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Ithaca Starts Clean Up of Homeless Encampment City workers have begun to clean up a former homeless encampment in Ithaca’s West End. The clean up was ordered by the Tompkins Environmental Health in early April. According to the Ithaca Voice, work began at the site last week. The small triangular parcel is bordered by train tracks and by Six Mile Creek and is visible from the Taber St bridge. In December, Common Countil adopted a one-year pilot program aimed at providing basic services for unhoused people living in a prescribed encampment zone. The area being clieaned up is not part of that sanctioned zone. Until the cleanup, ten people had been living in…
In this week’s episode of The Scene, activist and philanthropic grantmaker Prachi Patankar talks about her lifelong relationship to justice work – connecting the LGBTQ+ and women’s justice commitments and causes she supports through her international foundation work in South and Southeast Asia with her upbringing in a family deeply involved in grassroots social change…
Read MoreIthaca’s largest mural is completed. It’s on the Cayuga Addiction Recovery Services’ building on Plain Street between MLK, Jr. and Seneca Streets. Artists Betsy Casañas and Mauricio Pérez designed it. Community members helped them paint it. The images shows people gardening, flowers blooming and a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. A few days before it was…
Read More2023 Ithaca Common Council Election Coverage For the first time in 10 years, Voters in the City of Ithaca have the chance to elect a new mayor and the entire Common Council. WRFI and the Ithaca Voice have teamed up to bring you a week of interviews with Common Council candidates before the primary. Tune…
Read MoreThe effects of Canadian wildfires are getting worse in our area. For a third day, the state Department of Environmental Conservation has issued an air quality warning. And they now say the air is unhealthy for everyone. The state health department is encouraging all of us to avoid spending much time outdoors. And it’s asking…
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Daily features and interviews from our community
Ithaca Starts Clean Up of Homeless Encampment City workers have begun to clean up a former homeless encampment in Ithaca’s West End. The clean up was ordered by the Tompkins Environmental Health in early April. According to the Ithaca Voice, work began at the site last week. The small triangular parcel is bordered by train…
Read MoreIthaca City School District Election Roundup The district-wide Ithaca City School District election is coming up on May 21. Eligible voters in the district will vote on three ballot measures and for candidates for three seats on the school board. The first measure is a vote on the district’s proposed $169 million budget. It will…
Read MoreCoalition 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…
Read MoreIthaca 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…
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