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VOL. LIV / NO. 49 / August 19, 2026 Serving 47,125 readers week ly

ON THE COVER:

Alternatives Federal Credit Union Secures $50,000 for Local Nonprofits

S

for the Ithaca Times.

NEWSLINE ��������������������������������������� 3-5

By M i k ay l a Rov e nolt

even nonprofit organizations serving the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions have received a combined $50,000 in grant funding through the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York's (FHLBNY) Small Business Recovery Grant Program, sponsored locally by Alternatives Federal Credit Union.

Alternatives FCU helped bring new funding into the region to support organizations working in entrepreneurship, youth development, affordable housing, food security, conflict resolution, and reentry services.

Founded in Ithaca in 1979, Alternatives Federal Credit Union is a memberowned financial cooperative committed to building wealth and creating economic opportunity through inclusive banking, financial education, affordable lending, and community partnerships.

“These organizations are solving real challenges in our community every day,” said Kevin Mietlicki, president and CEO of Alternatives Federal Credit Union.

"This funding will help local nonprofits expand their reach, strengthen critical programs, and continue serving residents who depend on them. We're proud to partner with the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York to bring these resources to our community.”

Amplify Equity funding will support entrepreneurial education, business mentor-

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ��������������� 6 OPINION / SPORTS ���������������������������� 7 NEWS ������������������������������������������������8-9 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT ���������������������� 10-13 CLASSIFIED �������������������������������������� 14 TIMES TABLE ������������������������� A15-A16 NEWCOMERS GUIDE ����������������� 17-20

ON T HE WE B

ing, microloans, and expanded outreach to underserved entrepreneurs throughout the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes, helping more individuals access the tools and capital needed to start and grow businesses.

Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC)’s grant will help offset the cost of bringing internet service to GIAC's community pool, which serves more than 200 youth daily and welcomes more than 12,000 visits each season. The funding will help sustain this long-awaited improvement while supporting educational and

M i k ay l a R o ven o lt, Managi ng Ed ito r e d i to r @ i t h ac at i m e s .co m Scot t Ma n so n, Asso ciate Pu b l ish er J i m B i l i n s k i , P u b l i s h e r E me r i t u s j b i l i n s k i @ i t h ac at i m e s .co m R o y A l l e n , D i r e c t o r o f St r at e g i c Pa r t n e r s h i p s r oy@ i t h ac at i m e s .co m L o r i e n T y n e , A s s i s ta n t E d i t o r l o r i e n @ i t h ac at i m e s .co m A u s t i n L a mb , C o p y E d i t o r a l a m b @ i t h ac at i m e s .co m P h i l i p O ’ D e l l , R ep o r t e r p h i l i p @ i t h ac at i m e s .co m Ja k e Se x to n , Ad m i n istr ative Co o r d i nato r , C a l e n d a r E d i t o r ja k e @ i t h ac at i m e s .co m Mark Sy vertson, Photographer m ar k s y v er t s o nph oto gr aph y@ gm a il .co m Ste ve L awr ence, Spo rts Co lumn ist stevesportsdude@gmail.com Lisa Ellin, Advertising & Marketing l i s a . e @ i t h ac at i m e s .co m K i r a W a l t e r , A r t s & E n t e r ta i n me n t r ep o r t e r a r t s @ i t h ac at i m e s .co m Z a c h a r y I s a a c S t e p h e n s , A u d i e n c e E n g a g eme n t & D e s i g n A s s o c i a t e

recreational programming for local youth.

OAR of Tompkins County funding will expand housing, transportation, recovery, peer support, and reentry services for individuals impacted by the criminal justice system, helping reduce barriers to successful community reintegration.

Community Dispute Resolution Center (CDRC)’s grant funds will support technology upgrades and expanded staffing to increase access to mediation, restorative Contin u ed on Page 5

N o t e

X Applications Open for Vacant Fourth Ward Common Council Seat

By Lorien Tyne

Visit our website at www.ithaca.com for more news, arts, sports and photos. Call us at 607-277-7000

Nonprofit leaders and Alternatives FCU staff. (Photo: Provided)

T a k e

by Mayor Robert Cantelmo and includes ollowing Patrick Kuehl’s resignation from the remaining Common Council member the Ithaca Common Council on Aug. 5, the from the Fourth Ward, Robin Trumble, and city is accepting applications to fill the vacant Second Ward Alderperson Ducson Nguyen. seat representing the Fourth Ward, which While the selection committee makes a relargely includes Collegetown. The selected commendation, the Common Council makes applicant will fill the vacant seat until the next the final determination by selecting a winning municipal election in November 2027. candidate through majority approval.

The Council Selection Committee will review “The Fourth Ward deserves continued applications and make a final recommendation representation and a transparent appointment to the Common Council. According to a press process," Cantelmo said in the press release. release from the city of Ithaca, the selection "We encourage qualified residents who are committee must make a recommendation to committed to public service and community the Common Council within 30 days of the involvement to apply and help shape the vacancy notice, which was posted on Aug. 12. future of our city.”

The Council Selection Committee is chaired Eligible Fourth Ward residents interested

F

Designed by Zachary Isaac Stephens

in submitting an application can do so online using the city’s application form. Applications opened on Aug. 12 and will close on Sept. 11.

The anticipated date for the Common Council to vote on a candidate is a regular meeting on Oct. 7, unless a special meeting is scheduled sooner.

“The Fourth Ward is home to a diverse community with unique needs, including the residents, students, businesses, and property owners who make Collegetown an important part of Ithaca,” Trumble said in the press release. “This appointment is an opportunity to ensure the ward continues to have strong representation on Common Council. I encourage residents who are passionate about serving their neighbors and contributing to the future of our community to apply.”

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F r ee l a n c e r s : Barbara Adams, Charley Githler, Stephen Burke, Bill Chaisson, Ross Haarstad, Steve Lawrence, Marjorie Olds, Peter Rothbart, Austin Lamb, Clement Obropta, Jake Sexton, Kira Walter, and Ceili Ayoung THE ENTIRE CONTENTS OF THE ITHACA TIMES ARE C O P Y R I G H T © 2 026 B Y PAT H W AY S T O E Q U I T Y, L L C .

All rights reserved. Events are listed free of charge in TimesTable. All copy must be received by Friday at noon. The Ithaca Times is available free of charge from various locations around Ithaca. Additional copies may be purchased from the Ithaca Times offices for $1. SUBSCRIPTIONS: $139 one year. Include check or money order and mail to the Ithaca Times, PO Box 27, Ithaca, NY 14851. ADVERTISING: Deadlines are Monday 5 p.m. for display, Tuesday at noon for classified. Advertisers should check their ad on publication. The Ithaca Times will not be liable for failure to publish an ad, for typographical error, or errors in publication except to the extent of the cost of the space in which the actual error appeared in the first insertion.

The publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising for any reason and to alter advertising copy or graphics deemed unacceptable for publication.

The Ithaca Times is published weekly Wednesday mornings. Offices are located at 109 N. Cayuga Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 607-277-7000, FAX 607277-1012, MAILING ADDRESS is PO Box 27, Ithaca, NY 14851. The Ithaca Times was preceded by the Ithaca New Times (1972–1978) and The Good Times Gazette (1973–1978), combined in 1978. Founder Good Times Gazette: Tom Newton

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INQUIRING Cornell Union Launches Petition, Files Grievance Over Revoked Funding PHOTOGRAPHER N e w s l i n e

By Mark Sy ve r t son

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: “I’VE BEEN WORKING ON DOCUMENTING THE MANY MURALS IN AND AROUND ITHACA. HERE ARE SOME OF MY FAVORITES BUT THIS WEEK’S QUESTION IS: WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE LOCAL MURAL? EMAIL ME AT MARKSYVERTSON PHOTOGRAPHY@GMAIL.COM.” NOTE: If readers wish to participate in the Ithaca Times’ Inquiring Photographer column, contact Mark Syvertson at marksyvertsonphotography@gmail.com

for Pro-Palestine Students

C

By P h i l i p O’ D e l l

ornell University’s graduate student union filed a grievance over the administration’s refusal to fund two international doctoral students whose visas were canceled after participating in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

Cornell Graduate Students United (CGSU) launched a formal grievance procedure demanding the university restore funding to Momodou Taal and Amandla Thomas-Johnson. _____ revoked the two doctoral students’ visas following their involvement in pro-Palestinian speech and campus demonstrations. Union leaders say that Cornell is breaching its collective bargaining agreement by denying the students financial support while they are stuck abroad and facing potential arrest if they re-enter the U.S. Thomas-Johnson contacted the Ithaca Times on Aug. 13, sharing his perspective via recorded voice messages. ThomasJohnson said he is a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago and a sixth-year doctoral student in Cornell University’s Department of Literatures in English. He has taught at the school for three years.

“When October 7th happened, I was in Cuba. I came back two weeks later, I had surgery, I was in recovery for six weeks, and then early December I went to Trinidad and Tobago. I had a visa problem, and I was stuck there until August 2024, so I missed that entire spring semester at Cornell,” ThomasJohnson said. “In September, I went to this event — this job fair for five minutes — and

by October I was suspended.”

The Ithaca Times contacted Taal by phone for comment; however, no response was received prior to the publication deadline.

According to The Cornell Daily Sun, Taal has held an F-1 student visa since 2022 and is a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and The Gambia.

CGSU is circulating a petition aimed at gathering over 1,000 signatures from faculty, students and community members to pressure administrators to restore Taal and Thomas-Johnson’s funding.

CGSU President Ewa Niżałowska said an initial grievance meeting with Cornell representatives was held on Aug. 3.

Niżałowska said Jason Kahabka, associate

4 The Ithaca Times / August 19 – 25, 2026

dean for administration at Cornell’s Graduate School, told union representatives thatthe university is under no obligation to fund Taal and Thomas-Johnson or any graduate worker stranded overseas due to visa cancellations.

Niżałowska said she disagrees with Cornell’s stance, citing Article 19, Section 1, of the CGSU contract that mandates funding for enrolled doctoral students in good academic standing. Niżałowska said both students maintain good academic standing with strong progress reported by their advisors, adding that Cornell has previously accommodated remote work and research for students facing international travel or visa complications.

Niżałowska said the contract’s recognition clause covers all graduate workers performing instructional and research duties, including teaching assistants, research assistants and graduate assistants across all departments. Niżałowska dismissed arguments from university officials citing administrative and financial constraints under U.S. Department of Homeland Security policies. She said federal immigration shifts do not relieve Cornell of its contractual obligations, particularly given the institution’s $11.8 billion endowment.

“On a federal level, as this crackdown on immigrant rights is unfolding, we need to come together and continue to organize to make sure that we are holding Cornell accountable for providing safety and security to the people working at Cornell,” Niżałowska said.

CGSU Communications Secretary Kaori Quan said the decision to withhold funding reflects a broader pattern of administrative austerity that harms international workers and the local Ithaca community.

Quan said the university routinely brings graduate workers from across the globe to live and contribute to the local area for six or seven years while pursuing their doctorates.

Denying those workers financial support, Quan argued, harms the broader Ithaca community, noting that Cornell fails to pay graduate employees a living wage even when they are present in the U.S. “We know from past experience that Cornell owes a lot of money to TCAT, and they owe money to the school district,” Quan said. “It’s just part of a broader pattern of not giving money to the commu-

nity and the people who live here.”

Quan warned that the university’s refusal to support exiled students sets a dangerous precedent for all graduate workers.

In a statement to the Ithaca Times, a Cornell spokesperson said the university remains deeply committed to helping international students make academic progress during visa or travel-related challenges, though privacy regulations prevent officials from discussing individual cases.

“Cornell’s approach to graduate student funding is longstanding, and there has been no change in, or deviation from, university policy,” the Cornell spokesperson said. “Doctoral students conducting required fieldwork abroad are routinely funded for the duration of that work, often through university or external fellowships.

Students outside the United States for personal, legal, or visa-related reasons may also receive fellowship support when such funding is available. However, Cornell is not permitted to extend assistantship appointments to students residing outside the United States.”

According to The Cornell Daily Sun, Cornell first suspended Taal in April 2024 for taking part in a pro-Palestinian Arts Quad encampment. The university issued a second suspension in September 2024 after he participated in a protest that disrupted a campus career fair with representation from defense contractors Boeing and L3Harris. International students face visa termination under federal regulations after multiple suspensions.

The Cornell Daily Sun reported that Taal filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration in 2025, alleging that two executive orders targeting pro-Palestinian speech violated his First and Fifth Amendment rights. ICE flagged Taal for “disruptive action” on March 14, leading the U.S. State Department to revoke his F-1 student visa a day before his lawsuit was filed. Taal was not notified of the status change until March 21, when federal officials emailed his legal team requesting he surrender to ICE. A federal judge in the Northern District of New York subsequently denied a motion for a temporary restraining order aimed at blocking his deportation. Taal announced his decision to leave the United States on March 31, 2025.

