The county executive touched on local issues in his speech, but used national issues such as the #MeToo movement and the opioid epidemic as a springboard into announcing new county initiatives.

The county executive said Friday that the county will be joining hundreds of other plaintiffs to testify against the pharmaceutical industry this coming week.

ALBANY COUNTY — ShopRite, including its supermarkets in Albany, Colonie, and Slingerlands, is now offering a piece of fruit, for free, to kids under 13 as they shop.

Vocational courses provide students with useful skills and often a job with a sizeable paycheck upon high school graduation.

A nationwide cumulative student-loan debt $1.36 trillion and a burgeoning local “middle-skill” job market has some students, their families, and educators questioning if a four-year degree is still the ticket to a better life.

The state’s Department of Environmental Conservation is looking for people to raise pheasant chicks.

New York State Writers Institute Fellow James Lasdun will conduct a workshop in the spring of 2018 for writers interested in all aspects of fiction.

Lasdun has published two novels, four collections of short stories, and four books of poetry.

These members of the New York Army National Guard have recently retired:

— Colonel George McHugh from Delmar, assigned to the Joint Force Headquarters, retired after 31 years of military service; and

Unlike the police, a defense attorney isn’t necessarily so eager to have prompt translation to English. Delay may spare his clients from blurting out confessions before counsel arrives.

Most of the members of the Bethlehem Morning Voice Huddle are retired and new to activism.