C M Y K

The Daily Mail WEEKEND Copyright 2021, Columbia-Greene Media All Rights Reserved Serving Greene County since 1792 Price $2.50 Volume 229, No. 66 Saturday-Sunday, April 3-4, 2021 n FORECASTWEATHER FOR HUDSON/CA TODAY TONIGHT SUN Hydropower company seeks PILOT

By Sarah Trafton county and two school districts.” Columbia-Greene Media The project would traverse the Mostly sunny The Greene County Industrial De- towns of Coxsackie, New Baltimore, Partly cloudy Mostly cloudy and warmer velopment Authority is drafting a Catskill and Athens, and the villages of payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, Coxsackie and Catskill. HIGH LOW 56 agreement with the developers of a VanSchaack said he expects to have hydroelectric project that will pass the draft agreement finished later this 53 30 36 through nine taxing jurisdictions. spring. The IDA consults with local The Champlain Hudson Power Ex- taxing jurisdictions but the agreement Complete weather, A2 press, proposed by Transmission De- will be voted on by the IDA, he said.

C1 Saturday - Sunday, April 3-4, 2021 - MEDIA COLUMBIA-GREENE velopers Inc., of Albany, is a 333-mile “The important thing is, although underwater and underground elec- they do not formally vote on it, we al- tric transmission line that will import ways discuss things with taxing juris-

‘Six Feet Under’ 1,000 megawatts of renewable energy dictions,” VanSchaack said. creator revisits the Fishers MONSTER File photo

20TH ANNIVERSARY: from Canada to New York City. Series about funeral The IDA will hold a public hearing home ran five seasons SMASH By JAMI GANZ New York Daily News “Six Feet Under” has been IDA Executive Director Rene VanSchaack, kneeling, briefs the Greene County dead nearly 16 years, but its leg- acy lives on. The $3 billion infrastructure project Alan Ball, who created and di- on the PILOT agreement before a vote was executive producer and rector of the HBO hit, has been reminiscing about the Emmy- winning se ries ahead of its 20th anniversary and cast reunion at Legislature about a project in this 2019 file photo. this month’s PaleyFest. The series, which aired from June 2001 to August 2005, dug will be one of the largest investments deep into the Los Angeles-based is taken, he said. Fishers, who regularly faced mortality, living above and run- ning a funeral home. “I remember h earing that (real-life)undertakers were for the most part pleased that they were being presented as human beings who had lives and were in New York state history and will be Capcom fl esh and blood and weren’t car-like ” for Nintendo Switch. “Personally, I think all the towns creepy caricatures,” the Os ir thing in the new “Monster Hunter Rise winning “American Beauty” Monster hunters do the scribe, 63, told the Daily News. But the game retains much of the luxu- k and streamlined When Ball’s own mother died, ‘MONSTER HUNTER RISE’: rious animation wor a man from the funeral home Capcom title is most action that elevated the series beyond its involved even told Ball: “It’s be- niche core audience. Also, you get a cus- Gone are the saturated, ’m working in “We’ve never done a project like VanSchaack said Friday. “It passed cause of you that I ambitious Switch game in tomizable dog that you can ride, along privately funded, according to the profession.” a long time series-standard cat warriors fi lmic fi lters and gritty INSIDE TODAY! company’s website. this,” IDA Executive Director Rene through four towns, two villages, the See PILOT A8 n SPORTS Revenue important, but Kusminsky urges creation of new money isn’t everything detection test Siting dispensaries up to towns, villages By Bill Williams Columbia-Greene Media By Melanie Lekocevic Legalization of rec- and Sarah Trafton reational, adult-use Columbia-Greene Media marijuana in New York ECO Mike Arp Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed leg- has raised questions retires islation Wednesday legalizing adult and concerns from law use of marijuana in New York, but enforcement officials about the safety of chil- After nearly 32 years of municipalities can opt out if they Kusminsky state service, NYS (ECO) choose. dren and motorists. Individuals are now allowed to possess Mike Arp is calling it a Cities, towns and villages are able to prohibit marijuana dispensaries up to 3 ounces of cannabis for recreation- career after they are legally permitted to al purposes or 24 grams of concentrated PAGE B1 open in the state in April 2022. forms such as oils, according to the gover- Greene County Legislature Chair- nor’s office. man Patrick Linger, R-New Balti- “This marijuana law lacks in the en- n LOCAL more, said counties do not have that forcement of those who choose to drive choice. under the influence of marijuana and fails “It’s not even an option for coun- to adequately address possession of mari- ties. It will be up to cities, towns and juana by persons under the age of 21, said villages. According to the legislation Joseph A. Sinagra, president of the Mid- I read, counties won’t have a say in Hudson Association of Chiefs of Police. it,” Linger said Friday. “It will be up to Columbia County Sheriff David Bartlett Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/TNS is concerned with people driving under the individual municipalities wheth- New York legalized recreational marijuana Wednesday. Columbia and er they want to participate or not.” the influence. There are no pre-screening Greene county leaders Friday said it will be up to them to sort out the devices for marijuana, such as those for al- The legislation includes a 13% complexities of the new law. excise tax on marijuana sold in the cohol, Bartlett said. The sheriff’s office has to go by the deputy’s observations on the state, with 3% going to the munici- “If you are growing, you are using stream that the state thinks is going pality and 1% going to the county, condition of the driver. hydroponic lamps and things like to come from this.” Linger said. If necessary, police can request a blood that, and I think that could cause a Coxsackie Town Supervisor Rick If Greene County had been able to test, Bartlett said. problem. New York City is scream- C-GCC luminary prohibit the legal sale of marijuana, Hanse said the town board has not “There is no current available test for Linger said he does not know if the ing for power and that’s why we are yet discussed opting out, but he impairment, but there are some being dies at 84 county would have opted out. getting all these renewable energy plans on bringing the issue up with developed for quantification. So, for now, projects upstate, and it’s all getting the board in the future. we would have to rely on common-law Malcolm Cecil, Grammy “We didn’t discuss it,” he said. Linger does have concerns with piped downstate. If something like “We haven’t met since it was evidence of impairment, a drug recogni- winner and engineer for the legislation in terms of people this takes off and people grow it in passed, but this is something that tion expert evaluation or a positive urine Stevie Wonder, saluted driving under the influence and their own homes, it’s going to take will be on our radar,” Hanse said. or blood test,” Greene County Sheriff Pete by college community with the utilities that will be used by a fair amount of power and I don’t “There are pros and cons, as there Kusminsky said. think it helps the power problem.” The state Department of Health will be PAGE A3 people growing marijuana. are in everything, but the town board “I don’t know how to take it — Linger supports decriminalizing has not yet had a discussion on it.” working with institutions of higher edu- who will buy it, who will grow it,” he marijuana possession. He does have concerns with the cation to conduct a controlled research n STATE said. “There is the other side of this “I don’t disagree with taking away legislation, Hanse said. study, designed to evaluate methodolo- — if people grow it themselves and criminal charges for some of these “I worry about driving under the gies and technologies for the detection of State budget you have 100 people doing that, it is smaller personal amounts,” Linger influence of that or any other drug,” See TEST A2 going to take a lot of power and the said. “That, I think, is a long time Hanse said. “I am really not all that under scrutiny state is the one telling us we don’t coming and I think it’s smart to do have enough power. it, but I’m not sure I see the revenue See MONEY A8 Thousands of state workers could be left without salaries if state budget is further delayed PAGE A5 Plans in works to expand Family Dollar building