Contin u ed on Page A16

UPS&DOWNS

N e w s l i n e

State Code Blue Funding Reduced by About $1.2 million

D

By Kaeleigh Banda Ups TEDx Watkins Glen, on Aug. 19, will feature 16 speakers from the Finger Lakes region, New York state and across the country. The lineup includes experts in motorsports, entrepreneurship, neurodiversity, agriculture, law enforcement, leadership, science, tourism, communication and the arts. For tickets and event information, visit the TEDx Watkins Glen event page.

Downs Residents of Tompkins County applying for Section 8 housing assistance are facing a waitlist that could take three to five years to get through. This wait is attributed to federal funding constraints limiting the number of vouchers available for local agencies to issue its residents.

By M i k ay l a Rov e nolt

uring the Aug. 4 meeting of the Tompkins County Legislature, Deputy County Administrator Bridgette Nugent said that the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) allocated $841,000 to Tompkins County for the 2026- 2027 Code Blue season. The allocation shows a reduction of nearly $1.2 million from the prior year.

Code Blue programs provide emergency shelter during periods of extreme winter weather. Nugent said the reduction will have a significant effect on the services the county can provide during the coming winter.

She also said that the county administration and the Department of Social Services are reviewing the allocation and plan to present an impact and service plan to the Health and Human Services Committee in September.

Legislator Greg Mezey asked about the scale of the reduction, noting that the county spent approximately $2.1 million on the program during the 2025 to 2026 season. He asked if this was an error, given the state’s focus on housing services.

“The notification we got from the state, which was a basic form letter, stated that they make the allocation based on the prior year’s expenditures,” Nugent said.

“We know we expended nearly $2.1 million on our Code Blue program.”

County Administrator Korsah Akumfi has contacted state officials seeking additional information about how the allocation was calculated.

Legislature Chair Shawna Black stated she would contact Assemblymember Anna Kelles and state Sen. Lea Webb to request more information and assistance.

“I expect more to be forthcoming,” NuALTERNATIVES FEDERAL CREDIT UNION contin u ed from page 3

justice, and conflict resolution services throughout the community.

Loaves & Fishes of Tompkins County’s funding will help sustain living-wage jobs while supporting the organization’s meal programs and dignity pantry. Loaves & Fishes serves approximately 5,600 meals each month and relies on volunteers and

Tompkins County Legislators Lee Shurtleff, Greg Mezzy, and Christy Bianconi.

(Photo: Mark Syverston)

gent said. “This is really recent news.”

Communications Director Monika Salvage presented a new public information initiative developed by the county’s communications and budget teams to help residents better understand the county budget before official discussions begin.

“There’s not many numbers or any of those current things but really building a general understanding,” Salvage said.

The four-part “Understanding Your County Budget” series addresses what Tompkins County does and who pays for its services, what goes into developing the county budget, the challenges, how the property tax cap works, and what happens when the county administrator presents the recommended budget.

According to a county email, the first part of the series explains how property tax dollars are distributed among county,

municipal, school, and other taxing jurisdictions; provides sample tax bills from the City of Ithaca and Town of Newfield; describes county services; and introduces commonly used budget terms.

Residents can submit budget questions, with answers to selected questions included in future installments. Information is being distributed through the county’s email newsletters and published on the county budget webpage. Residents can also view prior year’s budgets and special fund allocations.

“It’s so helpful to hear about what’s happening from every department and get that comprehensive, you know, info blast,” Legislator Christy Bianconi said during the meeting. “It’s so well done, and I really appreciate the effort to clearly explain our budget and the process to the public.”

The county administrator is scheduled to present the 2027 recommended budget to the legislature on Sept.1.

community support to provide meals for neighbors experiencing food insecurity.

The Chemung County Habitat for Humanity grant will help offset rising construction costs, making affordable homeownership more accessible for low-income families and expanding access to safe, stable housing.

Southside Community Center’s funding will support an additional staff position, allowing the organization to expand youth programming and serve more children and families in the community.

Together, these grants will help local organizations expand services, strengthen operations, and reach more people throughout the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes.

“One of the most rewarding parts of this program has been learning how each organization plans to use these funds,” said Mietlicki.

“Whether supporting local entrepreneurs, feeding families, expanding youth programs, or creating housing opportunities, the impact of these grants will be felt throughout our community for years to come.”

In other news

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HEARD&SEEN Heard Tompkins County is holding a final public convening of its Countywide Minimum Wage Study, during which consultants from the Cornell ILR Ithaca Co-Lab will present the study’s findings and take questions and comments from the public. The convening will occur Aug. 27 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the BorgWarner Community Room at Tompkins County Public Library.

Seen The city of Ithaca is conducting sidewalk repair and replacement on the 500 Block of S Plain Street.

Construction began on Aug. 11 and is scheduled to be completed by Aug. 24.

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

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Do you participate in the First Friday Art Galleries?

16.1% Yes. 80.6% No. 3.2% I don’t care.

N EXT WEEK ’S Q UESTION :

Are you ready for back-to-school season?

Visit ithaca.com to submit your response.

2 0 2 6

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It h Ac A t I m e s

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The Talk at

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

By Ithaca Times Readers

Questions for Josh Riley

“

Dear Congressman Josh Riley, Two years ago I canvassed door to door for your campaign. Before I do that again this year, I would very much appreciate answers to two questions: 1) You have taken $196,000 from AIPAC. You have violated the Leahy law that forbids the United States from funding foreign military committing human rights violations by supporting $30 Billion in tax-payer dollars for weapons to Israel that continue to commit genocide in Gaza. Knowing the horrific consequences of these weapons, will you now cosponsor to HR 3565, the Block the Bombs Act? 2) Prior to the enactment of the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement (HALT) Act in 2021, incarcerated New Yorkers could be subjected to solitary confinement for up to 23 hours a day over any number of

consecutive days, months, or years. An overwhelming amount of research proves that solitary confinement is psychologically and physiologically damaging and has negative outcomes on the safety of the public through increased recidivism rates. But you joined a picket line of New York prison guards calling for an end to the restrictions on solitary confinement under the HALT act. You wrote on X that “Instead of helping, Albany politicians are making things even worse with half-baked policies and mandates.” With 30,000 of my fellow New Yorkers incarcerated and still subjected to the use of solitary confinement, do you feel the HALT Act is half-baked?

Thank you for considering my concerns.” — Ruth Yarrow, Ithaca NY

RE: Namaste Montessori Switches to a Teacher Led Non-Profit Model

“

I’m so happy that my son gets to experience this wonderful school. He is now almost 3, and has been with Namaste since he was 18 months (half of his life!). I feel comfortable and confident in his education here at Namaste. We don't refer to it as ‘daycare’ because it's so much more than that — it really is a school where he is learning something new every day, whether that be from the thoughtful environment set up for him, his classroom leads, or his friends and

6 The Ithaca Times / August 19 – 25, 2026

peers. I’m happy for Bridgid to be able to move gracefully into retirement, and proud to know that the teachers and parents love this school that they want to carry it forward in a new model.” — Monica Adelman, Ithaca.com

Commending Southside Community Center, IPD Collaboration

“

The Southside Community Center, Ira McKinley and the Ithaca Police Department have done powerful work in rebuilding our community. On August 7th, I attended a meeting at Southside in which Ira McKinley, Margaret Wakely, and Ithaca Police Chief Thomas Kelly and Patrol Captain Theodore Schwartz discussed tensions between the community and IPD. Southside directors Chavon Bunch and Kayla Matos were there, along with others from the community, including Lushima Lumumba-Kasongo, Kyla Sotomayor and Shivonne Smith. Many from the group spoke about painful experiences with local law enforcement, asked about protocols, and made recommendations for improvements. For their part, Kelly and Schwartz described the unseen constraints and daily trauma police officers face.

It was not an easy meeting and we did not achieve a shared understanding of every issue, but what was clear was a mutual commitment to making things better. Both sides spoke of previous decades when officers had more day-today community contact, whether from working out with a youth sports team or just being a known friendly presence.

Great ideas were shared: McKinley asked IPD to support Southside’s new football

program, Bunch and Matos requested more collaboration with IPD to increase the number of local people serving as officers, including preparation for the civil service exam at Southside. We discussed other ways officers could build informal, positive community connections. It was the beautiful work of people solving problems side-by-side. Not easy, never done, but look at what we can create when we take the time together.” — Sue Schwartz, Trumansburg NY

RE: Response to House Legislation Regarding Insider Trading

“

The House of Representatives passed an insider-trading (partial) ban for legislators. Congressman Josh Riley sponsored this bill. Two issues with the bill forced Congressman Riley to vote no.

One issue, an amendment that suppresses the vote for seniors, women and the disabled, is the Save Act. The Save Act is a voter suppression amendment.

The second issue with the bill, which was meant to prevent legislators from trading on privileged information, is that it did not completely ban insider-trading and totally exempted the President from the bill. Last year, Trump is estimated to have made up to 1.86 billion dollars on stock trades with companies he has partial ownership in.

Insider enough?

WBNG highlighted Congressman Nicholas Langworthy as voting for the insider-trading bill because it allows TSA workers to be paid if there is a government shutdown (WBNG July 23, 2026).

Contin u ed on Page 13

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

Reverend April Stace: Doing What She Loves, and Sharing that Love with All of Us

By M a rjor i e O l d s

G

rowing up outside of Philadelphia, both of April Stace’s parents were musicians. Her father was a professor of music at a branch of Penn State, and her mother taught piano lessons. April grew up surrounded by music and began her studies at age four at the Settlement School of Music on piano, and transitioned to harp several years later.

After majoring in harp and music composition at the University of Maryland, April faced a choice: to continue in the classical music world by working towards a terminal degree, or to forge her own musical path and also attend seminary? While making a living playing weddings and cocktail parties, she formed a band with an electric bassist and drummer in order to explore new

musical territory.

Harp 46, April’s band, was named for the semi-concert grand harp she came to college with, which had 46 strings.

“I loved the classical repertoire, but I also wanted to write my own music to express what was in my heart and what I wanted to share. And I didn’t want to have to be reading from a page all the time — I wanted to be able to improvise.”

The improvisatory spirit also shaped April’s spiritual life. She grew up in the United Church of Christ. “I had this idea that church could be where we talked about all the deepest questions of life and be our most real selves. But that wasn’t what I was experiencing. By the time I got to college, I had given up on it altogether.” All of that would change when she accepted a gig at a church nearby the University of Maryland. Cedar Ridge

Reverend April Stace with her harp.

(Photo: Alicia Dianne)

Community Church (in Burtonsville, MD) embraced music and art, creativity, and engaged in deep conversations in a tight, supportive community. “In that church I experienced what I had been hoping for. I was surrounded by adults who took me seriously and people who I looked at and thought, ‘I want to be like them.’” Brian McLaren, the senior minister at the church, became a mentor and friend April, and an inspiration on her path to seminary and ordained ministry.

In a small Baptist Seminary in Arlington, Virginia, April studied to become a minister, while she kept up her music career, and later also completed a

Ph.D. at Catholic University, studying the connections between music, religion, and culture.

Ordained a Baptist minister in 2005, she was ordained an Episcopal priest in 2021.

April has been serving as priest-incharge at the Church of the Epiphany in Trumansburg, NY, for 3 years. The parish has been growing during April’s time there, adding members and new ministries, including working for immigrant justice, supporting youth programs, arts programs, and LGBTQIA+ ministries.

“When I was a kid, even though I went to a fairly progressive church, I had no idea that you could be queer and also be a Christian, let alone be ordained. It’s important, I think, for people to know that there are communities of faith out there who not only tolerate, but in fact welcome someone like me — a lesbian — to be a priest.” Church of the Epiphany is a welcoming, arts-focused parish.

Contin u ed on Page 11

Sports

Respect, Beyond Wins and Losses

By Ste ve L aw re nc e

A

s Johnnie Akins enters his second year as the Head Coach of the Ithaca High football team, his life experiences on and off the field assure him that no matter what the scoreboard reads at the end of the games, valuable lessons can be taught and learned.

Akins was a standout running back at Roosevelt High School in Long Island (graduating in 2014), and when he was considering where to go to college, SUNY Cortland wasn’t really on his radar. “It was a lastminute decision to choose Cortland,” Akins said, “and it turned out to be the best decision for me. I made a lot of memories there.”

Ironically, Khiry Brown — who preceded Akins as the Little Red’s coach — played for Ithaca College at the same time as Johnnie was suiting up for the Red Dragons, and the two faced each other in the Cortaca Jug. In Akins’ words, “We were opponents on the field, but we have become really good friends.” (Another piece of irony... Greg Roskos, who is now

the Head Coach at Homer High School, recruited Akins to come to Cortland, and Homer and Ithaca will meet this fall.)

Like most of his varsity players, Akins has come up through the ranks of Little Red football over the past few years. He said, “This is my seventh season overall.

I coached Modified for 3 years, and I was on the staff with Khiry. I am a Phys Ed teacher in the district, and I have watched many of these guys grow up.”

