Ithaca Mirrors Nation’s Eviction Debate, But Coalition Wants To Change That
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“We say that the rent eats first. People are prioritizing paying rent over paying for food, or for medicine that they might need like an inhaler or insulin.”
WSKG (https://wskg.org/tag/southern-tier/)
“We say that the rent eats first. People are prioritizing paying rent over paying for food, or for medicine that they might need like an inhaler or insulin.”
Building on themes from the POV documentary Portraits and Dreams, community members told their story – or that of our region ~ through photography. Original photography was submitted to WSKG in the following themed categories of ‘Portraits’, ‘Dreams’, or ‘Community’. Here’s a look at submissions depicting life in rural/suburban New York and Pennsylvania. Thank you to all participants. Community Member Photography
BEST OVERALL
Home 1 | Genevieve Pedulla
COMMUNITY
Top Honor | Jonathan’s Tricks | Darlene Gold
Honorable Mention | Millie 4CLS | Jaclyn Praskavich
DREAMS
Top Honor | Working Toward the Dream | C. Bangel
Honorable Mention | March Sadness | C. Bangel
PORTRAIT
Top Honor | Snow Portrait | Gregory Milunich
Honorable Mention | Hercules | Jane Walker
Student Photography
Gabrielle Backman, Chenango Forks High School
“I chose this image because just the overall aura drew me to it.
“I’m confident we’re going to get through the next 13 days in a safe and secure fashion”
“It’s not a stimulus bill. It’s an emergency survival bill and we’re going to fight for more dollars later,.”
“They’re leaving a place they consider to be their home and all of their belongings are in their home but their homes aren’t as secure as our homes are,” said Deb Wilke.
A separate bill for $160 billion links state, local and tribal aid to an agreement on liability provisions.
“I wanted my vote to be counted right away and not after the Election Day.”
Spray paint of a circle with a cross was found on one business and in other places around the city.
“I do not believe you can be trusted on this question, Mr. Reed,” said Democratic challenger Tracy Mitrano.
The state Board of Elections said Monday that voting in Chenango County won’t be affected overall.
So far, 55 students have been suspended or banned from campus because of COVID violations.
The death occurred almost seven months to the day the county announced it was closing all schools to slow the spread of the virus.
The Ithaca City School District began in-person classes this week.
“The numbers are probably going to obscure some real misery, a sort of invisible misery in this community. We still have almost 10% unemployment.”
“We really are asking our farmers to be patient as we try to work this out with the federal government.”
Eventhough the new law essentially allows universal mail-in balloting, the Governor says New Yorkers might still be confused about how to actually request the absentee voting forms.
Earlier this month the college stepped back it’s initial plans and announced that students in states on the New York travel advisory list could not return to campus this fall.
“We have legislators in office that aren’t representing the people and don’t necessarily care about certain precautions.”
“It’s, it’s awful. And it’s not for a lack of the teachers doing an amazing job. And it’s not for a lack of everyone trying their hardest and their best.”
“And across the country we prioritize bars and restaurants over young people. How dare we do that.”
“Stepping back for a moment does not mean you’ve lost interest in the cause.”
Malina said students are being “encouraged” to quarantine for 14 days at home before returning to Ithaca.
“I don’t want that to be what people remember out of yesterday’s demonstration.”
“It’s a beautiful day, we’re not stuck in the house, you know, driving each other bonkers.”
“What we found on Cornell campus is really three degrees of separation”
Broome County’s Executive Jason Garnar said if the region continues to fulfill the reopening criteria set by the state, it could see Phase 2 on May 29th.
“You open a business tomorrow with 50 employees. You don’t do it right, one person was infected. You can infect 30 of the 50 in one afternoon.”
Four regional counties were allowed to restart the procedures on Wednesday.
He said New York’s North Country and the Central New York regions have met the state’s criteria.
“This is not about government. Government can offer suggestions, advice and guidance.”
The Southern Tier region includes Broome, Delaware, Chemung, Tioga, Tompkins, Chenango, Schuyler and Steuben counties.
The Governor said more details will be available on Monday.
“I’m trying to look at the positive side of things with everything going on.”
In a regular summer, up to a thousand kids from across Tompkins County participate.
“As we begin to rethink and restart the economy, projects like this can really help transform communities in a very positive way.”
As need has increased, donations have decreased.
The Republican said New York’s budget deficit was around $6 billion even before the pandemic started
“I don’t know when the next time I’ll be able to hug her is, because of this virus”
Testing through the new site is now free, regardless of health insurance.
