March 11, 2020

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Tompkins County Braces for Pandemic PAGE 8

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Cornell faces county’s Ithaca native hopes to Pastimes’ move means The Haunt hosts more antiques, first lawsuit under bring new comedian’s Ithaca more fun new law faces to NASCAR debut PAGE 5

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TAKING THE REINS

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VOL.XL / NO. 29 / March 11, 2020 Serving 47,125 readers week ly

Coronavirus Caution ������������������� 8 An outbreak seems inevitable

Odyssey of the Mind ������������������� 17 Team prepares for upcoming competition

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DIA gathers input from local retailers about 2030 Plan

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ith the deadline for drafting a 2030 Plan looming, the Downtown Ithaca Alliance (DIA) held a special planning meeting last month to talk with local retailers about what can be done to improve downtown in the coming decade.

This is the third strategic plan for downtown, and could actually feature an expanded definition of what downtown Ithaca is. In addition to assessing improvements to the Commons, the DIA is looking at West State Street and part of the West End as well.

The DIA is looking to complete a draft of the new plan by the summer of 2020, with a final plan completed by the winter of 2020-21, and more meetings will be held throughout the year to give stakeholders a chance to expand on their feedback. Gary Ferguson, executive director of the DIA, said he wants to ensure this document will serve as an appropriate guide for the future of Ithaca, rather than be shelved and abandoned for any variety of reasons. “[The strategic plans] are designed to be mechanisms for moving us forward,” Ferguson said. “If you look through the 2020 strategic plan, you’ll find it’s fascinating how many things we’ve accomplished and

Cover: Coronavirus Molecule

Plans for 2030 could include expanding the definition of “downtown” to include parts of the West End. (Photo by Casey Martin)

Downtown Ithaca

some of the things we have not been able to achieve.”

Ferguson gave a brief presentation that outlined how downtown Ithaca has grown and developed since 2000 when the first strategic plan was done. Some of the challenges and opportunities that occurred in the previous decade, according to Ferguson, were the inadequate supply of housing at all income levels, development pressure, meeting the needs of downtown residents, transportation connectivity, diversifying employment and business opportunities, and capitalizing on the night economy.

Some of the first suggestions about the plan came from Todd Kurzweil, who owns Sunny Days with his wife Deirdre.

He pointed out how the newly expanded definition of what downtown is would need to be

approved by the city before the plan goes into effect. Kurzweil also spoke about how the signage on The Commons is not appropriate for people who are coming to visit Ithaca. Other retailers agreed with Kurzweil’s points. Brett Bossard, the owner of Cinemapolis, said the 2030 plan should acknowledge the new balance between retail/business and residential entities as downtown evolves to include more housing.

“In the next three years, we’re going to have more than 1,000 people who call this area home,” Bossard said. “I think that speaks directly to what expectations there are for people who are living, walking and shopping downtown are going to be necessarily different from the people who are coming in. Whether they’re tourists or outside of downtown, their needs are going to be significantly different.”

Other points made by the gathered retailers were that, despite the rise in online shopping, their most prominent

T a k e ▶ Pancake breakfast - Live music, and education activities for all ages at the Maple Fest, held Sunday, March 15 at the Cayuga Nature Center.

Breakfast, catered by Luna, will be served from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and activities will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The menu includes

competitor, The Shops at Ithaca Mall, to which some jokingly referred to as “A Few Shops at Ithaca Mall,” is struggling.

Laura Larson, the owner of Odyssey Books, which will be opening in March on W. Green Street, noted that she feels Ithaca’s narrative is limited to its natural resources (for example, “Ithaca is Gorges”).

She felt that defining this better could be a crucial ingredient to increasing tourism and retail success for Ithaca in the coming decade.

“Do you have an overarching vision of how Ithaca defines itself to the rest of the world? This is how we talk about ourselves or this is the narrative experience,” Larson said. “Do we talk about ourselves that way? Is there an overarching vision that dictates policies like how we talk about signage on the Commons and the way we integrate strategic planning and the kind of experience you expect to have when you come here?”

E dw i n J. Vi er a

N o t e

buttermilk pancakes, local maple syrup, breakfast sausage, and an apple dish, plus coffee and orange juice. There will also be informative presentations, including the Maple Tour. Ticket information is available online. ▶ Don’t forget St. Patrick’s Day - while there’s plenty of places to celebrate, the

self-proclaimed biggest party in town is at Cherry Arts Space with local group Arise & Go. The Celtic trio will be playing at the event from 7-9 p.m. Drinks will be available. $10 is the suggested admission rate, but the Cherry is running the event as a “pay what you can” admission.

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l a r r y@ I t h a c aTi m e s . c o m F r e e l a n c e r s : Barbara Adams, Rick Blaisell, Steve Burke, Deirdre Cunningham, Jane Dieckmann, Amber Donofrio, Karen Gadiel, Charley Githler, Linda B. Glaser, Warren Greenwood, Ross Haarstad, Peggy Haine, Gay Huddle, Austin Lamb, Steve Lawrence, Marjorie Olds, Lori Sonken, Henry Stark, Dave Sit, Bryan VanCampen, and Arthur Whitman

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INQUIRING PHOTOGRAPHER

By C a se y Mar tin

HOW ARE YOU GOING TO USE YOUR EXTRA HOUR OF SUNLIGHT THIS SPRING?

“Take Selfies.”

-Asia C.

N e w s l i n e

Drive Local

Ithaca native rising in the ranks of NASCAR while promoting diversity first went to college, my degree that I started out with wasn’t geared towards racing. It was geared towards a different direction. I actually wanted to [become a] lawyer when I first went to college.”

Today, Hamilton can’t be found behind a courtroom table. To find him, someone would have to hit the race tracks where Hamilton would perched in a booth, controlling the flow of professional races.

As the Director of Racing Operations and Event Management at NASCAR, Hamilton is living his dream of working in professional motor racing, Jusan Hamilton, seen here talking to a driver, rose from a kid a sport he gravitated to at a watching dirt races in Syracuse to NASCAR’s Director of Racing young age. An Ithaca native, Operations and Event Management. (Photo provided by NASCAR) Hamilton fell in love with racing when his grandfather took s an undergrad at Ithaca College, him to the dirt tracks at the fairgrounds in Jusan Hamilton never imagined Syracuse to watch big block modified and himself working a gig in the profes- sprint cars burn rubber. sional racing industry, let alone a high“I went there and I instantly fell in love ranking position. with the cars, the speed, everything that “The thought of working in NASwas going into the competition, and just CAR for the sanctioning body had never everything that the race teams were doing crossed my mind,” Hamilton said. “When I even behind the scenes that we were able to

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“Donate it!”

-Jessie H.

New Bus Smell

FlixBus approved to start Ithaca routes

“Day Drink.”

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-Hayley P.

“Sleep” Andrew S.

“Go for a nice long walk on the commons.”

-Lee V.

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ntercity bus operator Flixbus was approved last week at Common Council to start operations in Ithaca, using the Green Street bus stop that has become the haven for most intercity bus companies serving the city.

FlixBus joins several other companies that currently service Ithaca, and provides another travel option to New York City. The company recently expanded to Rochester, Buffalo, Binghamton, Syracuse and other cities in the region in addition to Ithaca.

After the approval, FlixBus released their prospective schedule, which includes 20 trips either to New York City from Ithaca or vice versa throughout FridaySunday, and 13 more during weekdays.

The city has final approval on the schedule to ensure there aren't too many buses at the same time on Green Street.

FlixBus is based in Germany and emphasizes sustainability with their service, and offers riders the chance to make their trip carbon-neutral through a small additional charge while buying their 11–17 ,

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ticket. To that end, FlixBus spokesperson Albert Aydin said he’s been in contact with student-run sustainability organizations at Ithaca College and Cornell University about potentially sponsoring trips for those groups to attend rallies or planned events, though he hasn’t heard back definitively yet.

“We’re proud of the trust that Ithaca city council has put on us by approving our stop and look forward to continue working closely with the city on this initiative,” Head of Business Development at FlixBus Joanna Patterson said. “Our hope is to get students and residents alike to ditch their cars and see first-hand how enjoyable riding the bus can be.”

Introducing FlixBus would add another significant set of buses to the daily load on Green Street, which was mentioned by the city's transportation engineer, Eric Hathaway. They are proposing 33 stops per week in Ithaca at the Green Street stop, which would represent an increase of 17 percent per week more than the current number of stops that Coach USA, Greyhound and

observe,” he said.

During race day, Hamilton is responsible for calling the race—which means deciding what goes on and off the race track—and monitoring the course of the race, issuing cautions when there is a car wreck or debris on the track. During his seven years working for NASCAR, Hamilton has achieved a pair of historical milestones in the sport. In 2017, he became the first African American to serve as the race director when he called a race for an Xfinity Event at Auto Club Speedway. A year later, he became the first African American to serve as the race director for NASCAR’s premier series at Pocono Raceway.

Hamilton got his foot wet in the industry as an intern in the NASCAR Diversity Internship Program, which offers paid internships to ethnically diverse undergraduate and graduate college students. He then received a job in industry operations, helping market the sport, which he worked in for four years before earning his current position.

In addition to being the Director of Racing Operations and Event Management, Hamilton also oversees NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, which seeks to engage interest among minority individuals in the sport. One way the program tries to improve the sport’s diversity is by recruiting Division I male college athletes of color and female college athletes—of color or not—to train and become pit crew members.

“We generally talk with the athletic continued on page 16

Trailways make (OurBus stops on East Seneca Street).

Hathaway also noted that adding more buses could present the same logistical problems that were feared when the Green Street stop was initially proposed. He said even before adding FlixBus, intercity buses had illegally been using the drop-off and pick-up area closer to the Green Street Pharmacy and the Tompkins County Public Library, which is supposed to be designated for TCAT buses.

"Further, there have been complaints that bus idling has diminished air quality and made the space less inviting," Hathaway's memo said. "The Tompkins County Mental Health Department, located near the bus stop, has expressed concerns in the past of waiting bus passengers blocking accessible routes on the sidewalk for their clients. Additional bus demand might have an impact on all of these concerns due to increased demand, though it is difficult to predict in advance."

The move comes after OurBus announced it would be offering overnight trips to and from New York City and Buffalo and Niagara, which would include nightly stops in both directions in Ithaca.

M att Butler

UPS&DOWNS

N e w s l i n e

Thumbs Up - OurBus announced that it would be introducing a new service for Ithaca customers, delivering them to and from the bus stop on Seneca Street, solving the “last mile problem” in the company’s mind. The system allows people to be taken by van to their desired destination from the bus stop, or to the bus stop from their home, workspace, or other.

The range is four miles.

Child Victims Act

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Lawsuit alleges sexual assault during ‘01 pre-college visit

ornell University is facing a lawsuit filed under New York State’s Child Victims Act regarding a sexual assault alleged to have taken place on campus nearly 20 years ago.

The lawsuit, brought by a Maryland man named Elliott Reed, was initially filed in December. It accuses Cornell of improperly handling Reed’s accusations that he was raped by a Resident Advisor during a pre-enrollment visit to Cornell in 2001. Reed was 17 at the time, meaning his case falls under the guidelines of the Child Victims Act. The Child Victims Act is a state law enacted last year that meant to erase the statute of limitations for abuse claims, meaning victims could seek civil legal action even if the incidents in question happened years or decades ago.

Through the school’s communications department, Cornell declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation. Reed, who’s acting as his own lawyer, agreed to talk to the Ithaca Times about the genesis of his lawsuit, which was filed in December.

In its motion to dismiss the suit, Cornell claimed that they have documentary evidence that will provide a substantial defense against Reed’s suit. But the school additionally asked the judge to seal their materials supporting dismissal because it contains personally identifiable information for both Reed and the alleged perpetrator, which the judge agreed to do.

The next scheduled court date is March 26, 2020.

“Cornell University does not comment on pending litigation,” read a statement from John Carberry, Cornell’s senior director of media relations and news. “We intend to vigorously defend against these allegations and have filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.”

Reed said the first incident in question occurred during his recruitment visit to Cornell University after he had been offered acceptance to the school in the spring of 2001, when he was a senior in high school in Maryland. Though he was staying in the Just About Music program house with another student, Reed said

Above: JAM House on Cornell’s North Campus (Photo: Facebook)

a Resident Attendant in the building, an older student employed by Cornell’s Resident Life department, invited him to his room under the guise of talking about Cornell and answering any questions Reed might have.

Once they got to the room, Reed said the tone of the interaction gradually changed. Reed said he was intimidated by the RA’s position of power, and that the RA told him if they were even just caught in the room together or if Reed told anyone then Cornell would revoke his acceptance to the school for having an inappropriate relationship. Reed said the details of the first encounter are cloudy, but that he remembers his genitals being groped on the RA’s bed The second incident, which happened the following night, involved the RA forcibly performing fellatio on Reed after Reed returned drunk from a party he attended. The Ithaca Times has not been able to independently contact the RA accused here, and his name remains under seal in the legal proceedings surrounding the case, so we are not using his name.

Reed said that after the weekend visit ended and he came home, the RA found him on AOL Messenger and consistently messaged him asking if he would be attending Cornell. Meanwhile, when Reed returned to his high school classes, things took a turn. Still refusing to tell anyone what had happened, his behavior changed drastically from the high grades, ROTCenrolled student he had been.

“I was starting to have these headaches, and I was just vomiting. I was vomiting in the middle of class. And my parents took me to doctors, they had no explanation for it,” Reed said. Once he was able to buy a car, he began cutting classes as well. “I was basically just trying to shut down.”

Reed still decided to go to Cornell, feeling like it was the best option for him to take in order to provide for his family, which had struggled to secure financial

and housing stability throughout his childhood. Several times during the interview, Reed refers to his Cornell acceptance letter as his “golden ticket.”

“It was just not good, it was really, really not good,” Reed said. “I felt like I was going to hell. But I really needed to go to Cornell. Because my family, they put all their hopes and dreams on me. [...] I remember my granddad was just so, so proud. So I felt like I had to go, and that I couldn’t tell anyone.”

The RA turned out to be from Reed’s hometown in Maryland, and the pair would meet during the summer after Reed’s freshman year of school, Reed said, and would occasionally engage in sex during those times. During that period, Reed said the sex was consensual to a certain extent, in that he was verbally agreeing to it by that point, though he still felt trapped in the situation, as abuse victims often do.

