March 13, 2019 by Ithaca Times

F R E E M a r c h 13 , 2 0 19 / V o l u m e X X X I X , N u m b e r 2 9 / O u r 4 7 t h Ye a r

Online @ ITH ACA .COM

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DR. ROBOT CMC intros New Knee Surgery Tech PAGE 3

ON THE

1S AND 2S

DJ Festival Back for Another year

The Septuagenarian Dovi Motors

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ART OF

TENANT

A Revival for Public Arts?

Getting a fair Shake from Landlords

THE STREETS PAGE 19

RIGHTS

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Ithaca Community Childcare Center’s 17th Annual Benefit Auction All proceeds will help create a natural playscape benefiting all children at IC3

Saturday, March 16, 2019 6:30-10:00 PM Emerson Suites at Ithaca College 953 Danby Road, Ithaca, NY 14850 Special thank you to our primary sponsors, Cayuga Medical Center & Holt Architects; to our secondary sponsor, CFCU Community Credit Union; to our tertiary sponsors, McDonald’s; TG Miller, PC Engineers and Surveyors, & Tompkins Trust Company; to our supporters, the Leonardo Family & Tompkins Insurance Agencies; to our media sponsor, Ithaca Times; and, also, to IC3 Board of Directors, Classrooms, Parents of IC3 & Larkin Insurance. Thank you to all of our donors below! Donations as of 3/6/2019 A Gust of Sun Winery

Coffee Mania

Gabriel G. Hoff LMT

Jillian's Drawers

Opus Ithaca School of Music

Sherri Koski

Ace Security Locksmith

Coltivare

Gimme! Coffee

John Thomas Steakhouse

Oskar Schmidt Massage Therapy

Significant Elements

Agava

Cornell Botanic Gardens

Girl Scout Basket (Sandy Fraleigh) JULIA e. DEAN

Owl Classroom Basket

Soccer Shots

Agway

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Goldfish Classroom

Kangaroo Classroom

Painted Bar Stables

SPCA

Alphabet Soup

Corning Museum of Glass

Green Star

Kendal Classroom Basket

PRI/ Museum of the Earth

State Theatre

American Crafts by Robbie Dein

Cortland Repertory Theatre

Guppy Classroom

Kitchen Theatre Company

Panda Classroom

Stella's Barn Country Comfort Rest.

Argos Inn

Country Club of Ithaca

Hair It Is, Pam Schwartz

La Tourelle

Penguin Classroom Basket

Sue Hertz

Armstrong School of Dance

Creative Touch

Hampton Inn Ithaca

Le Café Cent-Dix

Pete's Wine & Liquor

Sunset Grill

Attuned Life Massage

Crystal’s Spa & Salon

Handwork

Lesli Combs

Petrune

Tamarind

Ba-Li Cravings

Daisy Maid

Hangar Theatre

Lindsey Mott Photography

Piggery

Taste of Thai Express

Bethany Woodman

Darian Lake

Head Over Heels Gymnastics

Liquid State Brewing Company

Planet 3 Extreme Air

The Cat's Pajamas

Binghamton Rumble Ponies

Dawn Shoemaker

Hedgehog Class

Magical Castle Vacations

Ports of NY

The Chanticleer

Binghamton Zoo (Ross Park)

Dolce Delight

Helena Cooper

Maguire Family of Dealerships

Potts Photography

The Clay School of Ithaca

Boatyard Grill

Dragon Classroom

Hickey’s Music Store

Mama Goose/Mimi's Attic

Purity Ice Cream

The Cornell Store

Brooklyn Children's Museum Edible Arrangements

Hilton Garden Inn Ithaca

Maple Hill Golf Course

Quickland Stables

The Frame Shop

Buffalo Wild Wings

Emmy's Organics

Home Green Home

Mansour Jewlers

Rasa Spa

The History Center

Butterfly Classroom

Fat Jack’s BBQ

Hopshire Farm & Brewery

Margaritaville, Destiny USA

Purity Ice Cream

The Mall Dry Cleanres

Buttonwood Grove Winery

Fausel Imagery

If Only Farm Equestrian Center

Maxi's Supper Club

Quickland Stables

The Shoe Inn

Café Dewitt

Finger Lakes Cider House

Instant Replay Sports

Medieval Times

Rasa Spa

The Watershed

Cayuga Lake Creamery

Finger Lakes Curling

Italian Carry Out

Michaleen's Florist & Garden Center Red Feet Wine Market & Spirit Provisions

Three Brothers Wineries and Estates

Cayuga Lake Wine Trail

Finger Lakes Distilling

Ithaca Ale House

Model Citizen Tattoo

Rose's Home Dish

Trumansburg Golf Course

Cayuga Landscape

Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival Ithaca Bakery

Moore Tree Farm

RPM Raceway, Destiny USA

T-Shirt Express

Caywood Stone Jewelry

Finger Lakes Running Company

Ithaca Carshare

Moosewood

Sam Peter Furniture

Viva Taqueria

Center for The Arts, Homer

Finger Lakes Soap Company

Ithaca Coffee Company

Morey's Piers & Beachfront Waterparks Wildwood

Sarah Clark

WalMart

Chili's

FLOOF Collage pARTy!

Ithaca Community Childcare Center

Multi-Faceted Minerals

Schooley’s

Wegmans

Ciao!

Flower Fashions

Ithaca Family Chiropractic

Nancy Cheri Arif

Sciencenter

Wild Birds Unlimited

Cinemapolis

Forty Weight Coffee Roasters Ithaca Farmers Market

National Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown

SeaBreeze

Wine and Design

Circus Culture Ithaca

Fruit Yard Winery

Ithaca Guitar Works

New York Giants

Serviente Glass Studios

YMCA

CNY Hot Tubs

Funny Bone Comedy Club

Jane Morgan's Little House Ltd

One World Market

Sheldrake Point Winery

Zugibe Vineyards

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Website: www.icthree.org

Email: office@icthree.org **

Newsline

VOL.X X XIX / NO. 29 / March 13, 2019 Serving 47,125 readers week ly

IHS Esports? �� 8 Local esports program takes off

Tenant rights

DJ Fest �� 17

A closer look at Common Council’s tenant rights reforms

ommon Council voted unanimously to approve a package of city ordinances targeted at stricter housing code enforcement for rental units. According to officials with the City of Ithaca, the reforms are part of the city’s overall more aggressive stance on enforcement of tenants rights. For months, housing regulation has been at the forefront of the Planning and Economic Development Committee’s agenda. Mayor Svante Myrick announced an as-yet to be formed housing task force in December, but the Common Council seemed bent on putting concrete protections in place even sooner. “This is certainly to the benefit of tenants in the city. It’s not that we’ve had a lot of problems, but when we have had problems, at times it’s been a little difficult to prosecute because things were not stated clearly enough in our ordinances,” Director of Code Enforcement Mike Niechwiadowicz said in an interview. The new rules aim to increase fines and make it easier to prosecute certain violations of the housing code. Niechwiadowicz said that the intent was to clarify areas of the code to ease enforcement, although some of the targeted actions are already rare occurrences. At least one ordinance directly parallels a recent example from a Cornell Daily Sun report on two students all but forced to abandon their home last fall. In that instance, an anonymous individual helped them secure housing in Collegetown Terrace for the remainder of the year. Under the new rule, landlords will be required to compensate continued on page 7

Music fest features DJs and workshops

NE W S & OPINION Newsline ��3-7 Sports �� 21 Business �� 11-16

ART S & E N T E RTAINME N T CMC Robot

Doctor Deirdre Blake (left) speaks in front of a demonstration of our future surgical robot overlords. (Photo by Casey Martin)

A helping (robotic) hand

s the futuristic wave of medical technology continues, Cayuga Medical Center (CMC) has announced they are going to begin using new robotics technology to do partial and total knee replacements. The NAVIO Surgical System will be transforming the way many surgeries are done. While this machine cost CMC $500,000, doctors are confident it will pay for itself in the long run. According to Dr. Deidre Blake, an orthopedic surgeon at CMC who led the expedition into finding the right robotics technology to bring to CMC, there have not been a lot of partial knee replacements done at CMC, though, there has been a longstanding interest in bringing that operation to the public. Blake demonstrated the robot’s capabilities to visitors on Monday. Surgeons have been training to use this new technology, for some time now by using cadavers and the tool itself. Another training method for surgeons is a virtual reality simulator that provides surgeons with a

step by step guide as to how the instrument works. Compared to a traditional knee replacement, Blake said, this will have some positive differences that improve patient’s recovery. “People that are an appropriate patient for a partial knee replacement expect a shorter incision, shorter recovery time, and they are faster back at work,” said Blake. “The way that it compares to traditional partial and total knee replacements, instead of using the traditional cutting guides, you put two pins in the tibia, two pins in the femur and then you really map out the bone, in which you will see the patients own anatomy. And then computer algorithms help you generate where to place the implant. Then the robotic control piece helps you remove the bone in that section and then place the implant there.” By placing the four pins in the aforementioned areas, surgeons can create a model of the patient’s anatomy to ensure where the implant is going to be placed. CEO of Cayuga Medical Center, Dr. Martin

T a k e

▶▶ St. Patricks Day events - Perhaps you forgot among the bizarre temperatures and hustle and bustle of every-day life, but this is St. Patrick’s Day weekend. So, with that, here’s a list of festivities that might entertain you. We aren’t gifted the actual holiday coinciding with a Saturday this year, tragically, but here’s three events that

Stallone, hopes to see the use of this technology increase not only in orthopedics but also for other areas of the hospital. That, however, is going to be under evaluation over the next few months and will be determined sometime in the near future. With the implementation of this new technology at Cayuga Medical Center, Blake expects a revolutionary change to knee replacements being done in the area. “I see us opening the door to a huge amount of partial knee replacements,” Blake said. “There are three compartments of the knee: the median, the lateral and the patella femoral which is under the knee cap. And you can replace just one of those if the patient has arthritis in that one area. In the past, where surgeons have fallen down with these surgeries has been the accurate placement of the implants and this really helps. This is going to help us offer great surgery in this area and it’s really something we haven’t done in high volume here, so I’m excited for that.” continued on page 7

N o t e

touch on all the best parts of St. Patrick’s Day: the celebratory, the rambunctious and the classy. ▶▶ Horseheads St. Patrick’s Day Parade Saturday, March 16, 2:00 p.m., ending with a postparade meal of corned beef and cabbage at the Horseheads Fire Department at 134 North Main Street.

▶▶ St. Patrick’s Day Throwdown - Saturday, March 16 from 10 p.m. until 1 a.m. at Lot 10 in Ithaca, where performer Rockmon will be “throwing down hip-hop, house and more.” Just like they did in the Irish folk tales. No cover, and drink specials served all night.

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Art �� 10 Stage ��18 Art �� 19 Dining �� 20 TimesTable ��22-25 Classifieds ��26-28 Cover: Photo: Casey Martin, Design: Marshall Hopkins

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 M a t t B u t l e r , M a n a g i n g E d i t o r , x 224 E d i t o r @ I t h a c aTi m e s . c o m F i n g e r L a k e s N o r t h R e p o r t e r , x 223 NorthReporter@flcn.org J a i m e C o n e , W e b E d i t o r , x 232 SouthReporter@flcn.org E d w i n J . V i e r a , S ta ff R e p o r t e r R e p o r t e r @ I t h a c aTi m e s . c o m C a s e y M a r t i n , S ta ff P h o t o g r a p h e r P h o t o g r a p h e r @ I t h a c aTi m e s . c o m C h r i s I b e r t , C a le n d a r E d i t o r , x 217 A r t s @ I t h a c aTi m e s . c o m A n d r e w S u l l i v a n , S p o r t s E d i t o r , x 227 Sports@flcn.org Steve L awrence, Spo rts Co lumnist St e v e s p o r t s d u d e @ g m a i l .co m M a r s h a l l H o p k i n s , P r o d u c t i o n D i r ec t o r / D e s i g n e r , x 216 P r o d u c t i o n @ I t h a c aTi m e s . c o m E r i n S t e w a r t , A cc o u n t R e p r e s e n ta t i v e , x 220 E r i n @ I t h a c aTi m e s . c o m L i s a B i n g a m a n , A cc o u n t R e p r e s e n ta t i v e , x 218 l i s a @ I t h a c aTi m e s . c o m C h r i s I b e r t , C y n d i B r o n g , x 211 A d m i n i s t r a t i o n Chris Eaton, Distribution J i m B i l i n s k i , P u b l i s h e r , x 210 j b i l i n s k i @ I t h a c aTi m e s . c o m L a r r y H o c h b e r g e r , A s s o c i a t e P u b l i s h e r , x 214 l a r r y@ I t h a c aTi m e s . c o m F r e e l a n c e r s : Barbara Adams, Rick Blaisell, Steve Burke, Deirdre Cunningham, Christie Citranglo, Jane Dieckmann, Amber Donofrio, Karen Gadiel, Charley Githler, Warren Greenwood, Ross Haarstad, Peggy Haine, Austin Lamb, Steve Lawrence, Marjorie Olds, Cassandra Palmyra, Lori Sonken, Henry Stark, Jason Warshof, and Bryan VanCampen.

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. Aditional copies may be purchased from the Ithaca Times offices for $1. SUBSCRIPTIONS: $69 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 607-277-1012, 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. F o u n d e r G o o d T i m e s G a z e tt e : Tom Newton

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INQUIRING PHOTOGRAPHER By C a se y Mar tin

HOW ARE YOU GOING TO SPEND YOUR EXTRA HOUR OF DAYLIGHT?

“Well, since its lighter out for another hour – I can sleep in longer!” -Devon Finlay

“Easy – Just spend more time outside.” -Alana & Connor

“Be outside – at VIVA!” -Casey Wolanin & Nicole Carroll

“Catch up on SUNSHINE!” -Joe from Oneonta

“I get an extra hour to get outside and go hiking!” -Kayla Darling

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N e w s l i n e

Play ‘N’ Talk

Play ‘N’ Talk: Providing resources for parents with children on the autism spectrum

pening two hours earlier than normal on a Sunday morning, the Sciencecenter dims the lights and turns off the noisy exhibits. This creates a calm environment for children on the autism spectrum to play. Meanwhile, their parents gather in another room to talk about their experiences, discover new resources and learn about a chosen topic pertaining to autistic children. Play ‘N’ Talk is a support group for families with children on the autism spectrum. It was co-founded in the summer of 2015 by Judy Morita, Florencia Ardon, both mothers to children on the spectrum, and Joanie Groome, a youth program coordinator for Recreation Support Services at the Ithaca Youth Bureau. In 2015, Morita and Groome attended the Autism Summit held at Racker, an organization that provides support for families and individuals with disabilities in Tompkins, Cortland and Tioga counties. There, they both realized that the Ithaca community needed a parent support group. “The need for families to meet other families who are raising a child on the autism spectrum is extremely important,” Morita said. “Without a parent group of this kind, it is really very difficult to find resources and advice.” Groome offered to host the group at the Ithaca Youth Bureau if Morita was willing to facilitate the discussion. Not wanting to run the group alone, Morita called on Ardon to help out. In 2012, Ardon’s daughter was diagnosed with autism and, at the time, there were no active groups in the Ithaca community she could turn to.

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“Through a group, we can find out about opportunities for specific programs, therapies, or even knowing what services or tools some children are using and if they’re helpful,” Ardon said. “Additionally, and very importantly, I think [it’s good] knowing that you’re not alone, that other kids experienced this, and that a difficult situation will pass. Kids improve and that’s amazing.” For the first year, the group initially held monthly meetings at the Ithaca Youth Bureau, then transitioned to the Sciencecenter and the Tompkins County Public Library. Play ‘N’ Talk operates as a volunteerbased program, with each meeting location opening its spaces for free. While the “play” portion of the support group is supervised by a special education teacher or teacher assistant, each child on the spectrum and their sibling is partnered with a “buddy,” a student volunteer from either Ithaca College or Cornell University. “Social interactions can be very difficult sometimes for children on the spectrum,” Morita said. “It’s beneficial for kids to come and play and see familiar faces.” Morita and Ardon choose topics for the ‘talk’ portion based on feedback and suggestions from the group. They connect with experts used in disability services for their own

child, or reach out to experts in the Ithaca community who can advise on specific issues. In one meeting, Ardon was particularly interested in public safety for children on the spectrum. She coordinated a discussion with the Ithaca Police Department because of the common concern families face with autism called “elopement” or “wandering,” when a child has a tendency to stray from their parents or caregiver, something that impacts about half of children on the autism spectrum, according to the Center for Disease Control. “The key word is spectrum,” Morita said. “It is such a huge range of issues that families face and unfortunately, some situations are extremely intense. It has been great that I have been able to connect parents to resources and to other parents.” Most families in the group are local, living in Tompkins County, with some coming from as far as Cortland. On average, not including the supervisor, eight children, eight volunteers, and 10-13 parents attend the monthly meetings. Ardon, in turn, has come to embrace neurodiversity, as her husband was recently diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, her son was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder a couple of years ago, and her daughter is diagnosed as autistic.

