Archive » July 2020 » News

As New York attempts to protect itself from an influx of COVID-19 by adding 10 more states to its travel-advisory list, Albany County has another uptick in local cases.

RENSSELAERVILLE — The Rensselaerville Historical Society is hosting an art show, starting this weekend, at the Grist Mill on the hamlet’s Main Street.

Twenty-five artists will have their works on display. 

ALBANY COUNTY — The county had just one new case of COVID-19 yesterday after a week of upticks.

Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday said, “You look across the regions of the state, we see good news all across the regions. No warning signs or no trouble spots.”

Knox and Berne have each signed an agreement that allows Berne’s dog-control officer, Jody Jansen, to shelter dogs in Knox’s kennel while Berne renovates its own Switzkill Farm kennel. 

Seven of today’s 17 new COVID-19 cases in Albany County are linked to a Fourth of July party in several backyards on Hudson Avenue, bringing the total number of positives from that party to 22.

Bozenkill Road, which connects the town of Knox to the village of Altamont, will reopen at the end of July upon the completion of a million-dollar bridge repair, said Mary Roazak, spokeswoman for the Albany County executive.

Counties have been running COVID-19 testing facilities, tracing contacts, managing quarantine, “leading a 24/7 emergency response” as well as providing food assistance to families and seniors in need and schoolchildren, said Stephen Acquario, executive director of the New York State Association of Counties. At the same time counties are providing these essential, but often not budgeted services, Acquario said, they have “faced an economic quadruple threat.”

Another 13 Albany County residents tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, including four linked to a Fourth of July party in Albany, bringing that total to 15.

Albany County is dealing with a growing cluster of COVID-19 cases from a Fourth of July gathering where party-goers didn’t wear masks and didn’t keep their distance.

Michelle Moczulski

BETHLEHEM —  Michelle Moczulski, who graduated from Bethlehem Central High School in June and plans to study environmental science at Villanova University in the fall, has won a $2,000 scholarship from the Friends of Five Rivers.

Highway Superintendent Randy Bashwinger

As the Berne Town Board negotiates a new union contract for town employees that will likely include improved compensations for highway workers, residents question the town’s financial standing in a pandemic-addled economy. 

A developer of solar arrays has pulled out, but New Scotland will “continue to look for opportunities to do something” with two landfills on Upper Flatrock Road.

Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy sounded the alarm Wednesday because the county had 44 new COVID-19 cases, the highest one-day total since May 20. Throughout the week, the state announced initiatives to feed, house, and insure New Yorkers suffering from the coronavirus shutdown.

The state has set up a program, with federal funds, to provide aid for tenants who lost income due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

ALBANY COUNTY — Albany County is down $16 million from where it was last year for second-quarter sales-tax revenues, the county’s executive Daniel McCoy, reported on Monday.

He termed the 25-percent drop from a year ago “a very huge hit.”

Pages