Hank Gross

Special Advisor to the Governor on the Tappan Zee Bridge Project Brian Conybeare and Civic Engineer Mark Roche provided an update on the status of a new Tappan Zee Bridge at a session in Sleepy Hollow Monday evening.

“Most people just want information,” Conybeare said.   “They want to be able to ask questions and learn about the project. We’re here to give out the latest updated information on where the project stands and hopefully make them comfortable with what is obviously a pretty big project.”

The Newburgh City Council stood out openly against City Manager Richard Herbek on Monday night, with three of five council members saying or implying that they would at the very least not renew his contract, which expires in January. Whether or not he will be terminated for being sighted in his car with an alleged drug addict and prostitute is still being discussed.

Mayor Judy Kennedy said the matter was "problematic to the city.

Four days after Newburgh City Manager Richard Herbek was stopped in his car with a woman he said was a heroin addict, he has quit.

Herbek told Mayor Judy Kennedy on Sunday that he was resigning.

After the traffic stop last Wednesday, Herbek told MidHudsonNews.com that he was helping her kick the drug habit and that he was offering her counseling.  The following day, Kennedy said Herbek would have decisions to make, but she did not elaborate.

Jobs rose by 7,000 in the Hudson Valley for the 12 months ending in September. That’s a 0.9 percent increase. The largest gain was in the Putnam-Rockland-Westchester Metropolitan Statistical Area at 1.3 percent.

The Dutchess-Orange Metro Area grew by 0.5 percent while the Ulster County Metro Area jobs fell by 0.4 percent.

In non-metro areas, Sullivan County experienced no job growth in September while Columbia County fell by 0.6 percent and Greene County fell by one percent.

First-term incumbent Rep. Nan Hayworth faced Democrat challenger Sean Patrick Maloney on Wednesday, during a forum sponsored by the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce.

They are running for a seat in the new 18th New York Congressional District.  Recent polls indicate the race tight.

The 45 minute exchange allowed both candidates a brief opportunity to describe their qualifications and express differences on several key issues

Contender Maloney served three years as staff secretary for President Bill Clinton.

The Dutchess County Board of Elections on Tuesday tossed the election of Maureen Natrella as chairwoman of the County Conservative Committee. She was elected in a special session of the committee, which was challenged by committeeman and former Board of Elections commissioner David Gamache.

It will now be up to the State Conservative Committee, headed by long time Chairman Michael Long, to name a new chair. Gamache said he supports former Dutchess Chairwoman Patricia Killian for her old post.

 Mayor Randy Casale has introduced an $18.1 million budget for Beacon in 2013. The city is at the two percent state tax cap, but residential property taxes will increase by 7.37 percent per thousand and non-residential will rise 5.3 percent.

Like all other communities, Beacon faces reduced revenues in sales taxes and mortgage taxes, but at the same time, employee pension costs will rise 15 percent, at $66,000.

Casale plans to defund vacant police officer positions.

The issues at the several days of hearings that began on Monday may be more technical than in the past, but the arguments being bantered about are nothing new. Opponents say Indian Point is a serious threat and must be shut down. Supporters say the plant is safe and supports the local economy with jobs and at the plant and in the surrounding communities.

The hearings that began on Monday may run for weeks, but not everyone on both sides will be formally heard.

Metro-North Railroad riders will be paying anywhere from 8.19 percent to 9.31 percent more for a ticket should a proposal for fare and toll hikes unveiled Monday be approved.

The actual amount of the increase will depend on the distance traveled with discounts for traveling during less busy off-peak times.

Discounted monthly or weekly unlimited-ride tickets are available, as are one-way and round-trip tickets, discounted if bought as 10-trip tickets.

All tickets are less expensive if purchased at a train station but more expensive if purchased on a train.

For the last month, 5,000 meals are prepared and served to every Poughkeepsie City School District student who wanted one. It is part of a new federal program funding breakfast and lunch for every student is that district regardless of family income.

District Food Services Director Al Muhlnickel said they are preparing a wide array of delicious meals that the kids are enjoying.