Andrea Macko reports for Porcupine Soup that New York State should address extreme summertime heat conditions within Coxsackie Correctional Facility, according to an independent prison oversight group. The Correctional Association of New York reported that sweltering heat posed serious challenges to the health of both inmates and employees at the Coxsackie facility. Jennifer Scaife, executive director at CANY, said, "Our visit to Coxsackie Correctional Facility has shed light on several concerning issues within our correctional system," saying extreme heat conditions “pose serious challenges to the health and well-being of incarcerated individuals and staff.” The Correctional Association of New York met with staff and interviewed 97 inmates over the course of those two days about issues in the prison. “Numerous respondents highlighted the need for central air conditioning or fans in the buildings, and especially in their cells, where they reported that the small spaces made the air stagnant. People reported that the commissary did not have a sufficient stock of fans," the group's report said. The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision disagrees with the group's findings. They released a statement saying, “Temperatures experienced at Coxsackie Correctional Facility indoor living and work areas are appropriate to the summer and winter comfort zones.” Read more about this story at Porcupine Soup.

Roger Hannigan Gilson reports in the Times Union that Claire Cousin has announced a primary challenge to Assemblyperson Didi Barrett during a protest May 3 in the hallway outside Barrett’s Poughkeepsie office. Cousin is currently Hudson’s 1st Ward on the Columbia County Board of Supervisors and is the director of the Albany Free School, and Barrett represents parts of Columbia and Dutchess counties in the state Assembly. Cousin is also program manager of the Hudson-Catskill Housing Coalition, the vice chair of the Hudson Housing Authority’s Board of Commissioners, and on the board of the nonprofit Re-Entry Columbia, that assists incarcerated people as they leave prison. Progressives have complained about several more conservative positions Barrett has taken recently, especially around affordable housing issues, and Cousin calls her, “a conservative Democrat who’s taking up room in the state Assembly.” Last September, current Hudson Mayor Kamal Johnson said on WGXC that he is considering a primary campaign against Barrett. “I’m not ruling out running for Assembly,” Johnson said on September 15. “It’s not out of the question. I think, career-wise, that would be the next step.” Barrett did not directly comment on the Cousin announcement, but her staff sent a statement about the current legislative session, saying, “We successfully advocated for much-needed relief for ratepayers and utility customers, and funding to help New Yorkers make energy-efficient home improvements.... We included thoughtful language to electrify new construction across the state while allowing exemptions for structures and sectors that are difficult, if not impossible, to fully electrify." The primary election for Barrett would be in 2024. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Jammel Cutler reports for Columbia-Greene Media the Ichabod Crane Central School District Board of Education unanimously appointed Marie Digirolamo as superintendent, effective July 1. Suzanne Guntlow announced last October that she was stepping down as superintendent after ten years in the role. Digirolamo said, “This is a wonderful school district. My siblings are graduates, my family lived here for many years and I still have friends in the community. I look forward to working with the board, staff and families to provide the best education possible for our students and to promote a strong and unified spirit of Rider pride and community.” Digirolamo has been assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in 2019 in the Niskayuna Central School District in Schenectady County. Before that she was director of K-12 social studies/world languages/English As a New Language there. Digirolamo has also been an assistant high school principal and junior-senior high school principal at Taconic Hills Central School District, summer school assistant principal at North Colonie Central School District, and a grade 8-12 French teacher at North Colonie. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

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Roger Hannigan Gilson reports in the Times Union that the New York State Corrections Officers and Police Benevolent Association claims that seven prisoners at Coxsackie Correctional Facility were hurt in an April 23 fight they say was the result of gang rivalries. Two of the prisoners were pepper sprayed, according to the union, to stop the fight. In all, seven prisoners received minor injuries and were treated at the infirmary, one slashed by a sharpened chicken bone. The union did not report any injuries of corrections officers. The union's press release about the fight includes denouncing recent a law passed limiting solitary confinement in prisons to 15 days. But the press release does not specify how the fight was started by the law, or would not have happened without the law. Read more about this story in the Times Union.