By Melanie Lekocevic run the store, we just lease the n INDEX Columbia-Greene Media building.” COXSACKIE — The owner The building is 7,000 square Region A3 of the building that houses feet, and Calcagno said after Opinion A4 Family Dollar in West Cox- the meeting that the prelimi- State/Nation A5 sackie Plaza on Route 9W is nary plans indicate the expan- Obituaries A5 looking to expand the store. sion could add 3,000 to 4,000 Sports B1 Paul Calcagno of Paul Calc- square feet to the structure, Classified B4-B5 agno Jr. Development, based but it is still too early in the Comics/Advice B7-B8 in Kinderhook, presented his process to commit to a firm preliminary plans to the Cox- number. On the web sackie Town Planning Board With the building’s expan- www.HudsonValley360.com on Thursday. sion would come additional “Family Dollar is looking parking spaces, which Calcag- Twitter to expand,” Calcagno said. “I no could add to the south end Follow: don’t know exactly how many of the property, he said. @CatskillDailyMail square feet they want. They Town Planning Board have said numerous times Chairman Bruce Haeussler Facebook that they want to expand at said Calcagno would need www.facebook.com/ that location, but I told them to have a survey done of the CatskillDailyMail/ I would go before the planning property before any determi- board to see what the possi- nations can be made, but sup- bilities are.” ported the concept of expand- Calcagno owns the building ing the store. and the land, and has leased it “I think it’s wonderful,” to Family Dollar for 30 years. Hauessler said. “If I don’t have “My father built that build- Melanie Lekocevic/Columbia-Greene Media ing,” Calcagno said. “We don’t See PLANS A8 Plans are in the works to expand the building that houses Family Dollar in West Coxsackie Plaza.