Children play at a recent Play ‘N’ Talk meeting, which brings together families impacted by autism. (Photo provided)

“[Play ‘N Talk] also gave me the opportunity to get to know people who can help my daughter and my family in the future,” Ardon said. After a little over three years of facilitating Play ‘N Talk, Morita and Ardon are ready to pass the baton. While the Facebook and Yahoo groups are still active online, Morita and Ardon have asked Racker to directly assist with the play aspect of the group. They are striving to keep the group alive regardless of their departure. Bob Brazill, director of community relations and development at Racker, said the organization plans to continue the “play” portion, providing volunteers to supervise the children, while the talk “portion” will rotate among the participating families. “A group like Play ‘N Talk, by families and for families, provides amazing peer support, resources, and guidance,” Brazill said. “We’re hopeful that the group is able to evolve and continue to support each other through this leadership transition.” -Danielle Lee

N e w s l i n e

City Politics

Mayor and Common Council members officially announce re-election bids

ast Tuesday night, at a meeting of the Ithaca City Democratic Committee, the five eligible Common Council members and Mayor Svante Myrick all declared their candidacies to reclaim their respective positions when elections are held in November. Myrick followed re-election announcements by Fifth Ward Alderperson Laura Lewis, Steve Smith (Fourth), Rob Gearhart (Third), George McGonigal (First) and Ducson Nguyen (Second). Each had either begun or was officially beginning their petition rounds, trying to amass the acceptable number of signatures on their designating petitions. Each candidates is a registered Democrat, and addressed the assembled committee members and citizens who showed up to the Tompkins County Public Library, before answering questions from the group. LAURA LEWIS

Lewis quoted the city’s Chief of Staff Dan Cogan to summarize her first 14 months on Common Council: “The first year you’re on Common Council it’s like drinking from a fire hose,” Lewis said. But Lewis went on to thank the city staff and her colleagues for helping her learn the ropes since her election, when she won the seat vacated by former Fifth Ward representative Josephine Martell. Lewis cited her interest in affordable housing as the motivation for her initial run for council, a theme that came up often during her campaign and was obvious from her place on the Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services board. “There are times that issues, solutions, can move very slowly,” Lewis said, mentioning ongoing city initiatives like the study of ice jams that though progress is being made, it is subtle. “I’ve been struck by how slow things can move, and yet I’m impressed by progress and I’m not put off by the fact that [we’re] making incremental moves.” At the same time, she ap-

plauded the city’s ability to think on its feet when presented with immediate problems. STEVE SMITH

Smith first joined Common Council just prior to election season in 2012, replacing the outgoing Eddie Rooker. Smith said during his comments that he joined Common Council due to the same factors that led many of his colleagues, like a desire to fix housing and help the city overall. But while on council and spending more time in Ithaca, he noticed the inherent separation between the city and its nearby Ivy League neighbors. “I’ve realized that there’s a divide that needed to be bridged between Cornell and the City of Ithaca, and recognizing that the Fourth Ward is the gateway between Ithaca and Cornell, I’ve made it my work to help improve that area of town,” Smith said. Smith also shed light on the conclusion of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge, in which Ithaca was selected as a finalist to compete against other cities for millions in funding from Bloomberg. A team, partly led by Smith, submitted a plan for a health hub-style facility that would have included a safe injection facility, employment and housing services, etc. But Ithaca was not selected, though Bloomberg officials showed enthusiasm for the project, Smith said they were also nervous about issuing the grant when the state was moving slowly regarding the legalization of safe injection sites, and the federal government, particularly Attorney General Jeff Sessions, seemed bent against it. ROB GEARHART

During his comments, Gearhart noted being most proud of the work he had done to help facilitate the committee restructuring that passed a referendum in 2017 and is now entering its second year of full operation. Designed to streamline the information gathering and engagement methods for the City of Ithaca, the four new

commissions, which deal with transportation, community life, parks and public safety serve as umbrella bodies, covering a multitude of issues each that used to fall to a myriad of different committees. Gearhart fielded questions from the audience about the level of engagement the city has with its constituents, with attendees lodging a few complaints that they felt the city should do more to alert the public to upcoming meetings if it really wanted the new commission structure to be successful in the longterm, something Gearhart has admitted has been difficult to perfect. GEORGE MCGONIGAL

Hampered by a torn Achilles tendon, McGonigal’s comments were brief while he declared his reelection bid, though he noted that this would be his second term in office and he felt as if he’d learned quite a bit about the process and concerns of constituents during his first term. As with other candidates, McGonigal’s primary concerns with the city remain affordable housing and ensuring that those who live in Ithaca aren’t slowly uprooted due to rising rent costs. He’s also long expressed a need for moderation in West End development, something that will certainly come into focus during his next term if he’s elected again. DUCSON NGUYEN

Transportation and affordable housing, that’s what it was about for Nguyen when he got involved in Common Council, and that’s how it is now. During his address to the crowd, Nguyen discussed suggestions from the crowd surrounding area parking issues, such as potentially making local spots that consume large amounts of parking, like hotels or apartment buildings pay more fees to lease a certain amount of spots. He also spoke about some of the accomplishments that all of Common Council was able to push through this year, including the new stormwater fees that are aimed at making places with large amounts of impervious surfaces, like parking lots, pay money for the stress they place on water infrastructure. “I’m proud of things I’ve

worked on like Indigenous People’s Day in the City of Ithaca and the Green Building Policy that we’re working to codify,” Nguyen said. “I just feel like there’s a lot more that I want to do for this city that I love so much.” Nguyen was also recently named to lead the Tompkins Consolidated Area Transportation Board. SVANTE MYRICK

Myrick had already flirted with a campaign announcement in mid-February, eschewing national Democratic figures who had asked him to look to the national stage, like challenging Congressman Tom Reed for the NY-23 seat. This, though, was his official announcement of his intention to seek reelection. He spoke of traipsing around the city over the past weekend, knocking on doors for petition signatures, and hearing a blend of concerns from Ithacans. He said many of them are worried about the direction of the country as a whole, which was part of the reason he dedicated time over the past election season to push candidates in other places. Yet he acknowledged there are still issues here, that the people he spoke to are still frequently “disappointed and let down” by the city’s actions, so he knows there are improvements to be made. He also made sure to say that the overall team currently running the City of Ithaca (he specifically cited fire chief Tom Parsons, police chief Pete Tyler, superintendent of public works Mike Thorne and planning director JoAnn Cornish as examples) is the most effective of his time in office so far. One particular note on Tuesday night, as it has been since Myrick took office, was the issue of housing and rental prices: as an example of the progress that should still be made, Myrick spoke of a city resident he had encountered who was making more when she was living in Philadelphia yet paying less in rent. Importantly -- prompted by a question from the audience, Myrick pledged that if elected he would serve the full four year term as mayor.

UPS&DOWNS

▶▶ Thumbs Up -To the reported deal between Vecino and the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency to finalize the plan for the Green Street Garage. This may be the biggest test of the Not-In-My-Backyard community yet: affordable housing, and a lot of it, right in the economic center of the city. Where the discourse goes on this one will be deeply intriguing, and we encourage you to follow along. ▶▶ Thumbs Down -Not a true “thumbs down,” but a thumbs down of disappointment. Where are the other candidates for Common Council? Not to be too hard on our council of leaders, but we believe competition breeds progress in politics, and complacency is a hard thing to avoid when unchallenged. Let’s see some candidates and hear some ideas, Ithacans. ▶▶ Seen - Jamel Booker, age 29, was found dead in his prison cell over the weekend, police said. Reports have been vague about the manner in which Booker died. Booker was convicted in 2013 of assault and criminal possession of a weapon, among other things, after shooting Ithaca Police Department officer Anthony Augustine in 2012 in one of the most prominent crime cases in recent memory. Booker had been serving 25 years in prison after his conviction.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

By M a r s h a l l Ho p k i n s

Rate your assessment of the esports craze. 68.2% What’s an esport? 13.6% Wait and see. 4.5% Interest slightly piqued. 0% Shifting Assets 13.6% All in.

N ext Week ’s Q uestion :

How do you celebrate the first day of Spring?

-M att Butler Ma r ch

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Visit ithaca.com to submit your response.

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I t h a c a T im e s 5

GUEST OPINION

ITHACA NOTES

Time for a New Vision W

Spring Flings By St e ph e n P. Bu r k e

By Dav i d M a rch a n

e have seen many changes to our fair city in recent years. Construction cranes have become as ubiquitous as beautiful waterfalls. Gentrification, high rents and expensive costs of living have made it difficult for low-wage workers to remain in Ithaca. Recently, our mayor Svante Myrick has announced he is running for a third term. He admitted when he ran for his first time he would like to promote “affordable housing” as part of his platform. There has been little evidence of such commitment yet and I question whether it will happen during a proposed third term. It is essential, however, if we are to embrace a truly inclusive community where all Ithacans can live together. Since returning to Ithaca four plus years ago I’ve made less than $15.11/hour or Living Wage. I cannot afford to live here. If it were not for family who support me living rent-free in my mother’s home I would have left town a long time ago. When I read some of the proposed rents for new downtown apartments I could not afford them unless I worked two jobs. Ithaca is too expensive for most persons surviving below the living wage line. In comparable college towns: Iowa City, IA (Univ. of Iowa) you need $653/

month to pay 30 percent of wage for housing ($18.38/hr); Gainesville, FL (Univ. of Florida) you need $535/month to pay 30 percent of wage for housing ($17.19); Asheville, NC (UNC-Asheville) you need $460/month to pay 30 percent of wage for housing ($15.94). These money and hourly figures are for Average Income. In Ithaca you need $668/home at Fair Market Rent. (Statistics cited from Out of Reach 2018 National Low Income Housing Coalition.) Most recent census data shows 30 percent of City of Ithaca and 21 percent of Tompkins County residents live below poverty line levels. There are currently 108 certified living wage employers in Tompkins County including City of Ithaca employees. As someone who attended Central (now Beverly J. Martin) Elementary and Boynton Junior High Schools and graduated from Ithaca High School in 1970, I long ago realized how fortunate I was to grow up here. With the adoption of densification as our goal for development it has become increasingly obvious this is not working for me or you. In early 2015 I attended some design continued on page 7

aylight saving time has come, and it’s a hard change every year, setting the clock ahead and losing an hour’s sleep. It’s a tough transition, like getting into water to swim, a mild shock you dread, but quickly get over, leading soon to an agreeable state. It’s a new season. Melodious songbirds of spring have arrived, and you’d have to be mean not to welcome them, but personally each year I miss the quiet and dark of winter when it passes. Winter has a bad rep generally, but it’s a fairly benign season in the Finger Lakes, with fewer debilitating snowstorms here than elsewhere in our region: no nor’easters, as east of us; no lake effect, as to our west and north; lower elevations here than south of us. Plus, in Ithaca we seem to know how to deal with storms, municipally and individually. In my opinion, harder than the time change per se is that from winter to spring. It involves a lot of mud. And in Ithaca we miss out on celebration of two pleasant harbingers of the change of seasons: St. Patrick’s Day and baseball. St. Patrick’s Day occurs, of course, but without a local parade. Baseball season arrives, but with no local opening day. The absence is especially striking, or stinging, because both these events are big galas in other cities near us. Ithaca is not often bested by anything in Binghamton or Syracuse, but both skunk us in spring with these celebrations.

Binghamton has held a St. Patrick’s Day parade for over 50 years; Syracuse for almost 40. The Irish community in Binghamton is not conspicuous, but 20 percent of the city’s population claim Irish roots. In Syracuse the percentage is fewer, 15 percent, but easier to locate: an historically Irish district called Tipperary Hill, prominent on the city’s west side, has a traffic light with red on the bottom, green on top. It’s said everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, and while this is no doubt overstated, 17 March is nevertheless a great day for anyone who appreciates car traffic displaced by swarms of people smiling, playing music, and banging drums. In terms of spring, Binghamton and Syracuse both have professional baseball teams, with Binghamton again the veteran, home of a minor league franchise starting in 1932, and of the New York Mets, its current incarnation, since 1992. Syracuse first hosted a team in 1934, and is now home to another, higher level, Mets franchise, debuting this year. Baseball fans in Ithaca (especially Met fans) are happy for the presence of these teams, each a mere hour away, but you needn’t be a big fan to appreciate a game: an invigorating enterprise, enjoyed outdoors, featuring striving athletes, frolicking mascots, and other entertainments, lasting longer and costing less than a movie. continued on page 7

YOUR LETTERS Nonsense

hen a long held belief is proven wrong by incontrovertible evidence, people and groups that still cling to the old concepts, such as a flat earth and a heliocentric universe, the more rational citizens are justified in saying, “You believe in what is now nonsense, and are either not very smart or too fanatical to listen to facts.” In some instances, such phony ideas are harmlessso what if there is still belief in a flat earth? Other issues, such as the vaccine conflict, is a danger to both individuals and the wider populous. I am a doctor, and had as a patient a middle aged man crippled by preventable polio; another blind because his mother was a Christian Scientist who let nature and prayer take its course for his failed vision. Making bad choices affecting only the chooser is unavoidable, since P.T. Barnum aptly said, “There is a sucker born every 6 T

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minute.” A parent making choices for children that make them liable for illness and even death should not be an option. The parent’s religious beliefs dim to nothingness when health, not only for their kids but classmate are in danger. Also the lawyer in your excellent article March 6 who equated mandatory vaccination to Fascism leaped the tracks. Two famous analogies exist: 1. It is not OK to yell “Fire” in a safe theater. 2. Your freedom of expression, and attempts to influence sane public policy does not allow your fist to hit my nose.” Devout Christians should praise the attempts to eliminate religious exemptions in the schools. Strong believers in Constitutional law should also back mandatory vaccination. It is too important to be left to the willfully ignorant, and the too easily swayed politicians. Jud Kilgore, MD Ithaca, New York

ITHACA NOTES Contin u ed From Page 6

I must admit, I have attended neither the Binghamton nor Syracuse 3/17 parade. I suppose I am spoiled by New York City’s, which I first enjoyed in high school; my (Catholic) school is two blocks off the parade route, and closes on 3/17 in deference to the parade’s 150,000 marchers and 2 million spectators, who complicate somewhat the area that day. (It’s a long time since I’m in high school, but this parade started 14 years before the United States was a country, in 1762.) But I will certainly attend the new GUEST OPINION Contin u ed From Page 6

charrettes to help brainstorm where development might take place in Tompkins County. Varna, the West End, inlet waterfront, and near the hospital were possible sites for construction. If I had realized what was to become of downtown Ithaca I would have protested the projected plans. Densification sounds great in theory but it places the burdens on other towns and locations. Parking, traffic congestion, public safety and access for handicapped and senior citizens are some issues. One of densification’s proponents said, when I mentioned my disgust at how Collegetown has changed, “It is for college students.” For many years I shopped in Collegetown, heard live music, had memorable food and went to bars. It has historically not only been for college students. College Avenue is a prime example of how densification has ruined a neighborhood. My main concern is Ithaca, especially downtown and the Commons, ought to be for all Ithacans not a select few. Much of new housing and development seems

baseball team’s games in Syracuse, as I have the old team’s games in Binghamton since I moved to Ithaca. No doubt the trip to Syracuse will serve as Binghamton’s has, near enough to be no bother, far enough to provide some refreshment from familiar places and faces in Ithaca. It can feel foreignly fun to be part of a crowd where, besides the people you go with, you don’t see anyone you know. Although you might possibly see a few Ithaca adventurers such as yourself. One might in fact be me. I’m generally behind home plate, up in the cheap seats, on the aisle. Come say hello and Let’s Go Mets. piched to well heeled, highly educated workers, tourists and students. I have nothing against welcoming these fine folks to the Forest City. Their contributions to our economy, arts and culture, sporting events and entertainment sectors have been far-reaching. But why spend half a million dollars for a fountain on the Commons when other priorities are more important? In addition i question the wisdom of long tax abatements for commercial developments. Our housing situation in the city and county has been in crisis far too long. Yesterday a local activist mentioned she was appalled at dilapidated buildings she visited for Section 8 residents. Because housing is inadequate in Tompkins County people are being sent to live in Spencer instead. It is a disgrace our neighbors are having to go to adjacent counties to find decent lodging. We need a new vision and mayor in Ithaca City Hall that will do more than talk about providing enough pay and affordable housing for all Ithacans. Let us work together to demand this basic need from our mayor, the Planning Board and all elected officials.