The meet-ups dissipated over time until Reed arrived on campus.

Reed said the incidents continued at least once when he arrived on campus for the brief overlapping time until the RA graduated (or, at least, left campus).

During the first weeks of school, Reed said his attacker found his dorm room, came in and “demanded that we engage in anal sex.” Reed said they did, which sent him into a darker place mentally. In the weeks afterward, though still during the fall 2001 semester, he slipped into a depression and contemplated committing suicide. Seeking help, he said he went to Cornell’s Counseling and Psychological Services department for assistance. Because he was still 17, Reed said his deeply religious parents were involved as well, and when he revealed the assaults to them, his parents did not believe him, instead declaring that he must be bipolar or having hallucinations.

As a result, instead of reporting the assault to the police, Reed began seeing a psychiatrist through the school, who he said prescribed him mood stabilizers and anti-depressants instead of guiding

Thumbs Down - More shots fired reports. After several quiet weeks, another downtown shots fired investigation came through from the Ithaca Police Department. There’s no way to tell whether or not this case is related to the string of shots fired reports several weeks ago, but regardless, the public probably deserves some more answers on this.

Seen - The Christine Barksdale story had gone quiet for a while before Wednesday, when protesters showed up en masse at Common Council to support her as her future with the Ithaca Police Department is determined. In response, several Common Council members stated they felt Barksdale was being scapegoated with how information was being released.

Hopefully, with more information, we’ll know what exactly they mean by that at some point.

IF YOU CARE TO RESPOND to something in this column, or suggest your own grievances or praise, write news@ithacatimes.com, with a subject head “U&D.”

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

What is your coronavirus protection plan?

Burn and Loot

Leaning into the chaos

continued on page 16

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N ext Week ’s Q uestion :

Netflix and Chill

Are you wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day to ward off suspected bad luck?

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It h ac a T im e s 5

GUEST OPINION

GUEST OPINION

The Downtown Community Conference Center: A Project for Us All

Community Investment Through Conference Center Fr e d S choe ps D ow n t ow n It h ac a P rope r

Ga ry Fe rgu s on E x ecu t i v e D i r ect or , D ow n t ow n It h ac a A l l i a nc e n a few days the City Common Council Vecino project, a $112 million redevelopment of the current Green Garage site. and the Tompkins County Legislature The Vecino project, scheduled to start will be voting on whether to proceed construction in early 2021, would consist with a Downtown community conference center. Both bodies will be separately voting of 218 affordable housing units and 350 parking spaces, plus the conference center on a shared City/County/DIA agreement and some street level retail. This will be that would provide a guarantee to the the largest affordable housing project in project, providing assurance to lenders and Ithaca in a generation—itself an amazing the Vecino Group- the developer who will asset for the community. The new parkbuild and own the real estate. ing spaces will replace the aged Green A recent op ed piece called into quesGarage parking spaces currently owned tion the viability and desirability of proceeding with a community conference by the City--- again a great community asset. The conference center component center, even suggesting the money could would represent a community space large be better spent on a baseball stadium. enough for events and meetings that we Such a piece deserves a reply- and an currently are unavailable to accommodate answer to the question- why should we in our County. It will be our community proceed with a community conference space—to be used for local activities as center? well as for meetings and conferences origThe plan is to construct and operate a two level, 49,000 square foot facility continued on page 7 in the heart of Downtown Ithaca- in the

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'm writing to you and the Ithaca Times as owner of 104 East State and member of the Ithaca community who really cares about our local economy and its well being.

The Conference Center isn’t about investing 36 million at 3 percent. That is a mindset of an investor who thinks in terms of return, of maximizing his margin. The writer in that sense as a landlord and owner of rental property in Ithaca is focused on and reflects the mindset of the rental business in a college town. It’s the mindset of let’s build luxury apartments over affordable ones. Affordable housing doesn’t get built by investors seeking the biggest profit - nor does a project that serves the common good of our local economy as the conference center would.

Facilities like the conference center don’t get built by investors seeking first and foremost the biggest return on a dollar.

Fundamentally what is never said in your guest opinion is that the downtown business core of Ithaca supports the conference center. The notion that the monies being raised for the center can simply be put into another business project is totally false. The notion that there is some other business that would be a better investment is typical of silo thinking. The center is not being funded with tax payer money. The center is funded by dedicated monies that would become available specifically to build a conference center.

The center is being funded as a result of hospitality businesses willing to commit to charging a fee specifically in support of the center. The fact that hundreds of employees of downtown businesses would benefit doesn’t even get mentioned. We have thousands working in retail, in the food and beverage industry in hospitality and services businesses that depend on visitors and on tourists. Let's think people coming before profit.

The fear that "the conference center has to lose money" is a form of lie that apparently if told often enough becomes the truth. Seems to be part of how our world operates currently.

Every downtown restaurant, every retail business, many services businesses will be positively impacted. How many good small businesses have gone under in the past because of our feast and famine local economy? The conference center is about year-round business opportunity during the week, not just Friday through Sunday. Not just when parents of students are in town.

There is no project equivalent to the

conference center that offers the opportunity for every business that wishes to engage to positively impact their cash flow. This isn’t about the hotels and room occupancy. It’s much more than that.

-- This is a conference center in a college town - not a convention center in a mega-urban setting. We are not talking about a million square feet we are talking about a right sized conference facility for this city for this region. We have heard over and over again of conference opportunity not realized. We are not talking about pie in the sky; we are talking about real, sustainable business opportunity.

-- This is a conference center in a destination city - we are fortunate to be blessed with natural beauty that serves as a magnet for drawing visitors and tourists. The center will make us a more powerful magnet and reduce the peaks and valleys throughout the year.

-- This is a conference center supported by a wide majority of downtown business - who will have skin in the game.

These three factors are three essential criteria for success - and we have them.

We don't need to create them.

What is worst case? Market dynamics shift. Is it so hard to believe a successful conversion to a different mix of uses isn't possible? This is no different than a landlord changing over parts of a building to offices or apartments as needs change.

We are talking about two floors; we're talking about a facility that is certainly much easier to re-purpose if the need ever should arise than some specialized factory. Imagination and resourcefulness aren’t lacking in our city.

People, Planet, Profit -- seems like we collectively get it that people go before profit at least as a community value; and without a planet - there are no people, let alone profit. Put people – employees, employers across the many, many downtown businesses – ahead of size of profit.•

Write to us!

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To the Editor, Ithaca Times, 109 N Cayuga St., Ithaca, NY 14850

SURROUNDED BY REALITY

GUEST OPINION

Natural Selection

Contin u ed From Page 6

inating from higher education, the State and the region. The conference center too is a great long-term community asset.

Let’s be clear… From the very beginning, the conference center project has been organized to be built and operated without local general fund tax revenue or cannibalizing current room tax proceeds.

The conference center itself is funded by a combination of earned revenue and a new lodging tax/assessment on hotel rooms. Built into the project are a number of reserve accounts and funds designed to protect and provide layers of insurance against any unforeseen problems.

We have done our homework and spent hundreds of hours perfecting the plan for this center.

The State of New York has granted the community $5.0 million to help jump start the project. They appreciate and understand the broad economic value of a conference center to our community and the entire region. The recent op-ed piece suggested using the funds we assembled for some other purpose. It is important to note that State funds cannot by shuffled to another use; nor could new room tax funds.

Using funding provided by the Tompkins County Tourism Program, we hired a nationally recognized firm specializing in conference center feasibility in smaller cities. We actually did two studies – one in 2017 and a follow-up in 2019. We asked the consultant to be conservative, to give us ranges and to help us make an informed decision.

The recent op-ed piece cited the work of a Haywood T. Sanders, a long-time critic of large-scale public projects, especially convention centers, and the convention center consulting industry in general. But Sanders work, itself subject to considerable controversy, is aimed at monstrous convention centers and stadium projects. He argues there is an over-supply of convention center space.

We are not proposing such a monstrous project… we have created a communitybased conference and meeting facility.

Sanders cherry picks several cases from across the decades to illustrate that consultants can get projections wrong.

No surprise there. But it is misleading and wrong to use partial case examples to condemn an industry. In an article sent to City and County elected officials, Sanders paints the picture of a failed project in Jackson, Mississippi. Absent from his description of consultant shortcomings were several key facts--- the Jackson project was surrounded by dirt fields and parking lots. The nearest hotels were some half mile away. The operators chose to attract church groups as a primary target – a audience that does not even pay room tax. The Jackson convention center (not a conference center) is a stand-alone building far larger than our project. In fact, our entire project would fit in their largest ballroom. By contrast, we opted

By C h a r l ey G i t h l e r

for a 100% downtown location within a one block of four major hotels, two major parking garages, and our pedestrian mallThe Commons.

The Sanders arguments simply don’t fly here. In Ithaca, we have chosen a different path… one that blends caution with experience and innovation.

Our conference center will support and bolster our Downtown economy and an entire major countywide industryhospitality. The project will deliver an estimated 62,000 new people to downtown each year. Those new feet on the ground are potential customers for the local, small retail, food and beverage, and entertainment businesses of downtown.

That’s a big deal for downtown businesses who rely on foot traffic to support and bolster their operations and our retailers and restaurants agree.

Our project also helps the workers in the hospitality industry, with 3000 plus employees countywide. We heard loud and clear that hotel employees would sincerely welcome the greater stability and extra, increased hours that the new business from the conference center would provide. People whose hours are cut in winter and week days could find more work and less opportunity for reductions in hours.

Both the County and City have asked if the project will adhere to key community benefits. The conference center will be built with prevailing wage, will be operated with living wage, and will be designed to be a green, energy efficient facility utilizing heat pumps.

The project’s economic impact extends beyond simply increasing tax receipts. It provides new jobs, retains and strengthens existing jobs, assists local businesses to find new customers and revenue. It will fill voids in our current economy --in cold weather times and during week days. It will allow us to keep revenue and business that is now leaking away from Ithaca and Tompkins County, because we simply do not have a facility large enough to handle events beyond a couple hundred people.

For nearly two decades, our Downtown strategic plans have called for the creation of a community conference center as part of a comprehensive effort to revitalize our center city and to strengthen Ithaca and Tompkins County as places for businesses to grow and people to live. We have a rare opportunity to make this happen in the best possible location, without fiscal burden to us residents. It is time to seize this once in a generation opportunity and move this community project forward.•

N

ews outlets have always loved bad news. It sold papers in the old days, and keeps us glued to our phones now. That being said, doesn't it seem like we're being carpet-bombed with the stuff these days? And we're not doing well with it. I tried to buy some hand sanitizer at Wegmans and the cashier laughed at me through her mask. People can't decide whether to sell their stocks in a panic or buy them in a panic. We sent Elizabeth Warren packing for being too smart. It's left me pondering some of the imponderables: are we, as a species, just not prepared to deal with all that we've created? How did we get in this fix? Why do we behave as we do? Resisting the urge to simply steep myself in pints of Stache Black Lager at Liquid State, I decided to consult an expert. I posed some questions to Dr. H. Humbert Cornstarch, an evolutionary psychologist and paleolithic anthropologist at a local ivy league university. He also holds a PhD in mixology. I found the interview most illuminating... section and work toward dog food. It's like the unwritten code in the exercise yard at a Turkish prison. You get the sinkeye if you go the other way. Does that mimic some primordial survival strategy?

SBR: Thank you for your time, Doctor Cornstarch. Let's start with a question that struck me lately. Last week, when it snowed in Ithaca, everybody with a snowplow on his truck was careening in and out of traffic like he had permission from Svante himself to ignore the Vehicle and Traffic Code. What's the deal with that?

CORNSTARCH: Well, of course ours is essentially a social species, but what truly separates homo sapiens from other hominids is, in fact, the ability to deliver a really effective stinkeye.

CORNSTARCH: Of course. It's called the "snowplow effect,” and it's quite well documented. You might recall that Doctor Leakey uncovered compelling evidence in the Great Rift Valley that paleolithic snowplow operators enjoyed an extended lifespan when compared to non-snowplow operators. The theory he posed was that by strapping on a plow and acting all crazy, predators gave them a wide berth, preferring the slower and more predictable humans. He published a paper on it, or a blog entry or something.

SBR: Didn't Dr. Goodall observe stinkeye behavior in chimpanzees?

CORNSTARCH: That turned out to be the chimps mimicking the scientists who were observing them.

SBR: You have to admit though, Doctor, that human behavior is sometimes baffling. For example, why would a person risk her life to text "lol" while driving fast on Route 13?

SBR: Fascinating! Something else has been puzzling me lately. It's been observed that the customers at Ithaca Bakery move in maddeningly slow motion, and often linger for hours...almost as if they had nowhere special to be. How is that part of our evolutionary legacy?

CORNSTARCH: On the contrary, all human behavior has evolutionary roots. The ability to go at a full run while simultaneously chiseling "lol" on a stone or clay tablet was absolutely essential for our ancestors. Slow down and the hyenas will catch you.

CORNSTARCH: It's quite simple, really. One must first understand that the Stone Age was fraught with imminent peril for hominids. For example, sabertoothed tigers could smell a warm banana nut muffin up to five kilometers away.

We scientists like to say "kilometers.”

Humans who made sudden movements in bakeries, or seemed impatient to get on with their day, were quickly weeded from the herd. It's basic Darwinism.

CORNSTARCH: Hmm. I got nothing.

SBR: Um...there were bakeries back then?

CORNSTARCH: [unintelligible] SBR: Well, I guess that checks out.

How about this? There's a grocery store, and all the customers shop in a counterclockwise direction. Start at the bakery Ma r ch

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SBR: OK, then why would a sizeable percentage of lower-middle class citizens consistently cast their votes for an orange billionaire whose policies favor the rich?

How does that scare hyenas?

SBR: And while we're on the subject, doesn't treating climate change like a hoax fly in the face of our basic impulse to ensure that our species survives?

CORNSTARCH: I've said all I'm going to say today. Thank you for the opportunity.

With that, Dr. Cornstarch abruptly got up and left the interview venue, leaving me to pick up the tab for several pints of Stache Black Lager. I needed to check my phone for news alerts anyway.•

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Preparing for the Unpredictable Tompkins County doesn’t have a coronavirus case yet, but officials urge vigilance

T

By M att Bu tler he term “coronavirus” wasn’t part of the American lexicon a mere few months ago, yet in short order it’s become the most important topic in the country. From a shortage of tests, to international lockdowns, to sports cancellations, to a plummeting stock market, it’s difficult to tell a facet of daily life that isn’t currently being impacted by the new global epidemic or the threat of its spread.

