TompkinsWeekly

Sunday, August 23, 2015

TompkinsWeekly for the week of August 24th

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Day of Giving Has Broad Appeal
Starting at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, Tompkins County will hold its first “Giving Is Gorges” campaign, a 24- hour countywide day of giving. The online challenge celebrates local nonprofits and affirms the community’s culture of giving. More than 100 area nonprofits have signed up for the event.

Lifton Petitions for Airport Rule
Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton (D- 125th District) and several of her upstate Assembly colleagues have signed a letter urging the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to uphold the 1,500-mile perimeter rule at LaGuardia International Airport in Nerw York City.

County legislature approves an agreement with union page 2
A new, three-year collective bargaining agreement between Tompkins County and its White Collar Unit (Civil Service Employees Association, Local 855), the county’s largest employees union, was approved by the Tompkins County Legislature on Aug. 18. Approval came without dissent, with Dan Klein abstaining since a family member is covered under the White Collar contract. Union membership ratified the tentative agreement July 30.

Sheriff’s Office seeks more funding page 2
The Tompkins County Legislature’s Public Safety Committee is considering a request from the Tompkins County Sheriff ’s Office to appropriate more than $360,000 from the Contingent Fund to cover anticipated shortfalls in the 2015 budget related to overtime expense in the Road Patrol and Corrections divisions, and inmate boardout costs.

Time to celebrate completion of the Commons project page 3
A two-day bash to celebrate the long-awaited completion of the Ithaca Commons construction project will be held Friday and Saturday, Aug. 28 and 29, with something for everyone in downtown Ithaca.

Entrepreneurs create new recipe for fast food page 5
A new Ithaca-based company, MacroFuel, will launch a Kickstarter campaign on Monday, Aug. 24, to raise capital for production of its namesake product, a powdered meal alternative that claims to be different from those already on the market.

New season begins for Cornell Cinema page 8
The colleges have started up; cars turning the wrong way on the oneway streets around the Commons, long lines at Wegmans, a lot more people everywhere. One silver lining to the end of a sultry summer is that Cornell Cinema has also started up for its fall screenings.

The Pope’s plan for saving the planet page 9
“Laudato Si’, mi’ Signore”— “Praise be to you, my Lord”—so begins Pope Francis’ June 2015 encyclical on the environment. The Pope quotes from a famous canticle (chant or religious song of praise) composed in 1225 by Saint Francis of Assisi.

Sunday, August 16, 2015

TompkinsWeekly for the week of August 17th

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Village Targets Water Pollution
The Village of Trumansburg broke ground for a new $6.2 million sewage treatment plant on Aug. 10, marking the start of a project that is the result of community environmental activism combined with responsive regulatory agencies and local government.

Permaculture Efforts on Display
Permaculture is loosely defined as “the development of agricultural ecosystems intended to be sustainable and self-sufficient,” a melding of both “permanent” and “culture”. Permaculture practices have strongly taken root in the Finger Lakes Region, and will be on full display this weekend.

Challege Workforce has a new director page 2
After a careful and thorough search, Challenge Workforce Solutions’ Board of Directors has announced that Joe Sammons will join the agency as its new executive director.

Waterfront trail is finally completed page 3
The entire length of the Cayuga Waterfront Trail is finally open, after 15 years and $4.75 million, not counting private donations toward trail amenities such as benches and signs.

Cornell’s POST program marks 20 years of community service page 5
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Cornell’s Pre-Orientation Service Trips (POST), a Public Service Center program that provides the opportunity for incoming students to get a head start on their Cornell careers through volunteering in the local community.

Kitchen Theatre reveals new season page 8
Kitchen Theatre Company’s 2015-16 season begins next month. This is the 25th anniversary season and the sixth in the renovated, LEEDcertified theater at 417 W. State/MLK, Jr. St. in downtown Ithaca.

Survival in the city page 9
Explosions of color, bright, saturated, deep, as in a few swift, lovely scenes we are introduced to Jude’s life in rural Vermont. In voiceover he brings us back to two key nights in his youth: both marked by his best friend Teddy and Teddy’s absence.

Sunday, August 9, 2015

TompkinsWeekly for the week of August 10th

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Energy Program a Smart Idea
A new countywide program to offer geothermal and airsource heat pumps, as well as energy-saving home improvements is now moving forward. HeatSmart Tompkins is a program of the non-profit Solar Tompkins, which recently hired program director Matt Johnston.

Old Library Site Developer Chosen
The Tompkins County Legislature overcame its deadlock at two previous meetings and on Aug. 4 approved the Travis Hyde Group as preferred developer of the County’s Old Library site, located at the corner of Ithaca’s Cayuga and Court Streets. Travis Hyde proposes 60 senior-focused market- rate rental apartments, with professional office space and space for the senior services organization Lifelong.

New street parking system is rolled out by the City of Ithaca page 2
Frank Nagy offers these words of advice for those using the new, high-tech parking meter system in effect on city streets: Know your license plate number. “Most people don’t know their license plate numbers off the tops of their heads, but that’s the key with this system,” Nagy, Director of Parking for the City of Ithaca, says.

Therapist pushes for healthy relationships class at IHS page 3
A recent study by Teachers College at Columbia University found that for every dollar schools spend on students’ emotional intelligence, there is an average of $11 worth of benefits to society. Work at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence has shown that children of all ages can be taught these skills, and “there are real benefits, such as more effective leadership skills, stronger friendships and connections to teachers, better conflict management skills, and greater academic achievement than children who do not receive the training.”

