Tiffany Greenwaldt-Simon

Officials continue to spar over proposed Hillsdale roadwork

“The cost of the chip sealing to the Hillsdale taxpayers is going to be zero for these roads, and the gravel that has been purchased via these vouchers,” he said.“What I’ve observed, being a resident here for 11 years, is that when roads are chip sealed, they look like country gravel roads for a season, maybe a season and a half,” she said. “And then they pretty much look like a normal paved road.”“The winding dirt road I grew up on is part of who I am at my core,” she said. “I believe it inform...

Verizon presents plans for proposed Valatie cell tower

The proposed cell phone tower would be located behind the village’s office building at 3211 Church St., on property owned by the municipality. The 125-foot tower would provide cell phone service from Verizon Wireless to all of the village and some parts of the surrounding areas.“Walk down Main Street, pull your phone out, if you have Verizon Wireless then you don’t need to see the graphs,” Scott Olson, an attorney representing Verizon from Young/Sommer LLC, said during the meeting. “We’re here,...

Greene sales tax collections up in 2024, Columbia's fall

“There’s a couple of things (it’s attributable to), we have a strong economy with low unemployment,” Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden said Friday. “A little bit of the irony is that we had inflationary practices in 2024. Grocery prices are going up, commodity prices are going up, and the sales tax goes up, as well. The biggest contributing factor is internet sales. We don’t have a mall, but people are still shopping and car sales are still strong.”From January through March last year, th...

State DEC OKs Iroquois pipeline expansion

In January 2024, the state Department of Environmental Conservation requested input from the state Department of Public Service on the need for the project. The Department of Public Service assessed the proposed project, and in February 2024 determined the expansion was necessary to make sure National Grid and Con Edison could continue providing safe and adequate gas service to customers in downstate New York, according to the DEC’s website.According to the DEC decision, the pipeline is subjecte...

Ex-Columbia County public defender killed in ski accident remembered

Colwell was a Columbia County resident before opening the Colwell Law Group with his partner and wife Mary Colwell in 2005. While living in Columbia County, Colwell worked as an assistant public defender at the Columbia County Public Defender’s Office from 1998 through 2000.Linville reflected on Colwell’s time at the county’s public defender’s office, and said he was always well-read on new cases that came into the office, and “viscous” in defense.“I was appalled to learn he died,” he said. “He...

Chatham solar law focus of public meeting

“Because of some of the activities in the surrounding communities and locally, where we’re starting to see more and more applications for larger solar installations happening in the area, the town felt we needed to put a temporary moratorium on things until we can get a solar law established,” Michael Allen, a planner at ReGrowth Planning, said during the meeting Saturday.“We would have something in the code or the town board would have the ability to prohibit somebody coming in and getting many...

Child care sector affected by costs, lack of providers

In 2023, the average median wage for individuals working in the child care sector was $38,234 per year, equating to $18.38 per hour, according to the comptroller’s report. Wages in the industry have increased 40.1% since 2017, but consistent low wages “often lead” to high turnover in the industry, or not enough workers are attracted to working in the child care industry, according to the report.“We do that on purpose,” she said, “These folks are providing the front-line services that many famili...

Family wins $1.5M in Columbia Memorial wrongful death suit

On Oct. 19, the day before his death, Paul Arndt was helped to the commode in his room by two nurse's aides at Columbia Memorial Health. After he was placed on the commode, the second aide pulled a curtain back to give Paul Arndt privacy and left the room. At the time, the first nurse's aide stayed in the room, but broke eye contact with Paul Arndt and was facing a window at the time of the incident.

On Oct. 19, the day before his death, Paul Arndt was helped to the commode in his room by two n...

JOANN's Greenport location to close

The company announced the store closures Wednesday after filing a court motion seeking authority to close 500 of the retailer's locations in the United States. The company has over 800 stores across the country.“This was a very difficult decision to make, given the major impact we know it will have on our Team Members, our customers, and all the communities we serve,” a spokesperson for JOANN said in a statement.No closing dates for any of the stores on the company's list were released, but the...

Nonprofit pharmacy cancels plans for New Lebanon opening

The town also gave the company Wellness Rx $40,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds toward the project for startup costs, Houghtling said, which may have to be given back if the company notifies the town that it will not be going through with the project.“We do have an agreement that if they were unsuccessful in bringing a pharmacy here, the town would get its money back,” she said. “I’m hoping for a response from them, and that we can come to an amenable conclusion and we can say it di...

EPA to fund $5M Catskill water line expansion

The funding from the agency’s Superfund program, which provides money to clean up Superfund sites through the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will allow for the village to cover the costs of the second phase of the expansion of the village’s water line to the Country Estates Mobile Home Park in South Cairo, according to a written statement from the Greene County Legislature.Following the meeting, the EPA began working with the town and village of Catskill, town of Cairo, the county, as well...

Columbia County supervisor members join fight over birthright citizenship

The executive order claims the 14th Amendment does not extend to individuals born to parents who are not citizens of the United States or permanent residents, or when parents were lawfully in the country on temporary visas.The motion asks for the court to block Trump’s executive order, arguing that it is unconstitutional and against American values. The county supervisors were some of the 100 local government officials who added their names to the motion, according to a press release.“I think th...

