April 15, 2025

N ews line

Ithaca Common Council Approves New City Controller, HR Director

By Philip O’Dell

The Ithaca Common Council voted unanimously on April 8 to appoint Carissa Ralbovsky as city controller and Dr. Kehar Khan as director of human resources.

Mayor Robert Cantelmo said Acting City Manager Dominick Recckio recommended Ralbovsky and Khan for the positions after the city’s search committee concluded a series of interviews.

“I would also like to thank Acting City Manager Recckio for his diligence and attention on prioritizing the hiring of these two critical administrative roles in the city,” Cantelmo said.

Recckio thanked Jamie Flynn and Wendy Cole for their service as acting director of human resources and acting city controller, respectively.

During his State of the City Address on Jan. 14, Cantelmo said hiring a permanent city controller and human resources director were key administrative goals. The city has been without a permanent controller since 2023.

Cantelmo identified completing the city’s outstanding audits as his "top operational priority," working with Recckio to finalize the process. To address the

backlog, the city hired accounting firm

The Bonadio Group to reconcile financial records for 2022 through 2025.

Former City Manager Deb Mohlenhoff previously attributed the delays to pandemic-related staffing shortages and complex federal reporting requirements for American Rescue Plan Act funding.

Mohlenhoff resigned Dec. 3, 2025, following a tumultuous budget season marked by a staff error that caused a $2.1 million shortfall in the proposed 2026 budget.

Mohlenhoff announced the "significant and unexpected" discrepancy during the Oct. 21 Common Council meeting, noting staff discovered the error only hours before the session.

Ralbovsky

Cantelmo said Ralbovsky’s hire is effective May 6, and she will join the city at grade 12, step 4 of the managerial compensation plan with an annual salary of $145,188. Under the terms of her hire, Ralbovsky will initially perform her duties in a part-time, remote capacity through June, receiving hourly compensation for time worked. She is scheduled to assume the full duties of city controller on a fulltime, in-person basis starting July 1.

According to a city news release, the

X City Closes Seneca Street Garage, Cites Structural Concerns

By Mikayla Rovenolt

The City of Ithaca closed the Seneca Street Parking Garage, effective immediately, due to structural concerns. The city notified residents of the closure in a SIREN message on the afternoon of April 10.

The city responded to a report of concrete debris falling from the third floor to the sidewalk below. Personnel from the fire marshal’s office and city engineering department have inspected the location and found several other areas of the building’s façade to be severely deteriorated and at high risk of failure.

A third-party engineering review will be conducted for overall safety. The Tioga Street, Seneca Street, and Aurora Street sidewalks around the garage will remain closed until it is safe to reopen them.

The TCAT bus stop, known as Seneca at Commons, is also closed. The city urges people to acknowledge posted signage and cross the street only at intersections where it is safe to do so.

Monthly permit holders and other garage users may relocate to the Green Street Parking Garage, where existing permits will be honored. The city urges garage users to move their vehicles at their earliest convenience.

controller serves as the municipality’s chief financial officer. Ralbovsky’s role will include budgeting, accounting, financial reporting, auditing, and compliance.

The city release says Ralbovsky’s experience in public finance and operational leadership spans over a decade and includes serving as chief operating officer for the Maryland Office of People’s Counsel, where she managed agency-wide budgeting, financial reporting, and strategic planning. She also oversaw administration for a state agency advocating for residential utility customers in that role. Ralbovsky previously spent nearly 10 years with the Maryland Department of Budget and Management. In that position, she analyzed fiscal matters across state units to help formulate the governor's proposed operating budget.

Ralbovsky holds a master of public administration from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and a bachelor’s degree in public relations from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. She specialized in local government finance and budgeting during graduate school. Her background includes regional experience

The Tioga Street entrance will remain open for pedestrian access until all parked cars have been removed from the garage. Vehicles will be limited to using the Tioga Street exit. No new vehicle entry into the garage will be permitted.

For the latest transit updates related to this closure, residents and visitors are encouraged to visit the TCAT website at https://tcatbus.com/.

THE COVER: The latest living wage study from the Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations estimates that nearly half of Tompkins County workers earn below the 2026 living wage of $25.08 per hour. Design by Kaiden Chandler for the Ithaca Times.

rtising & M ark E ting lisa

@ ithacatimes com f r EE lanc E rs : Barbara Adams, Charley Githler, Stephen Burke, Bill Chaisson, Ross Haarstad, Steve Lawrence, Marjorie Olds, Peter Rothbart, Austin Lamb, Clement Obropta, Jake Sexton, Kira Walter, Vasant Alex Laplam, and Ceili Ayoung THE ENTIRE CONTENTS OF THE ITHACA TIMES ARE COPYRIGHT © 2026 BY PATHWAYS TO EQUITY, LLC. All rights reserved. Events are listed free of charge in TimesTable. All copy must be received by Friday at noon. The Ithaca Times is available free of charge from various locations around Ithaca. Additional copies may be purchased from the Ithaca Times offices for $1. SUBSCRIPTIONS: $139 one year. Include check or money order and mail to the Ithaca Times, PO Box 27, Ithaca, NY 14851. ADVERTISING: Deadlines are Monday 5 p.m. for display, Tuesday at noon for classified. Advertisers should check their ad on publication. The Ithaca Times will not be liable for failure to publish an ad, for typographical error, or errors in publication except to the extent of the cost of the space in which the actual error appeared in the first insertion. The publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising for any reason and to alter advertising copy or graphics deemed unacceptable for publication. The Ithaca Times is published weekly Wednesday mornings. Offices are located at 109 N. Cayuga Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 607-277-7000, FAX 607277-1012, MAILING ADDRESS is PO Box

The City of Ithaca closed the Seneca Street Garage on April 10. (Photo: Mark Syvertson/Ithaca Times)

Continued on Page 20

By Mark Syvertson

QUESTION OF THE WEEK:

“AT THE CORNELL VET SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE I ASKED VOLUNTEERS: WHAT’S YOUR DREAM PET?”

NOTE: If readers wish to participate in the Ithaca Times’ Inquiring Photographer column, contact Mark Syvertson at marksyvertsonphotography@gmail.com

Ithaca Common Council Approves Homeland Security Grant Amid Residents' Concerns Over Police Militarization

By Philip O’Dell

The Ithaca Common Council approved a $75,000 Law Enforcement Tactical Team (LETECH) grant for police equipment and training at its April 8 meeting. Prior to its approval, the resolution faced backlash from residents concerned that the equipment would further militarize the Ithaca Police Department.

Awarded under the 2022 federal grant program, the LETECH grant is provided by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and administered through the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services. The council advanced the resolution on March 18.

Alderperson Ducson Nguyen summarized and moved the resolution, which was seconded by Alderperson Margaret Fabrizio. The resolution passed in a 7-4 vote, with Alderpersons Jorge DeFendini, Kayla Matos, Hannah Shvets and Robin Trumble voting in opposition.

According to a city memorandum, the Ithaca Police Department will allocate $65,000 for tactical equipment, including $22,500 for three helmet mounted nightvision binoculars, $27,500 for 16 ballistic helmets with communications, $6,000 for two ballistic shields and $9,000 for two unmanned aerial systems restricted to interior use. The remaining $10,000 will fund Special Response Team training.

During public comment, multiple residents spoke out against the grant’s approval. Ithaca resident Theresa Alt opposed the grant, arguing that militarizing police gives them a hostile appearance and deters community cooperation.

“The more the police look like the military, the more threatening they will appear, and the less residents will feel that they can cooperate with them or call on them for help,” Alt said.

Cassie Markland questioned if residents want a militarized police force and challenged the necessity of the equipment. She said the city rarely sees violent riots or situations requiring a SWAT team and was skeptical that drones would deescalate high-risk encounters. Marklin raised concerns that drones would instead be used to monitor local protests.

“What circumstances come up here where PD needs 16 ballistic helmets val-

ued at over $1,700 a piece?” Markland said.

Aaron Fernando argued that while it appears to be free money, the grant further militarizes the police and drives a wedge between police and the public. He said such funding shifts the focus away from community policing and trust-building, instead encouraging officers to view the public as a “violent mob.”

Mayor Robert Cantelmo, who supported the resolution in committee, said he voted to accept the grant because the city was already awarded the funding. Cantelmo expressed concern that rejecting the award could jeopardize other critical funding sources, such as flood mitigation grants, which are also administered through DHS. However, Cantelmo said he issued a city directive to stop applying for these specific tactical grants in the future.

Fabrizio asked IPD Chief Thomas Kelly if the specialized equipment was necessary for high-risk emergencies, such as active shooter incidents, hostage situations, and venue protection, to which he confirmed that it is.

Kelly defended the grant, stating that as a survivor of gun violence, he believes it is essential to properly equip officers for challenging and high-risk situations. Kelly said ballistic helmets and vests are essential during encounters with individuals known or believed to be armed with high-capacity, high-powered rifles. He said tools like pole cameras clear premises before entry and assist in processing crime scenes.

Kelly said the new interior-use drones provide a safer alternative to sending officers into potentially violent situations. He said the technology surveys a dwelling to determine if someone is armed or medical attention due to an overdose is needed. He said officers can use the drone to communicate and deescalate a situation by persuading individuals to exit buildings voluntarily.

According to Kelly, IPD’s tactical equipment was utilized about nine times within the past year. He said equipment has a limited shelf life, as most ballistic vests and helmets are only supported by manufacturers for five years. Kelly said IPD secured over $1 million in grant funding for these resources since 2013. He said the current grant replaces equipment that reaches the end of its functional life, in some cases for the third time.

Kelly clarified the distinction between ballistic shields and standard riot gear. Unlike hard plastic riot shields designed to deflect rocks or bottles, the ballistic shields funded by the grant are built to stop rifle rounds. He said the heavy, bulky ballistic shields are not intended for deployment at protest lines.

Regarding concerns that the funding’s terms and conditions require data sharing, Kelly said the state tracks the specific equipment purchased and training hours logged by officers. He said IPD has complied with documentation requirements

“If it doesn’t need to be realistic, I’d probably go the Mike Tyson route and get a tiger.”

Ryan

“My dream pets would be dogs, horses and sheep. Basically a farm.”

Jessica

“Any pet? I’d choose a jaguar. A spotted one.”

Christina

“Giraffe. I would train it so I could ride it. I bet the view would be amazing.”

Hayley

“If I could have any pet, I would choose a cannulated highland cow. Cannulated just means it has a hole in its side so you have access to the digestive tract. I want to be a veterinarian specializing in dairy cows.”

Colin

The Ithaca Common Council recently voted to accept a $75,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, funding police equipment and training. (Photo: Mark Syvertson/Ithaca Times File)

Town of Danby Bans Data Centers and Crypto Mines

By Mikayla Rovenolt

In an April 7 meeting, Danby town board members discussed amendments to the zoning code that defined data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities. The board defined the two uses and then did not allow them in all existing zones, effectively banning the two uses.

“Data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities are known to have adverse impacts on the environment, and the Town of Danby intends to not allow them to protect the environment from the health, safety, and welfare of the residents,” Danby Zoning O cer Greg Hutnik read from Resolution 126.

There was no further discussion on the environmental impacts, and the board voted to accept this resolution stating that banning data centers and crypto mining had no adverse environmental impacts. Zachary Larkins abstained from voting.

e board then voted to put the amendment banning data centers into the zoning code and voted again to adopt it into local law. Both votes passed unanimously.

“If I understand it correctly, you're headed in the right direction,” Danby resident Ted Crane said. “I don't think we should be seeing [data centers] in Danby, and I'd like to see that put into code.”

Danby’s decision to update the zoning law to not allow data centers comes a er the Town of Dryden became the rst New York town to ban them.

Hutnik said that the de nitions included for data centers and cryptocurrency mining in Appendix One of Section 501 are from the Town of Dryden’s zoning code. e town board said some zoning board members expressed concern that the de nition may be too rigid and a ect

someone with a computer business with multiple servers and large data usage. In speaking with a Town of Dryden zoning o cer, Hutnik learned that the Danby board’s concerns were not concerns in Dryden and both were con dent they could make the nal call if a new business were to move in that toed the line of the data center de nition.

e de nition Hutnik read at the meeting states: “A building, accessory data center, a building or structure, or partial use of a building or structure, used to store, manage, process, or transmit digital data for business uses, including computers, network equipment, systems, servers and other associated components related to the digital data storage and operations that is secondary, subordinate, and customarily incidental to and located on the same lot as the principal use of a problem. Such a use cannot dominate the property or operate as an independent principal use.”

Following this discussion about the de nition, the board moved to clarify the

de nition by adding that a data center is anything that uses half a megawatt hour, or more, per day. is correction passed unanimously.

e town also passed a resolution supporting a bill introduced in the New York state senate that would impose a statewide moratorium on issuing permits for new data centers.

“I see it as a proactive measure,” board member Zachary Larkins said. “I’ve been concerned about data centers and cryptomine power and water consumption for almost a decade a er learning about Google's data center in e Dalles, Oregon. It had a cryptomine in the area also. ey were using more power that the local hydroelectric dam was putting out.”

Trumansburg is also discussing an update to its zoning law that will de ne data centers and cryptocurrency mining and not allow them in any zones. Local concerns over data centers have grown from Lansing’s ongoing dispute with TeraWulf over a proposed data center at the former Cayuga Power Plant.

UPS DOWNS&

Ups

Tompkins County is accepting applications for two grant programs aimed at expanding a ordable housing development and planning across the county: the Community Housing Development Fund and the Housing A ordability and Supportive Infrastructure Grant. More information is available on the county’s Department of Planning and Sustainability webpage.

Downs

On April 10, two occupants of a residence at Valley View Mobile Home Park in the Village of Groton died in a reported structure re. The incident is under investigation and the names of the victims have not yet been released.