Harold’s Square

Harold’s Square construction finally to restart

arold’s Square has stopped, started, struggled and stumbled in the years since it was approved for construction on the Commons, bringing a combination of density housing, retail and office space to downtown Ithaca. Yet after a latest string of delays, it looks more likely than ever that construction will begin in earnest again. After switching contractors mid-project at the start of 2019, the project may finally have a clear path to completion. The developers announced last week at a meeting with Commons business owners and residents that they hope to finish the commercial portion of the building by the end of 2019 or early 2020, and then begin phasing in residents by summer 2020. As for the Commons playground, which has remained closed as a safety measure

enacted by the City of Ithaca while the nearby construction continues, a reopening date has still not yet been determined. Business owners who attended the meeting seemed optimistic but cautious at the presentation. Jay Sciarabba (of Trader K’s), Joe Wetmore (of Autumn Leaves), Adil Griguihi (of Casablanca and Commons Kitchen) and George Johann (of Angry Mom Records) were all in attendance, along with Lou Cassanitti, who runs the Commons’ hot dog cart, and representatives of the Downtown Ithaca Alliance. They all seemed to strike a similar tone, albeit with differing levels of fervor: the project needs to be finished as soon as possible, and we need more transparency from the new team compared to the last one. Read more online at ithaca.com

TENANT RIGHTS Contin u ed From Page 3

tenants twice their monthly rent as long as they are displaced from the leased unit by substandard living conditions. The Council also established a penalty for renting a condemned property, though city officials stressed that they have no actual examples of that happening. The first ordinance to pass the council changed the process of confirming whether a renter has a valid certificate of compliance, a required document to rent a property in the city. Under the new rule, properties that require certificates are presumed to remain rental units until the city inspects and confirms they are no longer being rented. Without the rule, landlords can attempt to avoid inspections by simply claiming that a unit is no longer being rented, a practice the Ithaca Building Department (IBD) has experienced repeatedly, according to Niechwiadowicz. IBD typically sends three letters requesting to inspect before prosecuting landlords for expired certificates. By Niechwiadowicz’s estimation, about a fifth of landlords must be sent the third letter before complying with an inspection, though the city has only taken matters to court about twice in the past five years. The ordinance reflects the city’s recently hardened approach to potential violations. City Attorney Ari Lavine helped write the ordinance and has requested IBD refer refused inspections to his office immediately, according to Niechwiadowicz. Two of the adopted ordinances took aim at over-occupancy by increasing fines and clarifying the definition of an occupant. Anyone who pays rent, signs a lease agreement, has the permission of a landlord or shows “other evidence of a right to occupy” can now be considered an occupant. According to Niechwiadowicz, pursuing landlords for over-occupancy violations has been tricky in the past because without a stricter definition of what constitutes an occupant, landlords can claim CMC ROBOTS Contin u ed From Page 3

Blake is excited to see the technology become a part of total knee replacements since it will help patients who may come to CMC with a variety of extraneous factors that could complicate the surgery. Some of these factors, according to Blake include: if the patient had prior surgery, has prior hardware, if the patient had a prior car accident, trauma, a maligned femur or a maligned tibia. Stallone is proud of the achievement and sees this as a new beginning for surgeries done in the area. “Dr. Blake and all the CMA [Cayuga Medical Associates] Orthopedic Surgeons work extremely closely with all the physicians in our network,” Stallone said. “Previously, when patients would leave Ma r ch

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that people on a lease are not actively renting. Occupancy standards are based on zoning; if a rental unit is zoned R-1, for example, up to one family and one additional unrelated individual or functional family unit can legally live there full time. Anything above that would constitute over-occupancy, punishable by a fine ranging from $250 to $500, according to the city code. While the old rules listed over-occupancy as a single offense, however, the newly passed measure counts each additional person over the limit as a separate offense. Landlords who continue to pack in residents over zoning limits could rack up considerable charges. While it is not clear exactly how often over-occupancy violations occur, IBD and Second Ward Alderperson Seph Murtagh confirmed that complaints of multiple violations in the Belle Sherman neighborhood played a major role in prompting the rules. Niechwiadowicz told the Ithaca Times that the city has notified multiple parties that they are suspected of over-occupying and could be prosecuted, the majority of which are now “working toward solving the problem.” Niechwiadowicz said that the city expects to take two cases to court, but gave no further details. Meanwhile, Myrick confirmed late Sunday night that the housing task force is still in the works, though decisions about staffing and a timeline for their goals are not ready yet. Fourth Ward Alderperson Stephen Smith expressed optimism about the direction of housing reforms in the city both in the new laws and upcoming task force, which will seek to address issues like affordability and leases signed over a year in advance of their start date. “Development has helped us address the availability of housing for Ithacans,” Smith said. “These reforms are the first step to ensure that all housing in Ithaca is safe. We’re going to keep heading in that direction with the rental housing task force.” -M atthew McGowen the community to have robotic surgery there would be a gap between the care that the orthopedist was providing with the surgery out of town and then the primary care and the related doctors would be here, picking up the remainder of the care. Here, the car can happen all in one network so we’re excited about this and we expect the primary care and related specialists to be happy about that coordination of care.” On March 20, Blake will be hosting a demonstration for patients at Coltivare. There, patients will also have a chance to see the machine in action as well as to try the virtual reality application. Even though the technology is fairly new to being at CMC, surgeons are expected to begin practical application of the NAVIO Surgical System sometime at the end of April. -E dw i n J. Vi er a

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Not Just a Game Growing Institutional Interest in Local Esports Programs

By M att Butler

he names ring out as somewhere between vaguely familiar to wellknown to people of younger generations who grew up alongside the rapid evolution of video game systems: “League of Legends,” “Overwatch,” “CounterStrike: Global Offensive,” the Call of Duty franchise, and of course, the ubiquitous “Fortnite.” To those that have no idea what any of those words mean, you may soon. They’re video game titles, the ones used most often as the battle arenas for esports programs across the country. According to the Ithaca Times’ poll last week, over 60 percent of our readers don’t even know what an “esport” is, despite its growing nationwide popularity. They’ve even been featured on ESPN, though still more as a novelty, primarily relegated to time slots akin to Sunday afternoon billiards trick shots or latenight paintball tournaments, while professional sports leagues like the NBA, NFL and Major League Soccer have all initiated their own esports leagues. Regardless, the low awareness is not entirely surprising. Although video games have long been dismissed as a brain-draining time-waster, playing them competitively (otherwise known as esports) has emerged just over the last several years and is now gaining traction professionally, at the college level and even younger. One such local example: Ithaca High School (IHS) now has its own esports program, which has gathered 30 regular members in its first few months of existence. Dylan Myler, one of the club’s officers, said the group meets weekly on Tuesdays after school to practice, discuss strategy among different teams (there are several different game options players can choose to compete in) and organize competition registration. Their teams compete against other teams across the country, usually divided into regions, and at the end of a 8 T

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weeks-long season playoff participants are determined. The group’s popularity doesn’t seem to have especially surprised Myler. Esports is dynamic, he said: there are always new tweaks, updates and balances being made to games, and moreover, there’s always another new game right around the corner. He expects the group to grow bigger once equipment is upgraded from the older computers they currently use and they begin a more dedicated marketing push for new members. IHS has clearly decided that the esports program is worthy of investment and resources, as an increase in funding and potentially more legitimization seem like they are coming for the school program. Myler said he and the club’s other officers, who include Jefferson Sheng, Samuel Shvets and Eric Rosenbloom, have had discussions with Dr. Luvelle Brown, Ithaca City School District’s superintendent, and the esports group’s advisor, Karen Seifert, about allocating funds in order to purchase 15 laptops specially designed for gaming for the group’s use, though nothing is definite, including the amount that would be spent. Beyond that, he said there have also been talks about moving the program under the umbrella of the athletics department. “Right now, it’s more of a tech thing, but they want to shift it to be more of an athletic thing,” Myler said. “We’re [already] following the athletics standard of if you can participate; like, if you’re failing one of your classes, you’re not allowed to participate, and we have to check up on that regularly. Anybody can come, but if you want to compete, you have to have your grades

in order.” Sheng said he longed for an esports program during his earlier time at IHS, and while some will inevitably scoff at the notion of categorizing esports as a sport, he sees many parallels between it and the more conventional sports, like football or basketball. There’s a certain stigma against video games, Sheng said, but that should be left as a relic in the past. “It deserves the recognition it has now, if not more,” Sheng said. “Even though it’s not a ‘sport’ in the traditional sense, you do everything that a team would do in sports. Team bonding, strategy, teamwork. Even if you’re just playing solo, you’re testing your individual limits.” Whatever momentum esports has picked up among high schoolers has carried over into higher education as well. Cornell University and Ithaca College both have esports programs that appear quite successful. Cornell’s, founded by students, has several hundred members of its Facebook group and has hosted events of up to 100 people for watch parties of national tournament events. They too compete against other school groups in competitions across the country in a variety of different games. Ansar Lemon, one of the leaders of the Cornell esports program, said the group has ambitions beyond its current size and stature. Much like the program at IHS, he’s heard rumblings of being converted to a sports program and placed under the athletic department’s purview as well. But currently, the group is simply looking to become a university organization instead of a student organization; that differentiation would entail more available funding for

events and better resources, like, Lemon said, ease in room rentals. Generally, it would signal an increase in support from the university. The NCAA, the college sports world’s oft-maligned overseer, has also recently gained interest in esports involvement, although what exactly that would mean, and to what extent esports communities even want them involved, is tough to gauge currently. A Sports Business Journal report from late last year confirmed the organization’s interest, but also mentioned fears that the same problems that plague the NCAA in other sports such as forced amateurism (so no compensation outside of scholarships), mandatory eligibility training, standards like drug testing, and obvious Title IX implications could create a situation in which the NCAA is trying to absorb an entire sport that largely doesn’t want to be a part of it. Currently, competitive video gaming at the university-level is collectively organized under the banner of National Association of Collegiate Esports, the governing body for events like tournaments. Lemon said from his experience, the NCAA’s involvement would likely be welcomed with open arms by the esports community at first. After all, it would be an undeniable step toward increased prominence and further evidence of esports’ growing legitimacy. But after the initial shine wears off, he thinks it could arguably do more harm than good. The NCAA is frequently criticized for its archaic rules and clumsy adaptations to changing times for even the most conventional sports— how could it handle a sport that’s still young and dynamically morphing? “At this point, most esports fans at universities are probably really excited about that, just because esports isn’t fully represented as a full-fledged sport,” Lemon said. “So, getting represented by the NCAA, that sounds like ‘Hey, we’re going to be legit.’ Once you get imposed regulations that might come with that, it might be a different story, but initially, everyone would be very excited.” One of the hurdles esports still has to overcome is the fairly wide gender gap in male versus female participation. While plenty of women are certainly interested in video games, esports is largely dominated by men, research has shown, and women who do play often face the same challenges as in any

other competitive venue, such as lower rewards for championship victories. Myler acknowledged it’s been a problem so far in IHS’s group, and Lemon confirmed that gender diversity is a focus of Cornell’s group, too, though asserted that with women in certain power positions throughout the group, it’s probably better than elsewhere. One of those women in power positions is Rose Zhou, who serves as the Cornell group’s web developer and “League of Legends” coordinator. She said the gender ratio of club participants can vary depending on which game is being played or watched. Obviously, different games attract different audiences and people with disparate interests. While she expected the esports club to be male-dominated when she first began to attend meetings, she’s been surprised at the number of female players. “‘League of Legends’—definitely more guys play that game, but games like ‘Candy Crush,’ it’s more even,” Zhou said. “We do tend to have a lot of female members, but I’m not sure it’s like that across every college.” Perhaps the most significant contribution esports could make, particularly at the high school level, is providing students with another outlet for creativity and activity. That’s especially true considering some of the students who participate in esports would traditionally feel excluded from other extracurricular options, and may not try them at all. Esports, both Myler and Sheng said, create another avenue for engagement for both that group of students and others who simply find that video games match better with their interests than the conventional school-offered clubs or programs. This can be true at the college level as well: Zhou spoke of her experiences similarly, in that they helped her find friends and connect socially early on in her college career. “Esports is a direction that many schools should take, because it offers some students a different platform for them to perform,” Sheng said. Sheng said a few years ago, the program would have been a bit more personally valuable to him by giving him said platform, but now that he’s older he’s more interested in organizing competitions and logistics to enrich the experience for new players. Daniel Park, a sophomore and the coordinator of the “Counter Strike:

Global Offensive” team, said he thought starting organized esports programs at younger ages, such as at IHS, only served to benefit players. When players are still held to certain academic standards, which they are at IHS, there’s nothing but upside to beginning to hone their craft early. “The younger you start is a pretty big advantage,” Park said. “Many of the current star players are still in their early 20s, and many of them started playing when they were [14], 15 or 16.” Interestingly, though, Park said he doesn’t necessarily think esports need to be taken more seriously than it already is. There’s so much money and so much interest in the sport already, that whether the “mainstream” latches onto it or not, it will remain sustainable, he said. Esports could open up many doors for professional work outside of simply playing the game too; Park, an industrial and labor relations major at Cornell, said he’d considered a career as a lawyer working to represent esports teams. In perhaps the strongest similarity to other sports, and the strongest enticement to colleges, there’s prestige to be had and money to be made by schools who do choose to invest. According to a Forbes article from a year ago, the most famous figure in esports, a player/ personality who goes by Ninja, rakes in $500,000 each month. One college league awards around $3 million per year across its 20,000 players. As esports continue to grow, it’s all but certain that those prizes will become vastly more lucrative and championships will bring schools comparable fame and sponsorship money that success in major sports like basketball can attract. For individual high school students, it can offer ample opportunity as well, as a growing number of colleges, over 200 schools, are now offering five-figure yearly scholarships to players who qualify. With this type of backing in mind, virtually everyone contacted for this story agreed on one thing: Esports is no longer a trend. It’s here permanently, and whether it’s necessary or not for the ongoing advancement of the sport, the stigma surrounding video games, and by extension esports, is on its last legs. “It does seem like almost everyone, from every walk of life, is interested,” Myler said. “Nerds aren’t as ‘bad’ anymore. A lot of people play video games, and a lot of different video games.”

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arts

Celebrating Photography 30th Annual Show now at SOAG By Ambe r D onof r io

man stares to the right. Dressed in a plain t-shirt and shorts, a bright red baseball cap perched on his head, he stands atop a rock in the middle of a calm sea, with only the slight ripple of the tide breaking through the

otherwise stillness of the scene. The image is blue: a blue expanse of water overlooked by the endlessness of light blue sky. It is peaceful, consuming. The man is the only figure, and even he is at distance. The outdoors envelops him with its immensity.

