Local News: May 10, 2024

Sabotage Cuts Candidate Forum Short

A forum for Ithaca City School Board candidates Thursday night was interrupted and then cut short. The event was hosted by the Ithaca Teachers Association (or ITA) via Zoom. Seven candidates were slated to participate, three of whom are endorsed by the ITA. According to the Ithaca Voice, the attack started after three unendorsed candidates spoke. Multiple accounts in the Zoom meeting heckled the candidates, made vague accusations, and played a pornographic video. Event organizers first tried to stop the attacks but eventually closed the entire meeting. 

This kind of disruptive attack arose during the pandemic and is known as “Zoom bombing.” The FBI considers the practice a cyber-crime and provides a set of recommendations to avoid it. 

The ITA has rescheduled the meeting as an in-person session Monday, May 13 at 6 p.m. at Ithaca High School’s York Hall. 

Permit Denied to Seneca Lake Cryto Mine

The DEC has upheld its denial of an air quality permit to an area crypto currency mine. According to activists with Seneca Lake Guardian, the DEC affirmed its decision to not renew the Title V permit issued to Greenidge Generation on Seneca Lake. The ruling said the facility’s greenhouse gas emissions would have exceeded limits laid out in New York's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Greenidge has no further recourse at the DEC but could appeal the decision in New York’s courts.