Regional

To soften the blow of rising emergency medical service costs, New Scotland and a number of other municipalities that rely on the Albany County Sheriff’s EMS service lobbied for a special district that would move the expense from local budgets to the county one, but hit resistance from county officials. 

The local program will develop a new “jail re-entry” case-management model for people released from Albany County’s jail, particularly those with severe and pervasive mental illness.

“Mosquitoes, once a nuisance, are now a threat,” said Commissioner James McDonald. “I urge all New Yorkers to prevent mosquito bites by using insect repellents, wearing long-sleeved clothing and removing free-standing water near their homes. Fall is officially here, but mosquitoes will be around until we see multiple nights of below freezing temperatures.”

The New York State Union of Teachers convened experts and educators for a discussion about how phones and social media are influencing children’s lives both at home and at school as Governor Kathy Hochul, who kicked off the event, is fighting to ban phones in classrooms statewide.