APPELLATE COURT STRIKES DOWN STATE
SECTION 8 MANDATE PAGE 4
NEW LABOR CHARGES FILED AGAINST CAYUGA MEDICAL PAGE 5
SUNNY DAYS ANNOUNCES FALL CLOSURE OF DOWNTOWN RETAIL STORES PAGE 6
TEMPEST TO PLAY CELTIC ROCK IN LANSING PAGE 17
NEW GUIDEBOOK EXPLORES 240 MILES OF ITHACA TRAILS PAGE 19
By Philip O’Dell
Ithaca Fire Department As-
sistant Chief Jared Gebel was elevated to the position of deputy chief on March 31, according to the City of Ithaca.
Gebel has served IFD for 22 years in roles that included municipal training officer, D Shift commander and lieutenant prior to his promotions to assistant chief and deputy chief, according to the city.
IFD Chief Michael Moody praised Gebel for his leadership and professionalism, noting his steadfast commitment to the department. Moody said Gebel prioritizes operational excellence, department improvements and professional growth
of firefighters.
“His dedication to training and his knowledge of fire department operations make him well suited for this position,” Moody said.
According to the city, Gebel will strengthen IFD operations and support his fellow firefighters while advancing the department’s mission.
The city’s website says IFD delivers all-hazards emergency services to a 32-squaremile district comprising the city and most of the Town of Ithaca. The department serves about 85,000 residents and manages around 6,000 calls per year.
By Lorien Tyne
City of Ithaca Mayor Rob Cantelmo spoke in support of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed FY27 New York state budget during an event on April 3 in Johnson City, New York.
Hochul visited the Southern Tier to promote her agenda focused on affordability, housing and support for working families. Her proposed budget will allow the state to build more housing, lower the costs of auto insurance, work toward universal child care, and prioritize energy affordability, according to a press release from Hochul’s office.
In Cantelmo’s speech, he highlighted how critical the state budget is in addressing local and statewide challenges, such as housing, which is one of Ithaca’s priorities. He also noted that rising housing and living costs are a driving cause of population loss across the state.
“Housing is perhaps the most critical public policy challenge of our time,” Cantelmo said. “Our fundamental needs, our safety, health, and well-being, are inextricably tied to housing.”
Cantelmo praised Hochul’s proposed budget for its investment in housing production and preservation, which he said aligns closely with Ithaca’s own housing goals. He also highlighted the budget’s near billion-dollar investment in water and wastewater infrastructure, additional Aid and Incentives for Municipalities (AIM) funding to support essential local services, and other items.
“It’s time for the Legislature to listen to us back home in their districts,” Cantelmo said. “Let’s put an end to inaction. Let’s invest in all of New York. Let’s treat this moment with the urgency it deserves.”
Cantelmo and Hochul both urged the Legislature to move the budget forward swiftly in order to deliver immediate and long-term relief to state residents.
“New Yorkers know all too well that the cost of daily necessities are just too damn high, and it is time that we deliver a budget that makes this state more affordable and livable,” Hochul said.
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By Mark Syvertson QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
“I’M GOING ON A BIRDING TRIP TO TEXAS SOON. WHAT’S SOMETHING YOU’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO?”
NOTE: If readers wish to participate in the Ithaca Times’ Inquiring Photographer column, contact Mark Syvertson at marksyvertsonphotography@gmail.com
By Philip O’Dell
New York state appellate judges on March 5 declared the state’s source-of-income discrimination law unconstitutional, siding with an Ithaca landlord who argued Section 8 mandates lead to illegal warrantless inspections.
A five-judge panel of the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division issued the ruling in Attorney General Letitia James’ challenge against owner Commons West, following oral arguments on Jan. 8.
In October 2022, the state filed suit against local landlord Jason Fane, Ithaca Renting Company, and Commons West for allegedly denying housing to lowincome tenants. The suit says Fane and Ithaca Renting refused to accept Section 8 vouchers from renters at his properties, violating the state’s 2019 source-of-income discrimination law.
According to the March 5 ruling, the judges focused on two rulings issued by the Tompkins County Supreme Court. The first, handed down in June 2023, dismissed James’ lawsuit. The second, a more far-reaching decision from December 2024, saw Justice Mark Masler strike down the 2019 law requiring landlords to accept Section 8 vouchers, declaring the law unconstitutional.
In the March 5 decision, New York Supreme Court Justice Andrew Ceresia wrote the court acknowledged New York faces a housing affordability crisis and Section 8 seeks to address it. The ruling noted the state Legislature passed the 2019 law to remove barriers for residents relying on vouchers. While the justices described the state’s efforts to expand housing access as
“laudable,” they maintained that the law’s methods conflicted with Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.
“Nonetheless, as a consequence of this law, landlords are now forced to consent to governmental searches of their rental properties and records,” Ceresia wrote.
“Given that, for the reasons that follow, the source-of-income discrimination law violates landlords’ Fourth Amendment rights to be free from unlawful searches, we are constrained to conclude that the law is unconstitutional on its face.”
In a March 5 statement on the decision, James said her office is reviewing the judges’ ruling.
“Every New Yorker deserves access to safe and dignified housing regardless of their income or background. Housing vouchers help thousands of New Yorkers stay in their homes, make ends meet, and raise their families,” James said. “My office has always fought to protect New Yorkers’ right to housing. We are reviewing today’s decision.”
In 2019, New York amended its State Human Rights Law, prohibiting housing discrimination based on a person’s lawful source of income. It includes all forms of lawful income, including government housing assistance, Social Security, child support, alimony, and foster care subsidies. The law holds property owners, brokers, realtors and management companies accountable for discrimination across most housing types, excluding owner-occupied two-family homes, single-sex room rentals, and senior housing.
Two prospective tenants filed complaints alleging Commons West in 2020, against the firm refused to rent to them because they used Section 8 housing vouchers, according to the March 5 decision. Following an investigation, the state sued the property owners, claiming the refusals violated New York law prohibiting housing discrimination based on a person’s source of income.
The state’s lawsuit aimed to bar Fane from denying housing to Section 8 voucher holders and requested $300,000 in civil penalties. The lawsuit also called for mandatory reforms to employee training and policies, as well as a requirement that Fane reserve 5% of his residential units for
voucher recipients.
The March 5 decision says property owners moved to dismiss the state’s lawsuit, arguing that the source-of-income law was unconstitutional. They argued forcing landlords to accept Section 8 vouchers and requiring consent to warrantless property and records searches violated their constitutional rights against unreasonable search and seizures.
The decision says state officials countered that any alleged harm was speculative and argued that required inspections did not violate constitutional protections. The state argued the Fourth Amendment claim was invalid because the housing law does not explicitly authorize warrantless searches.
The five-judge panel rejected the state’s argument, citing Sokolov v. Village of Freeport, which established that laws are unconstitutional if they indirectly force property owners to waive their rights to obtain a benefit. The justices noted that while the state law itself does not mandate inspections, it effectively compels them by requiring participation in the Section 8 program. The court also cited ATM One, LLC v. Incorporated Village of Hempstead and Town of Brookhaven v. Ronkoma Realty Corp. to support its conclusion that the program’s requirements for government access to premises and records create an unconstitutional burden on landlords.
The attorney general’s office has 30 days to file a notice of appeal or a motion for leave to appeal following the ruling. If the state decides to move forward, the case would head to the New York Court of Appeals in Albany, the state's highest court. James, acting on behalf of the state, would seek to have the high court overturn the appellate decision that struck down the housing mandate.
By Mikayla Rovenolt
On the morning of April 1, the Dryden Fire Department responded to a residential structure re at 321 Cortland Road on Route 13. ree residents died at the scene.
At approximately 10 a.m., Dryden re ghters were dispatched to a reported house re with possible occupants trapped inside. Upon arrival, Dryden Fire Chief Pete Tyler con rmed a working re and requested a second alarm assignment.
In a press release, Chief Tyler said crews found the home engulfed in ames, fueled by strong wind conditions pushing the re throughout the structure. Conditions rapidly deteriorated, and all interior crews had to be evacuated.
Chief Tyler said re ghters battled the re for several hours before they were able to return to interior operations. Fire ghters later located the victims inside the residence. Due to the amount of re load, various additional departments were added to the call assignment for tanker
operations and manpower.
Christy M. Oralls, 30, Paisley M. Wood, 3, and Katherine F. Gray, 31, died in the re, according to a release by the Tompkins County Sheri ’s O ce.
Another resident family member, David Welch, 54, was transported to Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse and is in stable condition, according to the sheri ’s department. Welch rents the property with his wife, who was not at home at the time of the re. eir niece, Ms. Oralls, and her daughter, Paisley, resided with them. Gray, another niece, was visiting the residence from Whitney Point, New York.
e sheri ’s department also suspected that four pet dogs died in the re, but only one has been located. Sheri Derek Osborne said the cause of the re is currently unknown and said they will continue to investigate the cause and origin of the re alongside NYS Fire Investigators.
A Tompkins County Siren Alert was sent to notify residents that Route 13 would be closed for several hours.
By Lorien Tyne
The Communications Workers of America (CWA) union announced on April 6 that it has led new charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Cayuga Medical Center (CMC) for violating federal labor law and the rights of unionized CMC nurses.
In an NLRB election in January, the CMC nurses union, Cayuga United-CWA, voted 82% in favor to authorize CWA as their union. e union represents more than 350 registered nurses at CMC. e union campaign started in response to alleged short-sta ng and poor working conditions that nurses say is compromising patient care and worker safety. In the charges led with the NLRB, CWA alleges that CMC management used surveillance cameras to track a nurse distributing union yers and threatened her for doing so, according to a CWA press release. CWA also claims that CMC management reprimanded a nurse for
e Tompkins County Sheri ’s O ce and the New York State O ce of Fire Prevention and Control (OFPC) responded and were on scene, conducting a joint investigation into the cause and origin of the re. No additional information is available at this time.
Chief Tyler expressed condolences on behalf of the department. e Tompkins County Sheri ’s Department also expressed their condolences to the family.