Union ratifies four-year pact with Columbia Memorial

“For more than a year, CMH has been advocating to advance a contract that respects our team’s expertise and our mission to the people we serve,” Columbia Memorial Health President and CEO Dorothy Urschel said in a press release. “We are thrilled to reach an agreement that provides our employees the wages and benefits they have earned and deserve. The robust enhancements we put on the table will also allow us to advance our continuing commitment to grow our workforce and our mission. It is time f...

Carrie Weiser granted new hearing after Catskill murder conviction

The abuse would also have to be found to be a “significant” contributing factor to the crime, and the judge trying the case would have to find the sentence for the crime to be overly harsh, according to the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence.“It is interesting to note that Weiser’s attorneys take the position that their client is innocent of the murder; but allege that, if she did, in fact, commit the murder, it was due to the fact that she was a victim of domestic violence,” he...

Verizon presents plans for proposed Valatie cell tower

The proposed cell phone tower would be located behind the village’s office building at 3211 Church St., on property owned by the municipality. The 125-foot tower would provide cell phone service from Verizon Wireless to all of the village and some parts of the surrounding areas.“Walk down Main Street, pull your phone out, if you have Verizon Wireless then you don’t need to see the graphs,” Scott Olson, an attorney representing Verizon from Young/Sommer LLC, said during the meeting. “We’re here,...

ICE raids on the rise in Columbia, Greene counties

A Columbia County-based immigrant ally nonprofit organization has reported an increase in reports of federal immigration raids, the organization's co-executive director said Monday.“We’re seeing a lot of reports of raids, but we’ve only been able to verify what we’ve posted about publicly,” Columbia County Sanctuary Movement co-Executive Director Bryan MacCormack said. “There are certainly others that we’re not hearing about.”The increased reports of immigration raids by U.S. Immigration and Cus...

Utilities watch for Canadian tariff impacts

Utility providers in the state are evaluating potential energy impacts as tariffs against Canada and China are set to take effect Tuesday.President Donald Trump announced his plans to charge a 25% tariff on Mexico, Canada, and China on Feb. 1. Energy resources, such as electricity and natural gas, which are imported from Canada, will be subject to a 10% tariff, according to a press release from the White House.The tariffs on Canada and China are set to take effect Tuesday. The tariffs against Me...

Union, Columbia Memorial reach tentative contract agreement

Members of 1199SEIU had been negotiating with hospital administration for a year, and are expected to vote on the approval of the new contract early next week.If approved, the new contract would include a 22.25% raise for over 750 members of 1199SEIU over the next four years. The contract also includes a new $18 per hour minimum wage for union workers at Columbia Memorial Health, according to a press release from the union.Pay increases for the first two years of the contract will be retroactive...

Hudson to pay back $10k in utility expenses for senior center

HUDSON — A Common Council member has expressed concern over supervision at the city’s senior center after a resolution was passed by the council last week to pay overdue utility bills for the center.According to the resolution, passed unanimously Jan. 21 by the Common Council, the senior center owed $10,801 in utility expenses in the common spaces leased from the Galvan Foundation at the Hudson Area Library, 51 North Fifth St. The invoices for the expenses went back to 2021.Fifth Ward Councilmem...

Hillsdale residents plan event to protest paving of roads

HILLSDALE — A group of residents in the town plan to host a demonstration against the potential paving of two roads.The group wants two roads in the town, Appletree Lane and Texas Hill Road, to remain unpaved gravel surfaces. However, the town plans to chip seal the two roads in August as one of a number of projects planned by the municipality's Highway Department.Chip sealing a road refers to placing an adherent on the surface of an unpaved road and reapplying pieces of gravel to the adherent....

Galvan Housing to take over Crosswinds at Hudson

HUDSON — The affordable housing complex Crosswinds at Hudson will be acquired by Galvan Housing Resources as part of an agreement between the owners of the property and the nonprofit organization, according to a letter sent to residents of the complex.Construction on the 70-unit affordable housing complex began in 2007 and was completed in 2008. Through the development of the property, Housing Resources of Columbia County, now Galvan Housing Resources, was given the right to eventually acquire C...

Chatham train derailment interrupts CSX operations

CHATHAM — Train operations in the village have resumed following the derailment of a CSX train last night, the company said in a statement Friday. At about 7:30 p.m. Thursday night, a CSX train derailed an empty flat car near Main Street in the village of Chatham, according to the company.“The railcar has been moved and normal train operations have resumed,” CSX said in a statement. “The cause is under investigation.”According to a Facebook post from the Chatham Fire Department, Columbia County...

Mill Street residents speak out against planned housing project

HUDSON — Residents of Mill Street have raised concerns over a proposed affordable-housing development on a vacant parcel of land on the street.The project, Mill Street Lofts, was first proposed by Kearney Realty & Development Group to the Hudson Planning Board in July, to be built on a vacant parcel of land on Mill Street.The parcel of land is located across from residences and near the entrance of the Empire State Trail and the city’s Charles Williams Park. In September, the planning board gave...

Plea deal offered in Copake vehicular manslaughter case; Mechanicville man killed

A potential plea deal for Alan Ingraham, the Copake man charged with vehicular manslaughter following a fatal accident on Route 23 last May, was detailed in Columbia County Court on Monday.Ingraham, 75, was charged with second-degree vehicular manslaughter, a class D felony, and driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor, for his involvement in the car accident that killed Christopher Simmons, 29, of Mechanicville.Ingraham was also charged with two traffic violations: operating a motor vehicle wit...
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