On Monday, New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, warned consumers of price gouging of children’s painkillers and fever reducers since demand has increased. Not only are COVID cases ticking up but cases of flu and respiratory syncytial virus are spiking this year in children since many of them have been isolated or masked for two years.

It was my daughter’s birthday and I wanted to bake her favorite cake this year — chocolate-zucchini.

I often write late and then do household chores after. I had all the ingredients I needed except the zucchini.

NEW SCOTLAND — Paul Steinkamp wishes that, when he was a child, someone had taught him how to fold a piece of paper in half.

As he talks about the art and science of origami, which he came to late in life, he sounds like a poet.

Albany County is investing $160,000 in the Eviction Prevention and Intervention Collaborative, known as EPIC, that will help county residents facing eviction with legal assistance, referrals, and information.

The school board’s Dec. 6 meeting began with district resident Sara Kate Kanter describing the ThoughtExchange as “unkind and unhelpful.”

Most board members first learned of Chief McNally’s offer, made in August, at their Nov. 15 meeting where some expressed concerns that students of color may feel intimidated by an officer or felt that the money — if it became a permanent position funded by the district — could better be spent elsewhere. Consequently, students were surveyed.

Out of 43 votes cast in the Dec. 13 election, 41 were in favor of the bond issue.

Poverty rates in New York State have been higher than the national average since 2014. In 2021, the most recent year with available data, 13.9 percent of New Yorkers lived in poverty — 2.7 million people — compared to 12.8 percent nationwide. For 2020, Albany County had a poverty rate below both the state and national averages — at 11.3 percent.

Rather than waiting another 15 or 20 years for the next fee hikes, town board members said that, going forward, they’d like to make incremental yearly increases.

Amanda Beedle started working out of her basement at home and expanded to her garage. After her husband refused to mow the lawn because he couldn’t get to the mower in the jam-packed garage, Beedle knew she needed a venue outside her home. Last week, the ribbon was cut, officially opening The Caring Closet.