Andrew Cuomo
Fifth Region Of The State Allowed To Begin Reopening
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He said New York’s North Country and the Central New York regions have met the state’s criteria.
Cortland Groups Plan Drive-Thru Dairy Giveaway
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“The plan is for us to continue to get dairy into the county through the food pantries and other food programs as long as the donations keep flowing.”
App NEWS
County Clerks Criticize Foreign Document Rules Set By Green Light Law
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The Green Light Law in New York went into effect this week. Some county clerks criticize the changes to allowable proofs of identity.
Repeal Of Religious Exemption To Vaccines Hits Hurdle In Rural Finger Lakes
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In Finger Lakes Mennonite communities, families have taken full advantage of the religious exemption for years.
Hochul, Stewart-Cousins Reflect On 100 Years Of Women’s Suffrage
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Stewart-Cousins spoke about how when her mother was born, she did not have the right to vote.
Finger Lakes Farms Offer A Variety Of Public Tours This Weekend
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Residents and visitors to the Finger Lakes have the opportunity this weekend to visit working farms.
Investigation Into Arrests Of Black Man, Woman By Ithaca Police Complete
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Acting Police Chief said officer behavior was not wrong
Ithaca Teachers Vote For Better Pay, Health Insurance In New Contract
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Teachers in the Ithaca City School District have voted for a six-year contract. The contract covers the next five years and was ratified in an almost unanimous vote.
App NEWS
Ithaca Teachers Vote On New Contract
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“The cost of living in Ithaca is much different than elsewhere in the Southern Tier or even central New York.”
App NEWS
As New York Considers The Legality of E-Scooter Rentals, Have The Risks Been Overlooked?
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“By removing e-scooters from the category of motor vehicle,” he said, “it would remove them also from the driving while intoxicated or driving while impaired law of the state.
Not All County Clerks Agree On Driver’s Licenses For New York’s Undocumented Immigrants
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“I would rather they had a license and had insurance, you know because, if say you get into an accident and you know, the other person is driving illegally and they don’t have insurance, you know it makes that whole thing more difficult.”
Ithaca Mayoral Race Now Contested
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In his bid for a third term, Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick has an opponent The Tompkins County Board of Election confirmed that Adam Levine will be on the November ballot.
Affordable Housing
New Rent Law Allows Ithaca To Impose Tougher Restrictions On Landlords, But Should It?
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“The proposal itself would really discourage real estate investment at a time when New York state should be creating more incentives to attract people, grow businesses, and investment opportunities not only locally but in the entire state.”
App NEWS
Impaired Driving, Not Legalized Party Pot, Worries The Tompkins County Sheriff
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“Where I have to be concerned is when it comes into the public safety of everybody in our community. And, you know, things like driving while ability impaired, is a big thing for me…
antibiotic free beef
Tompkins County Schools Sign Contracts With Farmers Who Use Fewer Antibiotics
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“Our improvements in management which includes feeding and housing and veterinary care, disease control…we’ve been able to control infectious diseases to a greater extent than ever before.”
Winter Solar Energy Shortage Could Be Solved By Increasing Storage Capacity
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Solar energy is plentiful in the summer, but when cold winter mornings return, a Cornell researcher has found the Northeast will still rely on fossil fuels for heat.
Firing Of Ithaca Officer Prompts Review Of Police Cases
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“We’re starting to get inquiries from former clients regarding their former cases in which they plead or been convicted at trial seeking a review and that’s gonna require a review, in some cases, of what was the officers role in those cases.”
Economy
Tompkins Solar Farm Stays Mowed Thanks To Sheep
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There’s a new solar project in Tompkins County that has farmers and solar companies helping each other.
Write-In Candidate Wins Seat On Ithaca School Board
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Erin Croyle, a write-in candidate, defeated Bradley Grainger to become the newest member of the Ithaca City School District school board.
App NEWS
Cayuga Lake Coal-Fired Power Plant To Convert To Solar Powered Data Center
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The owners want to convert it into a 100 megawatt data center. Their proposal includes a seventy-five acre solar farm, and they will apply to the state for a 125 megawatt renewable energy allocation.
