ALBANY COUNTY — Albany County, like the rest of the state, was in a holding pattern this week as the number of new COVID-19 cases and COVID-related hospitalizations continued to fall but mask mandates remain in places that Governor Kathy Hochul termed vulnerable — like schools — and also where large numbers of people gather and contact

Individuals may receive a maximum of $9,000 per deceased individual and a maximum of $35,500 per application, if they incurred funeral expenses for multiple deceased individuals.

GUILDERLAND — In 2015, John Haluska took it upon himself to start sprucing up Guilderland’s historic markers.

While hospitals, physicians’ offices, outpatient care centers, and other health-care facilities have nearly reached or surpassed pre-pandemic staffing levels, long-term care facilities are still experiencing substantial job losses, according to a new report from the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living.

ALBANY COUNTY — Dion Lewis, on Feb. 10, pleaded guilty in Guilderland Town Court to driving while ability impaired.

Lewis, 31, had been arrested on Dec. 19 for first-offense driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor, and for several infractions: improper right turn, illegal signal, and refusal to take a breath test.

The emergency assistance supplement is provided to households that do not ordinarily receive the maximum allowable benefit per month on SNAP. Those households already near or at the maximum benefit level — $835 for a household of four — will receive a supplemental payment of at least $95.

Transportation Supervisor Inho Suh is proposing spending just under a million dollars to purchase eight new 66-passenger school buses next year, three of them with chains. The projected cost of $976,000 is about $10,000 lower than last year for the same number of buses. 

“First of all, Eid is like Christmas for us,” wrote Arisha Ahmed, one of the Muslim students lobbying the Guilderland School Board to have the day off from classes. “Imagine having to go to school on Christmas. It is as simple as that.”

ALBANY COUNTY — Starting on Thursday, the statewide mask-or-vax mandate for businesses is lifted, Governor Kathy Hochul announced at a press briefing on Wednesday.

“I’ve been wanting to be a writer my whole life,” says Jessica Perrin Barcomb, who has just published her first novel, “Letting Go.”