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Local schools, though closed, are continuing to provide sustenance to students — food and social services for those who need it as well as remote teaching.

Some local businesses have had to completely alter how they do things after new general- and business-related coronavirus guidance coming from both the state and federal governments this week.

“We need to start thinking about regional impacts because, in my opinion, this proposal really kills home rule,” Guilderland's planner told the town board recently about an amendment placed into the proposed budget by Governor Andrew Cuomo.

As coronavirus cases continue to climb in Albany County and vital services are shut down in response, children and seniors in the Hilltowns are vulnerable not only to the virus, but to hunger. To remedy this, the Berne Youth Council, Berne Library, and Berne-Knox-Westerlo School District are working together to deliver meals and groceries to these at-risk populations.

The financial crippling that is spreading along with the coronavirus has led the state to suspend debt collection for at least 30 days, starting today.

Witnesses called by Sharf Din, who acted as his own attorney, did not dispute the evidence and acknowledged the violation was longstanding and still ongoing, wrote Town Justice Denise Randall in her decision. Din’s witnesses offered various cultural and psychological explanations for Din’s behavior, she wrote, but “an explanation for illegal behavior is not the same as a defense.”