“They may not be getting a meal at home, that’s heartbreaking.”
Director of WSKG’s Education Department Jackie Stapleton shared some resources for learning at home and how families can maintain some normalcy.
The Green Light Law allows undocumented people to obtain driver’s licenses.
The Republican believes the President had the right to violate the law by freezing the funds
Southern Tier Congressman Tom Reed is one of over a dozen current and former members of Congress who wrote letters.
An FBI spokesperson said people should always report scams to local law enforcement.
“This isn’t just Mr. O’Mara who neglects upstate New York,” she said.
The Christmas fern gets that name because the leaflets’ shape is similar to a Christmas stocking hung over the fireplace.
The Green Light Law in New York went into effect this week. Some county clerks criticize the changes to allowable proofs of identity.
Judge Richard Rich said Republican Paul Battisti’s request “lacked merit”.
The industrial hemp company would save $1.7 million over the next 15 years.
Former ACLU President says cancelling lecture may have sent the wrong message.
Reed described those who voted against the president as showing a “political cowardice” that was “appalling.”
The states also agreed to take more steps to discourage minors from vaping any type of products, including nicotine.
ROCHESTER, NY (WXXI) – Many of the growing number of lung injuries caused by vaping in New York state are being treated in Rochester. In the state health department’s regional breakdown of New York state, western New York is a 17-county region that stretches from the shore of Lake Erie in the west nearly to Syracuse and Binghamton in the east. Thirty-one cases of vaping lung injuries have been reported in that region. More than half of them have been treated at one hospital: Strong Memorial in Rochester. The University of Rochester Medical Center, which runs Strong, said the concentration does not mean that Rochester is the center of an epidemic.
He called criticism Trump’s decision cowardly
“We urge Governor Cuomo to waste no time in calling for a special election to ensure the people of New York’s 27th Congressional District have proper representation in Washington.”
Opioid prescription abuse is the focus of Dr. Scott Noren’s candidacy for the Democratic nomination in the 23rd congressional district.
Reed’s statement came after the release of a summary of a call between Trump and Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky.
The devices have been linked to eight deaths across the country.
These cows don’t go out on pastures. That’s becoming more common, unless the farm is certified organic.
The Republican reaffirmed his opposition to an assault rifle ban and described it as a slippery slope that might lead to the repeal of the Second Amendment.
In Finger Lakes Mennonite communities, families have taken full advantage of the religious exemption for years.
New York’s Red Flag Law went into effect on Saturday.
The county wants anyone who might drink untreated water or who swims in the lake to be aware of the discharge.
NYSEG estimates fewer than 750 people were without power as of Monday afternoon. This comes after about 19,000 people lost power. Outages stretched from Elmira to Oneonta.
VESTAL, NY (WSKG) — Owego was awarded $10 million dollars as part of New York state’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative, or DRI. Owego is in Tioga County. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the various projects. They are meant to boost the local economy by attracting new businesses while strengthening existing ones, repair infrastructure, enhance recreational opportunities, and address the demand for affordable housing. The money will go toward 17 projects.
He said Congress has more to do on immigration.
Acting Police Chief said officer behavior was not wrong
“I’m concerned about the coal ash landfill, I do think that that needs further remediation. It’s definitely old technology that was used.”
Advocates said the most urgent change is the one-year ‘look-back’ window. It allows adult survivors younger than age 55 to file civil suits against their abusers and any responsible institution.
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.
Electric-assisted bicycles and scooters are now legal on New York streets. As the session ended, the New York state legislature passed a bill to legalize the vehicles on Thursday.
“The cost of living in Ithaca is much different than elsewhere in the Southern Tier or even central New York.”
“There’s just been no response. So, I would like conversation. Whether you agree with it or don’t agree with it from their end. Conversation.”
“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.
“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.”
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.
“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.”
“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…
“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.”
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.
“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.”
There’s a new solar project in Tompkins County that has farmers and solar companies helping each other.
Erin Croyle, a write-in candidate, defeated Bradley Grainger to become the newest member of the Ithaca City School District school board.
Voters in the Ithaca City School District will decide on a $120-million dollar capital project in today’s election.
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.
“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.”
“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.”
“We’re trying to re-enter a person into the community so they fit in better, so they don’t come back here.”
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.
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.
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.
“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?”
Mental health issues are a community concern, not just one for the schools, according to Kelly Houck, Dundee Superintendent of Schools.
