Tom Ellis, Albany

The structures we have inherited shape the way we live — as the close cluster of homes in New Salem shaped my family — and also remind us who we are and what we come from as a people.

On Sunday, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that Albany County has crossed over the line from “moderate” to “substantial” transmission of COVID-19, which triggers the new CDC guidance that even vaccinated people should wear masks indoors in public. The state has issued no directives on whether this guidance must be followed, with the governor saying it is up to individual municipalities to decide. As of Wednesday, Albany County — still in the substantial transmission zone — had issued no directives.

During late summer, Asian longhorned beetles — an invasive species — emerge as adults and are active outside of their host tree.

The state’s Department of Environmental Conservation wants to locate infestations of the beetles before they cause serious damage to the state’s forests and street trees.

Nine new vaccination sites will open, including one at the Empire State Plaza’s concourse in Albany. With the first wave of the pandemic, in March of 2020, Cuomo used a state of emergency to issue executive orders. Currently, with no state of emergency declared, he said,  “Local governments are now trying to figure out how to deal with the local guidance.”

For the seven days running from July 25 to July 31, the CDC says, Albany County has an average of 54.34 cases per 100,000 population. Other nearby counties that, as of Sunday, were labeled as having “substantial” transmission were: Rensselaer at 66.79, Saratoga at 88.75, Schenectady at 59.24, and Schoharie at 54.84 per 100,000 population.

Beyond Sept. 30, the USDA will continue to support homeowners experiencing financial hardship due to the pandemic by making loss mitigation options available to help keep them in their homes. Homeowners and renters can visit www.consumerfinance.gov/housing for information on their relief options, protections, and key deadlines from federal agencies.

Two Capital Region federal credit unions — SEFCU and CAP COM — are on the verge of a merger that will create a new $8 billion credit union.

The state’s Department of Environmental Conservation is looking for citizens to help it conduct its annual Summer Wild Turkey Sighting Survey.

Governments this week started announcing they would require vaccination, and at the same time the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its May guidance on masks, stating that, because of the Delta variant, people living in an area of substantial or high transmission should mask indoors in public.