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Local News: May 3, 2024

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 proposal would end “at will” employment in Ithaca. Under the proposed rule, employers would need to demonstrate that progressive steps were taken to address poor work performance before terminating an employee. Employers would also be able to fire people for illegal or dangerous behavior, or for economic reasons like loss of income.   Employers who violate the rule would…

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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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Latest from the WRFI News Team

Daily features and interviews from our community

Coronavirus Update, June 19, 2020

By WRFI News Staff | June 19, 2020 | Comments Off on Coronavirus Update, June 19, 2020

In Tompkins County the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 stands at 166 as of Friday. According to the Tompkins county health department. There are 4 more recoveries in the county, bringing the total recoveries to 162. There are no new confirmed cases of the virus in Schuyler County as of Friday. According to health…

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Coronavirus Update, June 18, 2020

By WRFI News Staff | June 18, 2020 | Comments Off on Coronavirus Update, June 18, 2020

In tandem with nationwide figures, Tompkins County has also experienced a dramatic increase in unemployment as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, reports the Cornell Daily Sun. The rate rose from 3.5 percent to 10.5 percent between March and April. The county has previously been known for distinctively low unemployment, but April marked the most…

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A Preview of Ithaca’s Juneteenth 2020 Rally: Decriminalize, Demilitarize, Decarcerate [AUDIO]

By Esther Racoosin | June 18, 2020 | Comments Off on A Preview of Ithaca’s Juneteenth 2020 Rally: Decriminalize, Demilitarize, Decarcerate [AUDIO]

Local activists are observing Juneteenth with a rally taking place in downtown Ithaca at the Bernie Milton Pavillion on Friday, June 19th, 2020 at 12 pm. The theme of the rally is: Decriminalize, Demilitarize, Decarcerate.  WRFI Community Radio News contributor Esther Racoosin speaks with Taili Mugambee and Savannah Gonzalez, two of the organizers of the…

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Coronavirus Update, June 17, 2020

By WRFI News Staff | June 17, 2020 | Comments Off on Coronavirus Update, June 17, 2020

A fundraising campaign for Ithaca’s Forest City Lodge raised over $11,000 in one day to help with building improvements and staying in business during coronavirus. The Ithaca Voice reports that the lodge had a decrease in revenue because of COVID-19 and the building almost had to close indefinitely, after being open for 108 years. Their…

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