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MUSEUM OF THE EARTH SAVED FROM FORECLOSURE

NEW YEAR, NEW LEADERSHIP AT TCPL

2025 COUNTY LEGISLATORS BID FAREWELL

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PersonalHealth FLU CASES RISE, VACCINATION RATES FALL

BRAVING THE COLD FOR COMMUNITY RECOVERY

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2 The Ithaca Times / January 7 – 13, 2026

Newsline

VOL. LIV / NO. 17 / January 7, 2026 Serving 47,125 readers week ly

ON THE COVER:

‘Every Single Dollar Mattered’: Donations Save Museum of the Earth From Foreclosure

Each year, the Ithaca Times invited readers to submit their work for publication in its annual Readers’ Writes issue. This year, readers told us what democracy looks like to them. Design by Kaiden Chandler for the Ithaca Times, photos by Edna Brown.

NEWSLINE ��3-5

By P h i l i p O’ D e l l

PERSONAL HEALTH �� 6

ust days before a year-end foreclosure deadline, the Museum of the Earth has paid off its mortgage following a wide fundraising campaign that rescued the Ithaca area landmark. Paleontological Research Institution Director Warren Allmon confirmed on Dec. 29 the institution’s mortgage settlement, saying payments to the Arizonabased SMS Financial totaled $3.2 million upon completion. PRI operates the museum, located on Trumansburg Road outside Ithaca, that includes natural history displays, interactive science features and science-related art exhibitions. The institution houses over seven million specimens used by paleontologists for global research. The museum’s permanent exhibits feature the Hyde Park Mastodon—one of the world’s most complete specimens—alongside a massive North Atlantic Right Whale skeleton and the “Rock of Ages, Sands of Time” mural. PRI mortgaged the property through Ithaca-based Tompkins Financial Corporation before the outstanding loan was sold to SMS Financial in December 2024, according to PRI Board of Trustees member Dan

READERS WRITES �� 8-10, 14-15

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR �� 11 SPORTS �� 12 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT �� 17-18 A NATION SPEAKS �� 19 TIMES TABLE �� 22-23 CLASSIFIED �� 24-25

Warren Allmon, director of the Paleontological Research Institution, said PRI and the Museum of the Earth have avoided foreclosure after a wide community fundraising effort. (Photo: Mark Syvertson/Ithaca Times File)

Karig. The debt accrued 13% interest and put PRI’s collateral properties, specifically the museum and the PRI building, at risk of foreclosure if payments ceased. To prevent foreclosure, PRI initiated a public appeal for donations, drawing support from the local community and contributors across the country. The “broadbased effort” relied on private contributions and saw hundreds of gifts ranging from $5 to $500,000, according to Allmon. The

T a k e

effort was propelled by a year-long media blitz including coverage from The New York Times, CBS News, and local outlets. The turning point arrived earlier this month with a $325,000 anonymous gift secured by an emeritus trustee. Allmon credited the museum’s survival to the widespread support received from local donors, professional colleagues and scientific societies, Contin u ed on Page 6

N o t e

X Man Threatens Ithaca Police With Knife During Downtown Arrest By Maddy Vogel

uring a Sunday arrest in a downtown Ithaca apar tment building, a man with multiple warrants threatened Ithaca Police officers with a knife and “consumed an unknown white powder y substance,” according to police. Ithaca Police were dispatched to the 100 block of East Green Street after receiving a noise complaint at approximately 1:33 a.m. Officers located 43-year-old Ithaca man Jason M Noble while inside the building. Noble was known to have active warrants for his arrest on the following charges: • Resisting arrest, a class A misdemeanor • Forgery in the second degree, a class D felony

• Criminal impersonation in the second degree, a class A misdemeanor • Criminal mischief, a class A misdemeanor While officers attempted to arrest Noble, he threatened officers with a knife and a brief physical altercation ensued, Lieutenant Christopher J Cady said in a press release. Police say Noble consumed an unknown white powdery substance prior to being handcuffed and taken into custody. He was evaluated by medical personnel for ingesting the unknown substance and for minor injuries sustained during the altercation with officers. No officers were injured during the altercation. Noble acquired new charges after the incident, including the following: • Menacing, a class D felony

• Resisting arrest, a class A misdemeanor • Tampering with physical evidence, a class E felony • Criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, a class D felony He was arraigned in Ithaca City Court and remanded to the Tompkins County Jail without bail. Anyone with any information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact the Ithaca Police Department. Those who wish to remain anonymous may do so. Police Dispatch: 607-272-3245 Police Administration: 607-272-9973 Police Tipline: 607-330-0000 Anonymous Email Tip Address: www.cityofithaca.org/ipdtips

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ON T HE WE B Visit our website at www.ithaca.com for more news, arts, sports and photos. Call us at 607-277-7000 Maddy Vogel, Managing Editor E d i to r @ i t h ac at i m e s .co m Ch r is Ibert, M elissa Bl ake, C alen dar Ed ito rs A r t s @ i t h ac at i m e s .co m Austin L am b, Co py Edito r L o r i e n Ty n e , R e p o r t e r R e p o r t e r @ i t h ac at i m e s .co m Philip O'Dell, Reporter P h i l i p @ i t h ac at i m e s .co m Mark Sy vertson, Photographer Ste ve L awrence, Spo rts Co lumn ist St e v e S p o r t sD u d e @ g m a i l .co m 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 Scot t Ma n so n , Asso ciate Pu b l ish er F r ee l a n ce 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 Vasant Alex Laplam 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 New Director Selected to Lead Tompkins County Public Library PHOTOGRAPHER N N e w s l i n e

By Mark Sy ve r t son

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: “WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2026?” NOTE: If readers wish to participate in the Ithaca Times’ Inquiring Photographer column, contact Mark Syvertson at marksyvertsonphotography@gmail.com

“Seeing what Zohran Mamdani will do in his first year as mayor of NYC.” – Carl

“I’m looking forward to the return of Ted Lasso.” – Amy

“Lots of traveling, watching my kids turn into even cooler humans, learning guitar and getting as many tattoos as possible.” – Naima

By M a ddy Vo ge l

ew leadership is coming to the Tompkins County Public Library, marking the end of a monthslong nationwide search following the abrupt resignation of former Director Leslie Tabor in March 2025. Emerson DeMeester-Lane has been selected by the library’s board of trustees, the library announced in December. His first day will be Monday, Jan. 12 with onsite work beginning Jan. 26. The New York native is coming to Ithaca after a 17-year career with the Pima County Public Library in Tucson, Arizona. There, he is currently deputy director of public services and customer experience. He has previously served as a library associate, librarian, librarian II, branch manager and library service manager at the library. “While I come to this role after nearly 20 years working in public libraries in Arizona, New York is home. I was born in Albany and raised for much of my childhood in a small town called Ravena,” DeMeester-Lane said. “Ithaca has always been a special place to me, and I have fond memories of visiting for family reunions as a kid and swimming under waterfalls for the first time. My wife and I fell in love with Tompkins County when we visited together, and we are both excited to make our home here.” In early December, TCPL held public presentations between two finalists, DeMeester-Lane and Susie GutenbergerFitzpatrick, inside its BorgWarner Community Room. DeMeester-Lane succeeds Kat Savage and Susan Currie, who both served terms

as interim director after the library received local criticism regarding its internal leadership last year, which prompted Tabor’s resignation. Savage is set to return to her role as Youth Services Manager once DeMeester-Lane begins serving as director. “The Board of Trustees is appreciative of Kat and her willingness to lead the Library during this transition,” TCPL’s board wrote in a statement. “The Board is also grateful to former Library Director Susan Currie for coming out of retirement and stepping down from her role in the Tompkins County Legislature to lead TCPL again in a time of need in the spring and summer of 2025.” In his current role, DeMeester-Lane has managed and directed a team of six library service managers and 350 employees across 27 locations, according to a release from TCPL. His work in Tucson also included the oversight of renovation and capital improvement projects, collaborations with library staff to enhance diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and acting as a liaison for various funding partners and advisory boards. In his career, he has co-written and managed grants, expanded mobile library programs, established a teen makerspace and created large library events. He co-developed the nationally recognized Library Restorative Practices for Youth program, served as board president for the Southern Arizona Gender Alliance and worked as a program director and youth mentor at Camp Born This Way in southern Arizona. “The Board believes that Emerson’s years of progressive leadership experience, commitment to thoughtful public service,

Hailing from Arizona, Emerson DeMeester-Lane has been selected as the next director of the Tompkins County Public Library. (Photo: Provided/TCPL)

and vision for the future of our library system will support the ongoing success of the organization and the community we serve,” the board wrote in a statement. “In conversations with those who know and have worked with Emerson, his calm and measured approach to problem-solving and conflict resolution was highlighted again and again.” TCPL said that office hours with the director and other community engagement opportunities will be announced in the coming weeks. “Because I have so much to learn, it’s important for me to meet with as many community members as possible. Please look out for a schedule of Office Hours with the Director this winter,” DeMeesterLane said.

“Learning the ins-and-outs of running my own business.” – Vi

“Hopefully more unity.” – Stu

The Tompkins County Public Library has faced turnover in recent years as its board has conducted a nationwide search for a new director. (Photo: Ithaca Times File)

4 The Ithaca Times / January 7 – 13, 2026

UPS&DOWNS

N e w s l i n e

County Legislators Reflect, Say Parting Words as Terms End

Ups

The Ithaca Farmers Market has begun holding its winter market, open every Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. January through March at Triphammer Marketplace.

By L or i e n Ty n e

he Tompkins County Legislature met Dec. 16 for the final regular meeting of 2025, which also marked the last session for many legislators. Of the 14 legislators, only eight ran for reelection and will be returning for another term in January alongside nine new legislators. Returning legislators include Travis Brooks, Deborah Dawson, Veronica Pillar, Shawna Black, Lee Shurtleff, Greg Mezey, Randy Brown and Mike Sigler. Mike Lane was also honored with a proclamation from the New York State Assembly recognizing his 44 years of public service in municipal and county government. The proclamation was presented by Assemblymember Anna Kelles who said Lane is now the longest serving elected official in the county's history. “His retirement marks the close of a remarkable era in county government,” Kelles read from the proclamation. “His legacy will guide county institutions, enriching community life for generations to come.” Lane began his local political career in 1979 as a trustee for the village of Dryden. In 1981, he was elected mayor of Dryden and in 1993 he was elected to the county legislature where he has served since. “Over the years, I’ve worked now with 51 other legislators and I’m going to miss them all,” Lane said. “But what a learning experience it’s been to be able to work with all those folks.” At the end of a packed four-hour meeting, legislators reflected on the past term and said parting words to those who will not be returning, including Dan Klein, Amanda Champion, Mike Lane, Rich

Downs

Red’s Place on downtown Ithaca’s restaurant row closed permanently on Dec. 31, according to a report from 14850.com. The business has been open for 11 years, but changed owners last summer.

HEARD&SEEN Heard

The Tompkins County Workers Center is aiming to raise $25,000 by Jan. 31 to keep its helpline running, expand support for local unions, and meet growing demand amid rising costs and unemployment.

Tompkins County Legislator Mike Lane was honored with a proclamation from the New York State Assembly recognizing his 44 years of public service during the legislature’s Dec. 16 meeting. (Photo: Provided/Tompkins County)

John, Anne Koreman and Dan Nolan. “I know sometimes we’ve been at the opposite ends of things and we’ve had some disagreements, some strong disagreements, but I learned a lot from each one of you,” Brooks said. “I really appreciate the passion, the work ethic, the care you have for this community. Even though at times we disagree, I know that y’all are leading with your hearts.” Klein served three terms on the legislature representing Caroline, Danby and a small section of the town of Ithaca. He also chaired the legislature during the most recent term. “I’m grateful to all the legislators and employees of Tompkins County,” Klein said. “The employees are the Tompkins County government, and Tompkins County government rocks. It has been an honor. It really has. This is one of the highlights of my

Members of the 2025 Tompkins County Legislature held their last meeting of the year on Dec. 16. (Photo: Provided/Tompkins County)

Seen

Bar Argos and the Argos Inn will be closed for the entire month of January for their annual rest and rejuvenation break. The inn and bar will reopen on Feb. 1.

life. So, thank you. Thank you, everyone.”