I brought up the fact that many high school programs are really struggling to fill their rosters, and I asked Coach Akins about that. He replied, “I am putting that in the ‘Win’ column. We have really good numbers up and down the program. We have over 40 players on the Modified roster, we have enough to have a JV team for the second season, and the Varsity roster looks strong.” He added, “Our goal is to retain players by building a sense of belonging. We want to teach the game, and to grow the ‘full athlete,’ so to speak.

We want them to ask themselves, ‘Who are you as a young man?’ ‘What is your

character?' We want this to be processoriented as much as goal-oriented.”

The coach is pleased that his staff is composed of several Ithaca High alums who take pride in the school, and who want to see the program grow and thrive. Former Little Red athletes like Jaydn Henderson and Danny Parker are bringing their skills and passion to the program, as do Daquan Griffin and Greg Cooper. In Akins’ words, “We want to build from the ground up. Our older kids know that the example they set will lay the foundation for who we are as a program.

What we are contributing to the school and to the community.”

Wrapping up, Johnnie said, “Football was my vehicle. Hard work, commitment, consistency — all of those things transferred over to life, and we want to give our players the opportunity to have the sport be their vehicle as well.” He added, “We have nine regular season games, and we want to give people a reason to come out to the games. We want to be measured in terms of respect for our program, not just wins and losses.”

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Johnnie Akins at SUNY Cortland (Photo: SUNY Cortland Website)

Circling back to the Cortaca Jug, the two colleges just entered into a 4-year naming sponsorship with Visions Federal Credit Union. It is the first naming sponsorship in the games long history, and it will start with the November 14th Cortaca Jug game at Yankee Stadium, and will run through the 2029 season.

In the words of outgoing Ithaca College President, La Jerne Terry Cornish, “Together, we share a responsibility to help this region thrive, and we’re proud to have Visions as a partner as we carry this extraordinary tradition forward and expand its impact both on and off the field.”

According to Ithaca College’s website, “The relationship will also extend beyond Cortaca itself through opportunities for Visions to contribute to financial-literacy programming at both institutions each fall and spring.”

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From Manufactured Homes to Zoning Updates: Tompkins County Panelists Offer Roadmap to Housing Affordability

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rade Design Build and Cornell University’s Circular Construction Lab hosted a “Building What We Value” panel on Aug. 6, in which local officials and housing experts advocated for factory-built homes, zoning reform, and resident co-ops to restore accessibility to affordable homeownership.

Panelists included New York state Assemblymember Anna Kelles, Tompkins County Housing and Community Development Director David West, former Tompkins County Legislature Chair Martha Robertson, Cornell Circular Construction Lab Director Felix Heisel, and Trade Design Build CEO Gideon Stone.

Stone said he is looking into manufactured and off-site homes as cheaper alternatives to traditional construction due to rising costs. He said staying in business while keeping homes affordable for buyers is a challenge.

“Having been in business for 10 years, we’ve observed one consistent trend: every time we think we have a grasp on construction costs, we talk to clients, set expectations, go back to do the formal estimates, and realize, ‘Oh, it’s even more expensive,’” Stone said. “We go through that entire cycle over and over again.”

Stone said building a new single-family home has become out of reach for typical buyers as construction costs have outpaced

By Philip O’Dell wage growth over the last five decades.

Stone’s firm could complete a traditional stick-built residential project for under $300 per square foot in 2016. That figure has doubled since then, making traditional construction methods financially impractical for most consumers and forcing builders to search for new solutions.

Kelles said income inequality is the primary driver of the housing crisis, citing the Economic Policy Institute’s 2024 report that says top earners saw massive income gains since the 1970s — up to 182% for the top 1% — while wages for the bottom 90% grew 44%. This growing wealth gap leaves average workers unable to afford construction-driven housing costs. To maintain standard affordability (spending no more than 30% of income on shelter), New York state increasingly relies on taxpayer subsidies to compensate developers for the shortfall in tenant purchasing power.

According to Kelles, local regions see rising rates of homelessness, particularly among full-time employed workers and families seeking shelter. She said homelessness leads to increased state spending and long-term expenditures across mental health services, special education, and the criminal justice system. She said state programs like Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative (ESSHI) and the Homeless Housing and Assistance Program (HHAP) fund affordable units and support services,

Philip O’Dell/Ithaca Times Panelists talked about possible solutions to make housing more affordable within Tompkins County at Trade Design Build’s “Building What We Value” panel on Aug. 6.

8 The Ithaca Times / August 19 – 25, 2026

New York state Assemblymember Anna Kelles discussed ways to ensure affordable housing in Tompkins County during Trade Design Build’s “Building What We Value” panel on Aug. 6. (Photo: Philip O’Dell/Ithaca Times)

such as mental health care and workforce 80% or less of the area median income.

• Manufactured Home Advantage development. However, current funding Program: Offers below-market rate financlevels fall short of the need.

Kelles said the housing supply deficit is ing for infrastructure repairs and preserestimated at roughly 6,000 units in Tomp- vation efforts in manufactured home comkins County. She said updating local zon- munities.

West highlighted Tompkins County’s ing regulations to boost overall housing development could lower rents by up to 40%, 2024 Housing Snapshot, revealing housing though regional supply remains well be- production didn’t meet the county's goals. low the threshold needed to stabilize prices. In the report, county officials projected a Kelles said recent state budget updates need for 3,800 new single-family homes, address delays associated with the State En- especially those priced under $200,000. vironmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). However, private developers built 666 sinProvisions historically used to stall develop- gle-family units from 2017 through 2024. ment — such as “neighborhood character” Workforce housing fell short, while goals requirements and shadow impacts — of- were met for student housing and permaten pushed projects into multi-year reviews, nent supportive housing.

West said student housing remains ludriving up legal and administrative costs.

Kelles said outdated municipal regula- crative for private developers, while suptions, including minimum parking man- portive housing benefits from substantial dates and rigid height limits, frequently state funding. He said market-rate develprevent the construction of multi-family opment also expanded, helping raise the housing options. She proposed updating City of Ithaca’s rental vacancy rate from a local zoning rules to allow higher-density severe 0.5% in 2009 to between 6% and 8% configurations, such as duplexes on single- — a range considered healthy by planners.

West said standardized off-site confamily lots, to offer accessible ownership struction can bypass local stick-built costs models while expanding supply.

To support off-site housing, Kelles said exceeding $600 per square foot, providing municipalities a predictable way to exstate programs offer targeted financing: • SONYMA Manufactured Home pand starter home inventory — as seen Loan Program: Provides 30-year fixed-rate in Arcata, California’s Sandpiper Park definancing at interest rates as low as 3% for velopment. However, adopting this state modular housing program locally poses a homes constructed after 2006.

• Mobile and Manufactured Home Re- hurdle: it requires a municipality to conplacement Program (MMHR): Grants up trol at least 10 lots. West said high property to $200,000 per home and up to $750,000 values in Tompkins County yield far fewer per municipality to renovate or replace substandard units for households earning Contin u ed on Page 9

News

“Bringing Cayuga Lake to the people is why we’re here,” Foster said. “People aren’t going to love this place unless they can make it part of their lives.”

Chances to get on the water increase, but reminders that the watershed is part of daily life can be simple as receiving a newsletter or viewing a post. At Cayuga Lake Watershed Network, University of Vermont junior Soraya Hammer continues Lake Friendly Living, a program that partners watershed responsibility with information about sustainable at-home practices. Participants begin the program by taking a pledge, and follow it with the help of brochures, guides and workbooks.

Hammer published actionable steps that allow homeowners to become lake guardians instantly, just by making small lifestyle adjustments. Mitigating impact happens habitually by refraining from toxic fertilizer, mowing the lawn less or even using cleaner detergent.

At the symposium, habits were also explored in depth with Climate Fund Clean Energy and Communication and Outreach interns Sabine Zentner and Bridgette Martin. After a summer at Sustainable Finger Lakes, they concentrated on carbon offsetting and the true impact of travel on the watershed.

During the final summer event, Zentner and Martin passed out vehicle tags and determined the hypothetical amount of energy used by those partaking in the simulation. The exercise revealed the extent of a regular carbon imprint following one trip around the Lake.

“Every summer I notice that interns find a sense of meaning because they're engaged in direct action with the organizations, and they see that their individual contributions are making a difference,” Jirka concluded. “It’s so rewarding to work with young people who, despite environmental crises, are ready to face challenges and explore some creative new solutions and express yourselves in creative new ways.”

Discover Cayuga Lake Watershed Internship Program Hosts Annual Symposium

By Kira Walte r

O

n Aug. 10, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., the Discover Cayuga Lake Watershed Internship Program (WIP) culminated the summer 2026 season with an annual symposium. Held at the Cayuga Nature Center, interns invited the community to participate in a group activity that showcased their progress.

Visitors toured projects in sustainability, agriculture, and environmental education with a passport in hand, as visitors traversed a taped outline of the lake. They stopped at different learning stations along the way, collecting stamps, and were able to calculate their total carbon footprint after completing the circuit.

Since WIP’s pilot year in 2022, it’s provided young adults the opportunity to work at Discover Cayuga Lake (DCL) and other watershed organizations managed

by Astrid Jirka, DCL’s Director of Tourism Initiatives & Community Outreach.This year, Paddle-N-More, Cayuga Lake Watershed Network, The Soil Factory, Museum Of The Earth and Sustainable Finger Lakes hired nine paid interns to coordinate marketing, implement new gardening strategies and increase watershed accessibility.

“When they focus in on the local level and they actually have work that contributes to a mission in an organization that’s well established, they feel a sense of purpose,” Jirka said.

DCL took on Daisy Solis as their Community Outreach and Marketing Assistant and Simone LaPlante as their Family Eco-Cruise Coordinator this year. Solis ran DCL’s social media pages with a series HOUSING AFFORDABILITY

Balancing communication and scientific of “Internviews” that featured what’s being inquiry is a constant priority for the Paleonimplemented at WIP. Her video work was tological Research Institution (PRI) intern compiled into Voices Across The WaterAbigail MacAlpine, of Willamette Univershed, a documentary that was shared dursity, whose summer focus has been building ing the symposium. on water quality resources at the Museum With many summer hours spent onOf The Earth. As the Museum and Climate board DCL’s MV Teal, LaPlante has been Change Outreach Assistant, she expanded designing and executing free boat tours the harmful algal blooms (HABs) exhibit that integrate water science into eco-tourwith a news board that provided weekly ism. She appreciated the creative liberties updates on where HAB’s are in the lake. She she had in planning. also worked on interactive activities that “I like that my internship gave me free teach the importance of preventing nutrient reign,” LaPlante said. “I wasn’t given rules runoff and wetland restoration. about what I can or can’t do, which at first Paddle-N-More’s Community Paddle was kind of intimidating. But once I came Coordinator Kelley Stuart, whose project up with an idea, I could do whatever I “Water You Thinking?” allows kayakers to want with it.” do an open index card reflection on their An incoming senior at Plymouth State surroundings. With a five minute window University majoring in environmental science and policy, LaPlante said her position for completion,participants are asked to focus on the part of the lake they find allowed her to apply scientific skills from studies, adding more hands-on experience most important.

Stuart has observed poems, drawings, to her arsenal. and words of inspiration. A rising senior at Interns Kyleigh Tangen and Caleb LeBBinghamton, the summer with Paddle N’ lanc performed some of the most labor-inMore has allowed her to spend nearly every tensive study application as experimental garden assistants at The Soil Factory. Tangen day of the working week in a kayak. In collaboration with DCL and New York State heads into her Junior year at Cornell while LeBlanc attends Syracuse, now pausing aca- Canal Corporation, the rental business has demic work to make compost, bake biochar also improved lake accessibility this summer through two free tour programs. Love and fertilize garden beds with urine.

Your Lake and On The Canals take place A social collective at the cross-section on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, making of art and science, the Soil Factory hosts an often luxury activity affordable for all. pottery and sewing workshops alongside The ability to offer free kayaking at sustainable agriculture projects. ReplacStewart and Myers Park is a major mileing synthetic fertilizers with natural additives that decrease chemical runoff into stone for both partnered organizations, aligning well with DCL Executive Director the lake was at the heart of their work Bill Foster’s working mission. this summer.

eral housing bill enacted reforms for manufactured housing, allowing them to be contin u ed from page 8 constructed directly on permanent foundations to improve foundation stability, municipal-owned vacant parcels than cit- insulation, quality control, and moisture ies like Syracuse, so regional planners are prevention. The law established the PRICE seeking ways to adapt the rule to fit local program (Preservation and Reinvestment land availability.

Initiative for Community Enhancement), Robertson said recent federal housing authorizing a seven-year grant program legislation and state cooperative models for infrastructure upgrades in manufacare offering new avenues to protect and ex- tured home parks, including water, road, pand affordable off-site housing. The fed- and sewer improvements. The program

directs the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to study cost-effectiveness of off-site construction.

Robertson said financing remains a major barrier for manufactured housing buyers. She said many manufactured homes are classified as personal property rather than real estate, so buyers are often forced to take out personal loans instead of standard mortgages. Robertson said these loans carry higher interest rates and shorter repayment terms — typically 10 years Au gu s t

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instead of traditional 25- or 30-year mortgages — increasing borrowing costs for lower-income buyers.