HEARD SEEN&

Heard

This week, Tompkins County Whole Health is recognizing Black Maternal Health Week, a week-long campaign founded and led by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, with the intent to foster community activism and amplify the voices and lived experiences of Black mothers and birthing people.

Seen

Senator Lea Webb is seeking submissions for her Earth Day Celebration Student Showcase from school children grades K-12. All students who participate by submitting their essays, poetry or artwork, will be awarded a certi cate of recognition from Webb. The goal of this showcase is to teach students about the importance of waste reduction, discuss environmental issues and inspire students to come up with creative solutions to address these issues in their communities. Submissions are due by April 30.

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

QUESTION

since rst receiving the grant in 2013. In response to DeFendini’s inquiry regarding whether alleged misconduct must be led by direct victims or witnesses, Cantelmo directed residents to the ling procedures outlined on the city website. e city website says residents can le

a formal police complaint online through the city's OpenGov portal or by submitting it to the Ithaca Community Police Board. Written submissions may be directed to the city clerk’s o ce at 108 E. Green St. or the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC) at 301 W. Court St. To ensure a proper investigation, the board requires that complaints be led as soon as possible, with a strict deadline of 30 days following the incident.

Cantelmo said the city’s Community

Police Board is currently seeking new members following several resignations. According to the city’s website, the board is a “community liaison to the Police Department” and works to ensure positive communications between police and residents. e board has not met since February and currently lacks enough sworn-in members to reach a quorum; those interested in serving are encouraged to contact the deputy clerk for an application.

The Town of Danby recently banned data centers and crypto mines through zoning revisions. (Photo: Mark Syvertson/Ithaca Times)

Angry Mom Records Receives Empire Award

Local Supplement Startup Named Woman-Owned Business of the Year

New President at Tompkins Community Bank

Inn at Taughannock Falls Welcomes Pastry Chef Renée Senne

By Mikayla Rovenolt

Pastry Chef Renée Senne, former owner and operator of the Ithaca locations, “Renée’s Bistro,” and “Patisserie Renée Senne,” has joined the Inn at Taughannock Falls as Pastry Chef this season and brings her many years of experience to the team.

For the past 10 years, Senne has worked as a private chef both domestically and abroad in areas such as Miami, Spain and India. Before that, she was the Culinary

School Director of Wegman’s.

“One of the things about being a private chef is that it can be very isolating,” Senne said. “It's a lot of work, especially since I was the only one working most of the time by myself for just two people. I just wanted a break from it.”

Senne is also a proud graduate of the Ecole de Cuisine La Varenne in Paris and is a holder of both Wine Spectator and Bon Appétit Magazine awards.

Returning to Ithaca gives Senne the chance to bring her 30 years of experience back to the Tompkins County area, offering the chance to experience dining that is “built on good food and artistic presentation.”

“We have such a robust pastry program, largely because of our wedding business, with folks really asking for these sort of tremendously interesting customization: magnificent tarts and magnificent cakes,” Stephanie Monroe, director of sales and marketing at the Inn, said. “And, of course, the popularity is the mini desserts and all the little bites so we're really excited to have Renée helming that program and being able to add 30 years of experience.”

Senne also expressed her excitement for working at the Inn. She is looking forward to working with a team again and to utilize the ingredients the area has to offer.

“I love working in a beautiful place,” Senne said. “The kitchen is nice and big and everyone is friendly. It's not like a cutthroat New York kitchen.

It's fairly isolating for much of my time as a private chef. I am getting feedback. It's good to get feedback.

these classic flavors with a really modern conceptualization,” Monroe said. “I think we're really excited to see how that plays out in the restaurant this year and how she approaches that. There’s our wedding requests as well. What can somebody with that education, that training and that knowledge do with a sort of a fun modern setting like Ithaca, without really many constraints.”

“This is what I've been doing for more than 30 years, and it's just been my passion my whole life.”

‘Do you like this? Do you like this?’ That sort of thing with the staff, and that's what I like. Also having access to really, really good ingredients, whatever they might be, is great.”

Monroe said that with Senne’s experience and background, the staff are overjoyed and curious about what changes Senne will bring to the restaurant and wedding side of the Inn.

“One thing that has been really exciting to the staff is Renée’s French background, including being able to bring in some of

A special collection featured on the Easter Brunch menu was available April 5. Looking ahead, Senne will be making six different cakes for the inn’s wedding tasting event and hopes to inspire people and show what their possibilities are.

Senne’s desserts can be tried at the Inn at Taughannock Falls restaurant, which reopened on April 3.

“This is what I’ve been doing for more than 30 years, and it’s just been my passion my whole life,” Senne concluded. “There’s no getting around that. I have other interests, but I don’t pursue them the same way I pursue this. I mean, I’m always thinking about it.”

Pastry Chef Renée Senne brings 30 years of experience to her new role as the Inn at Taughannock Falls’ Pastry Chef. (Photo: Provided)

The Inn at Taughannock Falls restaurant overlooks Cayuga Lake.

(Photo: Visit Ithaca)

Business Briefs

Angry Mom Records Recognized in Celebration

of Record Store Day

Senator Lea Webb presented Angry Mom Records with a New York State Senate Empire Award in celebration of Record Store Day. Angry Mom Records, founded in 2009 by George Johann, is an independent record store and record label. is award recognizes the business’ 17 years of leadership in cultural diversity, a ordability, local artistry and community connection.

“Music is one of the ways we develop community, and Angry Mom Records has been cultivating those connections for years,” Webb said in a press release. “I am proud to honor them with a New York State Empire Award to celebrate their endurance for Record Store Day.”

Johann said Angry Mom Records is the only independent record store in the area that provides new and used products and highlighted the importance of keeping music nancially accessible.

“We have been able to evolve & expand our physical space, which now holds one of the area's only all-age live music venues,”

Johann said in the press release. “We remain humble but are also excited about what else we can accomplish in the coming years.”

Local Supplement Startup Named Woman-Owned Business of the Year

As part of National Small Business Week, Seen Nutrition, an Ithaca-based bone health company, has been named Woman-Owned Business of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration Syracuse District O ce.

National Small Business Week is May 3-9, at which time there will be a local awards ceremony in Ithaca to honor Seen Nutrition for its accomplishments. e award recognizes small businesses that have made a positive impact in their communities and demonstrate leadership and innovation.

Co-founders of Seen Nutrition, Adrienne Bitar and Jennifer Han, launched their foodtech startup in 2024. e business focuses on improving bone health through supplements made from real food. One of their top products is a calcium chew designed for women in midlife and

menopause, when bone loss accelerates and nutritional needs increase.

“We built Seen to bring attention to bone health, menopause, and osteoporosis, areas that have long been overlooked,” Bitar said. “To be recognized by the SBA helps validate our real food solution to calcium supplementation and the growing demand in the menopause market. [...] is award re ects a broader shi in how women’s health is being valued by society, broadly considered.”

Tops Launches Annual Fundraiser for Type 1 Diabetes Research

Tops Friendly Markets, a multi-state grocery retailer with a location in Ithaca, is kicking o its 33rd annual campaign to raise money for Breakthrough T1D, a global type 1 diabetes research and advocacy organization. is year’s campaign began on April 5 and will run through April 25.

Last year the Tops campaign raised $333,629 toward researching a cure for T1D and since 1993 has raised more than $15 million. Tops President Ron Ferri said in a press release that Tops has partnered with Breakthrough T1D for over three decades because of the critical role the organization has played in many major diabetes research advancements.

“Each year, we support the Breakthrough T1D campaign because progress against type 1 diabetes doesn’t happen by chance — it happens through commitment,” Ferrie said. “We believe in accelerating research, supporting families, and helping bring life-changing breakthroughs closer to reality.”

e paper sneaker, designed by a Tops associate in 1993 and now used internationally for fundraising campaigns, will be sold at Tops registers for $1. To support the campaign, Reid Ferguson, the Bu alo Bills long snapper, is on this year’s sneaker. According to the press release, Ferguson is passionate about T1D research because his younger brother Blake, long snapper for Miami, has T1D.

Law Firm Opens Office on the Ithaca Commons

Long Law, a multi-state law practice, has opened a new o ce at 102 East State Street in Ithaca on the Commons. Founded in 2020 by James Long, the rm has grown from a solo practice into a team with o ces in Ithaca, Syracuse, New York City and Sacramento, California.

e practice serves businesses, startups, creatives and insurance carriers in areas such as business and corporate, litigation, data privacy and cybersecurity, ne arts and entertainment, insurance defense, intellectual property, and startups and tech law.

According to a press release from the rm, the new Ithaca o ce allows the company to expand its services to innovators connected to Cornell University and the broader Finger Lakes entrepreneurial community.

Tompkins Community Bank Welcomes New President

Tompkins Financial Corp announced in a March press release that Phillip M. Quintana has been appointed president of Tompkins Community Bank. Quintana succeeds John McKenna, who will retire from his role as president in July a er 17 years of service.

“We are excited to welcome Phil to Tompkins,” said Steve Romaine, CEO of Tompkins Financial Corp. “His leadership experience, strong credit expertise, and track record of driving growth make him an excellent t to lead Tompkins Community Bank.”

Quintana has more than 27 years of banking leadership experience in roles across the Mid Atlantic, Texas, Florida and Long Island. Most recently, he served as regional president at Burke & Herbert Bank, where he managed a multi-state commercial banking region covering Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland and Delaware.

“I’m honored to join Tompkins and grateful for the opportunity to lead Tompkins Community Bank,” Quintana said. “ e company has a long and respected history, and I look forward to working with our teams to strengthen customer relationships and support the communities we serve.”

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

By Ithaca Times Readers

Community Should Stand Together in Protest Against Trump

“

On Wednesday, March 4, at the intersection of Meadow and West Clinton Streets, about twenty people of different political persuasions held homemade signs protesting the many anti-democratic actions by the Trump regime.

Also at the protest hung three large banners from Refuse Fascism: ‘The Trump Fascist Regime Must Go Now,’ ‘Ice Must Go Now,’ and ‘In the Name of Humanity, We Refuse To Accept a Fascist America.’

While the owner of the banners was preoccupied nearby, an armed vigilante wielding an electric cutting tool took the banners down and cut them in half.

(No other signs were targeted.)

The armed vigilante was followed to his car—he was alone—his license plate recorded, the police called, and a police

report filed.

Several witnesses told the police they’d be happy to identify the vigilante in a lineup.

To date, this armed vigilante has not been charged with a crime.

In light of this outrageous attack, and Trump regime’s continued dismantling of democracy, should we Ithaca and Tompkins residents duck our heads and hide?

Or should we show up in greater and greater numbers to more frequent protests?

Massive protests helped remove Nixon in 1974—before his term ended.

The original trial was presided over by Judge John Rowley, prosecuted by District Attorney Matt Van Houten, and The Talk at

We have the power to remove Trump in 2026—IF we ALL get in the streets and on the sidewalks—where our true power lies.

the Assigned Counsel Office, led by Lance Salisbury, was responsible for providing legal representation. My appeal is under review, and the court will determine whether my constitutional rights were violated.

This case highlights the critical importance of ensuring all individuals have access to fair and adequate legal counsel. I hope the community recognizes the role of transparency and accountability in protecting due process in our local courts.” — Nevin Sabet-Swingle, Ithaca NY

Appreciation for Ithaca Town Maintenance Supervisor

focus, which began in 1976 in Ithaca’s Southside, now encompasses Tompkins, Cayuga, Chemung, Cortland, Schuyler, Seneca, and Tioga Counties. INHS provides clients with grants for repairs and helps residents rent or purchase homes, moving heaven and earth to help secure their success.

Let’s put our heads together.” — Bob

Slaymaker, Trumansburg

NY

Concern Regarding Due Process in Local Courts

“I am currently pursuing an appeal in Tompkins County regarding a prior conviction in which I was denied assigned legal counsel despite qualifying for representation, raising serious due process concerns.

“Two thumbs up to Town of Ithaca Maintenance Supervisor Joe Talbot. He is a public servant who listens to, responds, and acts on citizen requests. Even in the face of recent flooding Joe followed through on helping to keep our community green and livable by providing trees to plant along rec-ways, benches for our parks, and I am sure much more. Joe and his crew are yet another reason that Ithaca is gorgeous. Thank you, Joe!” —

Todd Miner, Town of Ithaca

INHS Deserves Donor Support

“Founded in 1976, Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services celebrates this year a half century of outstanding work to provide affordable, safe residences to an ever-expanding community.

As a volunteer and donor to INHS for two decades, I attest enthusiastically to the help it provides many in their struggle to find affordable housing. Its

INHS’s responses to new challenges are smart and flexible. When, following COVID, it was clear that affordable homes to buy were dwindling rapidly in Ithaca, INHS invested in manufactured and modular homes, well-made and considerably less expensive than existing homes. And, at the edge of Trumansburg, it built the lovely and beautifully situated Village Grove community (its greenest yet!) with rental apartments and homes to buy at reasonable prices. A wonderfully supportive community has developed among the residents, and the Trumansburg Nursery School has moved there to join them. In 2025 INHS helped 2,840 of our neighbors achieve safe and affordable housing. 75 percent of these folks earn less than 50 percent of the median area income ($48,125 for a household of two in Tompkins County). INHS will throw a party in the fall to celebrate these and many other successes. I know of no locally focused organization more deserving of robust donor support.” —

Catherine Penner

Vote No on ICSD Capital Project Referendum

“ICSD Board members voted to renew incompetent overpaid Superintendent

A Perspective and Invitation to Rebuild the Commons of Place

By Roy Allen — Director of Strategic Partnerships — Ithaca Time. Finger Lakes Community Newspapers and ithaca.com

We the People of Ithaca are living through a quiet but decisive transition. Not a single rupture, not a dramatic break—but a slow loosening of the systems that once held local life and the public commons together. Legacy businesses close without successors. Local journalism gets weaker as resources and readership disperse. Young people leave not always by choice, but by default. And in the space between what was and what comes next, a question begins to surface with increasing urgency:

Who is responsible for the continuity of Ithaca; for preserving our community?