In Other News

The Tompkins County Workforce Diversity and Inclusion Committee (WDIC) announced the recipients of the annual Leslyn McBean-Clairborne Strength in Diversity award. The award, named after its inaugural recipient, was given to McBean-Clairborne in 2022. McBeanClairborne was the founding member of WDIC and former chair of the legislature. The 2025 recipients are Hashanda Johnson and South Hill Cider in recognition of their contributions to the county through continued efforts to integrate diversity and inclusion into their work. Pillar said that Johnson, an outreach community health worker with the Reach Project, works with a variety of clients, often who are black and indigenous people of color, low-income, tackling addiction or struggling to find stability. “She stands by them and helps them navigate systems that are often frustrating and inequitable,” Pillar said. “There are many people in Tompkins County who go unnoticed because they are not the decision makers. Hashanda is an outstanding example of a caring person who works hard, shows up for her clients and her colleagues, and has made a significant difference.” Pillar said that South Hill Cider demonstrates a practical, replicable model of community-minded leadership. One example of their work is South Hill Cider’s “What’s

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

Are you going to set a New Year’s goal to meet this upcoming year? 26.9% Yes. 61.5% No. 11.5% I don’t care.

N ext Week ’s Q uestion :

Do you think the new parking rates the city has implemented will affect downtown business? Visit ithaca.com to submit your response.

Contin u ed on Page 20

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personal health

As Flu Cases Surge, Why Don’t More People Vaccinate? By Jame s D e an , C or ne l l C hronicl e EDITOR’S NOTE: This article first appeared in the Cornell Chronicle on Jan. 5, 2025.

lu infections are rising sharply across the United States, contributing to at least 81,000 hospitalizations and 3,100 deaths so far this season, according to the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As flu outbreaks increase, why are people getting vaccinated at lower rates, seemingly against their self-interest? A Cornell psychology professor argues in new research that scholars of rational decision-making and many public health professionals have misunderstood how people make such decisions: based less on raw facts than intuition about them, and how that “gist” aligns with their core values. In a pair of studies testing competing theories, two general questions that elicited participants’ overall sense of risks and benefits explained vaccine hesitancy significantly better than the more precise, quantitative measures long favored by economists and psychologists. Categorizations of risks and benefits simply as none, low, medium or high significantly predicted whether people intended to get a vaccine or not. Study participants who perceived benefits as none or low, or risks as medium or high, tended to not vaccinate, for example. “We make decisions based on the bottom-line gist of information: What does all this information boil down to? What’s the decision really about?” said Valerie Reyna, the Lois and Melvin Tukman Professor of Human Development in the Department of Psychology and College of Human Ecology. “If we know the essence of how someone feels about these ideas, SAVE MUSEUM OF THE EARTH contin u ed from page 3

noting that “every single dollar mattered” in rescuing the Museum of the Earth from its financial crisis. The fundraising momentum began in early 2025 with a $1 million gift from a Cornell University alumna, followed by a second $1 million from a retired Cornell professor.

we can explain and predict their intentions with respect to vaccination.” Reyna, director of the Lab for Rational Decision Making, is the first author of “A New Look at Vaccination Behaviors and Intentions: The Case of Influenza,” published Nov. 29 in Behavioral Sciences. Co-authors include David Garavito, M.A. ’18, Ph.D. ’21, J.D. ’20, assistant professor at the University of Washington School of Law; Sarah Edelson ’10, M.A. ’21, and Aadya Singh, M.A. ’25, doctoral students in psychology; Dr. Michelle Galindez ’19; Julia Fan ’23; Jiwoo Suh ’23. Classic decision theories — with names like “reasoned action” and “planned behavior” — emphasize tradeoffs between good or bad outcomes and their probabiliAs f lu cases spike across the country, new Cornell research reveals the details of how people decide to vaccinate. (Photo: Tompkins County) ties, assuming that rational mechanisms explain and predict behavior. Newer “dual access to flu vaccines; their precise percep- ciples, in contrast to prevailing approaches process” theories contrast impulsive and that rely on lists of facts and trust in experts. tion of risk on a scale from zero to 100; deliberative systems, suggesting people Sharing basic background knowledge — and their overall sense of the vaccine’s make better decisions when engaging the such as the difference between viruses and risks and benefits. latter. bacteria, or how vaccines naturally enlist Among the younger adults, vaccine “All of these modern models essentially knowledge and accessibility explained only immune systems — is essential but not augment that core idea of a rational person making a decision about vaccination,” 14% of the variation in intentions to get flu sufficient, Reyna said. Facts must be put into context to enable a conceptual, gist vaccines. That total jumped to 58% when Reyna said. “Somehow, that doesn’t seem to describe the current context we’re in for considering responses to the gist questions. understanding. Then practitioners must explain how vaccine risks and benefits map In the community sample, similarly, gist most people.” onto core values — a desire to keep family questions improved the ability to predict As a developer of “fuzzy trace” theory, and neighbors safe, for example, or to make vaccination intentions from 57% to 80%. Reyna proposes that two key processes free and informed choices. “Part of our mind looks at details and drive decision-making: encoding of literal “If you follow that recipe, you will be facts, and creation of meaning about those precise facts, but the other part of our mind much more likely to make a difference looks at the bottom-line, qualitative gist facts based on one’s background and with people, according to our research,” — and that’s the more determinative part,” experiences. Reyna said. “You have to take the right Reyna said. “People form a global impresThe new research asked more than 700 approach, and it’s fundamentally different sion of what they are told and experience, college students and nearly 200 commufrom what we’re currently doing.” for example, ‘Overall, I think the benefits nity members whether they had received The research received support from the from vaccination are high and the risks are a flu vaccine in the past year or intended nil.’ That would be a gist for people who get National Institute of Standards and Techto get one (substantial numbers in both nology; the U.S. Department of Agriculvaccinated, and that’s what we showed.” samples were unvaccinated). Participants ture; and the Institute for Trustworthy AI The research suggests opportunities to answered questions relevant to classic, reduce vaccine hesitancy through sustained and Society, where Reyna is a lead faculty dual process and fuzzy trace theories, communication that incorporates gist prin- member. including about their knowledge of and “He thought that we mattered to science at a time when science was really threatened,” Allmon said of the donor. The final $1 million was raised through a grassroots groundswell of local families, non-scientists invested in the Ithaca community, and even children hosting their own fundraisers. “We got a note from an 8-year-old girl that said ‘I don’t want you to close. Enclosed is $44 that I saved up.’” Allmon said. “Another

6 The Ithaca Times / January 7 – 13, 2026

8-year-old told her parents that she didn’t want anything for Christmas but to save the museum, and her parents sent us a check.” Fourteen-year-old Alex Howard from Horseheads raised $2,400 with his family’s help by appealing to visitors at a gem and minerals show in Corning, Allmon said. “We have run out of ways of saying how moved we are when we open these envelopes. It brings tears to your eyes,” Allmon said. “It makes you proud of what we do.”

For two decades, PRI operated through $20 million in donations from an anonymous donor. The money helped fund the 2003 construction of the Museum of the Earth. The $11.5 million project was funded by $8.5 million in raised capital and a $3 million loan. The donor pledged to cover all debt obligations, so PRI never factored mortgage payments into its operating Contin u ed on Page 18

WE THE PEOPLE: A CELEBRATION OF PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY

SURROUNDED BY REALITY

2026: Come Out Swinging

If You Want to Be Happy for the Rest of Your Life — Know Thyself! By Roy A l l e n: D i r ect or of St r at e gic Pa rt n e r sh i ps — It h ac a Ti m e s , Fi nge r L a k e s C om m u n i t y Newspa pe r s , w w w.i t h ac a .c om

hen a friend tells us they are going on a vacation, we assume that they know where they are going. We further assume that they have made a conscientious effort to plan out the time they will spend, how much it will cost and an itinerary of what they will do once they arrive at their destination. However, there is considerable evidence that most people do not follow the same basic, common sense rules when planning one of the most important journeys they will ever make; their employment or lifetime career path. Large companies with formal human resource departments, especially those in the white collar professions — universities, health care providers, financial services and insurance firms — have become proficient at exploiting this market anomaly using proven scientific analysis. But, the majority of small to medium size enterprises simply don’t have the resources to help their workers or managers become more successful. When considering that these same small businesses are responsible for the majority of all new job growth, wouldn’t it make sense for their owners to learn how? Career Mapping is an innovative science that employs psychometric analysis to uncover your interests, preferences, innate skills and latent abilities. For the purpose of this essay, the term shall be defined as a lifelong planning tool used by both employees and their employers to maximize productivity and opportunity. In modern terms, think of it as CSI (Criminal Science Investigations) for the “good guys” — you, me and your employer. E. K. Strong, a military psychologist in the 1920’s, believed that it would be easier to match jobs with people whose preferences were already inclined or biased towards the particular skills required by that occupational or vocational area. If the new military recruits had a preference for working with

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

their hands, they would likely make happier mechanics and probably lousy supply clerks. Furthermore, people with like interests made for happier teams and more successful outcomes. Subsequently, scientific human assessment became critical to designing and building effective teams, developing leaders and ultimately managing people as strategic assets. Continuing his work after the war, at Stanford University, Strong introduced one of the first commercially accepted psychometric assessment measures called the Strong Vocational Interest Blank. This product was first designed only for men to assist them in making career choices and also to organize the labor demands of a newly mechanized Western economy into professionally audited job classifications. Strong developed scales or specific classification of interests modeled after traits of people already happy in their chosen work and advocated that not only did “birds of a feather flock together” but, contrasting people to preferred interests was a lesson in futility and a roadmap for an under-maximized labor force. A measure for women was added in 1933 and the original measure has been revised several times since its inception. Over the last hundred years or so, psychometric assessments have been taken by millions of people when they join the military, apply for college or become employed by the Fortune 500 companies. These assessments or measures have proven to be extremely reliable and valid when judging where one might fit within an organization. Nonetheless, up until now — in the era of AI or Artificial Intelligence — it has been too costly for individuals of small businesses to use Career Mapping effectively and efficiently. In 2026, AI software can manage this process in onetenth of the time and for a fraction of the cost compared to previous times. Business owners and managers who fail to use these new tools to find out where they or Contin u ed on Page 20

iven my history with New Year’s resolutions, one would be justified in seeing my optimism at the outset of 2026 as evidence of serious mental health challenges. This is no time for the faint of heart, though, and a bold set of goals might just be the best survival strategy in the situation we’re in right now. It’s been a week, and I’m reporting on progress. It’s been…modest. Pay Off Credit Cards. An 81% interest rate seems high, unless you’re borrowing money at the Badda Bing. I need to get a handle on my finances, or the rest of the enterprise collapses like the spring lineup at the Trump-Kennedy Center. [Editor’s note: still the Kennedy Center.] The minimum monthly payment on each of my cards is $25.00, which I can swing. I just need to practice some basic financial restraint. Status: Achievable. On track to be debt-free in 2097. Switch to a Plant-based Diet. Good for the planet, good for me. For breakfast on January 1, I had plain steel-cut oats, flaxseed toast (it’s a thing), locally-sourced pine nuts and an apple. I was feeling pretty good about the resolution and myself until I realized that either Count Chocula was sitting across from me in my breakfast nook, or I was hallucinating due to the stress of such a sudden and total dietary shift. I modified the resolution to the more realistic “eat only processed foods that I don’t pay for.” Unfortunately, I failed to factor in just how easy it is to shoplift pop tarts from WalMart. One week in, my diet is worse, because I’m focused on trying to quit committing petty larceny. Status: this might be better as a 2027 resolution. Learn Mandarin. Something about this seemed like a good idea. I started out strong, and downloaded a language app. Most definitely the last credit card charge until it’s zeroed out. I took a hard look at the lessons. They don’t even use the same alphabet. Also, it seems unlikely, given my social media profile, that the president is going to appoint me ambassador to China. Xi Jinping’s kind of a jerk, anyway. Plus, aren’t there phone apps that translate languages? I was caught up in a moment. Besides, it would send a message that I’m soft on the Taiwan issue, so pretty clearly it’s my patriotic duty to abandon this one. J a n ua ry

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Status: resolution shelved. Stop Doomscrolling. I knew I’d need to ease into this one, so the plan was to be on my phone only when in the car. There’s only so much scrolling one can do with one hand on the wheel and the other holding a pop tart, but it’s doable. Sadly, we’ll never know if that was a good idea, since I drove my car into the front window of Aspire Dispensary two days in. Those guys were decidedly not chill about it. Totally not my fault, but since then, I’ve been scrolling more than ever, to take my mind off the lawsuit. Good news, my attorney allowed me to put her retainer on MasterCard. Status: on hold due to bad luck. Learn One New Thing Every Day. I don’t know about every day, but I did learn that Nicki Minaj is a dimbulb and that the Monroe Doctrine is alive and well. Also, that its not a good idea to call a deputy sheriff “Sherlock” when your car is sticking out of the front of a local dispensary. Maybe one new thing a week is more manageable. Status: still active, as amended. Pay One Compliment to a Stranger Every Day. This was overly-ambitious, and fraught with pitfalls. First, I didn’t get started until yesterday. Talking to strangers is way out of my comfort zone. Then, when I saw an appropriate target—a gentleman with a MAGA hat—I said, “I really admire how you confidently stick by our president, no matter how stupid it makes you look.” Lesson: some people just can’t accept a few kind words in the spirit in which they’re offered. The whole idea was just ill-conceived. Status: resolution abandoned. Be Less Sarcastic. Yeah, like that’s ever going to happen. Maybe try again after the mid-term elections. Status: mission aborted, January 1. So I met with my support network at the southwest corner of the bar at Maxie’s last night to assess the resolution situation. The consensus was that two out of seven were still possible — credit card and everyday learning. That means I’m batting. 286, which just happens to be 5-time National League all-star Whitey Kurowski’s lifetime batting average, so not too shabby after all. Charged a round of drinks to celebrate. I’m definitely going to own 2026 — it’s just a matter of discipline, people. 2 0 2 6

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What Does Democracy Look Like in Ithaca? A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: Welcome to

the Ithaca Times’ annual Readers’ Writes issue. This year, we received an incredible number of submissions from our talented community of creative Ithacans. Although we unfortunately

weren’t able to include every submission, we always encourage readers to share their thoughts and locally-focused opinions by submitting letters to the editor (typically under 500 words) or guest opinions (600-900 words).