Robertson cited New York Real Property Law Section 233-a, which aims to preserve manufactured home communities by granting residents the right of first refusal when a property goes up for sale. Under the law, residents have a 90-day window to form a legal cooperative and submit a competitive purchase offer before external buyers can acquire the site.

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Arts&Entertainment Arts& &Entertainment REV Theatre Company Revives Musical “Carousel”

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By Barbara Adams

t’s been 29 long years since “Carousel” has been produced in Auburn, aptly enough in the Merry-GoRound Playhouse. So The REV Theatre Company’s revival of this iconic yet unusual musical — visually spectacular and beautifully sung — is a treat for lovers of musical theater. Brett Smock creatively directs this handsome production, which is strong with a few lapses.

With 10 Donaldson awards (pre-Tonys), including best musical of the 1944-45 season, “Carousel” was the second collaboration of Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (book and lyrics), following their wild success with “Oklahoma!”

After that story’s sunny positivity, this work was much darker. They based it on the stage play “Liliom” by Hungarian Ferenc Molnár, about a rough carnival barker who abuses his young wife and damages their lives but gets a second chance.

Let’s address the issue right off: what’s disturbing in any production of “Carousel” is not only Billy Bigelow’s behavior — which he rationalizes as “hitting” not “beating” — but his wife’s normalization of his violence. Julie Jordan notably says to her daughter, Louise, “It is possible, dear, for someone to hit you — hit you hard — and not hurt at all.”

That justification of abuse from a loved one was as familiar in the 1870s, when the musical takes place, as it often still is today — and we should see that the narrative doesn’t endorse this but presents it as a human response for our understanding.

“Carousel.”

Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and music by Richard Rodgers.

Directed by Brett Smock; choreographed by Paige Faure, with musical direction by Jeff Theiss.

At the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse, The Rev Theatre Company, Emerson Park, Auburn, NY. Tues.-Sat. at 7:30 p.m. through Aug. 29, plus six 2 p.m. matinees.

For tickets: The REVTheatre.com or 315-255-1785.

Billy Bigelow is a flawed man, an anti-hero, and his romance with Julie Jordan is circumscribed and defined not just by poor choices but by poverty and dead ends and repeated failure. In a small working-class community, this young jobless couple about to have a child have multiple strikes against them.

“Carousel” begins on notes of fragile romantic love but soon turns down a troubled path. Julie, a naive mill worker, opens up to the assured swagger of the carnival barker, Billy, and dares to follow him even if it means losing her job. Their married life is soon clouded by his physical abuse, and The Company of The REV Theatre Company’s production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “CAROUSEL.” (Photo: Ron Heerkens, Jr. / Goat Factory Media Entertainment, LLC.) once a child is expected, Billy attempts a robbery to get money. But when his target certain light, actually seemed like snakes). brandishes a gun, Billy stabs and kills himand her new husband, Enoch Snow, he of And these homespun girls are mostly too self to escape arrest. The rest of the action the multiple children, fishing boats, and heavily made up; Julie’s friend Carrie Piphappens between earth and the purgatory herring fortune. Todd Buonopane nails peridge rather looks like a fille de joie. where a “Starkeeper” guides him briefly Snow as a perfectly smug and blossomThe singing of those classics you know back home to try to make amends with his ing bourgeois; it’s a delightful caricature. unhappy wife and now 15-year-old daughter. all the words to — from “You’re a Queer As Carrie, Tia Karaplis is unfortunately One, Julie Jordan” to the ever-poignant The script encompasses this world and egregiously loud and exaggerated in a perthe next, in effect, and in The REV’s produc- “You’ll Never Walk Alone — is splendidly formance so forced it’s insincere — the one done, from the specific roles to the chorus tion, this duality is stunningly accomplished main (and painful) distraction in the entire of Genesee Street Voices. And Sun Hee

by Christian Fleming’s set and Nathan W. production. (A smaller misstep is having Kil’s sound design lets every lyric reach Scheuer’s lighting. The stage itself is a raised every single one of the clambake celebrants the audience. wooden round, encircled by dock pilings clutching their stomachs from overeating; The original “Carousel” was famous for looped with rope, evoking the Maine fishing it’s excessive and far too graphic.)

Agnes DeMille’s choreography, but later community. The glowing backdrop is anAs Julie Jordan, the richly voiced Heathversions try different approaches. Here the other carousel shape, a wrapping semicircle er Botts at first doesn’t seem as youthful act one hornpipe dance sequence is drasti- and unworldly as the role demands, but she that splits in the middle to reveal conductor cally cut, with choreographer Paige Faure Jeff Theis’ excellent orchestra, the whole fills the later role of disappointed wife exoffering a much shorter but still vigorous bathed in golden light. A series of straightceptionally well. Her tender, coy duet with number that moves the story along more backed chairs ring the rear of the stage, Billy, “If I Loved You,” is exquisite. But this briskly. “The Carousel Ballet” in the second where cast members sit in witness when story is ultimately not so much about Julie’s act, where the outsider Louise is taunted not in the main action. The overall effect is lost romantic hopes as Billy’s failures and by the Snow children, is far more contemone of community and continuity, a mix of ultimate if imperfect redemption. As Billy, porary in sensibility, articulating the girl’s coarse reality and shining promise.

Zachary James can’t help commanding the anxiety and disconnection. Esther Lee’s The environment is enhanced by Tifstage — he towers over everyone, his actexpressive movement here lets us keenly fany Howard’s outstanding costumes, ing is nuanced and sensitive (making Billy feel the conflict Louise experiences. revealing class yet individuality — the more sympathetic), and his singing clarionDirector Smock moves the large men in dockside gear, the women in fluid clear and harmonious. Above all, James’s ensemble elegantly through the narrative, layered skirts and aprons. I found Mary Billy Bigelow is believably human, and his with delightful group numbers like “June Tyler’s hair and makeup choices less faults and struggles — as a husband, father, is Bustin’ Out All Over” — in which Alicia and man — are the heart of “Carousel.” successful — laboring women of that era Russell Tagert’s maternal Nettie Fowler is wore their long hair pinned up and plain, simply captivating. whereas most of these cotton mill workBarbara Adams is a regional theatre and The comical counterpart to the central ers have excessively curly, Medusa-like arts journalist and retired professor of couple is the outspoken Carrie Pipperidge free locks (one girl’s tresses, caught in a writing, Ithaca College.

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Books

Smut: An Ithaca Obscenity Trial

By C h arl e y Githl e r

O

n Monday June 18, 1883, the first day of Cornell’s 15th commencement week, Jefferson Beardsley was sentenced in Tompkins County Court to four to six months at hard labor in the Onondaga penitentiary plus a $300 fine as the penalty for his conviction the previous week of making and selling obscene pictures. The trial, which excited a good deal of local conversation at the time, is the subject of Carol Kammen’s most recent book, “Smut “(Paul Dry Books, 2026).

It was 100 years later, in 1983, as Kammen was poking around in a neglected county storage room, that she literally stepped on the transcript of the trial in People of the State of New York vs. Jefferson and Helen Beardsley. Sometimes fate nudges you. That transcript became the primary document around which she could build an account of the trial and all the issues connected to it.

The charges against the Beardsleys involved the owning, showing, purveying and selling obscene pictures, often called “French postcards” at the time. This was a time of moral conservatism and anti-vice legislation promoted by activist Anthony Comstock, who vehemently opposed obscene literature, abortion, contraception, masturbation, gambling, prostitution and patent medicines. He once boasted that he was directly responsible for 4000 arrests. No record survives of him ever displaying any sense of joy. Locally, the Society for the Prevention of Crime in Ithaca was carrying on the Comstockian mission in 1883.

The 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition is a character in the story. This was truly an age of innovation, much of it American. The telephone, phonograph, light bulb, and mail-order catalog were all 1870s inventions. Of course, easing into the future is a process. Standardized time zones wouldn’t be instituted until later in 1883. At the time of the trial, every comREVEREND APRIL STACE contin u ed from page 7

April worked deep and hard to figure out what really mattered to her and to invest the time, energy and resources

munity operated on its own clock. When it was 9:00 in Ithaca, it was 9:12 in Albany.

The Centennial Exposition, in its role as a display of everything new and wonderful and modern was an agent of spreading that change. Over nine million people visited the Exposition, and they brought ideas and a glimpse of the future back home with them. The Beardsleys brought several French postcard pictures back from the Philadelphia fair to their small photographic studio, and showed them to select customers.

Photographic studios were important businesses in 1883. There were six in the Village of Ithaca at the time. Jefferson Beardsley was himself an established artist and photographer, whose studio was on Linn Street near where the trail up the Cascadilla Gorge now starts. The democratizing effect of the first affordable Kodak box camera, preloaded with 100 exposures, was five years in the future. “Snapshots”, candid pictures taken by a family member, started appearing in photo albums in the 1890s. Before that, photographs, though relatively inexpensive since the 1850s, were largely the province of a professional with a studio.

Kammen draws directly from the transcript of the witness testimony in People vs. Beardsley. While they are an excellent source of what is said in a court proceeding, trial transcripts are generally not as exciting as one might suppose. A climactic courtroom scene like the ones that play out in every Law & Order: SVU rarely occur in real life.

In her sure hands, Kammen walks the reader through the testimony, commenting and explaining while keeping the story moving along.

“Smut” is rife with contextualizing digressions. There is a great deal of local history packed into 209 pages, deeply satisfying to those of us who live here.

There are broader themes as well: obscenity laws, the history of pornography, the treatment of women in society, the

1876 Exposition, the role of social class. A good portion of the book compares the Comstock era to current efforts to control and restrain women. The same forces are at work today.

There are also elements of memoir in the book. Carol Kammen has been connected to local history since the 1960s, and was our County Historian for over a quarter of a century. Winner of multiple history-related awards and author of numerous books, she meditates freely on

her years as an historian and the nature of local history. It’s long been Kammen’s philosophy to examine history with sort of a gimlet eye, telling the stories of the Have-nots as well as the Haves.

It’s all delivered in an informal, almost conversational tone, and it’s refreshing to have an author so knowledgeable speak so plainly and confidently. It’s an excellent story, and it’s local history as you’d hope it would be written. “Smut” is available at Buffalo Street Books.

to be the person she wanted to become.

She is a parent of a college student, a full-time faculty member at The General Theological Seminary in NYC, the parttime rector at Church of the Epiphany, and is still making music! She’s recording a new album that will be released in

October 2026. She also has a new book, Poly in the Pews: Rethinking Relationships, Sex, and What it Means to be Faithful, which will be released in March 2027 with Fortress Press.

“I feel so lucky to be able to do all the things I love—to parent, play

music, walk with people in their journey through life… and all of this in the beauty of the Finger Lakes!”

For more information about Reverend April Stace’s Church, Books and Music: www.aprilstace.com // www.epiphanytrumansburg.org

Cover of Carol Kammen’s, “Smut.”

(Photo: Provided)

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Arts

Curated Retail On The Commons: Is Tyranny of The Thrift Ending?

By Kira Walte r

F

or years, Ithaca has had a variety of options for years. From Plato’s Closet to Evergreen to the lump sum of chains (Goodwill, Salvation Army, and Thrifty Shopper) on Elmira Road, there is no shortage of second-hand clothing options.

Changes on the Commons last spring turned attention toward curated retail.

With four new fashion outlets on the block, finding the right fit is a little different this summer as new vendors offer specificity and unique pieces.

Seed Bomb

Seed Bomb is an art and apparel combo shop that values community connections. (Photo: Mark Syverston)

One boutique with values that stand out this season is Seed Bomb, an art and apparel mash-up wedged between Sushi Osaka and Marrakech Cuisine. Before its grand opening in April, owners Jake Martin and Christina Nichols had been traveling to do band merch and screen printing since 2021. The duo moved from Northern PA last June after Nichols, who attended Ithaca College, felt that Ithaca was the right place for an official storefront.

“We started off doing band merchandise, then expanded into our own designs,” Martin said. “Everything had a DIY, punk rock, earth-focused kind of vibe to it. People loved them, so we started doing different markets and events. We went wherever the wind took us, and it led us here.”

While their bestsellers are custom t-shirts and patches, the owners said the shop’s focus is hosting a collaborative environment that supports local creatives. Aside from punk merch and pins, Seed Bomb serves as a medium for artists to consign their pieces, poets to perform, and bands to jam. In a cozy nook at the property’s back end, a multitude of art supplies invite customers to craft as well. Meanwhile, a library of zines invites artists and activists to casually self-publish their ideas next to the crafting section.

Adorn features trendy women’s clothing for visitors and locals to peruse. (Photo: Mark Syverston)

“People can come buy things they love and spend money, but the community space is where our heart is,” Nichols said. “We want to keep it free and accessible always.”

Adorn As Seed Bomb tailors to punk scene shoppers, its neighbor across the Commons neighbor carries a more colorful arsenal of women’s inventory. Ithaca-bornand-raised founder Maddie Spitznagel signed a February lease and moved in less than a month later with clothes that cater to young women. Following the closure of Urban Outfitters’ Ithaca location, she addressed a lack of affordable trending retail for high school- and college-aged women.

