TompkinsWeekly for the week of September 14th

Download the newspaper in Acrobat Format Here Pipeline Measure Approved The Tompkins County legislature approved a resolution on Sept. 1 that asks the New York State legislature to assess the health and environmental risks associated with new, large-scale natural gas pipelines and compressor stations. The measure passed by vote of 10-3. Full Story »   The Struggle to Make Ends Meet Most locals will tell you that the costs of living in Ithaca and Tompkins County are high, higher than neighboring communities. Full Story »   City Comes Alive with Celebrations The streets of downtown Ithaca will be bustling on Sunday, with three celebrations rolled into one as Streets Alive!, the Food Justice Fair and the Latino Multicultural Festival and Parade all take place. Full Story »   The Tompkins County Legislature begins 2016 budget review page 2 Tompkins County Legislators acting as an Expanded Budget Committee last week began review of County Administrator Joe Mareane’s recommended 2016 county budget, hearing the first eight presentations from county departments while beginning a committee review process that will run through most of October. Full Story »   Extolling the value of indigenous wisdom page 3 Robin Kimmerer is a botanist who studies mosses and restoration ecology. On Sept. 2 she kicked off the Cornell Plantations fall lecture series with insights on the contributions of indigenous ecological knowledge to our understanding of the natural world. Full Story »   Workers converge for Labor Day Picnic page 5 Efforts to push for a living wage for local workers, and higher education employers, were in the spotlight at the 32nd annual Labor Day Picnic sponsored by the Midstate Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, and the Tompkins County Workers' Center. The theme this year was “Organizing for Success,” and a throng of local union members and labor supporters gathered at Stewart Park in Ithaca to enjoy a picnic-food buffet on a sweltering day. Full Story »   Documentary profiles a jazz icon page 8 The legendary jazz innovator and iconoclast Ornette Coleman died this summer. Known for kicking off the Free Jazz movement of the 1960s, he also experimented with fusion and African mysticism, electronic, and classical. Polyrythms, instruments playing in different keys, fragmented melodies, lack of a pianist laying down harmonic chords at center, all characterize his revolutionary approaches. Full Story »   Cherry Artspace sets up shop in Ithaca page 9 It’s no secret that Ithaca theaterlovers have it good. Like, really good. For a city of our size and location, we have an impressive number of local theater offerings to choose from on any given evening. Full Story »   Examining diversity on the farm page 10 It’s that special time of year; new beginnings, old endings, school starts and our little ones depart. On Sunday, Sept. 20, the first conscious effort (of my knowing) to bring three non-profit 501C3s in a collaborative effort as a team, to inform all communities of diverse backgrounds and to highlight the preliminary work being done in our community and afar. Full Story »