Tompkins County has so far been lucky, having avoided a confirmed case as of Tuesday, March 10, but it seems likely that one will eventually make its way to the area, given the population demographics here and the rapid recent spread of the illness statewide. Cornell University made the most significant preparatory move late Tuesday afternoon, announcing that they would be transitioning all classes online and telling students to stay in their permanent home off-campus from when spring break starts on March 28 until the end of the semester.

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number of confirmed cases in New York at 173. There is currently one “person under investigation” by the Tompkins County Health Department, meaning they have presented symptoms, and tests have been sent away to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) for final determination. It’s unknown when those tests will be returned, according to Public Health Director Frank Kruppa, who also said that the person is being held in isolation at an undisclosed location, citing privacy concerns.

Public interest in the illness and the government reaction has been steadily rising as the epidemic has expanded, and particularly since it has arrived stateside and made its presence known in New York State. Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency over the weekend after a sharp hike in cases. Tompkins County officials held a press conference on Monday afternoon to update the public on community preparedness and lay out where the situation stands locally, bringing Kruppa, Tompkins County Administrator Jason Molino and Cayuga Medical Center CEO Dr. Martin Stallone to the podium for individual comments.

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To m p k i n s C o u n t y P u b l i c H e a lt h D i r e c t o r F r a n k K ru p pa , D r . M a r t i n S ta l l o n e , a n d To m p k i n s C o u n t y A d m i n i s t r at o r J a s o n M o l i n o The gist of the conference was that the risk of infection in Tompkins County remains low, they said, though that is primarily based on the fact that there are no confirmed cases here yet which means the path of exposure is technically non-existent. People who believe they are experiencing symptoms are directed to contact their healthcare provider who can guide them through the next steps, including being tested. Cuomo ordered that health insurers in New York State waive cost-sharing for people getting coronavirus testing, and further directed that people on Medicaid should not be expected to pay a copay for testing.

The Tompkins County Health Department is currently monitoring 43 people who have been quarantined due to recent travel, though they are healthy and asymptomatic, according to Kruppa. Six people have been through the two-week quarantine, which was implemented by the CDC

last month to try to stem the spread of the disease to America.

“We do not have a case of COVID-19 in Tompkins County today,” Kruppa said.

“That’s the most important message to parents at this point. We are working with our schools so they are prepared and understand. Right now, folks should generally be going about their daily lives, unless they’re in those vulnerable populations, and then they should be mindful and thoughtful about how they approach it.”

In the event of a positive test, Kruppa said, the person in question’s status wouldn’t actually change very much, as they would simply remain in isolation until, hopefully, their condition was resolved.

“Knowing that someone is positive doesn’t really change anything for them in their current situation because they’re already in isolation,” Kruppa said. “What it changes for us is we then expand our contact investigation because now we have

a known case, and we would want to be reaching out to anyone who was in contact so they can take the necessary precautions to avoid a further spread.”

There could be additional confusion, as noted by Kruppa, because this has been a particularly virulent year for the common flu as well, and the similarities between the two illnesses could lead to people thinking they have COVID-19 when they actually have the flu, or vice versa.

During his comments, Stallone aimed to reassure the community that Cayuga Medical Center and the area’s healthcare providers are equipped to handle a COVID-19 outbreak.

“My main message is that the provider community is diligently receiving and digesting and incorporating information from trusted sources,” Stallone said. “We are ready and capable of responding to the spread of the viral infection and mitigating that. [...] There is a great state of readiness and substantial capabilities that can be brought to bear by networks that are working diligently to meet the needs of the situation as the situation changes.”

Stallone continued that the virulence and transmissability of the coronavirus are “cause for concern,” and that’s why both healthcare providers and the community need to be responsible in their own ways for containing the spread in whatever capacity they can.

“The spread is greatly affected by the behavior of individuals in society,” Stallone said.

Entities elsewhere in the county are preparing in a variety of ways too. The Tompkins County Workers’ Center has issued a call for all businesses to allow paid sick leave for employees during the “duration of the coronavirus outbreak.” The Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce issued a series of guidelines for local businesses. St. John’s Community Services, which runs the homeless shelter downtown and deals with a particularly vulnerable population, has amped up its cleaning protocols around its shelter and food pantry.

“If this ever becomes the real deal in Tompkins County, we’re definitely going to have to take some action,” Murdough said.

“We already have, we’re doing a lot more cleaning and signs up all over the place for people to wash their hands.”

Murdough said if St. John’s Community Service patrons asked to be tested for

the coronavirus, the homeless shelter staff would be helping them get in touch with the health department so that proper testing can take place, even if the person does not have a primary care physician.

As for local school districts, there haven’t been any definitive directives put forth in terms of school closures or protocol changes. A request for comment sent to the Ithaca City School District was not answered. There have also been rumblings of parents pulling their children out of school regardless of action by the school districts or not, particularly those who have children who are immunocompromised. At the press conference, Kruppa declined to advise that immunocompromised kids should be pulled out of school,

the school board. “We’re not panicking, we’re just kind of taking it how it comes.”

Spurred by the new instance of a person under investigation in the county, Croyle’s begun to reach out to her son’s doctors for guidance about how to proceed and whether he should be pulled out of school or not. There’s not a large network locally of parents in similar circumstances, Croyle noted, so she’s unsure of how other people are moving forward if their child has a weakened immune system.

“I am uncomfortable, and scared, of course,” Croyle said. “[But we] don’t want to become a shut-in, that’s not good either.”

ICSD has set up their own FAQ page on their website, trying to address common

though he did say that their individual healthcare providers should be consulted and decisions made on a case-by-case basis based on those conversations. On Tuesday, ICSD announced that they would excuse absences of children with notes from primary care providers or medical specialists on file, including those with: compromised immune systems, pre-existing heart and lung conditions, receivng treatment for cancer or autoimmune disease, or having an organ or bone-marrow transplant.

Staff are also being offered paid sick leave.

Erin Croyle, a local parent of an immunocompromised child and a member of the Ithaca City School District’s Board of Education, acknowledged that while her son is more vulnerable, she’s comforted knowing that teachers at his school know his condition and can monitor him to make sure he’s taking the recommended preventative steps, like washing his hands, etc., like any other immunocompromised student.

“He’s just more susceptible, so it’s very heightened and we’re very concerned,” Croyle said, noting that she was speaking solely as a parent and not as a member of

concerns they’ve heard and explain the policies they have in place. Rumors stirred this week that ICSD would be closing its schools for the week, but there appears to be no truth to that. According to that FAQ page, “At the direction of local public health officials, a few ICSD students and their families were asked to quarantine themselves” after they had been traveling internationally.

There’s no telling how wide the impacts of the epidemic could reach. Cornell’s decision was unprecedented, and even before that the school had introduced stringent travel regulations for school related issues, both domestically and internationally. It also offered students studying abroad the option to complete the rest of their classes online. The impact on the local economy from Cornell’s move alone could be massive.

When asked if the county would be considering intervening with similar actions, like cancellation or postponement of large events, Molino said that was not something that had been considered but that the county was open to advising organizations who were grappling with those Ma r ch

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decisions themselves.

“We’re going to follow the directions of, and in coordination with, the health department,” Molino said. “In this case, individual organizations, whether it’s higher ed or a private business or school districts, they have to make decisions based on their circumstances. We’ll just help in that assessment the best we can.”

The Ithaca-Tompkins International Aiport’s rollout could face challenges as well, though they are proceeding as if it will not.

Construction concluded and the new terminal officially opened around the beginning of 2020, signaling that international flights would start in spring 2020. While the season is quickly approaching, Airport Director Mike Hall said his team is taking a wait-and-see approach so far.

The international flights that would be arriving would be small, general aviation flights, mostly averaging around 20 passengers per plane, and the installation of a U.S. Customs office that would make it possible for the airport to receive such flights is still several weeks away, at least.

“We’ll be receiving general aviation flights, 20 seats or less, and I’m not sure how that’s going to be handled,” Hall said. “Frankly, that’s not my worry today, because we’re probably 30-60 days out of a general aviation flight being able to fly directly in here from someplace else in the world. I’m sure that there’ll be guidance between now and then. I’d rather not speculate that we might not be able to receive international flights during the pandemic.”

Even official, exhaustive events like Monday’s press conference are bereft of many concrete answers. There are plenty of plans, scads of protocols, soothing words, etc., but at this point virtually everyone in Tompkins County is stuck in the waiting game, closely watching developments from the state, the federal government and their fellow community members. The lack of more direct and specific information might be frustrating, but there’s at least some comfort in that the directions, at this point, are simple enough.

“The most important thing that individuals can do right now to help us stop the spread of COVID-19 is our traditional, basic public health messages that we have been talking about,” Kruppa said. “Stay home if you’re sick, cover your coughs and sneezes, and wash your hands with soap and water often.”•

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It h ac a T im e s 9

sports

Introductions and Improvements

Local softballer looks to impress in debut season leading Wells College

By Ste ve L aw re nc e

W

ell those 10 years sure went by fast…

Back in the summer 2010, I was traipsing around the state watching travel softball, and my daughter had a teammate named Taylor Policay. I had been friends with Taylor’s dad, Tom (who played football at Ithaca College, taught in the Ithaca City Schools and has coached extensively), and given Tom’s gregarious nature, I assumed Taylor would have a lot to say. I was wrong. She smiled a lot, listened a lot, and she used that stored up energy to just smash the holy hell out of the ball.

I saw Taylor play high school ball at Lansing (class of 2012) where she was All-IAC in softball and basketball, and I was pleased that she would play at TC3. I

love covering local athletes in collegiate sports, and it wasn’t long before Policay got her bearings at the next level. She starting cranking home runs on a regular basis, and she hit nine out of the park Taylor Policay receives the ball during her time as a TC3 Panther. (Photo provided) as a freshman. She set a record with two bombs in a playoff game, and and freshman Hannah Harmon—a former focus instead on academics. As a senior, she would finish with 14 homers in her Spencer-Van Etten Panther—will be batshe did an internship at Wells College two years as a Panther. (during which time the college was putting tling for playing time.

After TC3, Taylor went to SUNY CortFor scheduling information, visit www. the pieces in place to restart their softball land and played club softball, choosing to wells-express.com.much program), and as a first-year graduate (Given my desire to stay alive, I would student at Cortland, she served as an assistant at Wells. She served in that capacity like to add that much of Taylor’s success can also be attributed to her mom, Barb.) until head coach Erin Walstenholme took an assistant coaching job at Shenedoah ● ● ● University in Virginia. When Walstenholme made that move, Mike Lindberg, It was a proud night for Ithaca High Wells College’s Athletic Director elevated Athletics, as two recently-retired coaches, Policay to the head coaching position, sayFrank Welch and Rich Bernstein, were inRoute 13 between Ithaca and Dryden. ing in a press release, “Her commitment ducted into the Section IV Hall of Fame’s to the players and dedication to teaching Accepting new patients. All ages. Most insurance.

Class of 2020. makes Coach Policay an excellent fit with Welch graduated from Ithaca High in the Wells College community."

1971 and went on to coach for 42 years I caught up with Coach Policay at Instant Replay Sports (where she has worked (he was Section IV Coach of the Year six times). His teams won 411 games, 19 Secpart-time for several years) and I asked Our Services: tion IV Class A titles and he sent dozens of her about the program’s goals for the 2020 Medical players on to play at the collegiate level. season. “Our goal for this year,” Taylor Acne Bernstein’s boy’s and girl’s track and replied, “is to be better than we were last Rashes field teams won 29 STAC titles, and were year.”

Excessive sweating chosen by the NYS Sportswriters AssociaTo be sure, college programs live and Infections tion as the eighth best team for the 1990s. die with their pitching staff, and Policay Itching Rich also sent many athletes to the next said, “Getting pitchers and catchers is Moles level, and he was honored to be chosen as always a big recruiting challenge,” and she Rosacea a coach for the Maccabiah Games. said she has turned many of her initial efI had the pleasure of interviewing both Skin cancer, including Melanoma forts toward that end. of these stellar coaches many times, and Urticaria (hives) When asked about the team’s spring Comprehensive Patch testing for contact allergy trip, Policay said, “We’re leaving for Myrtle I recall very clearly asking several college Brad Yentzer, MD, FAAD coaches about the Little Red athletes that Dermatologist Beach on March 7, and we’ll play eight Surgical: came up through Welch and Bernstein’s Finger Lakes Dermatology games there.” She added, “I’ll be workSkin biopsies and cancer surgery 607-708-1330 programs. Every college coach said the ing on determining what our best lineup fingerlakesderm.com Cyst removal same thing: That those players came in will be, and while I already know for the 2141 Dryden Road Mole removal with the physical skills and mental toughmost part, I’m expecting there will some Freeville, NY 13068 ness to make valuable contributions to switches when we get a look at what we their teams. • have.”

When the Express returns home, they will open up one day before the first day of spring, and play on March 19 and 20.

There are two local players on the roster, as Southern Cayuga’s Brittany Meade returns

Now open in our new location!

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BusinessTimes

Pastimes moves down the hall, but better.

Gemm Shop continues its charitable run.

Business Index - Local Economy looking up

Bigger and Better

A

longtime DeWitt Mall staple has changed its location over the last few weeks, as Pastimes Antiques Store has moved down the hallway to a larger space in the main corridor of the Cayuga Street shopping center.

Owner Rebecca Stocking said Pastimes completed the move during February, taking over the space formerly occupied by the Bookery before the bookstore closed down. The new space is about two and a half times as large as the old spot, she estimated.

Stocking bought the store from longtime owner Adam Perl in June 2018. At the time, she didn’t plan on expansion.

Laughing, she calls the recent change a bit of an “impulse move,” but that it’s gone well so far.

“I was just always feeling really cramped in there,” she said. “I just decided I would take the chance. I like it, I feel a little bit uneasy about not being fully settled yet, but it’s good. It’s definitely more spacious.”

The old location, which was in a small space down a side hallway off the north entrance of DeWitt Mall, limited the business, she said. If someone wanted to come in with a stroller or a wheelchair, they’d almost inevitably end up getting wedged in the entrance of the store. In the new space, much of the store’s inventory is familiar: finely-aged china lines

LEGENDARY PASTIMES MORE THAN DOUBLES ITS SIZE

By Matt Butler coming to the business, even beyond having substantially more room to accommodate customers. The store only closed for one day, and during that time the Pastimes staff was able to complete the majority of the move that was necessary to the new space.