Prophecy and Promise By Rosaire Karij

mosques and ashrams America will not be silenced it cannot be undone.

America is an invitation we haven’t yet responded to, a letter in a sealed envelope waiting to be opened. America is not a flag it doesn’t want us to kill or die for it it wants us to live, to kneel and stand and shelter all the things we claim to cherish, the brightness in every child’s eyes all the possible futures only they can bring to a profaned and stumbling world. America is a mythical story seeded in dream hungering for harvest a prophecy and promise that has endured centuries of blood, betrayal slavery and imprisonment

Every man, woman, and child feels it in their blood in the beating heart of canyons, rivers, mountains, forests in the sheer vastness, the wildness that says “come” there is a place for you take the risk of actually finding what you’ve been looking for. America is a ritual of initiation yearning for completion a question that wants to be answered Who will you welcome? to what depths can you love? It can never be conquered it longs to be shared its dream and promise alive in the very substance of the land

It so wants to be sung and its people are still singing it in pow wows and sweat baths hollars and coal towns concerts and night clubs churches, temples,

America is still waiting to be discovered to be baptized with its true and sacred name.

I Dream of America By Rosaire Karij

I dream of America and weep at night while the waters rise and the bells are silent. A strange tide pulls me into the heart of violence, onto those bloody shores that once held promise. I dream of America and in that dream my land is a sorrow a broken heart dancing on the grave of tomorrow,

a glittering chalice consecrated to the gods of power. And still I dream light candles, burn incense the smoke rising up dissolving the boundaries the whole network of labels, identity, credos, status. We are one nation, indivisible one people, dressed in prismatic skins one voice, crying out to the heavens We are lost, show us the way home again.

8 The Ithaca Times / January 7 – 13, 2026

By Rich John

n considering our history, we hear about the “Founding Fathers” in Philadelphia. But the work of the Continental Congress spilled over to the Colonies too. Here in New York, electors from the counties passed a resolution on April 20th, 1777, at the direction of the Continental Congress, to decide whether it might be a good idea to make a government (spoiler alert; they said yes). But then the resolution goes on to say if that answer was yes: … then to institute and establish such a government as they shall deem best calculated to secure the rights, liberties, and happiness of the good people of this colony; and to continue in force until a future peace with Great Britain shall render the same unnecessary;… There is a wildly provisional air to the direction. Let’s do this just until we can set things right with England. And, of course, New York was not a State, there were still only colonies here, and that was the frame people were working within. So, what might come next was anyone’s guess. Certainly, this resolution was not contemplating doing anything to last for the next 250 years. Also, this direction is almost no direction at all. Go ahead and secure those rights, liberties and happiness. Do something; just make sure it works. Democracy was not the only or even the obvious answer. To those who still felt loyalty to a distant King, this resolution must have been madness. Any proposal to govern ourselves was new, untested and guaranteed to create a rupture with the mother country, even with the appeasing language inserted. Imagine the conversations among neighbors, the arguments and skepticism about this idea of governing ourselves. Even for those who accepted the need for change, the project must have seemed frightening. It was building the horse and buggy while it rolled through an insurrection. In fact, there were more than four years of strife ahead. But it was not madness. The idea of democracy took hold and has endured, never perfect, but functional enough. Right now, at the local level of our democracy, people are engaged, passionate, and sometimes raucous in debating the decisions of the day. The local governments are generally accessible and transparent. I write on my very last day as a County Legislator to say that while far from perfect, government by, of, and for the people looks pretty functional here at home. But in our turn of managing through this ongoing enterprise, there is a similar

(Photo montage “Liberty Under Siege” by Frank Kelly)

brewing uncertainty as in 1777. Many see a national government that is too big, bureaucratic, debt laden, unresponsive to the people, and perhaps even corrupt and unfair. The self-corrective systems built into the Presidency, the Congress and the Courts of our national government are not working, and the United States seems unable to meet the challenges before it. The daily news is often a trial to take in, where in our core we know that what is being reported does not align with the ideals of our nation. The list of grievances grows. In a recent poll, 30 percent of Americans responded that political violence may be necessary. Of all the various polls, this one answer is a bright red ringing alarm bell. In response to this uncertainty, among us today are citizens who favor a return to a monarch of sorts. For them democracy is past. Even if not English, and perhaps passing under another name, a strongman, who functions as a king. If the chant of “No Kings, No Kings, No Kings” is to prevail, if we are to continue to govern ourselves, then the question before us is what is to be done? There is no hiding. It is not hopeless. And in any event, the job is to try. If national renewal is to occur, it must come from us upward, together with communities from all across our country. We must believe there is a way through that does not require either a king, or political violence. We must believe we can help our national government right itself and continue to run. It is time to have the inconvenient messy dangerous discussions and arguments about what must be accomplished in order to preserve our self-governance. What does democracy look like in Ithaca today? It looks like we are back where we started; our country, our democracy, is again at a 1777 moment. It seems the provisional aspect of the 1777 resolution never actually went away.

10 Ways to “Do” Democracy

By Michelle E. Wright

n a healthy democracy, citizens “do” democracy as a verb. But here’s an inconvenient truth: in this country, we’re trained to be consumers of democracy, not producers. The list below is inspired by that reality. What does democracy look like? As a community, we strengthen it by developing democratic habits woven into our daily lives. Here are some ways you can be a producer of democracy. 1. Skip the guilt Artwork by RebelArt (Lisa Cowden). If you find yourself worrying about Local government shapes much the state of democracy and wishing you could do more, start by letting go of guilt. of our quality of life and daily Democracy is complex and challenging to environment. State and national politics feel discouraging, redirect your energy engage with, even at the local level. With toward local involvement—where your few resources available to help people actions truly matter. understand the nuts and bolts of local Local engagement has a tangible government, it’s no wonder participation impact. Check your municipality’s remains low. website for openings on boards and “Guilt and anger and fear are part of the problem. If you want to save the world, committees, and apply for a volunteer save it because you love it.” —Gary Snyder role. Stay in touch with your elected representatives and offer both 2. Understand your civic constructive and positive feedback—it participation style helps them better serve their constituents. See yourself as a civic agent capable of 6. Be a joiner: be “in community” making change. Bring your interests and Join your neighborhood listserv. skills to democratic action—participate in Volunteer with an organization that aligns ways that fulfill you, not just in response with your interests. Consider joining the to external pressure or guilt. nonpartisan League of Women Voters 3. Increase your media literacy Media literacy means recognizing that of Tompkins County—open to everyone. The League operates through grassroots people have unequal access to reliable democracy, supporting local civic health information. One in seven people in while building national coalitions to the U.S. have only one—or no—local defend voting and civic rights. news source (Northwestern Local News 7. Vote—knowledgeably, and at every Initiative). If you disagree with someone’s opportunity perspective, stay curious about how Be an informed voter. Before heading differences in media access shape your to the polls, learn what’s on your ballot understanding. using vote411.org. Supporting local media sustains Turnout is historically lowest when government accountability. Tompkins County benefits from a strong local media your vote matters most—local elections. Participate in every voting opportunity: landscape—let’s keep it that way. Follow county, town, city, village, school board, local outlets on social media, pick up a and school budgets. print copy, and donate when you can. 8. Be a poll worker / election 4. Invest time in understanding local inspector government Poll workers / election inspectors are Local democracy can empower us— paid positions! While time constraints but only if we know how to navigate prevent many from taking the entirety of it. Transparency, in part, is a two-way Election Day off from regular work, those street: to interpret government decisions, who can serve play a vital role in fair citizens must understand how local elections. New York’s electoral process government works. Sign up for your relies on the two-party structure, but you municipality’s newsletters, follow them can still work the polls even if you’re not online, set reminders to check meeting enrolled in a major party. Contact your agendas, and bookmark official and County Board of Elections or visit their media websites for easy reference. website to learn more. 5. Participate in local government

9. Reject exceptionalism There’s no perfect way to “do” democracy. Yet, the U.S. has long viewed itself as an exceptional democracy—a belief that has blinded some to democratic backsliding. Challenge exceptionalist thinking. Try using “U.S. America” or “U.S. American” instead of “America” or “American.” These small shifts reject exceptionalism and demonstrate the value of equity within the broader hemisphere we call home. 10. Embrace complexity and seek dignity Democracy can’t exist without a deep respect for human dignity. Its essence lies in our ability to work together despite conflicting understandings of the world. Pay attention to how you respond to opposing views—our reactions often limit dialogue. By becoming more aware of these patterns, we can “do” democracy better, one conversation at a time, by fostering understanding.

When you speak with someone who sees the world differently, stay curious. Ask questions to learn why they believe what they do instead of focusing on what divides you. Seek to understand the person, not just to win an argument. ••• Despite systems of oppression and the inertia that keeps many from engaging, local democracy is ours to claim. Let’s produce democracy—together, as a community. This list is adapted from https://michellewright.cloud/claimdemocracy, where you can find the full set of ways to “do” democracy as well as resources on how NYS local government works. Michelle E. Wright has spent nearly two decades working in local government, public schools, and other community institutions. She recently ran as an independent candidate for the Tompkins County Legislature and has studied democracy reform through the lens of community development.