Andrew Cuomo
New Law Makes Domestic Violence Trauma A Factor In Sentencing
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“That trauma leads them to make decisions that those of us with adult, non-traumatized brains might not make. And they end up facing prosecution and prison for those decisions. And, in that way it concretely criminalized their trauma.”
New Parking Tech Makes Remote Validation Possible For Ithaca Businesses
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“When the customer goes back to the garage with the ticket, it’ll show they owe nothing or they’ll owe a less amount depending on what the discount was.”
alternatives to incarceration
Criminal Justice Reform Advocates Tour Tompkins County Jail
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“We’re trying to re-enter a person into the community so they fit in better, so they don’t come back here.”
Ithaca Legalizes Backyard Chickens
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The ordinance would only allow for hens. No roosters! Only six per household will be allowed, a property must be at least 2,000 square feet and there are other requirements for the chickens shelter and regular inspections.
App NEWS
Pros, Cons Of Pot Legalization Discussed Tonight In Tompkins County
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A panel of public health, law enforcement and others will speak this evening in Tompkins County about the pros and cons of legalizing recreational marijuana.
Farmworkers Can’t Get Overtime, Collectively Bargain. NYS Lawmakers Considers Changing Labor Law.
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Crispin Hernandez used to work on a North Country dairy farm. He and others workers tried to organize and were fired. Now he works for a workers’ rights group.
Farmers Concerned With Proposed Changes To New York Labor Law
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“Farm workers are excluded from labor laws that protect all other workers. So, do we want to level the playing field and ensure that those protections are in place?”
App NEWS
Yates County Needs Its Own Mental Health Dept. To Cope With Crisis Says School Superintendent
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Mental health issues are a community concern, not just one for the schools, according to Kelly Houck, Dundee Superintendent of Schools.
Affordable Housing
To Heal Opioid Epidemic, Broome Experts Tell NYS AG They Need Affordable Housing, Prevention
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“When we have residents coming back from treatment and ending up in the same housing they left we’re not assisting them in staying in recovery,” said Rebecca Kaufman, Director of the Broome County Department of Health.
App NEWS
Tompkins Sheriff’s Dept. Increases Patrol Of Newfield Schools After Threat Found in Bathroom
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Police increased patrol of Newfield schools in Tompkins County this week after a threat of violence was found written in a bathroom stall of one of the schools.
App NEWS
Gillibrand, Grassley Call For More Transparency About College Sexual Assault
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New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa have re-introduced a bill that would change the way colleges and universities handle sexual assaults that occur on their campuses.
App NEWS
With A Plan And 2 Jobs, One Ithaca Woman Builds A New Life After Prison
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Shanakia Gray got out of prison in October. She’s gotten those two jobs and even a promotion to help raise her two small children.
Late Alan Krueger Learned To Love Economics At Cornell
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“With college professors, the notion that your students will become something more than you are is also something that you hope for.”
App NEWS
Cornell Graduate Students Hold Second Rally For Changes To Mental Health Services
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The Cornell graduate student union, Cornell Graduate Students United is trying to pressure the University Administration for changes to mental health services.
New York Senate Votes Unanimously To Ban Finger Lakes Trash Incinerator
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It is the latest step in efforts to block the construction of the trash incinerator in the town of Romulus.
bike safety
Ithaca Inspires Elmira’s Search For Transportation Solutions
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One person described walking across the wide boulevard in front of Elmira’s Clemens Center as a ‘near-death experience.’
Small Farmers, Rural Homeowners File Petition, But Re-Zoning Process Continues In Town Of Ulysses
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Small farmers and rural homeowners argue they set aside too much land for preservation.
Landowners, Farmers Oppose Zoning Plan For Tompkins County Town
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A group of landowners and farmers are trying to stop some zoning changes designed to preserve open space in the Town of Ulysses. Some say agricultural needs haven’t been considered. The town disagrees.
Proposed Increases In New York’s Early Childhood Budget Explained
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The New York State Assembly has released its budget priorities. Among those priorities for Democrats is more money for early childhood education and health services for “at-risk” children.
broome co ny
Shortage Of Affordable Housing Drives Up Homelessness In Southern Tier
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“We’re actually seeing the biggest increases in the number of families who are facing homelessness. So, typically that would look like a young single mom with 2 or 3 young children.”
