Archive: News

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Tuesday that Ohio, Michigan and Virginia have been added to New York State's COVID-19 travel advisory. No areas have been removed. The advisory requires individuals who have traveled to New York from areas with significant community spread to quarantine for 14 days. The quarantine applies to any person arriving from an area with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a 7-day rolling average or an area with a 10 percent or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average.

In 'Red Zone' focus areas included as part of the Governor's Cluster Action Initiative, the positivity rate for test results reported yesterday is 4.13 percent - up from the 3.70 percent the day before. The "Red Zone" focus areas are home to 2.8 percent of state's population, yet had 12.3 percent of all positive cases reported yesterday to New York State.

Tompkins County Area Development announced Wednesday that it has been awarded a $404,170 Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) grant to bring a 17-mile long fiber broadband trunk extension from Ithaca to the future location of a  data center in Lansing.  The Internet trunk line is a crucial element in converting the now-closed coal-fired power plant in the north-west of the Town into a state of the art 100 MW cloud data center, and may bring high speed Internet to under-served areas in Lansing.

"As we have seen during this pandemic, access to the Internet is critically important. Businesses, first responders, healthcare institutions, schools, and, of course, residents, need a more reliable, high speed, lifeline to the rest of the world,” said Tompkins County Area Development President Heather McDaniel, CEcD. "Safety and economic prosperity are increasingly dependent upon this resource, which has been lacking in much of Tompkins County. Tompkins County Area Development is excited to announce it has received a $404,170 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission to support a 17-mile extension of fiber optic cable from Ithaca along the east side of Cayuga Lake to the former Cayuga Coal Plant. "This ‘middle mile’ fiber will ultimately enable the delivery of high-speed internet service that has been sorely needed by residents and businesses in Tompkins County."

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today appointed 23 members to a new commission that will oversee the creation of a statue honoring the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The commission includes members of Justice Ginsburg's family, close friends, esteemed colleagues, and other leaders. The commission will provide recommendations to the Governor regarding the artist, design, location and installation of the memorial statue.

"Last month I announced New York State will honor the life and legacy of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with a statue in her native Brooklyn. Now I'm releasing a list of the 19 members that we have appointed to the commission who will oversee the creation of the statue. Justice Ginsburg will forever stand as a singular figure in history, unmatched in her pursuit of justice and equality under the law for all Americans. Only the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court, Justice Ginsburg was a tireless champion for women's rights and throughout her lifetime brilliantly navigated a complex landscape of gender-based discrimination to ultimately ascend to the highest court in the land. She leveraged that position to fiercely advocate for equal rights and ensure those who followed in her footsteps would face fewer obstacles along the way," Cuomo said. "Ruth Bader Ginsburg embodied a set of ideals often missing in today's civic dialogue - she showed us reason, empathy and hope. Her legacy as a jurist, professor, lawyer and scholar will endure for generations and we are honored to erect a permanent statue in memory of Justice Ginsburg. Lord knows she deserves it."

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today signed into law legislation (S.8598/A.10628) designating Juneteenth as an official public holiday in New York State. The new law celebrates Juneteenth, a day which commemorates the end to slavery and celebrates Black and African American freedom and achievements, while encouraging continuous self-development and respect for all cultures. Earlier this year, Governor Cuomo issued an Executive Order recognizing Juneteenth as a holiday for New York State employees.

"I am incredibly proud to sign into law this legislation declaring Juneteenth an official holiday in New York State, a day which commemorates the end to slavery in the United States," Cuomo said. "This new public holiday will serve as a day to recognize the achievements of the Black community, while also providing an important opportunity for self-reflection on the systemic injustices that our society still faces today."

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Wednesday that New York State will withhold funds for localities and schools in COVID-19 cluster zones that fail to enforce public health laws. The New York State Department of Health will send a letter warning local governments in cluster zones that they will lose state funding if they fail to enforce state limits on gatherings and the closure of schools. The letter will be sent to New York City, Orange County, Rockland County, the Town of Ramapo and the Village of Spring Valley.

Cuomo also announced that DOH will send an additional letter warning public and private schools in cluster zones that they will lose state funding if they do not comply with state requirements on closure and testing.

The Bag Waste Reduction Law, often referred to as a plastic bag ban, prohibits the distribution of plastic carryout bags by anyone required to collect New York State sales tax. More information about the law can be found at the NYS DEC website.

