TompkinsWeekly

Sunday, February 22, 2015

TompkinsWeekly for the week of February 23rd

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City Takes Aim at Drug Abuse
The War on Drugs is the longest war America has ever engaged in. Seven months ago, Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick formed an Ithaca Municipal Drug Policy Committee (MDPC), involving a group of key stakeholders charged with evaluating ways to transform how the city deals with drug and alcohol abuse.

Cornell Expans SAT Prep Program
The War on Drugs is the longest war America has ever engaged in. Seven months ago, Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick formed an Ithaca Municipal Drug Policy Committee (MDPC), involving a group of key stakeholders charged with evaluating ways to transform how the city deals with drug and alcohol abuse.

County’s comprehensive Plan receives a positive response page 2
The Tompkins County Legislature on Feb. 17 heard from the public about the proposed 2015 Tompkins County Comprehensive Plan, which represents the first full update of the plan since it was first adopted by the Legislature 11 years ago.

Electronic records keeping system deemed a “bright idea” page 2
The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, has recognized the Tompkins County Shared Services Electronic Records Repository as part of the 2015 Bright Ideas program.

Hancock Street site plans are taking shape page 3
Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services (INHS) has completed four public outreach meetings to gather community input about the redevelopment of 210 Hancock St. in Ithaca, formerly the site of Neighborhood Pride grocery store. The final meeting was Feb. 11, at which over 50 people attended.

Mini-grants help boost local bycicle use page 5
Bit by bit and brake shoe by bike rack, one small grant at a time, a sustainable bicycle culture is growing in Tompkins County. Through its Neighborhood Mini-grant Program, Sustainable Tompkins this past year has awarded grants that offer practical support for area bicyclists and would-be bicyclists.

Trail effort in Lansing is for the birds, bats page 9
The Bluebird Trail started small and has grown to 31 bird boxes throughout three locations in Lansing: the Lansing Center Trail, Salt Point and Myers Hill, located on the hill before entering into Myers Park.

Mothers Out Front think globally and act locally on climate change..page 10
“We are the first generation to feel the effects of climate change and the last that will be able to do anything about it.”

Sunday, February 15, 2015

TompkinsWeekly for the week of February 16th

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Input Sought on County Plan
Tompkins County's Comprehensive Plan is going through its third iteration since its initial release in 2004, and the newest draft is now available for comment.

Incubator ‘Pushes’ Tech to Market
One software company buying another— it happens all the time in the business world. But the story of Ithaca’s GORGES Inc. acquiring Push Interactive runs deeper than the deal; it involves a network of public and private partners, among them Rev, Ithaca’s downtown business incubator.

Legislature receives Compliance report; Sheriff supports use of body cameras page 2
The Tompkins County Legislature has received its annual year-end report on the Tompkins County Compliance Program from Deputy County Administrator and County Compliance Officer Paula Younger, who chairs the County’s ten-member Compliance Committee.

Electric cars are gaining acceptance page 3
All-electric cars are rare in Tompkins County, unlike California’s Silicon Valley where Tesla Roadsters dot the landscape. But in the near future, electric and automated vehicles will likely be the norm everywhere, says Ricardo Daziano, assistant professor in Cornell’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Wells College names 19th president page 5
The Wells College Board of Trustees has named Jonathan C. Gibralter the 19th President of Wells College. Gibralter’s appointment follows an extensive national search, recommendation by the 12- person search committee, and unanimous vote of the College’s Board of Trustees, Board Chair Carrie A. Bolton ’92 announced today.

Cinemapolis rolls out the red carpet for Oscars benefit party page 9
According to the website for the Oscars, content related to the 87th Academy Awards Show on Feb. 22 will be viewable on a multitude of devices. For those interested in getting that content along with a reallife social experience rather than just a virtual one, Cinemapolis in Ithaca is hosting its annual gala fundraiser “And The Winner Is...”

Creators of “Safety” receive Multi-Faith Award page 10
Sarah Chalmers Simmons and Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr. are the recipients of this year’s Multi- Faith World Award. They are the leading forces behind the community- based play “Safety,” which examines community and police relations in Ithaca and Tompkins County.

Sunday, February 8, 2015

TompkinsWeekly for the week of February 9th

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IC Adjuncts Seek Union
Part-time faculty members on the Ithaca College (IC) campus are organizing a union to more effectively negotiate their working conditions with the college’s administration.

A ‘Fresh’ Approach for Corner Stores
Ithaca is blessed with lots of options for healthy food, from GreenStar Natural Food Market to the Farmers Market, and to large produce and natural foods sections in most big grocery stores. But what about the small corner store in your neighborhood? Do you have a choice of vegetables among the staples of bread, milk, beer and prepared foods?