The answer, increasingly, cannot be “someone else.” It must be us.

The Hidden Structure Beneath Local Life

For much of modern history, communities like ours were held together by a layered ecosystem: local newspapers that documented civic life, legacy businesses that anchored economic identity, schools and civic institutions that transmitted culture, and informal networks that connected generations. Each of these played a different role, but together they formed something larger than any one institution: a commons of place—a shared infrastructure of meaning, information, and economic continuity. When that system functioned, it did so quietly. People did not need to think about it. Local journalism appeared each week. Businesses passed from one generation to another. Young people could imagine futures both within and beyond their hometowns. But that coherence was never guaranteed. It was maintained by participation—by readers who supported journalism, by owners who planned succession, by residents who invested their attention and spending locally. What we are witnessing

now is not sudden collapse, but gradual disconnection among these parts.

From Passive Consumption to Shared Authorship

One of the most significant shifts underway is the changing nature of local journalism itself. Historically, local media has operated through a hierarchical model: a small group of editors and reporters determining what is newsworthy, how stories are told, and which voices are amplified. This model has produced essential civic work: investigations, accountability reporting, and shared public information. But it also concentrates narrative power. In a time when local knowledge is more distributed than ever—across neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, and digital communities—this structure is no longer sufficient on its own. Not because it is obsolete, but because it is incomplete. What is emerging in its place is a model we might call community publishing. Community publishing does not eliminate editorial standards or professional journalism. Instead, it expands the input of civic knowledge. Readers become contributors. Local experience becomes a source of signal, not just subject matter. Journalism becomes less a one-way transmission of information and more a structured conversation about what a place is experiencing and becoming.

Editors remain essential—but their role shifts from sole originators of narrative to curators of collective intelligence, identifying patterns across many voices and shaping them into shared understanding. This is not a loss of authority. It is a redistribution of participation.

Youth, Work, and the Question of Staying

For young people in Ithaca, the dominant narrative has often been simple: success requires leaving. This narrative is not rooted in a lack of talent or ambition locally, but in a lack of visible pathways.

Continued on Page 25

AI is Killing the Job Market for Ivy League Grads. Imagine What It’s Like for People Returning from Prison

By Tae Kyu Lee

An article published in The New York Times last month reported on the increasing challenges young college graduates face when seeking jobs, with the unemployment rate rising to an unusual 5.6%. The article points at AI as the leading cause for wiping out entry level positions that historically have hired young, college-educated individuals. If the hiring market looks this dire for our nation’s most institutionally and academically privileged, what does it look like for those just returning from incarceration?

After spending a decade in prison, Trell was eager to get a job and prove to his community that he could be a productive member of society. Despite taking a resume writing class, attending job fairs, and practicing for interviews, Trell had to apply to nearly 15 jobs before finally landing one at a temp agency. What was different about his successful application? After a string of rejections from jobs that he checked the criminal record box for, he finally caved and lied as a last resort. Trell’s story is similar to countless others returning from incarceration that are denied the second chance that our system promises.

Both federal EEOC regulation and New York State laws already statutorily ban discrimination against individuals with records in employment processes. Yet these policies aren’t enough to provide a blank slate for these individuals; the unemployment rate for the formerly incarcerated sat at 27% even before the recent “AI Jobpocalypse”. The EEOC guidelines allow employers to reject previously incarcerated applicants if they believe that the crime of conviction is relevant to the job. The NYS Clean Slate Act, while eventually sealing criminal records for most individuals, kicks in after 3 years post-release for misdemean-

ors and 8 years for felonies. The Act’s gap in timeline is critical: those who find employment after release are nearly 40% less likely to recidivate than those who cannot.

Helping formerly incarcerated individuals secure employment comes at the benefit both the individuals and the wider society. Besides the decreased recidivism rates, New York loses out on about $12.6 billion in annual earnings by excluding those with criminal backgrounds from meaningful economic contribution. Given that there is both a public safety and financial argument for the state to support immediate postreentry employment, we need more comprehensive and bulletproof legislation.

One way is through the Justice for All in Hiring Act, a proposed legislation that the State Policy Advocacy Clinic at Cornell’s Brooks School of Public Policy is working on in collaboration with the Ultimate Reentry Opportunity. A core feature of this proposed legislation is to create a civil service traineeship that would guarantee job placement for those who complete certified workforce programs during incarceration. Additionally, the act would address employer hesitation through wage subsidies and tax incentives for hiring formerly incarcerated individuals, while requiring larger employers to track outcomes to ensure accountability.

In a job market that continues to get saturated and unpredictable with increased reliance on artificial intelligence, passing the Justice for All in Hiring Act will show that New York State is committed to creating a sustainable future for all New Yorkers.

Tae Kyu Lee is a senior in the State Policy Advocacy Clinic at the Brooks School of Public Policy at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

The Enduring Voice of Ronald Reagan — 1987

Curated by Roy Allen: Director of Strategic Partnerships — Ithaca Times, Finger Lakes Community Newspapers, www.ithaca.com

Many voices have shaped the nation we call America. This week we feature Ronald Reagan, former governor of California (1967-1975) and 40th President of the United States (1981-1989). Reagan was an advocate of peace through strength and is credited to ending the Cold War. His 1987 speech in Berlin convinced Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to reunify East and West Germany.

CURATOR’S NOTE: The following is an abridged version of Reagan’s speech which can be found in its entirety online at www.usmcu.edu.

Ronald Reagan: “Tear Down This Wall” Speech Delivered West Berlin, Germany 1987

Chancellor Kohl, Governing Mayor Diepgen, ladies and gentlemen: Twenty four years ago, President John F. Kennedy visited Berlin and spoke to the people of this city. Today, I, myself, make my second visit to your city. We come to Berlin, as American Presidents, because it’s our duty to speak in this place of freedom. But I must confess, we’re drawn here by other things as well; by the feeling of history in this city— more than 500 years older than our own nation; by the beauty of the Grunewald and the Tiergarten; most of all, by your courage and determination. Perhaps the composer, Paul Linke, understood something about American Presidents. You see, like so many Presidents before me, I come here today because wherever I go, whatever I do: Ich hab noch einen Koffer in Berlin. [I still have a suitcase in Berlin.]

Our gathering today is being broadcast throughout Western Europe and North America. To those listening throughout Eastern Europe, I extend my warmest greetings and the good will of

After Loss, Sarah Gowin Finds Purpose Supporting Hospicare

the American people. To those listening in East Berlin, a special word: Although I cannot be with you, I address my remarks to you just as surely as to those standing here before me.

(Photo Source: Biography.com)

For I join you, as I join your fellow countrymen in the West, in this firm, this unalterable belief: Es gibt nur ein Berlin. [There is only one Berlin.] Behind me stands a wall that encircles the free sectors of this city, part of a vast system of barriers that divides the entire continent of Europe.

From the Baltic South, those barriers cut across Germany in a gash of barbed wire, concrete, dog runs, and guard towers. Farther south, there may be no visible, no obvious wall. But there remain armed guards and checkpoints all the same—still a restriction on the right to travel, still an instrument to impose upon ordinary men and women the will of a totalitarian state.

Standing before the Brandenburg Gate, every man is a German separated from his fellow men. Every man is a Berliner, forced to look upon a scar. President Von Weizsäcker has said, “The German question is open as long as the Brandenburg Gate is closed.” Well today—today I say: As long as this gate is closed, as long as this scar of a wall is permitted to stand, it is not the German question alone that remains open, but the question of freedom for all mankind.

Yet, I do not come here to lament. For I find in Berlin a message of hope, even in the shadow of this wall, a message of triumph. In this season of spring in 1945, the people of Berlin emerged from their air-raid shelters to find devastation. From devastation, from utter ruin, you Berliners have, in freedom, rebuilt a city that once again ranks as one of the

By Marjorie Olds

Many of us have attended student recitals Sarah Gowin arranged for her young musicians. Children and teens of all ages, and sometimes their parents were avid Sarah piano students, and their concerts were rousingly received. We met Sarah in the 1980’s when we wandered into a Balkan dance group—2 parents with four kids. When DG Bancroft-Gowin warmly greeted us, we realized this was a dance group for senior citizens (and none of us qualified). DG and co-host Connie Lambert embraced our ragtag group, and the Senior Dancers changed their name to the Village Dancers.

Every Monday night we would troop over and we loved every minute. DG and Connie seemed to know hundreds of exotic dances and the whole troupe was warm and friendly. As the kids turned into teens, Bryan and I continued dancing for years.

Early on a young dancer came to the Village Dance group, and we met DG’s daughter Sarah. Now 40+ years later Bry and I are oldies and our dancing days long past. We do go to hear Sarah play piano for gatherings at Hospicare and Palliative Care Services, a treasured resource for all of us. The end of our life journey is a transition we know so little about beforehand. Through Hospicare we have experienced how the passage from life to death can be embraced with the amazing array of services Hospicare offers, regardless of income.

Vital funding for Hospicare is raised each year by Ithaca’s beloved Women Swimmin’ event. Instead of swimming, Sarah will participate in Go The Distance for Hospicare, a fundraiser where participating fundraisers choose their own activities, so that more of us can raise money to support Hospicare.

Here is Sarah’s story:

“Karin Montin and I met on the beach in Sandy Cove, Nova Scotia, in 1966 when I was nine. I’m from Ithaca and she was from Montreal, and our families have

summer homes in Sandy Cove. Karin and I exchanged letters after that first summer, and I saved every letter from 55 years of correspondence. Karin died of cancer at age 63, and every year I live past that age, I’m aware that I’m having experiences she never got to have. She didn’t live to see the birth of her first grandchild.

In July 2021, as Karin was nearing the end of her life, a dear neighbor friend was also dying of cancer. I felt overwhelmed, and sought out pre-bereavement counseling at Hospicare. My neighbor was on the Hospicare service, so after she died I received a year of individual grief counseling free of charge. At the time, my mother was 91 and had been in assisted living for 5 years. I talked with my grief counselor about my mother’s declining health. In January 2023, my mother was referred to hospice care, and I went back to pre-bereavement counseling. My mother received first-rate care for the final 3 months of her life, and I was given much needed support from our Hospicare team.

I trained to become a Hospicare volunteer in the Spring of 2024. I’m on the bereavement team, and I play the piano for some of the community memorial events. Hospicare gave so much to my

Karin Montin (left) and Sarah Gowin (right). (Photo: Provided/Louise Montin)

Senior Strength Drives Boys Lacrosse at IHS

By Steve Lawrence

As promised, Part II of our look at the Ithaca High lacrosse programs. Last week, we pro led the girls’ team — and its relatively robust senior class consisting of nine players — and this week we’ll pro le the boys’ team.

I caught up with 5th year head coach Clayton Fickenscher, and I asked him if the boys also had a big senior class. “In fact,” he answered, “our seniors make up basically half our roster.” He did some quick checking and o ered, “Yes, we have 18 seniors.”

Fickenscher and his coaching sta are well-acquainted with this class. He said, “I was the JV coach for 3 years prior to becoming head varsity coach, and we know these kids well. We watched them come all the way up through elementary school, club teams, and now the high school program.”

Four of those seniors were elected captains, and I was impressed with the program's path to choosing their leaders.

Clayton said, “We have the players advocate for themselves, and then the team votes. It works out better that way.” ( is year’s co-captains are omas Howley, Anderson Marchell, Jacob Steele and Quentin Getzin.)

I asked the coach if it was a challenge to get the underclassmen any playing time, given there are so many seniors on the roster. He replied, “We have a good mixture,” and he spoke of the seniors' willingness to work for the greater good, if you will. He said, “ e seniors have been committed to working with some of the Modi ed and JV players in the o -season to build the program.”

He also praised the team for “giving back” through their involvement with the “up and coming players at the Ithaca Youth Bureau.”

I am aware that some young athletes can become very one-dimensional in their pursuit of excellence in their favorite sport, but Fickenscher appreciates what he calls “the melting pot on our team.” He said, “We have an array of multi-sport athletes — hockey players, basketball players, wrestlers. We want them to be around

for lacrosse, but we advocate playing more than one sport.”

e team is about a third of the way through its schedule, and the coach says that unlike some sports, say, baseball, sloppy eld conditions do not plague the program. Fickenscher said, “We will play 13 games in Section IV, and 3 out-ofconference, and everyone on our schedule has a turf eld.” When asked what the

ummer

Summer Camp 2026

Knee-High Naturalist (Ages 3-4)

Junior Naturalist (Completed Grades Pre-K-3rd)

Master Naturalist (Completed Grades 4th-8th)

Wanderers ( Completed Grades 6th-8th)

Mentor in Training (Completed Grades 8th-10th)

The robust senior class of the Ithaca High Little Red lacrosse team. (Photo: Provided)

New Report Says $25.08 Living Wage Required to Meet Basic Needs in Tompkins County

Nearly Half of Workers in County Earn Below New Figure

By Philip O’Dell

Roughly half of all wage earners in Tompkins County earn less than the latest calculated $25.08 hourly rate required to afford basic necessities, according to the 2026 Living Wage Study from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

ILR released its annual report on April 8 during a presentation at the Plumbers and Steamfitters Union Hall in Ithaca. The Tompkins County Workers’ Center (TCWC) hosted the event featuring a panel including Cornell ILR senior researcher Ian Greer, Cornell ILR Buffalo Co-Lab research director Russell Weaver, and TCWC coordinator Pete Meyers.

