New York State, the governor said, which had the highest per capita COVID-19 infection rate in the United States and in the world now has the lowest transmission rate in the nation.

The county’s comptroller, Susan Rizzo, announced at Friday’s county press briefing that, as part of a recent refinancing, Standard & Poor’s has assessed Albany County’s credit worthiness, and reaffirmed its rating of AA “with a stable outlook while other municipalities were downgraded due to the pandemic.” She said the refinancing will save taxpayers over $1 million.

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced, starting Thursday, that the state is allowing localities to open public pools and playgrounds at their discretion while following state guidance. Cuomo said of local governments, “They have to use their judgment here … They should be studying the test data, they should be looking at those positives and see where the positives are coming from. If the positives are in a cluster, a neighborhood that has that pool, don't open the pool.”

The Enterprise forum would not be valuable if I printed only the letters I liked. One of the reasons I believe our nation has become so polarized is that many Americans listen only to views that agree with theirs. My profound hope is that people with varied views can meet on the newspaper’s opinion pages. They can come to understand another’s viewpoint. That is the way our democracy moves forward.

The county, like the rest of the Capital Region, is in the second of four reopening phases. It is scheduled to enter Phase 3 on June 17. 

As the COVIID-19 numbers decline, Albany County Health Commissioner Elizabeth Whalen said, “It is not we-are-out-of-the-woods news.” Whalen noted that, as other countries have reopened, there is almost always a spike in COVID-19 cases. “There’s a difference in areas that are vigilant in their reopening and areas that are not,” she said. 

Several citizens urged the zoning board not to allow a renovated McDonald’s to have triple the allowed signage.

Guilderland High School graduates will watch a video of their graduation ceremony at the Jericho Drive-In on June 20 and then, a week later, will walk across a stage set up in front of their high school to collect their diplomas.

If low COVID-19 numbers continue, the Capital Region could start phases 3 and 4 ahead of schedule.

On Sunday, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced he would issue an executive order extending the deadline for school districts to receive school budget ballots. To be counted, school budget ballots can be accepted by hand delivery through 5 p.m. on June 9 and received by mail through June 16 by the school district.