Court of Appeals decision hurts Democrats, helps “All New Yorkers.”
One Democratic leader in the North Country tells the Post-Star that the Court of Appeals decision Wednesday that struck down the entire redrawn electoral map, will be hard on the Democrats who are trying to unseat U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik. For her part, Stefanik calls it a “win for all New Yorkers” and proof that the Democrats in Albany who drew the map did so unfairly. The primary calendar will be pushed from June into the summer making it more expensive for candidates to run in the primary and more expensive for the Democratic candidate to campaign against Stefanik, the story says.
The Times Union is reporting that the Court of Appeals decision struck down the boundaries for both the state Senate and the U.S. Congress. The court found that the voting districts were gerrymandered for political gain, the story in the TU says. The forced-re-redistricting might not only delay primary votes, but candidates might have to collect more petitions to get back on the ballots, the story says. This is happening in a high–turnout election year since the governor is in the race. According to the story, the primaries for Assembly and for statewide races, such as the Governor's race, should not be affected.
Hyatt Place hotel back under construction
The pandemic put the 132-room Hyatt Place hotel in downtown Albany on hold, but the Albany Business Journal is reporting that the project is showing signs of life. The $30 million redevelopment at Quackenbush Square is undergoing cleaning and arranging of the financial ducks that must be put in a row, more than redevelopment at this point, the owners told the Journal.
Plug Power expands in Europe
The Latham-based Plug Power, the hydrogen fuel cell manufacturer, is working with oil- and gas-giant MOL in Budapest Hungary to build one of the largest “green hydrogen” plants in Europe, the Albany Business Journal says. Plug Power is sending a 10-megawatt electrolyzer to the plant that MOL already owns on the Danube River. It will help them make 1,600 tons of “green,” or carbon-neutral, hydrogen per year, the story says.
Ballston: Library, town split.
For two years, the Ballston Community Library Board of Trustees, the Ballston Town Board and Town Supervisor Eric Connolly have feuded over operations and funding. An email earlier this week escalated the troubles but pushed a decision that might work, a story in the Daily Gazette says. Appointed trustees control the public tax dollars doled out to the library from the town, and this has caught in Connolly’s craw since 2020. A détente may have been reached in the idea that the library charter, formed in 1957, could change to allow for elected trustees and a budget voted on by the citizens.