The blueness is everywhere. Joe Ziolkowski’s “Finding Balance” is a panoramic pinhole photograph taken in two parts, and it is but one of the more than 70 photographs present in the State of the Art Gallery’s 30th Annual Photography Show, a yearly exhibition that showcases photographers primarily from the Upstate New York area. There are works of all kinds. Justin Zoll subverts the typical assumption of what defines the photographic medium with his neon-tinged works that capture the microscopic images of crystallized amino acids. Alicia Alexander presents two pieces about Standing Rock, each mounted on sheets of rock. Jari Poulin experiments with portraits made using multiple exposures, the figures’

Colon Cancer Awareness Month

Your most important DIY project is you.

During Colon Cancer Awareness Month, take care of you by getting a cancer screening.

Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men and women combined in the U.S. But it’s also a cancer that is highly treatable and preventable. Give yourself the best chance of staying cancer-free by learning to eat healthy, staying active, maintaining a healthy weight and getting recommended screenings. At age 50 people of average risk should get a colonoscopy. It’s the only colon cancer screening that is also preventative. Commit to your most important project, your health.

Call 607-257-5858 Option 2, Gastroenterology to schedule an appointment in Ithaca with Dr. Karen Kim. 1780 Hanshaw Road Ithaca, NY 14850

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hands covering their eyes in various positions of ghostly action. In “Door Knocker,” Mauro Marinelli documents an eerie knocker in the shape of a hand holding onto a small apple. It protrudes from the door, hanging downward, and appears foreign in its black and white. Meanwhile, Laura Harrington captures the image of a laundromat, whose bright red sign shines into the oncoming night. Only the last five letters remain lit, however, and they persistently glow. While looking around the gallery, some common themes present themselves throughout the show. A handful of the photographs focus on previous times, including “Hornet” by Harriet Sutherland, which zooms in on a metal piece spelling out “Hornet” on the side of an old green Hornet automobile that’s pocked with rust. Connie R. Thomas likewise presents two photos from a larger series highlighting antique toys. In one, the head and shoulders of an aged porcelain doll that’s seen better days stares forth with blue glassy eyes, a black lace shawl draped atop its head. In the other, a toy metal pickup truck with chipped paint is on display. Other works in the show excel at providing interesting angles and perspectives to everyday objects and places. In G.L. Gould’s “Among the Dead,” the wooden structure of a building is in the process of collapsing. Its walls fall inward with wooden boards broken at the edges. The photograph is a close-up of the scene, so only a small portion of the building is visible, and the camera angle forces you to look upward at the picture as opposed to straight ahead, contributing to a feeling of largeness (the largeness of the building and the largeness of the scene taking place). In Charlie Hunter’s “Metro,” Hunter observes the stairway in a metro station, but explores it from an unusual angle as well. Looking down at the stairs from above, the metro sign glows in mellow light, and the camera is so perfectly angled that it takes a moment to realize that this strange image of stairs isn’t in front of you but below: an ordinary scene somehow turned odd, and therefore refreshing. “One Summer Day” by Phil Koons might be in my top 10 of the show, despite being extraordinarily ordinary in subject matter. The photograph is a close-up of a mini-golf game, looking downward at the putting greenery and at a red ball about to be putted into the hole. The putter is within view, and cutting across it is a shadow. The piece is simply composed with beautiful use of visual lines and vibrant colors. Jim Harper’s “Social” is intriguing as well, and mildly funny. Ripped and burnt papers fill the scene of a utility pole covered in old staples. The tiny bits of paper left from each poster and flyer that was once displayed are illegible, and all that’s left are remnants of past events and past moments of alluded to socialness. With much to see, the show is on display until March 31.

BusinessTimes

Three Generations in the Auto Business By Edwin J. Viera

hen people think of buying a car, it’s common to feel a certain anguish about the idea, due to the stereotype that car salesmen are only looking to take your money and run. Potential buyers may have visions of the conniving Harry Wormwood from the movie “Matilda.” But Cortland auto dealership Dovi Motors has been defying that stereotype since its

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humble beginnings. Now with 70 years of experience, they believe their sincere business practices have brought them their success. Since the Dovi family opened the business’s doors in 1949, they have prioritized making customers feel comfortable while buying a car, maintaining the value of a hand outstretched with friendliness instead of one looking for a customer to shake down. Jesse Dovi, one of the current

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owners, said that after 70 years, the business can be shaky from time to time but has always eventually leveled out. “We’re definitely very excited about the whole year, me and my cousin Luke have been running things here for a couple years,” Dovi said. “We’re really happy that we’ve made the transition into the third generation and we’re able to keep the place going all these years, being family owned and operated.”

Despite the feeling of safety now, Dovi Motors has seen some hardships throughout its years. In the time preceding the 2008 Global Market Crash, they found themselves trapped with a brand that was dying in both popularity as well as in new merchandise. Before becoming a Ford dealership, it sold Lincoln-Mercury vehicles, which became a precarious posicontinued on page 12

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tion as the brand’s popularity declined, according to Dovi. “With Lincoln-Mercury, back in the ‘80s they had a product called the Lynx and then the Topaz,” Dovi said. “Those vehicles were very popular in Cortland. They’re a small car, inexpensive. We had a lot of manufacturing in Cortland at the time with Smith-Corona. And the SmithCorona parking lot was full of Lynxes and Topazes that they sold here during the ‘80s, probably from 1982 through 1989. As those cars started aging out and differ-

Sports Medicine of CMA at Cortland Specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal injuries

ent cars started coming onto the market, Mercury got to be more of an expensive product. [...] Ford kept those less expensive products at the Ford store, and at the Mercury store we were doing more expensive products. Then by the time 2008 rolled around, Mercury was almost non-existent and it wasn’t a very wellsupported brand.” Dovi Motors has also survived not one but three different recessions: one in the 1970s, another in the 1990s, and then the global crash in 2008. However, once it took over as the town’s Ford dealership, it began dealing with a product it hadn’t sold before: trucks. Dovi said the dealership adjusted accordingly and made it work. “We didn’t quite have the employee base we needed,” Dovi said. “So, those first couple of months of taking over for Ford were crazy around here—just so much more business than what we were used to. Then we hired some more people: technicians out in the shop and a couple other people in the office. Once we got the hiring up, we had to learn how to sell trucks because Dovi Motors had always been a car sales point.” The transformation from car to trucks

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truly took hold a few years back, when Dovi and his cousin Luke took over. After that, everything fell into place. Dovi said having the business in Cortland has been special but living in the community makes him feel closer to his customers. All members of the Dovi family have lived in Cortland, giving them a deeper connection to the community. Looking to the future, Dovi said wants to keep the old-school trust that many car dealerships have forgotten. “When we sell a car to somebody and they say ‘I’m going to take this car,’ we do a handshake, not ‘Give me your deposit check.’” Dovi said. “We like that older style of trusting people and you sit down, you work out a deal, everyone’s happy with it, and you shake hands and you make a deal that way. That’s the way things used to be done. [...] Me and my cousin do the sales, so whenever you buy a car you are working directly with one of the owners here. Those are more modern concepts, but the things we try to stick with are when you come in here, we don’t want you to feel like you are part of a big corporate machine.”

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he local economy closed 2018 on an up note. The Ithaca Business Index rose 0.3 percent to a level of 177.44. This is an all-time high for the index. Increases in employment, the labor force, and hours worked drove the index higher. Declines in retail sales, home sales, and help wanted advertising were not enough to offset the upward momentum. Compared to December 2017 the index was up 4.0 percent. The Ithaca metropolitan area added 200 jobs in December, bringing total employment to 66,800 jobs. The alltime high for jobs in Tompkins County was in August 2018 – 67,000. All the figures in this report are seasonally adjusted so that any month can be compared with any other without regard to seasonal factors. Ithaca’s unemployment rate held steady at 3.2 percent. The comparable New York State unemployment rate was 3.9 percent in December. Ithaca’s labor force increased by 400 to a level of 52,500 persons. Anyone residing in Ithaca with a part-time or full time job is in the labor force. In addition, anyone residing in Ithaca without a job, but actively seeking employment, is also included in the labor force. A larger labor force means more economic potential. After a strong showing in November, retail sales in Tompkins County slumped 2.9 percent in December, with total sales coming in at $170.9 million. How can December retail sales be less than November? That is because of seasonal adjustment. Actual retail sales in December are reduced by the amount of sales due to the time of year and not any economic strength. The average work week in Ithaca

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lengthened to 32.6 hours from 31.6 hours in November, an increase of 3.2 percent. This figure is indeed an average that includes both full and part-time employees in the private sector. Home sales in Ithaca sagged 15.9 percent in December after a strong showing in November. Comparing December 2018 to December 2017, home sales were up 12.5 percent. But the median home’s price was higher in 2017 at $262,500 compared to $$217,000 in December 2018. Help-wanted advertising fell 15.4 percent in December. Compared to December 2017, help-wanted advertising was down 11.3 percent. Changes in help wanted advertising can signal changes in employment. The Ithaca Business Index rose 2.2 percent in 2018. This implies the Ithaca economy grew by 2.2 percent over the course of the year. The main driver of that growth was job creation. Net employment increased by 2,100 jobs in 2018. Most of the new jobs were in our biggest industry: health and education services. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will now undertake its annual data revisions. Ithaca’s employment figures will be revised going back 24 months. Will those revisions alter our view of the region’s economy? We will let you know as soon as the revised data become available in March. The Ithaca Business Index is a public service of Ithaca College Department of Economics • (607) 274-3200 • Kacapyr@ithaca.edu

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B usiness T imes

Hare of the Dog LUCKY HARE BREWING WILL OPEN IN PRESS BAY ALLEY

By Matt Butler nother brand will soon be available in the growing downtown Ithaca beer landscape, as Liquid Hare Brewing Company will open in the coming months in a Press Bay Alley location. The company made the announcement last week in a Facebook post and immediately drew enthusiastic responses from the community. Lucky Hare will reside next to Sweet Melissa’s, which showed its excitement on social media following the announcement as well. Lucky Hare’s Vice President of Operations Ian Conboy said the company had been looking to move directly into the Ithaca market without having to invest in

a huge space for a long time. They appear to have gone the exact opposite direction as “huge,” since their chosen location in Press Bay Alley is only 200 square feet. Yet Conboy’s confident, noting that the beer’s primary retail demand stems from Ithaca already so they feel Lucky Hare has at least some known fanbase in the city. As of now, the plan is to open the site in May. “We’re putting in a 15 foot bar with four beers on tap, with cans and special release bottles,” Conboy said. “Then our footprint will extend to the alleyway directly out front with some bistro tables, so when the weather’s nice people can go outside and enjoy some beer and get some food from any of the other stores right there and relax.” Currently, the company is hoping to be open before any of the graduation week-

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ends. There’s plenty of change on the horizon for Lucky Hare. Along with venturing into the Ithaca market, they are expanding their current brewing operation in Homer to a 5,000 square foot facility in Watkins Glen. But the location in Ithaca will host no actual brewing, only beer service. “We’re just there to pour beer, offering some super fresh beer to everyone in Ithaca,” Conboy said. “Press Bay is a very unique place, and we love the concept that they have going on there.” Lucky Hare is the latest in a string of brewery announcements aimed at downtown Ithaca over the last few years, especially recently. Liquid State brewing is the senior member of the group, having been established in 2017, and following closely behind Lucky Hare will be Personal Best Brewing, which is slated to take over the former site of the City Health Club on West State Street likely some time in 2020. Conboy said they’re excited for the new move, and are already planning special events they may be able to hold at the spot. That could include a summer concert series in the months after they open, which Conboy said could tentatively be held on

Ian Conboy, VP of Operations for Lucky Hare Brewing Company, outside of the new location in downtown Ithaca. (Photo by Casey Martin)

the loading dock in the back. Assuming the permits for all their construction and usage go according to plan, Conboy said construction on the site should begin in April, with enough build-out planned to comfortably serve and house customers. The bar will probably bring three full time jobs, with more in terms of bartenders and other service roles. “It’s a nice property here that we can do something really nice with,” Conboy said. “It’s not a gigantic structure, but it’s something that has the same feel as what we have now. Kind of homey, like you’re drinking in someone’s house, it’s very welcoming [...] We have a wide range of clientele, and we want a space that can accommodate everybody.”

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Biz Briefs Tompkins Trust Company promotes Justin Earl to Small Business Lending Officer

College. The press release continued with the news of Tracy’s promotion. She has been with the company since 2007 with 16 years of banking experience. In her role, Tracy manages daily customer service, reports, audits, staff scheduling, new accounts, loans and staff coaching. She enjoys spending time with her two sons and four grandchildren, and is a member of the Freeville Fire and Rescue Organization and EMS club. She participates in various community events including Dryden Dairy Days and Freeville Elementary Fire Prevention. She holds her associates degree in business.

effort on an ongoing basis to activities that help others in Tompkins County. They should make a significant contribution towards improving the quality of life for others either as a major component of a non-profit organization or through individual efforts. For more information about this award or to obtain a nomination form, visit the bank’s website www.tompkinstrust.com or contact Aundre Seals of the bank’s Marketing Department at 607-274-2060, or aseals@tompkinsfinancial.com. Nominations must be received by April 5, 2019.

Achievement Awards. In an unannounced surprise, DIA Director Gary Ferguson was also given a Lifetime Achievement Award. According to the press release for the awards, Cornish has been instrumental in shepherding new and upcoming developments in Downtown Ithaca since 1997. JoAnn has led the City’s efforts to encourage new downtown development over the past years, an effort that has resulted in over 1.2 million square feet of new buildings. She has also been a keen advocate for public art in Downtown Ithaca. Travis is a longtime Ithaca developer who has been a key driver of downtown revitalization, the press release stated. He restored the Gateway Plaza building

Justin Earl

The Tompkins Trust Company announced this month that Justin Earl has been promoted to the position of Small Business Lending Officer. According to a press release, Earl has been with the company since 2017 and has six years of experience in the banking industry. “In his role he will be responsible for credit analysis and loan decisions for small business customers,” the release said. “He will oversee loan origination, as well as provide support to the small business and branch manager teams.” Earl is a voting board member and finance committee chairperson for the Ithaca Health Alliance. He lives in Whitney Point with his fiancé, and holds his B.S. in business administration from SUNY Oswego, and A.S. in general studies from Tompkins Cortland Community College.

More Promotions at Tompkins Trust Company Tompkins Trust further announced more promotions, as it has moved Gregory Mitchell up to Officer, Assistant Controller and Deborah Tracy up to Officer, Assistant Manager of the Dryden branch. Mitchell has been with the company since 2016 with four years of banking experience, according to a press release that announced the move. In his role, he will prepare and maintain accurate financial statements on a monthly and quarterly basis. He will also support the Controller in other accounting and finance functions. Mitchell is a hockey coach for Cortland County Youth Hockey Association, and holds his B.S. in accounting from Siena

Last Year’s Volunteer Excellence winners (Photo: Provided)

Nominations sought for volunteer excellence awards

Downtown Ithaca Alliance holds annual awards

Nominations are now being accepted for Tompkins Trust Company’s 2019 James J. Byrnes Awards for Excellence, an annual program that recognizes outstanding individuals and volunteer-based non-profit organizations for their contributions in Tompkins County. A monetary award will be donated to local charitable organizations from the bank’s endowment fund through the Legacy Foundation of Tompkins County. The honorees will each designate their award to not-for-profit organizations of their choice. Nominees may be a group of individuals presenting a key volunteer element of a local non-profit organization or local individuals performing humanitarian community service. Candidates for the award should be those who generously volunteer time and

Hardworking and dedicated downtown retailers, entrepreneurs, program partners, and the City’s latest developments will be recognized for their contribution to Downtown Ithaca during the Downtown Ithaca Alliance (DIA)’s Annual Awards Dinner and Ceremony on Thursday, March 7 at Hotel Ithaca. This year’s recipients included the following: Tompkins Trust Company won Economic Development Project of the Year for its headquarters project on Seneca Street; Sunny Days of Ithaca won Retailer of the Year; successful State Street bar The Watershed won Emerging Business of the Year; Tompkins Chamber/Visit Ithaca won the Nonprofit Partner of the Year and Asha Sanaker won Board Member of the Year. Ithaca Planning Director JoAnn Cornish and longtime Ithaca developer Mack Travis were both recognized with Lifetime Ma r ch

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and built the new Gateway Commons building. He served as a founding board member and long-term President of the Downtown Ithaca Alliance. He recently published a book titled Shaping A City: Ithaca, New York, A Developer’s Perspective, sharing his insights into the development of the city since the construction of the original Commons in 1971. “So many people work every day to make downtown a successful and vibrant place,” Ferguson wrote in the press release. “This is our opportunity to highlight and recognize a few of these people and businesses that have helped to shape and grow downtown. The one common denominator for all of the awards...a passion for downtown and the community.”

