Patricia Doxsey is reporting for the Daily Freeman residents in attendance at a recent Ulster County Legislature public hearing gave that county's proposed ban on single-use plastic shopping bags a thumbs up. Three of the 22 people who spoke opposed the new local law now under consideration. Two of the three included the head of the New York State Association of Convenience Stores and the store director of Shop Rite in Kingston. “This law would turn convenience stores into inconvenience stores,” said James Calvin, the president of the New York State Association of Convenience Stores. The majority of speakers, however, said the plastic bags are a scourge to the environment and a ban is “long overdue.” If adopted, the proposed Bring Your Own Bag Act would ban the use of all single-use plastic bags in Ulster County, would require stores to charge five cents for recyclable paper bags provided to customers and would fine stores that violate the law. The proposal will now go back to the Legislature’s Energy and Environment Committee for consideration. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.