Practicing Democracy Every Day By Charlotte M. Rosvold

n order to begin writing this piece on “what democracy looks like,” I grabbed our well-used Webster’s Student Dictionary to see what the word itself meant in print at the time of my trusted book's publication (1997, the same year of my birth). In it, Democracy is defined as: "Government in which political control is shared by all the people, either directly or by representatives whom they elect. Political, legal, social equality.” Since it is no secret that the “control by representatives” part from Webster’s definition isn’t working out so hot at the moment, how do we (being the people), begin the work of putting the demos (Greek) back in our spasming system of rule currently masquerading as a democracy? The thing is, democracy doesn’t work when its’ people just sit on the other side of a screen, feeling bad and TikTok-ing out between work shifts and self-deprecating benders. In order for our democracy to begin working for and by the people, its going to have to be much more steadfastly reflected in the daily, weekly, monthly and indeed, generationally-held traditions of its J a n ua ry

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people. That is the unspoken but essential gift and curse of democracy. If I haven’t completely bummed you out yet, let me say that I strongly believe in the human capacity to effect positive changes that ripple out and continue to effect everything else in their spheres of influence, far beyond the length of individual lives. One of my favorite quotations that changed my outlook on life was one I heard from Jane Gooddall while listening to public radio, last winter before she passed away. She said, “Your life matters. You can’t live through a day without making an impact on the world. And what’s most important is to think about the impact of your actions on the world around you.” What is more democratizing than that outlook? So, here it is: walk the talk. You have real life social influence, act like it. Stop giving your brainpower and money to harmful apps and corporations and start paying attention and investing in your local community. Replace those daily habits that leave you feeling hollow of real connection and understanding. Contin u ed on Page 10

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Encounters on a Fall Day in Ithaca By Barbara Regenspan

PRACTICING DEMOCRACY EVERY DAY contin u ed from page 9

Instead of raging at your hometown’s hot takes on immigration on Facebook, subscribe to your local newspaper (it comes right to your house) and pick up the FREE newspapers when you’re at the grocery store or gas station. It is good to be informed, but our nervous systems weren't meant to constantly consume the 4k Instagram stream we’ve subjected ourselves to. If you want local coverage to be better, contribute. Do the crossword and peruse the astrology section over your (local or homemade) morning coffee with a friend instead of hunching over your phones. Listen to local and public radio stations to stay up to date on good music, current news, sports, events and how national and state laws are affecting actual people in our area. Cut your streaming services for real and donate to the only television service we all need to be investing in right now — PBS. Then watch Ken Burns’ new Revolutionary War series. Watch them all. Show your children Sesame Street, Antique's Roadshow and Nature. Their future depends on it. Make an adventure of rebuilding your physical media collections and patron local businesses like Angry Mom, Autumn Leaves, and ReUse to do it. Watch, listen and trade with your friends (can’t you feel the nostalgia already?). Go see movies at Cinemopolis! Buy art from real artists! Investigate sources. Making these changes feels weird, but I think that’s an overdue IRL sensation we need to be leaning into, not numbing out on. Check out bulletin boards for local events. Attend them! Support your local dive bar and music venues. I’ve made friendships while working and playing at some of Ithaca’s restaurants and bars that have outlasted the businesses. I’m fully in support of stopping that trend. The first American Revolution was in part, brewed in conversation over ales at public houses, I’m confident the next one will too. But, as democracy dictates, it takes all of us getting out there to show what it is we care about preserving for future generations. To me, that is what democracy looks like. And I’d sure like to see Ithaca stand up and walk the talk the way it taught and empowered me to do the same.

Every morning, our walkway remakes its life, whether or not we sleep well, whether or not

that might blossom through the snow this winter, while wars rage elsewhere, and my five-year-old Guatamalan sweetheart asks,

Cornell pays its fair share, whether or not the invasion of Gaza leaves any sidewalk

“Do I speak Russian?” when a Ukrainian mom talks with me of cross-generational trauma at a serendipitous meeting in our corner park.

there unbloodied—any children not torn from their families in collapsed houses. Across the canal, someone leaves for class, the white cat resumes its spot by the door of the girl who feeds it on the third floor of the long balcony

An array of staples from f lyers stuck onto the telephone pole in front of the Ithaca Town Hall. (Photo by Bill Keokosky)

over which a willow weeps, and a planter holds something pink

“No, your first language is Spanish,” this sister philosopher explains. It’s beautiful like you are, and someday you’ll relearn it, when, (if we want to) everybody gets to go home.

Democracy Arises From Equality and Diversity

Finally, the single most important and worthwhile civic action one can take at By Shane Eversfield this moment is to have a library card and use it regularly. And to encourage others to despairs — there are… No lanes, no Infinite experience-ability”? Each do the same. There is so much community, lines, no limits! Each of us has a choice. of us has a boundless capacity for curiosity and joy to be found in visiting We can disengage from those limiters, experience. None of us is greater or your local branch. Not to mention the rise above them and tap into the lesser in this. Helen Keller inspired and services, materials and events they provide touched the world. Despite being blind BRILLIANCE of our infinite experiencefor...us, the people! As the pillar of an ability. It’s right here, waiting for us, and deaf she still embodied and inspired inclusive and free community education, ready to PLAY. infinite experience-ability. places of political, legal and social equality, Please, I hope YOU choose infinite And what is experience? A yin-yang our libraries are quite literally our last line experience-ability! Brilliance thrives on dance of both perception and expression: of defense for democracy. They house the diversity. We need YOU. Brilliance arises No limits to the depth and nuance of materials of our freedom of speech! This when it is mutually sourced, nurtured and our perceptions. very piece of writing itself was brought shared. It can’t be bought, sold or owned. No limits to the breadth and into fruition, not with the aid of ChatGPT There’s no other way. articulation of our expressions. or an A.I. assistant, but Beethoven and Democracy arises when we are Unless we place limits on ourselves Bon Iver CDs I loaned out from TCPL. BRILLIANT TOGETHER. — as fears, angers, doubts, aversions, As Jimi Hendrix said, “In order to change the world, you have to get your head together first.” Be patient with yourself. The Universe knows I’m just now By Lee Marshall Kaltman, MEd learning how to take that advice and I’m about to turn 29. Of course, especially this blindly follow. A democracy only works ccording to Dictionary.com, time of year, make sure to deeply rest in when its people think for themselves. Democracy is a system of the name of being healthy for yourself and It is up to the people to be the government by the whole your community. democracy. At times our nation shifts to population or all the eligible members Lastly, we would do well to remember the right, and at other times to the left — of a state, typically through elected the guiding philosophy that the original that is part of the process. representatives. people and stewards of democracy on this Democracy isn’t when things don’t go Yes, we are a democracy — but only if very land held in their decision-making: your way, and you cry foul. the people choose to be. to consider their potential effects on the It isn’t when you threaten to leave the Democracy requires people to work seven subsequent generations that will country, declare the nation broken, or together and refuse to be stupefied by the follow. The future quite literally depends give up entirely. so-called alpha dogs of the nation. These on what you do today. So go get you a Democracy is about standing up, can include elected officials, individuals cute canvas bag from a local artist and get with financial resources, or simply those your booty to the library. with loud voices in a group that others Contin u ed on Page 14

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“

Choosing Democracy

for safeguarding the health of the greater community and environment. We need to think hard about allowing a corporation to gamble with the well-being of the community and the health of the environment simply to profit stockholders.” — Deborah Jones, Perry City

The Talk at

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR By Ithaca Times Readers

The Environmental Impacts of Data Centers

“

TeraWulf lauded the benefits of a data center campus in Lansing and pitched the project’s benefits in monetary terms. There would be temporary construction employment, but few permanent jobs. Gains from data centers that power A.I. are in the stock market where profits go to investors—earnings leave the community. For-profit companies have little incentive to consider the welfare of the community long term. Data centers harm the environment. Corporate CEOs deny or equivocate to convince us otherwise. The build-out for an air-cooled system blights the landscape. Electricity costs go up along with noise levels. Heat released effects the ambient temperature and humidity adding to a warming planet and the increase in Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). Corporations comply with environmental laws only if laws are enforced and don’t interfere with their profit-making; many, threaten lawsuits to get their way. The health and true wealth of our community rely on the health of the lake and the unscared beauty of the greater environment, an environment that attracts visitors who contribute significantly to the green economy. We’re all responsible

Time to Turn Newman Golf Course into a Cash Machine for the City

“

This proposal will anger my golfing friends. The City of Ithaca is sitting on a gold mine for generating much-needed tax revenue for the city, town, county, and school district. Newman Municipal Golf Course, just south of Stewart Park, occupies around seventy acres of prime, waterfront real estate. With the Cayuga Inlet on one side and Fall Creek on the other, this flat, pristine parcel with views of the lake ranks as one of Tompkins County’s most valuable yet underutilized locations. Area governments and the Ithaca City School District need new sources of significant and reliable revenue to fund growing demand for teachers, libraries, parks, transportation, homeless shelters, health care, street repairs, and services for our elderly population. Instead of running an historically cash-negative, little-used, golf course operation that relies on extensive maintenance and chemicals, the city could sell or lease the land to developers to build high-value, highly-taxed townhomes, apartments, and other housing. Many residents will insist that we should instead build affordable housing. I agree that we continue to have significant challenges with housing costs in our

county. But, in the last ten years, Ithaca has added many units of new, affordable housing. Nearly all of the developers benefited from lucrative tax incentives extended to them. Meanwhile, each year, area residents receive tax increases to fund the growing budgets of local governments and schools. Ithaca needs a cash cow. Given the county’s attractive natural and cultural offerings, I suggest there would be solid demand for high-end residences, especially among IC and Cornell alumnae. As a rough, back-of-the-napkin estimate, with around 1000 new units selling in the range of $400-$500K, this should generate $12 to $13 million in new revenue per year. And remember, weekend homeowners pay full taxes but require little services, especially from area schools. Built in the 1930s, the historic Newman course has undoubtedly created many wonderful memories for local golf enthusiasts. The management and dedicated volunteers deserve praise for offering a beautiful, low-cost, and accessible course. But supporters must also face the reality that interest in golf is waning, and that city taxpayers have been subsidizing their hobby for decades. City officials should carefully consider this parcel’s potential to inject substantial new dollars into area government and schools.” — Robert Rieger, Ithaca

Know Your Birds

“

Back in the 1970’s and 70’s the radio station WHCU had a program KNOW YOUR BIRDS from the Lab of Ornithology. Sadly the tapes of those programs got destroyed . I hope some of your readers may have copies of these programs.” — Bill Hecht, Union Springs

Cultivated Meat Could Cut Emissions — If We Invest

“

Politicians who care about the environment should support public funding for cultivated-meat research. For those who don’t know, the protein is grown from animal cells, without slaughter. While the technology is still being developed, scientists believe cultivated meat will eventually require a fraction of the greenhouse-gas emissions that slaughtered meat does. Increased public investment in cellular-agriculture development will help bring the new protein to market faster, where it can hopefully begin to displace the ecologically-devastating output of factory farms, by offering an identical, cheaper product. Forward-thinking politicians should do everything in their power to back this effort. We can build a greener food system.” — Jon Hochschartner, Granby, CT

Vo i c e s T h r o u g h t h e G o r g e s

“Cornell was the first place in my life where I was treated as a human being. [...] I was welcomed there into the human race and, good or ill, I have been there ever since. Now, that, I think, was progress.”

—

Toni Morrison NOTE: Toni M orrison earned her master ’s degree in E nglish from Cornell in 1955, and after numerous post- graduation visits to the university ’s I thaca campus , was appointed A. D. White Professor at L arge from 1998 to 2003. S he wrote this message in a letter to her thesis advisor , Professor R obert E lias , more than a decade after graduating .

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Sports

Braving the Cold for Community Recovery ЦNDAL at Ithaca Together, transforming the experience of aging�

The Ithaca Chill Challenge is an annual fundraising event for Ithaca Community Recovery which raised nearly $50,000 this year. (Photo: Provided/Ithaca Community Recovery)

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12 T h e I t h a c a T i m e s / J a n u a r y 7 – 1 3 , 2 0 2 6

amount of traffic. She said, “They are doing some event at the Yacht Club.” I stepped onto the deck, looked through the binoculars, and there was a group of people clad in parkas, boots and hats, and another group wearing swim wear, preparing to wade out into the water. I saw that one of them was my friend Liz Klohmann, who stepped into the lake, waded out a few steps until the water was chest-deep, reached the balloons tied 40 feet away, unattached a balloon, completely submerged herself in the 40-degree water, then headed back to shore. It looked — to me — like a 60 second trip into hell. That was not the first time Liz has made me feel like a slacker. I have written about her recent 5-mile Open Water Swim Challenge in St. Croix, her IronmanTriathlon triumphs and her work as a Yoga teacher. It was in a different capacity, however, that I gained a deeper insight into what led her to take a dip in Cayuga Lake on a bitter winter day. Stay tuned... The event — known as The Annual Ithaca Chill Challenge — is one of several impressive local fund raising efforts (such as the AIDS Ride for Life, Women Swimmin’ and others), and benefits Ithaca Community Recovery, Inc. According to its website, “Ithaca Community Recovery is a small nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the local recovery community. We do this by providing safe, affordable, and convenient meeting space for 12-step and other recovery-oriented groups in a drug and alcohol free facility... We receive no government funding, relying on rents from the groups we serve and several annual fundraisers.” The agency’s mission clearly resonates with many in our community, as evidenced Contin u ed on Page 20

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Ode to Lady Liberty By Frank Kelly

Democracy looks like... CHOOSING DEMOCRACY contin u ed from page 10

organizing, and working together to improve the system. Democracy isn’t endlessly scrolling on your phone, relying on a single news source, and remaining oblivious to what’s happening around you. Democracy is being open-minded — seeking information from multiple sources, digging deeper when you’re curious, and questioning what you hear. Democracy is also turning your phone off, going for a walk with others, and having real conversations. Democracy isn’t when local governments argue global politics in local forums. Democracy is when local governments

focus on how to make their own communities better for the common good. Democracy isn’t when a parent dictates how a school should educate their individual child. Democracy is when schools carry out their fiduciary duty responsibly and professionally. Democracy isn’t when a community tells local newspapers what is allowed to be news. Democracy is honest reporting of everything that matters in the community. Democracy is one of the best systems we have. It is up to us to protect it, to participate in it, and to care about it. Because if we don’t, then we might as well find a king and follow.