Central New York
Yates County School Leaders Call Mental Health Crisis “Sickening”
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Yates County schools face a mental health crisis. School psychologist Christine Diamond says, “What I’ve experienced in the past 5 years has been sickening,” She was talking about the quality of mental health care she’s seen for children.
Ithaca United Methodists Respond To Decision to Ban Same Sex Marriages, Ordinations
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This week the global meeting of the United Methodist Church voted to maintain a ban on same sex marriages and ordinations. It’s the third largest faith community in the United States. Many American Methodists hoped for a different outcome.
Central New York
New York Farmers Want Immigration, Visa Reforms For Workers’ Status
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The New York Farm Bureau has announced their federal policy priorities on Wednesday. Immigration is top leading issues they want Congress to address.
Central New York
Ithaca Constituent Calls On Reed To Show Some Courage And Vote Against Trump
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Theresa Alt was one of two people who stopped by for a visit. Alt met Tuesday with staff at Congressman Tom Reed’s Ithaca office. That office last opened its doors two weeks ago, but there were no visitors. This time, people showed up.
Finger Lakes Legislator Says Amazon Would Love Upstate
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Now that Amazon won’t build a new headquarters in Queens, some Finger Lakes legislators want the company to consider coming upstate. But, that likely won’t happen.
Economy
Assembly GOP Leader Says Cuomo Bears Blame For Collapsed Amazon Deal
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Amazon’s decision to cancel it’s planned headquarters in New York City has some upstate Republicans saying the governor bears part of the blame.
2018 legislative session
For Some New York Lawmakers, Stopping The Romulus Incinerator Is A Priority In 2019
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The New York legislature returns to work this morning and Finger Lakes Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R-C-I) sees it as another chance to kill a proposed trash incinerator in the town of Romulus.
Arts & Culture
In Ithaca, Looking Ahead To 2019
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ITHACA, NY (WSKG) – 2018 is almost over and 2019 is on its way in. Around Ithaca, people are looking to make some changes. Inside a health club, people are signing up for new memberships to start the new year. Nearby others are pushing and pulling on weight machines. “I’m most looking forward to great self care,” said Christine Cummings.
Environment
In 2018, Harmful Algal Blooms On Cayuga Lake Increased Five-Fold Over The Year Before
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Significantly more harmful algal blooms were reported on Cayuga Lake this year than in 2017. A local non-profit reports the 2018 blooms were more likely to contain toxins harmful humans and small mammals, like cats and dogs.
Health
Cornell Graduate Students Say Their University Has A Mental Health Crisis
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About one hundred Cornell graduate students gathered outside the Cornell Health Center on campus Wednesday afternoon. They were calling for an external review of the mental health services at the University. Students shared their own mental health struggles. They described not being taken seriously by faculty and having to go off campus to find therapists. They say getting appointments is difficult unless they are in crisis, suicidal or in academic trouble.
Today’s The Deadline For New Yorkers To Register To Vote In November Elections
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You can register in person, online, or by mail, but make sure it’s postmarked today.
“We recommend that you go, actually into the post office and have them stamp it in front of you. Don’t just drop it in the mailbox because we get mail without postmarks and then we can’t count it, unfortunately.”
Southern Tier Rain Brings Relief To Farmers, Others Seek Shelter From Floods
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Rain has caused flooding across part of New York and Pennsylvania, but for farmers it’s a welcome sight.
Food and Farms
A Tompkins County Food Pantry Re-Opens After Temporary Suspension
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ENFIELD, NY (WSKG) – The Enfield Food Pantry has re-opened. It was temporarily suspended by the Food Bank of the Southern Tier for potential rodent problems.
Enfield is about 6 miles from Ithaca. About three weeks ago, Food Bank of the Southern Tier stopped delivering food to the pantry until they did a few things to prevent rodents from getting in. The town owns the building where the pantry’s located. So, the Town Board, Pantry volunteers and the Food Bank came together to resolve the problems.
Now, the food pantry has freshly spackled and painted walls to keep rodents from getting in.