“We have a lot more room for the clothes, which were very cramped,” she said. “.We have a much better dressing room, we have a back room.

I have a friend who’s going to have his own space back there, that will have a bunch of different stuff. Eventually, we might get more furniture, larger things.”

At its core, though, Pastimes will remain the same.

Patrons come in with trinkets they want to sell, or an interest in perusing, and Stocking sees if she can help. Even during this interview, Stocking bought a small decorative rock from a woman for $5. Small transactions like that, she said, are the bread and butter of Pastimes’ business, likely more than larger priced items ever would be.

“Pastimes has been in the DeWitt Mall for 40 years, so there’s a lot of people who come in selling the things they bought here 40 years ago,” she said. “Some people come in more because they need the money than that they have anything in particular to sell. All kinds of people come in and sell, but I also go to estate auctions, go to people’s houses for a house call, etc.” •

Rebecca Stocking, owner of Pastimes, behind the counter at the new location. She the walls in shelves, cases of rare buttons, a box of decades-old records sits near the cash register, and the rest of the store is a

FAST FINANCING because your time is money.

menagerie of different With the expanded area to operate, Stocking said some new aspects might be

The faster, easier, online way to get a business loan.

Loans subject to credit approval.

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I t h a c a T i m e s 11

B usiness T imes

Gemm Shop

and donates goods to about 20 different organizations. “We get some items into the shop that we can’t carry, so there’s a lot of movement of items,” Powers explained, saying that the local animal shelter, for example, receives donations of old blankets that the Gemm Shop cannot sell but the animals are more than happy to snuggle with.

“We don’t let anything go to waste,” said Powers. “We live in such a throwaway Shop’s biggest asset, there have been times society…it’s great to see these things go to when attracting enough of them has been a place where they can be used.” the store’s biggest challenge. Currently, A publicity push over the last few years though, volunteer energy is at a high. has helped to draw in more business, too, “We now have a new, really vibrant Powers said. That combined with a slight crew of people,” said Karen Powers, chair tweak to some of the store’s tactics has of the Gemm Shop Board of Directors. raised awareness of the shop, with many of That could be due in part to the shop’s the store’s efforts headed up by the Gemm inviting policies around volunteering. “I Shop Board of Director’s treasurer for the think it does help if people feel like they can drop by for half an hour or 40 minutes last five years, Gail Zabawsky.

People come from all over the region to if they have some time,” Powers said. In order to accommodate people’s schedules, in consign their items and browse the Gemm Shop shelves. Gemm Shop fans come from recent years the store went from doing all Georgia@ithacatimes.com 607-277-7000 x220 of its price marking of items on Monday to as far as Ithaca, Elmira, Alpine, Corning, Lodi, Seneca Falls and Canandaigua. allowing volunteers to come in on any Newspaper: day Local high school and college students of the week to help out. have also been getting in on the thrift shop Located at 17 W. Main St. in Trumansaction at Gemm Shop as of late, Zabawsky burg, Gemm Shop is open weekdays from has observed. All the attention may be a 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 factor in the shop’s growing number of a.m. to 1 p.m. In July and August the shop clientele. is usually open until 3 p.m. on Saturdays, “We’ve doubled our number of codepending on volunteer availability. signers in the last five years, which has The Gemm Shop gives between 30 certainly contributed to the income of the and 40 different monetary donations per shop,” said Powers. The Gemm Shop sends year to local organizations, Powers said,

TRUMANSBURG’S FAVE MAKES A BUSINESS OUT OF GIVING BACK

By Jaime Cone

H

ow does a store as unique as the Gemm Shop, with its 50-year history and reliance on a volunteer staff, adopt its model for the 21st Century and not only survive but continue to thrive? The key lies in the volunteers.

Members of the store’s board of directors said the tireless community members who donate their time are dedicated to the store, believe in its mission, and make the Gemm Shop possible.

The Gemm Shop, now a local fixture of Trumnsburg’s downtown, was established five decades ago by creative local mothers as a temporary way to raise money for new high school band uniforms. It has now grown into a full-fledged secondhand goods enterprise selling clothes, shoes, jewelry, knick-knacks, books, linens, blankets and other gently used donated and consigned items. The nonprofit still gives all of the proceeds back to local causes. On Feb. 27, the store held a ribbon cutting to celebrate a successful 50 years.

Though the volunteers are the Gemm

New Year,

New Airport

Ithaca Times/Fingerlakes News

Over 750 one-stop global connections.

One world.

aa.com

by Betsy Schermerhorn Director, Marketing and Admissions

WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE

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There’s something to be said about the craftsmanship of an older generation when it comes to furniture, automobiles, and just about anything else that would be considered antique. By knowing what to look for in an antique, and by knowing the right people to ask, you put yourself in a position that will protect you from making a poor purchase choice. Call the marketing team at (607) 266-5300 to schedule a tour to see our facilities and learn more about lifecare at Kendal at Ithaca. Find us on the web at http://kai. kendal.org/ P.S. Many dealers in antique malls offer a discount and may even be open to offers on higher priced items. Ask the person at the register if they will present an offer to you.

2230 N. Triphammer Road Ithaca, NY 14850-6513

united.com

Ithaca Tompkins International Airport | 1 Culligan Drive Ithaca, NY 14850

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Kendal at Ithaca

Vital for Life

Going antique shopping with friends is a terrific way to have some fun. You can share memories of how things used to be done. The outdated aspects of the items you see—for example, an old wringer washing machine, or hand mixer, or even a toaster that burned the toast—may cause you to marvel at how you ever lived that way. If you’re a collector, this can be a golden opportunity to add to your collection or talk to store owners about it.

Sweet items, like dolls or old toys you forgot existed, will appear and make for a good story to share over lunch. Others will have stories of their own recollections that you can enjoy. delta.com

out about 150 consignment checks per quarter and currently has between 300 and 350 active consigners, said Powers. The shop receives 50 to 400 used items every day it is open.

Under Zabawsky and Powers’ leadership, the store is looking cleaner than ever these days, which Powers said makes a real difference.

“Not that the shop was ever dirty, but we’ve made a real effort in recent years to keep the store smelling good, which is important, especially when you’re dealing with consignment stuff,” Powers said. “You want to make it as appealing as possible so people enjoy shopping there.”

The store is also fortunate enough to have a landlord who keeps the Main Street rent down to a reasonable cost, Zabawsky added. “He very much believes in our mission, and as soon as we have a problem with maintenance he’s right on it,” she said. “It wouldn’t work if we had to pay the same rent as some other people.” The location is ideal because it is right across the street from a bank, so although the store Client: does not take debit and credit cards, cash is available at the nearby ATM. The downtown locale is also right in the center of most of Trumansburg’s largest yearly events, such as WinterFest, Porchfest and the Trumansburg Crit cycling event. The store lengthens its hours on those days and during the Grassroots music festival, which takes place just down the road every summer.

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B usiness T imes

ITHACA BUSINESS INDEX

The Numbers Are In A sl igh t u p t ick i n D ec e mbe r e n d s a suc c e s sf u l 2 019

By Elia Kacapyr

T

he Ithaca Business Index improved 0.5 percent in December to a level of 178.22 from a revised mark of 177.29 in November. Moderate increases in employment, the labor force, retail sales, and help wanted advertising pushed the index higher. Home sales and average hours worked held back the gains. Compared to December 2018 the index was up 3.2 percent.

The number of jobs in the Ithaca metropolitan area increased by 200 to a level of 67,400 in December. All the figures in this report are seasonally adjusted so that any month can be compared with any other without regard to seasonal factors. Ithaca’s unemployment rate was 3.5 percent, unchanged from a month earlier.

The comparable unemployment rates for New York State and the nation were 4.0 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively.

The size of Ithaca’s labor force increased by 100 persons to a level of 51,500. Anyone residing in Ithaca with a part-time or full-time job is in the labor force. In addition, anyone residing in Ithaca without a job, but actively seeking employment, is also included in the labor force. A larger labor force means more economic potential.

Ithaca’s retail sector improved modestly in December. Sales volume rose 1.3 percent to $161 million. Compared

to December 2018 sales volume was up 1.5 percent. Add 2 percent inflation to that and holiday retail sales were up 3.5 percent in December – about what was expected. Ithaca’s retailers hired 200 seasonal workers in December.

The average work week in Ithaca shortened slightly to 33.0 hours from 33.1 hours in November. This figure is indeed an average that includes both full and part-time employees in the private sector.

Compared to December 2018, the average work week was about 12 minutes longer.

A longer work week is a sign of increased economic activity.

Home sales in Ithaca slipped 7.7 percent in November. This is a minor change for this volatile indicator. Comparing December 2019 to December 2018, home sales were down 22.9 percent. The median home’s price climbed over the course of the year to $231,750 from $217,000.

Help wanted advertising was 19.2 percent higher in December than the previous month. Compared to December 2018, help-wanted advertising was up 57.4 percent. These are not unusual changes for this volatile indicator. The number of job postings for several online sites for Ithaca are considered.

After climbing nicely for the first half of 2019, the Ithaca Business Index has merely held steady the past six months.

Still, it was a very good year for the local

Shown here, Ithaca’s economy retained a rosy outlook going into 2020.

economy. The Ithaca Business Index shows economic growth of 3.6 percent over the course of the year.

Aside from 2017 when the economy expanded by 3.8 percent, the last year to show more than 3.0 percent growth was 1999. Let’s buy the Champagne but not uncork it just yet. Annual data revisions occur every year at this time and in the past those revisions have sometimes changed the previous perception.

In January 1985 the Ithaca Business Index stood at 100.00. In December 2019 the Index reads 178.22. This means that the Tompkins County economy has grown 78.22 percent in those 420 months.

From 1985 until 1988, the Ithaca metro region grew at a rapid clip. The average annual growth rate was 5.4 percent.

The Ithaca Business Index reached a peak of 130.34 in March 1989. A reces-

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sion brought the Index down to a level of 110.98 in May 1992. This 36-month slide was much longer and more severe than the national recession which lasted only 8 months. Since then, the County economy has recovered, but annual growth rates of 1.5 percent are more typical these days.

There was a less severe version of the Great Recession here in Ithaca that started in May 2008 and ended in July 2009. The most recent recession began in March 2014 and ended in March 2015. There was no national recession during this time, but economic activity in Ithaca fell 0.2 percent in 2014 and 1.4 percent in 2015.

The Ithaca economy has been expanding since the summer of 2015. The Ithaca economy grew 2.2 percent in 2016, 3.8 percent in 2017, and 0.3 percent in 2018.

The all-time high for the Ithaca Business Index is 179.58, its reading in May 2019.

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B usiness T imes

Biz Briefs Tioga State Bank’s Robert M. Fisher Nominated as Chairman-elect of Independent Community Bankers of America

advertising sales Looking to run your own show?

We are looking for someone to help us grow more. Are you outgoing, selfmotivated, bright, and imaginative?

Are you enthusiastic about developing business relationships?

We are seeking candidates that have excellent verbal and writing skills.

Sales experience a plus. Salary plus commission plus benefits.

Send your cover letter and resume to: jbilinski@ithacatimes.com

10 newspapers in print and online

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Robert M. Fisher

Tioga State Bank announced that President and CEO Robert M. Fisher was nominated for the national position of Chairman-elect for the 2020-2021 Independent Community Bankers of America® (ICBA) board of directors. ICBA’s board of directors will vote on the nominations during the 2020 ICBA national convention which will be held March 8-12 in Orlando.

Fisher has been involved in ICBA for more than 11 years.

“I am pleased to continue my service to ICBA and advocate for community banking in our nation. As community bankers we are dedicated to serving our local communities, and the support of ICBA is critical to that mission,” Fisher said in an announcement.

•

Transonic Systems – global competitiveness/automated manufacturing ($220,000)

•

YMCA of Ithaca – renovation to support increased childcare and community space ($1,184,000)

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Coddington Road Community Center – childcare and afterschool care expansion and modernization ($700,000)

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Enclose Cass Park Rink – ($523,269)

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Downtown Ithaca Community Conference Center – ($5,000,000)

The REDC initiative, established in 2011, is part of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s strategy for economic development that is community-based and performancedriven with a goal of jumpstarting the economy and creating jobs. The initiative empowers communities, business and academic leaders, as well as members of the public in each region of the state, to develop strategic plans specifically tailored to their region’s unique strengths and resources to create jobs, improve quality of life and grow the economy.

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Tompkins Trust Company Promotes Nancy Bussieres to Assistant Vice President, Employee Relations Manager

Tompkins Trust Company Promotes Michelle Hallock to Assistant Vice President, Senior Learning & Development Business Partner

Nancy Bussieres

Tompkins Trust Company has promoted Nancy Bussieres to Assistant Vice President, Employee Relations Manager.

She will continue to report to Scott Pronti, Vice President, Human Resources.

A rundown of Tompkins County’s $13.8 million in REDC awards New York Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul announced in December the ninth round of Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) initiative awards for each of the 10 economic development regions in the state.

The Southern Tier, an eight-county region including Tompkins County, was one of five top performers, receiving $88.9 million to support economic development projects.

Tompkins County was awarded approximately $13.8 million for 31 projects.

Projects awarded funding in Tompkins County include:

responsibilities include partnering with Tompkins affiliates for hands-on training, coaching, career development, team building, and problem solving. She will continue to help individuals maximize their potential, and support Tompkins Financial’s business initiatives.

“We are thrilled for Michelle,” said Laura Geary, Vice President, Learning & Development Manager. “She has grown into a superlative mentor, leader, and growth manager for Tompkins and our employees.”

Hallock holds her Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of North Carolina and is a certified VitalSmarts trainer. She enjoys spending time with her husband and children and working as a board member for the Registrar for Tompkins Girls Hockey Association.

Michelle Hallock

Tompkins Trust Company has promoted Michelle Hallock to Assistant Vice President, Senior Learning & Development Business Partner. Hallock will continue to report to Laura Geary, Vice President, Learning & Development Manager.

Hallock has been with Tompkins Trust Company for 10 years and was previously employed with Denby USA Limited. Her

Bussieres was previously with Cayuga Medical Center and has nine years of experience in Human Resources. In her role she will be responsible for fostering an environment that enhances the team member experience throughout the lifecycle of one’s career at Tompkins. She will identify and execute programs that enrich the culture, promote inclusion, and foster team member engagement.