Our Democracy By Daniel R. Schwarz

is being cruelly devoured by gigantic, ever-growing Crocodile of dreaded authoritarianism, swishing tale of retribution, swallowing donkey, then elephant, as it opens its wide mouth to continually engorge itself, feed its insatiable appetite for money, manners, arts, moral standards, history itself, Ignoring walls of hatred, fences of suspicion, islands of paranoia, hapless keepers of our national aquarium— Congress, supine Supreme Court— stand by as our legal framework disappears into its gaping maw. We live in a claustrophobic world of there was once a time when the air seemed purer, sky clearer; malice, mischief at bay.

when Crocodile rarely awoke. Intimidation did not cast shadow on daily lives. Parents lovingly tucked in children, knowing family was safe. Immigrants walked outside without looking to see if plain-clothed masked officials were lurking in bushes. Nor did they—or any of us— worry about neighbor informing on neighbor, or fear knock-knock on door in middle of night. We trod more softly, knowing empathy was, as always, path to human decency, model for future generations. Will monstrous Crocodile ever return to normal size?

The Kids Speak Their Own Poetry By Susan Eschbach

In front of the state legislature In front of elected officials She stands tall, at 12, and claims We are the lock-down generation And we don’t want to be. You need to make this stop. At 8 his voice shaking states You just have to not let anyone have guns Unless they are hunting a deer.

I feel hunted. The 5 year old stands up, grabs the mic Looks at his friends, turns to the adults, and shouts I don’t want to practice hiding in my school! I only want to hide in my yard. Make it stop!

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I loved you long before I understood not only what you meant to me but just how beautiful you are So naive was I, to think you would be there forever no matter what I did or did not do No matter what befell our family the stress, the lies, the cruel deceit I took the life we had for granted Then church became a lightening rod for consternation, once open arms clamped tight against a fear of difference A press kidnapped by balance sheets devoid of any need but avarice subsumed the news with tortured propaganda Politics became a deadly game no room for compromise or civil

conversation statesmanship replaced by personality Technology that promised close connection devolved into a set of algorithms that rewards angst and sorts us into tribes What can I do to bring you back to me? Feel, once again, the warmth of your embrace Convince you I am worth your rapt attention Is it too late for us to reconcile? Rebuild the life we had before the rift that has driven us apart, set us adrift Are you willing to forgive this gross neglect? Accept this penitent’s contrition Show mercy to a fool that’s gone astray Pray, tell this hapless sinner that you will

This is What Freedom Feels Like By Peter Fortunato

We were hidden on a gravelly beach, below cliffs whose pines glowed greenly against the blue sky, island of Skyros. “Demos,” she said. “It means the people. They weren’t all free in Athens, but democracy begins there.” Off shore, a U.S. naval vessel sailed into sight. “Every afternoon,” she said. “Maybe they like to watch me swimming.” We had just met: two Americans overseas, half in sunlight, half in shadow,

together for reasons not unreasonable. “Most Americans,” I said, “don’t have a clue what people in other countries think of us. Are we bullies, or—” She interrupted me: “I’ll take off my top, give them a thrill.” She was from Minnesota, blond and tan, not California, as I’d first thought. “You really believe they can see us?” I was laughing. “And hear us too?” How free we felt, so far from home!

A Fifth Grader’s Experience in Democracy

By Barbara D. Katz-Brown

hen he came to visit me over the summer, my soon to be fifth grade grandson, whom I shall call Jay for the purpose of this story, told me he wanted to run for the Presidency of his 5th grade classes and lead the Student Council in his elementary school in New Jersey. We spent some time over the summer visit developing a viable “platform” for an elementary school. “Nana, I want to have

a dance at the end of the school year and special pizza days only for the 5th graders.” We talked about what would be practical and doable with his principal’s permission and activities that would include all of the 5th graders because according to Jay, “I would be representing even those students who don’t do any special things like chorus or music or Contin u ed on Page 20

Democracy looks like...

(Photos by Edna Brown)

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Who’s Your Neighbor? A Local Directory of Faith Communities, Faith-Related Service and Interfaith Activities Many Ithacans are seeking connections that might accurately be called faith. Some return to their roots while others seek roots they may never have experienced. We hope our directory will provide a resource residents, students and visitors find useful in their journey.

FAITH COM MUN IT Y Congregation Tikkun v’Or (Ithaca Reform Temple) www.tikkunvor.org

Agape Bible Church https://agapeithaca.org Baha’i Community of Ithaca www.ithacabahais.org

Danby Community Church danbychurch.org

Living Hope Fellowship https://www.lhﬁthaca.org New Life Presbyterian Church newlifeithaca.org

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

First Congregational Church of Ithaca www.fccithaca.org

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

Bread of Life Anglican Church breadoﬂifeithaca.org

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

St. John’s Episcopal Church www.stjohnsithaca.org

Cedar Cabin Sangha (Buddhist, Plum Village practice) cedarcabinsangha.blogspot.com

First United Methodist Church of Forest Home, Ithaca, N.Y. Forest Home Chapel https://www.foresthomechapelumc.org

St. Luke Lutheran Church and Lutheran Campus Ministry stlukeithaca.org

Christ Chapel https://www.christchapelithaca.org Christian Community Church Ithaca cccithaca.org Christ the King Fellowship Presbyterian Church ctkspencer.org

Hillside Alliance Church hillsideithaca.org Ithaca Monthly Meeting Religious Society of Friends https://ithacamonthlymeeting.org

Temple Beth-El https://www.tbeithaca.org Trinity Lutheran Church www.trinityithaca.org Vineyard Church of Ithaca ithacavineyard.org

Lansing United Methodist Church LansingUnited.org

FAITH - R E L ATE D SE RVICE 518 Yoga Gathering suzannejanene@gmail.com All Eyes and Ears on Racism AEER aeerforjustice@gmail.com Catholic Charities Tompkins/Tioga www.catholiccharitiestt.org

Finger Lakes Anam Cara: A Center for Spiritual Direction www.ﬁngerlakesanamcara.com Forest Hermitage – Solo, Outdoor Retreats for Women https://staceysmithhypnosis.com Integrative Mental Wellness https://www.psychologytoday.com/ proﬁle/1449445

Pure Essence Vibrations www.pureessencevibrations.com Second Wind Cottages https://www.secondwindcottages.org Wisdom’s Goldenrod Center for Philosophic Studies wisdomsgoldenrod.info

INTE R FAITH AC TIVIT Y Area Congregations Together breedlovejami@gmail.com

Greater Lansing-Ithaca Interfaith Community LansingUnited.org/events

Ithaca Kitchen Cupboard IthacaKitchenCupboard.org

Ithaca Sunday Squares VisitIthaca.com

Shared Journeys sharedjourneys.net

For more information, visit www.whoisyourneighbor.org and www.madeofclay.org 16 T h e I t h a c a T i m e s / J a n u a r y 7 – 1 3 , 2 0 2 6

By Peter Rothbart

hamber music is an intimate experience. For the performer, it’s a chance for personal expression and interpretation of the music and is inextricably intertwined with the expressions of the others in a small ensemble setting. For the listener, it’s a chance to hear and see everyone up close and personal. Watch the performers rely on eye contact, body position and gesture to communicate their intentions. Think of an orchestra piece as an ocean of sound with competing currents, small eddies that grow into colliding waves that occasionally collaborate to produce giant tsunamis and variable tides. Chamber music is more like a stream, transparent with gentler and fewer eddies and ripples. It lacks the grandiosity of the ocean but offers intimate transparency of the sound and the clarity of the performance. Small chamber pairings, such as the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra’s upcoming Jan. 18 Chamber Series Concert will forefront an intimate chamber sound with a series of pas-de deux between a violin and viola, a piano and oboe, and ending with a piano quintet by Mozart. William Grant Still’s “Incantation and Dance” for oboe and piano reveals the essential elements of Still’s style and philosophy. He was the first American composer to be performed by the New York City Opera and his first symphony, entitled “Afro-American Symphony” is an established part of the American classical canon. Growing up, he was exposed to the sounds of his black cultural upbringing; blues-inflected melodies, church chorale harmonies, African rhythms and dissonances, and call-andresponse phrasing from African songs and spirituals. But he was also exposed to European classical music. He wrote what he knew, drawing from his cultural upbringing and classical

Cayuga Chamber Orchestra Chamber Series “Martinů and Mozart” Sunday, Jan. 18, 3 p.m. First Unitarian Society of Ithaca 306 N Aurora St., Ithaca, NY 14850 Tickets available at: ccoithaca.org

Hornist Stefan Williams on left, Bassoonist Dillon Meacham on right. (Photo: Provided/Cayuga Chamber Orchestra)

exposure, and developed his idea of a “universal idiom” that incorporated all the elements of what he heard, regardless of their derivation. Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů loved English madrigals as much as he loved Bohemian and Moravian folk melodies. His “Three Madrigals” for violin and viola is characterized by a complex polyphony that creates a wash of sound that can be surprisingly dissonant, even modern in its dissonance and complexity, a writing style characteristic of Martinů’s writing style. Jean Sibelius’s “Duo” for violin and viola foregrounds the violin with a more active and lyrical melody, relegating the viola to a supporting role. It suggests that Sibelius wrote it as a pedagogic piece, not necessarily meant for the concert hall. Listen to it as if you are a fly on the wall in a lesson with the teacher and student. Mozart considered his Quintet for Piano and Winds in E♭major, K. 452 to be one of his finest works, but it can be a balancing nightmare for the performers. Blending a piano, an oboe, clarinet, and bassoon is doable with a little rehearsal. But throwing a horn into the mix can be an acoustical nightmare, requiring almost superhuman control on the part of the horn player who must be careful not to overpower the other wind instruments. The piano and horn are reflecting instruments: the piano sound bounces off the floor or piano lid while the horn, its bell facing behind the ensemble, reflects off whatever is behind the player. The oboe, clarinet and bassoon play directly to the

audience. The blend and balance can make or break even the best of performances. Sitting farther back in the hall will help. All the musicians performing hold local positions as teachers and regional orchestral players. All have studied and performed nationally with well-established and respected chamber and orchestral ensembles, large and small. All trained at music schools or conservatories of distinction such as Eastman, Juilliard, Manhattan, New England Conservatory, Yale, Peabody, the Royal Conservatory in Toronto, and the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts. John Lathwell is Principal Oboist for the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, the Binghamton Philharmonic, as well as the Tri-Cities Opera in Binghamton. Pianist Vadim Serebryany teaches piano at the Ithaca College School of Music, Theatre and Dance and has guest soloed with the National Arts Center Orchestra. William Knuth brought his violin skills to the CCO in 2024 after receiving a Fulbright Certificate. CCO clarinetist Diego Vásquez had to bow out at the last minute due to another engagement overseas, so the CCO’s Executive Director Sarah Chandler is stepping in on short notice. She is an accomplished clarinetist in her own right, having performed with the CCO, Binghamton Philharmonic, Tri-Cities Opera, Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra, the New World Symphony, and the Spoleto (Italy) Festival Orchestra.