For several years, Cornell University has had more Title IX investigations opened with the Office of Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education than any other college or university. WSKG’s Celia Clarke recently spoke by phone with the Title IX Coordinator at Cornell, Chantelle Cleary about how the Office handles complaints on campus.
Ithaca’s city hall “needs more security people will be part discussions when it’s time to renegotiate the contract.”
The 2020 race is on in New York’s 22nd congressional district. George Phillips first announced his campaign last month and now he’s touring cities across the district that spans parts of Central New York and the Southern Tier.
“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.
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.
“Basically, if you overdose on fentanyl, you’re probably not gonna get revived even if someone tries to. It’s a death sentence. It’s very concerning.”
“When you create a system that’s going to hurt people like that, it’s not just going to hurt the folks that are in those buildings it’s going to hurt everybody in between, too.”
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.
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.
The Southern Tier, like other parts of the northeast, has been slow to come back from last decade’s recession, but figures released this week from the New York Department of Labor may be a sign that’s changing.
“With college professors, the notion that your students will become something more than you are is also something that you hope for.”
The Cornell graduate student union, Cornell Graduate Students United is trying to pressure the University Administration for changes to mental health services.
It is the latest step in efforts to block the construction of the trash incinerator in the town of Romulus.
One person described walking across the wide boulevard in front of Elmira’s Clemens Center as a ‘near-death experience.’
Small farmers and rural homeowners argue they set aside too much land for preservation.
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.
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.
“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.”
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.
A New York State Senator from Olean is resigning her seat to take a job with Cornell University. State Senator Cathy Young has been a leading voice for Republicans and upstate communities.
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.
Cornell University has received over $68 million from the United States Department of Agriculture to build a new federal research facility for grape genetics. The site will be in Geneva, New York, home to ongoing collaborations between Cornell and the USDA.
The New York Farm Bureau has announced their federal policy priorities on Wednesday. Immigration is top leading issues they want Congress to address.
A coalition of religious leaders and fiscal analysts are traveling New York talking to communities about the state budget proposal.
Students and teachers have been drinking bottled water since 2015 when tests showed elevated lead levels. Today, the water is scheduled to be turned back on in some elementary schools.
Airports in the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes are getting some infrastructure funding.
Shannon Monnat, professor of public health at Syracuse University, says the national emergency is an example of how current policies don’t help.
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.
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.
Binghamton-area state senator Fred Akshar introduced a bill that bans supervised injection sites like the one under consideration in Ithaca. Now, his proposal has a twin in New York’s lower house.
New gas masks acquired by Olean police should allow them to search meth labs more safely.
It’s been over three years since water fountains in some Ithaca area schools could offer students a drink. In 2015, water systems in all 12 Ithaca City Schools were shut off after tests showed elevated lead levels. However, within two weeks, the water will be turned on again at some elementary schools.
There’s a mental health crisis in Yates County, and a school superintendent adds her students can’t get the services they need. Dundee Central School superintendent Kelly Houck says mental health is decreasing while she sees the need for them increasing.
In January, a group of Cornell Law students and one of their professors returned from working at the U.S. Mexico border. They were providing free legal help to families in Texas and Tijuana. Some of the children’s behavior was unsettling to the students.
Over the weekend, Republican congressman Tom Reed hosted a series of three town halls around his Southern Tier district. They came just after the partial federal shutdown ended.
Today is the 35th day of the partial government shutdown. For New York Republican congressman Tom Reed that’s 35 days too long.
Beginning January 26, Farm Service Agency offices across New York and Pennsylvania will reopen. Nationwide, the USDA is recalling almost 10,000 workers to help farmers affected by the partial federal shutdown.
As the partial government shutdown enters its fifth week, the effects are spreading throughout Southern Tier and Finger Lakes communities.
A group of Cornell Law Students and their professor have been volunteering on the Texas border this week. They are helping mothers and children in the largest family immigration detention center in the country to file asylum claims.
The center is in Dilley, Texas. A remote town of about 4,000 people located over an hour’s drive south of San Antonio. The students have been interviewing women about the experiences that caused them to flee their homes and seek asylum thousands of miles away. From there they will be interviewed by an asylum officer who will decide if they have a “credible fear”.
Six Cornell Law School students and one of their professors have gone to border this week to volunteer at the country’s the largest family immigration center in Dilley, Texas. They are working with the Dilley Pro Bono Project. The Project has been organizing volunteers since the federal facility opened in 2014. Each week a group of volunteer lawyers, law students, paralegals arrived to assist mothers and children file their asylum claims.
