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Local News: September 29, 2023

– Ithaca’s 2024 budget to be presented minus Cornell funding – It’s municipal budget season. Ithaca Mayor Laura Lewis will present the city’s proposed 2024 budget at the October 4 Common Council meeting. It’ll be the first budget in over 20 years that will not include a contribution from Cornell. The Common Council postponed a vote on the negotiated annual pay agreement until October 11. On October 5, the Tompkins County budget will be presented at a public forum. The public can attend either meeting in person or view them live online. – Ithaca workers’ group says the working class will be hurt if Cornell doesn’t give city more in new funding agreement…

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WRFI Special: Jim Murphy Remembered [AUDIO]

By Celia Clarke

Jim Murphy died on June 29th. He was a big part of WRFI’s growth starting a decade ago. For many years he hosted the Ithaca-Watkins Glen Morning Show every weekday from 7-8 AM. It’s through Jim that many people got involved with the station. I’m one of those people. Jim’s generosity and encouragement were an…

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WRFI PRESENTS: Quintron and Miss Pussycat, Sept. 11, BUY TICKETS

By Felix Teitelbaum

WRFI is proud to announce we’re bringing New Orleans artists Quintron and Miss Pussycat to Ithaca for our first-ever “WRFI Presents” event, Monday, September 11, 2023 at the Cherry Arts at 102 Cherry St in Ithaca. The Johnny Dowd Trio will be opening. Come out for some mind-bending, hip-shaking mayhem and support your community radio…

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GrassRoots Winners Announced! Read listeners GrassRoots Stories!

By Felix Teitelbaum

Check out some of these great GrassRoots stories submitted by our Instagram followers! Many congratulations to our winners Rachel Behling, and Kaleigh Grey! We had a GREAT response to this year’s GrassRoots giveaway! Thanks so much to everyone who participated! We love hearing from you all-especially all the stories people shared! Stay safe, stay hydrated,…

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This Week on The Scene: Judge Patrick Robinson on Reparations for Transatlantic Chattel Slavery

By Chantal Thomas

In this week’s episode of The Scene, Judge Patrick Robinson, of the International Court of Justice, discusses a powerful and comprehensive new report on the scale of compensation owed for transatlantic chattel slavery; the forms that reparations should and should not take and how reparations might emerge in the wake of the demise of affirmative…

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Latest from the WRFI News Team

Daily features and interviews from our community

Local News: September 29, 2023

By Celia Clarke | September 29, 2023 |

– Ithaca’s 2024 budget to be presented minus Cornell funding – It’s municipal budget season. Ithaca Mayor Laura Lewis will present the city’s proposed 2024 budget at the October 4 Common Council meeting. It’ll be the first budget in over 20 years that will not include a contribution from Cornell. The Common Council postponed a…

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Julian Eagle: A Tribute to WRFI’s Very First Youth Radio Volunteer

By JT Stone | September 28, 2023 | Comments Off on Julian Eagle: A Tribute to WRFI’s Very First Youth Radio Volunteer

At fourteen, Julian Eagle started working at WRFI as the station’s very first Youth Radio volunteer. This week would have been his 21st birthday and this month was the one-year anniversary of his death from Fentanyl poisoning. WRFI’s JT Stone got his start in radio working with Julian. He filed a tribute to a young…

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Local News: September 28, 2023

By Celia Clarke | September 28, 2023 | Comments Off on Local News: September 28, 2023

– A Tompkins County town’s park plan is headed to a voter referendum – Plans for the first public park in the town of Ulysses are on hold. The town includes the village of Trumansburg. Town leaders planned to purchase 30 acres of farmland on Krums Corners Road to create the park. Instead, the purchase…

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Local News: September 27, 2023

By Celia Clarke | September 27, 2023 | Comments Off on Local News: September 27, 2023

Two farms in Tompkins and Schuyler Counties temporarily halt raw milk sales Raw milk sold by two small area farms has tested positive for bacteria in the past two months. No one has gotten sick but the farms won’t be selling raw milk for a while. In routine tests by the state Department of Agriculture…

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