Continued on Page 18
The Ithaca Farmers Market began its outdoor season on April 4 at Steamboat Landing. The market will be open rain or shine through Dec. 19. Through April, the market is open each Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Starting in May, two additional weekly market days will be added to the schedule.
After last week’s heavy rainfall that overwhelmed some local stormwater systems, Ithaca’s city o cials are urging residents to be cautious as waterways continue to uctuate. O cials have reminded homeowners to check sump pumps and ensure water is directed away from foundations. Any issues such as ooding concerns or blocked drains should be reported swiftly so crews can respond.
The 2026 Ithaca Festival Parade has been scheduled for May 28 with the theme “Downtown Disco.” Applications are open to enter a oat in the festival or sign up as a volunteer. Organizers encourage electric vehicle owners to drive their car in the parade.
discussing the union and retaliated against another nurse by interfering with their outside employment.
A CMC spokesperson told the Ithaca Times that these claims mischaracterize the position and actions of CMC management.
“It is disappointing to see the latest unfair labor practice (ULP) charges led by the Communications Workers of America (CWA), as we have been actively discussing these same topics with union representatives in just the last week,” the spokesperson said. “Cayuga Health denies the allegations and objects to the union’s characterization which does not re ect the ongoing dialogue.”
CWA said the East Campus Cancer Center was closed without notice to the union or the opportunity to bargain. A CMC spokesperson said that while patients continue to be treated at the East Campus location, the center is undergoing an assessment regarding services. is assessment includes starting conversations with CWA representatives about the labor impact to
Ithaca’s rst responders were dispatched on March 31 to a report of a suspicious device on the sidewalk of East Green Street. Fire ghters analyzed the device and determined there was no known threat. The device was turned over to the Endicott Police Department Bomb Squad. Ithaca Police are investigating the incident.
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.”
that site, which occurred last week.
In the press release, CWA states that the nurses overcame a “union-busting campaign run by hired consultants.” Prior to the NLRB election, CWA led two charges against Cayuga Health Systems regarding interrogation and coercive statements against unionizing e orts. One case was dismissed and the second was withdrawn.
A CMC spokesperson said that the withdrawn case was an isolated incident that was immediately addressed.
“As we follow the appropriate processes for these latest charges, Cayuga Health remains committed to working in good
Have you seen a local concert in the last month? 32.1% Yes.
No.
EXT W EEK ’S Q UESTION : Should municipalities in Tompkins County revise zoning laws to limit data center development? Visit ithaca.com to submit your response. Continued on Page 19
By Philip O’Dell
After a 12-year run, Sunny Days of Ithaca announced its storefront will close on Sept. 8, following rising debt, staff reductions and post-pandemic economic shifts.
In a March 23 Facebook post, Sunny Days owners determined the store’s final day following discussions with the landlord, Travis Hyde Properties.
“We appreciate each and every one of our customers and want to give you this notice as soon as possible,” the post says. “Much more to follow as we finish this off and the sun sets on Sunny Days of Ithaca’s brick and mortar Mom & Pop shop.”
To mark its 12th and final anniversary at 171 E. State St., Sunny Days celebrated with a 12% discount for customers on April 1. The owners urged patrons to redeem outstanding gift certificates and rewards points before its fall closure.
The souvenir and gift shop includes locally made crafts, puzzles, playing cards, games, and Finger Lakes-themed apparel,
including “Ithaca is Gorges” t-shirts.
Sunny Days announced it will transition to online sales and custom print production going forward.
In a Jan. 26 Facebook post, owner Deirdre Kurzweil announced Sunny Days of Ithaca laid off its remaining staff, leaving her and her husband, Todd, as the store's sole operators. The workforce that peaked at 10 employees had dwindled over the last two years due to post-pandemic economic shifts, mounting debt, and declining foot traffic on the Commons.
Facing these financial pressures, Kurzweil noted the uncertainty of the shop's future, stating she could not promise the business would remain open through the end of the year.
Kurzweil previously cited online shopping, downtown construction, and the city of Ithaca’s increased parking rates as customer deterrents. Regarding public safety concerns, Kurzweil said attempted break-ins forced the owners to board up alleyway entrances with plywood to protect the building.
Kurzweil said the store’s debt increased, driven primarily by federal COVID-19 pandemic relief loans. To finance its onsite apparel production and remedy operational challenges, the company secured additional funds that added to its total debt.
Following a 20% sales decline around November 2025, the shop struggled to regain its financial footing, prompting Kurzweil to halt any additional borrowing.
To offset financial pressures, the shop shifted its focus toward custom apparel production, a transition sparked when the pandemic-era closure of T-Shirt Express left a void in the local market.
At the urging of former owners Abdul and Emma Lou Sheikh to keep “Ithaca is Gorges” merchandise available, Sunny Days hired one of their employees to teach the trade to staff members. Kurzweil said apparel production became a full-scale service for local bands, schools, and small businesses.
Kurzweil previously said she is heartbroken over the recent wave of neighboring business closures that have now hit her store.
A two-year analysis of Ithaca’s retail market commissioned by the City of Itha-
ca and Downtown Ithaca Alliance in 2023 revealed further insights into this trend. The study showed that declining foot traffic on the Commons, alongside perceived safety risks, were pushing the downtown retail landscape to a breaking point. Commons foot traffic has declined 12.5% from pre-pandemic levels (2018-2019) and 6.3% from 2024 to 2025. The median household income of these visitors has also gradually declined, according to the study.
As part of the study, MJB Consulting President Mike Berne advised public perceptions of downtown Ithaca must change for businesses to thrive on the Commons.
Berne shared early suggestions from his study, including a push to fill downtown with a specific mix of craft stores, bookstores, and vintage boutiques, alongside cafes and wine bars. To achieve this, landlords and brokers need more help finding and attracting businesses that fit this goal. He advised creating marketing plans that promote Ithaca as a top regional arts destination. He also encouraged collaboration amongst local creators, art galleries and theaters.
The Talk at
By Ithaca Times Readers
RE: Council Advances $75K Homeland Security Grant
“I strongly urge that City Council vote against accepting a $75,000 “gift horse” of weaponry offered by Homeland Security, as reported in the Ithaca Times.
Accepting SWAT-style military equipment and training will lead to the further militarization of the Ithaca police, runs counter to our efforts at community policing, and exacts unacceptable reporting conditions on the City. I’d say the same thing if it were $750,000.
Let our lives speak! We cannot sell our City’s soul for 30 pieces of silver.” — Garry Thomas, Ithaca NY
New York Must Safeguard Against Voter Intimidation
“Free and fair elections depend on voters feeling safe and confident at the polls. New York State has long upheld
that standard, but gaps remain when it comes to the potential for unlawful federal interference at polling places.
Federal law already prohibits armed federal personnel from polling sites and bars interference with voting. However, enforcement depends on federal authorities. A model proposal from the Brennan Center for Justice (available at https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/policy-solutions/modelbill-state-accountability-federal-interferencepolling-places) would allow New York State to establish parallel state protections—ensuring accountability no matter which political party controls the federal government.
State legislation would create penalties for the unlawful presence of armed federal personnel at polling places, prohibit intimidation of voters and election workers, and prevent misuse of official authority to influence election outcomes. It would also empower voters, election officials, and the state attorney general to act quickly to stop violations.
This is not about partisanship—it is about safeguarding the rule of law and public trust in elections. The New York State Assembly and Senate should act now to pass legislation to ensure polling places remain free from coercion, confusion, or fear.” — Natalie Friend, Ithaca
Laura C. Kamp, Ithaca
Rebecca Lesses, Ithaca
Louise Mygatt, Ithaca
Ann Reichlin, Ithaca
Bill Rosenthal, Brooktondale
Joseph Shedd, Ithaca
Risa Sokolosky, Enfield
Sue Stein, Dryden
Gail Steinhart, Ithaca
Lynn Thitchener, Ithaca
“Mr. Henry Kramer's recent letter chastising the Dryden Town Board for banning data & crypto mining centers omits any description of what was a praise-worthy exercise in local democracy. The Board's decision was taken after 20+ months of open and public debate. During this time, the Town’s Planning Department, its Zoning Board of Appeal, several non-partisan advisory boards, the independent Planning Board and many Town residents weighed in during multiple open, public meetings. Many viewpoints and much credible information was shared among these groups and with the Town Board. The conclusion reached by the Board: that such operations as currently constituted would on balance negatively affect the Town's residents by further compromising our environment, further increasing our already high utility costs and contradicting our recently updated comprehensive plan without providing any discernible benefit demonstrates just how conscientious and diligent communityminded public servants backed by engaged citizens can make wise decisions the American way.” — Joseph Wilson, Ithaca NY
“I believe that evidence-based factuality, transparency, and openness are the foundations of successful local
governance and community management. I am also quite proud of the school system, and I think it is only right to hold it and the community to a high standard of procedural, personal, and outcome excellence. That being clear, I think it obvious that there is much more of this matter that is not publicly available that we need to know if we want to understand what has been and is actually going on. The community can make up its own mind with the facts, and the Superintendent has a procedural and ethical responsibility to clarify the precise details of this resignation-spawning conflict to the community. One would expect this communication to be thorough and detailed to the satisfaction of the whole community, and not simply to that of any single person, no matter their position on the Board. Barring this, serious consideration needs to be given to new board and district leadership.” — Kevin Caffrey, Ithaca.com
“Pettogroso is the most inept chair and superintendent in the county if not the state. The three board members were prepared to resign but they were not able to communicate their resignations and reasons behind them. But they were expected to contribute to a quorum and provide their board reports? Ridiculous.” — Steven Jones, Ithaca.com
“One can only hope that the residents sue the County and the City with this money for their unmitigated incompetence in providing a safe living environment.
Continued on Page 25
By Charley Githler, Tompkins County Historian
This year, our country commemorates the 250th anniversary of the adoption by the Second Continental Congress of the Declaration of Independence. It’s been called our nation’s birth certificate — the first official document to use the name “United States of America” publicly, and the first to speak in the unanimous voice of the thirteen states.
