COVID Cases Continue to Rise, Tompkins Co. Health Department to Host Community Update

Coalition Pushes for “Just Cause” Employment in Ithaca The campaign for “just cause” employment legislation in Ithaca continues. According to the Cornell Sun, the Ithaca Just Cause Coalition has been pushing Common Council to adopt their proposal and a working group on the matter is being formed. The coalition includes unions, nonprofits and businesses. The…

Ithaca Passes Short Term Rental Ordinance, Green New Deal Plan- Ithaca’s Common Council passed to major resolutions at its regular meeting Wednesday night. The first enacts a long-discussed short term rental ordinance. Under the new regulation, a permit is required to operate a short term rental. A “short term rental” is defined as one for…

Cornell Professors Condemn Student Suspensions On Tuesday, more than 325 Cornell professors signed an open letter condemning the University’s suspension of four students. The students were suspended for their role in the pro-Palestinian encampment on Cornell’s campus. The letter calls the suspensions “unwarranted and excessive.”  Meanwhile suspended undergraduate protestor Nick Wilson rejected a deal from…

Chemung Sheriff’s Office Gets Boost for Door Breach Training The Chemung County Sheriff’s office has a new training tool. WETM reports that the Elmira-based manufacturer the Hilliard Corporation donated a reinforced door to the Sheriff’s Special Services Unit. The door will be used in training deputies in breaching locked, reinforced doors. The technique is used…

More Suspensions for Cornell Protestors- The student encampment at Cornell remains in place. On Friday four students were temporarily suspended for their participation in the self-described “Liberation Zone.” According to the Ithaca Voice, Cornell administration announced Saturday that more students would be suspended and that referrals to human resources  are being made for staff and…

Adjustments Expected to Ithaca Water Bills Ithaca property owners may face unexpected water bills starting this year. The city has relied on equipment to remotely read water meters since 2005. However, batteries in the equipment started to fail during the pandemic and were never replaced. This means that many bills have been based on estimated…

Student Protestors Occupy Cornell’s Arts Quad- Activists at Cornell set up an encampment Thursday morning in the university’s arts quad. The Coalition for Mutual Liberation (or CML) called the encampment a “liberated zone” meant to further pressure Cornell to divest from what they call the university’s complicity in genocide in Gaza.  Malak, a fourth year…

Pilot Program in Tompkins Adds Emergency Responders- Emergency response times in Tompkins County should be getting shorter. State Senator Lea Webb was in Ithaca Tuesday to announce additional state funding for the county’s Rapid Medical Response program. The two-year pilot program operates three emergency response vehicles and employs nine EMTs. According to Webb, emergency response…

Cornell Undergrad Vote Supports Gaza Ceasefire, Divestment- Last week Cornell undergraduate voted in a referendum polling their views on a ceasefire in Gaza and divestment from 10 military contractors supplying Israel. According to the Cornell Sun, nearly 50% of eligible students voted. And votes for a ceasefire and divestment outweighed those against by nearly two…