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Local News: May 6, 2024 – 2024 ICSD Elections

Ithaca 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 require 60% or better support as it exceeds the state cap on school budget increases. Proposition three would approval to sale of $125 million in bonds to fund capital projects inlucluding school bus electrification, new bus barn construction, and athletic field improvements. Proposition two would authorize drawing down more than $3 million from the district’s capital reserve fund…

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Youth Farm Project Celebrates Earth Week with Greta Garrison of the Youth Radio Project

By Felix Teitelbaum

Youth Farm Project participants Stella Sapp-Dietrich and Etienne Exantus and Ray Hage Assistant Director of Cornell’s Science & Technology Entry Program (STEP) with Greta Garrison of the Youth Radio Project on WRFI.

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CREATIVES: New Voices Literary Festival Preview with Raul Palma [AUDIO]

By Felix Teitelbaum

Listen to author Raul Palma in conversation with student organizers April Morales, Emily Trage, Riley Rhoder and Professor Jacob White. The 2024 New Voices Festival runs from April 24-26 at Ithaca College and in your community.  

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Tune in, Turn on, and Take Part! Join Us for WRFI’s Spring “Fun” Drive and Be Part of this Community-Powered Radio Revolution!

By Felix Teitelbaum

What does community radio mean to you? We think this commercial-free, free-form, independent station helps make our listeners lives-and life in our communities-just a little better. We strive to make programing that opens ears, opens hearts, and leads us to ask important questions about our world. Even if it’s just to ask yourself, “What in…

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LISTEN: Freedom of Expression at Cornell – Academic freedom

By Celia Clarke

This is the last of my three stories about freedom of expression at Cornell University this year. Here are links to the first and second stories. The academic theme at Cornell this year is “Freedom of Expression.”  In earlier stories, we reported about the general mood at Cornell around free speech, and students’ opinions about…

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Daily features and interviews from our community

Torrey Town Planning Board Green Lights Expansion to Greenidge’s Bitcoin Operation

By Jimmy Jordan | April 20, 2021 | Comments Off on Torrey Town Planning Board Green Lights Expansion to Greenidge’s Bitcoin Operation

***Correction: The radio story above says that the plant will be mining bitcoin with 45 MW/h of electricicty by the end of 2021. That number is actually 41 MW/h, which could power almost 35,000 homes, not 38,000. ***** At last night’s meeting, the Town of Torrey planning board approved a site plan application for Greenidge…

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Environmentalists Rally Against Greenidge Expansion, State Lawmakers Take Notice

By Jimmy Jordan | April 19, 2021 | Comments Off on Environmentalists Rally Against Greenidge Expansion, State Lawmakers Take Notice

ITHACA, NY — Environmental activists and concerned citizens rallied on Saturday, opposing Greenidge Generation’s expansion plans and gaining the attention of state lawmakers. Greenidge Generation is in the town of Torrey on Seneca Lake. The company operates a gas-fired power plant, mining bitcoin on an industrial scale. Bitcoin mining is energy intensive, and the cheaper…

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Cryptocurrency Mining, An Emerging and Unregulated Industry?

By Jimmy Jordan | April 16, 2021 | Comments Off on Cryptocurrency Mining, An Emerging and Unregulated Industry?

Greenidge Generation LLC is a natural gas power plant that’s mining cryptocurrency on an industrial scale, and Greenidge aims to expand its operations.  The last round of government approval needed to give the greenlight to Greenidge’s expansion, is the Torrey Town Planning board. Torrey is a small, rural town in the heart of the Finger…

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Cornell Engaged Grant to support opioid use research project

By WRFI News Staff | April 16, 2021 | Comments Off on Cornell Engaged Grant to support opioid use research project

Each year, Cornell University awards engaged research grants to community centered projects. This year, they awarded four grants totaling 192,000 dollars to community centered projects. One of the projects that received this public service grant is working to address opioid use in the greater Ithaca community. WRFI news intern, Maia Noah reports.     

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