It’s hard to convey from this remove what a radical document it was. Before July 1776, no single “people” had announced their desire for “the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them” with such a declaration. As a practical act of secession, it has inspired scores of similar declarations of independence and self-government in the past two and a half centuries.
It was also a statement of ideals. The Declaration of Independence is a foundational, inspirational document that any American can quote as saying that all men are created equal with unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. As such, it has also inspired a different type of document — a declaration of rights — perhaps most significantly Revolutionary France’s Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
Adopted by France’s National Constituent Assembly on August 26, 1789, in the early weeks of the French Revolution, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was that revolution’s foundational document and a text outlining universal rights. Like the Declaration of Independence 13 years earlier, it is rooted in Enlightenment principles like natural rights, equality, liberty, and the social contract. Initially drafted by the Marquis de Lafayette with assistance from Thomas Jefferson (at that time the American envoy to France), the final draft was presented by Abbé Sieyès. Its focus on natural, universal rights directly mirrors the Declaration of Independence.
While the American document also focused on separating from Britain, both declarations served as a framework for establishing a new social order. Concepts like democracy, fair taxation, liberty, equality, and the pursuit of happiness were evident in both. It should be noted that both documents were radical but also limited, as neither initially included rights for women, enslaved people, or those without property. What follows is the full text of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, reflecting the influence of the Enlightenment ideals contained in the Declaration of Independence: Approved by the National Assembly of France, August 26, 1789
The representatives of the French people, organized as a National Assembly, believing that the ignorance, neglect, or contempt of the rights of man are the sole cause of public calamities and of the corruption of governments, have determined to set forth in a solemn declaration the natural, unalienable, and sacred rights of man, in order that this declaration, being constantly before all the members of the Social body, shall remind them continually of their rights and duties; in order that the acts of the legislative power, as well as those of the executive power, may be compared at any moment with the objects and purposes of all political institutions and may thus be more respected, and, lastly, in order that the grievances of the citizens, based hereafter upon simple and incontestable principles, shall tend to the maintenance of the constitution and redound to the happiness of all. Therefore the National Assembly recognizes and proclaims, in the presence and under the auspices of the Supreme Being, the following rights of man and of the citizen:
Articles:
1. Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good.
Continued on Page 25
By Stephen Burke
Derek English of the Ithaca Health Alliance was leading a training about naloxone, better known by the trade name Narcan. It is a medication used to reverse the effects of overdoses of opioids: heroin, fentanyl, and prescription drugs such as oxycodone.
The training was held at Ithaca Community Recovery in its spacious, landmark building for meetings and activities of the recovery community. It is located at 518 W. Seneca Street, across the street from the Health Alliance.
The training was not for a workplace or organization, but open to the public. English didn’t know the attendees and asked a question of the group, which numbered eight.
“Does anyone know anyone who has died of an overdose?” English asked.
Seven of the eight raised their hands. Maybe the eighth didn’t hear the question, or maybe never speculated about what “died unexpectedly” might sometimes mean in obituaries.
The overdose victim has gone beyond the stereotype of a strung-out junkie in an alley shooting up with a needle. There are now fewer overdose deaths from heroin than fentanyl, a synthetic drug that is much cheaper to produce than heroin, much stronger, and much easier to furtively manufacture, transport, sell and use.
“Fentanyl has been found pretty much everywhere,” English said. “It’s pretty easily available to cartels and drug dealers and a little bit goes a long way, so they cut it into cocaine and lace weed with it” for added potency. Users are unable to determine an opioid mix.
Pills are also a problem. In the past few decades, hundreds of thousands of people have overdosed with prescription opioids criminally misrepresented as non-addictive in pharmaceutical industry marketing and distribution. Many overdosed on the pills; others became addicted and sought out other opioids, such as fentanyl, from other criminal sources when prescriptions ran out.
“An overlooked overdose population is people who are taking prescribed pain medication,” English said, “and are maybe opiate naive and take more than they should. It’s possible they may overdose and never
have been in a drug addiction scenario.”
Sometimes drug users might be aware of the dangers of opioids, but go undeterred.
“People are always going to be people,” English said of recreational drug users. “Legislation won’t stop them, and neither will negative consequences. They might not be ready to get sober, but they don’t want to die.” With Narcan administration, he said, “We’re trying to get them to stay alive long enough to recover.”
English is a licensed certified trainer, but such designation is no longer necessary to obtain or administer Narcan. It’s a great development, English said: Anyone can do it.
Narcan comes as a nasal spray in a tube smaller than a pinky. Each container has a single treatment. One treatment — one spray - will temporarily reverse an opioid overdose.
“It pushes opioids off receptors,” English said, “but it doesn’t destroy the opiate, or rid the body of it,” so 911 should be called. If signs of the overdose return in the next few minutes - labored breathing, nodding, bluish color - a second dose should be given in the other nostril.
It is a simple, easy process, protected by Good Samaritan laws. Narcan is safe and harmless and has no effect on anyone not overdosing on opioids. It is safe for a pregnant woman or a person of any age.
“There’s been a shift toward harm reduction in the past few years,” English said, leading to wider availability of Narcan, and familiarity with it.
Awareness of the opioid epidemic reduces the stigma that can be attached to drug use. English called stigma “the enemy of recovery.” He spoke of the importance of “making recovery a normalized thing.” He is in recovery himself.
“I can recall the harm I did to myself, to my family,” he said. “An overdose stops more than one heart.”
An attendee of the meeting spoke, presumably first-hand, of “the joy of staying alive to discover the magnificence of recovery.”
Free, open Narcan trainings are given at the Tompkins County Public Library on the first Wednesday of each month from 4 to 5 p.m. by the REACH Project (Respectful, Equitable Access to Compassionate Healthcare), a “nonprofit, low-threshold, harm-reduction medical practice” in Ithaca.
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 Geraldine Ferraro — the first female vice-presidential nominee of a major U.S. political party, running with Walter Mondale in 1984; and, former New York elected member of the US House of Representatives.
Vice-Presidential Acceptance Speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, California — July 19, 1984 by United States Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro
My name is Geraldine Ferraro, and I stand before you to proclaim tonight: America is the land where dreams can come true for all our citizens. As I stand before the American people and think of the honor this great convention has bestowed upon me I recall the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 1 who made America stronger by making America more free.
He said: “Occasionally, there are moments which cannot be completely explained by words. Their meaning can only be articulated by the inaudible language of the heart.”
Tonight is such a moment for me. My heart is filled with pride. My fellow citizens, I proudly accept your nomination to run for Vice President of the United States. And I am proud to run with a man who will be one of the great Presidents of this century, Walter F. Mondale. Tonight, the daughter of a woman whose highest goal was a future for her children talks to our nation’s oldest party about a future for us all. Tonight, the daughter of working Americans tells all Americans that the future is within our reach — if we’re willing to reach for it.
Tonight, the daughter of an immigrant from Italy has. been chosen to run for Vice President in the new land my father came to love. Our faith that we can shape a better future is what the American dream is all about. The promise of our country is that the rules are fair. And if you work hard and play by the rules, you can earn your share of America’ s blessings. Those are the beliefs learned from
my parents. And those are the values I taught my students as a teacher in the public schools of New York.
At night, I went to law school. I became an assistant District Attorney, and I put my share of criminals behind bars. Because I believe: if you obey the law, you should be protected. But if you break the law, you should pay for your crime. When I first ran for Congress, all the political expert!: said a woman could not win in my home district of Queens. But I put my faith in the people and the values that we shared. And together, we proved the political experts wrong. In this campaign, Fritz Mondale and I have put our faith in the people. And we are going to prove the experts wrong again. We are going to win, because Americans across this country believe in the same basic dream.
Last week, I visited Elmore, Minnesota, the small town where Fritz Mondale was raised, And soon Fritz and Joan will visit our family in Queens. Nine hundred people live in Elmore. In Queens, there are 2,000 people on one block. You would think we would be different, but we're not. Children walk to school in Elmore past grain elevators; in Queens, they pass by subway stops. But, no matter '“here they live, their future depends on education — and their parents are willing to do their part to make those schools as good as they can be. In Elmore, there are family farms; in Queens, small businesses. But the men and women who run them all take pride in supporting their families through hard work and initiative.
On the Fourth of July in Elmore, they hang the flags out on Main Street; in Queens, they fly them over Grand Avenue. But all of us love our country, and stand ready to defend the freedom that it represents. Americans everywhere
want to live by the same set of rules. But under this Administration, the rules are rigged against too many of our people. It isn't right that every year, the share of taxes paid by individual citizens is going up, while the share paid by large corporations is getting smaller and smaller .
The rules say: everyone in our society should contribute their fair share. It isn’t right that this year Ronald Reagan will hand the American people a bill for interest on the national debt that is larger than the entire cost of the federal government under John F. Kennedy. Our parents left us a growing economy,
The rules say: we must not leave our kids a mountain of debt. It isn't right that a woman should get paid 59 cents on the dollar for the same work as a man. Because if you play by the rules, you deserve a fair day’s pay for a fair day's work. It isn't right that– if trends continue– by the year 2000 nearly all of the poor people in America will be women and children.
The rules of a decent society say, when you distribute sacrifice in times of austerity, you don’t put women and children first. It isn’t right that young people today fear that they won’t get the Social Security they paid for, and that older Americans fear that they will lose what they have already earned. Social Security is a contract between the last generation and the next, and the rules say: you don’t break contracts.
We’re going to keep faith with older Americans. We hammered out a fair compromise in the Congress to save Social Security. Every group sacrificed to keep the system sound. It is time Ronald Reagan stopped scaring our senior citizens. It isn't right that young couples question whether to bring children into a world of 50 000 nuclear warheads. That isn’t the vision for which Americans have struggled for more than two centuries. And our future doesn't have to be that way. For change is in the air just as surely as when John F. Kennedy beckoned America to a new frontier, when Sally Ride rocketed into space, and when the descendent of slaves, Reverend Jesse Jackson, ran for the high office of President of the United States.