“They have so much to go to: homecomings, sorority functions, all these niche events that they need outfits for,” Spitznagel said. “So, this is just someplace where everything changes, keeps up with the seasons and young people’s needs.”

Whereas Seed Bomb focuses on building community within, Adorn is about preparing girls for the tumultuous and exciting happenings that await beyond store doors. Spitznagel works with 20 selected vendors that fulfill her standards for quality and stylistic excellence, so clients avoid the scouring the thrift that can come with prepping a wardrobe for milestones.

“When I was at [Ithaca High School], we’d walk down to the Commons, grab a slice of pizza and peruse some stores,” Spitznagel said.

“I know how valuable that experience was as a young person trying to find their own style.

I wanted to give that back to Ithaca again.”

Feel Goods Inc. At ethical clothing stop Feel Goods Ithaca, there is also a strong interest in trends. But the concentration is mostly on sustainability and local artisans. Founder Heidi Brown,

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Hamilton & Adams Wear offers a variety of curated clothing pieces. (Photo: Mark Syverston)

neighbor Hamilton & Adams Wear, a who moved back from Portland to Ithaca right before the pandemic, has run her own brand from Kingston, New York. Its Ithaca clothing brand coined May & Mary since 2015. location is the second of a less traditional men’s apparel shop that fosters an “upstate Once vending at 40 to 50 markets a year, and chill” energy, as their signs say. Though the storefront doubles as not only a retail home base is three hours away, founders destination but a studio. On the second floor, and partners Clark Chaine and Andrew Brown’s hard at work on her own garments and plans to host workshops once the plumb- Addotta long considered an Ithaca location.

Following Addotta’s Cornell graduation, he ing is properly fixed. Until then, her business revisited the Commons and felt it was time is a gallery of sustainable jewelry makers, to expand business here. creators and designers both local and cross“We’re definitely a brand built on inclucountry, with a focus on ethical fashion. sivity, and it's part of the lifestyle here,” said “I’ve really enjoyed being on the Comstore manager Chris Wilson. “I think that’s mons. Everything is ethically made, and one of the reasons that Andrew decided it’s nice to have a customer base in Ithaca this was a natural fit. I mean, one way or that cares,” Brown said. another, we would have ended up in Ithaca.”

Brown has been interested in the Feel Enthusiastic about the market, Wilson Goods space since 2025, so her spring initiaexplained that the store offers something tion was heavily anticipated by neighbors and partners alike. Going through items on different in the realm of Ithaca’s male fashion scene. While options like Benjamin Peters display, the creator walked through a colprovide more high-end fashion, Hamilton lection of pieces by friends that span Portland, San Francisco, and Geneseo. The only & Adams prioritizes the casual. Wilson also spoke to the benefit of having such carefully criteria for joining the Feel Goods family is picked retail over another second-hand outlet. responsible production. Artists and makers “Thrift stores are important, and inin question use natural, recycled and organic credible when they’re done right,” he said. materials while the spotlight is steadfast on “But if that's the only shopping option you those creating in marginalized groups. have, it's limiting.”

“Even though I lived in Portland for a long A vibrant thrifting landscape is by no time, I ended up back here because of the people,” Brown said. “It’s a tight knit communi- means dying in Ithaca, but several new ty,” and people take care of each other in Ithaca.” shops offer new standards. While finding Much like folks at Seed Bomb and Adorn, affordable and personalized options often entailed rifling through racks of donations, Brown said that Ithaca was the proper home several more outfitters on the Commons for her retail vision, as the culture encourare here as sources of shopping clarity. ages conscientious purchases.

Wilson also spoke to a growing camaLike the concurrent new wave of Commons businesses, Brown said she valued in- raderie between new summer retail locations and a lack of competition, largely tentionality in both what’s worn and what’s because of targeting different audiences. sold: she saw the diversification of missions “You can’t fight your neighbor here, between shops as a very positive trend. because that’s just gonna hurt you in the Hamilton & Adams Wear In a similar boat is Adorn’s nextdoor Contin u ed on Page 13

Film

“The End of Oak Street” Pits Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor Against Dinosaurs

By Cl e me nt O b ropta

D

inosaurs are awesome. This selfevident truth has been the rallying cry for every Hollywood dino movie from “King Kong” to the “Jurassic” films, yet the dominance of one particular park of prehistoric predators meant that most studios have been afraid to double-dip at the dino dish. So thank goodness for “The End of Oak Street,” an original paleo adventure starring Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor as parents teleported back in time.

It begins on an ordinary July day in an ordinary neighborhood. It’s the ‘80s exactly as you remember them — summer barbecues, kids biking around the neighborhood, the president of the HOA getting eaten by an Allosaurus….

Denise Platt (Hathaway) secretly toils away on a book about her dissatisfaction with her marriage, while patriarch Greg (McGregor) slips away from the community picnic to deliver pizzas. He was laid off a few weeks before, but he has to keep a happy face and a semi-steady paycheck until he works up the courage to tell his wife.

The kids have troubles of their own.

Brian (Christian Convery) hides from bullies and crushes on the new girl next door (Jordan Alexa Davis), while older sister Audrey (Maisy Stella) struggles with a blossoming attraction to girls (in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it gay subplot that never reaches a satisfying conclusion).

“The End of Oak Street” Rated PG-13 Directed by David Robert Mitchell.

Currently playing at Regal Ithaca Mall.

40 Catherwood Road, Ithaca.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR contin u ed from page 6

However, Langworthy did not report that a new program will place TSA agents under private companies, so the addition to the insider-trading bill was unnecessary.

Those simmering tensions under the surface of suburbia soon erupt like a Pangean volcano when the entire neighborhood is inexplicably warped to the distant past.

Such a fun premise hardly requires explanation (though the film offers one anyway, involving spontaneous wormholes).

Rather than merely throwing a handsome cast to the mercy of Mesozoic monsters, as the recent “Jurassic World” films have done, “The End of Oak Street” is instead much more dour and somber, the rare $80 million summer blockbuster unabashedly manufactured for mature audiences rather than the whole family. Neighbors get gnoshed left and right, and there’s a pervading sense of doom and gloom that the Platts will never return to their original time. Perhaps most upsettingly, there’s loads of pet peril in this — you can tell it was made by a dog person rather than a cat person. “Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie” this is not.

Rooted by excellent performances from McGregor and Hathaway (at her most powerful here wielding a rifle and sporting a fringe), “The End of Oak Street” is the best Spielberg movie Spielberg never made, an artful and often moving experience that occasionally swings between good old-fashioned suspense filmmaking and cheesy B-movie yucks (such as a neighbor standing on his roof shooting at pterosaurs with a revolver).

Writer-director David Robert Mitchell is an expert at that age-old storytelling concept of the ticking bomb under the table. An Allosaurus in the background of a shot soon notices and stalks our heroes, or a giant prehistoric snake slithers through a house undetected, looking for prey. Every other sequence in “Oak Street” has such a threat in the background, the kind of Congressman Riley, I applaud that you stood your ground against the underhanded attempt at voter suppression and blatant corruption. Congressman Langworthy, you are complicit in dishonest conduct and untruthfulness. WBNG, you misrepresented this situation.” — Rosanne Van Wie, Waverly NY

The Platt family (Ewan McGregor, Christian Convery, Maisy Stella, and Anne Hathaway) deciding how to escape the neighborhood. (Photo: IMDb/Warner Bros. Pictures)

terror in plain sight that defined Mitchell’s breakout hit “It Follows” back in 2014 and which fills his new film with a refreshing sense of constant danger and the sense that Mitchell has complete trust in the intelligence of his audience. Complementing it all, composer Michael Giacchino, who also worked on the “Jurassic World” films, delivers his best score in years.

Over 30 years since they developed the breakthrough VFX technology to bring “Jurassic Park” to life, Industrial Light & Magic has done it again with photoreal dinos that again have (mostly) caught up to modern paleontology. In a big win for paleo nerds everywhere, they have feathers now! And while the reveal of a feathered Coelophysis drew chuckles from my theater, seeing one chase Ewan McGregor through a garden rivals the raptors-inthe-kitchen scene from “Jurassic Park” for sheer suspense and craft.

At its heart, “The End of Oak Street” is a story about a boy and his dog, an exploration of optimism versus pragmatism,

and also very much about the sacrifices parents make for their children. But it’s also, like this summer’s “Backrooms,” a film about how suburbia was a mistake.

The naïvete of the 20th-century setting eventually breeds isolation and fear — the Platts board up their windows and stay inside their home, never once thinking to band together with their neighbors. It becomes every man for himself. The comforts of suburbia and the nuclear family become a trap. Within “The End of Oak Street,” just as in “Backrooms” or Mitchell’s horror masterpiece “It Follows,” one can see both the rose-tinted nostalgia for a bygone era and the horror of that promise as it curdles into nightmares.

If the artist Zarina asserted once that home is a foreign place, “The End of Oak Street” suggests that it’s also a past you can never return to. Unless you fall into a wormhole.

CURATED RETAIL

dress, I can send them over to Feel Goods.

If they’re looking for lower-key female fashion, I can send them next door. There’s just so many options here that you can fill all those niches, you know? I love that.”

Through solidarity and innovation, new establishments are turning a chapter in Ithaca’s curated retail.

contin u ed from page 12

long run,” Wilson said. “You want everyone down here to succeed. If I don’t have what somebody’s looking for clothing-wise, I know all the other clothing retailers here.

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

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Our best new writers, the ones who grew up here or fell in love with Ithaca in college, are being pushed toward cheaper cities just to survive.

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

When a young journalist can afford to stay in Ithaca, you get: ● Fresh, fearless voices loyal to your local paper ● Someone at every city council meeting who believes local news matters ● The next great Ithaca story written by someone who actually lives here ● Your $25, $50, or $100 a month doesn’t just pay their rent. ● It keeps storytellers in our community and stops local brain drain. ● When our younger generation thrives, Ithaca’s future stays bright.

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Music Bars/Bands/Clubs

8/19 Wednesday Motors & Music at The Glen | 5 p.m. | Watkins Glen International, 2790 Co Rte 16,

8/20 Thursday Feed The Fire @ Danby Food and Drink | 6 p.m. | Danby Food and Drink, 1483 Danby Rd. | Free

8/21 Friday Wagner Sunset Music Series Presents Miller & The Other Sinners | 5 p.m. | Wagner Vineyards, 9322 State Route 414 Live Music — Noon Fifteen & Alex Cano | 6 p.m. | Hopshire Farms & Brewery, 1771 Dryden Rd.

8/22 Saturday Bryan Jacobson Live | 4 p.m. | Brewers Taproom, 10 Pinckney Rd.

8/23 Sunday

Music on The Green | 7 p.m.

8/20 Thursday Jefferson Starship | 8 p.m. | Tioga Downs, 2384 West River Rd.

8/22 Saturday Racker Day in the Park | 12 p.m. | Stewart Park, 1 James L Gibbs Dr. The Chuck Dean Band | 6 p.m. | ONCO Fermentations, 397 NY RT 281, Suite O Rebecca Kaplan | 7 p.m. | Secret Location

8/23 Sunday Indigo Girls | 5 p.m. | Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards, 2708 Lords Hill Road

8/26 Wednesday Stories with Music — Storied Winds at Watkins Glen Public Library | 10 a.m. | Watkins Glen Library, 610 S. Decatur Street Firefall | 8 p.m. | Center for the Arts of Homer, 72 S Main St.

Stage

Summer Sundays Music Series — ft. Frank Raponi | 1 p.m. | Wagner Vineyards, 9322 State Route 414 Bound for Glory Live with The Honey Badgers | 2 p.m. | Lansing Area Performance Hall, 1004 Auburn Road | Free

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s CAROUSEL | 2 p.m., 8/19 Wednesday | Merry-Go-Round Playhouse, 17 William St., 2nd Floor | A gripping tale of hope, redemption, and the power of love. Voted the best musical of the 20th century by Time Magazine!

Concerts/Recitals

First Tastes: Celia, by Terrence Dwyer | 5:30 p.m., 8/20 Thursday

8/19 Wednesday

THISWEEK

Stories with Music: Bats in the Band | 2 p.m. | Waverly Village Hall (Waverly, New York), 22 Ithaca St.

A New Play Reading Series and Culinary Test Kitchen Eat, drink, and tell stories.

Wise Crackers All Stars Comedy Show | 8 p.m., 8/20 Thursday |

Clemens Center, 207 Clemens Center Parkway

artist Angela Cartwright on August 5th and 19th from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.

Big Steppas Showcase | 2 p.m., 8/22 Saturday | Auburn Public Theater, 8 Exchange St. | Join APT and instructor Shawnna Williams for a showcase of the Big Steppas program!