Dilley is a remote town of about 4,000 people over an hour’s drive from San Antonio. Jaclyn Kelley-Widmer is an associate professor at Cornell Law School.
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.
New leadership positions in the state assembly were announced late last year and a pair of Southern Tier legislators will take charge of important committees.
Representative Tom Reed said there are compromises available to both parties which would reopen the federal government and give them a victory. First, Reed says Congress must stop what he calls partisan ‘political theater’ and start working to each other.
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.
ITHACA, NY (WSKG) – Tuesday, the New York State Attorney General announced a $174 million consumer fraud settlement with Charter/Spectrum, the largest internet and cable provider in New York State. Wednesday, Congressman-Elect Anthony Brindisi called for the state’s Public Service Commission to move forward with their case against Spectrum. That case challenges Spectrum’s right to operate in the state. Brindisi said customers deserve better options than Spectrum provides. “No one’s losing their cable,” Brindisi said.
The new Farm Bill was passed by Congress last week. A few hours before the vote, Southern Tier Congressman Tom Reed said parts of the bill may help small and mid-sized dairy farmers in his 23rd Congressional District.
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.
“It’s like we’ve learned nothing from the failures of our drug policies over the past 40 years… If we were to invest similar money into revitalizing social infrastructure and economic infrastructure and our educational system we would see long term benefits,” said Shannon Monnat, sociology professor at Syracuse University, who specializes in public health.
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.
Residents of Schuyler County have been warned about a possible property deed scam. Schuyler County Attorney Steven Getman has received reports of a company that sells public information to homeowners about their properties.
A bi-partisan group known as the Problem Solvers Caucus reached an agreement last week with likely-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Southern Tier Congressman Tom Reed, co-chairs the caucus, but he and other Republican members were not part of those talks.
The shortage of affordable housing is a serious problem across the Southern Tier. On Thursday night in Ithaca, people from different sectors came together to discuss one aspect of the problem — workforce housing.
The Tompkins County Legislature passed a resolution Tuesday urging the New York DEC to reject a proposal that would convert an old coal fired power plant to natural gas.
Republican Congressman Tom Reed confirmed on Monday that he might vote for Democrat Nancy Pelosi for Speaker of the House. To do so, she would need to agree to some changes he supports.
Republican Tom O’Mara is running for a fourth term in the New York State senate. O’Mara represents the 58th district. It’s one of the biggest in the state senate. It stretches from Yates County in the west into the eastern part of Tompkins County. WSKG’s Celia Clarke talked with him about some of the biggest issues affecting his district.
Now that Rep. Tom Reed has defended his seat against Democratic challenger Tracy Mitrano, he says his first priority is to pass a set of legislative rules changes from a bipartisan caucus he co-chairs. Reed and a few other representatives have said they’ll withhold their support from the next House Speaker unless that person agrees to the changes. But, with the Democrats winning control of the House, that caucus may lose steam.
“I doubt that that caucus will stay together in terms of any leadership question because the Democrats who are members of that caucus, their bread is going to be buttered by whoever becomes Speaker,” said Jim Twombly, professor of political science at Elmira College.
ITHACA, NY (WSKG) – When Amanda Kirchgessner won the Democratic primary for New York’s 58th Senate district, she didn’t have a campaign manager, a communications team or even a staff. Just friends and supporters helping her. She’d campaigned by driving around the district and walking door-to-door to talk to people. She’s a first time candidate running against Republican incumbent Tom O’Mara. The district is one of the biggest in the state senate.
ITHACA, NY (WSKG) – Counties in the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes are working together to find new places to house children in the criminal justice system.
Republican Congressman Tom Reed and Democratic challenger Tracy Mitrano met in a debate Tuesday night at Corning Community College. They are running for the 23rd congressional district seat. The district covers the Western Southern Tier and parts of the Finger Lakes including Ithaca, Elmira and Hornell. The debate was televised by WETM-TV. Healthcare was a prominent topic.
About two years ago, meth started coming into the area in bulk shipments. Tioga, Chemung and Broome counties are now main destinations for meth coming from Mexico.
“There’s been a long time passing without much information about what the remediation was,” said Alan Karasin, treasurer of the PTA. “We would get periodic reports that things were being replaced but we didn’t exactly know what or when.”
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.”
“It’s way, way more important what we do with Mexico and China and what our general trade posture is,” he said. “Trade is important to us, but trade with Canada is not the biggest worrier.”