Dairy Princess embraces her role as an industry advocate page 5
Elizabeth Drake, Tompkins County Dairy Princess, is one of 35 county dairy princesses involved in the New York State Dairy Princess and Promotion Program. She is the 16- year-old daughter of Doyle and Judy Drake of Lansing.

Wine symposium puts the spotlight on Finger Lakes region page 8
New York was selected as the world’s top wine region of 2015 by Wine Enthusiast magazine, and its wines are increasingly being recognized for their excellence.

Family ties are tested in new film page 9
So, yes, Dad is a bit crazy, and not used to routines, but Mom has to go off to grad school at Columbia, so you get to stay with him for the next 18 months.

Food Hubs take surplus garden produce page 10
If you have a backyard garden or share in a CSA, you’ve probably grown more fresh produce than you can use and have ended up throwing some of it away. What if there was a place nearby where you could take your surplus fresh fruits and veggies that would then redirect it to community members in need who can’t afford to buy it?

Sunday, August 2, 2015

TompkinsWeekly for the week of August 3rd

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Sunday, July 26, 2015

TompkinsWeekly for the week of July 27th

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Nurturing New Careers at CU
Life Changing Labs (LCL) is a not-for-profit organization started by Peter Cortle in 2011 to support Cornell’s top entrepreneurially minded students. This summer, six “incubator companies” were chosen from 100 applicants, and are using the available resources to get their businesses off the ground. All six companies will present their final product pitch on July 31 in hopes of winning the first place prize of $1,000.

Moth-Stalkers Are on the Prowl
Jason Dombroskie is a flesh-and-blood Golden Guide to the world of insects—and specifically moths. On July 22, the manager of Cornell University’s Insect Collection and coordinator for the university’s Insect Diagnostic Lab led a daylight tour and nocturnal journey into the world of moths

Still no decision on Old Library developer page 2
The Tompkins County Legislature remains unable to reach a decision on selecting a preferred developer for the county’s Old Library property.

Database learns to identify birds page 3
Google learned three years ago that a network of computers could teach themselves to recognize cat faces by watching millions of YouTube stills. More recently, the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, along with the Visipedia research project, enlisted members of the birding community to do something perhaps more useful: to identify 400 common bird species of the U.S. and Canada from uploaded photos.

GrassRoots Festival in pictures page 5
The Finger Laqkes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance put on a great show for its 25th anniversary this year.

Dairy to host Farm City Day page 8
Farm City Day celebrates calves and cows and everything in between. The Carey family of Groton will open their farm at 305 Lick Street on Saturday Aug. 1, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors will be able to get up close to the livestock at all ages and stages, from new-born through milking cow.

Looking for clues to a great man’s past page 9
Given that Ian McKellen was announced to play an elderly Sherlock Holmes, not only iconic but hot these days (due to one Benedict Cumberbatch), and McKellen’s star status as both Gandalf and Magneto, audiences might think “Mr. Holmes” (now playing at Cinemapolis) was meant as another summer blockbuster.

Make your voice heard on climate change page 10
You probably believe either or both of the following: Congress will never act on climate; or we have little influence in the matter.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

TompkinsWeekly for the week of July 20th

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East Hill Project Breaks Ground
Years of persistence and patience finally paid off for Josh Lower with the July 13 groundbreaking ceremony for Collegetown Crossings, a six-story apartment complex that Lower has been planning for almost a decade. Dozens of community members came out to celebrate the occasion, with 15 special guests invited to grab a shovel and dig in.

Outdoor Dining a Village Asset
July evening sunlight was shining warmly on the Dey family, of Ovid, as they awaited their meal outside of Little Venice restaurant in Trumansburg, and some of the party enjoyed pints of beer.

Sustainable food policies targeted page 2
Now more than ever, society is becoming more knowledgeable about the food we produce and consume every day. The conversation has grown exponentially from the days of simply examining the benefits of organic versus non-organic produce. Today, we question the impossible-sounding ingredients listed on the package and want to know where the food we purchase comes from. The resounding question these days: Is it local?

County honored again for effective use of technology page 3
Tompkins County once again has been recognized as one of the nation’s top digital counties by the Center for Digital Government and the National Association of Counties (NACo). The award identifies best technology practices among counties nationwide, recognizing leading examples of counties that use technology to improve services and boost efficiencies.

Candidates to run for city council seat page 3
Two candidates have tossed their hats into the ring for the 2nd Ward seat on Ithaca’s Common Council in this year’s local elections.

Local talent on display at Artist Market page 5
This year, art collectors have another opportunity to “See it Live, Buy it Local” at the 25th annual Ithaca Artist Market, held on Friday, July 24, from 2 to 8 p.m. at the Ithaca Farmers Market. The Artist Market fills all 88 booths in a once-a-year event.

Teens on the outside looking in page 8
As the opening sequence tells us, dope can mean drugs, a stupid person, or something cool, fly. And writer/director Rick Famuyiwa’s “Dope” (now playing at Cinemapolis), is more than fly; its smart take on teenage comedy is kissed by a sweet insanity.

A different take on the Sherlock legend page 9
Here’s a puzzle for you: How do you take a dense and sprawling Victorian murder-mystery novel, complete with Gothic moors, ghost dog, creepy butler and the most famous detective in English literature, and stage it with three actors in under two hours? Director Mark Shanahan and his stalwart cast solve the mystery for us with the Hangar Theatre’s family-friendly production of “The Hound of the Baskervilles”.

Sharing is key to an effective transportation strategy page 10
Golden sunshine and sweet summer breezes can bring out our most generous selves. Can a “sharing mood” about transportation bring out the best in our whole community? Here are five ways it already has, and how you can get in on the summer fun.

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