By choosing an American woman to run for our nation’ s second highest office, you send a powerful signal to all Americans. There are no doors we cannot unlock. We place no limit on achievement. If we can do this, we can do anything. Tonight,
we reclaim our dream. We’re going to make the rules of American life work fairly for all Americans again.
To an Administration that would have us debate all over again whether the Voting Rights Act should be renewed and whether segregated schools should be tax exempt, we say, Mr. President: Those debates are over. On the issue of civil and voting rights and affirmative action for minorities, we must not go backwards. We must — and we will — move forward to open the doors of opportunity. To those who understand that our country cannot prosper unless we draw on the talents of all Americans, we say: We will pass the Equal Rights Amendment. The issue is not what America can do for women, but what women can do for America.
To the Americans who will lead our country into the 21st century, we say: we will not have a Supreme Court that turns the clock back to the 19th century. To those concerned about the strength of family values, as I am, I say: we are going to restore those values — love, caring, partnership by including, and not excluding, those whose beliefs differ from our own. Because our own faith is strong, we will fight to preserve the freedom of faith for others. To those working Americans who fear that banks, and utilities, and large special interests have a lock on the White House today, we say: Join us; let’s elect a people’s president; and let's have government by the people.
To an Administration that would savage student loans and education at the dawn of a new technological age, we say: you fit the classic definition of a cynic: you know the price of everything, but the value of nothing.
To our students and their parents, we say: we will insist on the highest standards of excellence because the jobs. of the future require skilled minds as well as hands. To young Americans who may be called to our country’s service, we say: We Know your generation of Americans will proudly answer our country’s call, as each generation before you.
This past year, we remembered the bravery and sacrifice of Americans at Normandy. And we finally paid tribute as we should have done years ago to that
By Steve Lawrence
In many towns, having both the boys’ and girls’ varsity lacrosse teams undefeated 5 weeks into the station would be big news. In Ithaca, it is... well... business as usual.
I will profile both teams eventually, but this week’s column will take a look at the Ithaca High girls’ team. Of course, any programs enjoying such sustained excellence owe a lot to their developmental leagues, so I called one of the coaches who has spent a few thousand hours on the sidelines of lacrosse games (and just as many at a hockey rink).
Tyler “TR” Wagenet is the parent of one of the Little Red’s seniors, and he told me that the players have to work a little harder, given the team “is down a bit.” Asked to clarify, TR explained that the program sent four players to play in the collegiate ranks, and they all left some big cleats to fill. Ella Thromforde is playing at Stanford, Reese MontivereCole has taken her game to Flagler, Olivia Frazier is at Flagler and Eleni Switzer suits up for Niagara. I would list the former Little Red players currently active in NCAA play, but that would take up too much space.)
TR said, “Megan (his wife, who played lacrosse at Ithaca College and is a Physical Therapist by trade) and I have been involved with girls’ lacrosse since Natalie was 4, and she is now a senior.” He listed a number of other dedicated parents and coaches who have worked tirelessly “to build the foundation for girls’ lacrosse in Ithaca.” He said “so many people want to jump in and help out. We have an incredible core of people supporting these girls from youth leagues (operated by the Ithaca Youth Bureau) up through travel and high school teams.”
Gen Meredith is one of those “jump in and help out” parents (she’s Taylor Kerber’s mom), and I asked her how she and fellow lax mom Mandy Briegle came to take the reins of the Ithaca Lacrosse Club, which is in her words, “Little kids’ lacrosse.” Gen got involved 4 years ago, after watching the incredible efforts put forth by lacrosse parents like Megan Wagenet, Julie Bakos, Alyssa Fontaine and B.J. Bliss. In Gen’s words, “They were moving
up with their kids, and I had been so amazed to see how the dedication they brought to developing these kids, so I decided to pay it forward.” She added, “For the past 4 years, Mandy Breigle has been my ‘partner in development,’ so to speak.” Gen also expressed her gratitude to the staff at the Youth Bureau, praising the agency’s commitment to keeping the costs low, and to accessibility and inclusivity. In her words, “They really are a testament to the consistently strong development of lacrosse in Ithaca.”
Last season was a memorable one, as the Little Red went to the NYS Final Four for the first time in program history. The team has chosen three captains this year — Taylor Kerber, Kate Thomas and Skye Lee-Byrnes — and as stated, the team is undefeated thus far. (Among the four wins was a 7-5 victory over arch-rival Corning.)
I spoke with one of the team’s most productive players, senior Natalie Wagenet. Wagenet — who plays attack in lacrosse and defense in hockey — and I asked her how much time athletes have between their winter and spring sports. She replied, “I had about 3 weeks off, and that feels like a perfect amount of time.”
I also brought up the number of players who have lit the path to play at the next level, and she said, “All of those girls have been great role models, and she shared how exciting it was when Shea Baker, who graduated from Ithaca High in 2022 and helped Boston College win the national title in 2024, “brought the national championship trophy to my house!”
Natalie also stated how excited she is for her next step, which will be to play lacrosse at SUNY Brockport. She will find it strange to have the summer off, as she has been traveling to Syracuse to play for the Salt City Snipers for the past three seasons, but she will be sure to do what it takes to be ready to play fall lacrosse at Brockport.
Other Little Red players who have committed to play collegiate lacrosse are: Taylor Kerber (Lemoyne), Emma Bakos (Ithaca College), Skye Lee-Byrnes (Oberlin), Bay Aittama (Johnson and Wales) and Sage Bliss (University of Albany).
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)
By Mikayla Rovenolt
The first Ithaca D.I.Y. Fest will celebrate local bands in a threeday music extravaganza across Downtown Ithaca venues. Over 80 indie artists, ranging from rock to folk to hip hop, will perform April 10, 11 and 12 at venues including the Nocturnal Cafe, K-HOUSE, Angry Mom Records, Bernie Milton Pavilion, and TreeHouse Studio & Lounge. Performances begin at 12 p.m. and go past midnight, depending on the venue.
Drawing inspiration from South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, and his involvement in the local music scene, organizer Dominick Petrucci said he wanted to create a festival inclusive of as many locally connected bands as possible.
“I remember there being a flyer that I opened up that said ‘Austin is your playground,’ and I was like, ‘What if Ithaca was our playground for a festival?’” Petrucci said. “We have multiple stages downtown. I had a bill
that I was putting together and organizing on one of the last days of last semester that a lot of people wanted to be on, but could only accept four people, so I sort of just had the question in my mind of, ‘What if there was a bill where you said yes to everyone? How would that even work? Is that even possible? All of those ideas sort of fused into the D.I.Y. Fest.”
Petrucci is an Ithaca College senior and president of the IC student organization Unknown Stage, one of the groups organiz-
ing D.I.Y. Fest. Other groups involved in the planning include Fanclub Collective, Practice At, Ithaca Underground, and Electric Buffalo Records.
“The planning process has been very D.I.Y.,” Petrucci said. “On the top of the poster, you see that there’s a million different organizations listed and [...] it helped us alleviate some organizational aspects. Normally one organization runs the show, so it’s been very nice working with so many organizations.”
Festival organizers say Ithaca’s music scene is experiencing a “golden age.”(Photo: Mark Syvertson/Ithaca Times)
To play at the festival, bands have to be connected to the D.I.Y. scene and or have previously performed in Ithaca. Petrucci said they do not have to be from Ithaca but have to have performed here at some point. He said he wanted to make a home for artists that did not qualify for local music events such as Porchfest or Grassroots.
bands, and also that Ithaca College, Cornell and the downtown are all intertwined, and there’s a lineage of bands from elsewhere that come to play in Ithaca.”
“The proof of what we’re doing is in the people who feel changed afterwards, who feel inspired to take action in their own life.”
—
Michael Malachi (Overpade), D.I.Y. Fest headliner
While D.I.Y. itself is a theme for the event, Petrucci added that community is central to its mission. Wallace Petruziello, an Ithaca College graduate who’s the lead singer and guitarist of indie rock band Little Slicer, echoed that sentiment.
“I think the most important thing is that it’s just really symbolic of how powerful the Ithaca music scene has become,” Petruziello said. “It was really not that long ago, as recently as 2022, where there just really was nothing in Ithaca. There were, on the Ithaca College side of things, maybe three or four bands, and none of them were really playing shows consistently until summer or fall of 2022. It’s great to see that there's a festival of over 50
Little Slicer, which started at Ithaca College, will headline Saturday night’s shows at the Nocturnal Cafe. Petruziello, who’s played in bands dating back to 2019, said that although the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the local music scene, the scene is starting to “grow back.”
“I think it’s a really great opportunity to showcase that to the greater Ithaca area and to the more regional circuit of D.I.Y. music,” Petruziello said. “It was a thing in the 2010s, but it really got off with COVID, and compared to other college towns and other cities, it took a lot longer for Ithaca’s scene to grow back.”
Michael Malachi, who releases and performs music as Overpade, will headline D.I.Y. Fest with a solo set on Saturday night and another on Sunday night with Cornell band Good Head. Malachi is a solo artist who collaborates with other artists
way that we will, in a way that the bands will get to express when we're on stage,” Malachi said. “You know, it's a very heart-centered thing. It'll bring you closer to each other afterwards. That’s why I feel it is so important to keep these kinds of student-led events.”
Malachi added that what is really important to him, and to the music scene, is events like this uniting people together.
across genres, while Good Head is a mostly rock group, but Malachi said they get creative together and turn their collaborative sound into a rap, rock, and reggae mix.
Malachi, who’s performed at Cornell University on multiple occasions, including last year’s Alternative Slope Day, said he’s excited about D.I.Y. Fest.
“This is integral to the human experience, because a lot of places don’t allow expression in the
“What we’re here to do is to reinstitute that feeling of really punk expression, freedom,” Malachi said. “Those words are said a lot because we’re seeing what we have left is getting taken away. I’m an artist who is personally affected by a lot of these things, and everyone is to be honest. The proof of what we’re doing is in the people who feel changed afterwards, who feel inspired to take action in their own life. And action can mean revolution. We need people to build a home and a safe space for not only ourselves, but for others. Nobody asked to be here but we all have to at least work together in some type of way, come together in some type of way.”