Arts&Entertainment

An Intimate Affair: The CCO’s Chamber Music Series

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Film

“Marty Supreme” Races, Cheats, and Leaps Into the Future By Cl e me nt O b ropta

arty Mauser is great at table tennis, but that’s not good enough. He has to be the best in the world. It’s an infectious, poisonous, absurd dream, in a sport that most people don’t even take seriously. But that dream thrusts Marty from his uncle’s shoe shop in the Lower East Side to the halls of London and Paris and the megalopolis of Tokyo. Timothée Chalamet plays Marty with all the vainglory of a prophet as the character nearly cinches victory at the 1952 British Open in London. But he brutally plummets back down to Earth (and back to Manhattan) after a loss to Japanese table tennis star Koto Endo (played by actual deaf Japanese table tennis champion Koto Kawaguchi in one of many delicious bits of pitch-perfect casting). The remainder of the picture, Marty lies, schemes, steals, cheats, and begs his way toward the roughly $2,000 he needs to go back to Japan and battle Endo again. Helmed by Josh Safdie, one-half of the directing duo that brought butt-clenching tension machines “Good Time” and “Uncut Gems” to the screen, “Marty Supreme” plays like those movies but with a shin-

“Marty Supreme” Rated R Directed by Josh Safdie Currently playing at Cinemapolis and Regal Ithaca Mall 120 East Green St. and 40 Catherwood Road, Ithaca SAVE MUSEUM OF THE EARTH contin u ed from page 6

budget. However, the donor defaulted on an additional $30 million pledge in 2022. The situation escalated in August 2023 when the donor ceased mortgage payments entirely. Although the PRI initially maintained a flexible arrangement with Tompkins Financial Corporation to pause payments while attempting to secure the promised funds, the loss of support eventually forced a drastic restructuring. By the end of 2023, faced with the permanent loss of their primary funding source, the PRI

ing, vibrant soul. Together with brilliant production design from the legendary Jack Fisk, masterful long-lens camerawork from Darius Khondji, and ambitious costume design from Miyako Bellizzi (who created many of the film’s historically accurate looks from scratch), the film looks and feels like a scuzzy character drama from the 1970s but with a stinging critique of blind individualism that feels distinctly modern. The film has a peculiar, strong sense of humor, making it bizarre and singular in ways that many other modern arthouse films are too afraid to be. If you don’t laugh at the opening titles, in which we watch Marty’s sperm race for his girlfriend’s egg, the following two hours and change are gonna be rough for you. In the same way that “Uncut Gems” lashes its low-key comedy to Adam Sandler’s crooked but lovable son of a gun you begrudgingly come to root for, “Marty Supreme” rides Chalamet’s character like Major Kong straddling a nuclear bomb. In a world full of honest folk just trying to make ends meet, Marty feels like the only person with a vision for the future and the seething desperation to get there if it’s the last thing he does. Marty is a ridiculous character, but he knows it, playing up his punchability for the press as he tells them that he’s going to do to his Jewish opponent “what Auschwitz couldn’t.” Proudly Jewish, Marty wears a Star of David nearly everywhere he goes, chips off a piece of the Great Pyramid of Giza to bring back to his mother — “we built this,” he tells her — and boasts to the press that he considers himself “the ultimate product

of Hitler’s defeat.” Marty is a phoenix born from the ashes of war but also a creature of persistence and drive trying to rise above what little the world expects from him. It goes without saying that Chalamet is tremendous in the role. He sells the lines of Safdie’s loquacious script (cowritten by Ronald Bronstein) with the sleazeball charm of a New York shoe salesman. Marty is unlike anyone Chalamet has played before, the culmination of all of his indefatigable work as a character actor-turned-movie star. Chalamet totally blends into his sets and costumes no matter who he’s playing, synthesizing his charisma and passion into a freight train of emotion and sweaty determination. The actor reportedly trained for six years to be able to do as many of the ping-pong sequences as possible — only a few shots use a CG ball. The supporting cast is excellent across the board, all the more impressive because it’s largely populated by non-actors like Kevin O’Leary, David Mamet and Abel Ferrara.

There is a scene early in the picture when Gwyneth Paltrow’s character, the faded screen star Kay Stone, gets a call from Marty. They’re staying in the same hotel, and Marty invites her up to his room for food and, presumably, sex. He also invites her to see him play table tennis at the British Open. He’s brash, cocky, clearly immature, and obviously has no idea who she is. But something pulls Kay to the arena the next day to see him play. Chalamet and Safdie pull off that same trick with “Marty Supreme” — this is a mean, gritty drama about a thoroughly unlikable but propulsively driven character, and it’s almost impossible to take your eyes off of it. It certainly does not appeal to everybody. But if I could, I’d rather see Marty Mauser try, fail, and try again a hundred times in the cinema than do almost anything else.

reduced its staff from 34 to 20 and slashed its annual budget from $4 million to $1.6 million to ensure the institution’s survival. Looking back on the past year, Allmon described the museum’s future at the time as “pretty grim.” He estimated the museum had only enough cash to stay open until April, with no clear plan for how to survive beyond that date. At that time, PRI lacked the funds to pay off its mortgage or cover daily operating costs, leaving leaders unsure of how to save the museum. To safeguard the institution’s future, Allmon said PRI must diversify its revenue streams to avoid single-donor dependency

that led to the recent crisis. Allmon said federal grants currently account for about 25% of PRI’s funding, with the remainder consisting of individual donations and earned revenue from retail, book sales, and museum admissions. He said PRI must meet its annual goal of raising several hundred thousand dollars through new and creative partnerships to prevent having all its “eggs in one donor basket.” “Individual donors have always been our largest single pie slice, so we need to grow those other pie slices where we can,” Allmon said. Allmon said PRI is in a strong position due to its growing network of supporters.

The museum plans to build on this fundraising momentum to ensure it stays open permanently, securing its future as a center for science education and research. Allmon noted that this overwhelming community support serves as a powerful endorsement of PRI’s multifaceted mission as a research hub and destination for public education. He thanked PRI staff and the countless donors for validating the museum’s role as a space where scientific discovery meets personal inspiration, amazement, and fun. “I look back on the past year with utter amazement and huge pride at the PRI family who pulled it off,” Allmon said.

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Marty Mauser (Timothée Chalamet) races through Manhattan. (Photo: IMDb/A24)

Clement Obropta is a film columnist for the Ithaca Times.

A N a t i o n S p e a k s : A C e l e b r a t i o n o f G r e a t A m e r i c a n Vo i c e s

The Enduring Voice of President Theodore Roosevelt Curate d b y Roy All e n: D ire c tor of St rateg ic Par tne rships — Ith a c a Time s , Finge r L ak e s C ommunit y Ne ws pape rs , w w w.ith a c a .com

any more voices have contributed to this nation we call America. The voice we spotlight this week is that of Teddy Roosevelt from his famous “Man in the Arena — Citizenship in a Republic” speech delivered on April 23, 1910 at the Sorbonne in Paris, France. The entire speech is almost 9,000 words, a length we can’t fit on the allocated space in this week’s paper. However, the entire speech can be found online at: www.theodoreroosevelt.org. We hope you take the time to read the complete text as it is grand! In a time of great national division, listening to voices of the past might help us prepare for more unity in the future. These speeches were not delivered in silence — they were shouted across divides, whispered in courage, and sung in hope. They remind us that freedom is not a solo act — it is a chorus Man in the Arena — Citizenship in a Republic — 1910 “Strange and impressive associations rise in the mind of a man from the New World who speaks before this august body in this ancient institution of learning. Before his eyes pass the shadows of mighty kings and war-like nobles, of great masters of law and theology; through the shining dust of the dead centuries he sees crowded figures that tell of the power and learning and splendor of times gone by; and he sees also the innumerable host of humble students to whom clerkship meant emancipation, to whom it was well-nigh the only outlet from the dark thralldom of the Middle Ages. Today I shall speak to you on the subject of individual citizenship, the one subject of vital importance to you, my hearers, and to me and my countrymen, because you and we are great citizens of great democratic republics. A democratic republic such as ours—an effort to realize its full sense of government by, of, and for the people—represents the most gigantic of all possible social experiments, the one fraught with great responsibilities alike for good and evil. The success of republics like yours and

like ours means the glory, and our failure of despair, of mankind; and for you and for us the question of the quality of the individual citizen is supreme. Under other forms of government, under the rule of one man or very few men, the quality of the leaders is all-important. If, under such governments, the quality of the rulers is high enough, then the nations for generations lead a brilliant career, and add substantially to the sum of world achievement, no matter how low the quality of average citizen; because the average citizen is an almost negligible quantity in working out the final results of that type of national greatness. But with you and us the case is different. With you here, and with us in my own home, in the long run, success or failure will be conditioned upon the way in which the average man, the average women, does his or her duty, first in the ordinary, every-day affairs of life, and next in those great occasional cries which call for heroic virtues. The average citizen must be a good citizen if our republics are to succeed. The stream will not permanently rise higher than the main source; and the main source of national power and national greatness is found in the average citizenship of the nation. Therefore it behooves us to do our best to see that the standard of the average citizen is kept high; and the average cannot be kept high unless the standard of the leaders is very much higher. IIt is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. Shame on the man of cultivated taste who permits refinement to develop into fastidiousness that unfits him for doing the rough work of a workaday world. Among the free peoples who govern themselves there is but a small field of usefulness open for the men

of cloistered life who shrink from contact with their fellows. Still less room is there for those who deride the slight of what is done by those who actually bear the brunt of the day; nor yet for others who always profess that they would like to take action, if only the conditions of life were not exactly what they actually are. The man who does nothing cuts the same sordid figure in the pages of history, whether he be a cynic, or fop, or voluptuary. There is little use for the being whose tepid soul knows nothing of great and generous emotion, of the high pride, the stern belief, the lofty enthusiasm, of the men who quell the storm and ride the thunder. Well for these men if they succeed; well also, though not so well, if they fail, given only that they have nobly ventured, and have put forth all their health and strength. It is war-worn Hotspur, spent with hard fighting, he of the many errors and valiant end, over whose memory we love to linger, not over the memory of the young lord who “but for the vile guns would have been a valiant soldier.” The citizen must have high ideals, and yet he must be able to achieve them in practical fashion. No permanent good comes from aspirations so lofty that they have grown fantastic and have become impossible and indeed undesirable to realize. The impractical visionary is far less often the guide and precursor than he is the embittered foe of the real reformer, of the man who, with stumblings and shortcomings, yet does in some shape, in practical fashion, given effect to the hopes and desires of those who strive for better things. Woe to the empty phrase-maker, to the empty idealist, who, instead of making ready the ground for the man of action, turns against him when he appears Ja n ua ry

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and hampers him when he does work! Moreover, the preacher of ideals must remember how sorry and contemptible is the figure which he will cut, how great the damage he will do, if he does not himself, in his own life, strive measurably to realize the ideals that he preaches for others. Let him remember also that the worth of the ideal must be largely determined by the success with which it can in practice be realized. We should abhor the so-called “practical” men whose practicality assumes the shape of that peculiar baseness which finds its expression in disbelief in morality and decency, in disregard of high standards of living and conduct. Such a creature is the worst enemy of the body politic. But only less desirable as a citizen is his nominal opponent and real ally, the man of fantastic vision who makes the impossible better forever the enemy of the possible good. The good citizen will demand liberty for himself, and as a matter of pride he will see to it that others receive liberty which he thus claims as his own. Probably the best test of true love of liberty in any country is the way in which minorities are treated in that country. Not only should there be complete liberty in matters of religion and opinion, but complete liberty for each man to lead his life as he desires, provided only that in so he does not wrong his neighbor. Persecution is bad because it is persecution, and without reference to which side happens at the most to be the persecuted and which the persecuted. Class hatred is bad in just the same way, and without regard to the individual who, at a given time, substitutes loyalty to a class for loyalty to a nation, or substitutes hatred of men because they happen to come in a certain social category, for judgment awarded them according to their conduct. Remember always that the same measure of condemnation should be extended to the arrogance which would look down upon or crush any man because he is poor and to envy and hatred which would destroy a man because he is wealthier. In a republic, to be successful we must learn to combine intensity of conviction with a broad tolerance of difference of conviction. Wide differences of opinion in matters of religious, political, and social belief must exist if conscience and intellect

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sports and they need some fun social things to do in school too.” After the summer visit to Ithaca when he went home, Jay’s mom helped him make some posters with his image and a slogan, “Vote for Jay, he’ll make your day!” He placed the posters in the approved places throughout the 5th grade PARTING WORDS AS TERMS END contin u ed from page 5

Next Ithaca” series, hosted in partnership with WRFI Community Radio and the Diversity Consortium of Tompkins County. Pillar said proceeds from the series support local groups lowering barriers and strengthening recruitment, retention, climate and community outreach across the county. Steve Salem, co-owner of South Hill Cider, thanked Leon Holden of the diversity consortium and Shauna Bortis of South Hill Cider for their work on the series. “As a public business, we try to not be political, but right off the bat we know that cultural diversity, equity, and inclusion are not political,” Salem said. “They’re basic human rights that have to be cultivated.” AN INTIMATE AFFAIR contin u ed from page 17

After 21 years as a violist with the Air Force Strings/USAF Band in Washington, D.C., Bryce Bunner is currently the Principal Violist with the Erie Philharmonic and a sub/extra with both the Buffalo and Rochester Philharmonic Orchestras. He previously performed with the Baltimore Symphony and the National Philharmonic. Dillon Meacham is the newly minted Principal Bassoon for the CCO and has premiered composer Michael Torke’s ‘West’ Concerto (for bassoon) with the Albany Symphony Orchestra. Hornist Stefan Williams is a new freelancer, having studied at Rutgers. Peter Rothbart is a Professor Emeritus of Music at the Ithaca College School of Music, Theatre and Dance where he taught electroacoustic and media music for 40 years. He remains active as a classical, jazz, and pop musician.

hallways and said he talked to as many 5th graders as he could during lunch and on the playground about his ideas for the students. Jay prepared his policy framework, wrote his speech, and delivered it with enthusiasm over the school’s audio system. I was able to view the video and he did an excellent job outlining his proposals to make the school better for all of the 5th graders. A few days after the speech, Jay confided to me over the phone that he was worried. “You know Nana, most of the 5th grade is made up of girls. My opponent is a girl and she

is making some ridiculous promises in her platform that the girls are going to like, but will probably never be approved by the administrator.” I told him to wait and see what happens with the voting outcome and that democracy is not about winning an election, but about participating in the system to make things better for everyone. A week later we found out the results of the election. Jay did not win. The opponent won. Jay accepted the results, congratulated the winner, and moved on with his life. Throughout the course of that year I would occasionally ask

him if any of the opponent’s promises had come to fruition for the 5th grade students. At the end of the 5th grade year, before the moving up ceremony to the 6th grade, Jay told me that none of his opponent’s promises to the 5th grade had been fulfilled. At one point Jay said to me, “Nana, remember, democracy looks like getting involved but not everyone who gets elected does what they say they will do in their promises .” I am proud of my grandson. At age 11 years old, he has come to understand a basic tenet of a democratic society that will stay with him the rest of his life.