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March 16, 2019 6pm Benefit Auction / 7:30pm Concert Ford Hall, Ithaca College

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Music by: Glazunov, Ginastera, Marquez, Karen LeFrak (w/original choreography) STEVEN MAUK, saxophone / JEANNE GODDARD, choreographer And featuring our CCO Youth Orchestra in our first ever Side-by-Side piece!

A preview of Auction Highlights... more items being added daily! Live music by students from Ithaca Talent Education. Come see why this is our most popular fundraising event every season! GOLDEN BATON: Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport: Two $500 flight vouchers John & Carol Vineyard: Dinner With Cornelia: An elegant Swiss Dinner prepared by CCO’s Music Director! Jim Johnston & Linda Mack: Special Cajun Occasion! A home-cooked Cajun dinner for up to 8 people at the home of Jim & Linda Jim & Dianne Orcutt: Opera in the Garden Dinner, guided garden tour, short presentation by expert horticulturist Michael Brennan, a little live music Margaret & Grant Cooper: “Tastes of New Zealand” Four-course, authentic New Zealand dinner in your home (with New Zealand wine!) Carla Gallery of Fine Jewelry: 14k white gold earrings set with aquamarine cabochons PRINCIPAL PLAYERS: Dave K’s Wine Court: We Judge Cases! Personalized Wine Tasting for up to 12 guests, Mansour Jewelers: Blue Topaz & Sterling Silver Necklace, Sara Worden Yoga & Wellness: Self Care social for up to 10 guests ACCOMMODATIONS: Hilton Garden Inn: Overnight stay with breakfast for two, Hampton Inn: Overnight stay ART & FRAMING: The Frame Shop: $25 gift certificate, Nancy V. Ridenour: Three framed floral photographs 16x20”, Enduring Images by James Burlitch: Two framed photographs, Barbara Mink Art: Framed artwork, Annemiek Haralson: Oil painting, Ileen Kaplan: Oil painting, SchoPhoto (Carl & Elke Schofield): Photographs printed on canvas & satin, Georgie LeHoop: Framed art, Carlton Manzano: Framed oil paintings, Rosie Elliott: Memorial Art Gallery framed print, Sola Prints & Framing: Orfeo Tamburi etching, Daphne Sola: Framed silkscreen artist print "Young Gymnast" GIFTS & HOME: Cayuga Landscape: $60 gift certificate, Winnie Kostroun: Laduree Savory recipe cookbook, Smithsonian Institute Italian purse, Ceramic bowls, Small dish with lid decorated with lemons, White vase, Self-watering flower pot, Cream Italian wool shawl, History Center in Tompkins County: Harriet Tubman Girls Explore Doll, Cayuga Basin map, local interest & railroad books, vintage map of Ithaca, American Crafts by Robbie Dein: $100 gift card, East Hill Antiques: A classical print of Venice in 1930's gold gesso frame, Rosie Elliott: Orla Kiely handbag, Memorial Art Gallery framed print, Home Green Home: $20 gift card, Susan Spafford: Tile Mate & Slim (4 pack), Zachary Orcutt: Custom Pottery, 15 Steps: Handcrafted Maruca handbag, Benjamin Peters: $50 gift card, Karin Pohl: Assortment of pottery, Robin Lehman Glass: Schubert paperweight, One World Market: 3 Animal felt bags, CCO Friends: Set of vintage calendar posters - full set can be used for every year indefinitely, Six Copeland dinner plates, Silk Embroidered Wall Hangings, Turtle Island Pottery: Vase, Hickey's Music Center: Musical Dominoes, Quilters Corner: Fabric and patterns, Toni Murdough & Kirsten Marshall: Glass art statue, Barbara Nosanchuk: New Yorker Complete Cartoons 1025-2004, Mama Goose / Mimi's Attic: Gift basket of eco-friendly kitchen goodies, Cummings Family: 2 Trader Joe’s gift baskets JEWELRY: Winnie Kostroun: Gold earrings, Metropolitan Museum of Art gold necklace, Silver & turquoise dangle earrings, silver & turquoise star earrings, Patton Jewelers gold necklace, Handwork: Jewelry by Laurel O'Brien, 15 Steps: Handmade collar necklace by Cristen Gardner MUSIC & ARTS: Cortland Repertory Theatre: 2 Opening Night tickets to the 2019 season, CSMA: two $50 gift card, Syracuse Stage: Two tickets to a show in the 19/20 season, Kitchen Theater: 2 pairs of tickets, Memorial Art Gallery: Two admission passes, NYS Baroque: 2 pairs of tickets to our May 4 semi-staged opera Acis & Galatea, by Handel, TriCities Opera: 2 tickets, Ithaca College Theatre: A pair of tickets to the remaining 3 productions in the 2018-2019 season, Hickey's Music Center: Pearl Jam Anthology, Mayfest - Cornell International Chamber Music Festival: Two festival passes, Opera Ithaca: Pair of tickets to Double Bill, April 11 - 14, Symphoria: Two tickets to a concert, Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival: Pair of Tickets to 2019 Season, Cornell University, Dept. of Performing & Media Arts: Four tickets to spring performance of "Spill", Ithaca Community Chorus: Pair of tickets to 2019-20 season, Allison Parramore: One private flute lesson, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University: One year membership, Triphammer Arts: Four tickets to production of “Opera Cowpokes Alive!” RECREATION & MEMBERSHIPS: Cinemapolis: 10 pack of movie tickets, Sciencenter: One Year Explorer Membership, Harris Hill Park: 2 soaring airplane tickets, Circus Culture: $50 gift card, MOST - Museum of Science & Technology: Four entry tickets, Betsy Darlington: Guided nature walk at a Finger Lakes Land Trust nature preserve, Cornell Lab of Ornithology: One-year Membership, plus special bird bag with goodies, Rosamunde Gifford Zoo (Syracuse): Family 4-pack Day Pass, Albright-Knox Art Gallery: Four admission passes, Corning Museum of Glass: custom tour and admission for two, plus certificate to make two free glass art items SERVICES: Audio Chef: 2 hours of AV services, Alta Spa: European Deep Cleansing Facial, Robin Schwartz, Organizing Coach & Teacher: Workshop series on Decluttering, Shira Melen & Kate Diempfl: Couple's Massage, Healing Hands of Ithaca: One hour massage, The Relaxation Point: One hour massage, Squeaky Clean Car Wash: 3 complete car washes DINING OUT: Taste of Thai Express: $20 gift card, Maxie's Supper Club: $30 gift card, Carriage House Café: $40 gift card, Gola Osteria: $50 gift card, Boatyard Grill: $50 gift card, Red's Place: $25 gift card, Gimme Coffee: $20 gift card, Chipotle Mexican Grill: Two dinners for four, Taverna Banfi's: Dinner for two, Kilpatrick’s: $50 gift card, Café Dewitt: $30 gift card, Coltivare: $25 gift card, New Delhi Diamonds: $25 gift card, Applebees: Two $10 gift cards, Antlers: Gift card, Pasta Vitto: Four $25 gift cards, Simeon's: $50 gift card, Mercato Bar & Kitchen: Two $100 gift certificates FOOD & BEVERAGE: Hosmer Wineries: $25 gift card, Anthony Road Wine Company: tasting for four, Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars: case of wine, Red Feet Wine Market: Cupid's demisac: A seasonal 6-pack of wines with reusable wine bag and food pairing notes, Greenstar Co-op: Buy Local gift basket, Finger Lakes Distilling: bottle of spirits, Treleaven Wine/King Ferry Winery: 3 bottles of wine, Edible Arrangements: $50 gift card, Two Goats Brewing: Two growlers and a refill, Seneca Lake Wine Trail: Six bottles of local wine, Cayuga Lake Creamery: Two $10 gift cards, Wide Awake Bakery: Two 10-week bread shares, Moosewood Restaurant: Bag with 2 hardcover cookbooks, $50 gift card & other treats, The Piggery: $40 gift card, Rosie Elliott: Champagne glasses & champagne, Northside Wine & Spirits: 2 bottles of wine, Full Plate Farm Collective: Two weeks of a veggie CSA share, Susan Spafford: Portuguese Goodie Basket, "Chocolate for Every Day" package, Melinda Daetsch: Homemade chocolate truffles (vegan, gluten-free), Chateau Lafayette Reneau: Two bottles of wine, Myer Farm Distillers: Multiple bottles of varied spirits, Ports of New York Winery: Two bottles of wine, Red Newt Cellars: Bottle of wine, Phyllis Rappaport: Fusion Infinity Pinot Noir wine glasses (two sets of four), four bottles of wine, wine plates, David Sit: Three bottles of wine, Jim Grochocinski: 4 Bottles of French Wine, CCO Friend: Wine Lover’s Basket, Ian Woods: Wines from the Pacific Northwest

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Ithaca DJ Festival is bigger and better in second year

By M att Bu tler

he official kick-off to Ithaca’s music festival season has been claimed by the Finger Lakes Thaw Festival, which serves as the introduction to the next several months that are populated by a different major local festival seemingly every few weeks. What local festival-goers might not know about, though, is that Thaw has an associated lead-in event dedicated to highlighting the local disc-jockey community. The second annual DJ Festival is being held on Saturday, March 16 at Argos Warehouse, an all-day event that will stretch from 12 p.m. until 1:30 a.m. All ages are welcome until 9 p.m., when the event turns to 21-and-over, and tickets are just $3 or free with a ticket to the Finger Lakes Thaw Festival. Festival founder and local DJ Ben Ortiz, who spins under the stage name DJ ha-MEEN, said he was talking to Nick Frazier, a friend and one of the founders of the Finger Lakes Thaw Festival, and decided that a festival featuring DJs could serve as an exciting lead-in to the Thaw Festival, which takes place the week after. There’s no shortage of reasons Ortiz cites as his motivation to organize the event, though the largest might be to demystify DJs and help educate the public about the activity, either to inspire them to try DJing themselves or give them a greater appreciation for the

craft. So far, Ortiz has assembled 31 confirmed DJs from around the region who will either perform at the event or conduct one of the several panels and workshops he has scheduled throughout the day. “It’s one thing to do a DJ set or performance for a crowd, and the crowd may be enjoying themselves, but I don’t think they necessarily know what we’re doing besides playing music,” Ortiz said. “Playing music, for most people, is just pressing play and plugging in a headphone jack. So therefore, it’s natural that most people think we’re simply doing that.” Of course, the effort level and intricacies of DJing are much more complex than could be seen from the dancefloor of a crowded bar, particularly when someone, like Ortiz for example, cares so deeply about the music and source material they’re working with. The downside of DJing for an audience is it can be dehumanizing, with attendees shouting requests at the artists free of consideration or concern. But the upside, Ortiz said, is so vivid and enriching that he wants to give anyone who might enjoy it like he does the chance to feel it; he recalls stories of people approaching him after a set and thanking him for pulling them out of a dark place just by providing a good night out when it’s needed most. “It’s important to make sure that we don’t feed into anyone’s notion of us just being human jukeboxes who you can just say ‘Hey, play this song,’ and we say ‘Aye, aye, sir,’” Ortiz said. “It’s just not exactly what we do.” To illustrate the festival’s wide range of offerings, Ortiz points to the diversity of age: in one room, DJ Duce, an area performer

in his 60s, will be playing a set while in the next, a 15-year-old local high-schooler will be conducting a workshop on his musical process as a DJ. That’s just one example of the diversity Ortiz is not only trying to portray, but also foster for further growth: there will also be a session, hosted by DJ Bella J of Syracuse and Ithaca-based DJ Tori Vee, which will be exclusively for women and girls who want to learn the unique challenges of being a female DJ. Aside from having a good time, there’s an equal portion of the event that’s dedicated to either breaking some of the stereotypes around DJing, or trying to chip away at problems that do exist in the industry. Ortiz has even larger ambitions for the festival in the future as interest hopefully grows. He has visions of a full-weekend festival, with more acts and more workshops and focusing on different things like monitoring dancefloor behavior to ensure crowd member safety, all with the goal of helping engage more people and inspire those already working on their art. If anybody’s influenced to even dabble in DJing, Ortiz said, the event is a “beautiful success.” “We’re talking about growing our community here, not simply doing this to do it,” Ortiz said. “We’re doing this with a purpose, and it’s affecting lives, sparking creativity [...] If we’ve got anybody leaving this DJ festival saying ‘I decided to try to pursue this as a creative hobby, as a side gig, to incorporate into some other creative pursuit that I do, or as a full time career,’ I would consider that a major success. We’re talking about the next generation, but also the current generation.”

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Arts&Entertainment

DJ Festival

The Ithaca DJ Festival will feature 31 artists in a variety of roles, expanding on a successful first year. (Photo provided)

I t h a c a T im e s 1 7

Cornell Concert Series presents pianists

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“A SAFE PLACE FOR DANGEROUS THEATER.”

performing works by

o declares Ithaca’s latest theatre troupe, House of Ithaqua (HOI), actually a “multi-media production house” (theatre and film) which sprang into the local landscape last fall with an assured production of “Bug,” a psycho-thriller by award-winning playwright Tracy Letts (“August Osage County”) that offers a mix of stalker-slasher with large servings of paranoia, PTSD and a bit of Area 51-Roswell conspiracy theory filtered through a Hitchcockian voyeuristic lens. Christopher Teitelbaum led that production which featured co-founder Jeff Hodges in the central role of a psycho in sheep’s clothing (memorably played by Michael Shannon off-Broadway and in the film adaptation). Along with fellow staff member Alek Osinski, the three had met through Actors’ Workshop of Ithaca, a Meisner technique studio founded by Eliza Van Cort, who co-directs it with Katie Spallone. In total, five AWI alum were featured. “Bug” served as a perfect signal flag of HOI’s announced aesthetic: dark, horrorinflected and edgily comedic. (Besides the pun, Ithaqua is also a fictional creation of horror-meister H.P. Lovecraft.) Along with Ayla Cline who joined for “Bug,” the artistic staff now also includes fellow AWI alum A.J. Sage as artistic director (Teitelbaum serves as executive director.) Sage says the original impulse was also towards supernatural darkness, but now has landed more on the darkness of the everyday. Straddling those two poles is HOI’s latest venture, “The Pillowman” by Martin McDonagh, opening this Thursday at Risley Theatre and playing March 14–16 and 21–23 at 7:00 p.m. with Sunday matinees March 17 & 24 at 2:00 p.m. The last Saturday morning of rehearsals finds stage manager Cline calling for lights up, as we discover a man with a pillowcase over his head, being interrogated by two policemen (Detectives Tupolski and Ariel) in a dingy room, at one side is a menacing machine with electrodes. The suspect is an author, Katurian K. Katurian, who has written over 400 short stories featuring gruesome outcomes, often towards children. Two recent child murders match his fiction with a foreboding accuracy. Ariel likes to hit people, Tupolski prefers tricks. Oh, they finally casually let it drop that also have Katurian’s mentally challenged brother Michal in custody. As the play twists and turns, Katurian narrates five of these modern-day Grimm fairy tales almost in full: “The Tale of the Town on the River,” “The Pillowman”, “The

Debussy, Rachmaninoff,

Poulenc and Schubert

“Textures shimmer like pure gold... they have to be heard to be believed” – The Washington Post

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Little Green Pig,” “The Writer and the Writer’s Brother,” and “The Little Jesus.” The first Katurian tells to Tupolski, the second two to his brother Michal as they await execution (much as one would tell a bed-time story), while the final two are narrated directly to the audience and feature two adults and a little girl (plus a huge wooden cross) as visual accompaniment. Local composer CHRMSM (pronounced chromosome) provides original music to those scenes, featuring Chris White. McDonagh slammed in to the British theatre scene beginning in 1996 in with a series of dark, violent, and absolutely hilarious plays set in a rural Ireland both contemporary and redolent of O’Casey and Synge. Then with “The Pillowman” (2004), he left Ireland for a decidedly Kafkaesque totalitarian police-state. Then he plunged into film, directing and writing several well-regarded movies. His play “The Cripple of Inishmaan” was recently revived on Broadway with Daniel Radcliffe in the title role. HOI cast their net widely resulting in a deep bench. Local Abel McSurely Bradshaw plays Katurian, a return to the stage for the local musician/songwriter/ performer (The Newman Brothers, The Ithaca Bottom Boys.) Past roles have ranged from Bobby in “American Buffalo” (Incognita) to Harold Hill in “The Music Man” (Encore Players.) Katurian employs Bradshaw’s already substantial gifts as a story-teller with a roller-coaster emotional ride. Daniel J. Kiely also returns to the stage after a long hiatus; he’s played most theaters in town, including memorable turns as Falstaff and Toby Belch with the Ithaca Shakespeare Company, and work with the Kitchen, the Hangar, Wolfs Mouth and more. His is the delicate role of the child-like Michal. As to film, Teitelbaum relates: “While we continue to explore our voice on the stage we hope to provide a venue where up and coming artist can showcase their work while highlighting the already deep roots of the local film scene” with an inaugural horror film festival planned for Spring 2020.

