“My work is based on imagined worlds with part-human and part-plant figures,” says Andrea Hersh of the mural she will create on a now-blank building along the Albany County Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail.

ALBANY COUNTY — Incumbent Albany County Clerk Bruce Hidley, a Democrat, has a challenger in November, from Guilderland. Republican Howard Koff is running against him on a platform of tax reform for seniors, although the county clerk position has no jurisdiction over taxes.

In Berne and Knox, two different incidents have raised questions about what to do when people like hikers and rural homeowners encounter hunters or gun clubs.

RENSSELAERVILLE —

Several small-game hunting seasons open Oct. 1. In addition, special youth-only hunting seasons for pheasants and waterfowl open prior to the start of the regular season.

GUILDERLAND — W. Brian Barr of Guilderland, a social worker, has spent a lifetime helping addicts and people with mental illness.

Albany County’s adopted-shared services plan includes eight proposals, ranging from shared health insurance to joint utility purchases.

Archaeologists interpret history not with proof but with a preponderance of evidence, says Michael Lucas, curator of historical archeology for the New York State Museum.

Are electric vehicles the future of driving? Or are they being propped up by the state, just another beneficiary of government largesse?

GUILDERLAND — Guilderland High School senior Michael Ardito is preparing to make his fourth and final annual swim across Boston Harbor this weekend, to raise money to find a cure for the rare disease that affects his younger sister, Kati.