Greer said the 2026 living wage figure is a 1% increase over last year’s $24.82 calculation. He said about 24,000 county residents receive less than $25.08 per hour, making it difficult to afford fundamental needs. Specifically, the report — which uses U.S. Census Bureau data from 2020 to 2024 — says about 23,725 employees in the county earn less than a living wage.

Greer said the struggle to make ends meet disproportionately affects local women and workers of color.

The report shows racial disparities among workers earning below the $25.08 hourly threshold, with Black and Hispanic employees seeing the highest rates of “sub-living wages” or those earning less than a living wage. The report says 67.16% of Black workers and 58.45% of Hispanic or Latinx workers earn less than a living wage. These figures exceed the countywide average of 49.68%, as well as the rates for Asian or Pacific Islander workers at 49% and white workers at 48.58%. Gender data shows 50.14% of male earners and 49.2% of female earners are below the calculated living wage.

Weaver said the report utilizes a “basic needs budgeting” approach that identifies essential spending categories for residents then conservatively adjusts those figures to reflect the baseline costs of a single-person, low-income household with no dependents.

Weaver noted that the MIT Living Wage Calculator, a common reference for re-

searchers that adjusts for household size, currently lists the wage for a single adult with no dependents in Tompkins County at $24.60 — a figure that closely aligns with the Cornell report’s $25.08 calculation.

The report defines a living wage as the minimum hourly rate a full-time worker must earn to afford basic necessities without public or private assistance. Based on a 2,080-hour work year (40-hour work week), the figure is calculated using local data across nine spending categories: food, childcare, healthcare, housing, transportation, broadband internet, civic engagement, taxes, and miscellaneous expenses such as clothing and household supplies.

“In 2023 to 2025, by contrast, the living wage for a single adult in Tompkins County increased by 34.5%,” the report says. “The largest factor driving the rapid increases in previous years, the cost of rent, declined slightly in 2025-26.”

On Jan. 1, 2026, the minimum wage increased to $17 per hour in New York City, Westchester and Long Island, and $16 per

hour for the rest of New York state, both 50cent increases from last year. In 2027, the minimum wage will increase annually at a rate set by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the Northeast Region. This action is designed to ensure workers' purchasing power keeps pace with the rising cost of living.

The report says employer-provided health benefits impact the local cost of living. TCWC’s living wage certification program allows employers to adjust their required hourly rate if they cover insurance premiums. The current calculation factors in a monthly commercial health insurance cost of $235.77; an employer who covers 100% of this premium saves a worker $2,829 annually. This benefit reduces the living wage requirement by $1.36 per hour. Deducting this amount would bring the living wage down to $23.72.

Using American Community Survey samples, researchers analyzed the findings based on hourly wage thresholds, gender, and racial-ethnic groups to identify lo-

cal pay disparities. Approximately 47,756 wage earners live in Tompkins County. When narrowing the focus to full-time employees — those working at least 30 hours per week for 40 weeks a year — 45.2% still earn less than $25.08 per hour. This group represents roughly 15,871 workers out of the county's 35,079 full-time wage earners.

Weaver identified housing as the largest expense in the living wage budget, calculated using U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development data.

Weaver said the living wage remains lower than New York state’s official "lowincome" threshold. In Tompkins County, a single-person household is considered lowincome at 80% of the area median income, or around $62,800 annually — a figure higher than the $25.08 hourly living wage. The report bases housing costs on the 40th percentile of local rental units, which currently sits at $1,466 per month for a onebedroom apartment in the county.

Under federal standards, households that spend more than 30% of their gross

Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations released its 2026 Annual Living Wage Report on April 8. The Tompkins County Workers' Center (TCWC) hosted the presentation at the Plumbers and Steamfitters Union Hall in Ithaca. Pictured from left:

Cornell ILR Buffalo Co-Lab research director Russell Weaver, Cornell ILR senior researcher Ian Greer and TCWC coordinator Pete Meyers. (Photo: Mark Syvertson/Ithaca Times)

As Tompkins County's calculated living wage has increased, the state minimum wage has struggled to keep up with the rising cost of living. Data pulled from New York State and previous reporting from the Ithaca Times. (Photo: Maddy Vogel/Ithaca Times)

monthly income on housing are considered cost burdened. Weaver said that for a single person in Tompkins County to meet this affordability threshold and avoid a housing burden, they would need to earn a "housing living wage" of $28.96 per hour.

Transportation stands as the secondlargest expense for Tompkins County residents, according to Weaver. Because the county remains heavily reliant on vehicles, the report estimates a single-person household spends about $520 per month on transportation costs.

The report found that the food and accommodation industry has the highest percentage of employees earning less than a living wage. However, in terms of sheer volume, the educational services sector has the most sub-living wage workers, totaling roughly 6,500 people.

“I think one of the reasons why we do this every year is to call attention to that,” Weaver said. “The cost of living is rising, but wages don’t seem to be keeping pace with the cost of living and so it’s putting folks in the county in more and more precarious positions.”

Addressing concerns that higher wages drive up the cost of living, Weaver said that incremental, phased-in increases can help minimize any economic shock. He noted that empirical studies on gradual mini-

mum wage hikes generally show no significant impact on inflation.

“If it’s a well-designed and well thought out increase that can be flexible and adjusted continuously to reflect changed cost of living, I think you could look at a soft landing for a policy like that,” Weaver said.

Meyers said TCWC supports implementing the $25.08 living wage locally but acknowledged that a gradual phase-in is likely the most realistic approach if adopted.

Meyers believes it’s possible for the county legislature to approve a higher countywide minimum wage. He said it’s highly unlikely the county legislature would officially codify a figure as high as the $25.08 living wage identified in the report.

Meyers urged residents to lobby county officials in person or via email. He also recommended they encourage others to contact their specific district legislators to broaden outreach.

Meyers said many workers earning $16 per hour must rely on public assistance programs like SNAP, Medicaid and housing subsidies to survive. He said this forces county taxpayers and business owners to effectively subsidize the gap between current pay and the actual cost of living. He argued raising the minimum wage toward the $25.08 threshold is not a burden on

small businesses, but a necessary correction that allows workers to sustain themselves through their own labor.

Meyers said economic evidence supports higher wages because low-wage workers spend their raises at local grocery stores, restaurants, and shops, thus supporting small businesses. He said research shows gradual, phased-in wage increases do not lead to the job losses or business closures critics often predict. Instead, higher pay reduces employee turnover as workers are less likely to leave for betterpaying positions. Meyers said stable, experienced employees provide more value to small businesses than a constant cycle of rehiring.

“If your business model can only survive by paying workers’ wages they cannot live on, the problem is not the living wage — it is a business model that privatizes profit while socializing the cost of your workforce onto the public and onto the workers themselves,” Meyers said. “A phased, county-supported transition toward a living wage — with potential complementary support such as tax relief for small employers — is a far more just and sustainable path than asking Tompkins County's working people to keep absorbing a poverty wage in one of New York's most expensive counties to live in.”

TCWC’s Living Wage Certification Program is a voluntary initiative that publicly recognizes private, public and nonprofit employers who pay all staff a wage sufficient to afford basic local necessities. To qualify for the living wage certified distinction, organizations must meet or exceed the hourly rate identified by recent regional economic studies, which accounts for costs such as housing, healthcare and transportation. Interested employers can sign up by downloading the certification criteria and application from the center’s website or calling (607) 269-0409.

The Tompkins County legislature authorized a study to examine the potential impact of establishing a county minimum wage higher than the New York state’s $16 rate for upstate residents. Following a 2025 request for proposals, the county partnered with the Cornell ILR Ithaca Co-Lab to lead the research and community engagement efforts. The $50,000 contract runs through December 2026 and will conclude with a final report and policy recommendations for the legislature.

County Legislature Chair Shawna Black said although the contract runs through the end of the year, officials expect to finish data collection by late summer and present findings in the fall.

The county website says the Co-Lab’s study evaluates economic and social factors, including cost-of-living variations and potential impacts on employees and employers. Researchers are examining how a local wage hike would affect rural communities, border economies, and public services such as healthcare and childcare. They will also explore methods for establishing and adjusting a local minimum wage.

Greer noted that while Alternatives Federal Credit Union pioneered local living wage calculations since 1994, the current report marks the third consecutive year of the most recent iteration from ILR, while TCWC conducted one in 2022.

The county website says officials are holding a series of community conversations to gather feedback on a proposal to raise the local minimum wage above the state’s current hourly rate. While sessions for Ithaca and rural business owners were held April 14, the schedule continues April 21 at the Child Development Council, located at 608 West Clinton St. in Ithaca, with a 10:30 a.m. meeting on the care economy and a 1 p.m. discussion regarding public benefits.

Future sessions include a May 21 hybrid meeting for Ithaca workers at the Tompkins County Public Library and a human resources and collective bargaining session later that month at a specific date and location to be determined, the website adds.

Who’s Your Neighbor?

A Local Directory of Faith Communities, Faith-Related Services and Interfaith Activities

Many Ithacans are seeking connections that might accurately be called faith. Some return to their roots while others seek roots they may never have experienced. We hope our directory will provide a resource residents, students and visitors find useful in their journey.

Agape Bible Church agapeithaca.com

Baha’i Community of Ithaca www.ithacabahais.org

Bethel Grove Bible Church https://bg.org

Bread of Life Anglican Church https://breadoflifeithaca.org

Cedar Cabin Sangha (Buddhist, Plum Village Practice) https://cedarcabinsangha.blogspot.com

Christ Chapl https://www.christchapelithaca.org/

Christian Community Church Ithaca https://cccithaca.org

Christ the King Fellowship Presbyterian Church https://ckspencer.org

Church of the Epiphany https://www.epiphanytrumansburg.org

Congregation Tikkun v’Or (Ithaca Reform Temple) https://www.tikkunvor.org

Danby Community Church https://danbychurch.org

518 Yoga Gathering (712)212-4819

All Eyes and Ears on Racism - AEER (917)805-1493

Catholic Charities of Tompkins/Tioga https://www.catholiccharitiestt.org

Finer Lakes Anam Cara https://www.fingerlakesanamcara.com

Area Congregations Together breedlovejami@gmail.com

Greater Lansing-Ithaca Interfaith Community https://lansingunited.org/events

FAITH COMMUNIT IES

First Baptist Church in Ithaca https://www.firstbaptistithaca.org

First Congregational Church of Ithaca https://fccithaca.org

First Presbytarian Church of Ithaca https://www.firstpresithaca.org

First Unitarian Society of Ithaca https://unitarian.ithaca.ny.us/

First United Methodist Church of Forest Home https://www.foresthomechapelumc.org

Hillside Alliance Church https://hillsideithaca.org

Ithaca Monthly Meeting Religious Society of Friends https://ithacamonthlymeeting.org/

Lansing United Methodist Church https://LansingUnited.org

Living Hope Fellowship https://www.lhfithaca.org

FAITH-REL ATED SERVICE S

Forest Hermitage https://staceysmithhypnosis.com/

Integrative Mental Wellness https://www.psychologytoday.com/profile/1449445

Moonlight Epiphanies https://moonlightepiphanies.org/

Namgyal Monastary Institute of Buddhist Studies https://namgyal.org/

INTER FAITH ACTIVIT IES

Ithaca Kitchen Cupboard https://ithacakitchencupboard.org/

Ithaca Sunday Squares (585) 451-4288

New Life Presbyterian Church https://newlifeithaca.org

Sacral Transformations and Braided Root Waters Healing Sanctuary https://sacraltransformations.com

St. James AME Zion Church https://www.facebook.com/Stjamesamezionithaca/

St. John’s Episcopal Church https://www.stjohnsithaca.org

St. Luke Lutheran Church and Lutheran Campus Ministry https://stlukeithaca.org

St. Paul’s United Methodist Church https://stpaulsithaca.org

Temple Beth-El https://www.tbeithaca.org/

The Twelve Tribes https://www.twelvetribes.org

Trinity Lutheran Church https://www.trinityithaca.org

Vineyard Church of Ithaca https://ithacavineyard.org

Pure Essence Vibrations https://www.pureessencevibrations.com/

Second Wind Cottages https://www.secondwindcottages.org/

Willow Glen Christian School https://www.willowglencs.org/

Wisdom's Goldenrod Center for Philosophic Studies www.wisdomsgoldenrod.info

Shared Journeys https://sharedjourneys.net/

The Foundation of Light https://www.thefoundationoflight.org/

For more information, visit www.whoisyourneighbor.org and www.madeofclay.org

Ithaca Native Nate Hilgartner Brings Abortion Drama “No Choice” to Cinemapolis

By Clement Obropta

At Cinemapolis, a unique lm is currently playing: “No Choice,” a drama about abortion and substance abuse with creepy “Handmaid’s Tale” undertones, shot entirely within Tompkins County. e lm is directed by Nate Hilgartner, an Ithaca native who studied at Harvard and NYU and worked in the movie industry in Los Angeles. For his debut lm, he was always going to shoot it in his hometown. “Ithaca was always in my heart,” the director told the Ithaca Times. “My parents still live there, I still love to … walk in the woods and the gorges and swim in the lake. It was always on my radar.” e lm, shot for a small, undisclosed budget, follows Amy (Hannah Deale), a young woman who struggles to support her mother (Jennifer Herzog), who has developed an addiction to painkillers. Amy’s life spirals out of control a er she accidentally becomes pregnant, launching a painful and dangerous odyssey across state lines to get an abortion. “ e inspiration and impetus behind the lm came when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022,” Hilgartner said. Running with the theme of authoritarian crackdown on women’s access to reproductive care, Hilgartner chose to set the lm in an imagined “funhouse-mirror America” not too

Nate Hilgartner stands with friends and producers at the Cinemapolis premiere of “No Choice” at the 2025 Reproductive Rights Film Festival. (Photo: Nate Hilgartner)

far into the future. “Women getting arrested in Georgia and in other states, the national catch kit bill that would create a registry for all pregnancies… these are real possibilities, and in some cases, the situation on the ground has gotten this restrictive and this oppressive and quasi-authoritarian,” he said in an interview with the Times.