“We are thrilled for Nancy’s promotion,” Pronti said. “Her experience in human resources, employee engagement, and culture management continues to enrich both our employees and our community.”

According to a press release, Bussieres

B usiness T imes is active in her community and serves as a board member with the Alcohol & Drug Council, and is a board member with SHRMTC (Society for Human Resource Management of Tompkins County). She

is also a member of SHRM nationally.

She holds her Master Degree in Psychology and enjoys spending time with her husband and two children.

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Paleontological Research Institution Announces Enhanced New Websites The Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) has a long history of serving a wide and diverse audience, from scientists to school children, and its two public educational venues—the Museum of the Earth and Cayuga Nature Center—each have their own unique audiences. With the goals of improving ease of access and enhancing visitors’ experience, PRI has launched a new suite of integrated websites.

To meet the needs of the amazing diversity of audiences for our services, PRI has been engaged in a multi-year review and overhaul of their Internet-based services. They are continuing that effort by providing the three new and enhanced websites: https://www.priweb.org/, https:// MuseumOfTheEarth.org, and https:// CayugaNatureCenter.org. They encourage you to explore each and provide feedback through their “Contact Us” link on their websites or to marketing@priweb.org.

An exciting feature on PRI’s main site (priweb.org) is their new science blog, which consists of short essays on a diversity of topics—ranging from paleontology to evolution to climate change—that are written by PRI staff. Several posts are already available and can be read at https://www.priweb.org/blog.

New posts will be added regularly and are announced on PRI’s social media accounts (Twitter: @prinstitution; Facebook: @museumoftheearth).

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I t h a c a T i m e s 15

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Contin u ed From Page 5

him to seek the help of law enforcement.

He described the experience as “devastating” and that he stopped taking them by November 2001 because they weren’t helping; all along his grades were spiraling and he was on the brink of being kicked out.

Contacted by the Ithaca Times, a former acquaintance of Reed who wished to remain anonymous confirmed that though he hadn’t told her many of the details, years ago Reed had mentioned being the victim of sexual misconduct by someone while at Cornell University. She said he also had briefly published a Medium post about the incidents, though he later deleted it.

As Reed tells it, his life since the incident has been fairly turbulent. There have been high points, like obtaining his Master’s in public management from the University of Maryland, which came after he was kicked out of Cornell briefly before being re-admitted and steadying himself enough to graduate. He’s bounced from job to job, frequently losing them due to either motivation or attendance problems, and grappled with financial struggles and homelessness. One of his proudest moments, he said, was when he was appointed as deputy director of the Workforce Development Board by the governor of Maryland. But, Reed said, he was fired shortly after for poor attendance.

“Any of my bosses will tell you, ‘When Elliott was there, he was great,’” Reed said. “But that’s always ‘If he was there,’ or ‘when he was there.’”

Professional struggles have been accompanied by questions about his own sexuality that have confused him internally since the incident occurred, and Reed still believes he is struggling with depression as a result of his college days.

“I’m confused, I’m the first to admit that now,” Reed said in January. “But before that, I wasn’t confused. [...] Because I wasn’t gay, right? To this day, I’m pretty convinced that I’m going to hell. But that’s just my trauma and my neurosis. I say that now, but I promise, before midnight I’ll be obsessing over it.”

Reed decided to come forward with his story, both in the courts and to the Ithaca Times, partially as a way to help himself. He insists that he’s more interested in rectifying whatever cultural problem might still exist at Cornell than in whatever financial gain he might see—and he wants an apology for how his situation was handled by them as well. Plus, he thinks telling his story in a more open forum will be a healthier way for him to move forward than what he’s tried over the last two decades.

“I struggle with alcohol, not dependence, I’ve never done rehab,” Reed said, though he acknowledged one DUI charge.

“God has gifted me a very resilient mind.

But I have had some struggles with just trying to kill these demons. And when I read some stories, and I have read tons of them [...] It kind of helped me say, ‘Okay, you're not going to be better all at once.

But until you tell what happened, it's not going to get better.’”

M att Butler

NASCAR Contin u ed From Page 4

directors and coaches and open it up to all athletes and see who’s interested,” Hamilton said. “We’ll hold a pro-day-style combine and evaluate each of the athletes, and from there those that are selected will come to a national combine and will compete for one of six spots within the program to go on and continue to train.”

The program also offers internships to work on the business side of the sport and general opportunities for minority individuals interested in becoming drivers or other positions. Hamilton specifically oversees diversity-improvement efforts in eNASCAR, a branch of NASCAR that, according to its website, develops and promotes “esports’ competitions, leagues and officially sanctioned series.”

In his opinion, Hamilton believes that the main reason for the lack of diversity in the sport is because of the lack of accessibility to the sport. Growing up, Hamilton dreamt of becoming a professional racecar driver. He raced in go-karts, 600c mini sprint cars and sportsman modified cars for more than a decade.

“It’s not easy to do that,” he said of becoming a professional racecar driver.

“It obviously takes a lot of funding to be able to do that, and the pathway you have to take in racing is not always as clearly as defined … the big part of that program is making a pathway that’s easier to define and that will actually help more kids like

myself find a pathway into the sport at a higher level.”

Affordability is another reason for a dearth of diversity.

“Racing is definitely not a cheap sport,” he said. “It’s a sport that requires a lot of different equipment, and not just equipment to go and compete on the field, but equipment to make it to the race track when it comes to a truck and trailer to get to the track, equipment that you need to work on the vehicle.”

So far, Hamilton’s efforts as a leader in the program have helped make strides in the diversity of professional motorsports.

According to Hamilton, 50 members from the program have gone on to work in pit crews. The program has also produced three drivers: Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson and Aric Almirola.

Enhancing the sport’s diversity, along with mastering his primary duties as Director of Racing Opportunities and Event Management, are items Hamilton plans on continuing to work on while in the industry.

“My goal is simply to do the best that I can do in the role that I’m in right now,” he said. “There’s still a lot to [learn] in the race control tower that I want to grow and continue to get better with. I want to be able to continue to contribute as much as I can to the sport’s future.”

By Andrew Sullivan

Cayuga Heights team prepares for first official test

By Libby Cook

A

re you ready, team?” Cayuga Heights School Age Program assistant director Gina Cusano-McLaughlin asks her team of students who wait in the stage wings during an Odyssey of the Mind team rehearsal.

“Ready!” They chorus and take the stage as McLaughlin starts a stopwatch.

With precision and urgency prompted by

their coach’s timekeeping, the team begins setting up their first scene for rehearsal––two curtains hand-painted to resemble walls and windows which they hold up with music stands.

Team member Livia Avgar paces the stage with the practiced suspicious glance of her character, a detective named “Ella.” She continued on page 18

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Problem Acting

Leo Desjardins, Oren Milder, Mariko Pleiss, Elsa Leijonhufvud-Ault, Nia Lewis, Livia Avgar, Gina Cusano-McLaughlin (Photo Casey Martin)

I t h a c a T i m e s 17

ODYSSEY Contin u ed From Page 17

wears a trenchcoat and cap traditional of Sherlock Holmes and delivers her lines between puffs from a fake pipe with red pipe cleaners poking out to resemble flames.

Oren Milder ducks beneath a hand-painted cardboard box with knobs, antennae, and a speaker as he slips into character as “The Radio.� Leo Desjardins crouches quietly, acting as “Oddy� the raccoon, a clever nod to the Odyssey of the Mind raccoon mascot. Mariko Pleiss appears as “Rosemary,� the detective’s assistant, Elsa Leijonhufvud-Ault, acts as “Leona,� the good twin of “Lucille,� the evil twin played

by Nia Lewis who tries to sabotage the detective’s case.

The team breezes through their skit they’ve been meticulously perfecting since October. They developed the script which must be performed in under eight minutes entirely from their own creative ideas. The team also provided or made all of their own props and costumes which must fit in a single box and cost a maximum of 125 dollars, as Odyssey rules require.

the Odyssey of the Mind Regional Competition hosted by Broome-Tioga BOCES in Binghamton on Saturday, beginning at 7 a.m. They will be the only team from Ithaca competing, but the group prefers to be the sole representation of the city. “I don’t actually want any other friends to do [Odyssey] because I have always hated competing against my friends,�

Leijonhufvud-Ault said. “I don’t like the feeling of having to compete against my friends in something I really care about.�

Leijonhufvud-Ault’s teammates are just as passionate about acting, problemsolving and competing. “I loved that [Odyssey] would be an acting thing where I actually got judged, unlike other things where I was going and performing and then everybody got an award,� Avgar said. “I wanted to be judged for my skills.� “I like being in front of judges and an audience,� Desjardins added. “I also compete in dance.�

Oren Milder and Mariko Pleiss agreed Odyssey would be a great way to break into play-acting. “The way Odyssey was first described

One of the most influential bands in the history of Irish traditional music

Nia Lewis during a recent Odyssey of the Mind practice at Cayuga Heights. (Photo: Casey Martin)

Newfield vs. Delhi Boys Basketball 3/3/20

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“It’s our skit,� Avgar said. “We got some outside ideas from [Cusano-McLaughlin] but we had the choice to go with them.�

The team will be solving problem three for the competition, titled, “The Effective Detective� and will compete in the Division I competition, a section which hosts teams from Kindergarten to the fifth grade. This skit, according to Odyssey of the Mind problem description, demands a detective uncover clues, including a red herring clue, to solve historical real-world mysteries and defeat a supervillain.

The team, who is competing in Odyssey of the Mind for the first time, chose to uncover the mystery of a mystical beast, specifically the existence of the Loch Ness monster for their skit. “The only two problems that had a mystical beast were the Yeti and the Loch Ness monster,� Lewis said. “We picked the Loch Ness monster because one of our former teammates liked saying ‘Hugga hugga’ which is the Loch Ness monster’s sound.�

The team will act out this mystery at

to me was it was a combination of art, building creativity, and acting and all of it sounded fun to me,� Milder said. “My mom and I love going to plays so I thought it would be fun to be in one.� “I’d always gotten nervous when it came to performing plays but I thought I would try [Odyssey],� Pleiss said. “I thought it would be a lot of fun because I knew my friends were doing it and I really like to do plays.�

Depending on their performance at the regional competition on Saturday, the Cayuga Heights School Age Program team has the chance to compete at the state, national and world levels. The group is hopeful for the outcome of their first competition and aims to qualify for the national competition in Iowa. “I’m excited about the fact that if we win this competition, we’ll go to another one and if we win that one we get to go to the world finals,� Lewis said. “I just really hope we get that far.�

Stage

Learning Young

Kyle Kinane thinks BVC shouldn’t get tattoos

By Br yan VanC ampe n

C

omedian, actor and podcaster Kyle Kinane is coming to Ithaca for the first time for a show at the Haunt on March 12. Kinane has appeared on many podcasts and TV shows, including “@midnight.” He’s also done voice acting in movies like “Hell and Back” and the Netflix animated series “Paradise PD” and was the voice of Comedy Central for eight years.

Kyle Kinane spoke to the Ithaca Times about the late, lamented “@midnight”, the comic that inspired him, and why it’s okay not to get a tattoo.

IT: Boy, I still miss “@midnight.”

KK: You know, it was such a great show for stand-ups to get regular exposure and be able to promote dates. I don’t know, I thought it had that thing that TV’s missing, a kind of unscripted, “Yeah, we can do whatever we want” [show]. It was a bummer that it went away, so… It was one of the conveniences of being based in L.A., and a show that tapes here. “Hey, you wanna come on next week?” “Oh, sure.”

I know they do “Live at the Cellar” and Comedy Central has New York-based stuff with the Comedy Cellar, but yeah, it was fun because you could be a bit of a wild card.

IT: How did Chris Hardwick run that show?

KK: I thought he was a great host because as a stand-up, he’s still quick on his feet. Obviously, they’ve gotta edit it down to 22 minutes, but the stuff that didn’t make the cut, there was no stress of “All right, we got this time, we gotta make it in this time.” It was like, “No. Go have fun, they’ll edit into what works.” And you could tell Hardwicke was like, “Yeah, have fun, this will translate to the final product.”

You can tell when people are sincerely having a good time.

IT: That and podcasts were how I heard so many new comics.

KK: There’s so many comedians now.

There’s so many, which is both good and bad. There’s so much to choose from, it’s

easy to get lost in the flood of it. You’ve got Netflix and Amazon and all the streaming services. There’s a ton of comics nowadays.

They’re out there, I’ll tell ya. They’re out there.

IT: Who made you laugh when you were a kid?

KK: I had cable at a very young age, which was maybe not the best parenting decision that my parents made [laughs], but I got exposed to a lot of horror movies and stand-up specials. I always thought stand-up as a form was weird, like, “Uh, this person just stands there and talks?

That’s it, they don’t have to learn music or anything? And they can get on Johnny Carson? I need that job. All that guy does is talk. He’s not even in a band.” So I was kind of fascinated with the form. But I remember seeing Mitch Hedberg on a Rodney Dangerfield special, before anyone knew who Mitch Hedberg was. Especially in the late 80’s and early 90’s, everyone wore a blazer and talked about their wives and their kids. I’m like, “Well, I don’t really relate to that.” And this guy was talking about lifting a crate of forks with a forklift.

IT: How great is the voice acting gig?

KK: I do some animation stuff. It’s like bank robbery money. It’s not real [laughs].

You go in for ten minutes a day and tell people to watch Comedy Central, go in there in my flip-flops and pajama pants. If you get it, you’re lucky. There’s definitely talent to it, don’t get me wrong. From day one when I got that gig with Comedy Central, I was like, “This isn’t real!”

IT: Kyle, do you think I should get a tattoo?

KK: No. [laughs] You’re how old?

IT: I’ll be 57 in April.

KK: You made it that long without getting tattoos? Yeah, why would you do that to yourself? I mean, mine are all dumb.

But if somebody’s alive in this day and age without a tattoo, I think you weathered the storm. There’s enough mistakes walking around out there.

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Music

Not Looking Back

Howard Jones is happy to be where he is

By Br yan VanC ampe n

S

ynth-pop pioneer Howard Jones scored numerous hits in the 1980s like “No One is to Blame,” “What Is Love,” “New Song,” “Life in One Day” and “Things Can Only Get Better” (heard recently in season three of “Stranger Things”). Jones brings his all-acoustic trio to Ithaca for a show at the Hangar Theatre on March 13.

