Stories that made the news (Apr. 3 to Apr. 5) in Columbia and Greene counties:
W.T. Eckert reports in The Daily Mail Republican George Amedore declared his candidacy for the new 46th Senate District seat, Wed., Apr. 4 in Windham. He currently serves as assemblyman for the 105th District. During the announcement, Amedore cited his “experience as a business owner in the private sector and the need to reform state government for the sake of small business and tourism,” as the cornerstones of his candidacy. According to Eckert, Amedore said “Albany needs people with practical, private sector business experience.” Read the full story in The Daily Mail.
Tom Casey reports in the Register Star alleged Hudson City Hall break-in suspect Jamont McClendon was apprehended by city police Tues., Apr. 2. Following receipt of an anonymous tip, McClendon was taken into custody at 229 B State St, on the city’s north side. He was arrested on a superior court warrant for third-degree burglary and arraigned the following day. McClendon was remanded without bail to the Columbia County Jail by Judge Jonathan Nichols. Casey reports the second suspect in the case, Quintin Cross, is still at large. Read the full story in the Register Star. [Editor's note: Up until the time of his disappearance, Cross was an active WGXC 90.7-FM volunteer.)
The Columbia County Board of Supervisors is moving $50 million in county funds from Bank of America to the Bank of Greene County, writes Nathan Mayberg in the Register Star. County Treasurer PJ Keeler announced the decision Tues., Apr. 3, during the Board of Supervisors’ Finance Committee meeting. Keeler told the committee the move will result in an additional $70,000 to $100,000 in interest revenue to the county. The county is expected to move an additional $15 million in public funds to Kinderhook Bank, as well, as part of a new investment policy. Read the full story in the Register Star.
The Hudson City School District budget gap may be more than expected, Audra Jornov writes in the Register Star. At a previously unscheduled Budget Committee meeting, Wed., Apr. 4, Interim Business Manager Jack McKinney announced a potential accounting discrepancy that could add up to a budget shortfall of $2.5 million, $1.2 million more than previously thought. According to Jornov’s report, there appeared to be confusion over how grant-funded positions are accounted for. Out-going Superintendent John F. Howe promised to work “the entire day with the budget,” Thurs., Apr. 5, and “to try and find the mistakes.” Read the full story in the Register Star.
The new owner of the former site of the Wormuth Brothers Foundry in Athens may be preparing the property for new commercial activity and that could be a problem, reports Melanie Lekocevic in The Daily Mail. The property was purchased by the new owner in 2010. While commercial use of the property was permissible when the foundry was operational, after sitting dormant for more than a year, it is now zoned for residential use, only. Town attorney Carl Whitbeck recently advised “that as long as the town could prove the land hadn’t been used commercially for one year, they could block any form of commercial use.” Because it is unclear how the property is being used, the town board agreed action needs to be taken. “Whitbeck said he would begin compiling the proof the town would need,” Lekocevic writes. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.
Tom Casey reports in the Register Star the rate of unemployment in Columbia and Greene counties increased in February, according to data recently released by the state Department of Labor. The DoL reported the rate in Columbia County rose to 8.5 percent, up from 8.4 in January; in Greene County the rate rose to 9.8 percent, up from 9.6 percent in January. A total of 2,500 Columbia County residents are out of work; in Greene County that number is 2,400. The statewide average is 9.2 percent, up from 8.6 percent in February 2011. Read the full story in the Register Star.
In its April issue, Hudson Valley Magazine named Chatham and Athens two of its “7 Top Towns: Best Places to Live in the Hudson Valley in 2012.” Writers Barbara Ballinger and Sara Greenberg call Athens, “a riverfront jewel…perched in a prime spot.” They include its proximity to Albany and the ski resorts in Hunter and Windham, along with “an almost unheard-of mix of 18th- and 19th-century homes,” as major selling points. Chatham, Ballinger and Greenberg write, “is so downright cute that the Berkshires often claim it as their own. While it may be small and difficult to reach without a car…its primo location between Albany, New York and Boston ensures that Chatham continues to thrive.” Other towns on the annual list: Saugerties, Beacon, Rhinebeck, Goshen and Carmel. Read the full story in Hudson Valley Magazine.
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