News Staff

The number of urgent care visits at the Saratoga Hospital is up 50%. WNYT reports the hospital’s executive vice president says it’s being primarily driven by COVID testing. He says 70% of all urgent care patients want a COVID test. That number is up 85% in the last week. Also, the number of hospital beds available is going up, as more people get vaccinated and boosted.

State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball has annouonced that the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets’ Hemp Program Plan was approved by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Following the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, all states interested in administering a state hemp program were required to submit a hemp program plan to the USDA. The Plan allows the Department to continue to administer a hemp grower licensing program, starting in 2022. The Department is now accepting applications for the program, which will take effect on January 1, 2022

Governor Kathy Hochul has announced a year-over-year increase in available emergency home heating aid—with more than $90 million in federal funding available to help low- and middle-income New Yorkers avoid having their home heating disconnected or exhausting their heating source amid fuel price increases this winter. They’ll begin accepting applications starting Monday, January 3rd.

$20.8 million is being awarded to 17 projects that incorporate green storm water infrastructure, as well as implement energy and water efficiency measures in New York. Among them, the Saratoga County Sewer District No. 1 – $2,000,000 to reduce energy consumption at their Wastewater Treatment Plant through biogas production created by new digesters.

The last day of classes before the holiday break was cancelled in the Ballston Spa Central School District due to a significant increase in positive COVID-19 cases among students. According to WNYT, the district anticipates reopening on Jan. 3. They ask families to continue to report any positive cases to COVIDReport@bscsd.org. They say they will issue and update on their status next week.

A man pleaded guilty in a deadly Fourth of July boating accident on Saratoga Lake. WNYT reports Blake Heflin was operating the boat that hit and killed 20-year-old Ian Gerber. He was charged with criminally negligent homicide, but pleaded guilty Friday to a reduced charge of misdemeanor assault. Police say Heflin was intoxicated when he hit Gerber, who had jumped off Heflin’s moving boat.

State Police in Clifton Park are warning citizens of a scam that preys on grandparents after receiving multiple calls on what is known as the “Grandparent Scam” or “Family Emergency Scam”. These scams usually involve someone calling to claim that someone’s grandchild or other relative has been arrested and a bail bondsman needs to be paid immediately. Another scam currently used attempts to convince the victim that a relative was involved in a serious accident and money is needed for medical payments.

With nine days left until the state’s deadline, the town of Moreau in Saratoga County is the latest in Upstate New York to decide it will opt-out of on-site consumption and retail sales of marijuana. WTEN reports Moreau is opting-out not because they are against it, rather, for the fact the town board is unsure what the Office of Cannabis Management’s rules and regulations will be.

Gov. Hochul is focusing on home testing kits, and keeping kids in the classroom after winter break. WNYT reports it comes as New York state hit another record of nearly 29,000 new COVID infections in one day. That’s five records in six days. Hochul said the state has ordered five million new testing kits due by New Year’s Eve, and those testing kits will help keep vaccinated kids in school, even after they’re exposed.

Saratoga county’s daily updates will include different kinds of COVID numbers. According to WRGB, Hospitalizations, new cases, and deaths won’t be included in the daily updates the county sends out. Instead, The new approach will focus on six new data types. Many of them report averages, and some look at the capital district as a whole instead of the county specifically.