He spoke to the Ithaca Times about his current tour, not looking back, and the appeal of music videos.

IT: Where is the tour right now?

HJ: We’re in Park City today, up in the mountains of Utah, with a snow storm going on outside.

IT: And this tour is an all-acoustic version of what you do?

HJ: Yes, that’s right, it’s just the trio.

So I have Nick Beggs (The Mute Gods, Kajagoogoo, Belinda Carlisle) playing mainly chapman stick; he’s one of the few people who can play that instrument in the rock and pop world. And then Robin Boult (Roger Daltrey, Dave Stewart), who’s on guitars. It’s a really unusual line-up. It just sounds so cool, and I really enjoyed making those three instruments work, in the arrangements. All the percussion comes from what we’re doing, provided in the grooves by arranging everything sort of intricately. It’s a lot of fun.

IT: People really enjoyed you previously at the Hangar Theatre; had you ever been to Ithaca before those shows, back in the first days of the career?

HJ: No, I don’t recall making it to Ithaca, but I have one of my best friends who lives there with his wife. And so I get to visit him quite often, really, because I go to see them. I really like the place. There’s some amazing places to eat if you’re a vegan and vegetarian. I remember going to a restaurant last time and there was a small string orchestra in the foyer, just come together to play music together. To me, that’s the flavor of Ithaca, really. It’s a very unique place.

IT: You started out in the era of MTV and having not just a cool song but a cool video. Was the whole music video thing a blessing or a burden ultimately?

HJ: No, it was very exciting. The way I started was with a one-man electronic band, you know. And we always had visuals onstage. At the time, we had two ordinary TVs that were hooked up to a VHS player, and we made videos to go along with the music. I was also joined onstage by a mime artist. We used to come up with

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TICKETS: 105 West State Street • (607) 277- 8283 • www.stateofithaca.org SPONSORED BY

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ithaca.com/newsletters

Howard Jones, known for his musical success in the 1980s, is touring with an all-acoustic trio and coming to Ithaca on March 13 at the Hangar Theatre. (Photo provided)

characters that would reflect the ideas of the songs. And so the whole thing was a very visual concept, and so videos were like, “Ah! Let me at it!” [laughs] It was another creative outlet for me, and I really enjoyed all the videos that we did.

IT: What do you miss most about the 1980s?

HJ: [long pause. Laughs] I’m not really the sort of person who looks back much.

Obviously, I acknowledge everything that happened at that time and it’s where my career started, but it’s what you’re doing now really that’s important to me. I think the ‘80s was an amazing time ‘cause there were so many new things going on. You mentioned already the use of video visuals that we really got to use for the first time.

Everyone got to use that. And there was a fantastic variety of genres of music going on in that time: the electronic element, and indie rock, the glam/metal, reggae, ska. Lots of people were having lots of hit records, and it was a very exciting time.

But I mean, any era can be exciting. It’s just up to the artist to create something new and think differently and break some new ground.

IT: Is there a song you feel like, if you didn’t play it, your fans would miss it?

HJ: Yes, I’m very aware of that. There’s certain songs, especially ones that were big hits on the radio, that people really want to hear. And it would be really mean of me not to play them. [laughs] I’m always looking at ways of presenting those songs in a slightly different way, like with the trio.

That’s my thing, I wanna keep it interesting for me. And I think that’s the trick, really.

IT: Is there good camaraderie between the British 80’s bands?

HJ: Well, we see each other now more than we did in the 80s because everyone was busy doing their thing. I’m good friends with Midge Ure (Thin Lizzy, Ultravox) and Nik Kershaw (“Wouldn’t It Be Good?”) and Martin Fry (ABC). They’re not gonna stop because the big spotlight’s not on anymore. This is what we do and this is what we love, and that’s my contribution to the world, to give people a nice time with music, and encourage people, and give them a break from all the difficulties that modern society presents.

Thinking Big

DISTINGUISHED VISITING

A large calligraphy display takes over the Bartels Gallery

Supported by the Department of Writing and the School of Humanities and Sciences

LITERARY JOURNALIST

WALT HARRINGTON

By Ar thur W hit m an

PUBLIC READING TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 6 PM CLARK LOUNGE, CAMPUS CENTER POET

DANEZ SMITH

V

isible from the lobby above, the underground Bartels Gallery is one of the most memorable spaces in late architect I.M. Pei’s 1973 Johnson Museum tower. Composed of concrete framing, white walls, and wood flooring, the big room is currently host to a remarkable installation: an enormous horizontal expanse of ink-on-paper Chinese calligraphy fitted to temporary walls that curve gently around the corners of the space.

Arranged by the museum’s Asian art curator, Ellen Avril, and Cornell art historian An-yi Pan, “Tong Yang-Tze: Immortal at the River” (up through June 7) features one finished work as well as a smaller preparatory “sketch” behind glass. Done in 2003, the piece—the artist’s largest—interprets a Chinese poem by Yang Shen (1488-1559), later adapted as a preface to the separately authored “Romance of the Three Kingdoms.”

Tong Yang-tze is one of Taiwan’s best-known contemporary calligraphers.

Working in large formats with a bravura cursive that strains legibility, she renews the millennia-old “shufa” tradition—long central to East Asian culture. Influenced by European and European-American modernism, yet grounded in classical Chinese literature and aesthetics, her work is both erudite and physically demanding. Working from a modest home studio, she pieces together large sheets of paper into pieces of epic scale that immerse the viewer in worlds of writhing energy. She is Cornell’s 2020 Wong Chai Lok Calligraphy Fellow.

Born in Shanghai in 1942, Tong practiced calligraphy from childhood, copying Yen Zhenqing (709-785) and other historical masters. Moving to Taiwan a decade later, she later studied calligraphy and Western art at the National Taiwan Normal University and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. In the 1970s, she gained notice as a graphic designer while exhibiting both calligraphy and oil painting. Towards the end of the decade, she returned to Taiwan to focus on the art for which she is known today.

Since the 1990s, her work has increasingly incorporated the influence of American Abstract Expressionism as well as European modernism. Working at an expanded scale and with a newfound im-

provisatory daring, her late style is both free and structured. Over the past two decades, she has participated in numerous “crossover” collaborations: with dancers and choreographers; jazz and popular musicians; fashion and product designers; architects and curators. Still, her own art proper is relatively old-fashioned. Tong works alone in her studio with black ink on white paper, writing (more-or-less) legible characters, and interpreting classical texts.

It would be a mistake to regard Tong’s work as pure abstraction. Even rudimentary familiarity with Chinese writing—like my own—reveals attention to her characters’ intricate structures, as unchanged over centuries. Even her freewheeling distortions are grounded in traditional cursive script: abbreviated character forms, overlapping and transposed elements, the running of one graph into another.

Also building on tradition is her expressive use of visual metaphor rooted in literal meaning. The physical act of calligraphy allows for a range of possibilities: from a clean or messy saturation of ink to airy “flying white” drybrush. Characters can be bold or thin, large or small, curvaceous or angular. Crucially, Tong keys variation of such elements to a playful interpretation of her sources. For example, here the character for “hero”—occurring about a quarter of the way through—is emphasized in dramatic bold: an abundant pool of ink bleeding into the paper.

Nonetheless, most visitors to the museum will best be able to appreciate “Immortal” as a piece of visual music. Starting by the gallery entrance and working from right to left in a spiral: the piece is full of crescendos and decrescendos, fascinating rhythms, a submersion of meaning into sound and feeling.

Exhibitions at the Johnson focused on contemporary East Asian word art typically emphasize conceptual, postmodern approaches. Shows dedicated to Mainland Chinese artists Gu Wenda and Xu Bing are characteristic, with their anti-traditional approach to media and fixation on deconstructing linguistic meaning. In contrast, Tong Yang-tze can be seen as an unrepentant modernist: determined to find new directions both within and beyond traditional constraints.

PUBLIC READING TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 6 PM KLINGENSTEIN LOUNGE, CAMPUS CENTER FICTION AND NONFICTION WRITER

JOY CASTRO

SPRING 2020

arts

PUBLIC READING TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 6 PM CLARK LOUNGE, CAMPUS CENTER Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodation should contact Nick Kowalczyk at nkowalczyk@ithaca.edu as soon as possible.

BY MIA CHUNG DIRECTED BY ZOË GOLUB-SASS

MARCH 15 - APRIL 4

“So smoothly virtuosic that it takes a while to realize how good it really is.

Don’t miss it!” -TIME OUT NEW YORK

110 North Cayuga St., Ithaca repstudio.com • 607-272-4292 Ma r ch

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TICKETS: 607.272.0570 WWW.KITCHENTHEATRE.ORG 417 W. STATE / MLK JR. STREET / T h e

I t h a c a T i m e s 21

leading voice of the living tradition of Irish music, and the standard against which others are compared. | $19-$36

Music Bars/Bands/Clubs

3/11 Wednesday Canaan Jam Session | 7:00 PM, | Canaan Institute, Brooktondale

3/13 Friday Richie Stearns | 5:30 PM, | South Hill Cider Tasting Room, Ithaca Three Stone Fire | 6:00 PM, | Hopshire Farm & Brewery, Freeville The Analogue Sons | 7:00 PM, | Two Goats Brewing, Burdett

3/14 Saturday The Meanderers | 1:00 PM, | Red Newt Cellars Inc, Hector Salsa at The Range | 7:00 PM, | The Range, Ithaca | $ $5 before 10pm, $7 after Stereopticon | 7:00 PM, | Two Goats Brewing, Burdett

3/15 Sunday Tenzin Chopak & Emmett Scott | 1:00 PM, | Red Newt Cellars Inc, Hector Open Mic | 2:00 PM, | Summerhill Brewing, Locke

Bound for Glory: Dana and Susan Robinson | 8:00 PM, | Anabel Taylor Hall, Ithaca

3/17 Tuesday Irish Session with members of Traonach | 7:00 PM, | Argos Inn, Ithaca St. Patrick’s Day with Arise & Go | 7:00 PM, | The Cherry Artspace, Ithaca | $10

The Horszowski Trio: CU Music | 3:00 PM, 3/14 Saturday | Barnes Hall, Cornell, Ithaca | The Horszowski Trio performs ìCelebrated Women,î featuring the music of our time, including a set of bird-themed pieces from three living women composers, and the

Cayuga Vocal Ensemble “Passages” | 4:00 PM, 3/15 Sunday | St. Catherine of Siena Church, 309 Siena Drive (off Hanshaw Road), Ithaca | The Ensemble is conducted by Sean Linfors, guest artistic director. Featuring songs on a theme of time passing. | Adult: $15 in advance; $20 at the door; Students: $5; free 12 and under.

SUNY Cortland Gospel Choir Spring Tour Preview Concert | 7:15 PM, 3/11 Wednesday | St. Mary’s Church, 46 N. Main St., Cortland | Free-Will Offering to support the Gospel Choir’s Scholarship and Programming Funds.

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St. Patrickís Day Ceili Irish Dance | 6:30 PM, 3/14 Saturday | Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts, Congress at McLallen St, Trumansburg | This fundraiser for TCFA includes live music provided by local musicians Three Stone Fire with calling by Kathy Whitfield of Rince Na Saor Irish Dance Studio. Everyone is welcome, and no previous experience is needed.? | $5

Arise & Go | 3:00 PM, 3/15 Sunday | Grace and Holy Spirit Church, 13 Court Street, Cortland | The Celtic trio will perform. Bring the whole family and join in the celebration. Everyone is invited to meet the artists over refreshments after the concert.

Ithaca Concert Band Spring Concert | 7:00 PM, 3/11 Wednesday | Ford Hall, Ithaca College, Danby Rd, Ithaca | The Ithaca Concert Band and the Ithaca High School Wind Ensemble†will present a shared concert in Ford Hall at†Ithaca College in celebration of spring.

The Red Hot Chilli Pipers | 8:00 PM, 3/12 Thursday | Smith Center for the

Katie Sadoff, senior clarinet recital: CU Music | 6:00 PM, 3/14 Saturday | Lincoln Hall Rm B20, Cornell, Ithaca | A lecture-recital exploring the impact of jazz on 20th-century clarinet repertoire and performance practice. Features the works of Aaron Copland and Artie Shaw.

Everlast | 8:00 PM, 3/14 Saturday | Center For the Arts of Homer, 72 S Main St, Homer | Erik Francis Schrody known by his stage name Everlast is an American musician, singer, rapper, actor and songwriter known for his solo work and as the front-man for hip hop group House of Pain. | $25-$40

Concerts/Recitals

The Auroras | 4:00 PM, | Two Goats Brewing, Burdett

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Lunasa | 8:00 PM, 3/13 Friday | Bailey Hall, Cornell, Ithaca | L˙nasa, one of the most influential bands in the history of Irish traditional music, gets Ithaca into the spirit of St. Patrickís Day, 2020. L˙nasa has remained at the forefront of Irish music for over 20 years, a

Se Leigheas | 5 p.m. | Ithaca Bakery, Ithaca | Irish Celtic Music!

Ithaca Jazz and Blues Jam | 4:00 PM, | Mix Kitchen and Bar, Ithaca

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Howard Jones | 8:00 PM, 3/13 Friday | Hangar Theatre, 801 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca | Howard Jones Acoustic Trio is an intimate stripped-down trip

through Jones’s 30-year music career. | $39.50

R.A.P. Ferreira w/ special guest Kaila Chare | 8:00 PM, | The Haunt, Ithaca

O.A.R.: Spring Fling Tour | 8:00 PM, 3/12 Thursday | State Theatre Of Ithaca, 107 W State St, Ithaca | A band whose twenty year-career spans soldout stands at both Madison Square Garden and Red Rocks Amphitheater. | $28.50 - $48.50

Sunday Winter Music Series: Doolin O’ Dey | 2:00 PM, | Six Mile Creek Vineyard, Ithaca

Arts, 82 Seneca St, Geneva | Bagpipes with attitude. Drums with a Scottish accent. A blazing rock band and show so hot, it carries its own health warning! | $29-$39

NYS Baroque presents The Panther and the Rose | 7:30 AM, 3/14 Saturday | First Unitarian Society, 306 N. Aurora Street, Ithaca | A concert of medieval Italian music from the 14th century, with voices, lute, harp, vielle, bagpipes, and more. Pre-concert talk at 6:45pm. | $35 general; $30 senior; $10 students; free grades 3-12

characterful and refined piano trio by a great romantic, Clara Schumann.

