Albany County’s unemployment rate for January 2021 was 6.0 percent. The rate for the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area was the same: 6.0 percent, up from 3.9 percent in January 2020 before the pandemic hit. Albany County had roughly 147,400 jobs in January 2021 compared to roughly 151,000 the year before, a decrease of 3.7 percent.

“I was elected by the people of the state, I wasn’t elected by politicians,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said on March 7 as he stated he wouldn’t resign because of allegations. Since then, many more politicians, including top Democrats at the state and federal level, have called for his resignation. On Monday, Siena College released a poll that showed New Yorkers feel he should not resign and the majority are satisfied with the way he has addressed the sexual harassment allegations against him.

Guilderland’s Emergency Medical Services Department ambulances transported 61 COVID-19 town residents in January and 19 residents in February, Supervisor Peter Barber reported, but has transported only two residents so far in March.

Currently 27.5 percent of Albany County’s residents have received at least one shot of vaccine, according to the state’s vaccine tracker. A total of 84,459 residents have received one shot while 43,087 have received two shots.

While the county’s health department with its many medical corps volunteers will continue to run its large point of dispensing, or POD, at the Times Union Center in Albany, Albany County Health Commissioner Elizabeth Whalen said, she looks forward to re-allocating some of the county’s supply to “small break-out clinics.”

The Albany-Schenectady-Troy area lost 26,500 private-sector jobs, a loss of 7.3 percent, from January 2020 to January 2021.

Focusing on the things that are the same in each of us because we are human beings is better than focusing on the differences that set us apart. That is the way our nations will move forward.

As freshman Gabe Zullo is finishing his year-long treatment, junior Jenna Meier is just starting hers.

The American Rescue Plan’s funding can be used to respond to the public health emergency caused by the coronavirus as well as to address the economic fallout that came with it, including assistance to households, small businesses and not-for-profits, and aid to impacted industries such as tourism, travel and hospitality.

Starting on Wednesday, March 17, vaccine eligibility will expand to public-facing government and public employees, not-for-profit workers who provide public-facing services to needy New Yorkers, and essential in-person public-facing building service workers; also, all providers, except pharmacies, can vaccinate anyone who is eligible to receive the vaccine.