Raymond Pignone reports for Columbia-Greene Media that there is still no news about the New York State Attorney General's investigation into the death of Jason Jones in the Catskill police station in 2021. The attorney representing the estate of Jones wrote a letter to Attorney General Letitia James asking for a status update. On May 2, Alexis Richards, a spokesperson for the Attorney General, said in an email that the investigation is continuing and that the office has no further comment at this time. Albany attorney Kevin A. Luibrand said, “The civil case is moving forward, but I sent a letter to the Attorney General asking about the status of the criminal investigation.... I expected to hear something by now.” Catskill Village police officers Mark Nazi, Daniel Goldpaugh, and Nicholas J. Craig are accused of using excessive force, failing to follow accepted police procedure, and running away rather than giving Jones medical aid in the lawsuit. Jones, a former star athlete at Catskill High, entered the Catskill Village police station, doused himself with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, and then the officers used a stun gun on him, that set him on fire. A video recording then shows the officers running away, instead of helping Jones, who had not been charged or suspected of any crime. “For approximately six minutes, the defendants saw that Jason Jones was having difficulty breathing and had sustained burns to his head, face, chest, neck, abdomen, back, arms, hands and torso,” the lawsuit alleges. Jones suffered external first-degree and second-degree burns and died in a hospital 46 days later. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

Patrick Adcroft reports for NY1 that Gov. Kathy Hochul was in New York City May 3, touting the new state budget that passed more than a month after the deadline. She was especially crowing about the crime and public safety measures in the budget. Hochul said that changes to state bail laws will give judges greater discretion when setting bail for serious crimes. Hochul also said there is $347 million in the budget meant to drive down gun violence, reduce recidivism, stymie the flow of fentanyl into the state, and improve the court system. Hochul said, “We’re not just making reactive investments, we’re being proactive.... This is what we call a holistic approach to criminal justice. We’re going to get at the root causes in these communities and find out why the young people too often are making the wrong decision. It’s about investing in those kids right from the start.” Republicans bashed Hochul on crime issues in last year's elections, and many political observers said they believed the attacks led to flipping several Congressional districts from Democrats to Republicans. Read more about this story at the NY1 website.

WNYT reports that the trial for three Rensselaer County Republican officials on ballot fraud is scheduled to begin June 26. Last week, Richard W. Crist, the county’s director of operations, James R. Gordon, director of the county’s Bureau of Central Services, and Leslie A. Wallace, a longtime political consultant listed in public records as an “assistant for constituent relations” in the office of Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin, were indicted on charges of conspiring to use their official positions to violate the constitutional rights of county employees under them, and intimidating them into requesting and filing absentee ballots. They each face up to ten years in prison if convicted of conspiracy to violate constitutional rights, while Gordon faces up to 20 years in prison for witness tampering; and Wallace could get five years in prison for making false statements. Read more about this story at the WNYT website.

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Mid-Hudson News reports that Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger says she will sign local law number two of 2023, designating affordable housing a Public Purpose and creating the legal foundation so that the county can develop, maintain, manage, and provide affordable housing. County Legislator Abe Uchitelle sponsored the law, and said, "Local Law #2 goes beyond simply affirming housing as a priority in spirit; it has laid the foundation for Ulster County to invest in groundbreaking programs that will provide new units of much-needed housing for our community.” In February, in her state of the county address, Metzger proposed a housing trust with an initial investment of $15 million to build affordable housing. Gov. Kathy Hochul, and many Hudson Valley officials, say their is an affordable housing crisis in New York. Metzger said that one in three renters in Ulster County spend more than half their income on housing. Read more about Mid-Hudson News.

Nancy Kern reports in Columbia-Greene Media that Rep. Marc Molinaro, a Republican from Dutchess County, on April 29 voted against a bill to end a two-year moratorium on duties placed on imported cells and modules used on solar farms. Most Republicans voted for the bill, but it will not pass the Democrat-controlled Senate, nor be signed by President Joe Biden. And it passed 221-to-202, which means Molinaro breaking with his party did not jeopardize the bill passing in the House of Representatives. Even though the vote was mostly theater, Molinaro said, “Repealing this moratorium could force domestic companies, including those in New York’s 19th Congressional District, to pay over $1 billion in retroactive duties, eliminate thousands of domestic jobs, and cancel planned solar projects. I broke with my own party and voted against today’s legislation because it would kneecap our advances in domestic solar energy and eliminate jobs in Upstate New York." Judging from comments included in the story, Molinaro's vote won't be popular with local Republicans, who seem opposed to solar power. Greene County Legislature Chair Patrick Linger, a Republican, said, "I do not agree that it’s used as a utility scale. I don’t think that’s the optimal use for solar." Athens Town Supervisor Michael Pirrone said, “I don’t think I agree entirely [with Molinaro] because there maybe a PILOT involved with the project, which means that on a town level, the town does not get full taxation." Republican Greene County Legislator Thomas Hobart from Coxsackie, said, “I don’t see the residents of the region benefiting from the power that would be generated and would only experience the loss of open space.” Molinaro represents the 19th Congressional District, though he lives in the 18th Congressional District. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.