LAKE COUNTRY HOMETOWN MUSIC SERIES - THREE STONE FIRE Sunday, March 15 at 4:00 PM | Christ Episcopal Church, 1393 Main Street, Willard | Enjoy some Celtic music on this pre-St. Patrick’s Day weekend with a free show by some local musicians.! A four-person band from Interlaken and Trumansburg that plays songs and tunes from the Celtic, English, and American traditions. (photo: provided)

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Lake County Hometown Music Series - Three Stone Fire | 4:00 PM, 3/15 Sunday | Christ Episcopal Church, 1393 Main Street, Willard | A four-person band from Interlaken and Trumansburg that plays songs and tunes from the Celtic, English, and American traditions.

with The Haunt to bring great comedy to Ithaca.| $5.00/suggested

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String Trios: Kim, Kim, and Haines-Eitzen | 7:00 PM, 3/16 Monday | Carriage House Cafe, 305 Stewart Ave, Ithaca | Ariana Kim, John Haines-Eitzen, and guest violist Daniel Kim present “Birthday Bash” with works by Earle Kim, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Peter Child, and Beethoven. Soprano Lucy Fitz Gibbon makes a guest appearance.

Annette Richards, organ recital: CU Music | 8:00 PM, 3/17 Tuesday | Anabel Taylor Chapel, Cornell University, Ithaca | Listening to Italy: Includes music by Frescobaldi, de Macque, Schildt, Buxtehude, and Bach.

Tom Paxton and The DonJuans | 8:00 PM, 3/18 Wednesday | Hangar Theatre, 801 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca | Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner and folk icon, Tom Paxton, teams up with the Grammy winning singer/songwriter duo The Don Juans - Don Henry & Jon Vezner.

Stage The Nether by Jennifer Haley | 7:30 PM, 3/12 Thursday. Thru 3/14.

Contact theatre for additional

showtimes. | Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts, Cornell University, Ithaca | Part crime drama and part sci-fi thriller, Jennifer Haley’s haunting play The Nether investigates the boundaries of ethics and human desire in a world of ever-changing technology. | 7 Lansing High School Musical Theater Club - “Once Upon a Mattress” | 6:30 PM, 3/12 Thursday; 7:00PM, Friday and Saturday, 3/13 &14| Lansing Middle School Auditorium, 6 Ludlowville Rd., Lansing | Advance tickets can be purchased at https:// ltapa.ticketleap.com starting February 23rd and thru 2pm the day of the show. | $10 Blue Man Group Speechless | 7:30 PM, 3/12 Thursday thru 3/14 Saturday; 1:00PM, 3/15 Sunday| Landmark Theatre, 362 S Salina St, Syracuse | | $25-$69 Streets Like This | 7:30 PM, 3/12 Thursday | The Cherry Artspace, 102 Cherry Street, Ithaca | Presented by Civic Ensembleís ReEntry Theatre Program. Based on true stories that travel from the Meadow Street Mobil to the Department of Social Services offices, and the curb outside Day Reporting,

to their own workplaces and homes.

The play offers no single solution but rather brings you into their worlds and asks, What is our responsibility to each other? Through 3/22. Matinees on Sat & Sun. Contact theater for additional showtimes.

Kyle Kinane: The Spring Break Tour | 8:00 PM, 3/12 Thursday | The Haunt, 702 Willow Ave, Ithaca | Internationally touring comedian.

Amadeus | 7:30 PM, 3/13 Friday | Syracuse Stage/Drama Complex, 820 E Genesee St, Syracuse | Mar 11 - Mar 29. Contact theater for additional showtimes.

Dead Silent, or Florence of Moravia - Mystery Dinner Theatre | 6:30 PM, 3/14 Saturday | Cortland Repertory Theatre, 24 Port Watson St., Cortland | Starring the Acme Mystery Company - Catering by Linani’s Catering. Be careful. These celebrities autograph with poisoned pens! | $50 Tig Notaro | 8:00 PM, 3/14 Saturday | State Theatre Of Ithaca, 107 W State St, Ithaca | Groundbreaking stand-up comedian, actor, writer, producer, and director originally from Mississippi. | $30.00 - $40.00

Gilgamesh - LIve Storytelling w/ Jay Leeming | 12:30 PM & 7:30 PM, 3/15 Sunday | The Cherry Artspace, 102 Cherry Street, Ithaca | What happens when all-powerful king Gilgamesh is challenged by a hair-covered beastman sent by the gods to teach him wisdom? Environmental devastation, fighting in the streets and a journey to the underworld in search of eternal life all followóof course! Come harken to this 4,000-year-old myth thatís as fresh as todayís headlines, in which humans wrestle with natural disaster, magic and the gods through the rambunctious power of live storytelling. | $15/$10 Riverdance - 25th Anniversary Show | 7:30 PM, 3/17 Tuesday & 3/18 Wednesday | Clemens Center, 207 Clemens Center Parkway, Elmira | A powerful and stirring reinvention of this beloved family favorite, celebrated the world over for its Grammy Award-winning music and the thrilling energy and passion of its Irish and international dance.

ComedyFLOPs Presents: All You Can Eat Improv To Benefit Running To Places | 7:00 PM, 3/19 Thursday | The Haunt, 702 Willow Ave., Ithaca, | The FLOPs are partnering

Catch As Catch Can | 8:00 PM, 3/20 Friday | Kitchen Theatre, 417 W State St, Ithaca | Thru 4/4. Contact theatre for additional showtimes. Two working class New England families have grown up in each otherís homes, weathering the good and the bad.

When the adult children come home for the holidays, it feels like the good old days are back. But it’s only a matter of time before old behaviors resurface and long-held secrets are confessed. Recommended for ages 14+ New Play Festival | All Day 3/21 Saturday | Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts, Cornell University, Ithaca | Directed by Aoise Stratford.

Readings by Elaigwu Ameh, Anna Evtushenko & Edy Kennedy ‘20. A daylong series of readings and events.

One Funny Ithaca | 7:00 PM, 3/21 Saturday | Hangar Theatre, 801 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca | A benefit for the Cancer Resource Center, featuring local First Responders sharing the lighter side of work and life in Ithaca. Grab a glass of wine, settle in and laugh with us as Emcee Kenneth McLaurin, local comedian, and First Responders from the broader Ithaca area share the lighter side of living and working in this unique community of ours. This year’s event is held in memory of Daryl Pace, a local firefighter who passed away in 2019 from cancer. | $30

Art Italy and Exotic Lands Exhibition | 12:00 PM, 3/13 Friday | North Star Art Gallery, 743 Snyder Hill Road, Ithaca | Artist Brian Keeler exhibits paintings of both classical and contemporary Italian and exotic lands bringing his masterful touch of light and figure to these subjects.

Block Printing on Fabric | 6:00 PM, 3/16 Monday | Edith B. Ford Memorial Library, 7169 N Main St, Ovid | Local artist Vanessa Varjian will teach a two-part† class. Learn to carve a picture or design on a stamp. Please register.

Craft & Chat: Pysanky | 6:00 PM, 3/18 Wednesday | Edith B. Ford Memorial Library, 7169 N Main St, Ovid | Using a wax resist method, create a Pysanky Ukrainian Egg. All materials provided. Please register - class for mature teens and adults.

Film Cinemapolis Week of Friday, March 13 through Thursday, March 19, 2020. Contact Cinemapolis for showtimes.

New films listed first*.

Corpus Christi* | Daniel experiences a spiritual transformation in a detention center. Although his criminal record prevents him from applying to the seminary, he has no intention of giving up his dream and decides to minister a small-town parish. | 115mins Swallow* | Hunter, a newly pregnant housewife, finds herself increasingly compelled to consume dangerous objects. As her husband and his family tighten their control over her life, she must confront the dark secret behind her new obsession.| 94 mins R Wendy* | Lost on a mysterious island where aging and time have come unglued, Wendy must fight to save her family, her freedom, and the joyous spirit of youth from the deadly peril of growing up | 112 mins PG-13 Emma | In 1800s England, a well meaning but selfish young woman meddles in the love lives of her friends.| 121 mins PG Portrait of a Lady on Fire| On an isolated island in Brittany at the end of the eighteenth century, a female painter is obliged to paint a wedding portrait of a young woman. | 121 mins R Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band | A confessional, cautionary, and occasionally humorous tale of Robbie Robertson’s young life and the creation of The Band.| 100 mins R Parasite | All unemployed, Ki-taek’s family takes a peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their

FRIDAY, MARCH 7 AT 8:00 PM

FRIDAY, MARCH 13 AT 7:00 PM

Hangar Theatre, 801 Taughannock Blvd., Ithaca | When thinking of HJ’s biggest hits-“Things Can Only Get Better,” “No One Is To Blame,” to name a couple‘acoustic’ isn’t the first word that comes to mind.

Thankfully, Jones will still be on electric piano and promises to revisit all the hits from his long career. (photo: provided)

State Theatre of Ithaca, 107 W. State Street | Jack Hanna will bring his favorite animals with him such as a baby cheetah, a joey (baby kangaroo), a baby tiger, and more. Children and grandparents alike are sure to fall in love with Jack and his furry friends by the end of the night. (photo: provided)

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HOWARD JONES ACOUSTIC TRIO

JACK HANNA’S INTO THE WILD LIVE!

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will support the restoration of the historic bluestone Fuertes Overlook. | $15 Suggested

Heads UP

Great Gatsby Gala | 7:00 PM, 3/13 Friday | La Tourelle Resort & Spa, 1150 Danby Rd, Ithaca | Come support the Lehman Alternative Community School’s annual Katrina Relief Trip to help affected communities in New Orleans with an evening of dancing, 1920’s costumes, food and live swing music by the Ageless Jazz Band! Held in the ballroom at La Tourelle. A cash bar will be available upstairs. | $12 per ticket or two for $20

Th e C o r n e l l C o n c e r t S e r i e s p r e s e n t s L ú n a s a

T

he Cornell Concert Series helps Ithaca get in the St. Patrick’s Day spirit with Lúnasa!

Named for an ancient Celtic harvest festival in honor of the Irish god Lugh, Lúnasa was formed in 1997 from members of some of the greatest Irish groups of the previous decade, an early review from Folk Roots magazine describing the band as an “Irish music dream team.” From the start, the band’s complex arrangements and unique sound reshaped the boundaries of traditional music and energized audiences the world over. Critical acclaim followed, The Irish Echo describing the band as the “the hottest Irish acoustic band on

the planet”; MOJO magazine named the band “the new gods of Irish music,” adding that “nobody since the Bothies has wielded such a thrilling rhythmic underlay.” Billboard raved that “anybody who listens can’t help but find them contagious.”

Having since sold over a quarter of a million records and performed over 2,000 shows across 36 countries, Lúnasa has won multiple awards and become one of the most influential bands in the history of traditional music. Collaborations with singers Natalie Merchant, Mary-Chapin Carpenter, and Tim O’Brien and high-profile concerts at The Hollywood Bowl, New York’s Carnegie Hall, Glaston-

Jack Hanna’s Into The Wild LIVE! | 7:00 PM, 3/13 Friday | State Theatre Of Ithaca, 107 W State St, Ithaca | Fans can expect to see animals such as a baby cheetah, a joey (baby kangaroo), a baby tiger, and much more. | $24.50 - $47.00 bury Festival and Bercy Arena Paris helped broaden the band’s audience

and cement it place at the forefront of contemporary Irish music.

Lúnasa performs on Friday, March 13 at 8:00pm in Bailey Hall as a part of the Cornell Concert Series. Tickets: $29-36, Students $19

livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.|132 mins R Cornell Cinema All films are shown at Willard Straight Hall on Cornell campus.

All Night Long | 3/11, 6:45 PM | Recounts Hollywood actress Ava Gardner’s love affair with the country of Spain.

Cinevardaphoto | 3/12, 6:45 PM; 3/15, 4:45 PM | This feature-length film is composed of three short photography-related documentaries that bookend 40 years of French filmmaker Agnès Varda’s eclectic career.

A Hidden Life | 3/12, 8:45 PM; 3/14, 5:00 PM; 3/15, 6:45 PM | Franz Jägerstätter is an Austrian farmer imprisoned when he refuses to fight for the Nazis, in this true-life story from the visionary director Terrence Malick.

Dial M for Murder 3D | 3/13, 6:45 PM; 3/16 9:00 PM | One of Hitchcock’s most careful and vivid character explorations centering around a twisted murder plot, but he couples that with

astonishing use of 3-D, in which it was originally filmed but not released.

Bombshell | 3/13, 9:00 PM; 3/14, 8:30 PM | Tells the true story of Gretchen Carlson, Megyn Kelly, and four other women, through their attempt to finally take on Fox News CEO Roger Ailes for his sexism and harassment, as well as the toxic work environment he created.

The Guardian of Memory |3/16, 6:45 PM | FREE, with filmmaker Marcela Arteaga in person.An immigration lawyer born in El Paso, TX, fights to obtain political asylum for Mexicans fleeing from the Juarez Valley’s violence and to keep the memories of its past alive.

The Silence of Others | 3/17, 6:45 PM | Reveals the epic struggle of victims of Spain’s 40-year dictatorship under General Franco as they organize a groundbreaking international lawsuit and fight a “pact of forgetting” around the crimes they suffered.

Uncle Yanco & Black Panthers | 3/18 & 3/22, 6:45 PM | In these two short films made during a visit to California, Agnès Varda turns her camera on an Oakland demonstration against

h e

Onward |Set in a suburban fantasy world, two teenage elf brothers embark on a quest to discover if there is still magic out there. | 102 mins PG

Mur Murs | 3/18 & 3/22, 7:45 PM | After returning to Los Angeles from France in 1979, Agnès Varda created this kaleidoscopic documentary about the striking murals that decorate the city.

The Way Back |A former HS basketball phenom, struggling with alcoholism, is offered a coaching job at his alma mater. As the team starts to win, he may have a reason to confront his old demons. | 108 mins R

Regal Ithaca

The Invisible Man | When Cecilia’s abusive ex takes his own life and leaves her his fortune, she suspects his death was a hoax. As a series of coincidences turn lethal, Cecilia works to prove that she is being hunted by someone nobody can see. | 124 mins R

Wednesday, 3/11 through Tuesday, 3/17. Contact Regal Ithaca for showtimes. New films listed first* Bloodshot* |Ray Garrison, a slain soldier, is re-animated with superpowers. w/ Vin Diesel. | 109 mins PG-13 I Still Believe* |The true-life story of Christian music star Jeremy Camp and his journey of love and loss that looks to prove there is always hope.| 115 mins PG The Hunt* | Twelve strangers wake up in a clearing. They don’t know where they are, or how they got there.