Public Art

Street Art

New subcommittee may form to replace public art commission By E dw in J. Vie ra

everal years ago, the City of Ithaca total of such multiphase projects is equal was in somewhat of a bureaucratic to or greater than $1,000,000. An amount mess. With an abundance of comequal to 1 percent of the total budgeted mittees and commissions, something had construction and design cost of the capital to be done to ensure that the system was improvement project shall be included made simple for residents. After a referen- in the budget for the planning, design, dum the committees were soon regrouped construction, repair, and maintenance of into four different commissions with sevworks of art.” eral functions. Now, one of those former Keeler said a percent for art program committees could be making a comeback. could work well in Ithaca and has the For the last several years, the City of opportunity to raise the quality of life for Ithaca has been without a major public residents. Once the new subcommittee is art commission, meaning artists wanting functional, he plans to look into percent to paint a mural or make a piece of public possibilities for the committee to potenart have had to go through the Commutially decide upon. However, it would still nity Life Commishave to be adsion (CLC). Rusty opted, which Keeler Keeler, a member believes will take of the CLC Board, a great deal more is looking to make work. a new public art “It would take subcommittee as many conversations part of the CLC and a lot of teamand hopes to work to craft a proget it running as gram that people soon as possible. can stand behind,” “That is one of Keeler said. “Luckthe top priorities ily, there are many, of the public art many cities who commission subhave percent for art committee group programs like this […] to investigate in place that we can and look into ways use as models.” An example of the plethora of public there can be public Another way art visible around downtown Ithaca funding for public this program would already. (Photo by Casey Martin) art,” Keeler said. come in handy is “Whether that is a for art that needs to line item in the city be restored. Keeler budget, whether we want to investigate the commented that many pieces around percent for art program that many cities Ithaca are due to be restored, though this have, including upstate New York cities money isn’t coming from the city. As far such as Buffalo and as well as donations as restoration efforts go, the public art from banks, businesses, foundation and subcommittee will be looking into getting private donors to get some kind of coffer funding for this undertaking. Although and budget so the city can have money to Keeler couldn’t think of many pieces that sponsor public art.” are in need of repair, two prominent exOne complaint of local artists is the amples came to mind. difficulty of funding works on their own, “The metal horse behind the library has although many are left to do so. However, had duct tape on its tail for years,” Keeler local artist Annemarie Zwack has been said. “The large yellow and green sculpture vocal about re-establishing a public arts of sheet steel behind Urban Outfitters has commission, and she recently presented come apart in dangerous ways.” the idea of a percent-for-art ordinance to No funds have been allocated in the the CLC, explaining that it would require City’s 2019 budget for any repairs to public money from developers instead of the art. Keeler will look into securing funding City. for repairs when the City begins budget The City of Buffalo’s Art in Public discussions later this year. Zwack has comPlaces program is an example of a percent- mented that while she hasn’t been asked for-art ordinance. Part of the program to be on the public art subcommittee, she states that a certain part of a development’s said that once a committee is formed and budgets shall include funding for any art. she doesn’t pose a conflict of interest, she The projects are defined as large scale proj- would consider volunteering her time, but ects, “whose budgeted cost of construction only if asked to do so. and design for a single project or for the

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dining

Tamarind

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Small Asian spot succeeds with straight-forward approach By He nr y Stark

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t’s easy to pass by Tamarind by without noticing it, and because it’s located on North Meadow Street/ Route 13, it isn’t directly accessible if you’re heading south on Fulton Street. The parking lot is barely able to hold a half-dozen cars and is a bit cramped for easy maneuvering. It’s a destination restaurant, meaning it’s free-standing, so you can’t make an impromptu decision to walk over while shopping at a mall. The restaurant itself is small, and the interior features two small, rather nondescript dining areas. Tamarind has never resorted to gimmicks to lure customers. Tamarind is an Asian restaurant specializing in Thai cuisine. It doesn’t employ any of these techniques and yet has been successfully serving customers at the same location since Valentine’s Day 2008. Let’s start with the menus. Yes, plural menus. Lunch, with a separate menu, is served from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. weekdays, continuous on weekends, and then the restaurant closes as dinner prep starts. Considering the minimal size of the two dining rooms, the menus are extensive. At lunch, you can choose from a half-dozen each of appetizers, rice dishes, and curries as well as nine noodle-based offerings, and about a dozen à la carte selections. I have learned that there’s an unannounced flexible policy which allows lunch customers to order selected items from the dinner menu. At lunch, a complimentary, and welcome on a cold day, bowl of clear chicken broth, with some vegetables and a hint of garlic, was served before the items we ordered were delivered. A Thai favorite, cashew chicken, is offered on both menus and is delicious. It’s so easy to slice chicken into thin pieces and then overcook them. Although indeed cut into bite-size pieces, here the chicken is cooked perfectly. The accompanying onions, tomatoes and bell peppers complement the dish well. The Thai spicy noodles dish was most enjoyable and, surprisingly, not very spicy.

While Tamarind is small and may not have all the trappings, it’s still a perfectly suitable spot for good Asian cuisine. (Photo by Casey Martin)

The noodles were tender and accompanied by somewhat al dente onions, bell peppers, mushrooms and carrots. The dinner menu includes double the number of appetizers offered on the lunch menu and lists the basic Thai soups. Tom kha, a coconut-based soup, was loaded with veggies, including onions, mushrooms and Korean cabbage along with some tasty Thai herbs. Tom yum is a spicy and sour soup with mushrooms and tomatoes and is broth-based. I think if you order a bowl, instead of a cup, of either, it would make for a very satisfying dinner. There are about eight noodle and noodle soup dishes as well as five curries. The noodle dishes I’ve tried feature copious amounts of tender noodles and vegetables. A half-dozen salads appear on the dinner menu, but watch out if you’re a vegetarian as only one doesn’t have meat. However, there are several items suitable for vegetarian diets scattered around the menu and if you ask your server, many items can be prepared vegan or vegetarian. Prices are typically inexpensive for Asian food: nothing is over $14.95, and you can even stay below that if you opt for chicken, pork, beef, tofu or mock chicken for your protein add-ons. Tamarind is not the place to go if you’re a wine connoisseur. You won’t even be able to find a Cabernet Sauvignon listed in the meager (two total) red wine selection or a dry Riesling among the whites. Beer is limited to a few Asian brands.

Tidbits: Dishes can be prepared mild (1) to spicy (5). For my taste I’ve learned to order on the modest side of the scale, as “2” for me seems a bit more like “3” than I intended.

Twenty years ago, the races sounded like a chorus of chainsaws, as everyone was running two-stroke, 250cc bikes. Now, four-stroke 450s are the norm, and given some of the tracks are but a tenth-of-amile long, it takes but a few seconds to get the bikes up to 45 to 50 mph, and the riders spend most of their time in a (hopefully) controlled power-slide. “It’s fairly safe, given there are no guard-rails, no trees, no oncoming traffic,” Hovanec told me. “If you go down and slide, you’re likely to just hit a snowbank.” I thought back to the time when Jim owned the Ducati dealership on Danby Road in the 1990s, and I knew that he had been riding for many years prior to that. I asked him how many motorcycles he has now, and he started to give me a number, and then his wife, Marge, walked into the room. Ever the nimble navigator, Jim adjusted on the fly, gave me a different number, and avoided the figurative highside rollover. He said, “Well, I have seven or eight, including my Honda CRF 450 I race on the ice, some collectors’ bikes like my Gold Wing, and my KTM road racing bike.” I recalled that back in the day, the ice racers would get sheet metal screws and affix them to their knobby tires for added traction. Now, Jim offered, “There are some pros that make them, and the quality is much better.” Front tires have about 300 screws in them, with 500 in the back. I asked him how long the tires last, and he replied, “We usually get three or four seasons out of them,” and I took that to

Sports

Ice Therapy

be a good thing, given the tires cost about $700 for the pair. As stated, Hovanec is a lifelong motorcycle rider (as am I), and the wisdom he dispensed regarding riding year-round resonated deeply. “Riding all year keeps our skills sharp,” he said. “There is such a gap for many riders. They put the bike away in October and get it out in June, and they don’t stay sharp.” Jim’s willingness—in fact, insistence— to keep upgrading his skills plays a big part in him still riding. He said, “I hear a lot of inexperienced riders say things like ‘A car pulled out in front of me and I had to lay it down.” I tell them, ‘Maybe you didn’t have to lay it down. Maybe your brakes and some avoidance maneuvering would have gotten you out of trouble.’ I tell these people not to panic, not to give up on it.” As always, Jim gets fired up when talking about motorcycles. He said, “Today was a beautiful day out on the ice. We love it. It keeps us sane. We call it ‘Ice Therapy.’” It had been less than three hours since Jim had climbed off his bike, and it was clear that he couldn’t wait to swing his leg over one of his others and get out on the track. Or, back out on the road. The man loves to ride, and who can blame him for wanting to spend as much time as possible sitting astride a 150-horsepower, two-wheeled rocket ship and cranking the throttle. After all, the guy likely only has another 20 years to ride. He just turned 72.

Jim Hovanec leans into another corner. (Photo provided)

By Ste ve L aw re nc e

t was about 20 years ago that I accepted my buddy Jim Hovanec’s invitation to head over to Cayuta Lake to watch Jim and a few of his friends race their motorcycles. At about 50 miles-per-hour… sideways… and on the ice. The Cayuta Lake winter scene was crazy back then, and the myriad of activities drew a sizeable crowd week after week: ice fishing, snowmobile drag races, motorcycle racing, car racing (more like demolition derbies), an occasional plane landing on the ice, food vendors and several restaurants in the area. It was a lively scene, and then some disagreements ensued about whether the lake was the

property of New York State, and if so, who would be liable for any injuries. The end result was, according to Jim, another case of the government sticking its nose into peoples’ lives and screwing things up. The resilient riders would find other places to go sideways, and I recently saw a new photo of Jim in mid-slide. I reached out to him, and he told me he is still racing on virtually every weekend the ice is thick enough, and I laughed and reminded him that when I did that story two decades ago, I teased him a little that a guy his age would be doing something so potentially dangerous. Jim scratched his head and it was clear that such a thought had never crossed his mind. Ma r ch

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An Evening with George Winston | 8:00 PM, 3/15 Friday | Hangar Theatre, 801 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca |

Music

Johnny Dowd | 8:00 PM, | Silver Line Tap Room, Trumansburg

Bars/Bands/Clubs

Noon Fifteen and Next to Kin | 9:00 PM, | The Range, Ithaca

3/13 Wednesday

3/17 Sunday

The Dennis Winge Trio | 6:00 PM, | Monks on the Commons, Ithaca

Blue Skies | 1:00 PM, | Red Newt Bistro, Hector

Canaan Jam Session | 7:00 PM, | Canaan Institute, Brooktondale

Immortal Jellyfish| 2:00 PM, | Six Mile Creek Vineyard, Ithaca

3/14 Thursday

Arise & Go | 3:00 PM, | The Arts at Grace, Cortland

Lucy Dacus w/s/g Mal Blum, Fenne Lilly | 8:00 PM, | The Haunt, Ithaca | $15.00 - $18.00

3/15 Friday

Soprano Tony Arnold and pianist Gabor Csalog | 8:00 PM, 3/15 Friday | Barnes Hall, Barnes Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca | Ensemble X presents a Gyorgy Kurtag concert performing The Sayings of Peter Bornemisza, Op. 7, plus songs of American composers Ives, Carter, Copland, and Barber. The Town Pants | 8:00 PM, 3/15 Friday | Smith Center for the Arts, 82 Seneca St, Geneva | A Vancouver BC-based band combining aspects of Irish traditional, folk, rock and roots Americana. | $20 Cayuga Chamber Orchestra: Partners in Time | 7:30 PM, 3/16 Saturday | Ford Hall, Whalen Center, IC, Ithaca |

Ithaca Jazz and Blues Jam | 4:00 PM, | Mix Kitchen and Bar, Ithaca Doolin O’Dey | 4:00 PM, | Americana Vineyards, Interlaken

Bob & Dee | 6:00 PM, | Americana Vineyards, Interlaken

Nick Kody & The Creek Road Band | 4:00 PM, | Two Goats Brewing, Burdett

Three Stone Fire | 6:00 PM, | Hopshire Farm & Brewery, Freeville

Open Mic Night | 6:00 PM, | Ithaca Beer Co., Ithaca

Erin & The Backwoods | 7:00 PM, | The Westy, Ithaca

Stark Nights - Wingnut | 7:00 PM, | Argos Warehouse, Ithaca

The Analogue Sons | 7:00 PM, | Two Goats Brewing, Burdett

Nate Marshall & Friends | 7:00 PM, | The Westy, Ithaca

3/19 Tuesday

Bound for Glory - Mustard’s Retreat | 8:00 PM, | Anabel Taylor Hall, Ithaca

Professor Tuesdays Jazz Quartet | 6:30 PM, | ZaZa’s Cucina, Ithaca

The ElectroZone Presents Boueffe! | 8:00 PM, | Sacred Root Kava Lounge & Tea Bar, Ithaca Bombino w/s/g Dead Messengers | 9:00 PM, | The Haunt, Ithaca | $20.00 - $25.00

3/16 Saturday The Tarps | 6:00 PM, | Americana Vineyards, Interlaken Zydeco Trail Riders | 7:00 PM, | Two Goats Brewing, Burdett

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GEORGE WINSTON Friday, March 15, 8:00 PM | The Hangar Theatre, 801 Taughannock Blvd., Ithaca | The legendary pianist makes a stop in Ithaca as part of his winter tour. He is currently most inspired by the great New Orleans R&B pianists Henry Butler, James Booker, Professor Longhair, Dr. John, and Jon Cleary; and he is also working on interpreting pieces on solo piano by his favorite composers, including Vince Guaraldi, Frank Zappa, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and the Doors, as well as many others, to play at concerts. (photo: Facebook)

Irish Session with members of Traonach | 7:00 PM, | Argos Inn, Ithaca

Ithaca Underground Presents: Amirtha Kidambi - Elder Ones w/ Desmond Bratton, BRIAN!, Dara Anissi | 7:30 PM, | The Haunt, Ithaca | $10 - $13

Open Mic Night | 8:00 PM, | Silver Line Tap Room, Trumansburg

Open Mic | 8:30 PM, | Agava, Ithaca

Concerts/Recitals

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Open Mic Night | 9:00 PM, | Lot 10 Lounge, Ithaca

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Chatori Shimizu, Japanese sho performance | 7:30 PM, 3/16 Saturday | Lincoln Hall Rm B20, Cornell, Ithaca | A Japanese sho player and award winning contemporary composer to give a lecture on Japanese traditional music and contemporary repertoire and to perform a concert with music by Helmut Lachenmann, Kikuko Massumoto, Maki Ishii, and Cornell Composers. Shimizu also gives a lecture at 1:00pm in Lincoln 316. Indigo Girls | 8:00 PM, 3/16 Saturday | State Theatre Of Ithaca, 107 W State St, Ithaca | | $29-$49 Cornell Chamber Orchestra | 3:00 PM, 3/17 Sunday | Barnes Hall, Barnes Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca | Timna Mayer, director. A trip around the world, featuring Bartukís Romanian Folk Dances, Mozartís Die kleine Nachtmusik, Allegro; Griegís Norwegian Melody, and Piazzollaís Muerte del Angel and Libertango. Stanley Stewart - Organ Recital | 3:30 PM, 3/17 Sunday | St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, 14 Church St., Moravia | Pipe organ classics from Bach to Brahms as well as pieces honoring St. Patrick and demonstrations of the instrument. A fundraiser for repair and maintenance of this pipe organ.