Darwin Days celebration returns page 2
The Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) presents “Darwin Days 2015: Evolution in Your Back Yard,” with events taking place across Ithaca and Cornell’s campus this week. This marks the ninth year that PRI has hosted Darwin Days, with the support of Cornell University and the local community.

Press Bay Alley is honored by the Chamber of Commerce page 3
The Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce recently announced its annual award recipients during ceremony held at Ithaca College, and the Entrepreneur of the Year Award was given to John Guttridge and David Kuckuk for their development Press Bay Alley, a downtown Ithaca project which opened in June.

Teachers and museum educators connect through KDT page 8
Kids Discover the Trail! (KDT) is a partnership of the Ithaca Public Education Initiative (IPEI), the Ithaca City School District (ICSD) and the Discovery Trail. They collaboratively work to offer this program providing elementary school students a means to discover the world—right here in Tompkins County—and to gain experiences that inspire them to become more engaged students, better critical thinkers and lifelong learners.

Novelist presents a dark future with some dark humor page 9
Neophytes to experimental fiction can cut their teeth on “Gaha: Babes of the Abyss” (2014, Whiskey Tit, New York) the latest “sci-noir” work of Jonathan Frankel, a local author and poet.

Fontana’s Shoes still putting its best foot forward page 10
On lunch break recently I was shopping in Fontana’s Shoes. A longtime fan of the store, I was surprised when a person I recognized, Shawn Manning, walked up to assist me. When I expressed that I didn’t know that he worked there, he said, “Well actually, I own the store.” Turns out Manning, 42, has been at the century-old store for half of his life.

Monday, February 2, 2015

TompkinsWeekly for the week of February 2nd

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Road Salt Problem Persists
Within its winter cloak of ice and snow, the stream that flows by the Ithaca/ Tompkins County Convention and Visitors Bureau in Stewart Park hides a secret.

Getting the ‘Boot’ in Ithaca
Do you owe the City of Ithaca for an outstanding parking ticket? If so, the city wants to collect, and how. With some $1.5 million in unpaid tickets out there, it's no wonder.

County Council of Governments to take a closer look at municipal courts page 2
The Tompkins County Council of Governments (TCCOG) has endorsed the creation of a study panel to review, on its behalf, the current structure and operations of the municipal court system. The panel will be asked to identify potential ways to sustain and improve the efficiency of operations and quality of justice provided by the town and village courts.

Mosaic Project grows, piece by piece page 3
In weather better suited to carving ice sculptures, leading members of the 1st Street Mosaic Project met in January to plot the logistics of creating two new installations: “Gaia’s Garden” and “Plantastic!,” which will complement “Power Plant,” a 35-by-7-foot work completed in August.

Comprehensive Plan published by county planners page 5
The Tompkins County Planning Department has released the draft 2015 Tompkins County Comprehensive Plan for public review. The Plan is available on the Department’s website for review a t www.tompkinscountyny.gov/com plan.

Cornell library puts historical document on display page 8
Abraham Lincoln spent a lifetime working to end slavery in America, but he did not live to see it completed. “Lincoln’s Unfinished Work,” Cornell University Library’s newest exhibition, marks the 150th anniversary of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. Congress passed it on Jan. 31, 1865, but it wasn’t ratified by the required three-fourths of the states until December of that year, long after Lincoln’s death on April 14.

Operetta helps Cornell ring in 150th anniversary page 9
The chimes of Cornell ring throughout the campus; it’s a familiar sound that has echoed through the generations. But within those reverberations resides a tale swathed in romance and greed, a tale of the chimes’ origins that have been lost in the echoes of 150 years.

Developmentally disabled seek social justice and respect page 10
It is pretty well accepted that any vision of “sustainable community” must include social as well as economic and environmental justice. Race, class, income level, education, ethnicity, age, gender; we know the -isms. I’m writing on behalf of a group that more often than not gets left out: the developmentally disabled.

Human Rights Revisited: a celebration page 11
The Human Rights Commission (HRC) and the Office of Human Rights (OHR) will host Human Rights Revisited on Friday, Feb. 6. This event will include the rescheduled “Diversity of Perspectives” panel that was cancelled due to inclement weather on International Human Rights Day, Dec. 10, and the award ceremony for the first annual “What Would MLK Say Today?” poster contest.

Sunday, January 25, 2015

TompkinsWeekly for the week of January 26th

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Pipeline Project Questioned
Landowners in Dryden and Freeville are angry about the $1 offer they received from the New York State Gas and Electric Corp. (NYSEG) for a permanent easement giving the utility the right to use their property to install and maintain a 10-inch underground gas pipeline, and permission to sell the easement to third parties.

Morey, Snyder in Special Election
Voters in Tompkins County’s 9th District will choose betwen Republican candidate Glenn Morey, Groton Town Supervisor, and Democrat Neil Snyder, also of Groton, in the Feb. 10 special election to fill the unexpired term of former Tompkins County legislator Brian Robison.