By March 2023, he had the rst dra of “No Choice,” and a more polished dra followed by early May. By then, he’d already lined up a few key collaborators: director of photography Oleksander “Alex” Podolyandchuk and casting director Maria Prudente, whom Hilgartner met at NYU and who also plays a morally grey doctor in the lm.

Hilgartner and Podolyandchuk shot the lm on the RED KOMODO, the small, lightweight camera that was also used for big Hollywood productions like “Bullet Train” and Net ix’s “Wednesday.” e gear, including lenses and lighting equipment, was all borrowed from friends — crucial given the lm’s low budget. e biggest boon for the production wound up being a disused grocery store in Lansing, which became the lm’s studio space.

“ is was like our Paramount Studios,” Hilgartner said. “It’s a big building that has had all the aisles and refrigerator units taken out. … We built, I think, 13 di erent interior locations within that building. … We were able to totally make use of having that space in order to just do more with less, with our more limited resources.”

Many of the crew were relative newbies, including Hilgartner, who had plenty of theater and writing experience but had never helmed a lm before. Students from Ithaca College also interned on the production, working in the art department to design fake packaging for sodas, chips, and popcorn seen in the lm. e main dilemma facing the production was who to cast for Amy. Luckily, New Yorkbased actress Hannah Deale impressed the team from the jump. “It was always going to be Hannah, I think,” Hilgartner said. “From the moment we saw her reel, we considered her the standout.”

You might recognize the supporting cast around Deale. Most big Hollywood productions that shoot on location will cast their principal roles in Los Angeles or New York City, then do a local casting call to ll in the smaller roles. Not so with “No Choice,” which cast many of its principal parts directly from the Ithaca theater scene.

Jennifer Herzog, who plays Amy’s intensely religious mother, spends much of the lm in a terrifying, drug-induced, rambling daze. She recently played a female Sherlock Holmes in “Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson, Apt. 2B” at e Hangar eatre, and she teaches acting at Ithaca College. Co-stars Robert Denzel Edwards, who plays Amy’s friend and coworker, and Hayden Frank, who plays the construction contractor who gets Amy pregnant,

& Entertainment

Writer and director Nate Hilgartner on the set of his new film, “No Choice,” now playing at Cinemapolis. (Photo: Nate Hilgartner)

Beyond That, Nothing is Certain: Creative Liberty With a European Playwright

By Kira Walter

“We cut Shakespeare so why can’t we cut Arthur Miller?” said actress Erica Steinhagen.

Beyond that, Nothing is Certain

by Monica Isakstuen

translated by Neil Howard

directed by Samuel Buggeln

April 17–26

Cherry Performance Space, 102 Cherry Street, Ithaca

The cult of the American playwright has long facilitated a precedent for strictly following lines, replicating the founder’s vision with precise obedience. But at The Cherry, foreign scripts selected for an English debut extend unique creative liberties to actors as they perform translated stories with their own interpretations.

“Beyond that, Nothing is Certain” is the exact embodiment of this process. The 2019 Scandinavian melodrama by Monica Isakstuen arrived at its Ithaca cast in poetic form, entirely lacking punctuation and generic instruction. An abstract exploration of motherhood and identity, the

narrative features five different versions of the same woman struggling to accept the responsibility of being a parent.

“The mother who abandons her child is practically the most forbidden figure in our society. Monica wants to explore that and because she comes from a poetic space, she has a really high concept way of explaining it,” said director Samuel Buggeln. The play’s unconventional format transitions back and forth throughout the protagonist’s life, causing actors to embrace new strategies getting into character. As they convey different iterations of the same archetypal mother, from the “the first I could be” to

the “fifth I could be,” developing both character and surrounding themes becomes a deeply collaborative process.

Still, changes in scriptural structure and organization is no big surprise for folks at the Cherry: as international productions are the priority, they are wellversed in straying from standard dialogue.

“Each play has its own language,” said Elizabeth Mozer. “Here, we’re used to a non-western contemporary approach.”

One of five playing the lead, Mozer spoke to a divergent methodology employed at Music

GrassRoots Announces 2026 Festival Lineup

By Mikayla Rovenolt

The 34th Annual Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance has officially released its 2026 lineup, featuring a diverse array of musicians and genres. The festival will be held July 16 through 19 in Trumansburg at the fairgrounds on 2150 Trumansburg Road.

The nonprofit festival gathers Finger Lakes musicians each year to offer an everexpanding setlist of varied local and international artists, a festival orchestra and jazz. In addition to the music, Grassroots features camping, remote-site parking, crafts, therapy and fine art displays.

Hosted by festival founders Donna The Buffalo, this year’s gathering brings together artists like Grammy Awardwinning folk musician and MacArthur

“Genius” recipient Rhiannon Giddens, Taj Mahal, and bluegrass musicians Del McCoury Band.

This year’s lineup continues the festival’s long-standing promise of global sounds and culture sharing, featuring Latin Grammy-winning ensemble C4 Trio, Yemeni punk-folk performers El Khat, Senegalese sabar musicians Aba Diop Trio, and Ukrainian folk quartet Dakhabrakha. John Brown’s Body, Ireland’s The Byrne Brothers, and Louisiana Zydeco musicians Keith Frank & the Soileau Zydeco Band, alongside Zydeco performer Preston Frank are just a few of the more than 80 artists set to perform at the festival. Additional artists include Maddy Walsh and the Blind Spots, Ithaca Underground, Jeb and Friends, Grady Girls, Dead Sea Squirrels, Gunpoets, Deep Dive Big Band,

Continued on Page 21

Black Lion and Heat Wav, and the Fall Creek Brass Band.

More than just music, the GrassRoots experience continues with the return of the 8th Annual GrassRoots Culture Camp, taking place July 12–15 leading up to the festival. Known for its hands-on approach, Culture Camp offers attendees the opportunity to learn directly from festival artists through workshops, collaborative sessions, and nightly Dinner & Dance gatherings.

Over the years, GrassRoots has grown

to now attract around 20,000 people over the four-day festival and was previously nominated as one of USA Today's top 10 outdoor music festivals.

Founded in 1991, the Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival has celebrated independent music culture for more than thirty years. Fans are encouraged to explore the full lineup and secure tickets early to take advantage of advance pricing. More information and the full lineup of artists can be found at https://www.grassrootsfest.org.

Saturday Tech Rehearsal at The Cherry. (Photo: Provided/Samuel Buggeln)

The 2025 GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance. (Photo: Nathan Ellison/Ithaca Times File)

“Exit 8”: Purgatory Is a Japanese Subway Station in Uneven New Horror Film

By Clement Obropta

There’s a new horrifying adaptation of a beloved Japanese video game in theaters this week, and I’m not talking about “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.” Instead, while the kids are watching Mario annoyingly bluster his way across the universe, the adults can go see “Exit 8.”

Produced by Toho and distributed internationally by Neon, “Exit 8” follows a young man riding the Tokyo metro, stuck working long hours in a job he doesn’t seem to particularly enjoy. He talks to his ex-girlfriend on the phone — she’s at the hospital trying to decide whether to continue her pregnancy. Introduced as “The Lost Man,” he soon walks into a stark, brightly lit white corridor. There are seven posters on the wall, a few doors, a sign overhead pointing to Exit 8, and a man with a briefcase walking down the hall. The Lost Man walks, and walks, and keeps walking, but he always returns to that same hallway, as though he’s stuck in a loop.

If years of time loop stories haven’t conditioned you by now, some helpful but obvious Möbius strip artwork on the wall immediately conveys the mechanics of “Exit 8.” Rules on the wall also warn the man: Do not overlook any anomalies. If you find an anomaly, turn back immediate-

ly. If you do not find any anomalies, do not turn back. So he’s essentially wandered into some kind of liminal space CAPTCHA test, where he has to identify these “anomalies” in order to leave the subway tunnel.

Compared to the other big video game adaptation this week, “Exit 8” at least seems to have the right idea — it’s based on a game with a very simple concept, only one location, and precious little lore to dig into. In the original video game, all you can do is walk, look around, and occasionally interact with the environment — such games are lovingly dubbed “walking simulators” — and thus it makes the perfect vessel to fill with original, fun, scary ideas, if only the filmmakers could come up with any.

Thin and laborious even by the standards of elevated horror, a subgenre that prides itself on big ideas and clumsily mixed metaphors, “Exit 8” struggles to churn its promising premise into anything of substance. Its protagonist is both stuck in a rut and also running from his responsibilities, but the meager revelations we glean from dialogue with his ex does little to convince us that the Lost Man’s character is headed anywhere worthwhile.

superb set, designed by Ryota Kobayashi and Ryo Sugimoto, perfectly captures the disquieting kenopsia that made liminal horror like Kane Parsons’ “Backrooms” series so successful.

Rated PG-13

Directed by Genki Kawamura

Currently playing at Cinemapolis and Regal Ithaca Mall

120 E Green St., Ithaca and 40 Catherwood Road, Ithaca

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

from page 8

Dr. LuVelle Brown’s contract, while laying off teachers & aides! Brown’s $ people ‘forgot’ to include $ for new roof etc so now is back with Capital Project Referendum Vote May 19, noon – 9 p.m. I can’t afford new roof on my simple

The technical execution of “Exit 8” is pretty brilliant, however, and if the film were written half as well as it was shot, it might have been a new low-budget horror classic. Keisuke Imamura’s roving camera disorients the viewer, drifting around the Lost Man like a moon orbiting a sweaty, asthmatic planet. Many of the shots once we’re inside the hallway are manipulated to look like they’re continuous takes, no cuts. After about 10 minutes, you can guess where they hid the stitches, but it’s still excellent craftsmanship. And the

farmhouse because I pay huge ICSD taxes. I’m voting NO on Capital Project Referendum May 19 (noon –9 p.m.).

Call ICSD today to confirm where you vote, then SHOW UP.

If farmers ran our farms like Superintendent Brown runs ISCD, you would all starve and there would be no green space near Ithaca.” — Claire Forest, Forest

A member of Arashi, the most popular Japanese boy band of all time, lead actor Kazunari Ninomiya (known on-stage as Nino) is an odd casting choice for the lead of a low-budget existentialist horror film. A bit like if Zayn Malik starred in a Slender Man movie. But he is appropriately freaked the hell out here, even if the film would rather weep blood from the walls or throw mutated rats from the ceiling than develop a complex character for him.

A metaphor for the purgatorial loop of capitalism, “Exit 8” is also the natural product of a culture that does not value individuality. There’s a saying in Japan: The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. The corridor represents the anxiety over having no control over your destiny — equally as relevant here as in Japan.

Family Farm, Ithaca NY

Trump’s Policies Hurt Natural Resources

“In April 2026, Trump announced plans to decimate our country’s forest resources. According to the Sierra Club (April 2, 2026), Trump finalized rules to fast-track approval of logging, mining, drilling, road building and other projects

Another character provides a more tidy summary of the film’s themes: “Riding a packed train, going to work. Always the same routine. That’s hell. It’s pathetic.” But that anti-capitalist posturing is all “Exit 8” offers. Once the film’s genuinely eerie first act passes, it settles into a monotonous cycle of high-stakes “Spot the Difference,” soft on scares and light on story, even at a still-overlong 95 minutes. The observations “Exit 8” propounds about the endless and meaningless carousel of modern work are not particularly profound and also accompany an eyebrowraising storyline about why abortion is maybe bad actually. It’s a slickly produced film whose script could have used a few more runs around the track — it spells out the central metaphor at least eight different times and then promptly ends when it’s time to evolve past that premise.

in America’s national forests by eliminating public participation requirements for environmental reviews. He also canceled public notices and comments on federal bird flu responses and wildlife-killing activities. Environmental reviews required under the National Environmental Policy Act are often the only way people can get

Clement Obropta is a film columnist for the Ithaca Times.

The Lost Man (Kazunari Ninomiya) and The Boy (Naru Asanuma) stand in an ominous Tokyo metro station corridor. (Photo: IMDb/Neon)

Kitchen Theatre’s Next Generation Takes the Lead with “be mean to me”

By Ross Haarstad

Good arts companies invest in the future. From its very beginnings, this has been true of Ithaca’s own Kitchen Theatre Company.

The Kitchen’s current Producing Artistic Director Emily Jackson was an intern during the Rachel Lampert years. After her internship, she jumped over to director of audience services and from there became an artistic associate, starting her directing career with a lovely production of “You and I” by Lauren Gunderson.

Just as the Kitchen’s last mainstage show, “Milkweed” by Wendy Dann, pulled in three generations of Kitchen and Ithaca College alumni; so this weekend’s Kitchen Sink offering, “be mean to me” (playing April 16–19), brings together a constellation of recent IC alumni and Kitchen Theatre associates, all under the leadership of Gwyneth Cole, the Kitchen’s current Arts Administration Associate.

Gwyneth graduated with a performance degree from Ithaca College’s School of Music in 2024. Friends recommended her to apply to the Kitchen, where Gwyn started the summer after Rachel’s encore

“be mean to me”

by Sofya Levitsky-Weitz

April 16-19

Kitchen Theatre Company

417 W. State / W. MLK, Jr. Street, Ithaca, NY

ITHACA COMMON COUNCIL APPROVES

continued from page 3

in New York state and nonprofit board service focused on community finance. "I am honored to be entrusted with this important role and look forward to working together with staff to make the city’s operations more transparent, its processes more efficient, and its financial data more accurate," said Ralbovsky. “As a family, we’re also excited for this opportunity to

year as interim artistic director, as the reins were being passed to Emily.