A local law is also in effect that applies a $.05 fee to all paper bags provided to customers of retail establishments in Tompkins County. This incentivizes the repeated use of durable, reusable bags. The fee does not apply to recipients of SNAP and WIC. Part of the revenue from the paper bag fee is used towards distributing reusable bags to lower income residents.

(Ithaca, NY – October 12, 2020) – The Tompkins County Health Department received notification of a confirmed COVID-19 death, the first of a Tompkins County resident. The individual was admitted to Cayuga Medical Center on October 6th, and passed away from complications related to the disease on October 12th. The individual was an elderly hospitalized patient. To maintain medical privacy, the Health Department will not be releasing additional information at this time.

“Our deepest sympathy goes out to the family affected by this loss. This passing is a difficult reminder that COVID-19 is still having serious impacts on our community,” stated Frank Kruppa, Tompkins County Public Health Director. “I urge everyone to pay careful attention to what we can all do to stop the spread. While our ability to manage the disease in Tompkins County has increased, we’re tragically reminded that COVID-19 disproportionately impacts older adults, those who are immune-compromised and those with underlying health conditions.”

New York's municipalities collected nearly $17 billion in sales tax revenue in 2019, representing 9.7 percent of all local government revenue, according to a comprehensive report on local sales tax released today by State Comptroller DiNapoli. Every county and city in the state, along with many towns and villages, depend on these funds to pay for essential services and operations, revealing the statewide impact of the revenue losses from the pandemic.

"COVID-19 has decimated local sales tax revenue this year, blowing holes in the budgets of municipalities across New York State," DiNapoli said. "As we work to rebuild our economy, we must also help repair the damage that has already been inflicted. Just as our Main Street small businesses can't rebuild alone, our local governments don't have the means to do this themselves. Direct aid from the federal government is needed to help our communities recover."

Two new polls found Tracy Mitrano is only 7 points behind Reed in the 2020 23rd New York District congressional race. The poll says Reed led Mitrano by 12 points in July, but as more people learn about his record the gap has decreased to single digits. The latest poll found 40% favoring Mitrano, to Reed's 47%.

This year Mitrano is challenging Reed for the second time. In 2018 Reed won 130,323 to Mitrano's 109,932 votes. The district comprises eleven counties: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tompkins and Yates county along with parts of Ontario, and Tioga counties. Tompkins County was included when redistricting in 2013 re-formed the boundaries of the 23rd District.  Tompkins County was the most liberal portion of the largely conservative district.  The polls reports that the district is now swinging in the direction the Democratic party.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Tuesday that New Mexico has been added to New York State's COVID-19 travel advisory. No areas have been removed. The advisory requires individuals who have traveled to New York from areas with significant community spread to quarantine for 14 days. he quarantine applies to any person arriving from an area with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a 7-day rolling average or an area with a 10 percent or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average.

"Mass gatherings cause infections, which cause a cluster; a cluster causes community spread - that is the natural evolution of things unless we intervene and stop the cycle," Governor Cuomo said. "We've seen it in colleges, factory settings around the country, in apple plants around New York, a single restaurant on Long Island - we've even seen in the Rose Garden that mass gatherings spread this virus. We're seeing clusters now in several areas in the state and we have to stop the spread before we go backwards on the progress we've made."

Tompkins County Budget Public Forum Taking Place October 7, 7pm, Public Comment Opportunities

Tompkins County Administrator Jason Molino and Legislator Martha Robertson, Chair of the Budget, Capital, and Personnel Committee will hold a public forum on the 2021 budget on Wednesday, October 7, at 7pm. Members of the public are invited to view the forum and participate via public comment. The Tompkins County budget constitutes nearly $200 million and supports 30 departments serving the public. The County Legislature is seeking public input on where the County invests public funds in its 2021 budget, and an opportunity to share priorities with the community.

More discussion of the Lansing Meadows project dominated the Village of Lansing Board of Trustees meeting Monday.Developer Eric Goetzmann (Arrowhead Ventures) continued his plea for two changes to the governing Planned Development Area (PDA) that would facilitate subdividing individual triplex units and allow separate water meters for each unit. Trustees continued to express concern about future development on the site and frustration with multiple changes that have pushed the project nearly a decade past the building of the other significant portion of the PDA: BJ's Wholesale Club.

Goetzmann is asking the Trustees to allow smaller than usual lot sizes and road frontages because the townhouses would each have a different owner, but are physically attached.  The allowable lot size would be reduced from 10,000 square feet to 2,600 because of the size of the smallest unit in the already constricted triplexes.  The amount of road frontage would have also to be reduced, as well as allowing zero space between parcels because the triplex units actually share dividing walls.