TompkinsWeekly for the week of August 3rd

Download the newspaper in Acrobat Format Here New Commons Finally Arrives Gone are the dust and debris, the detours and the noise. The finishing touches— finally—are being applied to the rebuilt Ithaca Commons. Completion of the $15 million project was overdue and over budget, but a stroll down Ithaca’s landmark pedestrian mall reveals that downtown is now a more inviting place. Full Story »   Sumner to Step Down in Dryden Mary Ann Sumner has been the Dryden Town Supervisor for eight years and a member of the town board for an additional two years. She and the board have achieved many accomplishments in her time as town supervisor, but probably the biggest being the landmark fracking ban that the town passed. Their decision to pass such a ban has had lasting implications on New York State as a whole as the fracking ban has already been upheld in several court cases. Full Story »   Ithaca mayor sends a message on funding for affordable housing page 2 Ithaca Mayor Svante L. Myrick hand-delivered a letter to U.S. Rep, Thomas Reeds Washington, D.C. office last month opposing the virtual elimination of the HOME program, the primary federal program for building affordable housing. Full Story »   New initiative aims to bring solar power to the masses page 3 ßA report this spring from the New York State Energy Research and Development Agency (NYSERDA) counted 635 solar-power energy systems in Tompkins County producing some 69 kilowatts of power per 1,000 county residents, the thirdhighest of all New York counties. As solar continues to grow, a new initiative from Renovus Solar may well push Tompkins County to number one. Full Story »   Film based on local author’s novel to debut in Ithaca page 5 The film adaptation of “Ten Thousand Saints,” the critically acclaimed debut novel by Ithaca College associate professor of writing Eleanor Henderson, will open in selected cities on Friday, Aug. 14, and in wider release the following week. Full Story »   Documenting a singer’s fall from grace page 8 Is Schadenfreude, as the Germans say, enjoying other’s misery? In our 24/7 reality TV mindscape, addiction is just another episode and we expect the good to die young. And rehab stays come and go like vacations for the rich and famous. Full Story »   At the Hangar, love American style page 9 It’s July 4th, 1944, in small-town Missouri. The Great Depression and, subsequently, World War II have left the community reeling. The town of Lebanon, like many others across the nation, is coming to grips with the suffering and loss of the previous decade. But one man, Matt Friedman, sets out with a heart full of hope to prove that, even in the most tumultuous and unlikely circumstances, love may still bloom. Full Story »   Students take their cues from entrepreneurs page 10 What if every high school introductory business course began with a lesson about sustainability? At New Roots Charter School, it does. Full Story »