Since then, if you’ve been to the Kitchen at all, you likely ran into Gwyn at the box office desk (perhaps with their trainee service dog, Flynn) or on the phone. A jack (Jill) of all trades, they have pitched into every corner of the production scene, with a special emphasis on assistant directing (Letters to Max, Bad Books, Milkweed, etc.)

Ready to launch themselves into a professional directing career, this weekend’s production of “be mean to me” also serves as their official directors portfolio for grad school (applications are going out to Columbia, Yale, Northwestern and UC San Diego—the cream of the crop.)

“A moving, intimate portrait of female friendship across time,” the show has been penned by Sofya Levitsky-Weitz, whose professional credits include being a lead writer on the first season of Hulu’s hit series, The Bear.

As described by the Kitchen: “Shifting between ages 17 and 27, the play follows two young women as they grow up together and apart grappling with love, ambition, and the quiet cruelty that can exist inside closeness. Tender, funny, and heartbreaking, it captures how deeply we can hurt the people who know us best.”

“Watching Emily, in particular, [...] hooked me on directing, like, a bug,” says Gwyn, as we sit in the lobby the day before tech rehearsals begin.

Last spring Emily asked Gwyn what they wanted to do next. Take a look at the

make Ithaca our new home.”

Khan

Cantelmo said Khan will begin his role as human resources director at grade 11, step 4 of the managerial compensation plan with an annual salary of $133,199. According to a city news release, Khan will start on May 4 and oversee “workforce strategy, employee relations, labor support, policy development, recruitment and retention efforts, compliance, and organizational development initiatives.”

season calendar, she said, find a space for yourself.

“Gwyn has been an integral part of our artistic community over the past two seasons, and it’s been a joy to watch their growth as an assistant director,” Emily said. “At Kitchen Theatre Company, we believe deeply in creating space for emerging artists to take bold steps in their work, and Gwyn is doing exactly that here.”

“I had some friends helping me like scour for plays,” Gwyn said, “and when I read this one, I was obsessed, immediately. […] She just is so good at capturing what it feels like to be a 17 year old girl, and especially, like, growing up in the 2000s. Cady [Loeb], our scenic designer, [said] if I had read this play when I was 17, I would have become such a different person.”

Ninety minutes, with a three person cast, the play is very much in the KTC

“I am honored to join the City of Ithaca and look forward to working with employees and departments to support a strong, equitable workforce and effective public service for the community,” said Dr. Khan.

The city’s release says Khan brings more than 20 years of experience in human resources and organizational development across the public, nonprofit, and academic sectors. He most recently served as director of human resources for NeighborWorks Community Partners in Rochester, where he led efforts to transform the organization’s HR

vein. IC alum Anna Riley (The Wolves, Men on Boats) plays Jean opposite SB Barlow (House of Ithaqua’s Normal) as Meril.

Completing the triangle is the guy, Damir, played by IC sophomore Cooper Arbisi.

Recent IC alum, KTC associate and friend Claire Chesne has traveled from California to design lighting, as has scenic designer Cady Loeb, while another friend and IC alum, Kerby Roenke has ventured up from NYC to fashion costumes.

“When I worked on Milkweed, Emily and Wendy were always describing it as this little creative bubble and when the show closed, we had to leave the bubble,” Gwyn said. “I feel very similarly with this. [It’s] become a little squad, and it's gonna be happy-sad when we get to the point where people have to go home.”

systems. Previously, Khan served as deputy director of human resources at the University of Balochistan, where he managed operations for more than 2,500 employees and led workforce modernization initiatives. Khan holds a doctorate in human resources and organization development from the National Institute of Development Administration in Bangkok. He also earned a master’s degree in economics, a master of business administration in human resources and management information systems, and a law degree.

Cast members rehearse a scene from “be mean to me,” onstage this weekend at Kitchen Theatre Company.

greatest on earth. Now the Soviets may have had other plans. But my friends, there were a few things the Soviets didn’t count on: Berliner Herz, Berliner Humor, ja, und Berliner Schnauze. [Berliner heart, Berliner humor, yes, and a Berliner Schnauze.]

In the 1950s—In the 1950s Khrushchev predicted: “We will bury you.” But in the West today, we see a free world that has achieved a level of prosperity and well-being unprecedented in all human history. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev— Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall! I understand the fear of war and the pain of division that afflict this continent, and I pledge to you my country’s efforts to help overcome these burdens.

To be sure, we in the West must resist Soviet expansion. Because we remained strong, the Soviets came back to the table. Because we remained strong, today we have within reach the possibility, not merely of limiting the growth of arms, but of eliminating, for the first time, an entire

BOYS LACROSSE

team's goals are, Clayton was very honest in saying that “We will have the Sectionals, then hopefully the States, and of course, the goal is always to win the last game of the season.”

This week will be a busy one for the Little Red, as are most weeks once the schedule gets rolling. “We play Corning on Tuesday,” Fickenscher said, “and then Union-Endicott on Thursday and Penn Yan on Saturday. The season goes by quickly.”

I asked the coach if at this point — five years in — he has any thoughts about catching up to the longevity record of Frank Welch, who was the head coach for well over

class of nuclear weapons from the face of the earth. But we must remember a crucial fact: East and West do not mistrust each other because we are armed; we are armed because we mistrust each other.

We in the West stand ready to cooperate with the East to promote true openness, to break down barriers that separate people, to create a safer, freer world. And surely there is no better place than Berlin, the meeting place of East and West, to make a start. Let us use this occasion, the 750th anniversary of this city, to usher in a new era, to seek a still fuller, richer life for the Berlin of the future. Together, let us maintain and develop the ties between the Federal Republic and the Western sectors of Berlin.

There is no better way to establish hope for the future than to enlighten young minds, and we would be honored to sponsor summer youth exchanges, cultural events, and other programs for young Berliners from the East. Today the city thrives in spite of the challenges implicit in the very presence of this wall. What keeps you here? Certainly there’s a great deal to be said for your fortitude, for your defiant courage. But I believe there’s something deeper, something that involves Berlin’s whole look and feel and way of life— not mere sentiment. No one could live long in Berlin without being

four decades. That made Clayton laugh, and he answered, “I can’t really speak to that now, but I am really enjoying it, that's for sure.”

Another person enjoying this ride is one of the co-captains, senior Quentin Getzin, who stepped right onto the field after wrapping up a stellar wrestling career for the Little Red. In Quentin’s words, “It has been amazing playing with the group for this last year. I’ve been playing with a lot of my teammates since elementary school and I am very excited to have this opportunity to be able to have a team good enough to compete for a sectional title.” He added, “It’s such an honor to be chosen as captain by my teammates and be given the opportunity to help lead this team and make an impact on the younger players and everyone else.”

completely disabused of illusions. The totalitarian world produces backwardness because it does such violence to the spirit, thwarting the human impulse to create, to enjoy, to worship. Here in Berlin, like the city itself, symbols of love, symbols of worship, cannot be suppressed.

As I looked out a moment ago from the Reichstag, that embodiment of German unity, I noticed words crudely spray-painted upon the wall, perhaps by a young Berliner (quote): “This wall will fall. Beliefs become reality.” Yes, across Europe, this wall will fall, for it cannot withstand faith; it cannot withstand truth. The wall cannot withstand freedom. And I would like, before I close, to say one word. I have read, and I have been questioned since I’ve been here about certain demonstrations against my coming. And I would like to say just one thing, and to those who demonstrate so. I wonder if they have ever asked themselves that if they should have the kind of government they apparently seek, no one would ever be able to do what they’re doing again. Thank you and God bless you all. Next week, we will celebrate George H.W. Bush — the 41st President of the United States and his 1000 Points of Light Speech given at the 1988 Republican Party National Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Asked about his future plans, Getzin offered, “Next year I plan to attend Hamilton College and play on their lacrosse team.”

On the topic of lacrosse, some of the greatest players ever to hold a stick converged on Ithaca recently. Cornell's teams from 1976, ’77 and ’78 put together an incredible 42-game win streak that is widely regarded as one of those untouchable records. Freshmen were not allowed to play on Varsity then, and the Class of '78 freshmen went undefeated, then won 42 in a row over the next three seasons, winning two national titles. The teams gathered for a 50-year reunion, and I am so pleased that these guys got to see their beloved Big Red return to the top of the mountain in 2025.

BEYOND THAT, NOTHING IS CERTAIN

continued from page 18

the Cherry. While other American actors channel more effort into bringing paper to life on stage, they do more work deciding who characters are, and how they should be animated. Rehearsal offers more decision-making.

“Here, it’s very much about devising,” said Barbara Geary. “As actors, you have to be comfortable with that. For some actors, it's not their jam. It’s good to know what you want but you have to be open to trying new things and seeing what works.”

Although she learned to act in the States, Geary spoke to a European creative skillset and how she’s learned to expand her arsenal being part of Cherry productions. These projects have utilized her education in acting while asking her to step away from it.

Steinhagen, a fellow lead, described adapting to the play with a less psychological logic, more concerned with piecing together elements of the narrative.

“It’s not very linear,” she said. “This is challenging for us because with American playwriting, we want to dig into characters psychologically. In this situation, it’s more experimental. Collage logic is a huge part of that.”

Isakstuen’s collage storytelling has not only altered how actors interpret messaging but the style has also welcomed experimentation and risk taking in lighting and sound design. While performers interact with dialogue dynamics, designers Bryan Ealey and Stephen St. Francis Decky convey transitions and chronology through the set.

“Sometimes you just lower the lights at the end of the scene,” Buggeln said. “But in this case, going back and forth, it took us a long time to figure out what the transitions are. It gives designers more to do.”

Without props and concrete linear time, lighting decisions play a dramatic role in delivery. And an exciting addition to this production is the use of light figurines inspired by the actors themselves. Tech rehearsals surprised both acting and designing parties with converging practices, as interpretations were unified for this Friday’s English premiere.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

continued from page 19

information and provide input on the thousands of projects proposed each year on public lands.

Our forest lands are one of the country’s greatest resources and are critical

to environmental health. Claiming these natural resources are expendable, this Republican Administration has long sought to log, mine and pillage national lands. These actions will further worsen the environment and will put people at risk, threatening air and water quality, increasing harmful chemical exposure, and worsening

global warming (The Guardian January 30, 2026).

Trump has consistently shown preference to scale back environmental protections to pad corporate profits. He and his regime consistently put Americans last when it comes to protecting our health and wellbeing.” — Rosanne Van Wie, Waverly NY

For the next two weekends, “Beyond that, Nothing is Certain” will grace the Cherry Arts with shows from April 17 to 19, and April 23 to 26. As a beloved local theater defies Western American acting expectations with international English debuts, Ithacan creatives are able to express style and storytelling through a foreign script. They facilitate a free process where preserving the text is not so much prioritized as preserving the message.

Music

Bars/Bands/Clubs

4/15 Wednesday

Argos Grove plays Jazz | 5:30 p.m. | Argos Inn, 408 E State St

Benny and the Mix Album-Release Party | 6:30 p.m. | Salt Point Brewing Company, 6 Louise Bement Ln, Lansing| Free

4/16 Thursday

S Benny T Hosts Open Mic Night | 6 p.m. | Crossroads Bar and Grille, 3120 N Triphammer Rd, Lansing, NY 14882

London McDaniel & Lava Host Jazz & Blues Night | 7 p.m. | Ithaca 5 & Dime, 619 W State St Suite B

All Grooves DJ Lounge | 7 p.m. | K-House, 121 W State St ee

4/17 Friday

Live Music - Lloyd’s Boys | 6 p.m. | Hopshire Farm and Brewery, 1771 Dryden Road

4/18 Saturday

Cast & Chords: Live Music @ Either Oar | 2 p.m. | Venissa Santi 3rio LIVE MUSIC @ Orozco Gallery | 7 p.m.

Ingrid Jensen| 7:30 p.m. | Bailey Hall at Cornell University | Free

THIS WEEK

4/19 Sunday

L Dead to the Core with guest Jose Lopez return for “Shakedown Sunday” | 1 p.m. | 443 Social Club & Lounge, 121 W State St.

McCalip-Collins Quartet | 2:30 p.m. | Ithaca Beer Company, 122 Ithaca Beer Dr.

Angry Mom Records Noise Show | 8 p.m. | 115 E State St.

4/22 Wednesday

Organists Unplugged | 7:30 p.m. | Anabel Taylor Chapel at Cornell University | Free Concerts/Recitals

4/15 Wednesday

Brass Ensembles at Ford Hall | 7 p.m.

Kathy Mattea | 8 p.m. | Center for the Arts of Homer, 72 S Main St.

4/16 Thursday

Woodwind Chamber Music | 7 p.m.

Shemekia Copeland | 8 p.m. | Center for the Arts of Homer, 72 S Main St.

4/17 Friday

Panorama - Tribute To The Cars | 6 p.m. | Tioga Downs, 2384 West River Rd.

David Miller, composition at Ford Hall | 8:15 p.m.

4/18 Saturday

Sasha Narea, viola a@ Hockett

Family Recital Hall | 12 p.m.

Tori Hollerbach, ute a@ Hockett

Family Recital Hall | 2 p.m.

Christopher Rakeman, jazz bass @ Ford Hall | 3 p.m.

Hunter De Young, saxophone @ Hockett Family Recital Hall | 4 p.m.

Elias Orphanides, trombone @ Hockett Family Recital Hall | 6 p.m.

Choral Collage | 7 p.m. | Ford Hall, Ithaca College

Jeremy Bobak Live | 7 p.m. | Stu’s Place, 114 N Page Ave

Haley Heynderickx and Max Garcìa Conover | 8 p.m. | Center for the Arts of Homer

Peter Morales, cello at Hockett

Family Recital Hall | 8:15 p.m.

4/19 Sunday

Lily Suchomel, soprano @Hockett

Family Recital Hall | 11 a.m.