Petruziello said that bringing different bands together under one event gives people an opportunity to connect in ways they hadn’t before. He also said D.I.Y. Fest has been on his band’s calendar for almost a year, having been in the planning phase for some time.
The festival’s mission centers on community and do-it-yourself creativity. (Photo: Mark Syvertson/ Ithaca Times)
Petrucci said it’s been a lot of work, but that it is exciting.
“It’s been a lot of work. I’ve been working on it for, you know, probably a little over a year now,” he said. “It’s been a lot of time that a lot of us have put into this, and I’m very proud that we’ve gone this far, and we’ve maintained our D.I.Y. music spirit. I think it’s going to be incredible — not only for attendees, but also for the bands themselves.”
A full performance schedule, band info and ticket pricings are on the D.I.Y. Fest Instagram page @ithacadiyfestival.
By Peter Rothbart
When Bob Dylan took to the stage at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, he changed the trajectory of American music, transplanting folk music and its culture to a new electrifying sound. at moment spawned a wealth of new folk music genres around the globe. It eventually paved the way for the genre called Celtic Rock, which has remained truer to its roots than most other rock of today, which has long lost the folksy, emotionally honest element–the storytelling–that connects listeners to their music.
Tempest, a ve-piece band based in San Francisco, is a quintessential Celtic rock band, an electri ed pub band fueled by the Celtic folk traditions of Ireland, Scotland, northern England and Norway.
e elements of folk music form the core of Tempest’s sound; storytelling lyrics with clear and singable melodies that are straightforward. You feel like you could join in if only you knew the lyrics and had the right accent. Lyrics rhyme and play out in regular four-bar phrases. Vocal harmonies are closely stitched and well balanced, though loosely articulated.
Lead singer Lief Sorbye wears his Norwegianborn vocal gru ness well. While melodic, it hints at the rawness of Norwegian rap if you’ve ever heard it.
Tempest likes to call its music “Cetiedil Rock.” Implying psychedelia may be a bit of a stretch; beer and whisky rock may be closer to the mark. Tempest’s Celtic Rock rarely strays from the familiar musical forms of folk music, relying on Irish jigs, English reels, Scottish ballads, Nordic sea shanties, and even pirate songs (songs about pirates, not sung by pirates). ey mix traditional lyrics with newly rock-i ed melodies and set new lyrics (in English or Norwegian) to traditional melodies. As founding member and electric double-necked mandolin player Lief Sorbye says, “We have one foot in folk music and one foot in rock music.”
e band’s rock side comes primarily from the electri ed mandolin, violin, guitar, and bass, as well as Adolfo Lazo’s ‘rock’ solid drumming, mic’d speci cally for a rock sound. No ethnic instruments here; Sorbye occasionally blows a silver ute, but not the Celtic kind, as he goes for a Jethro Tull-like sound.
Tempest began 38 years and over 2500 shows ago. Sorbye, tired of traditional folk music and musicians, sought out rockers interested in bringing a freshness to the folk sound. Cuban-born drummer Adolfo Lazo
brought his Latin percussion in uence into the band from the beginning. As veteran road musicians, they have played in pubs, clubs, concert halls, tents, and outdoor festivals throughout the United States. But as happens in most bands, musicians grow weary from the constant touring and nomadic lifestyle. Like other bands, Tempest has seen its share of personnel changes. But this tour has been reconstituted with original bandmembers Ian Butler on bass, Jon Berger on ddle, and Rob Wullenjohn on guitar.
Peter Rothbart is a Professor Emeritus of Music at the Ithaca College School of Music, eatre, and Dance, where he taught electroacoustic and media music for 40 years. He directs the Ageless Jazz Band and remains active as a classical, jazz, and pop musician.
Thursday, April 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Night Eagle Café
Lansing Area Performance Hall
1004 Auburn Road
North Lansing, NY
Tickets: https://www.nighteaglecafe.org/
By Clement Obropta
If you’re keen to see probably the worst wedding of the year, check out “The Drama,” a new A24-produced tarblack comedy starring Robert Pattinson and Zendaya as the unlucky couple. One week before tying the knot, Charlie (Pattinson) and Emma (Zendaya) meet up with their maid of honor (Alana Haim) and best man (Mamoudou Athie) for some eleventh-hour menu tasting. While they’re getting smashed on complimentary wine, they begin an unusual kind of drinking game, each recounting the “worst thing they’ve ever done.” We hear a few upsetting stories, though nothing the four friends can’t easily laugh off, before Emma’s turn, when she reveals something so horrible and earth-shattering that it throws their friendship and looming marriage into turmoil.
Of course, you have to go see the film to find out what that revelation is (or read a different review, no spoilers here). But once that bombshell drops, “The Drama” zeroes in on Charlie, delighting in watching him squirm under the pressure of his fiancée’s monumental secret and the social fallout it spells.
Produced by Ari Aster and written and directed by Norwegian filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli, who previously made “Dream Scenario” with Nicolas Cage, “The Drama”
Rated R
Directed by Kristoffer Borgli
Currently playing at Cinemapolis and Regal Ithaca Mall
120 E Green St., Ithaca and 40 Catherwood Road, Ithaca
continued from page 5
“This is a heartbreaking loss for our community,” Chief Tyler said. “Our thoughts are with the families affected.”
unfolds like a two-hour-long car crash in the best possible way. Borgli’s screenplay begins with a mortally embarrassing coffee shop meet-cute, tumbles through years of an unfolding storybook romance, and then dives headlong into a paralyzing comedy of morals as Charlie tries to decide whether or not to call the whole thing off.
Mostly taking place in nicely furnished Cambridge brownstones and harshly lit industrialist chic cafés, “The Drama” sometimes feels like a Woody Allen film bathed in the dour irony of last summer’s “Materialists” but with all the class awareness of a truffle pig. Borgli’s film, in the end, is less shaped by the miserable petty squabbles of the relatively wealthy than it is by Charlie’s attempts to restore order to a life that might never have been that great to begin with.
Pattinson helps things enormously. He notably used the millions he made off the “Twilight” films to create an interesting albeit terribly uneven career making the sort of movies that play in arthouse cinemas, make very little money, and win Film Independent Spirit Awards. Most of these films — such as “Cosmopolis,” “High Life,” and “Mickey 17” — bear the scars of an actor eager to throw himself into a difficult role but struggling to find the right part. Yet “The Drama” represents Pattinson’s most successful and commercial effort to date at tackling his greatest role yet: a weird little freak.
Charlie is a socially awkward, British, classically repressed museum curator. He constantly says the wrong words, nervously laughs at the wrong times, and literally chokes when he gets uncomfortable, as though his innermost thoughts would rather throttle him than be spoken out loud. This is not the same Robert Pattin-
Chief Tyler also expressed gratitude to the many agencies that responded to assist the Dryden Fire Department and the outpouring of support from the Dryden and surrounding communities.
Mutual aid assistance and support were provided by the fire departments of
son who stars as the stoic, tortured Bruce Wayne in “The Batman,” nor is it the Robert Pattinson whose skin glittered in the sunlight and who told Kristen Stewart to “hold on tight, spider monkey.” This is the Robert Pattinson who makes cheddar pasta bakes in the microwave because he doesn’t know how to cook.
Like Leonardo Dicaprio, Pattinson is best at playing either a lunatic or the butt of some sort of cosmic joke. In “The Drama,” he’s a bit of both, a phenomenally, bravely pathetic man who would rather torpedo his life away and have a private mental breakdown than secondguess what’s expected of him. Charlie’s neuroses, bad decisions, and puppydogish naïveté snowball into a perfectly believable disaster, a stack of insecurities masquerading as a man.
Despite Pattinson’s riveting performance, “The Drama” feels like a B-side in his and Zendaya’s careers. It neither progresses their personas nor devolves them, instead allowing its stars to play
Freeville, McLean, Varna, Groton, Virgil, Cortlandville, Moravia, Locke, McGraw, Homer, Lansing and the Tompkins County Airport.
New York State Department of Transportation (NYS DOT), New York State Police, Tompkins County Sheriff’s Depart-
to their biggest strengths on a big, goofy scale, like Marty Mauser playing pingpong with a seal.
That star power, along with the film’s uneven mix of cringe humor and lightning-rod American discourse, ensures that “The Drama” is mainstream enough to inspire watercooler conversations but prickly enough to resist easy conclusions. The film casts a wide net, satirizing the ridiculous pageantry of weddings, the impossibility of ever knowing everything about the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, and the way we unilaterally sweep under the rug the political issues that make us the most uncomfortable. But
“The Drama” never goes deep enough and seems content to hide behind jokes, Alana Haim’s withering stares, and unearned catharsis rather than explore with any great seriousness the many concepts it eagerly shotguns into the audience.
Clement Obropta is a film columnist for the Ithaca Times.
ment, NYS OFPC, Tompkins County Department of Emergency Response and the Town of Dryden Highway also provided support.
Dyrden and Bangs Ambulance were the responding EMS agencies.
By Mikayla Rovenolt
Best 50 Hikes in and around Ithaca NY, written by biologist Myra Shulman, is a new guidebook highlighting 50 of the region’s best hikes within a 30-minute drive of downtown Ithaca. It will be released in April by the Cayuga Trails Club.
Best 50 Hikes in and around Ithaca NY is a comprehensive guide to hiking in the Ithaca region and features hikes of different lengths for people of varying abilities. It includes detailed maps with QR codes linked to digital routes, essentials for each location, and information about the region’s natural and human history. The hikes cover more than 240 miles of trails in and near Tompkins County.
For over 60 years, the all-volunteer nonprofit Cayuga Trails Club and its partners have built and maintained 100 miles of trails. The club hosts two weekly hikes throughout the year and offers a variety of programs and activities for exploring the region’s outdoors.
The Cayuga Trails Club has published hiking guidebooks since 1962, but its last guide was published over a decade ago. While many of the previous books focused on the long-distance Finger Lakes Trail, Best 50 Hikes in and around Ithaca NY highlights individual hikes throughout the Ithaca area.
