The federal judge that dismissed a suit from Guilderland residents concluded that, at worst, the town allowed Pyramid to clear-cut part of its property and, she wrote, “While this certainly could be seen as vexatious given that the property was undergoing a SEQRA review, it is not the sort of conduct that shocks the conscience or is ‘truly brutal and offensive to human dignity.’”

“While we cannot say this is a completely risk-free environment, we’re in a pretty good place,” said Albany County Health Commissioner Elizabeth Whalen of schools reopening in the county. “We’re probably in the best place possible.”

About 140 people gathered for a peaceful, home-grown Black Lives Matter rally in Berne on Sunday. Most of them listened to speeches in the park pavilion while two dozen stayed near their motorcycles and pickup trucks on the edge of the parking lot — several saying they saw themselves as protectors since they view the BLM movement as destructive.

Guilderland has joined neighboring municipalities in approving the burying of a cable to bring electricity from Canada to the New York City area. Several citizens and a dissenting town board member raised environmental and human-rights concerns about the megadams producing the hydropower.

“The homeless tend to be very vulnerable to COVID and that’s because there’s a good percentage of them that are older and also have pre-existing conditions — diabetes, heart problems as well as issues with substance abuse and mental health and behavioral issues,” said Albany County Department of Social Services Commissioner Michele McClave.

The statewide school boards association as well as the state’s largest teachers’ union supported the reopening of in-person learning but with caveats.

Albany County residents who call 518-447-7777 will be directed to services relating to health insurance, pregnancy support, domestic violence, addiction support, social services, and more. The monthly call volume has about doubled since June.

In a poll released today, half of the members of New York State United Teachers say they are reluctant or unwilling to go back to in-person instruction this fall amid ongoing concerns over the health and safety of reopening school buildings.

The “million-dollar question,” Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy said, is: “Are we going to get back to some type of normalcy and how long will it take?”

The age group with the highest number of cases, at 480, remains those between the ages 20 to 29. Albany County Health Commissioner Elizabeth Whalen said she is concerned about that age group “in terms of spread and in terms of more potential infection.”