Albany

Imagine not having high-speed internet at home.

That may be hard to do for people who live in towns like Wilton, Niskayuna, Clifton Park, Guilderland and Bethlehem.

But in some towns in rural Washington and Warren counties, as well as far-flung parts of Albany County, the majority of households lack decent internet service, a new study by the Center for Economic Growth found.

The news isn't all that bad.

Watervliet City Schools will begin testing at least 10 percent of its on-site students and staff next week, school officials have announced.

The testing will be administered by school nurses on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on a rotating basis starting with the junior and senior high school on Wednesday, Jan. 20 and at Watervliet Elementary School on Friday, Jan. 22.

New York has administered 74 percent of the state's supply of first doses of COVID-19 vaccine, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said on Friday.

The Cuomo administration has been criticized for a bumpy roll out of the program as frustrations mount about lack of access and glitches in setting up appointments. At a Friday briefing in Albany, Cuomo gave the state good marks, but acknowledged there could be improvements.

Verizon is installing fiber-optic cables in the town of Hoosick as part of its agreement with the state to upgrade its high-speed internet network upstate.

The expansion of Verizon's high-speed internet servivce in Hoosick is part of a 2018 agreement with the state Public Service Commission to bring high-speed internet to 14,000 additional upstate homes.

Mechanicville has again paid legal fees for denying a Freedom of Information request.

City council Commissioner Barbara McGuire took the city to court after it denied her access to fellow city council Commissioner Anthony Gotti’s text messages. In a settlement agreement between attorneys last fall, she got the text messages. And the city was ordered to pay $9,700 for her attorney.

“The city is playing games,” McGuire said. “(The city) does whatever it likes. It’s like the wild, wild west. But (city officials) aren’t mad at the attorney for denying my request, they are mad at me for winning.”

New York graduation rates climbed steadily higher in 2019- 2020, a school year upended by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the most recent data from the state Education Department.

In the Capital Region, 23 high schools saw higher graduation rates in 2019-2020 when graduation requirements were eased because of the health crisis.

Public Employees Federation President Wayne Pence on Friday filed a lawsuit against New York for its failure to provide adequate paid sick leave for state employees who have had to quarantine or isolate beyond the 14 days allotted to them.

"The lawsuit asserts that state employers have irrationally and improperly deprived our members of their guaranteed right to paid quarantine leave during the COVID-19 pandemic," he said, standing in front of the closed steps to the state Capitol in Albany.