Affordable housing in Albany
Albany Councilman Alfredo Balarin wants to expand the city's "inclusionary zoning" ordinance to apply to new residential and commercial developments with 20 or more units, instead of the 50-unit threshold, and require more units in total per development: 18% up from 5%. The inclusionary zoning requires the developer to include rental units that are affordable to people making half the area median household income, the Albany Business Journal says.
Ukrainians are not Russian, says expat
A story in the Post-Star over the weekend highlighted American Mike Thompson, an English teacher in Kyiv Ukraine, who left with his wife, Yulia Pylypchak, and their 3-year-old just weeks before the fighting began. He studies geopolitical trends, the story said, so he saw the war coming, told friends and colleagues his beliefs and then convinced his wife to leave in January. A citizen there for five years, he told the paper that Ukrainians have the public disagreements over any number of issues, a sign of a free and open society, but on one thing they agree: they are not Russian a do not identify that way.
Uncertainty is a growing problem for farmers
Inflation, supply shortages, rising labor costs, and the war in Ukraine are all upending the projections for this year’s bottom line, farmers tell the Post-Star. Added to that is the new regulation before the state legislature that would lower the hours in the workweek for some farm hands. They would get overtime pay starting at 40 instead of 60 hours. Until Jan. 1, 2020, there had been no overtime hours. The regulation would take 10 years to fully update, the story says.
SPAC’s educational growth
In five years, SPAC’s education programs have grown from 5,000 students a year, to 50,000, a story in the Daily Gazette says. With an aim to expose as many people to the arts as possible, the SPAC education wing offers 400 classes, presentations and performances annually. They bus in underserved children throughout the Capital Region and partners with more than 120 schools and organizations, offering multiple classes daily. SPAC’s School of the Arts began in fall 2021 as a center for artistic exploration and discovery for everyone from the Capital District through the North Country.
Amsterdam’s housing auction gains interest
The 28 homes on the block in Amsterdam’s foreclosure auction have garnered more attention because of the city’s tight housing market, a story in the Daily Gazette says. Open houses at 15 of the properties attracted about 50 people each, giving them an opportunity to decide on a price before they bid. That is a much higher number than normal. People are mostly looking to buy and flip or to rent, the story says, though some are looking to live in the homes.
DEC seeking summer camp staffers
The state Department of Environmental Conservation is cutting back on summer camps this year because they cannot find enough workers for them, the Times Union says. Only Camp Rushford and Pack Forest will open, and they will open for seven weeks. Camp DeBruce may open if the state is able to find enough employees. The weeklong camps give middle- and high-schoolers a chance to be in the woods for a week and learn about the environment and to practice outdoor survival skills. DEC is hiring with pay starting at about $18 an hour. All positions include room and board, the story says.