Marcia Fort offers a call to action on Martin Luther King Jr. celebration page 2
“In Ithaca, let us all be dissatisfied until the reality in our 10 square miles is one of justice, equality and humanity,” said Marcia Fort, director of the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC), to a cheering crowd at GIAC’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Community Breakfast.

Personal accounts to be aired at “People’s State of the Union’ page 3
In what is being touted as a “new national civic ritual,” more than 150 story circles are being hosted throughout the U.S. between Jan. 23 and 30 to give voice to the “People’s State of the Union.” A local gathering will be held in Ithaca at The Space (700 W. Meadow St.) from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 30.

Lane targets state mandates at legislature meeting page 5
In his annual message to the Tompkins County Legislature on Jan. 20, Legislature Chairman Mike Lane said challenges for the year ahead come in the context of county residents’ needs.

Signs of hope in wartorn Kosovo page 8
While serving recently in Macedonia with the Peace Corps, my Country Director announced that the Peace Corps would be opening in the bordering country of Kosovo. We had been prohibited from going there until a year or two before, so immediately I was interested. I knew very little about the war they had seen 15 years ago with Serbia, only that America had helped them considerably while President Clinton was in office.

Kitchen cast tries living in the past page 9
The Kitchen Theatre begins the New Year with a multi-generational production written by artistic director Rachel Lampert. The latest in a series of career-long plays about her own life, “Count Me In” stars Lampert, features composer Larry Pressgrove and is directed by Emily Jackson. Costume Designer Hunter Kaczorowski and Sound Designer Lesley Greene enhance both the characters’ appearances and the mood within the framework of the play.

Environmental racism through the years page 10
In the introductory column on environmental racism and sustainability published here on Dec. 8, it was noted that a key moment in the movement for environmental justice came in 1987 with the publication of the United Church of Christ Commission for Racial Justice’s “Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States.” This report put the issue of environmental racism before the public in a new way.

Sunday, January 18, 2015

TompkinsWeekly for the week of January 19th

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Truck Safety Under Scrutiny
Last June a truck driver hauling an oversized rig carrying cars made a fateful decision on his approach to the City of Ithaca. At the intersection of routes 13 and 366, the driver chose the latter. Somewhere along the way the driver, uninsured, unfamiliar with the area, and possibly with the American language, lost control of his vehicle while traveling down East State Street and crashed into Simeon’s Restaurant.

Wind Farm Moves Forward
It’s been a long road, but Black Oak Wind Farm in Enfield is finally close to breaking ground this year. The wind farm will include seven GE 1.7- megawatt turbines, which will generate about 11.9 megawatt of electricity. Cornell University has provided a big boost to the project, agreeing to purchase all of the power generated by the wind farm.

County Legislature seeks increased scrutiny of online short-term rental operations page 2
After hearing a presentation from Tompkins County Tourism Coordinator Tom Knipe, the Tompkins county Legislature recently approved a resolution encouraging New York State to address issues related to the growth in short-term online rental services, such as Airbnb.

Tracker focuses on animals and habitat page 3
Mammals, unlike birds, can be hard to observe in the wild. Many are active at night and wary of humans. But if we don’t know where local mammals are, we can’t protect the habitat they use. Enter Keeping Track, a Vermont-based organization dedicated to training volunteer wildlife and habitat monitors to aid in conservation.

Land Trust adds parcel to Park Preserve page 5
The Finger Lakes Land Trust has announced today that it has purchased 25 acres as an addition to its Roy H. Park Preserve on Irish Settlement Road in the Town of Dryden. This acquisition expands the preserve to 242 acres and helps buffer Six Mile Creek—the source of Ithaca’s drinking water supply.

Bluegrass festival returns to Ithaca page 8
The fifth annual Winter Village Bluegrass Festival, running Jan 23- 25, returns to The State Theatre of Ithaca with The Travelin’ McCourys with special guests Mr. Sun featuring Tony Trischka and Darol Anger, bluegrass marvel Michael Daves and fiddler Brittany Haas, and local favorites Richie Sterns and Rosie Newton Saturday Jan. 24, at 8 p.m.

Our esteemed film critic bids adieu page 9
In his Gettysburg address, Lincoln predicted “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here …” It’s hard to know if he really believed this, but there’s no doubt it applies to critics. Of all the professions disrupted by the Internet, professional art criticism was an early casualty. With their profit margins under siege, many newspapers and magazines simply eliminated such stories. Once, every daily newspaper employed at least one full-time movie critic from the local community. Now most just print reviews from syndicated, out-of-town “celebrity” critics— if they print them at all.

Renters find their comfort zone page 9
Chilly drafts are one way of learning where Arctic air is sneaking into our homes. And bare spots on an otherwise snow-covered roof show us where heated air is escaping instead staying inside to keep us warm.

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