WE THE PEOPLE

helps students stay here after graduation, as well as becoming a 21st century center for workforce development may well be the best public policy and productivity effort we can make now and in the future. What’s this have to do with democracy? I believe that more often than not, both young and older citizens underestimate their true potential, and fall victim to whatever life delivers rather than what they might ultimately achieve. Living less of a life delivers less of a community and, by default, less of a nation, some-

thing America can hardly afford to risk or accept. In the world’s most technically advanced nation, we owe ourselves, our children, our neighbors, our workers and their families, access to the best tools necessary to achieve ours and theirs best selves possible. It’s no secret that planning is important. It’s just a mystery why it isn’t used more effectively when designing a lifelong career. Readers interested in learning more about Career Mapping can contact me at Roy@ithacatimes.com.

and many more. (ICR’s website features profiles of participants, many of whom explain the “Why” that compels them to take part.) Back to Liz and to what she told me was her “Why.” In her Ithaca Chill Challenge personal statement, Liz wrote, “This is my second year participating in the Chill Challenge to support ICR. My son Dylan died 3½ years ago of fentanyl poisoning. ICR’s programs and community were a source of support, encouragement, and friendship for him when he needed it most. I also found deep care, wisdom, and connection through the Al-Anon groups

that meet at ICR. I can’t think of a better way to honor and remember Dylan than by helping raise money for a community agency that supports so many of us. If he were here, he’d just say, ‘Dip.’ ” Liz and I worked together to plan a celebration of Dylan’s life, and it was clear that going forward, she would bring the same level of commitment and ferocity to helping people in recovery as she has to every other dimension of her life. Proud to know ya, Liz. Donations can still be made at ICR’s website, www.ithacacommunityrecovery. org.

among the great powers of the world. The ancient friendship between France and the United States has been, on the whole, a sincere and disinterested friendship. A calamity to you would be a sorrow to us. But it would be more than that. In the seething turmoil of the history of humanity certain nations stand out as possessing a peculiar power or charm, some special gift of beauty or wisdom or strength, which puts them among the immortals, which makes them rank forever with the leaders of mankind. France is one of these nations. For her to sink would be a loss to all the world. There are certain lessons of brilliance and of generous gallantry that she can teach

better than any of her sister nations. When the French peasantry sang of Malbrook, it was to tell how the soul of this warrior-foe took flight upward through the laurels he had won. Nearly seven centuries ago, Froisart, writing of the time of dire disaster, said that the realm of France was never so stricken that there were not left men who would valiantly fight for it. You have had a great past. I believe you will have a great future. Long may you carry yourselves proudly as citizens of a nation which bears a leading part in the teaching and uplifting of mankind.” Next week, we will publish Mary McLeod Bethune’s 1939 speech “Democracy to Me”.

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their employees fit in the workforce will end up working for people who do. Based on my preliminary investigation of the available literature and interviews with professionals in the field of human resource management, it is clear that America would benefit greatly from such a mass-customized mechanism for mining its human assets. In fact, for a small city like Ithaca, developing a tool that BRAVING THE COLD contin u ed from page 12

by the funding totals raised each year over the past decade. Sponsoring both individuals and teams, donors contributed over $54,000 last year, and aimed higher in 2026. Participants could raise “Dodge” money, and stay dry on the shore, or “Dip” money, and get into the water. This year’s donor list featured north of 70 participants, and some high-profile teams showed up — the Ithaca Police Department, Alternatives FCU, Beginnings FCU, the Finger Lakes Fitness Center VOICE OF PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT contin u ed from page 19

alike are not to be stunted, if there is to be room for healthy growth. Bitter internecine hatreds, based on such differences, are signs, not of earnestness of belief, but of that fanaticism which, whether religious or antireligious, democratic or antidemocratic, it itself but a manifestation of the gloomy bigotry which has been the chief factor in the downfall of so many, many nations. And now, my hosts, a word in parting. You and I belong to the only two republics

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1/7 Wednesday On A Winter’s Night — featuring

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What’s Cookin’ | 6 p.m. | Brookton’s

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Kaplansky, Patty Larkin | 7:30 p.m.

Firefly Trio | 6:30 p.m. | Deep Dive

1/8 Thursday

Ithaca, 415 Old Taughannock Blvd.

Winter Village Music Camp

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1/10 Saturday The Ambre Lynae Project | 6-9 p.m. | Bersonal Best Brewing, 321 West State St. | Free Terrapin Station | 7:30 p.m. | Liquid State Brewing Co, 620 W Green St. | $10

1/11 Sunday McCalip-Collins Quartet and Open Jam Session | 3 p.m. | Ithaca Beer Co, 122 Ithaca Beer Dr.

1/13 Tuesday Mathis & Adams | 7 p.m. | The Farmhouse at Grist Iron Brewing

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Cayuga Chamber Orchestra Youth Orchestra Winter Concert | 4 p.m. | Ford Hall, Ithaca Colege Rock Voices Ithaca Presents: Greatest Hits! | 7 p.m. | First Unitarian Society, 306 N. Aurora St. The Dave Matthews Tribute Band — Tomorrow We Will Die Tour | 8 p.m. | LECOM Events Center, 155 N. Main St., Elmira NY

1/11 Sunday Winter Village Music Camp Closing Concert | 4 p.m. | Community School of Music and Arts 3rd Floor, 330 E State St. | From $15 www.wintervillagemusic.org/ campconcerts

Stage Kitchen Cabaret: Michelle Courtney Berry | 8 p.m., 1/9 Friday | Kitchen Theatre Company, 417 W. State / W. MLK, Jr. St. | An evening of poetry and prose by Michelle Courtney Berry. | $20.00

Art Contemporary Mapping : One Foot Forward | 11 a.m., 1/7 Wednesday | Corners Gallery, 903 Hanshaw Rd. Suite 101A | Featuring work by 34 artists! Wednesdays through Saturdays 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. | Free New Year/New Work | 12 p.m. – 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday | State of the Art Gallery, 120 West State St. | Please join us to celebrate the New Year with a selection of work from fourteen of our artist members. The show features paintings, photos, sculpture, collage, and fiber arts representing a broad spectrum of styles. The show will run from January 2 through February 2, 2026. | Free Paint and Sip for Adults | 1 p.m., 1/10 Saturday | Newfield Public Library, 198 Main St., Newfield NY | Join Jill, local artist and educator, to paint a landscape together. Max 12 participants. Sign up required- please call, email, or stop by the Library. | Free Construct | 4-6 p.m., 1/10 Saturday | Trade Design Build, 1520 Trumansburg Rd. | Opening reception for our inaugural exhibit featuring work by

Jamie Banes, Roberto Bertoia, Ariel Bullion Ecklund, Thea Gregorius, Jeff Quinn, Rosalyn Richards, Ahmed Salvador, Rodger Stevens, Werner Sun and Melissa Zarem. Annual Small Works Invitational| | 12-4 p.m., 1/11 Sunday | The Gallery at South Hill, 950 Danby Rd. |Featuring artworks 14 inches or less in image size. With over 20 artists, this exhibit gives the viewer an inside look at the artistic practice.

Film The Trip to italy | 1 :00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., 1/13 Tuesday | Auburn Public Theater, 8 Exchange St., Auburn NY |Two men, six meals in six different places on a road trip around Italy. Liguria, Tuscany, Rome, Amalfi and ending in Capri. | All Ages 90 mins | Free Cinemapolis 120 E. Green St., Ithaca New movies opening the week of January 7. Contact Cinemapolis for showtimes and continuing films. National Theatre Live: Life of Pi |After a cargo ship sinks in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean, a 16-year-old boy named Pi is stranded on a lifeboat with four other survivors — a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan and a Royal Bengal tiger. Time is against them, nature is harsh, who will survive? | NR 150 mins

ON A WINTER’S NIGHT

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 7TH AT 7:30 P.M. | CENTER FOR THE ARTS OF HOMER, 72 S MAIN ST., HOMER NY

Presenting the Reunion Tour of “On A Winter’s Night” from veteran singersongwriters that remain among the brightest stars of the singer/songwriter movement for the past three decades. In 1994 Christine Lavin gathered them together, along with folk and Americana artists to showcase music of the Winter Season on the now-classic On A Winter’s Night CD, followed by several years of touring collaborations. These artists have released dozens of recordings and toured steadily through the decades, with fond memories of their touring days together. The winter season is again celebrated by these unique and popular performers, back together by popular demand. (Photo: Provided)

22 T h e I t h a c a T i m e s / J a n u a r y 7 – 1 3 , 2 0 2 6

Is This Thing On? | As their marriage quietly unravels, Alex (Will Arnett) faces middle age and an impending divorce, seeking new purpose in the New York comedy scene while Tess (Laura Dern) confronts the sacrifices she made for their family—forcing them to navigate co-parenting, identity, and whether love can take a new form. | R 121 mins Father Mother Sister Brother | Told in the form of a triptych divided into chapters set in New Jersey, Dublin and Paris, each story concerns the relationships between adult children, their somewhat distant parent (or parents), and each other. | R 110 mins

Sports Cornell Women’s Ice Hockey vs Clarkson University | 3 p.m., 1/9 Friday | Lynah Rink , Cornell University Ithaca Women’s Basketball vs RIT | 5:30 p.m., 1/9 Friday | Ben Light Gymnasium, Ithaca College Cornell Men’s Ice Hockey vs University of Alaska Fairbanks | 7 p.m., 1/9 Friday | Lynah Rink, Cornell University Ithaca Men’s Basketball vs RIT | 7:30 p.m., 1/9 Friday | Ben Light Gymnasium, Ithaca College Cornell Women’s and Men’s Swimming & Diving vs St. Bonaventure University | 11 a.m., 1/10 Saturday | Teagle Pool, Cornell University Ithaca College and Cornell iversity Women’s and Men’s Track & Field Southern Tier Invitational | 12 p.m., 1/10 Saturday | Cornell University Ithaca Women’s Basketball vs Union College | 2 p.m., 1/10 Saturday | Ben Light Gymnasium, Ithaca College Cornell Men’s Basketball vs Dartmouth College | 2 p.m., 1/10

Saturday | Newman Arena at Bartels Hall, Cornell University Cornell Women’s Ice Hockey vs St. Lawrence University | 3 p.m., 1/10 Saturday | Lynah Rink, Cornell University Ithaca Men’s Basketball vs Union College | 4 p.m., 1/10 Saturday | Ben Light Gymnasium, Ithaca College Cornell Men’s Ice Hockey vs University of Alaska Fairbanks | 7 p.m., 1/10 Saturday | Lynah Rink, Cornell University Cornell Women’s and Men’s Squash vs Drexel University | 12 p.m., 1/11 Sunday | Belkin Squash Courts, Cornell University Cornell Women’s Gymnastics Tri Meet — Penn, Bridgeport | 1 p.m., 1/11 Sunday | Newman Arena at Bartels Hall, Cornell University Cornell Women’s Basketball vs SUNY-Delhi | 1 p.m., 1/13 Tuesday | Newman Arena at Bartels Hall, Cornell University Ithaca Women’s Basketball vs William Smith College | 5:30 p.m., 1/13 Tuesday | Ben Light Gymnasium, Ithaca College Play Water Polo! Adult and Youth Opportunities | 7 p.m., 1/13 Tuesday | Ithaca High School Pool, 1401 North Cayuga Street | Adult Co-Ed Water Polo Program! Beginner players welcome. Get more information on adult and youth programs by visiting www.ithacawaterpolo.com and get on the email list. | Free Ithaca Men’s Basketball vs Hobart College | 7:30 p.m., 1/13 Tuesday | Ben Light Gymnasium, Ithaca College

