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Washington County is owed nearly $2 million in delinquent property taxes, which has prompted concerns among officials that some property owners may be intentionally ignoring payments with a foreclosure moratorium in place due to the coronavirus. The Post Star reports the county is owned $1.8 million from over 150 property owners dating back to last year, prompting concerns about the county’s short-term fiscal health at a time when finances have already been skewed by the coronavirus.

DEC is encouraging New York’s new and experienced anglers to get outside and safely enjoy ice fishing during the winter months. Four inches of solid clear ice is usually safe for anglers accessing ice on foot As part of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s NY Open for Fishing and Hunting initiative, the weekend of February 13-14, 2021, is a designated free fishing weekend. The requirement for a fishing license is waived during this period. Beginning ice anglers are encouraged to download the Ice Fishing Chapter (PDF) of DEC’s I FISH NY Beginners Guide to Freshwater Fishing (PDF, 16 MB) for information on how to get started ice fishing. Additional information, including a list of waters open to ice fishing, can be found on the DEC ice fishing webpage and the Public Lakes and Ponds maps.

In Queensbury, the Warren-Washington Industrial Development Agency has granted tax breaks for the long-awaited Fowler Square development. The developer is planning a mixed use development on land at the corner of Bay Road and Blind Rock Road with 144 apartments as well as commercial space. There will be 36 units each on the second and third floors of the building, a 7,800 square foot clubhouse on the bottom floor as well as professional space for rent.

A local woman has been arrested because, police said, she sold crack cocaine to an undercover officer. According to the Post Star, 44 year old Melissa M. White, 44, of Luzerne Road, is facing charges of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. She was arraigned in Warren County Court and released on her own recognizance pending prosecution.

Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy confirmed the COVID-19 linked death of yet another resident, a man in his 90’s, bringing the county death toll to 240. Albany County has 1,822 active cases with the 2,902 under mandatory quarantine. Conversely, 230 cases have been cleared for recovery and release. There were 20 new hospitalizations between Wednesday and Thursday. In total, 19 patients are in the ICU.

Warren County Health Services reported 50 new Warren County resident COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday morning, along with 32 recoveries.
Eight (8) Warren County residents are hospitalized, one (1) more than Wednesday as one (1) new patient was admitted. One (1) is critically ill, and seven (7) are moderately ill.
Health Services staff are monitoring 376 active COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday, which is a new high mark for Warren County active cases. 368 of the cases involve mild illness.

Congresswoman Stefanik spoke on the House Floor to condemn the violence that took place on the United States Capitol grounds Wednesday, and object to certain electors during the Joint Session of Congress to Count Electoral Ballots. She said, in part, “This has been a truly tragic day for America. And we all join together in fully condemning the dangerous violence and destruction that occurred today in our Nation’s Capitol. Americans will always have the freedom of speech and the Constitutional right to protest, but violence in any form is absolutely unacceptable, it is anti-American, and must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Warren County Health Services reported 54 new Warren County resident COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday morning, along with six (6) recoveries. 54 cases in a day is a new high mark for Warren County during the pandemic.
Seven (7) Warren County residents are hospitalized, three (3) fewer than Monday as three (3) patients were discharged. One (1) is critically ill, and six (6) are moderately ill.
Health Services staff are monitoring 358 active COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday, which is also a new high mark for Warren County active cases. 351 of the cases involve mild illness.

The state is in the process of building Community Vaccination Kits and working with public housing officials, churches and community centers to identify the most appropriate locations for kit deployments. Each kit includes step-by-step instructions for how to set up a site, and critical supplies and equipment such as: Office Supplies Workstation Equipment, Communications Equipment, Cleaning Supplies, Lighting Equipment, PPE, Crowd/Traffic Control Equipment, Vials, Syringes, Room Dividers and Privacy Curtains.

Several parts of New York State are considered microcluster “focus zones” where businesses and services are limited because of high COVID case numbers. Information on these areas can be found here: forward.ny.gov/.
New York State establishes focus zones. As of Tuesday, there was no indication that a microcluster classification was imminent for any Warren County communities.
The focus zone program for a “Yellow Zone,” the first level of restrictions, measures metrics that includes days of percent positive of COVID tests over 3% and puts additional emphasis on week-over-week growth of COVID-related hospitalizations.
Warren County’s test positivity rate was 6.4% as of Tuesday, the 14th straight day over 3%.