. On Wed., May 24, an EPA spokesperson said no date for release of the report has been set. The current draft report runs to 900 pages and is still being revised. Read the full story in the Times Union.

The Affordable Housing Hudson citizens’ action group held a forum on the subject Thu., May 25 at the Hudson Area Library. Jason O'Toole, a local real estate broker and director of property management for the Galvan Initiatives Foundation said the group will create between 20 and 25 affordable one- or two-bedroom units per year for the next three years in Hudson. Others at the forum questioned O'Toole over accusations that Galvan "warehouses" properties. Click here to download or play the full recording of the meeting from Jess Puglisi of WGXC.

New York Magazine reports that the Congressional Budget Office reported May 24 that 23 million Americans would lose health insurance coverage under the latest Republican healthcare plan over the next ten years, as compared to current law. At Capitol Confidential Matthew Hamilton reports that a new poll shows the GOP plan is very unpopular in New York. Only ten percent of statewide voters want the Senate to pass the American Health Care Act in its current House form, according to the Sienna College poll. The CBO report also estimated that if states seek waivers to strip the current healthcare plan's “essential health benefits” that will ramp up costs dramatically. Local Rep. John Faso (R-Kinderhook) voted for the first Republican healthcare plan in committee, and said in The Washington Post May 24 that no states will use the provision to deny coverage. “Frankly I doubt any state would try to take advantage of that provision,” he said. “I think that is completely out of the ballpark.” Then he said, even though he voted for the bill, of that provision, “I’m sure it will be stripped out in the Senate.”

On May 25 Rep. John Faso (R-Kinderhook) voted for the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2017 which changes the Clean Water Act to allow companies an easier time discharging pesticides in waterways. The bill passed 256-to-165, with only one Republican voting against, and 25 Democrats on board. This bill amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (also known as the Clean Water Act) to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency or a state from requiring a permit for a discharge of a pesticide into navigable waters if the discharge is approved under FIFRA.

William J. Kemble reports in The Daily Freeman that the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency's composting program is taking in a lot more food waste then it was a year ago. They've made 802.93 tons of compost during the first four months of 2017, up 213 percent. The current Department of Environmental Conservation permit limits the agency to accepting 2,000 tons of food waste per year but the state may consider increasing the limit because composting keeps food waste from the landfills. “It’s the next piece of the puzzle just like e-waste was, just like newspapers and cardboard was, it’s the next step that everybody should be doing,” operations Director Charlie Whittaker said. “The idea is to stop food waste from going to landfills, stop filling landfill space, whether it be wood chips, whether it be food waste, whether it be rock, brick and dirt.” Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.

Local weather forecast:
TODAY: Showers likely, mainly before 11 a.m. Cloudy. High near 63. Friday night, a slight chance of showers before 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy. Low around 52.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS
SATURDAY: Partly sunny. High near 69. Saturday night, a slight chance of showers. Mostly cloudy. Low around 55.
SUNDAY: A slight chance of showers. Mostly cloudy. High near 71. Sunday night, a chance of showers. Mostly cloudy. Low around 52.

Sunrise today: 5:24 a.m.
Sunset today: 8:21 p.m.
LENGTH OF THE DAY: 14:56 hrs.

PUBLIC MEETINGS
Today is the fourth Friday of the month.

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

HUDSON Historic Preservation Commission public hearing on the application for a Certificate of Appropriateness for renovations and revisions to the exterior of 205-207 Warren Street, followed by the regular meeting, 10 a.m., at City Hall, 520 Warren Street, Hudson (828-1030).

POLITICAL EVENTS
Weekly event:
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.

When a politician attacked a journalist on election eve in Montana May 24, stations across the country played the audio recording the reporter made while he was being "body-slammed," choked, and punched. But at least one station, NBC Montana affiliate KECI, refused to play the recording. Instead, the station, with a parent company recently bought by the conservative Sinclair Broadcast Group, released this statement: "NBC Montana takes pride in reporting only verifiable facts from independent reliable sources, officials and documents, regardless of what is reported by other media outlets. The only verifiable facts are what is being stated by the Gallatin County sheriff at this time." But Fox reporters in the room during the attack confirmed the journalist's account and explained the context of the audio recording. The audio recording, at that point in the story, was a verifiable fact. Tamy Wagner, KECI vice president and general manager, disagrees, telling the Huffington Post in an email that the station, “did not have specific instructions or any instruction from Sinclair,” in its handing of the story. “We do not put unverified information and audio tapes on the air in any case, political figure or not,” Wagner said.

DOWNLOAD or play the audio version of the local news update for Thursday, May 25 (3:33). (Produced by Alanna Medlock.)