Ryan Yuu, composition @Hockett

Family Recital Hall | 1 p.m.

Allison Lewis, soprano @Hockett

Family Recital Hall | 4 p.m.

Alan Zimmerman, composition @ Ford Hall | 6 p.m.

Willow Black, percussion @ Hockett Family Recital Hall | 7 p.m.

4/20 Monday

Marisol McDowell, violin at Ford Hall | 8:15 p.m.

4/21 Tuesday

Flute Ensemble at Hockett Family Recital Hall | 7 p.m.

4/22 Wednesday

Piano and Strings I | 7 p.m. | Hockett Family Recital Hall, Ithaca College

Stage

BAC Meet Up: The Art of Oops! | 6:30 p.m. | The Community School of Music and Arts | In this playful physical comedy workshop, you’ll get the opportunity to play, laugh, and celebrate life’s little ascos. No theatre or dance experience necessary–come as you are! Please register: https://docs.google.com/ forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdqm1lUEXwmjliH4yb87AmTs8TWCEAatEN3LfgnB6uponBfw/viewform | Free

Be mean to me by Sofya LevitskyWeitz | 7 p.m., 4/16 Thursday | Kitchen Theatre Company | An intimate portrait of female friendship across time. | $1.00 - $20.00

9 to 5: The Musical | 7 p.m., 4/17 Friday | Ithaca High School, 1401 North Cayuga Street | The Ithaca High School Drama Department is proud to present its spring musical. | $10.00 - $12.00

Beyond that, Nothing is Certain | 7:30 p.m., 4/17 Friday | The Cherry Arts, 102 Cherry St. | A dazzling new play from Norway that goes to the deep places. English language premiere. | $15.00 - $65.00

Cinderella by Ithaca Ballet | 2 p.m., 4/18 Saturday | State Theatre of Ithaca Ballet & Books: Spring 2026 | 2:30 p.m., 4/18 Saturday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green Street | Ballet & Books is a national, non-pro t organization that provides children ages 3 years — 4th grade with an opportunity to improve their literacy skills through a combination of dance

LILY PAD PUPPET THEATRE @ Orozco Gallery | 5 p.m., 4/19 Sunday | orozco gallery, 115 S Cayuga St.,6

Civic Ensemble Youth Forum Theatre Troupe | 4 p.m., 4/21 Tuesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green Street | WORD (updated) | 5 p.m., 4/21 Tuesday, 8 Exchange Street | Join Auburn Public Theater, Jim Ellis, and Bobbie Panek for an open poetry night at APT.

Bring your original poetry, or your favorite poem to recite, to share — or just enjoy the parade of poets!

Ithaca College: Jazz Repertory Ensemble and Jazz Lab Band at Ford Hall | 8:15 p.m., 4/22 Wednesday | Wednesday, 4/22/2026 8:15 p.m. |

Ford Hall Ithaca College: Jazz Repertory Ensemble and Jazz Lab Band Free, open to the public

Click “Register” to reserve your FREE tickets!

Art

Blooming Glass Garden Art Workshop | 1 p.m., 4/16 Thursday | Six Mile Creek Vineyard & Distillery | Vintage glass garden art workshop to welcome Spring to the Finger Lakes! | $48.00

MOVING STORIES OF GRIEF

FRIDAY, APRIL 17 FROM 7:00

P.M. TO 9:30 P.M.

Hangar Theatre, 801 Taughannock Blvd | Hosted by Hospicare, in partnership with Kathy Lucas Movement Arts, and co-collaborator Carol S. James, Moving Stories of Grief is an evening of movement performances o ered as meditations on grief. There will also be a “Museum of Ordinary Things”: an homage created by community members, sharing memories of loved ones through artifacts of their time together. (Photo: Provided)

Artists Talks & Workshops @ Orozco Gallery 4/16 | 6 p.m., 4/16 Thursday | orozco gallery, 115 S Cayuga St., 14850 |

| 2–6 p.m.

Geometric Abstraction Exhibit | 12 p.m., 4/18 Saturday | The Gallery at South Hill, 950 Danby Rd., South Hill Business Campus | Geometric Abstraction exhibit with Mauro Marinelli, Michael George and co-creator Laura Dale George. | Free

Open Studios in the Artist Alley Studios | 12 p.m., 4/19 Sunday | 950 Danby Rd. South Hill Business Campus | Free

Film

COUNTED OUT (2024) with Q+A | 2:30 p.m. 4/17 Friday | Cornell Cinema, 104 Willard Straight Hall, Cornell campus | Explores today’s biggest crises through the hidden power of math, revealing how numeric literacy shapes our news, our choices, and our social and economic futures. | Free Film Screening of Artists’ Documentaries | 12:30 p.m., 4/18

Saturday | Cinemapolis, 120 E. Green Street | A free lm screening of ve Thriving Futures Mural Initiative artist documentaries by Shira Evergreen on April 18 from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. at Cinemapolis. ( Space for approx. Her Campus at Ithaca’s Documentary Film Fest & Media Awards at Park Auditorium | 4 p.m., 4/18 Saturday | Mixer: 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. (Food & Beverages Provided) Showcase & Awards | 5:00 p.m. –7:30 p.m.

Join Her Campus at Ithaca College for an evening dedicated to the power of inclusive storytelling.

World Cinema at Lifelong | 1:30 p.m., $10 drop in/$50 for the 12 lm series Register today: https://app. dvforms.net/api/dv/e35xwe

The Culture Industry of War | 5 p.m., 4/21 Tuesday | Film Forum, Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts. In the 2013 essay- lm The Culture

BEYOND THAT, NOTHING IS CERTAIN FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AT 7:30 P.M. AND SUNDAY AT 2 P.M.

|

April 17-26. (Photo: Provided)

Industry of War, art historian and lmmaker Hamed Youse explores the role of images in Iran’s modern political culture. | Free Cinemapolis

120 E Green St., Ithaca

New movies opening the week of April 8. Contact Cinemapolis for showtimes and continuing lms.

Lorne | From Morgan Neville, Academy Award-winning lmmaker of 20 Feet from Stardom and Won't You Be My Neighbor?, comes Lorne, an unprecedented, behind-the-scenes glimpse at the man who built the inimitable empire of comedy, shaping television and culture for generations. The documentary features exclusive footage, archival treasures, and candid interviews with the show’s most iconic cast members and writers including Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, John Mulaney, Andy Samberg, Conan O’Brien, Chris Rock and many more. | R 101 mins

The Christophers | Julian Sklar (Ian McKellen) was once a star of London’s 1960’s and 70’s pop art explosion, but he hasn’t painted in decades and has been broke for years. His two estranged children (James Corden, Jessica Gunning), desperate for an inheritance, hire Lori, an art restorer and former forger (Michaela Coel), to pose as a prospective assistant in order to access 8 un nished canvases Julian has buried deep in storage. Her plan is to complete them, then return them to storage, where they are to be “discovered” upon Julian’s death. | NA 95 mins

Sports

Ithaca Mens Tennis vs RIT| 4 p.m., 4/15 Wednesday | Wheeler Tennis Courts, Ithaca College

Ithaca Baseball vs Keystone College| 4 p.m., 4/15 Wednesday | Freeman Field, Ithaca College

Ithaca Men’s Lacrosse vs. Cortland | 7:00 p.m., 4/15 Wednesday | Higgins Stadium, Ithaca College

Ithaca Women’s Lacrosse vs. St. John Fisher University | 4 p.m., 4/17 Friday | Higgins Stadium, Ithaca College

Ithaca Women’s Tennis vs SUNY Geneseo| 4 p.m., 4/17 Friday | Wheeler Tennis Courts, Ithaca College

Ithaca Men’s Tennis vs Bard College| 10 a.m., 4/18 Saturday | Wheeler Tennis Courts, Ithaca College

Cornell Baseball vs Yale University | 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., 4/18 Saturday | Booth Field, Cornell University

Cornell Women’s Lacrosse vs University of Pennsylvania |12:00 p.m. 4/18 Saturday | Schoellkopf Field, Cornell University

Cornell Softball vs Columbia University | 12:30 p.m., 4/18 Saturday | Niemand-Robinson Softball Field, Cornell University

Cornell Men’s Tennis vs Dartmouth College | 1 p.m., 4/18 Saturday | Reis Tennis Center, Cornell University

Ithaca Women’s Tennis vs Bard College | 3 p.m., 4/18 Saturday | Wheeler Tennis Courts, Ithaca College

Cornell Equestrian Team in the Ivy Show | All day 4/19, Sunday | Oxley Equestrian Center, Cornell University

Ithaca Men’s Tennis vs Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 10 a.m., 4/19 Sunday | Wheeler Tennis Courts, Ithaca College

Cornell Baseball vs Yale University | 12 p.m., 4/19 Sunday | Booth Field, Cornell University

Cornell Softball vs Columbia University | 12:30 p.m., 4/19 Sunday | Niemand-Robinson Softball Field, Cornell University

Cornell Men’s Tennis vs Harvard University |1 p.m., 4/19 Sunday | Reis Tennis Center, Cornell University

Ithaca Women’s Tennis vs Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |2 p.m., 4/19 Sunday | Wheeler Tennis Courts, Ithaca College

Cornell Softball vs Binghamton University | 2 p.m., 4/21 Tuesday | Niemand-Robinson Softball Field, Cornell University

Cornell and Ithaca Men’s and Women’s Track and Field at Ithaca Invitational |2 p.m., 4/21 Tuesday | Egan Family Track and Field Complex, Ithaca College

Special Events

Earth Day Festival 2026 | 12 p.m., 4/18 Saturday | CCE-Tompkins Education Center, 615 Willow Avenue | Join the 2026 Earth Day Festival at the Ithaca Commons on Saturday, April 18,from 12 pm to 5 pm.

Books

Silent Book Club Meeting at Chapel Sanctuary / Pond | 6 p.m., 4/15

Wednesday | Bring any book and come read with us! You’re welcome to come and go anytime during the meeting. Just grab a snack, settle down and read, talk at the end and be on your merry way!

Book Sale Trumansburg | 8:30 a.m. |

Ulysses Philomathic Library, 74 E. Main St. | Book Sale Trumansburg Library | Free

Zalaznick Reading by Danzy Senna | 5 p.m. | Klarman Hall, Rhodes-Rawlings Auditorium, Klarman Hall KG70, 232 East Ave. | Free Books at Five | 5 p.m. | Tompkins County Public Library | Please join us in hearing readings from Daniel R. Schwarz’s recent. book of poetry, The

Garden of My Saying, at the library in celebration of National Poetry Month.

Writing Towards Joy | 2 p.m., 4/18 Saturday | Tompkins County Public Library| During di cult times, the act of making room for joy can be both radical and restorative.

Unpacking abuse myths | 6 p.m.| Hosted by Protagonist Books & Co ee| the Dryden Center for Community, 9 E. Main St. | In honor of April’s Sexual Violence Awareness Month, join us for a conversation with author Cheyenne Wilson about sexualized violence and how we can create change within our communities. | Free

Comic Book Club of Ithaca | 6:30 p.m. | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green Street | The Comic Book Club of Ithaca

Kids

Family Playgroup — Winter’26 Round #2 | 9:30 a.m.| CCE-Tompkins Education Center, 615 Willow Avenue | Free 6 weeks series, March 5 – April 16 (no class on April 2)

“Li’l Sprouts” Waldorf playgroup for babies & toddlers | 9 a.m.| Ithaca Waldorf School, 20 Nelson Road | Weekly gatherings for parents with their baby/toddler to enjoy a morning rhythm of story and song designed for the very young, meet other like-minded parents, and learn about Waldorf parenting and education. | $30.00 - $175.00

Baby & Toddler Storytime | 10:30 a.m.| Tompkins County Public Library | Caregivers and their children are invited to join Cassie for music, rhymes, movement and books. Storytime will be followed by a playtime from 11-12.

Notices

Schuyler Tributes Awards Luncheon | 11 a.m. | Description Click

ITHACA BALLET PRESENTS: CINDERELLA

SATURDAY, APRIL 18 AT 3 P.M. AND 7:30 P.M.

State Theatre, 107 W State St. | With Prokoviev’s powerful musical score, the ballet tells the story of kind-hearted but downtrodden Cinderella, who is kept in servitude by her Wicked Stepmother and Ugly Stepsisters in the house of her own dead father. Her kindness to an old beggar woman is repaid when it is revealed that the old woman is really her Fairy Godmother, and Cinderella is dressed in nery and glass slippers and sent in a beautiful Pumpkin Carriage to attend the Prince’s Ball. However, Cinderella is warned that the magic will only last until the stroke of midnight. (Photo: Provided)

Here to Vote Celebrate Achievement: Raise your glass to the visionaries and innovators whose dedication has transformed our business landscape.

GO ITHACA Open Hours | 2 p.m., 4/16 Thursday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green Street | Our program makes sustainable commuting accessible and a ordable for everyone.