ITHACA, NY (WSKG) – Some constituents are urging Congressman Tom Reed to take action to support net neutrality. Reed represents New York’s 23rd congressional district, which stretches from Ithaca to Jamestown. Seven people met with a member of his staff in Ithaca on Tuesday morning. Back in December, the Federal Communications Commission repealed 2015 net neutrality rules that required internet providers to allow equal access to all web content. Congressman Reed supported the repeal.
ITHACA, NY (WSKG) – Leaders in Ithaca City Schools say the water should be turned on by the end of the year.
Parts of the Southern Tier are again under a state of emergency due to rain and flooding. Tioga County is under a state of emergency due to flash flooding from the overnight rain that are the result of Hurricane Florence.
ITHACA, NY (WSKG) – Thursday’s primaries were dominated by Democratic primaries. Many people who voted are looking ahead to the mid-term elections in November. For Elizabeth Skapley, a sophomore studying chemistry at Cornell University, she’s concerned about the national consequences of the mid-terms.
“I think it’s very important for Democrats to take back the Senate and kinda help take down Donald Trump,” said Skapley. “So, yeah. I mean, I think that just equal rights for everyone are very important, working rights are very important and it’s important for the middle class to rise up and take control.”
Fellow farmers helped Erik Landowne at Blue Heron Farm quickly harvest an onion crop before it could begin to rot.
VESTAL, NY (WSKG)— Recent heavy rains have led to flash flooding in parts of the Southern Tier and Northern Pennsylvania including in Seneca and Bradford counties.
Things appear to be calming down at a small reservoir in Hancock after a State of Emergency was declared on Monday.
It’s county fair season across New York and Pennsylvania. That means fried food, games and shows. WSKG’s Celia Clarke made a stop earlier this summer at the Seneca County Fair and filed this audio postcard.
Rep. Reed met with a select group of senior citizens in an invitation only event with the Chemung County AARP. Some people said they’re worried Social Security won’t be around for their grandkids.
NYSERDA, a New York State agency that works on energy research and development, announced a new tech product completely manufactured in the Southern Tier.
Rain has caused flooding across part of New York and Pennsylvania, but for farmers it’s a welcome sight.
At Rep. Reed’s manufacturing summit, he said there’s an opportunity for growing the high tech industry in his district, which includes Geneva, Jamestown and Elmira. But, one manufacturer in the area says her biggest challenge is just finding employees who can show up for work on time and read a tape measure.
It’s been a week since Tracy Mitrano won the tight Democratic primary in New York’s 23rd Congressional district. The 23rd covers the western Southern Tier, the Finger Lakes and includes Ithaca, Geneva and Hornell. Mitrano is campaigning at rallies across the district this week.
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.
In the month since the Dick’s Sporting Goods distribution center opened Conklin, it’s given a bump to employment in the Southern Tier.
Micatu is growing fast, The Horseheads start-up has over 20 employees right now and wants to expand to more than a hundred. “Started in my garage with $75 and, you know, five years later, here we are,” co-founder Mike Oshetski explained. Oshetski credits state economic development money for helping Micatu grow. The company makes a device that tracks energy usage. It sells the device to utilities.
Steuben County is one of the counties that receives money through the Appalachian Regional Commission. Credit Dougtone / Flickr
A high-tech business incubator. Rural high speed internet. Flood mitigation. A wide range of major infrastructure projects in our area are funded through the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC).
Hundreds of thousands of people are headed to D.C. for the inauguration and for the Women’s March on Washington. WSKG caught up with one group in the Southern Tier and Northern Pennsylvania as they prepared for the voyage. Twin Tiers to D.C. is what the group is calling themselves. Last weekend, they got ready for the march by making posters with phrases like “We’ll show you nasty.”
Angela Button’s poster says, “Feminism: back by popular demand.” She’s a student in Corning and was at President Obama’s inauguration in 2012. “That was really inspiring at that point,” she said, “so this is a cool experience to go back to D.C. kind of in a different light to say, “No, we’re not going to stop.
Many books and movies have been written about Lieutenant Colonel Joshua Chamberlain and his valiant success at Little Roundtop, but very little has been said about the right end the line where Colonel Ireland was with his regiment. Today, they’re getting a little time in the sun. The 137th New York and their leader Colonel David Ireland held down the right side of the line on Culp’s Hill. Culp’s Hill is actually two hills sloping down into a ditch or a swale. On the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, General Lee and the Confederate army attempted to get around the Union line.