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. 

Through all these years, since soon after he graduated from Guilderland High School in 1970, Frank Pezze has organized a basketball league for adults. The men recently celebrated their golden anniversary — the celebration was delayed by two years because of the pandemic.

A Tree Preservation Committee will be formed to come up with guidelines on appropriate plants for the town’s parks and rights-of-way along roads, which may also be used as a guide by residents.

A report released on Tuesday by AARP New York found that a lack of affordable and accessible housing in rural areas compounded with a lack of public transportation make it hard for old New Yorkers living in the country to age in place. The housing problem has been made dramatically worse by the pandemic, the study found.

Governor Kathy Hochul said she is keeping in place her Executive Order 4, declaring a statewide disaster emergency due to healthcare staffing shortages, to allow medical professionals from other states to work in New York, and to allow “more professionals to administer vaccinations and tests,” Hochul said.