TompkinsWeekly for the week of October 19th

Download the newspaper in Acrobat Format Here 2 Legislature Seats on Ballot Rich T. John, 56, is running as a write-in candidate against Elie Kirshner, 19, to represent the 4th District on the Tompkins County Legislature. An Ithaca resident for 50 years, John has lived in the legislature’s district for 18 years. Full Story »   Black Lives Matter Event Planned Racial tensions in the U.S. have escalated over time following a number of tragic events involving police and citizens, such as the shootings of Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Freddie Gray and Tamir Rice, as well as the church shooting in Charleston, S.C. In response to these events, and the systemic problems that contributed to them, communities have responded by organizing Black Lives Matter (BLM) events. The first major BLM event in Ithaca will be held on Saturday. Full Story »   Impacts of wind farms on bird populations are scrutinize page 2 Bill Evans studies nighttime migration calls of birds. He’s also one of the local experts who have studied the impacts of wind turbines on bird populations. Evans visited the Cornell Lab of Ornithology on Oct. 12 to share his perspective on avian impacts of wind energy in our region. Full Story »   Dryden voters face supervisor and town board races page 3 After 8 years as Dryden Town Supervisor Mary- Ann Sumner has chosen not to seek re-election. This vacancy will be contested as current Deputy Supervisor Jason Leifer, a Democrat, faces Dryden Independence challenger Craig Schutt. Full Story »   Local musicians provide film score page 5 Jay Craven’s new seaside film drama “Peter and John,” starring 2014 Golden Globe winner Jacqueline Bisset, will play in a special screening at 6:30 p.m., on Thursday, Oct. 22, at Cinemapolis. Director Craven will introduce the film and lead a post-screening Q & A that will include Craven’s longtime music collaborators Judy Hyman and Jeff Claus of the local band the Horse Flies. Full Story »   Film series bring the world to Ithaca page 8 Most weeks, this column takes on one film. But we are lucky in Ithaca to have more than the latest Hollywood and independent features on hand. We also have many film series, principally at Cornell Cinema, but also sponsored by community groups at Cinemapolis, while Ithaca College brings us the Out of the Closet and Onto the Screen Film Series sponsored by their Center for LGBT Education, Outreach & Services. Full Story »   ‘Mountaintop’ exposes the real Dr. King page 9 I’m willing to wager that any American could identify a picture of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. On classroom posters, stamps, Tshirts, Internet memes, television specials, films, and art: his face is one of the most ubiquitous and beloved in recent U.S. history. But the image of MLK that Memphisborn playwright Katori Hall serves up in “The Mountaintop” is anything but commonplace. Full Story »   City adds new bicycle infrastructure page 10 In the past year, the City of Ithaca invested in three significant bike infrastructure projects: the Cayuga Waterfront Trail, new bike lanes and a bicycle boulevard across Ithaca. With six miles of new non-motorized trail, three miles of newly traffic-calmed streets and nearly one mile of new bike lanes, Ithaca is moving toward sustainability and livable, inclusive neighborhoods as prioritized in the city’s Comprehensive Plan and the county’s Long Range Transportation Plan. Full Story »