They don’t know they’ve been chosen - for a very specific purpose - The Hunt.| 89 mins R

The Call of the Wild | A sled dog struggles for survival in the wilds of the Yukon. w/Harrison Ford | 100 mins PG Brahms: The Boy II | After a family moves into the Heelshire Mansion, their young son soon makes friends with a life-like doll called Brahms. | 86 mins PG-13 Impractical Jokers: The Movie | The story of a humiliating high school mishap from 1992 that sends the

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the imprisonment of Black Panthers cofounder Huey P. Newton and on the houseboat-dwelling Yanco, a Greek emigrant relative she’s never met.

SATURDAY, MARCH 14 AT 1:00 PM

Boynton Middle School, 1601 Cayuga St., Ithaca | Spend the day exercising your brain as an individual or with a team of friends, and support a great cause at the same time. Tompkins Learning Partners provides free literacy tutoring for over 100 adults in our community.

For more information and to register go to: TLPartners. org (photo: provided)

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Impractical Jokers on the road competing in hidden-camera challenges for the chance to turn back the clock and redeem three of the four Jokers. | 93 mins PG-13 Fantasy Island | A horror adaptation of the popular ‘70s TV show about a magical island resort.| 110 mins PG-13 Sonic the Hedgehog | 99 mins PG Harley Quinn:Birds of Prey | 109 mins R Bad Boys for Life | 123 mins R 1917 | 119 mins R Jumanji: The Next Level || 123 mins PG-13 Knives Out | 130 mins PG-13

Special Events The Public Parks of Ancient Rome: A Multimedia Presentation

by Kathryn Gleason, Cornell Professor in Landscape Architecture | 7:30 PM, 3/12 Thursday | Cinemapolis, 120 E Green St, Ithaca | A special benefit presentation, proceeds of which

Finger Lakes Crossword Competition | 1:00 PM, 3/14 Saturday | Boynton Middle School, 1601 N Cayuga St., Ithaca | This event is an important fundraiser for Tompkins Learning Partners, a LiteracyNY affiliated nonprofit organization, which provides literacy tutoring, free of charge, for over 100 adults in our community.

Puzzlemaster Adam Perl will once again create three original crosswords for the event. Individuals, or teams of up to four, are invited to compete for prizes in one of three levels of difficulty. Special guests will include Rex Parker. For more information and to register go to:TLPartners.org Cayuga Nature Center’s Maple Fest! | 9:00 AM, 3/15 Sunday | Cayuga Nature Center, 1420 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca | Pancake breakfast, live music, and education activities for all ages! Also on the schedule are informative presentations including the Maple Tour with Dr. Brian Chabot, vendors, and live music. Breakfast will be served from 9 am-2 pm, activities run from 10 am-4 pm. | Adults: $12, Seniors: $10, Children: $7, Age 3 and under: Free, Family (up to 5 people): $35 7th Annual Foodnet Meals on Wheels Mac ‘n Cheese Bowl | 11:30 AM, 3/21 Saturday | Ithaca High School, 1401 N Cayuga St, Ithaca | Who makes the best mac ‘n cheese in town?

You decide! Taste them all and vote for your favorites! 20 local restaurants

THE NETHER BY JENNIFER HALEY THURSDAY, 3/12 AT 7:30; FRIDAY, 3/13 AT 5:00PM; & SATURDAY, 3/14 AT 2:00PM & 7:30 PM

Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts, 430 College Ave, Cornell | The Nether is a virtual wonderland that provides total sensory immersion.

Just log in, choose an identity, and indulge your every desire. But when a young detective uncovers a disturbing brand of entertainment, she triggers an interrogation into the darkest corners of the imagination. (photo: provided)

and vendors will be whipping up their version of everyone’s favorite comfort food. Come for the tastings, live music, raffles and more!

Preschool Storytime at Southworth Library | 10:00 AM, 3/13 Friday | Southworth Library, 24 W. Main Street, Dryden | A different theme every week!

experience is required, and materials will be provided.

Books

Baby Storytime | 10:30 AM, 3/13 Friday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca |

Reading: Peter Fortunato - Carnevale | 6:30 PM, 3/11 Wednesday | Tompkins County Public Library Borg/ Warner Room, Green Street, Ithaca |

Sew Much Fun | 4:00 PM, 3/13 Friday | Seneca Falls Library, 47 Cayuga Street, Seneca Falls | Here’s a sewing class just for kids in the 3rd grade.

Learn basic hand-sewing techniques and create your own stuffed monster!† Three sessions:† March 13, 20 & 27.† All materials provided.

Preregistration is required.

Family Story Time | 10:30 AM, 3/17 Tuesday | Newfield Public Library, 198 Main St. , Newfield | Join us every Tuesday for stories, songs and fun.

There is a different theme each week.

Reading by M. Evelina Galang | 4:30 PM, 3/12 Thursday | Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall, 232 East Avenue, Ithaca | The author of the story collection Her Wild American Self, novels One Tribe and Angel De La Luna and the Fifth Glorious Mystery, the nonfiction work Lolasí House: Filipino Women Living With War, and the editor of Screaming Monkeys: Critiques of Asian American Images. Reception and book signing to follow in the English Lounge, 258 Goldwin Smith Hall Poetry Open Mic | 6:00 PM, 3/13 Friday | CSMA, 330 E State St, Ithaca | Ithaca Area Poets presents a poetry open mic, on the second Friday of the month. New venue, and new MCs. Come read or listen.

TCPL Young Adult Book Club | 4:30 PM, 3/18 Wednesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca | For the March meeting of this monthly book club, participants will read and discuss Shout, by Laurie Halse Anderson. Book club participants can pick up a free copy of this monthís title from the Teen Services office.

Kids Tween Coding Club | 3:45 PM, 3/12 Thursday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca | At these meetings, tweens ages 9 to 12 will learn to use the Adafruit Circuit Playground Express and the basics of coding and hardware while interacting with the world through light, sound, temperature, and movement.

This program is free, but space is limited. Registration is required.

Dr. Seuss’ Birthday Celebration | 11:00 AM, 3/14 Saturday | Seneca Falls Library, 47 Cayuga Street, Seneca Falls | Family Storytime | 11:00 AM, 3/14 Saturday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca | Families Learning Science Together: Bridge Building | 1:00 PM, 3/14 Saturday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca | At this inter-generational, hands-on science program led by Cornell Center for Materials Research, families will explore how bridges are able to support so much weight. They will learn about the forces that affect bridges, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of different types of bridges. They will then build their own bridge to see how much weight it can hold. FLST programs are free and open to the public, and space is limited.

Please register.

Tween Board Game Club | 3:30 PM, 3/16 Monday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca | At this program, tweens ages 8 to 12 will explore and learn new board games each week with Mike Timonin, local board game aficionado.

Maker Mondays for Teens | 4:00 PM, 3/16 Monday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca | Provides people aged 12 to 17 the opportunity to express their creativity while becoming familiar with the equipment in the Libraryís Makerspace. Each session will include a tutorial on 3D printing, laser cutting, or Arduino programming. No prior

Junior Bookbug Club | 7:00 PM, 3/16 Monday | Seneca Falls Library, 47 Cayuga Street, Seneca Falls | F

Toddler & PreSchool Storytime | 11:00 AM, 3/17 Tuesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca | Read with Miss Martha | 3:30 PM, 3/17 Tuesday | Seneca Falls Library, 47 Cayuga Street, Seneca Falls | Earn a chocolate coin for every book you read to her!

TCPL Teen Workshop: “Treat Yo Self” | 4:30 PM, 3/17 Tuesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca | At this workshop, teens can make homemade bath and comfort products using all-natural ingredients and essential oils. Inter-

Cuddle-up Infant & Toddler Library Time | 10:00 AM, 3/18 Wednesday | Southworth Library, 24 W. Main Street, Dryden | Literary Legos | 3:30 PM, 3/18 Wednesday | Seneca Falls Library, 47 Cayuga Street, Seneca Falls | Calling all Lego lovers! Listen to a fun story and build a Lego creation based on the story. For kids in grades 2 and up.

Please preregister.

Notices French Conversation Sessions at TCPL | 5:00 PM, 3/12 Thursday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca | The conversation group is appropriate for anyone who has taken some French in the past and is looking for a place to practice. The group will discuss, in French, topics ranging from US and French politics or world news, to culture, literature, art forms, or new technologies, depend-

| This Advanced English as a Second Language course comes from Lifelong Learning and will be led by Dolina Millar. Students will develop skills in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. No textbook is required. **Class will not meet on March 27 or April 3** Free Workshop with Lunasa | 5:00 PM, 3/13 Friday | Bailey Hall, Cornell, Ithaca | Bring your traditional Irish instruments and learn more about this gorgeous music! Location: Downstairs in Bailey Hall. Instead of going in the front doors, enter the ADA entrance just to the left and down from the front entrance.

Tracy Mitrano Town Hall | 6:00 PM, 3/13 Friday | Danby Fire Station , 1780 Danby Rd, Ithaca | Fighting to Save the Middle Class: Taxes, Corruption and Broken Promises. Join her for a lively conversation on one of the most important issues facing our country: the declining middle class. Tracy will discuss her plan for creating an economy that works for everyone and then open up the floor for comments, questions and concerns.

Beginner Bird Walks | 8:30 AM, 3/14 Saturday | Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd, Ithaca | Guided bird walks every Saturday and Sunday morning, sponsored by the Cayuga Bird Club. For more information, go to the club’s website, http://www. cayugabirdclub.org/calendar

ARISE & GO Sunday, March 15 at 3:00 PM | Grace and Holy Spirit Church, 13 Court Street, Cortland |Enjoy some Celtic music on this pre-St. Patrick’s Day weekend with a free show by the delightful Arise & Go. Bring the whole family and join in the celebration. Everyone is invited to meet the artists over refreshments after the concert. (photo: provided

ested people should be prudent about their exposure to known allergens and determine whether they can reasonably participate without risking allergic reaction. Seats for this free teen program are limited, and registration is required.

ing on the interests of the group. All levels are welcome, but participants will be more comfortable with an intermediate level of French.

Advanced ESL Classes | 1:00 PM, 3/13 Friday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca

Finger Lakes Finns March Meeting | 1:00 PM, 3/15 Sunday | Newfield Fire Hall, 77 Main St. , Newfield | Richard Koski will present a program that will explore the rich heritage of Finnish immigrants in Trumansburg and the Finger Lakes area. Learn more about our Finnish ancestry and the music, food, and industries associated with Finnish immigrants that enhance our culture today. Bring a dish to share and join us for this interesting and informative program!

Backyard Arthropods Lecture Series | 6:00 PM, 3/16 Monday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca | At this interactive lecture series, attendees will learn how clingy ticks, dairying ants, and talking beetles interact with humans and with each other.

American Red Cross Blood Drive | 1:30 PM, 3/17 Tuesday | Enfield Fire Hall, 172 Enfield Main Rd, Ithaca | Hosted by the Enfield Volunteer Fire Company is hosting a blood drive thru the American Red Cross. Walk-ins are always welcome.

Job Interview Prep | 5:30 PM, 3/17 Tuesday | Edith B. Ford Memorial Library, 7169 N Main St, Ovid | This class will review the several items that you need to take care of before, during, and after the interviewing process.

These classes are intended for people ages 17-30. Please register.

Comic Book Club Meeting | 7:00 PM, 3/17 Tuesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca | Preview Spotlight on the Guest Artists and Writers at Ithacon 45!

Roots and Wings Kirtan | 7:30 PM, 3/17 Tuesday | First Unitarian Church, Second Floor, 306 North Aurora Street, Ithaca | Come join us as we plunge into songs and chants from Sufi, Hindu, European , African and American traditions in a simple and meditative way. Led by poet and musician Jay Leeming; no previous singing experience is required. Come join us!

Enter the church via Aurora Street; for more information, send an email to LeemingJay@gmail.com.

Open Hearts Dinner | 5:00 PM, 3/18 Wednesday | McKendree UMC, 224 Owego St., Candor | Public Screening of WSKG’s “Chasing the Dream” w/ Panel Discussion | 5:30 PM, 3/18 Wednesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca | The episode focuses on community wellness, collaboration, and the important role of public libraries in this work. In the episode, the Groton HARVEST community wellness project spearheaded by the Groton Area School District and Groton Public Library is featured. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion.

SATURDAY, MARCH 14 AT 8:00 PM

SUNDAY, MARCH 15 STARTING AT 9:00 AM

State Theatre of Ithaca, 107 W. State Street | A groundbreaking stand-up comedian, actor, writer, producer, and director originally from Mississippi. Hailed for her effortless storytelling and fearless stage presence, her subject matter ranges from the delightfully absurd to the monumentally serious. (photo: provided)

Cayuga Nature Center, 1420 Taughannock Blvd. | Enjoy a wonderful pancake breakfast, a variety of live local music, vendors, and a chance to learn about maple trees and maple syrup production. Breakfast will be served from 9 am-2 pm. We recommend getting there early! (photo: provided)

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SPECIAL EDUCATION SUMMER SCHOOL OCM BOCES has the need for the following summer school staff from July 6, 2020 – August 14, 2020: · Special Education Teachers · Teachers of the Deaf · Music Teachers · Speech Therapists · Teaching Assistants · Teaching Assistants/Interpreters · Physical Therapists · Occupational Therapists · Occupational Therapy Assistants · Physical Therapy Assistants · School Nurses Sites are at various locations through Onondaga and Cortland County. Interested applicants apply online at: www.olasjobs.org/ central. For more information regarding this summer school posting, please visit our website at: www.ocmboces.org EOE

March 27-29, 2020

NEW LAW – ACT NOW! Contact us now about the NEW YORK CHILD VICTIMS ACT.

Hudson Valley Community College, Troy, NY Fri.10-8, Sat. 9-7, Sun.10-5 Full Scale Gardens • Over 70 Floral Exhibits Garden Themed Retail Exhibits • Wine Tastings Demonstrations & Hourly Lectures Seniors 62+ Save $3 on Friday, March 27 Sponsored by MVP Health Care gardenandflowershow.com

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