Special Events Roc Day by the Black Sheep Handspinners Guild | 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., 1/10 Saturday | All Saints Church

ROC DAY BY THE BLACK SHEEP HANDSPINNERS GUILD

SATURDAY JANUARY 10TH FROM 10 A.M. TO 4 P.M. | ALL SAINTS CHURCH PARISH HALL, ROUTE 13B, LANSING NY

Traditionally, Roc Day, also known as St. Distaff’s Day, was the day people took up spinning after the holidays, the roc or distaff being the tool that held the prepared spinning fiber. Following that tradition, we are ringing in a new year of spinning and the fiber arts. In the spinning circle everyone is welcome to craft and socialize. Try crafts, buy from vendors, enjoy potluck lunch & music. (Photo: Provided)

Parish Hall, Route 13b, Lansing NY | A Post-Holiday Celebration of the Fiber Arts | Free

Books Author Reading with Elizabeth Hoover, Joël Simeu Juegou and Liza Flum | 4 p.m., 1/10 Saturday | Buffalo Street Books, 215 North Cayuga St. | Join poet, essayist and critic Elizabeth Hoover as she shares an excerpt of her first poetry collection the archive is all in present tense in conversation with Joël Simeu Juegou and Liza Flum | Free On the Moors of Omaha: Essays with Trebbe Johnson | 4 p.m., 1/13 Tuesday | Buffalo Street Books, 215 North Cayuga St. | Join Trebbe Johnson for an author reading of On the Moors of Omaha: Essays | Free

Kids Family Playgroup — Winter’26 Round #1 | 3 p.m., 1/7 Wednesday | CCE-Tompkins Education Center, 615 Willow Ave. | Free 6 weeks series, January 7 – February 11 Animal Feeding | 4 p.m., 1/7 Wednesday | Sciencenter, 601 1st St. | Join an Animal Keeper to observe snakes, lizards, frogs, and fish snacking on their preferred prey. Spanish-English Read-Aloud & Art Making Workshop | 4 p.m., 1/7 Wednesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green St. | Join Johnson Museum of Art Museum Educator in a Spanish-English bilingual read-aloud and art-making event for children! Story + Craft | 4 p.m., 1/8 Thursday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green St. | Story + Craft is our weekly reading + creating event for children! Join us for a read-aloud, followed by art-making or a guided craft.

Baby & Toddler Storytime | 10:30 a.m., 1/9 Friday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green St. | Caregivers and their children are invited to join Cassie for music, rhymes, movement and books. Storytime will be followed by a playtime from 11-12. Math Fun with MathHappens! | 10 a.m., 1/10 Saturday | Sciencenter, 601 1st St. | Join us for playful, informal math learning with the MathHappens Foundation! Families and kids can explore hands-on activities that make math fun, creative, and connected to everyday life. Youth Entrepreneurship Market (YEM) Season 9 | 10 a.m., 1/10 Saturday | REV: Ithaca Startup Works, 314 E. State St. | Youth Entrepreneurship Mindset/Markets/Mentors Season 9 | $100.00 - $150.00 Study Buddies | 10:30 a.m., 1/10 Saturday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green St. | The study buddies program is brought to you for Ithaca students, by Ithaca students. High school student volunteers will be matched up with younger students for homework help and general tutoring. Recomended for ages 6-12 Second Saturday Family Fun: Winter Wonderland | 10:30 a.m., 1/10 Saturday | Cortland Free Library, 32 Church St., Cortland NY | A program on the 2nd Saturday of every month at 10:30 a.m., this family friendly program offers an activity for families to do together. Families Learning Science Together | 2 p.m., 1/10 Saturday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green St. | Children ages 5 and up and their families are invited to a free science program co-hosted by Chemists for Outreach and Graduate Inclusion (CoRGi) at Cornell University. Science Connections | 2 p.m., 1/11 Sunday | Sciencecenter, 601 1st Street | Join local science experts with handson activities and demonstrations.

Family Open Play | 9:30 a.m., 1/12 Monday | CCE-Tompkins Education Center, 615 Willow Ave. | Free space for families to come with their children — ages 0 to 4 years old — to play and socialize with other families. Baby & Toddler Playtime | 10 a.m., 1/12 Monday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green St. | Baby & Toddler Playtime is an unstructured play and social time for children and caregivers offering a warm, child-friendly space with books and age-appropriate toys. Homeschool Get Ready To Read | 1 p.m., 1/12 Monday | Cortland Free Library, 32 Church St., Cortland NY | Mondays at 1 p.m. A program for emergent readers ages 4-7 yrs. Ready, Set, Read! | 6 p.m., 1/12 Monday | Cortland Free Library, 32 Church St., Cortland NY | Mondays at 6 p.m. A program for emergent readers ages 4-7 yrs. Books Before Bed | 7 p.m., 1/12 Monday | Cortland Free Library, 32 Church St., Cortland NY | A special pajama story time. Be sure to wear your pajamas and bring a favorite stuffed animal to leave for a sleepover at the library. Tween Book Club | 4 p.m., 1/13 Tuesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green Street | Join us for monthly meetings of the TCPL Tween Book Club — the second Tuesday of every month. We will read and discuss great books together, play games, eat snacks, and laugh a lot. SingSong Music Class Series | 10 a.m., 1/14 Wednesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green St. | SingSong is a fun-filled class for little ones and parents/caregivers to enjoy music together in a circle setting. Science Together: Sink or Float | 10:15 a.m., 1/14 Wednesday | Sciencecenter, 601 1st St | Test and sort items with a water play, sink or float experi-

rant and Bar, 23 Cinema Dr. | Show off your singing chops every Thursday night during “Karaoke Night” at 23 North in Ithaca! Great food, great drinks, great FUN! | Free

ment! Science Together activities are designed for ages 0-4.

Notices Tabletop Role-Playing Game Brainstorming Group | 6 p.m., 1/7 Wednesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green St. | A gathering of the gaming community to support each other’s creativity.

Trafficking Awareness and Clothesline Project Event Hosted by The Advocacy Center of Tompkins County | 11 a.m., 1/9 Friday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green St. | January is Trafficking Awareness Month.

Trivia Night! | 6:30 p.m., 1/7 Wednesday | Hopshire Farm and Brewery, 1771 Dryden Road, Freeville NY | Join us, and the entertaining Dave Ashton, for our weekly Trivia Night — where fun meets knowledge!

Magic the Gathering & Pokemon TCG night! | 5 p.m., 1/9 Friday | Riverwood Gifts, 116 E State St. | Friday night Magic and Play! Pokemon TCG at Riverwood Gifts | Free

Trivia! | 7 p.m., 1/7 Wednesday | Liquid State Brewery, 620 West Green St. | Grow your brain or just show it off to a loveable bunch of Trivia-lovers. Hosted by Ithaca’s Trivia legend, Bob Proehl. Get there early as seats fill up fast! | Free The Canaan Session--Fiddle Tunes for Dancing| 7-9 p.m., 1/7 Wednesday | The Canaan Institute, 223 Canaan Rd., Brooktondale NY | canaaninstitute.org Latin Wednesday | 9 p.m., 1/7 Wednesday | The Upstairs, 106 S. Cayuga St. | Ithaca’s longest running weekly dance party. Meet new dancers, learn new moves, and have fun!

Art Cafe | 6 p.m., 1/9 Friday | The Clay School’s Art Room, 950 Danby Rd., Suite 28 | The Clay School’s ART Room features an Art Cafe! Like a restaurant, only you order an art project from our menu, then sit and enjoy with friends and family. Every Friday night 6-9 p.m. For all ages (under 15 require adult supervision). A family-friendly creative experience. | Free, but projects cost $10-38. Play it Forward Music Workshop | 10-11:30 a.m., 1/10 Saturday | Lansing Area Performance Hall, 1004 Auburn Rd., North Lansing NY | A win-win workshop on how to play your music in nursing homes. | Free, but please RSVP to DrBSax@gmail.com| More info: http://www.playitforwardnetwork.org/

Grief Support: In-person Ongoing General Support Group | 1:30 p.m., 1/8 Thursday | Lifelong, 119 W. Court St. | This group meets the second and fourth Thursday of every month. Facilitator: Laura Ward, LMFT, FT.

Fossil ID Day | 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Museum of the Earth, 1259 Trumansburg Rd. | Did you find a rock in your backyard? Do you think it might be a fossil? Museum of the Earth is here to help! Bring your fossil into the Museum on Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. for help identifying your fossil in our Prep Lab. Dr. Maureen Bickley will be working in the Prep Lab on Saturdays and is happy to assist you. Fossil ID is included with museum admission.

Human Trafficking Awareness Month Resource Fair | 5 p.m., 1/8 Thursday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green St. | Join the Advocacy Center of Tompkins County to get educated on the state of local sex trafficking and connect with community resources. Karaoke with Elephant Sound | 8 p.m., 1/8 Thursday | 23 North Restau-

ComedyHOF Presents: The $100 Laugh-Off | 7 p.m., 1/10 Saturday | Envious Handbags, 123 S Cayuga St. | Eight comics. Five minutes each. One hundred bucks on the line. You laugh. You vote. They win. BYOB & all laughs. | $12.50 - $25.00 Irish Session with Six Mile Craic | 4-6 p.m., 1/11 Sunday | Liquid State Brewing Co, 620 W Green St. Sock Hop with TOiVO | 5 p.m. – 7 p.m., 1/11 Sunday | Garrett’s Brewing Co, 1 W Main St., Trumansburg NY |This Sunday is Sock Hop Sunday. Wear your dancing shoes! Ithaca Workshop: Demystifying the Civil Service Merit System | 11 a.m., 1/12 Monday | Tompkins Workforce NY Career Center, 171 East State St., # 241 | This workshop will cover the NYS Civil Service Merit System, Civil Service exams, the NY HELPS program, and career pathways with NYS PB & Jam — Jazz Jam Session | 5:30 p.m., 1/12 Monday | Personal Best Brewing Co., 321 W. State St. | A jazz jam session for instrumentalists, vocalists, and interested listeners. | Free DJ Trivia | 7 p.m., 1/12 Monday | 23 North Restaurant and Bar, 23 Cinema Dr. | Join Kurt for DJ Trivia every Monday night at 23 North Restaurant and Bar in Ithaca! Bring your friends and family for an evening of amazing food, drink and (of course) trivia! | Free The Really Free Market | 6 p.m., 1/13 Tuesday | Cortland Free Library, 32 Church St., Cortland NY | The Really Free Market is a free bi-monthly distribution of food, personal care items, and household supplies. You can take as much as you want and we will never ask you to “prove” your need. The Canaan Session--Fiddle Tunes for Dancing | 7-9 p.m. , 1/14 Wednesday | The Canaan Institute, 223 Canaan Rd., Brooktondale NY | canaaninstitute.org

SUNDAY JANUARY 11TH AT 4 P.M. | COMMUNITY SCHOOL OF MUSIC AND ARTS 3RD FLOOR, 330 E STATE ST.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 2026 AT 4:00 P.M. | FORD HALL, ITHACA COLLEGE The Youth Orchestra’s exciting Winter Concert includes works by Bonds, Bruch, Grofé, and Gershwin. The program includes a performance of Bruch’s Violin Concerto by YO concerto competition winner Svana Lai as well as a full performance of the recently rediscovered Montgomery Variations by Margaret Bonds. Admission to CCOYO concerts is free and donations are welcome. (Photo: Provided)

Join us on Sunday afternoon, January 11th at 4:00 pm as we bring Winter Village 2026 to a close with three fine duos. Viv & Riley will present their old time original songs and traditional tunes, along with Rakish performing their fine celtic fiddle tunes and original songs. In addition, Allison De Groot will be joined by Ithaca’s own Rosie Newton for some rollicking old time tunes. Tickets are $15 for registered campers, $20 advance, and $25 at the door. (Photo: Provided)

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