Regional

Early voting started on Oct. 26 and runs through Nov. 3. Polls are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and from noon to 8 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday. Local early polling places include the Guilderland Public Library, the East Berne firehouse, and the Lynnwood Reformed Church are early polling places.

In the six counties served by the food bank — Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Schenectady — 100,000 people are experiencing food insecurity; the Regional food Bank plans to give 55 pounds of food to 30,000 of them for Thanksgiving.

The federal Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking public response to a plan it has drafted to protect three species of bats in three states: New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

Written comments will be accepted for 30 days, from Oct. 29 to Nov. 29.

Since the program’s inception in New York City, Hochul said, “Red light running at intersections with cameras has dropped 73 percent. I don’t know what more you need than that data point. The T-bone crashes at intersections with cameras dropped 65 percent.” She also said that last year, in New York City alone, “red light runners killed 29 of our friends, neighbors, and family members. All 29 incidents occurred at intersections without red light cameras.”

Genoa first partnered with Albany County in 2019 to provide on-site pharmacy services for the county’s Department of Mental Health, causing an uproar among area pharmacies who felt the partnership was impacting their business, and had been forged in a way that was, at the very least, uncouth.  

Democrat Gabriella Romero faces Republican Alicia Purdy for a seat in the state’s 109th Assembly District made open by Pat Fahy’s decision to run for the State Senate.

Romero first won elected office in November 2021, when she was chosen by residents of Albany’s Sixth Ward to represent them on the city’s Common Council. 

Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood has launched Menopause Care Services.

Democrat Janet Tweed, of Delhi, is looking to unseat Republican Assemblyman Chris Tague, a six-year incumbent from Schoharie who represents the largely rural 102nd Assembly District. The Enterprise spoke with both about their views on rural broadband, drug-addiction support, and the environment.