Samantha Simmons

On this week's 51%, we hear from author Brianne Brinker, assistant athletic director at Union College, about her experience coming out and transitioning as a transgender woman in 2019. Brinker says “skating out of the vault” has allowed her to be her most confident self, and she considers finding herself to be her greatest accomplishment. Brinker reflects on her experience in her new book Skating Out of the Vault: A Trans Woman’s Escape from the Game of Masculinity.

A Schenectady County jury has ruled in favor of more than 1,100 former employees of St. Clare’s Hospital, ordering the Catholic Diocese of Albany and other defendants to restore their pensions.

With the 250 Anniversary of the start of the American Revolution coming up next summer, some communities in Vermont are working to preserve that history through interactive exhibits. Several nonprofits in Vermont issued nearly $63,000 in grants last week to ensure those projects are viable.

Late last month, Troy’s City Council approved Mayor Carmella Mantello’s plan to relocate City Hall to the former Proctor’s Theater in downtown. But as WAMC reports, photos of theater seats being removed have caused some drama.

As the city prepares to move its City Hall to the former Proctor’s Theater in downtown, Troy Proctor's Foundation, a nonprofit that formed in 2009, says the city is doing so in a non-transparent manner.

That's created some scrambling to make sure the Rensselaer County town has sufficient emergency service.

In Kingston, tenants say they fear eviction amid turmoil at City Hall that threatens local rent-stabilization policies.

Governor Kathy Hochul says her administration is monitoring potential threats to safety in New York following the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife overnight.

Kingston's Pike Plan canopies to be demolished

I first fell in love with learning in Mr. Bell’s seventh grade history class. Lessons about the European Renaissance opened my imagination to a wider world filled with art, culture, and visionary leaders that shaped history. Mr. Bell sparked a curiosity that pushed me to look beyond the walls of our classroom and eventually toward civic engagement and public service.