The Troy Record reports that Rep. Paul Tonko introduced the New York-New Jersey Watershed Protection Act with New York Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis to protect the Hudson, Mohawk, and Raritan Rivers and their tributaries. In the Senate, all four New York and New Jersey Senators, Kirsten Gillibrand, Chuck Schumer, Cory Booker, and Bob Menendez, introduced the bill. Tonko said, “For too long, our New York-New Jersey Watershed has been grossly underfunded, despite being America’s most populated watershed.... I’ve long pushed to support this critical waterway, driving forward federal restoration efforts that will have massive ripple effects, including protecting communities from flood risks, supporting local wildlife, improving water quality, and driving economic growth." The bill would attempt to coordinate restoration efforts of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, improve water quality, increase public access to the watershed, mitigate flood risks, and provide $20,000,000 annually for watershed restoration grants through Fiscal Year 2029. Read more about this story in the Troy Record.

Jammel Cutler reports in Columbia-Greene Media that Melissa Miller, John Chandler, Christopher Scoville, Megan Pelizza, and Kelly Firmbach are running for three seats on the Ichabod Crane School District Board of Education in the May 16 election. Firmbach of Kinderhook is an incumbent seeking reelection. Miller of Kinderhook wants to emphasize special education programs. Scoville, of Kinderhook, is running as a public education advocate. Chandler and Pelizza did not sit for an interview or respond to the newspaper. Voting on the 2023-24 proposed school budget school board candidates is from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on May 16 in the Ichabod Crane high school gym. Read more about the candidates at HudsonValley360.com.

Today's daily news audio update.

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Nick Reisman reports for New York State of Politics that Gov. Kathy Hochul signed two laws May 2 expanding access to abortion in New York. The laws guarantee access to medication abortion and allow pharmacists to prescribe over-the-counter birth control. The signing comes as many other states are not allowing access to abortions. Hochul previously announced that New York will stockpile 150,000 doses of the abortion medication pill misoprostol, which judges may ban nationwide. "Our state from the beginning has launched this great fight," Hochul said during a signing ceremony at the Capitol. "We're going to do everything in our power to stop the back slide while expanding reproductive rights in our state." The New York Catholic Conference disagreed, arguing the new laws would do little to aid women and further their health care in the state, saying, "The social pressures and availability of harmful substances combine to make campus a wholly inappropriate place to offer dangerous medication to young women, some as young as 17." But abortion medication has been deemed much safer than other drugs, such as Viagra, which are not being blocked by judges. Read more about this story in New York State of Politics.

Heather Bellow reports in The Berkshire Eagle that at a marathon annual town meeting May 1 in Great Barrington, voters decided against weakening short-term rental regulations approved last year and also strengthened zoning rules to help move affordable projects along. At the nearly five-hour meeting at Monument Mountain Regional High School voters also wanted no money to go to a developer with a housing project that doesn't include enough affordable units. Residents also approved the town’s $14.6 million budget for fiscal 2024, and Great Barrington's $19.89 million share of the Berkshire Hills Regional School District budget. And residents voted 115-42 to pause installation of 5G cell phone technology for further study on exposure limits to radio frequency emissions. Most experts do not believe 5G cell service hurts anyone, and it is widely available. Read more about this story in The Berkshire Eagle.

WRGB in Albany reports that Rep. Paul Tonko held a listening session April 29 in the town of Milton in Saratoga County. Tonko wanted to hear residents opinions on the new farm bill that is being negotiated this year. But the story does not quote any residents or their opinions, only Tonko. The 20th Congressional District representative said, "Food insecurity, the need to have food on the table, the importance's of nutrition for our senior community and for sound development for our young people. So, we need to emphasize this, especially because there were proposed restrictions and roll backs in the bill recently done on the house floor in Washington. So, it just alerts me of the wrongdoing in that bill and how it relates to agriculture and nutrition." Read more about this story at the WRGB website.

Ben Mitchell reports for News10 that Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on May 2, $3 million in grants for not-for-profit land trusts across New York, including several locally. The Greene Land Trust is getting a Professional Development Grant for $78,000. The Columbia Land Conservancy receives Catalyst Grants worth $115,200. And the Rensselaer Plateau Alliance was awarded a Capacity Grant for $23,100 and Transaction Grants, worth $48,500. Hochul said of the grants, “Land conservation is essential in New York’s fight to mitigate climate change and protect our state’s unparalleled natural resources.... Supporting the critical work of land trusts across the state will bring us closer to our goal of safeguarding 30 percent of public land in New York by 2030, ensuring future generations will have access to green space and protected natural habitats.” Read more about this story at the News10 website.