Try-It: Wheel workshop | 6 p.m., 8/21 Friday | The Clay School, 950 Danby Road | This two hour session will give you a taste of working on the potter’s wheel with no strings attached. | $55.00 - $80.00

Art Be Gay Do Crafts | 6 p.m., 8/22 Saturday | The Clay School’s ART Room, 950 Danby Road | Come gather with us for Be Gay, Do Crafts!—a monthly queer craft night rooted in creativity, connection, and collective joy. Held every 4th Saturday, 6-9 p.m., this is an open, welcoming space to slow down, make art, and be in community. | $10.00 Drawing: The Acanthus Leaf | 6 p.m., 8/25 Tuesday | Hammerstone, 720 W Green St. | In this workshop, I’ll walk you through the basics of drawing your own acanthus leaves! | $80.00 Projects & Participation Kick-off | 5:30 p.m., 8/26 Wednesday | Cornell University, 144 East Ave. | Find out your role in PMA’s vibrant projects and collaborations! Mark your calendar for Projects & Participation Kick-off on Wednesday, August 26 at 5:30 p.m.

Ink Shop Member Show 2026 | 1 p.m., 8/19 Wednesday | The Ink Shop, 330 E. MLK/State St. (2nd floor CSMA building) | Each year, The Ink Shop launches a members’ show, giving our membership the opportunity to exhibit their newest work. | Free Three Bears Mug Making Class | 6 p.m., 8/19 Wednesday | Three Bears Ovid, 7175 Main Street | Free two-part class on making freeform ceramic mugs, in Papa Bear, taught by local

Film Silent Movie Under the Stars 2026 | 8 p.m., 8/22 Saturday | Robert H. Treman State Park | This year we are excited to be screening ELLA CINDERS (1926) starring Colleen Moore with live improvised piano accompaniment

by Andrew Westphal (Professor Keys).

Summer World Cinema | 1:30 p.m., 8/25 Tuesday | Lifelong, 119 W. Court St. | Experience different cultural viewpoints through the lenses of a collection of directors from around the world prefaced by an informed and interesting introduction to each film by film aficionado Ron Krieg. | $10.00 - $40.00 Cinemapolis 120 E Green St., Ithaca New movies opening the week of August 19. Contact Cinemapolis for showtimes and continuing films.

Tony | A 19-year-old Anthony Bourdain travels to Provincetown and stumbles into the chaotic world of a restaurant kitchen, setting off a summer that will shape the course of his life.| R 106 mins 100 Years Podcast| Cinemapolis presents a screening of the Hundred Years podcast, hosted by Michael Rhynes, Demetrius Molina, Ephraim, Diaz, and Robert Julian, who bring 100

Silent Movie Under the Stars 2026 | 8 p.m., 8/22 Saturday | Robert H. Treman State Park | This year we are excited to be screening ELLA CINDERS (1926) starring Colleen Moore with live improvised piano accompaniment

by Andrew Westphal (Professor Keys).

Special Events Trumansburg Fair | 12 p.m., 8/25 Tuesday | Trumansburg Fairgrounds, 2150 Trumansburg Road | The 175th Trumansburg Fair returns to the Tompkins County Fairgrounds Tuesday, August 25th! Enjoy rides, games, demolition derbies, horse shows, tractor pulls and SO much more!

Cornell Women’s Soccer vs St. Bonaventure University | 3 p.m., 8/20 Thursday | Berman Field | Cornell Women’s Soccer vs St. Bonaventure University TTRPG Game Day | 12 p.m., 8/22 Saturday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green Street | From 12:00 to 12:30 we will discuss communication tools we can utilize to check in with the gamers at the table and keep safety in mind for the library’s gaming community.

Elmira College Elmira College Women’s Soccer vs SUNY Delhi — Exhibition | 1 p.m., 8/22 Saturday | Campus Field | Elmira College Women’s Soccer vs SUNY Delhi — Exhibition Festival Finale with Cécile McLorin Salvant | 8 p.m., 8/22 Saturday | Robinson Pavilion at Anyela’s Vineyard, 2433 W Lake Rd. | Threetime GRAMMY-winning vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant is one of today’s great jazz singers. | $48.00 - $70.00

Books A Guided Generative Poetry Workshop | 4 p.m., 8/19 Wednesday

| Buffalo Street Books, 215 North Cayuga Street | Join Barbara Regenspan for a free guided generative poetry workshop for non-poets and experienced poets! | Free Book Launch: The Sapsuckers | 5 p.m., 8/21 Friday | Buffalo Street Books, 215 North Cayuga Street | Join us to celebrate the launch of The Sapsuckers by author Sam Farhi, in conversation with Hardy Griffin! | Free Finding the Story Inside the Story — C4-AIR workshop with Erik Forrest Jackson | 6 p.m., 8/24 Monday | Center for the Arts of Homer, 72 S Main St. | CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE AND REGISTER C4-AIR presents this experience — with gratitude — FREE to participants Summer Teen Creative Writing Workshop | 5:30 p.m., 8/25 Tuesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green Street | Love to write your own stories? Have ideas for your own characters and worlds, or an interest in writing fanfiction? Join Adrienne Raw for a Teen Creative Writing Workshop!

Kids Journey of Water — Free Summer Science Programming for Kids and Families | 10 a.m., 8/19 Wednesday | Various, various | Explore the ways that water moves through our lives with the Community Science Institute.

Free summer programming for kids and families. Go to communityscience. org/journeyofwater/ for schedule and to register. Kids get a passport to stamp at each program and can get a free t-shirt. | Free Tyke Tales Story Time | 10:30 a.m., 8/20 Thursday | Lodi Whittier Library, 8484 S Main St. | Join us for our storytime for children five and under and their caregivers!

Story + Craft | 4 p.m., 8/20 Thursday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green Street | Story + Craft is our weekly reading + creating event for Contin u ed on Page A16

BOOK LAUNCH: THE SAPSUCKERS STARDUST SESSIONS WITH THE GROOVES

FRIDAY, AUGUST 21 FROM 5:00 P.M. TO 6:00 P.M.

Buffalo Street Books | Join us to celebrate the launch of The Sapsuckers by author Sam Farhi, in conversation with Hardy Griffin! The Sapsuckers is a literary anti-mystery suffused with slow dread, a compelling exploration of our obsession with true-crime, and a mesmerizing debut that probes the tenuous connection of bonds that are forged in trauma. Sam grew up in Ithaca, NY, where the book takes place, but he is now based in Baltimore. Most recently he’s written the Hourglass films for Daniel Arsham and Adidas. His debut novel, The Sapsuckers, will be published

by Spuyten Duyvil in Summer 2026. (Photo: Provided) https://buffalostreetbooks.com/event/2026-08-21/ book-launch-sapsuckers

FRIDAY, AUGUST 21 FROM 5:00 P.M. TO 7:00 P.M.

Lifelong at Library Place | Stardust Sessions is a captivating journey through the irresistible world of Brazilian samba and American jazz. Featuring everything from timeless standards to modern interpretations.

Experience a night of intimacy and “cool” with music, dancing, wine, and cheese. (Photo: Provided) https://app.dvforms.net/api/dv/660p4x

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children! Join us for a read-aloud, followed by art-making or a guided craft.

Family Eco-Cruises | 10 a.m., 8/21 Friday | Allan H. Treman State Marine Park, 1000 Allan H. Treman Marina Drive | Enjoy fascinating lake lore and fun weekly themes that blend imagination, history and scientific exploration for children. Cruises are free, donations are requested. Reservation required. This program is part of DCL’s “Love Your Lake” program, intended for local community members. | Free Chinese-English Bilingual Storytime / | 4 p.m., 8/21 Friday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green Street | Join us for a special ChineseEnglish bilingual storytime every first and third Friday each month! Enjoy fun stories, songs, and rhymes in both Mandarin and English. | Free ICG Drop-In Discovery Days | 10 a.m., 8/22 Saturday | Ithaca Children’s Garden, 121 Turtle Lane | A free Saturday Summer series designed for nature explorers of all ages. Materials and staff will be available to support your exploration as you enjoy handson, themed activities at your own pace. | Free Sock Hop at Northville Arts Center | 5 p.m., 8/22 Saturday | Northville Arts Center, 999 NY-34B | Come socialize & dance at this all-ages event!

Come out and enjoy the music of the 50s and 60s, spun by DJ Doug.

Admission is $5 for adults and children. (All-inclusive snack option (drinks additional) is available for purchase in advance.) | $5.00 - $20.00 Sit! Stay! Read! | 3 p.m., 8/24 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.

Free Family Bingo Every Tuesday Night | 8/25 Tuesday | Ice Cream Bar, 207 E. Main St. Rt 96 | Join us every Tuesday evening for Free Family Bingo at Ice Cream Bar; 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. Tuesday 6.2 – Tuesday 9.1. No purchase necessary just come right up to the Mermaids & Pirates | 4 p.m., 8/26 Wednesday | Family Play and Resource Center, 323 Owego Street | Join us August 26th from 4–5:30 p.m. at the Family Play and Resource Center for Pirate and Mermaid themed crafts and activities for ages birth to 8 years old.

Activities Include: Exploring with | Free

Notices LGBTQ+ Youth Group | 4:30 p.m., 8/19 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 figure things out — we’re here for you!

Pet Clinic | 6 p.m., 8/19 Wednesday | Southside Community Center Gym, 305 S Plain St. | Pet Clinic Community Sunset Cruise | 7 p.m., 8/19 Wednesday | Allan H. Treman State Marine Park, 1000 Allan H. Treman Marina Drive | Local presenters host discussions and activities related to their interests and our mission, and occasional Trivia Nights along with a beautiful Cayuga sunset. Community Cruises are free or pay-as-you-can donation based. | Free |Summer Bag Sale 2026 | 10 a.m., 8/21 Friday, 609 W Clinton St. | Fill a bag for one flat price. This sale includes clothing sizes NB-14, shoes, toys, and maternity. We provide the bags; you shop & ENJOY! CPR/AED TRAINING CLASS | 9:30 a.m., 8/22 Saturday | Finger Lakes Fitness Center, Center Ithaca, 171 East State Street | Become CPR/AED certified for all ages at Finger Lakes

Fitness Center on Saturday, August 22 from 9:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. with Elevate EMS Training. Narcan administration is also covered.

CCE Schuyler Master Gardeners Workshop Series — Summer Jam with Rose Anne | 10 a.m., 8/22 Saturday | Human Services Complex Room #120, 323 Owego Street | Join Master Gardener Rose Anne Wincek to learn how to make safe and delicious jam with summer fruit.

REGISTER TODAY! | $15.00 Food Pantry | 12 p.m., 8/22 Saturday | GYM-Southside Community Center, 305 S Plain St. Green Saturday | 12 p.m., 8/22 Saturday | NRE Space , 402 W. State St | Get ready for a fun-filled day at the free FingerLakes CannaMarket in Ithaca, NY! Join us from 12 to 5 p.m. at 402 W State St. for giveaways, great conversations, and the chance to meet top cannabis businesses. | Free Chemung County America 250 Celebration! | 4 p.m., 8/22 Saturday | Chemung County Park Station, 2 Beaver Pond Rd. | Chemung County America 250 Celebration!

Freeville Farmers Market | 11:30 a.m., 8/23 Sunday | Freeville Elementary School, 43 Main Street | We cultivate community by making fresh, local food more accessible and supporting the farmers, producers, and artisans who make it possible. | Free Catholic Mass & Community Dinner at Muller Chapel | 6 p.m., 8/23 Sunday | Weekly Sunday Mass @ Muller Chape CCE Schuyler MG Workshop Series — Drought Resistant Plants With Tom | 6 p.m., 8/25 Tuesday | Human Services Complex Room #120, 323 Owego Street | Learn more about Cactus and Succulent Plant Adaptations for Survival with Master Gardener Tom Sydelko.

REGISTER TODAY! | Free

FRIDAY, AUGUST 22 FROM 7:00 P.M. TO 9:00 P.M.

Unitarian Universalist Church of Cortland | Cortland Coffeehouse PLUS features local musicians in a comfortable setting. Concerts usually last two hours, which includes a break to explore our book sale or purchase homemade refreshments. Jonathan Ochshorn is a singer-songwriter and co-founder of the rock group, Rollo. His original compositions take a fresh look at life, love, art, architecture, politics and—increasingly—getting old. In addition to performing and recording music, Jonathan is also Professor Emeritus of architecture at Cornell University. (Photo: Provided) http://www.uucortland.org/

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contin u ed from page 4

“Cornell’s failure to protect me meant that I had to flee the United States out of fear for my safety,” Taal said in a statement to CGSU. “Presented with a second opportunity to do right by their graduate workers, they have chosen to fail again.”

Writing in an op-ed published by The Guardian in October 2025, Amandla Thomas-Johnson recounted his five-minute presence at a September 2024 campus demonstration that disrupted a job fair featuring defense contractors Boeing and L3Harris. The university subsequently banned him from campus over the protest, a disciplinary action Thomas-Johnson said felt like house arrest because his residence was located on Cornell's Ithaca campus.