“My main goal was to showcase the diversity of hikes available just a short drive from downtown Ithaca,” Shulman said in a statement. “I started with the aim of including 25 hikes and the list just kept growing.”
For the new guide, Shulman built on the knowledge and expertise of previous guidebook authors and club hike leaders while expanding the scope of the book to make it useful for longtime residents, newcomers and visitors.
Key features of the guide include:
• Overview maps for all 50 hikes
• A chart comparing hikes by difficulty
continued from page 5
faith at the bargaining table and believes there is a path to solutions that work for both our employees and the organization,” a spokesperson said.
Jacki Thompson, a 4N educator at CMC, said in the press release that nurses are
• Information on local geology, human history, and ecology
• Hikes accessible by TCAT bus or wheelchair
• Guidance on apps that track hiking routes
• Safety tips and trail etiquette
• Trail amenities and parking information
“Most people are aware of the three state parks with beautiful gorges — Buttermilk, Taughannock and Treman,” Shulman said. “They are all spectacular and everyone should go there. But there is so much more to see — interesting forests, streams, bogs, meadows, and waterfalls you may never have heard of.”
Over the past decade, the number of local trails has expanded through the addition of new nature preserves, land easements and recreational walking pathways. Public access has also improved through the TCAT to Trails program, a project spearheaded by Shulman that identifies trailheads reachable by bus. A number of trails in the region also accommodate visitors with disabilities.
To create detailed maps for each hike, Shulman enlisted the cartographer and Cornell graduate Russell Kwong. Readers can use the print guidebook while on the trail, photocopy maps to lighten their load, or scan QR codes to download digital map files to their phones.
Carla DeMello, a visual design specialist at Cornell, led graphic design and production, creating a format that also features photos and illustrations by local creators.
While developing the guide, Shulman consulted organizations that oversee local trails: Finger Lakes Land Trust, the Finger Lakes Trail Conference, Cornell Botanic Gardens, and New York State Parks. Cayuga Trails Club members field-tested the hiking directions for each route.
“This guide achieves the weaving together of both practical trail informa-
ready to negotiate a contract that strengthens the workforce and mission of the hospital but CMC leadership is choosing not to work in partnership with the union.
“Unionizing has provided us with an incredible opportunity to work collaboratively on problems inherent in healthcare, both nationally and locally,” Thompson said. “Instead, we are facing harassment
“Best 50 Hikes in and around Ithaca NY” highlights Ithaca-area trails, with special maps and checklists for hikers. (Photo: Provided)
tion with rich natural and cultural history,” Max Heitner, director of conservation for the Finger Lakes Land Trust said.
“The maps and written descriptions are filled with details not found elsewhere. Readers won’t just know where to walk — they’ll understand the land below their feet and how it has changed over time. Best 50 Hikes in and around Ithaca NY is a significant contribution to our local community and a great addition to the bookshelf or backpack for anyone who enjoys being outside in nature.”
A retired biologist with a background in ecology and natural history, Shulman drew on decades of outdoor exploration in the region while preparing the guide.
and intimidation tactics, which only distract us from the work of patient care.”
CWA alleges that CMC management has violated federal law by refusing to meet with the nurses’ bargaining committee at reasonable times.
Shane Snyder, an in-patient wound RN at CMC, said in the press release that the union has not formally started negotiations
“In addition to just being outside, breathing fresh air and feeling your body move across the landscape and get exercise, it’s a joy to look around and see what lives there and think about how this landscape was formed,” Shulman said. “Natural history, geology, biology and human history are fascinating to me. I wanted to share that with people so they can learn more about what they’re seeing while hiking.”
Best 50 Hikes in and around Ithaca NY is published by the Cayuga Trails Club. Proceeds from book sales support the club. The guidebook can be purchased on the Cayuga Trails Club website (cayugatrailsclub.org) and in select bookstores, outdoor retailers, and visitor centers in the Ithaca area.
with CMC. He said union nurses want to start bargaining their contract and management should work with them to find a compromise, rather than delaying the process.
“The administration's actions feel disrespectful of our legal rights, and it concerns me that there is such opposition to something that statistically will improve outcomes for patients,” Snyder said.
Bars/Bands/Clubs
4/8 Wednesday
Argos Grove play jazz at the Argos Inn in Ithaca | 5 p.m. |
The Flower Pots at the Ovid VFW | VFW Post 6200, 7068 NY-96, Ovid, NY 14521 | 6 p.m.
4/9 Thursday
Open Mic Night at Shep’s Brewing | 132 Genesee St, Auburn, NY 13021| 6 p.m.
DJ DevOcean spins at Foundation of Light’s Ecstatic Dance Sanctuary | 391 Turkey Hill Rd. | 6 p.m.
The Brewhouse Blues Jam returns to Hopshire Farm and Brewery | 1771 Dryden Rd., Freeville, NY | 6 p.m.
4/10 Friday
“Queeraoke” | The Rhine House, 632 W Seneca St. | 8 p.m.
Jenner Fox & Jeremy Elliott w Cuchulain (album release) @ Sunwood Studios | 7 p.m. | 8315 NY, 8315 New York 227 | $23.18
4/11 Saturday
DATE NIGHT: BOSSA NOVA JAZZ @ Orozco Gallery | 7 p.m. | orozco gallery, 115 S Cayuga St., 14850 YAGODY at the Night Eagle Cafe | 8 p.m. | Night Eagle Cafe at the Savage
Club and Lansing Area Performance Hall, 1004 Auburn Rd. | $35.00$40.00
4/14 Tuesday
Community Line Dance | 7 p.m., 4/14 Tuesday | Foundation of Light, 391 Turkey Hill Rd. | Community Line Dance lessons
Concerts/Recitals
4/8 Wednesday
Senior Recital: Lily Lemery-Allen, violin at Hockett Family Recital Hall | 7 p.m.
4/9 Thursday
Midday Music in Lincoln: Ashley Wass (CU Music) | 12:30 p.m. | Lincoln Hall, 256 Feeney Way | Free
4/10 Friday
Cornell Chorus Return from Tour Concert (CU Music) | 7:30 p.m. | Sage Chapel, 147 Ho Plaza | Free
Arielle Nichole Music | 6 p.m. | Solid Ground Co eeHouse, 486 Cherry Valley Hill Rd.
Junior Recital: Maya Connolly, violin at Hockett Family Recital Hall | 8:15 p.m.
4/11 Saturday
Elective Recital: Grace Rankel, contralto at Nabenhauer Recital Room | 2 p.m.
Grace Rankel, contralto at Nabenhauer Recital Room | 2 p.m.
Ashley Wass Recital (CU Music) |
3 p.m. | Barnes Hall, 129 Ho Plaza | Free
Loren & LJ Barrigar Concert | 4 p.m. | Willard Chapel, 17 Nelson St. | $20.00
Piano Recital: Jacob Ertl | 6 p.m. | Opus Ithaca School of Music, 402 N. Aurora St. | Free
Student Ensemble: Madrigals | 7 p.m.
Ithaca College: Madrigal Singers at Hockett Family Recital Hall | 7 p.m.
Cody Sisters | 8 p.m. | Deep Dive Ithaca, 415 Old Taughannock Blvd.
Elective Recital: Peter Stenberg and Nicole Galicia, percussion at Ford Hall | 8:15 p.m.
4/12 Sunday
Senior Recital: Molly Dubner, soprano at Hockett Family Recital Hall | 12 p.m.
Junior Recital: Owen Umiker, baritone at Hockett Family Recital Hall | 2 p.m.
Cayuga Chamber Orchestra Presents Gershwin and Dvořák | 3 p.m. | First Unitarian Society of Ithaca, 306 N Aurora St. | $15.00 - $45.00
Senior Recital: Eli Jort, cello at Hockett Family Recital Hall | 4 p.m.
Senior Recital: Mackenzie VanVoorhis, violin at Ford Hall | 8:15 p.m.
TCB: THE TONI CADE BAMBARA SCHOOL OF ORGANIZING
FRIDAY, APRIL 10 AT 6 P.M.
intermission (all seating is general admission.) | Free Swing into Spring | 6 p.m., 4/11
Saturday | Auburn Public Theater, 8 Exchange St. | Swing dance your way onto our newly renovated downstairs space, The Owasco Room, with live music featuring the Stock Market Swing Band. | $50.00
4/13 Monday
Junior Recital: Amelia Ostamendy, soprano at Hockett Family Recital Hall | 7 p.m.
4/14 Tuesday
Student Chamber Recital: Piano Vocal Duos at Hockett Family Recital Hall | 7 p.m.
4/15 Wednesday
Midday Music for Organ: Adam Langeveld (CU Music) | 12:30 p.m. | Sage Chapel, 147 Ho Plaza | Free
Student Chamber Recital: Brass Ensembles at Ford Hall | 7 p.m.
Dance of the Shadows — Live Sand Art Performance | 7:30 p.m., 4/9 Thursday | The Cherry Arts, 102 Cherry St. | A unique live sand art performance where intricate images are drawn in the sand and projected like a poem. | $20.00
Eighties with the Ladies Dance Party | 6 p.m., 4/10 Friday | Northville Arts Center, 999 NY-34B, King Ferry, NY | Dig out your bangles and blue eye shadow and party down with the Divas of the 80s! Dance, snack & sip: mocktails, co ee, wine, or beer. | $5
R2P Presents Charlie & the Chocolate Factory | 12 p.m., 4/11 Saturday | Hangar Theatre, 801 Taughannock Blvd. | Run time: ~1.5 hours including
Cornell Cinema, 104 Willard Straight Hall, Cornell University | “On the thirtieth anniversary of her death, Louis Massiah has conjured the great Toni Cade Bambara back to life. Through archival footage and personal testimonies—most notably and eloquently by her friend, editor, and champion, Toni Morrison—this formidable writer and warrior for social justice blazes back into consciousness. There was simply nobody else like her.” - B. Ruby Rich.Free admission + popcorn! Open to all! Special talkback with lmmaker Louis Massiah and Mendi + Keith Obadike. (Photo by LeRoy Henderson)
Civic Ensemble Youth Forum Theatre Troupe | 4 p.m., 4/14 Tuesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green Street |
BAC Meet Up: The Art of Oops! | 6:30 p.m., 4/15 Wednesday | The Community School of Music and Arts, 330 E. State St. | 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
Stress Management & Paint & Sip at Klingenstein Lounge, Campus Center | 6 p.m., 4/8 Wednesday | Feeling overwhelmed? This workshop will help you explore the di erence between what you can and can’t control, and guide you in identifying your personal coping strategies.