Pictures of Saint Patrick | 4:00 PM, 3/17 Sunday | Clemens Center, 207 Clemens Center Parkway, Elmira | The third installment of the regular OSFL season. This concert will feature the 2018 Hertzog Concerto Competition winner, Sophia Werner, as well as a side-by-side performance with the Youth Orchestra. Dallas Brass with Ithaca Concert Band | 7:30 PM, 3/19 Tuesday | Ford Hall, Ithaca College, Danby Rd, Ithaca | Dallas Brass is one of America’s foremost musical ensembles, with a unique blend of brass instruments, drums and percussion. ICB and Dallas Brass will perform several pieces together with a second half devoted to Dallas Brass! | $10 for adults David Kim, piano | 8:00 PM, 3/20 Wednesday | Barnes Hall, Barnes Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca | David Kim, piano, performs a program of Schumann and Schubert. We Banjo 3 | 8:00 PM, 3/20 Wednesday | Center For the Arts of Homer, 72 S Main St, Homer | Midday Music in Lincoln: Andrew Zhou and Ryan MacEvoy McCullough | 12:30 PM, 3/21 Thursday | Lincoln Hall Rm B20, Cornell, Ithaca | Midday Music: Andrew Zhou and Ryan MacEvoy McCullough, Crumbís Makrokosmos, Book II for amplified piano, plus works by Emily Cooley and Walter Zimmerman. Songs without Words | 8:00 PM, 3/21 Thursday | Barnes Hall, Barnes Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca | Violinist Noyuri Hazama, baroque cellist and violist da gamba musician Eva Lymenstull, and keyboardist Shin Hwang explore the more singable works of Schubert and Beethoven centered around the composer’s inspiration from the Lied (Germanic songs). Christina and Michelle Naughton | 8:00 PM, 3/22 Friday | Bailey Hall, Cornell, Ithaca | The Naughtons bring a diverse program of four-hand and two piano repertoire featuring works by Debussy, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, and more. | $19-$30

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Stage Open Mic Comedy | 10:00 PM, 3/13 Wednesday | Lot 10 Lounge, 106 S Cayuga St, Ithaca | I’m Not Rappaport | 7:00 PM, 3/14 Thursday | Redhouse Arts Center, 400 S. Salina Street, Syracuse | Inspired by two elderly men the playwright met in New York City’s Central Park. The show will reunite iconic actors Fred Grandy (Gopher)and Ted Lange (Isaac the Bartender) that many will remember from the hit 70’s sitcom The Love Boat. Thru March 24.

Jeff Dunham: Passively Aggressive Tour | 7:00 PM, 3/14 Thursday | The Oncenter, 800 South State St., Syracuse | America’s favorite ventriloquist tours North America on his 60-city tour. The Pillowman | 7:00 PM, 3/14 Thursday thru 3/16, Saturday | Risley Theatre, Risley Hall, Ithaca | by Martin McDonagh. Presented by House of Ithaqua. Drowning the Stream | 7:30 PM, 3/14 Thursday thru 3/16, Saturday | Cayuga Community College, 197 Franklin St., Auburn | A play by Jeffrey Wolf. Feminist Performance Symposium | 4:00 PM, 3/15 Friday | Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts, Cornell University, Ithaca | Through March 16, 2019. Featuring live theater, practicebased workshops, and roundtable discussions. Addams Family Musical | 7:00 PM, 3/15 Fri & 3/16, Sat. 2:00 PM, 3/17 Sun.| Trumansburg High School Auditorium, 100 Whig St., Trumansburg | Join the Tburg School Musical Dept. as they bring the Addams Family to Tburg. | $10

A Gatherin’ Place | 7:30 PM, 3/15 Friday & 3/16 Saturday| Auburn Public Theater, 8 Exchange St, Auburn | An original work written & performed by The Tubman Troupe, a performing arts group for women of color to celebrate all of who they are through performance. Inspired by real life events in the lives of the actors and also the life and impact of Ntozake Shange. | $12 door/ $5 Student rush. The Royale | 7:30 PM, 3/15 Friday | Kitchen Theatre, 417 W State St, Ithaca | Runs thru Mar 31, 2019. Youness Atban - Performance Artist | 7:30 PM, 3/15 Friday & 3/16 Saturday | Cherry Artspace, 102 Cherry St., Ithaca | Based in Morocco and Berlin, North American debut. A piece of fabric which will become a flag, which will become an art, then a dynamic, an identity, a policy, a film, a chore-

class limit is 15 so call 659-7375 to register.

Jay Leno | 8:00 PM, 3/16 Saturday | del Lago Resort and Casino, 1133 NY-414, Waterloo |

Drop-In Art Series | 5:30 PM, 3/19 Tuesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca | Artist’s book or zine making. Youngsters ages 12 to 15 are permitted with an adult, and ages 16 and over are welcome solo.

Something Rotten! | 7:30 PM, 3/18 Monday & 3/19 Tuesday | Clemens Center, 207 Clemens Center Parkway, Elmira | Set in 1595, Nick and Nigel Bottom are two brothers who are desperate to write a hit play. When a local soothsayer foretells that the future of theatre involves singing, dancing and acting at the same time, Nick and Nigel set out to write the world’s very first musical! | $30-$65

Art 25th Annual Little Gems - Art Exhibit | Ongoing | West End Gallery, 12 W Market St, Corning |

TompkinsTrust.com

Thalassa: A Dive into the Deep - A contemporary Circus Show | 7:00 PM, 3/15 Friday & 2:00 PM, 3/16 Saturday | Circus Culture, 116 W Green Street, Ithaca | Created by Circus Culture.A full-length production based in an underwater world featuring aerial arts, clowning, contortion, and acrobatics. | $10/$15

& 2:00 PM, 3/17 Sunday| Candor High School, Academy St, Candor | | $7

ography, and finally a history. A man who will become two men, to mutate into a fictional character, developing into a documentary, and transforming into a mode of perception. Jay Leno | 8:00 PM, 3/15 Friday & 3/16 Saturday| del Lago Resort and Casino, 1133 NY-414, Waterloo | Les Liaisons Dangereuses | 8:00 PM, 3/15 Friday | The Central New York Playhouse, 3169 Erie Blvd. E., B201, Syracuse | Runs through March 23. $20-22 Syracuse City Ballet Presents Peter Pan | 6:00 PM, 3/16 Saturday & Noon, 3/17 Sunday | Civic Centers Theaters At Oncenter, 421 Montgomery St, Syracuse | A Spoonful of Poison - Mystery Dinner Theater | 6:30 PM, 3/16 Saturday | Cortland Repertory Theatre, 24 Port Watson St., Cortland | Murder? How terribly impolite! But that’s the problem everyone’s favorite nanny, Mary Popouts, must face! Though practically perfect in every way, Mary Popouts will need your help! | $50.00 for dinner, dessert, coffee and show! Candor High School Presents: Seussical | 7:00 PM, 3/16 Saturday

30th Annual Juried Photography Show | Ongoing | State of the Art Gallery, 120 W. Martin Luther King, Jr./ State Street, Ithaca | I See You (IC/CU) 2019 | Ongoing| Ink Shop Printmaking Center The, 330 E State St Ste 2, Ithaca | Thru 3/29. Transparent Memory : A group exhibit of analog and alternative photographic processes | 5:30 PM, 3/15 Friday | Corners Gallery, 903 Hanshaw Rd Ste 3, Ithaca | Transparent Memory is a fun and diverse exhibit featuring many interesting photographic works.

Film Cornell Cinema All films are shown at Willard Straight Hall on Cornell campus. Jessica: Video & Live Performance | 3/13, 7:00 PM | w/ filmmaker Maura Brewer in person presenting the third segment in her Jessica Chastain trilogy: “The Surface of Mars,” a meditation of Chastain’s role in “The Martian” and “Jessica Manafort.” If Beale Street Could Talk | 3/14, 6:45*; 3/15, 9:40 PM| w/ actress Dominique Thorne ’19 in person. A woman in Harlem embraces her pregnancy while she and her family struggle to prove her fiancé innocent of a crime. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse | 3/14, 9:40 PM (in 3D); 3/16, 7:00 PM (2D) & 9:30 (3D) | Teen Miles Morales becomes Spider-Man of his reality, crossing his path with five counterparts from other dimensions to stop a threat for all realities.

One-Day Felting Workshop | 10:00 AM, 3/16 Saturday | Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts, Congress at McLallen St, Trumansburg | Instructor: Denise Kooperman.| Cost: $100 (CayAC members receive 10% discount)

Mary Queen of Scots | 3/15, 7:00PM; 3/17, 4:30 | Mary Stuart’s attempt to overthrow her cousin Elizabeth I, Queen of England, finds her condemned to years of imprisonment before facing execution.

Atlantic Arias: Paintings of Coastal Ireland and Maine | 12:00 PM, 3/16 Saturday | North Star Art Gallery, 743 Snyder Hill Road, Ithaca | Thru 3/31.

Cold War | 3/16, 5:00 PM; 3/17, 7:15 PM | In the 1950s, a music director falls in love with a singer and tries to persuade her to flee communist Poland for France.

Paint with Sandy: Unicorns! | 1:30 PM, 3/16 Saturday | Candor Free Library, 2 Bank St, Candor | Call library at 607-659-7258 to register.

The Other Side of Everything | 3/19, 7:00PM | For Serbian filmmaker Mila Turajlic, a locked door in her mother’s apartment in Belgrade provides the gateway to both her remarkable family history and her country’s tumultuous political inheritance.

ArtSplash with Johanna | 1:00 PM, 3/17 Sunday | Candor Free Library, 2 Bank St, Candor | Mosaic art. Free;

FRIDAY, MARCH 15 AT 5:30 P.M.

THURSDAYS THRU SATURDAYS UNTIL MARCH 23 AT 7:00 PM

The Corners Gallery, 903 Hanshaw Rd. Suite 3, Ithaca | A group exhibit of analog and alternative photographic processes by several of your neighbors, friends and names you recognize such as Marina Delaney, Dede Hatch, Carol LaBorie, James Malenda, Mathea Millman, Randi Millman-Brown, Jon Reis, Taney Roniger, Kadie Salfi, and Stefan Zoller, as well as many others. Join them for the opening reception Friday evening.(photo: Justin Hjortshøj)

Risley Theater, Risley Drive, Cornell | A literary thriller written by Irish playwright Martin McDonagh. What happens when someone starts acting out the gruesome crimes described in one author’s stories? What responsibility do authors have regarding the influence of their content? (photo: provided)

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PHOTO EXHIBITION: TRANSPARENT MEMORY

HOUSE OF ITHAQUA PRESENTS: THE PILLOWMAN

I t h a c a T im e s 2 3

Heads UP

aple Fest! Coming to the Cayuga Nature Center on Sunday, March 17 (ITHACA, NY) Cayuga Nature Center’s annual Maple Fest! will be serving up a pancake breakfast, live music, and fascinating presentations for all ages on Sunday, March 17, 2019. Come feast on the wonderful pancakes created by Luna Catering. Breakfast will be served from 9 am-1 pm, and there will be live music in the Lodge between 10:00 am and 12:30 pm. Presentations will take place between 11 am and 2. The Cayuga Nature Center is located at 1420 Taughannock Blvd in Ithaca, NY, three miles south of Taughannock Falls State Park on Route 89. The Canaan Jazz Trio, playing jazz and swing from the 1920&#39;s-30&#39;s with a dash of Hank Williams thrown in, will be playing from 10:00-10:45am. Brookton Bridge, playing savory alt-folk-rock with a world beat twist, will be performing 11:00-12:30pm. They

feature all original music, with passionate vocal harmonies, acoustic and electric guitars, banjo, melodica, keys and congas. As in previous years, there are informative presentations available along with displays and your chance to visit with the many live Animal Ambassadors that make their home at the Cayuga Nature Center. At 11:00 am you can meet some of the Nature Center’s native avian Animal Ambassadors up close with Savannah Wilson, the Nature Center’s Animal Education Manager. At noon there is a Maple Tour with Dr. Brian Chabot, Professor Emeritus, Cornell University. Learn about maple sugar production and the impact of climate change with a walking tour of the Cayuga Nature Center’s maple trail. Professor Chabot is an expert on the ecology of sugar maple as a dominant forest tree species, the technologies used to

produce sugar sustainably, and the future of the maple sugar industry. Find out about the range of fish species in Cayuga Lake with Natalee Wrege, Manager of Aquatic Animals at 1 pm. Join Natalee on an exploration of Cayuga Lake’s aquatic biodiversity with the live animals featured in the Nature Center’s dual 650-gallon “Cayuga LakePast and Present” aquaria. This presentation will introduce visitors to some of the native, exotic and invasive species found in our local aquatic ecosystems. Learn about the changes that the Cayuga Lake Bioregion has endured over the 300 years and how humans have influenced these changes.

Daisy Hollow Farm will be on hand with their all-natural, handcrafted soaps, lotions, lip balms, deodorants, and salves. They will also be selling their handcrafted needle-felted soap scrubbies made using their own handdyed wool.