Speaking to the Ithaca Times, ThomasJohnson said he remains enrolled in the final year of his program. However, he noted that he cannot accept his offered teaching assistantship because he is unable to return to the U.S. Though Cornell University officially requires an on-campus presence for teaching assistantships, Thomas-Johnson said a virtual arrangement is possible. He noted he previously taught a semester remotely for the university from abroad while in the Caribbean.

Thomas-Johnson said Cornell University notified him by email in May that his Student and Exchange Visitor Information System record had been terminated. The university maintains the record in connection with federal immigration authorities, and its cancellation effectively revoked his legal visa status to remain in the U.S. Thomas-Johnson forwarded an email from May 8, 2025 to the Ithaca Times, detailing Laura Taylor, director of International Services at Cornell University, notified doctoral student Amandla Thomas-Johnson that the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Program and the Department of Homeland Security had closed his SEVIS record. The notification stated that the termination was executed under Section 221(i) of the U.S. Immigra-

tion and Nationality Act, a federal provision governing visa revocations. While noting the university could not provide legal representation or advice, Taylor urged Thomas-Johnson to consult an immigration attorney and provided a link to local legal resources.

According to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement website, the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) is a U.S. Department of Homeland Security initiative that tracks and manages foreign students and exchange visitors residing in the country on nonimmigrant F, M, and J visas. Administered under ICE, SEVP “collects, maintains, analyzes and provides information so only legitimate foreign students or exchange visitors gain entry to the United States,” while verifying that participating institutions comply with federal regulations governing nonimmigrant education. Central to its operations is the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), a web-based platform that actively collects and monitors records for SEVP-certified schools, exchange visitor program sponsors, and individual F-1, M-1, and J-1 visa holders alongside their dependents.

Thomas-Johnson said Cornell University offered no explanation for denying his request to work remotely, despite knowing he cannot re-enter the U.S. The doctoral student said he remains unsure why administrators refused to extend him a virtual option given his prior experience teaching online from abroad.

Thomas-Johnson described his displacement from the U.S. as an “impossible situation,” saying financial hardship forced him to move to four countries in less than a year. Lacking living funds and relying on loans to pay for needed medical care, the doctoral student said he faces mounting debt while remaining under pressure to finish his Ph.D. quickly to secure employment.

“It’s been a very traumatic period — the mental toll,” Thomas-Johnson said. “Cornell seems to be going out of their way to punish us for expressing our freedom of speech.”

Contin u ed on Page 19

HUMAN AGAIN

SUNDAY, AUGUST 23 FROM 7:00 P.M. TO 9:00 P.M.

Auburn Public Theater | The film follows the Phoenix Player Theatre Group at Auburn Correctional maximumsecurity prison as they work toward a public performance of an original play that incorporates Shakespearean influences and the artists’ own lived experiences. The documentary is emotional, raw and inspirational. It’s a powerful testimony to the human potential wasting, often unjustly, and sometimes wrongfully, in those facilities.

Following the screening is a panel discussion about the themes addressed in the movie. (Photo: Provided) https://events.seatfun.com/e/human-again

THISWEEK

CORTLAND COFFEEHOUSE PLUS PRESENTS JONATHAN OCHSHORN

CORNELL UNION LAUNCHES PETITION

NEWCOMERS GUIDE 2026

Pints and Corks: A Guide to Tompkins County’s Breweries, Wineries, and Cideries

By Philip O’D e l l

W

hether you are unpacking boxes as a new resident, visiting for the weekend or getting your bearings in Tompkins County, the local craft beverage scene invites all adults of drinking age into the region’s vibrant community and agricultural roots. From downtown taprooms and historic urban wineries to expansive farm cideries, there are plenty of spots to raise a glass, meet your neighbors and explore the county’s unique homemade flavors.

BREWERIES Ithaca Beer Co� (122 Ithaca Beer Drive, Ithaca) Best known for its flagship Flower Power IPA, the brewery serves specialty fruit beers and sours. Official releases include its Box of Sours variety pack with blends like Blueberry Raz, Grapefruit Honey, Mango Muscadine, and Passion Fruit Meyer Lemon, as well as seasonal releases such as CascaZilla and Cranbretty.

Liquid State Brewing Co� (620 W� Green St�, Ithaca) On Ithaca's West End, this mid-sized brewery and taproom creates small-batch craft pours for its patrons. Its taproom features a rotating lineup of house-brewed draft beers ranging from hoppy ales to lagers, complemented by local wines and ciders.

Personal Best Brewing (321 W� State St�, Ithaca) Set right off the Ithaca Commons, this urban microbrewery specializes in smallbatch craft offerings with a menu that includes dry-hopped lagers, Italian-style pilsners, Czech dark lagers, and hazy oat IPAs brewed on-site.

Hopshire Farm & Brewery (1771 Dryden Road, Dryden) Rooted in local agriculture, the brewery crafts a distinct menu using farm-grown New York State ingredients and local col-

laborations. Featured beverages include Hoppenbeck Cider — a farmhouse-style cider made with Hollenbeck’s Cider Mill — and Shire Ale, a Scottish-style export ale brewed with flaked oats and six malts yielding notes of toffee, raisin, and chocolate. The menu also offers a Tart Cherry Sour finished with vanilla, as well as coffee and beer cocktails during Sunday events.

Salt Point Brewing Co� (6 Louise Bement Lane, Lansing) Serving the Lansing community, the brewery features house brews such as Lansing Station Light, a craft rice beer made with brown rice flakes for subtle sweetness, and Grisamore Harvest Ale, brewed with 60% New York State malts and 40% freshpressed apple juice from local Grisamore Farms. Other favorites include Cedar Creek Pilsner and Hazy Trail NEIPA. Revelry Yards (111 N� Aurora St�, Ithaca) As part of Restaurant Row in downtown Ithaca, the business operates an in-house microbrewery crafting up to 12 house beers on tap. Guests can sample house-brewed drafts alongside a craft beverage list featuring signature cocktails and draft pours in the full bar and outdoor beer garden called The Yards.

WINERIES AND TASTING ROOMS Six Mile Creek Vineyard & Distillery (1551 Slaterville Road, Ithaca) Outside downtown Ithaca, the site offers estate-grown wines and custom winebased spirits produced on-site. Standout specialty beverages include Vignoles, a dry French hybrid white wine with aromas of grapefruit, apricot, honey, and vanilla, and Ithaca White, a proprietary blend of Cayuga White and Chardonnay. The menu also features regional hybrid red and blush wines, including Rosatto and Ithaca Blush.

Ports of New York Winery (815 Taber St�, Ithaca) Positioned along the Cayuga Inlet, this The

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Liquid State Brewery.

(Photo: Mark Syverston)

urban winemaking operation and museum produces small-batch, traditional French-style fortified port wines for dessert and aperitif pairings, alongside classic French table wines using traditional barrel-aging methods.

Bet the Farm Winery (4204 Krum’s Corners Road, Trumansburg) Tucked into Tompkins County's farm country, the winery focuses on small-batch, estate-bottled vinifera and hybrid wines.

Releases feature low-intervention, foodfriendly single-varietal wines, traditional method sparkling wines, and dry reds.

Stretching along the western shore of the lake, visitors can also follow the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail that begins at Six Mile Creek Vineyard in Ithaca and extends north toward Montezuma Winery & Hidden Marsh Distillery. The route features dozens of wineries, cideries, and distilleries set against scenic hills and lakefront views.

HARD CIDERIES South Hill Cider (550 Sandbank Road, Ithaca) Situated near Buttermilk Falls, the cidery produces small-batch ciders derived from heirloom, wild, and abandoned apple trees. Offerings include wild-fermented

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single-orchard ciders, naturally sparkling Pét-Nat ciders, barrel-aged select ciders, and French-style Pommeau, a blend of fresh apple juice and oak-aged apple spirit.

Bellwether Hard Cider & Wine Cellars (9070 Route 89, Trumansburg) As a Finger Lakes pioneer along Cayuga Lake, the business offers traditional ciders and small-lot wines. Distinctive beverages include Rhode Island Greening Cider, a sweet-and-sour sparkling cider made from heirloom apples, and Pet Nat Riesling, combining natural sparkling winemaking with classic Finger Lakes Riesling grapes.

Black Diamond Farm & Cider Shack (4675 E� Seneca Road, Trumansburg) Nestled in western Tompkins County, the farm grows more than 140 varieties of European bittersweets, bittersharps, and American heirloom sharps to craft orchard-to-glass ciders. Featured options include Ashmead's Kernel / Reinette Musquee, a bottle-conditioned champenoise blend with notes of apricot, nutmeg, and clove; Somerset Jersey, made from Harry Masters apples with Pink Pearl and Cox Orange Pippin; and Geneva Tremlett's Bitter, a single-varietal bittersharp cider fermented using wild and cultured yeasts.

17

Newcomers Guide

Something for Everyone: Activities in Ithaca

By Grant Te r w il lige r

W

hether you’re looking for a hike, fresh produce, museums or entertainment in Tompkins County, there are many ways to experience the area and a variety of paths you can take from day to day.

Black Diamond Trail, 1048 Glenwood Heights Rd., Ithaca The Black Diamond Trail used to be the train tracks of Lehigh Valley Railroad’s Black Diamond Express that ran from 1896 to 1959, and took passengers from New York City to Buffalo.

The Black Diamond Trail is an 8.5-mile dirt path that branches off from the Cayuga Waterfront Trail and takes you up to slopes overlooking Cayuga Lake and reaches Taughannock Creek. If you reach Taughannock Creek, and want a longer hike before heading back continue down the paths on the edge of the creek and you will eventually come to Taughannock Falls.

Taughannock falls is the tallest freefalling waterfall in the northeastern United States at 215 feet tall, 33 feet taller than Niagara Falls, according to the Taughannock Falls State Park website.

The Trail is open all year long and allows for biking, snowshoeing, cross country skiing and running. There are restrooms available at the northern trailhead and the trail allows leashed dogs.

South Hill Recreation Way, 100 Renzetti Pl, Ithaca The South Hill Recreation Way is built on the old railroad path of the Cayuga and Susquehanna Railroad that was used from 1849 to 1956. The railroad was used to transport coal from Pennsylvania to Ithaca.

The South Hill Recreation Way is 3.5 miles in length and runs adjacent to Ithaca's Six Mile Creek. The trail can be accessed from the Coddington Road and Hudson Street Junction or from Renzetti place. You can also reach the Six Mile Creek Natural area five-mile trail from the South Hill Recreation Way trail.

The trail is open all year long and allows for biking, snowshoeing, cross country skiing and running. There are picnic tables and scenic spots along the route so be sure to bring a love for nature and a picnic basket if you plan on having lunch.

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East Hill Recreation Way, 110 Raptor Rd., Ithaca The East Hill Recreation Way is built on the old Elmira Cortland and Northern Railroad bed; the rail was in use from 1869 to 1935. The railroad was a passenger line that connected part of the Finger Lakes region.

The East Hill Recreation Way is 3.6 miles in length starting from East Ithaca and connecting to the Dryden Rail Trail at Cascadilla Creek, a 10-mile dirt trail. You can reach the East Hill Recreation Way at the Tudor Road and Park Lane Junction, Maple Ave and Pine Tree Road.

Indian Creek Farm, 1408 Trumansburg Rd., Ithaca Indian Creek Farm has been an orchard for 100 years and features different seasonal u-pick experiences including apples, peaches, pumpkins, berries and vegetables.

The farm has two different apple orchards; their Vintage Orchard, where apples are still growing on 100 year old trees, and their Dwarf Orchard that includes sixty types of apples. In the orchard, families are able to have picnics, grill out and enjoy the scenery.

“During our busy workdays, it makes us happy to see folks enjoying the farm,” Indian Creek Farms’ website says. “There are just a few things that we ask. Please pack in and pack out, because it helps keep the farm beautiful. Please pay for what you pick. Everything is based on trust and your honesty keeps us open.”

Indian Creek Farm located at 1408 Trumansburg Road in Ithaca and hosts events and workshops throughout the year.

They’re open Tuesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Ithaca Farmers Market, 545 3rd St., Ithaca One of the hallmark spots to pick up fresh produce, cuisine and visit artisans, the Ithaca Farmers Market has allowed farms and artisans to open small storefronts since 1973. The farmers market has more than 150 vendors who sell at one or more market days, according to their website.

The farmers market is open Saturdays from April to December and Sundays from May to November. The farmers market has also started their own Winter Market that runs Saturdays from January to March in the Triphammer Marketplace.

On Wednesdays from May to October you The

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can check out the farmers market on East Hill at 330 Pine Tree Rd. The Ithaca Farmers Market is located at Steamboat Landing on Cayugas waterfront across from Cass Park.

The History Center Tompkins County, 110 N Tioga St., Ithaca The History Center in Tompkins County is one of the easiest spots to learn how Ithaca and the Tompkins County area has changed over time.

You can find history exhibits, local history walking tours, explore how Cornell University and Ithaca College came to be, learn about the Native American presence in Tompkins County and more.

