TompkinsWeekly for the week of November 9th

Download the newspaper in Acrobat Format Here Teachers’ Action Sends Message Recent investigations have revealed that Exxon Mobil knew by the late-1970s about the long-term impacts the fossil fuel industry would have on our climate. Despite uncovering this information, the company spent the next few decades funding climate change denial and misrepresenting the state of the science. Protests have been taking place worldwide, including one last week staged by two local teachers at the Exxon station at 540 W. State St. in Ithaca. Full Story »   County Sets Green Power Example Tompkins County government has achieved recognition by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a Green Power Partner. The designation recognizes the county’s efforts to reduce the risk of climate change through the use of alternative sources of power. Full Story »   Local writers featured in new anthology page 3 The many facets of local literary talent are on full display in a new anthology that features the work of authors, academics, journalists and other wordsmiths who riff on life in Ithaca and its environs. Full Story »   2015 Tompkins County election results page 4 Unofficial final results for the 2015 election from the Tompkins County Board of Elections. Full Story »   Grant funds Cornell program to study the human brain page 5 Cornell Neurotech, a collaboration between the colleges of Arts and Sciences and Engineering, will launch thanks to a multimillion dollar seed grant from the Mong Family Foundation. Full Story »   Musician’s album considerd for Grammy award page 8 Jon Petronzio (JP) has been rocking the Ithaca music scene since his days at Ithaca College, and all of that hard work has paid off with his new album “Road Man: Light at the Speed of Life” being considered for a Grammy nomination. He won’t know if he gets on the final Grammy ballot until later this month; in the meantime he’s enjoying the surge in attention that this recognition brings to his music. Full Story »   Two takes on a notable documentary about a flamboyant queen page 9 Cornell Cinema offers a startling, electric, rare pairing of films this week and next: a beautiful restoration of Shirley Clarke’s revolutionary 1967 documentary “Portrait of Jason”—widely hailed as the first portrait of a black gay man on film—and Stephen Winter’s new fictional revisitation, “Jason and Shirley”, which recreates one possible version of the 12-hour alcohol- and-drug-soaked filming, centering on the duel between subject (Jason) and artist (Shirley) as each tries to place their stamp on the film. Full Story »   Hydrilla project reports progress and plans new strategies page 10 The transition to fall marks the end of another growing season for local terrestrial and aquatic plant communities. Leaves change color and drop, in a spectacle both brilliant and pleasing to the senses. Crops mature and are harvested to feed communities across the region. Plant communities senesce, as roots and seeds prepare for winter survival until spring arrives next year. It is a dynamic transition, both familiar and reassuring at the same time. Full Story »