Maple Fest! Sunday, March 17, 2019 | 9 - 4 pm Cayuga Nature Center

Cinemapolis Week of Friday, March 15, 2019 through Thursday, March 21. Contact Cinemapolis for showtimes. New films listed first*. This Magnificent Cake (Ce magnifique gāteau!) * | An anthology film set in colonial Africa in the late 19th century telling the stories of 5 different characters: a troubled king, a middle-aged Pygmy working in a luxury hotel, a failed businessman on an expedition, a lost porter and a young army deserter.| 44 mins NR Climax* | French dancers gather in a remote, empty school building to rehearse on a wintry night. The all-night celebration morphs into a hallucinatory nightmare when they learn their sangria is laced with LSD. |97 mins R Birds of Passage (Pįjaros de verano) | During the marijuana bonanza, a violent decade that saw the origins of drug trafficking in Colombia, Rapayet and his indigenous family get involved in a war to control the business that ends up destroying their lives and their culture. | 125 mins

Wonder Park* | Wonder Park tells the story of a magnificent amusement park where the imagination of a wildly creative girl named June comes alive. | 85 mins PG

Alita: Battle Angel | A122 mins PG-13

Apollo 11 | A look at the Apollo 11 mission to land on the moon led by commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin.| 93 mins G

Five Feet Apart* | A pair of teenagers with life-threatening illnesses meet in a hospital and fall in love. | PG-13

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part |106 mins PG

Captain Marvel| Carol Danvers becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races. |124 mins PG-13

Bohemian Rhapsody| 134 mins PG-13

The Favourite| In early 18th century England, a frail Queen Anne occupies the throne and her close friend Lady Sarah governs the country in her stead. When a new servant, Abigail, arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah. |119 mins R The Invisibles (Die Unsichtbaren - Wir wollen leben) (NR) | While Joseph Goebbels infamously declared Berlin “free of Jews” in 1943, 1,700 managed to survive in the Nazi capital through the end of WWII. The Invisibles traces the stories of four young people who learned to hide in plain sight. |110 mins NR Regal Ithaca Wednesday, 3/13 through Tuesday, 3/19. Contact Regal Ithaca for showtimes. New films listed first. *

ThisWeek

Everybody Knows (Todos lo saben) | Laura returns to her hometown out-

side Madrid with her two children to attend her sister’s wedding. However, the trip is upset by unexpected events that bring secrets into the open. | 133 mins R

24 T

h e

A Madea Family Funeral| A joyous family reunion becomes a hilarious nightmare as Madea and the crew travel to backwoods Georgia, where they find themselves unexpectedly planning a funeral that might unveil unsavory family secrets. |109 mins PG-13 Fighting with My Family| A former wrestler and his family make a living performing at small venues around the country while his kids dream of joining World Wrestling Entertainment. |108 mins PG-13

Isn’t It Romantic| 88 mins PG-13 Happy Death Day 2U | 100 mins PG-13

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World | 104 mins PG

A Star Is Born| 136 mins R Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse | 117 mins PG Green Book | 130 mins PG-13

Special Events St. Patrick’s Day Ceili Dance | 6:30 PM, 3/16 Saturday | Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts, Congress at McLallen St, Trumansburg | Our annual St. Patrick’s Day Ceili Dance fundraiser includes live music provided by Three Stone Fire and dance instruction by Kathy Whitfield of Rince Na Saor Irish Dance Studio. | $5

THALASSA: A DIVE INTO THE DEEP - A CONTEMPORARY CIRCUS SHOW

FRIDAY, MARCH 15 AT 7:00 PM; SATURDAY MARCH 16 AT 2:00 PM

Circus Culture, 116 W. Green St., Ithaca | A special performance created by the Circus Culture Troupe with an underwater theme. How amazing to have our very own circus troupe right here in Ithaca! (photo: provided)

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Cayuga Nature Center’s Maple Fest! | 9:00 AM, 3/17 Sunday | Cayuga Nature Center, 1420 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca | Pancake breakfast, live music, vendors, and education activities for all ages! Feast on wonderful pancakes catered by Luna. Breakfast will be served from 9 am-1 pm. | Members: $10 adult, $5 Children, Age 3 and under Free, $25 Family(up to 5 people); Non- Members: $12 adult, $7 Children, Age 3 and Under Free, $35 Family 6th Annual Foodnet Mac ‘n Cheese Bowl | 11:30 AM, 3/23 Saturday | Ithaca High School, 1401 N Cayuga St, Ithaca | Benefit for Foodnet Meals on Wheels. 20 local restaurants and vendors will be whipping up their version of everyone’s favorite comfort food. Dancing for Life Fundraiser with The Ageless Jazz Band | 7:00 PM, 3/23 Saturday | Hotel Ithaca, 222 S Cayuga St, Ithaca | The Crisisline needs your help! Help them restore 24-hour service to the Crisisline by asking your family, friends, coworkers, and community to pitch in and donate! Dance performances start at 7 pm, followed by social dancing at 8:00 pm, with

refreshments, cash bar and a fabulous silent auction.

Books Visions of a Quantum Woman Margaret Rose Duns | 2:15 PM, 3/13 Wednesday | Buffalo Street Books, 215 N Cayuga St, Ithaca | Duns left the business world behind to train to teach Transcendental Meditation. She now lives in New York State and devotes her time to long meditations and activities validated by modern science to be powerful in the promotion of World Peace. Reading by Elissa Washuta | 4:30 PM, 3/14 Thursday | Rhodes-Rawlings Auditorium, G70 Klarman Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca | Washuta is a member of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and author of Starvation Mode and My Body Is a Book of Rules. Ken Liu - Sci-fi author | 4:30 PM, 3/18 Monday | Klarman Hall Room KG70, 232 East AVe, Ithaca | The Cornell Contemporary China Initiative of the East Asia Program is excited to host award-winning science fiction

THE ROYALE

RUNNING WEDNESDAYS THRU SUNDAYS UNTIL MARCH 31; CONTACT THEATER FOR SHOWTIMES.

The Kitchen Theatre, 417 W. State St., Ithaca | The Kitchen Theatre continues its stellar season with their latest show. Inspired by the story of ground-breaking boxer Jack Johnson, The Royale examines what it takes to gain a place in history. (photo: provided)

author and translator of ‘Three-body Problem’ trilogy.

Sciencenter Showtime! | 2:00 PM, 3/16 Saturday | Sciencenter, 601 1st St, Ithaca | General admission fees apply

Kids

LEGO Building Program | 3:00 PM, 3/16 Saturday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca |

Baby Yoga | 10:00 AM, 3/13 Wednesday | Ovid Fire Hall, 2136 Brown St., Ovid |

The Ugly Duckling | 3:00 PM, 3/17 Sunday | The State Theatre of Ithaca, 105 W State St, Ithaca | $8.00 - $12.00

Cuddle-up Infant & Toddler Library Time | 10:00 AM, 3/13 Wednesday | Southworth Library, 24 W. Main Street, Dryden |

Maker Mondays for Teens | 4:00 PM, 3/18 Monday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca | Tutorials will be provided for the Makerbot 3D Printer, Epilogue Helix Laser Cutter, and Cricut.

Toddler Yoga | 10:45 AM, 3/13 Wednesday | Ovid Fire Hall, 2136 Brown St., Ovid | Maker Kids | 3:45 PM, 3/13 Wednesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca | A drop-in craft and activity program. Each session will provide a range of activities for varying ages and ability levels; the program is most well suited to children ages 5 to 12. Sciencenter Science Together | Sciencenter, 601 1st St. , Ithaca | Tue/ Th @ 10:30AM and Wed/Fri @ 3:00PM. | General admission fees apply Cayuga Chamber Orchestra Family Concert | 4:00 PM, 3/14 Thursday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca | Children and families will be treated to a musical performance of ‘My Family Plays Music’ by Judy Cox. The storytime will include a quartet of CCO musicians and a special guest narrator. The performance will conclude with an opportunity for young audience members to try out an assortment of instruments. Preschool Storytime at Southworth Library | 10:00 AM, 3/15 Friday | Southworth Library, 24 W. Main Street, Dryden | Baby Storytime | 10:30 AM, 3/15 Friday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca | Additional session at 3:30 to 4:00 pm. Teen Movie Night | 6:30 PM, 3/15 Friday | Newfield Public Library, 198 Main St, Newfield | Marvel’s Venom. Rated PG-13. Family Storytime | 11:00 AM, 3/16 Saturday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca |

Notices Lansing Senior Citizens | 12:00 PM, 3/13 Wednesday | All Saints Church, 347 Ridge Road, Lansing | Dish to pass lunch, please bring your table service. Anyone is welcome to attend and you are not required to be a Lansing resident and there is no age limitation. Dues are $5 per year and are collected in March. Tim Ball will be playing some Irish tunes to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Ithaca Rotary Club Luncheon Speaker Series | 12:15 PM, 3/13 Wednesday | Coltivare, 235 S Cayuga St, Ithaca | Steven Sedlock and Christin Greven, Herson-Wagner Funeral Home on What to Know When Pre-Planning Your Final Wishes| $15 No-Fear Cover Letters | 1:30 PM, 3/13 Wednesday | Tompkins County Workforce Center, Center Ithaca, Suite 241 | The basics of writing a cover letter as well as suggestions for making it stand out and fun to write. Feel free to bring one you have written for a quick critique from peers and staff. Open Hearts Dinner | 5:00 PM, 3/13 Wednesday | McKendree UMC, 224

Owego St., Candor | Come and join in the fun. Whether you are looking for fellowship or a free meal this one’s for you. Contact: Denice Peckins denicepeckins@hotmail.com Candor Library Board of Trustees Meeting | 6:00 PM, 3/13 Wednesday | Candor Free Library, 2 Bank St, Candor | For more info call library: 659-7258. Ithaca Sociable Singles | 6:00 PM, 3/13 Wednesday | Dinner: Kilpatricks. Host:Carol W., RSVP:†cw27@ cornell.edu. NEXT: 3/20, 6:00 PM Dinner:Stella’s Barn. Host:Hans F.,RSVP:†hansfleischmann83@gmail. com The Most Notorious Brain in the Annals of Crime: The Story of Edward Rulloff: Serial Killer, Genius, Specimen | 7:00 PM, 3/13 Wednesday | Dryden Village Hall, 16 South St., Dryden | John Edward Rulloff was a 19th century doctor, lawyer, schoolmaster, photographer, inventor, phrenologist and philologist in addition to being a career criminal and serial killer. He was also known as the Genius Killer. After his execution in 1871, his brain was removed for study and is said to be the second largest brain on record. It currently resides in the Wilder Brain Collection at Cornell. Presented by Kate Dawson, Associate Professor, Journalism, University of Texas at Austin Wednesday Night Ithaca Women’s Basketball Association | 7:00 PM, 3/13 Wednesday | Lehman Alternative Community School, 111 Chestnut St, Ithaca | Engaging History: Monthly Study Groups with County Historian | 12:00 PM, 3/14 Thursday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca | Soup & Hope Speaker Series | 12:00 PM, 3/14 Thursday | Sage Chapel, Cornell, Ithaca | Angela Winfield Harvesting History | 6:00 PM, 3/14 Thursday | Ward W. O’Hara Agricultural and Country Living Museum, 6880 East Lake Road, Auburn | ‘Come Board The Train.’ Presented by Bruce Tracy. Third in our Winter Series of programs. Community Game Night | 6:30 PM, 3/14 Thursday | First Presbyterian Church, 315 N Cayuga St, Ithaca |

Advanced English as a Second Language Classes | 1:00 PM, 3/15 Friday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca | Crafting Your 60-Second Pitch Workshop | 1:30 PM, 3/15 Friday | Tompkins County Workforce Center, Center Ithaca, Suite 241, | Cabin Fever Dance | 7:00 PM, 3/15 Friday | Dryden VFW, 2272 Dryden Rd, Dryden | w/ live music! Sponsored by Finger Lakes Chapter 377 Vietnam Veterans of America. Open Mic Night | 7:00 PM, 3/15 Friday | Dryden Community Center Cafe, 1 W Main St, Dryden | Beginner Bird Walks | 8:30 AM, 3/16 Saturday | Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd, Ithaca | Guided bird walks every Saturday and Sunday morning, starting at 8:30 a.m., sponsored by the Cayuga Bird Club. Targeted toward beginners, but appropriate for all. Binoculars available for loan. HistoryForge Data Entry Bee Party | 11:00 AM, 3/16 Saturday | Tompkins Center for History and Culture, 110 N Tioga St., Ithaca | Come volunteer at our next transcription bee! Light refreshments will be served with lots of fun and an educational opportunity that will make Ithaca history come alive. Bring a laptop if possible. Community Concert and Family Fun Event Benefit for Local Superhero Liam Hickey | 3:00 PM, 3/16 Saturday | Spencer Van Etten High School, 16 Dartts Crossroad, Spencer | Liam has been diagnosed with a rare form of skeletal dysplasia and recently underwent major surgery on both legs. Events include Live local bands, SUPERHERO dress up contest, face painting, superhero photo booth, raffles, bakesale & more! Bring the whole family and join in the fun while supporting an amazing 4 year old SUPERHERO! | Admission $1 Child, $3 Adult, $10 Family Finger Lakes Finns Annual Finnish Trivia Quiz Show | 1:00 PM, 3/17 Sunday | Newfield Fire Hall, 77 Main St. , Newfield | Preceded by a delicious potluck luncheon. Come to compete and learn! Questions will cover geography, history, foods,

customs and trivia. A fun learning experience with Finnish-related prizes for top 3 teams! Employment & Training Workshop | 10:00 AM, 3/18 Monday | Tompkins County Workforce Center, Center Ithaca, Suite 241, | This orientation will cover the information needed to possibly obtain funding for training for eligible job seekers. Save the Rain | 6:00 PM, 3/18 Monday | The Space at GreenStar, 700 W Buffalo St, Ithaca | The program is a comprehensive stormwater management plan intended to reduce pollution to Onondaga Lake and its tributaries. Hosted by the U.S. Green Building Council and Corning Incorporated.| $15/20 American Red Cross. Blood Drive | 1:30 PM, 3/19 Tuesday | Enfield Fire Hall, 172 Enfield Main Rd, Ithaca | Hosted by the Enfield Volunteer Fire Company. Call 273-1900 for an appointment. Walk-ins are always welcome. Women, Money and Tech | 5:00 PM, 3/19 Tuesday | REV Ithaca, 314 E State St, Ithaca | The Upstate Capital Association of New York is hosting its second event focused on female founders and investors. | $0-$75 SCCC & Waterloo Rotary Farmers’ Market Committee Meeting | 6:00 PM, 3/19 Tuesday | Seneca County Cooperative Extension Office, Main Street Shop Center - 3rd Floor, Waterloo | If you want to explore this exciting option for your products or just learn more about the market. Comic Book Club of Ithaca -- Sneak Preview of Ithacon 44 | 7:00 PM, 3/19 Tuesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca | This year’s Ithacon will take place on March 23 & 24 at Ithaca College, co-sponsor of the show, and it all started w-a-y back in 1976 with the Comic Book Club of Ithaca! Join us for an insider look at the guest list and the activities planned.

Health S.A.I.L. Into Fitness | Classes held at Juniper Manor, Lifelong, & Brookton-

dale Fire Station. Contact Lifelong for specific days and times. Yoga for Beginners | 9:00 AM, 3/13 Wednesday | Ovid Fire Hall, 2136 Brown St., Ovid | Midday Group Sing | 12:10 PM, 3/13 Wednesday | Community School Of Music And Arts, 330 E State St, Ithaca | Drop ins welcome. Mid-Day Mindfulness Meditation | 12:15 PM, 3/13 Wednesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca | Tai Chi Spring Classes | 2:00 PM, 3/13 Wednesday | Candor Emergency Squad building, 58 Main Street, Candor | $1-$3/class Exercise Class for Seniors | 8:30 AM, Tuesdays & Thursdays | Newfield Public Library, 198 Main St. , Newfield | Tai Chi | Classes held at Lansing Library, Titus Towers, Brooktondale Community Center, and Lifelong. Contact Lifelong for specific days and times. Prostate Cancer Group | 5:30 PM, 3/14 Thursday | Cancer Resource Center Of The Finger Lakes Helpline, 612 W State St, Ithaca | Take off Pounds Sensibly | 6:00 PM, 3/14 Thursday | Candor Town Hall, 101 Owego Road, Candor | Contact Jean Dewey 659-9969 or jmdewey@ frontiernet.net Sacred Chanting with Damodar Das Kirtan | 7:00 PM, 3/15 Friday | Foundation of Light, 391 Turkey Hill Rd, Ithaca | Kids are welcome; easy & fun spiritual practice; open to all faiths; no prior experience required. | free admission with $10 suggested donation Sacred Sunday Community at Yoga Farm | 9:00 AM, 3/17 Sunday | Yoga Farm, 404 Conlon Rd, Lansing | Open Meditation | 10:30 AM, 3/17 Sunday | Foundation of Light, 391 Turkey Hill Road, Ithaca | Dance Church Ithaca | 11:30 AM, 3/17 Sunday | Fine Spirit Studio, 201 Dey Street, 2nd Floor, Ithaca | A free-movement and conscious dance experience for all ages held weekly. | $5 suggested donation Butoh dance class series | 3:00 PM, 3/17 Sunday | Tompkins County Public

SUNDAY, MARCH 17 AT 3:00 PM

The State Theatre of Ithaca, 105 W. State St. | It’s time for the kids this Sunday at The State. America’s Got Talent Season 7 Semifinalists Lightwire Theater will deliver a unique visual experience using neon puppet creatures. See the classic tale of the last hatchling who is treated as an outsider by Mother Duck and her ducklings. He may be the best swimmer of the brood, but this alone is not enough to ensure his acceptance. (photo: provided)

SATURDAY, MARCH 16 AT 7:30 PM

Lincoln Hall, Room B-20, Cornell | The shō is a Japanese free-reed instrument with a sound that is said to imitate the call of a phoenix from Greek Mythology. Chatori Shimizu is a New York City based composer, shō performer, and sound artist, who constructs his works for a wide range of mediums concerning sound and space. (photo: provided)

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THE UGLY DUCKLING

CHATORI SHIMIZU, JAPANESE SHŌ PERFORMANCE

I t h a c a T im e s 2 5

Town & Country

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10 Newspapers

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and packing. May use hands, rake, shov-

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