Seed To Supper | 6 p.m., 4/16

Thursday | Elizabeth B Pert Library, 5736 RT-414 | Our “Seed to Supper” 5-session gardening class Continues! This workshop is focused on practical, low-cost techniques for beginners. | Free

Karaoke with Elephant Sound | 8 p.m. | 23 North Restaurant and Bar, 23 Cinema Dr. | Show o your singing chops every Thursday night during “Karaoke Night” at 23 North in Ithaca! Great food, great drinks, great FUN! | Free Light Up the Long Weekend | 10 a.m. | Royal Buds, 5 Washington St. | Join Royal Buds in the celebration of spring over the long weekend, where Adults 21+ can enjoy specials, drawings, trivia, and bonus points, along with Babe’s Burgers Food Truck on location daily from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. | Free

Spring Renewal Gong Bath | 6 p.m., 4/17 Friday | Library Place, 105 W Court Street | Spring Renewal Gong Bath at Library Place | Friday, April 17 | 6:00–7:00 p.m. | $15 advance / $20 at the door | Register online: https:// tinyurl.com/LLGongBath | $15.00$20.00

AMBA Wellness Program | 6:30 a.m., 4/18 Saturday | The Foundation of Light, 391 Turkey Hill Rd. | Low Cost Annual Lab Work | $70.00 - $135.00

New eld Green Up Day | 9 a.m.|

New eld Town Hall, 166 Main Street |

Come have fun with fellow New elders as we team up to clean up our road sides for this year’s New eld Green Up Day. | Free

Saturday Market | 9 a.m., 4/18 Saturday | Steamboat Landing, 545 3rd St. | Our Saturday Markets are now outside at the pavilion. Find us each week at Steamboat Landing. 2026 Sundae Showdown | 1 p.m., 4/19 Sunday | Ithaca Downtown Conference Center, 116 E Green St. | Two Ways to Show Up at the Sundae Showdown

America at 250: Screening “Frederick Law Olmsted: Designing America” | 6 p.m., 4/20 Monday | Cinemapolis, 120 E. Green Street | To celebrate America’s 250th birthday, WSKG, Cinemapolis, and The History Center are partnering to bring you a series of history documentary screenings and community conversations.

Barnyard Bonanza: Sheep | 4 p.m., 4/21 Tuesday | Cortland Free Library, 32 Church St. | Join our special guest, 2025 Cortland County Fair Queen Court, as they share stories, craft, and activities all about SHEEP. This program is geared towards ages 4-8. Registration is required.

Herbs for Spring Health | 6 p.m., 4/21 Tuesday | The Human Services Complex - Room 120, 323 Owego Street | Join Community Herbalist Andrea & Matthias Reisen of Healing Spirits Herb Farm & Education Center to learn how to support your health in the spring. | $15.00

Yappy Hour at The Strand Cafe | 8 a.m., 4/22 Wednesday | the strand cafe, 324 E. State St. | Welcome back to YAPPY HOUR at The Strand Cafe! Special Committee on Wrongful Discharge and Labor Protections | 6 p.m., 4/22 Wednesday | Council Chambers, 3rd Floor City Hall | 18th Annual Izzy Award Ceremony at Emerson Suites Ithaca College | 7 p.m., 4/22 Wednesday | The Izzy Award is named after maverick journalist I. F. “Izzy” Stone, who launched I. F. Stone’s Weekly in 1953 and exposed government deception, McCarthyism, and racial bigotry.

RESURREXIT!

SATURDAY, APRIL 18 AT 7:30 P.M.

306 N Aurora St. | NYS Baroque presents glorious 17th century Italian music for cornetto and voice, re ecting the power of the human spirit. Music of Monteverdi, Schutz, Cozzolani, Cazzati, and more. Pre-concert talk at 6:45 p.m. Tickets:

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When ownership transitions are rare, when local career ladders are unclear, and when institutions appear fragile, departure becomes the rational choice. But it does not have to remain that way. A different model is beginning to take shape—one that connects workforce development directly to succession planning in legacy businesses. In this model, young people are not only trained for employment but are placed on structured pathways toward stewardship and ownership. Apprenticeship becomes not an endpoint but an entry point. Work becomes not only income, but trajectory. Staying is no longer framed as limitation, but as participation in the renewal of local institutions. This requires more than encouragement. It requires systems:

• Clear succession pipelines

• Financial pathways to ownership

• Mentorship from experienced business owners

• And community recognition of local leadership as a form of success

Without these structures, aspiration leaks outward. With them, it can root.

Legacy Businesses and the Problem of Continuity

To the owners of Ithaca-based legacy

“SUPPORTING

HOSPICARE”

continued from page 10

mother and to me, and in May I will participate in Go the Distance for Hospicare, to raise funds to ensure the continuation of compassionate care for our community. For each person who donates $50+ on my fundraising page, I’ll knit a hat, headband, infinity scarf, or cowl.

From May 4 to August 8, anyone can be part of Go the Distance for Hospicare — a flexible, feel-good fundraiser where participants choose their own activities. “Bike your commute, set a personal

“NO CHOICE”

continued from page 17

might also be familiar to Ithaca residents. Edwards has over two dozen theater credits, including “Sanctuary City” at the Kitchen Theatre in 2024, while Frank was born and raised in Ithaca and plays music at regular Funk Nights hosted throughout town. Hilgartner hopes Ithaca audiences will come to support the film, which he says

businesses: you are not only participants in the local economy—you are its long memory. Your businesses carry relationships, trust, and knowledge that cannot be quickly replaced. But every business eventually faces the same question: what happens next? Too often, the answer is closure—not because the business failed, but because transition was never designed. Succession is not an event. It is a process. And without intentional pathways, even viable businesses disappear when their founders step away. What is needed now is not simply appreciation for legacy businesses, but structured intergenerational continuity:

• Early identification of potential successors

• Long-term mentorship embedded in real operations

• Gradual equity transfer models

• And community-backed systems that reduce the financial and emotional risk of transition

In this model, legacy is not preserved through nostalgia, but through design.

V. Toward a Community That Publishes Itself

If journalism is part of how a community understands itself, then the future of local media is inseparable from the future of local participation. A community that only consumes its story is dependent on

mileage goal, bake for local food kitchens, create crafts to raffle for donations, walk, swim, cook, create, or dream up something entirely your own - if you can imagine it, you can do it, all while raising crucial funds for Hospicare.”

It’s this simple: Participants create a fundraising page on the Women Swimmin’ for Hospicare website. Then you ask family, friends, neighbors and co-workers for donations to Hospicare. When we reach the end of Life, and we turn to Hospicare, we will be glad we joined others keeping Hospicare strong and available. Launched in 2020, Go the Distance for Hospicare opened the door for the entire

represents a “cry of protest.”

“I think we felt a lot of solidarity when we were working on the film, and audiences have expressed that same feeling,” he said.

“No Choice” is not only an opportunity for Tompkins County residents to see their community and Finger Lakes landscape represented on the big screen, but it’s also an exploration of many people’s fears concerning access to reproductive care in President Trump’s second term.

others to define it. A community that helps produce its story becomes responsible for it. This is the deeper promise of community publishing: not just more voices, but a more distributed sense of authorship over place itself.

In such a system:

• Local concerns surface earlier and more clearly

• Emerging leaders are visible sooner

• Business transitions become public processes, not private losses

• And the community gains a more accurate reflection of itself in real time

The role of institutions like the Ithaca Times becomes even more vital as platforms where the community’s own intelligence is gathered, shaped, and returned in usable form.

We the People as Stewards of

All of this points to a single conclusion: the future of Ithaca cannot be maintained by any one group, institution, or sector alone. It must be co-created. We the People are not only residents. We are:

• Readers who determine what sustains local journalism

• Workers who decide whether skills remain or depart

• Business owners who determine whether knowledge is transferred or lost

• Young people who decide whether ambition is rooted here or elsewhere

community to share in the heart-filling spirit of Women Swimmin’ for Hospicare, no matter how or where participants do their activities. If you want to Go the Distance, instead of joining Women Swimmin , ’ now there are so many ways we can support Hospicare!

I count on Hospicare to be there if my family and I need care in the future. Doing Go The Distance is a way I can play my part.”

For more information about Hospicare’s Women Swimmin’ and Go the Distance: Women Swimmin’ for Hospicare is

“Things are so bad, and we feel so powerless, and I can’t even begin to go into what it feels like,” Hilgartner said. But he said he hopes his film inspires some hope. “We hold onto our own sanity through collective experiences of art and catharsis and testimonies that feel like truth, even if they’re fiction.”

“No Choice” premiered at Dances with Films L.A. in 2025, where it won the Grand Jury Prize for Narrative Feature. From there, the film toured several festivals around the

• And neighbors who shape the daily economy of attention, trust, and participation

The health of a place is not abstract. It is the accumulation of these daily choices.

A Public Invitation

This is our invitation to all of Ithaca to re-enter the commons of place—not as spectators, but as participants. To readers: Contribute to the story of this place, not just its consumption. To young people: Consider pathways that lead not only to employment, but to ownership and leadership where you are. To business owners: Begin the work of succession early, deliberately, and collaboratively. To local institutions: Evolve into platforms for shared authorship, not only information delivery. And to all of us: Recognize that the resilience of Ithaca is not guaranteed by history—it is created by participation. We the People are not only the audience of this community. We are its authors, its stewards, and its successors. And what we choose to build together now will determine whether Ithaca drifts into fragmentation—or becomes an example of how a community can consciously renew itself across generations. RSVP to join in the discussion of how community publishing can thrive right here in Ithaca via email: Roy@ ithacatimes.com.

a fundraising event that supports the care which Hospicare and Palliative Care Services brings to patients and their loved ones at any stage of a life-limiting illness and/or following a death. Women Swimmin’ for Hospicare raises funds and provides information and education about the agency and its mission in a manner that is inclusive, fun, and consistent with Hospicare’s respect for all people.

Registration for Women Swimmin’ and Go the Distance opens on May 4 at 7 a.m. Women Swimmin’ will take place on Saturday, Aug. 8 at the Ithaca Yacht Club.

For more information, call Hospicare at 607-272-0212, or email info@hospicare.org.

world, including Ithaca’s third annual Reproductive Rights Film Festival, which ran at Cinemapolis in September 2025. The film is now back at Cinemapolis through Thursday, April 16. If you miss it, it’s also available to rent on Amazon Prime Video. “It’s a delight to be coming back to the community that nurtured this film, that nurtured me, that nurtured so many of the cast members and crew members,” Hilgartner said.

Don’t Let Ithaca Lose Its Storytellers

Imagine the sharpest, most passionate young journalists you’ve ever met (the ones who stay late chasing a story because they believe in this town) slowly packing their bags. Not because they want to leave… but because local rents force them out.

That’s the quiet heartbreak happening right now. Our best new writers, the ones who grew up here or fell in love with Ithaca in college, are being pushed toward cheaper cities just to survive.

The Rising Star Fund rewrites their story into a happy ending by sponsoring a simple monthly housing stipend (a hand up, never a handout) so they can keep living here, keep writing here, keep falling deeper in love with Ithaca… and keep telling the stories that make this city our home.

When a young journalist can afford to stay in Ithaca, you get:

● Fresh, fearless voices loyal to your local paper

● Someone at every city council meeting who believes local news matters

● The next great Ithaca story written by someone who actually lives here

● Your $25, $50, or $100 a month doesn’t just pay their rent.

● It keeps storytellers in our community and stops local brain drain.

● When our younger generation thrives, Ithaca’s future stays bright.

Keep local talent in Ithaca by donating today to the Rising Star Fund

(an initiative of Pathways to Equity, Inc a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization)

For more info: roy@ithacatimes.com

LansingArea PerformanceHall

AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR RENT

Stately Apartments 37 UNITS AT 110 North Corn Street Ithaca, NY 14850

Application Due: June 8, 2026

Amenities: Public transport, central air conditioning, refrigerator, dishwasher, oven, elevator, community room, laundry, storage spaces.

Income Restrictions Apply – No Application Fee – No Broker’s Fee

Applicants will not be automatically rejected based on credit or most background check info Priority admissions: Mobility disability (6 units); Hearing/Vision disability (3 units) More Information: www.ArborLeasing.org

Application Due Date: June 8, 2026

Must be postmarked June 8, 2026 by this date. Sending more than 1 application may disqualify you. How to Apply:

Online: www.ArborLeasing.org

Request Application By Phone or Email: 866-992-7267 or Bpierce@arbordevelopment.org By Mail or In-Person: Arbor Housing and Development, 26 Bridge St., Corning, NY 14830. Include your address & the name and address of the building where you want to apply. Website: HousingSearch.ny.gov

Lottery Date & Location: June 23, 2026 11am https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88375268457

The lottery will determine which applications will be reviewed for tenancy

• If you have experienced housing discrimination: https://dhr.ny.gov/journey-fair-housing or call 844-862-8703

• Learn about how your credit and background check will be individually reviewed: https://on.ny.gov/3uLNLw4

Español (Spanish)

Vivienda asequible disponible

Fecha limite de entrega de la solicitud: June 8, 2026

Debe entregarse por internet o por correo postal a más tardar en esta fecha. Si envía más de 1 solicitud podría quedar descalificado. Para Obtender La Solicitud:

Para obtener la solicitud por internet: www.ArborLeasing.org

Por telefono o email: 866-992-7267 or Bpierce@arbordevelopment.org

Por correo postal o en persona: Arbor Housing and Development, 26 Bridge St., Corning, NY 14830.

Incluya su dirección y la dirección del edificio en el que quiere presentar la solicitud.

Fecha y lugar de la loteria: June 23, 2026, 11am, https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88375268457

La lotería determinará cuáles aplicaciones se analizarán para el alquiler

中文 (Simplifed Chinese)

可提供經濟適用房

申請截止日期: June 8, 2026

請務必在此日期前線上提交申請或透過郵寄提交申請。提交超過 1 份申請將 使您失去資格

申请

欲獲得申請線上: www.ArborLeasing.org

透過電話或電子郵件: 866-992-7267 or Bpierce@arbordevelopment.org

透過郵寄或當面索取: Arbor Housing and Development, 26 Bridge St., Corning, NY 14830.

請提供您的地址和您想要申請的建築物地址

抽籤日期和地點: June 23, 2026, 11am, https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88375268457

- 將透過抽籤決定對哪些租賃申請進行審核

Governor Kathy Hochul • HCR Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas • www.hcr.gov/lotteries • NYHousingSearch.gov

Participate in Discover Cayuga Lake’s Contest, to name our “New Boat for Everyone!” The first stage of the contest, happening through April, is donation-based and invites supporters to propose a name for the boat, accompanied by a