ALBANY COUNTY — In April, New York State passed the Renewable Action Through Project Interconnection and Deployment (RAPID) Act through its budget, making it easier for transmission-line projects to be built in the state by shifting the Office of Renewable Energy Siti

Former Westerlo Planning Board Chairman Beau Loendorf submitted a letter to the Enterprise editor this week bemoaning the town board’s decision to abolish the planning board, among other things. The town supervisor and town attorney both issued responses that defended themselves and turned the blame back on Loendorf and the planning board.

Berne-Knox-Westerlo Superintendent Bonnie Kane is in her first month in that role, having previously served as the district’s high school principal for two years and as an English teacher before that. 

The former Carey Institute for Global Good in Rensselaerville has reorganized itself as Hilltown Commons, with new leadership that aims to ditch the “heady” and “highfalutin’” ideals of the globally-oriented not-for-profit, as the de facto executive Virginia Thomson put it, in favor of a grassroots approach to social betterment. 

The results still need to be certified by the New York State Board of Elections later this month, but official county-level results show that Janet Tweed, a member of the Delhi Village Board, has eked out a roughly 80-vote win over retired teacher and activist Mary Finneran.

Berne-Knox-Westerlo kicked off the 2024-25 administrative school year at its reorganizational meeting on July 1, where the board of education elected Matthew Tedeschi as its president, and heard from the new superintendent, Bonnie Kane, on the district’s new block-scheduling format.

In a 3-to-2 vote, the Westerlo Town Board got rid of the town’s planning board — which Supervisor Matt Kryzak has described as “rogue” — despite opposition from residents and the Albany County Planning Board.

Berne-Knox-Westerlo salutatorian Katie Joslin is headed to the State University of New York at Binghamton where they will study psychology, hoping to one day go into private practice and help give adolescents a strong foundation during their formative years. 

Jodie Howland, the Berne-Knox-Westerlo valedictorian, is headed to Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, where she plans to get involved with the robust study-abroad program they have there. 

Pop culture and family phrases took center stage at the Berne-Knox-Westerlo graduation this year, as speakers quoted family, the comedian Kevin Hart, and the song “Respect” in their parting messages to the graduates.