The History Center Started in 1935 as a reintroduction of two former historical societies. Ithaca’s first historical society, the Ithaca Historical and Scientific Society was started by Ezra Cornell, co-founder of Cornell, and only lasted from 1863 to 1864. The second was The DeWitt Historical Society named after Simeon De Witt, an early Ithaca city planner, that lasted from 1899 to 1905. You can explore The History Center at 110 North Tioga St. from Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

If you want to study a specific facet of the area, schedule an appointment through the history center to check out the archives that hold 2,000 local family genealogy files, 200 oral history interviews, 250 bound ledgers from Ithaca’s history, 440 local scrapbooks, 1,200 maps and 3,500 local history books. Admission to the History Center in Tompkins County is free.

The History Center in Tompkins County also offers various themed walking tours throughout the summer and fall, weather permitting. (Photo: Grant Terwilliger)

Nocturnal Cafe, 103 S Geneva St., Ithaca Looking to hear some music or relax in an alcohol-free environment instead of going out to the bars? The Nocturnal Cafe is open from 4 p.m. to midnight Thursday through Saturday and from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Wednesday.

The Nocturnal Cafe, formerly Sacred Root Kava Lounge, is a hidden gem in all senses of the word — so hidden downtown that you can accidentally walk right past it. The underground cafe is a CBD elixir lounge, tea bar and espresso bar with art in every direction. The cafe creates fascinating tea blends with interesting names and descriptions that make you think about the possibilities of tea blends.

The Nocturnal Cafe serves as a community hub hosting different open mic and music events throughout the year. You can find the Nocturnal Cafe at 103 South Geneva St.

The Nocturnal Cafe offers a variety of events throughout the year.

(Photo: Mark Syverston)

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Newcomers Guide

Why Early Breakfast Worms Seize The Day In Ithaca

By Kira Walte r

T

he early bird gets the worm, and in Ithaca’s breakfast scene, the worms are plentiful. As a town steeped in equal parts agricultural excellence and academia, Ithaca delivers unmatched farm fresh ingredients and kitschy cafes for the last-minute lock-in.

Whether celebrating a better sleep schedule with a mid-morning feast, or impressing last night’s guest with a breakfast surprise, it's true that the first meal of the day is often the most important. A sweet little latte, a farmer’s market burrito or a fat diner classic omelette can define the rest of the daily narrative, so choosing wisely becomes essential.

Lev Kitchen In terms of sheer culinary excellence, Lev Kitchen should be the first stop on any visitor’s tour of downtown eateries. With the longest hours on the block, from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week, Lev’s early menu kicks ass until 11:30 a.m. in sweet and savory Malawach wraps Lev’s early menu hosts sweet and savory Malawach wraps.

The crispy dough bundles of cream and jam,

or egg and lamb goodness come piping hot, good on the go or at outdoor tables right on the eastern end of the Commons.

The sausage, egg and cheese wrap is unbeatable, with red schug and extra halloumi to really stuff it. There are four innovative latte flavors — cardamom, saffron, rose blossom and honey — adding to the unbeatable Levantine breakfast medley. It's hard to start your day any better than with greasy sauce-covered fingers at a prime establishment for people-watching.

Allechant The next breakfast gem is a little less obvious, tucked next to Talbots at Community Corners Community in Cayuga Heights. Allechant is a French bistro with a diabolically delicious weekend brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., specializing in a small and well-practiced menu. The eclectic Parisian interior is modern and cozy, a great place to take the family to show you’re a true local.

Depending on the mood, getting the lemon souffle pancake stack or any combo with poached eggs or focaccia is a win, but always keep it decadent here. The ambiance and presentation certainly make it feel like you’re treating yourself so go with an appetite and don’t hold back.

Hound & Mare Another Commons must is Hound & Mare, a Los Angeles-inspired cafe part of the restaurant line up that defines North Aurora Street. A gym bro paradise, their

Lev Kitchen on the Commons.

(Photo: Mark Syverston)

CORNELL UNION LAUNCHES PETITION contin u ed from page A16

Thomas-Johnson said Cornell University’s position that it owes no financial support directly violates its collective bargaining agreement with CGSU. “It clearly states that they will fund stu-

dents who are in good standing, and I am one of those students,” Thomas-Johnson said. “Their refusal to do that — I can only say that it's politically, possibly racially, motivated as well.”

Thomas-Johnson said Cornell University’s refusal to provide funding sets a dangerous precedent for international students and student workers broadly.

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protein-packed bagel sandwiches offer sesame-marinated ribeye steak as an optional addition to anything. From 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. all days except Tuesday, the expansive coffee menu stays classic, from London Fogs to Flat Whites in addition to offering the West Coast Phenomenon Nitro Cold Brew.

Whether post-workout or workout-less, be there for the Mar Vista Burrito, extra steak and a seat by the window. Baked goods are made on display behind a glass window in-house, and watching cookie dough rolled out keeps me leaving with dessert in hand.

Milkstand The impressive thing about Milkstand is it accomplishes ordinary diner energy with extraordinary precision, making it feel like you’re in a movie from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Frequently discussed, the popular breakfast joint straight off busy North Meadow Street is stepping into a romcom.

With its black-and-white striped awnings, pink chairs and animated servers, the experience is definitely memorable, a good place to take big parties or someone you’re showing special attention to.

Although it’s marketed as a formal affair, reservation in advance and the rare opportunity to dress up included, most folks end up there on a whim. The menu is engineered to fulfill every diner craving, but many college students come for hangover favorite Brie French brioche, piled with berry sauce, whip cream and powdered sugar.

shashuka, falafel, or asian noodle salad. Its industrial charm and oddities are available Wednesday through Monday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends.

A changing specialty drinks menu, decorated with illustrations, includes fun features like “monkeyin’ around” chocobanana and “brownie bites” lattes.The Jail House Wrap is the ultimate comfort choice with sweet potato hash and pulled pork galore. If you’re leaning more sweet at the old coal office, their mixed berry compote crepes and duck confit “flap quacks” johny cakes really bring innovation to the table.

Coal Yard Cafe Much like Milkstand, Coal Yard Cafe is a fellow Ithaca staple, a little lesser known halfway between East Hill Plaza and Collegetown. Nestled in a rustic cottage on Maple Ave, the storied property is the former office of an early 1900s coal company.

Though the menu lacks an intentioned theme, its cult following can be attributed to its own wacky culture in grits bowls,

Modern Ohana For years, MIX brunch featured exciting options from Cannoli French Toast to Short Rib Benedict and local music. Now, after recently rebranding to Modern Ohana, Chef Mix Johnson continues to invent breakfast fantasies beyond imagination with a tropical twist. The venue’s mural makeover on Elmira Road invites visitors to try from perhaps the most comprehensive yet unconventional menu in town from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. non-Monday weekdays and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends.

Thai-Hawaiian influence across exotic egg plates, tiki toasts, paradise pancakes, and more means an endless list of “totry’s” as the new brunch selection is even larger than the last. From guava glazed ham steak and eggs to pineapple stuffed french toast, each choice is a vacation in itself, but their sriracha fried chicken and waffles still carries on strong from before the tropical transformation.

Though getting up with the sun isn’t always pleasant, Ithaca’s breakfast specials usually make setting alarms worth the ruckus. As chefs worldbuild via pancakes, espresso shots, and eggs benedict, brilliant culinary minds turn fresh ingredients into the recipe for a perfect day to follow.

“The issue is that the Trump administration has made no secret of its policies towards international students or migrants in general,” Thomas-Johnson said. “Rather than take a stand, Cornell is feigning neutrality, but in effect drifting along with this policy.”

He said the dispute is representative of a larger labor struggle that affects peers

forced to weigh remaining in the U.S. against the risk of exile.

“We've been through a lot, but we still stand,” Thomas-Johnson said. “We still exercise our freedom of speech. We still stand by what we did. We do not give up, we do not have regrets, and they will not beat us. They will not shut us up. We will thrive, God willing.”

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19

Newcomers Guide

A Selection of Barbers and Beauticians Across Ithaca

By Grant Te r w il lige r

F

inding yourself in a new place and missing your usual hair stylist can be scary, especially if you want to avoid looking like Cousin Itt of The Addams Family. Whether you need a trim or need to fix the last haircut you got, these are a few Ithaca salons and barbershops to check out.

Narrative Space, 405 N Tioga St., Ithaca Narrative Space was created in 2015 by local business owner Mark Zaharis.

“We are an intimate 4-chair shop, where everyone is welcome,” Narrative Space’s website says. “We’re dedicated to understanding your personal style and empowering you with the tools to recreate it.”

Services available from Narrative Space include a short cut, a long cut, a short cut using only scissors and an after hours cut. Price varies depending on who you book with.

Their team includes Master Barber Alexis Zaharis, Barber Stylist Chris Burnett, Barber Stylist Brenna Lovelace and Scissor Cut Specialist Michael Clark. Each stylist has their own hours listed on their website.

Narrative Space is open for appointments only Tuesday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Maple Ave Barbershop in Collegetown, 153 Veterans Place, Ithaca Maple Ave Barbershop was created in 2023 by owner Chris Pastorello who grew up in Tompkins County.

“With over five years of experience I pride myself on being able to do any kind of haircut from children to senior citizens and everyone in between,” Pastorello said.

“Please stop in today and check us out for a haircut and or beard trim.”

Maple Ave Barbershop is open seven days a week. Hours are listed on their website, and they are open for walk-in appointments.

Hair Color Art, 950 Danby Rd. suite 120, Ithaca Hair Color Art was created in 2019 by owner Kristin Dutcher as a salon and art gallery that aims to create an inclusive and empowering environment for people to explore their identities.

The hair studio holds art exhibits and events throughout the year such as events like Art After Hours where artists showcase their work and seasonal events.

Services available from Hair Color Art include hair cuts, hair color, hair styles and hair care, beauty services, nails and tattoos. Prices for each service are available on their website and vary depending on the individual you book with.

Their team includes owner Kristin, tattoo artist AuBree, tattoo artist Aurora,

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stylist Cam, beautician JuJu, stylist Kailey, nail technician Kaitlyn, stylist Meg, stylist Mysty and beautician Stacie.

“Our staff recognizes hair as an expression of self,” Hair Color Art’s website said. “And believes in the transformative power of a haircut or color to boost selfesteem.”

Hair Color Art is open for appointments only and is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Luna Love Holistic Hair Studio, Dewitt Mall, Ithaca Luna Love Holistic Hair Studio specializes in holistic hair care and tranquility.

The hair studio was created in January 2021 by owner and Master Stylist Jessie Vassallo. Christie Weaver is the other master stylist at the studio.

Vassallo was inspired to open a hair studio because her father was a hairstylist for over thirty years on the south shore of Long Island.

“I opened our doors right in the heart of the pandemic,” Vassallo said on the Luna Love website. “Taking that leap of faith has been an incredible journey, and I’m grateful for every moment. Join us as we celebrate beauty, wellness, and the power of transformation.”

Narrative Space in Downtown Ithaca.

(Photo: Mark Syverston)

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Maple Ave. Barbershop in Collegetown.

(Photo: Grant Terwilliger)

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The services offered by Luna Love include a regular signature cut, a curlywavy cut and a relax and reset haircut that is crafted to revitalize your nervous system through holistic practices and organic hair coloring. Fairy hair and feather extension appointments are available through Ahrayna Zakos.

Luna Love Hair Studio is available for appointment only. Appointments can be booked on their website or by phone. Luna Love is open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. everyday except Sunday.

ALOE Barbershop, Ithaca Mall ALOE Barbershop was opened at the Ithaca Mall in 2022 by owner and Master Barber Tony Sorci as a calm and family friendly barbershop.

The services offered by ALOE Barbershop include haircuts, skin fades, beard trims, kids cuts, hot towel shaves and the Aloe package that includes a haircut, beard shave and hot towel.

ALOE Barbershop is open for walk-in and scheduled appointments. Appointments can be booked on their website or over the phone. ALOE is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

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ARE YOU A CANDIDATE FOR OFFICE OR A VOTER? DEFEND YOUR BELIEFS IN DEMOCRACY ON PARADE 10 WEEKS. MANY VOICES. 1 COMMUNITY. rd

NOVEMBER 3 is General Election Day 2026.

Between now and then, we're inviting candidates, voters, supporters, organizations and community members to step forward, invest in Democracy and tell our readers:

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What do you believe needs to change?

What would you protect?

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SUPPORT FREE SPEECH AND THE RIGHT TO PUBLISH IT! 800 WEEKS AND COUNTING UNTIL THE FIRST AMENDMENT TURNS 250

Today, August 19, 2026, the begins a countdown to December 14, 2041.

That's the timeline between today and the 250th anniversary of the ratification of the First Amendment. It's also the same year the turns 69!

SO LET'S COUNT IT DOWN TOGETHER.

For the next 800 weeks, we'll celebrate the First Amendment — and the people, ideas and institutions that make it come alive in our community.

The First Amendment gives us the freedom to speak, worship, gather, petition — and publish.

And a free press gives all of us a place to listen, question, discover, connect and be heard.

That's worth celebrating. That's worth supporting.

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Between now and then, we'll share stories from right here in the Finger Lakes — stories about the people and ideas that make our community a better place to live, work, play and participate.

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