ARTIST TALKS & WORKSHOPS @ Orozco Gallery | 6 p.m., 4/9 Thursday | orozco gallery, 115 S Cayuga St., 14850 | GALLERY HOURS | 2-6 p.m.
Stitch Club | 1 p.m., 4/10 Friday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St. | Stitch Club is an opportunity for knitters, crocheters, needle-pointers, and other stitchers to come together and work.
Ithaca Brings the Spring Cookie Decorating Class with Retrocrumb | 12 p.m., 4/11 Saturday, 315 N. Tioga St. Opening Reception for Geometric Abstraction | 4 p.m., 4/11 Saturday | The Gallery at South Hill, 950 Danby Rd., South Hill Business Campus | Opening Reception for Geometric Abstraction, featuring new works by Mauro Marinelli, Michael George and co-creator Laura Dale George. | Free LAND / MARK : Stephen Alexander Clark + Harry Littell | 4 p.m., 4/11 Saturday | Corners Gallery, 903 Hanshaw Rd. Suite 101A Suite 101A | Free
“Where Culture Takes Flight” | 4 p.m., 4/11 Saturday | Ithaca Tompkins International Airport, 1 Culligan Dr. | This free art gala will feature art, music, vendors, and a ra e to win ight vouchers valued at $125! | Free SIP & PAINT (BOB ROSS-INSPIRED) @ Orozco Gallery | 4 p.m., 4/12 Sunday | orozco gallery, 115 S Cayuga St.
“TCB: The Toni Cade Bambara School of Organizing” (2025) | 6 p.m., 4/10 Friday | Cornell Cinema, 104 Willard Straight Hall | FREE Special Event Film Screening Tomorrow’s Freedom | 1 p.m., 4/11 Saturday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green Street | Join us for a viewing and discussion of a documentary chronicling the life and imprisonment of Marwan Barghouti (often described as the “Palestinian Nelson Mandela”) who has dedicated his life to the cause of Palestinian freedom. | Free Film screening of “An Inconvenient Truth” | 3:30 p.m., 4/11 Saturday | Cinemopolis, 120 E Green St. | Screening of the lm An Inconvenient Truth – on the dangers of global
SATURDAY,
All skill levels are welcome! Some dulcimers will be provided, but anyone who
warming
| Free
Exit 8 | Based on the global hit eponymous video game created by KOTAKE CREATE. A man trapped in an endless sterile subway passageway sets out to nd Exit 8. The rules of his quest are simple: do not overlook anything out of the ordinary. If you discover an anomaly, turn back immediately. If you don’t, carry on. Then leave from Exit 8. But even a single oversight will send him back to the beginning. Will he ever reach his goal and escape this in nite corridor? | PG 95 mins
The Drama | A happily engaged couple is put to the test when an unexpected revelation sends their wedding week o the rails. | R 105mins Nuisance Bear | Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival Screenings: A polar bear is forced to navigate a human world of tourists, wildlife o cers, and hunters as its ancient migration collides with modern life. When a sacred predator is branded a nuisance, it becomes unclear who truly belongs in this shared landscape.| NA 90 mins
Cornell Softball Double-Header vs Colgate University | 2 p.m. & 4 p.m., 4/8 Wednesday | Niemand-Robinson Softball Field, Cornell University
Ithaca College Women’s Softball Double-Header vs Nazareth University | 3 p.m. & 5 p.m, 4/8 Wednesday | Kostrinsky Field, Ithaca College
Ithaca College Women’s Lacrosse vs No. 8 William Smith College | 4 p.m., 4/8 Wednesday | Higgins Stadium, Ithaca College
Ithaca College Men’s Lacrosse vs No. 7 RIT | 7 p.m., 4/8 Wednesday| Higgins Stadium, Ithaca College
Cornell Women’s Tennis vs Princeton University | 1 p.m., 4/5 Sunday | Reis Tennis Center, Cornell University
Ithaca College Women’s Softball
Double-Header vs Skidmore College| 3 p.m. & 5 p.m, 4/10 Friday | Kostrinsky Field, Ithaca College
Ithaca College Men’s Baseball vs Skidmore College | 3 p.m., 4/10 Friday | Freeman Field, Ithaca College
Cornell Men’s and Women’s Track & Field vs Big Red Invitational | 10 a.m. until nish, 4/11 Saturday & 4/12 Sunday | Kane Sports Complex, Cornell University
Ithaca College Men’s & Women’s Track & Field vs Big Red Invitational | 10 a.m. until nish, 4/11 Saturday & 4/12 Sunday | Kane Sports Complex, Cornell University
Ithaca College Men’s Lacrosse vs (RV) Resselaer Polytechnic Institute | 12 p.m., 4/11 Saturday | Higgins Stadium, Ithaca College
Ithaca College Men’s Baseball
Double-header vs Skidmore College | 12 p.m. & 3 p.m., 4/11 Saturday | Freeman Field, Ithaca College
Ithaca College Women’s Softball
Double-Header vs (RV) Resselaer Polytechnic Institute | 1 p.m. & 3 p.m., 4/11 Saturday | Kostrinksy Field, Ithaca College
Ithaca College Women’s Lacrosse vs (RV) Resselaer Polytechnic Institute | 3 p.m., 4/11 Saturday | Higgins Stadium, Ithaca College
Cornell Men’s Tennis vs University of Pennsylvania | 1 p.m., 4/12
Sunday | Reis Tennis Center, Cornell University
Cornell Men’s Lacrosse vs High Point University | 12 p.m., 4/13
Monday | Schoellkopf Field, Cornell University
Cornell Softball vs Niagara University | 2:30 p.m., 4/14 Tuesday | Niemand-Robinson Softball Field, Cornell University
Ithaca College Women’s Softball
Double-Header vs Oneonta | 3 p.m. & 5 p.m., 4/14 Tuesday | Kostrinksy Field, Ithaca College
Cornell Baseball vs Binghamton University | 3:30 p.m., 4/14 Tuesday | Booth Field, Cornell University
Ithaca Spring Quest | 12 a.m., 4/8 Wednesday | Located Throughout Ithaca, 20 Nelson Rd. | This spring, all of Ithaca is the playground | $45.00
The Ithaca D.I.Y Festival | 12 p.m to 12 a.m. | The rst annual Ithaca D.I.Y festival features local bands across four separate venues in Downtown Ithaca from Friday to Sunday. More info and tickets can be found online at the event's Facebook Page | Prices may vary.
FROM THE DUST by David Swinson, with Cole Louison | 5 p.m., 4/8 Wednesday | Bu alo Street Books, 215 North Cayuga Street | Please join us for the release of FROM THE DUST by David Swinson, in conversation with Cole Louison | Free History Bu s’ Book Club | 6:30 p.m., 4/9 Thursday | Cortland Free Library, 32 Church St. | Do you enjoy history? Join us at the library to discuss Cartoons, Comics & Animation. We choose the topic, You choose the book! Contact the library with any questions!
Ithaca Trans Center Book Club | 12 p.m., 4/12 Sunday | Bu alo Street Books, 215 North Cayuga Street | Join us to discuss ‘The Faggots & Their Friends Between Revolutions’ by Larry Mitchell!
Tween Book Club | 4 p.m., 4/14 Tuesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green Street |
SUNDAY, APRIL 12 AT 3 P.M.
First Unitarian Society of Ithaca, 306 N Aurora St. | This delightful program weaves together American innovation, contemporary voice, and European romanticism. The performance includes George Gershwin’s seldom-heard Lullaby, the evocative Nadiya by Reena Esmail, Gershwin’s beloved Porgy and Bess, presented in Jascha Heifetz’s masterful arrangement, and Antonín Dvořák’s String Sextet in A Major, Op. 48, a work of radiant warmth and Bohemian folk spirit. This thoughtfully curated evening o ers audiences a journey from intimate lullabies to exuberant folk dances, celebrating the expressive power of the chamber ensemble. (Photo: Provided)
Spring Teen Creative Writing Workshop | 5:30 p.m., 4/14 Tuesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St. | Join Adrienne Raw for a Teen Creative Writing Workshop! Climate Literature Discussion | 4 p.m., 4/15 Wednesday | Bu alo Street Books, 215 North Cayuga Street | Community discussions about climate change, seen through ction and non- ction books: this month’s book is “Fen, Bog & Swamp, A Short History of Peatland Destruction and Its Role in Climate Change” by Annie Proulx. | Free
Baby & Toddler Storytime | 10:30 a.m., 4/10 Friday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St. | 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.
Spanish Storytime | 4 p.m., 4/10 Friday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St. | Children of all ages and their caregivers are welcome to join us for Spanish storytime songs, rhymes, stories, and crafts - completely in Spanish!
Math Fun with MathHappens! | 10 a.m., 4/11 Saturday | Sciencenter, 601 1st St. | Join us for playful, informal math learning with the MathHappens Foundation! Families and kids can explore hands-on activities that make math fun, creative, and connected to everyday life.
Second Saturday Family Fun: Free Play! | 10:30 a.m., 4/11 Saturday | Cortland Free Library, 32 Church St. | While Miss Tammy is away come hangout and play with our Superspace Life-Size Magnetic Playset and other building toys. Join us for an open-playtime where children (and caregivers) can use their
Family Storytime: Ballet Edition | 11 a.m., 4/11 Saturday | Tompkins
County Public Library, 101 East Green Street | Children of all ages and their caregivers are invited to celebrate reading and build their early literacy skills at Family Storytime. We meet each Saturday for stories, songs and hands-on fun.
Ballet & Books: Spring 2026 | 2:30 p.m., 4/11 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
Science Connections: World Quantum Day! | 2 p.m., 4/12 Sunday | Sciencecenter, 601 1st Street | April 14 is World Quantum Day! Join Cornell’s Physics Graduate Society at the Sciencenter for activities exploring the quirky world of quantum physics!
Family Open Play | 9:30 a.m., 4/13 Monday | CCE-Tompkins Education Center, 615 Willow Ave. | Free space for families to come with their children — ages 0 to 4 years old — to play and socialize with other families.
Coalition for Families - “Building Daily Play Routines and Enhancing Sensory Experiences” | 12 p.m., 4/13 Monday | Ithaca College, 201 Muller Center | Families, community members, & professionals are invited to join our monthly Coalition for Families hybrid presentation.
Sit! Stay! Read! | 3 p.m., 4/13 Monday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St. | Children are invited to practice their reading skills by sharing a story with a truly non-judgmental listener — a dog! Reading sessions will be held Mondays from 3-4 p.m.
LGBTQ+ Youth Group | 4:30 p.m., 4/8 Wednesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St. | Join us at LGBTQ+ Youth Group to do crafts,
play games, and socialize. Whether you’re lesbian, gay, bi, trans, questioning, or just trying to gure things out — we’re here for you!
TCPL Tours: Make an Impact with the Lab of O | 11 a.m., 4/9 Thursday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green Street | Join us for a guided tour at the Lab of Ornithology, focusing on their e orts to help community members make an impact as citizen scientists.
Community Conversations | 9 a.m., 4/10 Friday | New eld Public Library, 198 Main St. | Join your neighbors in New eld for hyper-local networking, conversation, and advocacy at New eld Public Library!
Saturday Market | 9 a.m., 4/11 Saturday | Ithaca Farmers Market, Steamboat Landing, 545 3rd Street | Our Saturday Markets are now outside at the pavilion. Find us each week at Steamboat Landing.
Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon | 2 p.m., 4/12 Sunday | CCE-Tompkins Education Center, 615 Willow Avenue | We are holding a volunteer appreciation luncheon Sunday, April 12, from 2 to 4 pm at CCE Tompkins.
Ithaca Workshop: Demystifying the Civil Service Merit System | 11 a.m., 4/13 Monday | Tompkins Workforce NY Career Center, 171 East State Street, ## 241 | This workshop will cover the NYS Civil Service Merit System, Civil Service exams, the NY HELPS program, and career pathways with NYS | Free Really Free Market | 6 p.m., 4/14 Tuesday | Cortland Free Library, 32 Church St. | The Really Free Market is a free bi-monthly distribution of food, personal care items, and household supplies. You can take as much as you want and we will never ask you to “prove” your need.
COTTON JUBILEE SINGERS SPRING CONCERT
SUNDAY, APRIL 12 AT 4 P.M.
Ford Hall, Ithaca College | DCJS is a community choir housed at Ithaca College. Dedicated to the preservation of negro spirituals and the legacy of civil rights organizer Dorothy Cotton, their repertoire includes spirituals, gospel, and contemporary songs of social justice. Come get inspired and encouraged! Free; donations appreciated. (Photo: Provided)
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The county has a legal obligation to inspect and approve Section 8 housing, and they failed to do so. Some died, some were injured, some were terrorized, while all were unsafe and subject to the risk of injury or death. A government that can spend $100 Million in tax dollars to build a home,and then abandon its residents is a failed steward. The landlord is surely complicit, but the real fault lies with the government that created the fertile ground for failure, watched it fail and then allowed the failure to continue for far too long.” — Thomas Corey, Ithaca.com
“The time for discussion about climate protection has come and gone. New York has been a national leader in the
continued from page 9
2. The aim of all political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.
3. The principle of all sovereignty resides essentially in the nation. No body nor individual may exercise any authority which does not proceed directly from the nation.
4. Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else; hence the exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits except those which assure to the other members of the society the enjoyment of the same rights. These limits can only be determined by law.
5. Law can only prohibit such actions as are hurtful to society. Nothing may be prevented which is not forbidden by law, and no one may be forced to do anything not provided for by law.
continued from page 10
Unknown Soldier who represents all the brave young Americans who died in Vietnam. Let no one doubt that we will defend America's security and the cause of freedom around the world.
But we want a President who tells us what America is fighting for, not just what we are fighting against. We want a President who will defend human rights — not just where it is convenient — but wherever
fight against climate destruction, largely thanks to the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act passed in 2019. Now, Governor Hochul is threatening changes that will weaken the law. On Wednesday March 25th I joined over 500 people in Albany to urge our representatives to stand strong. New Yorkers won’t compromise on climate change.
A closer look at the facts shows that the CLCPA is not just an environmental imperative but a sound economic strategy. Independent analysis from Resources for the Future confirms that the state’s proposed "cap-and-invest" program can be implemented in a way that both meets CLCPA goals and saves most New Yorkers money. On top of net savings, the green economy will also create green jobs desperately needed in places like Cortland.
The Trump administration is pressuring states to abandon our climate commitments. I urge our state leaders to reject any rollbacks to the Climate Law and to
6. Law is the expression of the general will. Every citizen has a right to participate personally, or through his representative, in its foundation. It must be the same for all, whether it protects or punishes. All citizens, being equal in the eyes of the law, are equally eligible to all dignities and to all public positions and occupations, according to their abilities, and without distinction except that of their virtues and talents.
7. No person shall be accused, arrested, or imprisoned except in the cases and according to the forms prescribed by law. Any one soliciting, transmitting, executing, or causing to be executed, any arbitrary order, shall be punished. But any citizen summoned or arrested in virtue of the law shall submit without delay, as resistance constitutes an offense.
8. The law shall provide for such punishments only as are strictly and obviously necessary, and no one shall suffer punishment except it be legally inflicted in virtue of a law passed and promulgated before the commission of the offense.
freedom is at risk — from Afghanistan to Chile, from Poland to South Africa. We want a President who will keep America strong, but use that strength to Keep America, and the world, at peace. A nuclear freeze is not a slogan: it is a tool for survival in the nuclear age. If we leave our children nothing else, let us leave them this earth as we found it — whole and green and full of life.
I know in my heart Walter Mondale will be that President. A wise man once said, “Every one of us is given the gift of
continue investing in a just, sustainable future for all New Yorkers. Our communities, especially those already facing the worst effects of climate change, deserve bold action, not backtracking.” — Alex Jackson, SUNY Cortland Alum and NYPIRG Volunteer, Cortland NY
“According to multiple dictionaries, the word democracy means “ruled by the people.” Government power is based on the consent of the governed. Equality of all citizens is essential.
A democratic society has free, fair and frequent elections. Civic participation ensures that the people are involved in choosing and monitoring their government.
All government actions should be transparent. The minority must be included in negotiations and debate. Information from the government should be accurate and useful to the people.
9. As all persons are held innocent until they shall have been declared guilty, if arrest shall be deemed indispensable, all harshness not essential to the securing of the prisoner’s person shall be severely repressed by law.
10. No one shall be disquieted on account of his opinions, including his religious views, provided their manifestation does not disturb the public order established by law.
11. The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious of the rights of man. Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law.
12. The security of the rights of man and of the citizen requires public military forces. These forces are, therefore, established for the good of all and not for the personal advantage of those to whom they shall be intrusted.
13. A common contribution is essential for the maintenance of the public forces and for the cost of administration. This should be equitably distributed among all
A multi-party system maintains democracy. Once the winner of an election is declared, a healthy democracy will accept election results.
In a democracy constitutions define and guide government powers. Governments are governed by the rules of law and laws cannot be invented by the government. A “bill of rights” in constitutions, combined with judicial review, ensures that legislation, legal decisions, and acts of government officials do not violate basic rights.
Democracy recognizes all individuals have protected fundamental rights. Examples of basic rights include: freedom of religion, political freedom, freedom of speech, economic freedom, freedom of individual expression, the right to privacy and the right of freedom of association in public and private and human rights such as access to food, shelter, work and health care.
The No Kings Rallies exist because Democracy exists.” — Frances Tirinato, Apalachin NY
the citizens in proportion to their means.
14. All the citizens have a right to decide, either personally or by their representatives, as to the necessity of the public contribution; to grant this freely; to know to what uses it is put; and to fix the proportion, the mode of assessment and of collection and the duration of the taxes.
15. Society has the right to require of every public agent an account of his administration.
16. A society in which the observance of the law is not assured, nor the separation of powers defined, has no constitution at all.
17. Since property is an inviolable and sacred right, no one shall be deprived thereof except where public necessity, legally determined, shall clearly demand it, and then only on condition that the owner shall have been previously and equitably indemnified.
Coming in May: A tribute to the Declaration of Sentiments — the foundational 1848 document from the Seneca Falls Convention, proclaiming that women should have the same rights as men.
ife, and what a strange gift it is. If it is preserved jealously and selfishly, it impoverishes and saddens. But, if it is spent for others, it enriches and beautifies.” My fellow Americans: We can debate programs and policies. But in the end what separates the two parties in this election campaign is whether we use the gift of life — for others or only for ourselves. Tonight, my husband, John, and our three children are in this hall with me. To my daughters, Donna and Laura, and my son, John, Jr., I say: my mother did not break faith with me and I will not break faith with you. To all the children of America, I say: the generation before ours kept faith with us, and like them, we will pass on to you a stronger, more just America. Thank you very much. Next week, we will celebrate Ronald Reagan — the 40th President of the United States and his speech given in Berlin, Germany in 1987, beseeching Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to “Tear down this wall” (separating East and West Germany).
April
Lentils
• Flours and Sugars
• Beans, Grains, Pasta, Rice
• Coffee
• Dried Fruits & Nuts
• Snacks
• Nut Butter Grinders
• Oil, Vinegar, Maple Syrup & Honey
• Sprouting Seeds
• Dried Peppers
• Teas, Medicinal Herbs
• Culinary Spices
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
First Baptist Church in Ithaca https://www.firstbaptistithaca.org
First Congretional 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
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/
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
