Archive: Around Town

A large crowd of gardeners could be found at Lansing Elementary School Saturday as volunteers spent the day creating a pollinator garden next to the District Office.  The garden was the brainchild of Elementary School Special Education teacher Wendy Wright and parent Lisa Scanlon.  Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, elementary students and parents were among the many people who came out to plant ten raised garden beds.

"We have boy scouts, students from the elementary, middle and high schools and their parents that are planting the elementary school pollinator garden," Wright said.   "We'll have perennials around the edge of our pollinator garden to try to attract butterflies and songbirds.  There is some coneflower which will bring goldfinches in August.  A lot of birds that need little seeds will come, and we're hoping to plant some tall sunflowers that will bring a lot of different pollinators and birds.  We'll have chickadees and nuthatches."

A free public summit at the end of this month will bring together people who work or live in Tompkins County to examine this area’s growing shortage of housing, its effects, and how we can work together to develop community-based solutions to this problem.
 
The Tompkins County Housing Summit:  “A place for all of us.  Housing by choice or by chance?” will take place November 30-December 1, and everyone is invited to join in taking an intensive look at the county’s housing shortage and how we can address it.
 

Ithaca, NY. – Sue Dale-Hall, CEO of the Child Development Council, announced that Michelle Courtney Berry has been named to the newly-created, temporary, part-time position of 50th Anniversary Campaign and Celebration Manager.  Berry is a business owner and former elected official who has been a member of the faculty and guest lecturer teaching marketing, public relations, media relations and ethics to undergraduate and graduate students at Binghamton University, Cornell University and Ithaca College.

She holds a Master's Degree in Communication from Cornell University and a dual Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature and Political Science from Binghamton University. She is also a former spokesperson for the City of Ithaca and Cornell University's Business School who once covered The White House and Capitol Hill as a TV reporter and worked for an advertising and PR agency.

by Trish Mullin

Handsome Tequito is a wonderful loving gentleman, but he can be a little nervous of strangers at times. His eyes can melt hearts. Tequito is house broken, doesn't destroy things when left alone, and is crate trained. He loves to play ball, and get scratches from humans he trusts! Since we've found that Tequito can be a bit nervous around new people, and is still learning how to share his food and toys, a quiet home with high school-aged children or older would be best. Come in and meet this sweet boy today - he's one of a kind!

Visit the SPCA Web Page

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New York State Senator Michael F. Nozzolio was honored earlier this week by his alma mater, Cornell University.

During the ceremony, Cornell President Hunter Rawlings, on behalf of the Cornell Board of Trustees, presented Nozzolio with a replica of the McGraw Clock Tower, an iconic symbol of the University.

Dear Margaret: My husband and I get together with another couple on a perhaps monthly basis and the wife is beginning to drive me crazy. She seems to know EVERYTHING! When it is apparent that she doesn't know about a subject, she makes stuff up and responds with an air of confidence and superiority. She, of course, knows more than me on every subject. She's a bore and I hate being in her company. This doesn't seem to bother my husband. He laughs it off. How can I stop her in her tracks when she does this?
Living with a Martyr
 

	For more Wizarding Weekend pictures check out 'Harry Potter Comes to Ithaca', also in this issue.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Where else but Ithaca could you find Bellatrix LaStrange, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape and Rowena Ravenclaw all in one place, and not trying to kill each other? Professors McGonnagle, Trelawny, and even Gilderoy Lockhart were there, along with Harry, Hermione, Katie Bell, Cho Chang and even Alberforth Dumbledore (who used a delightful magical device to take what he called a 'selfie' with his no longer estranged brother Albus.

Read more ...

Tompkins County announced that it is exploring the purchase of the Tompkins Trust Building on the Ithaca Commons to serve as a new home for The History Center in Tompkins County and a proposed heritage education center.  As a part of that exploration, the County Legislature's Government Operations Committee is being asked to approve a $15,000 appropriation to undertake a structural, mechanical, and codes assessment of the building.  If approved, the request for funds for the assessment will go to the full Legislature for a vote on November 15th.

The potential purchase is being considered in advance of the expiration of The History Center's 25-year lease in the Gateway Commons Building at the end of 2018.  Over the past year, the Center and key partners have been reviewing alternative downtown locations, including the Tompkins Trust building, which will be vacated in 2018 when the bank moves employees to its new Seneca Street headquarters.  The group identified the building's location, architectural character, and visibility as important advantages.

Wizarding Weekend transformed Ithaca into Hogwartds and surrounding magic places.  Our intrepid photographer found the secret train platform and wisked over to Hogwarts to photograph the event.  In addition, this week's Within Reach column provides an inside look at Wizarding Weekend.

Dear Margaret: My roommate is a chronic complainer. The whole world is against him and no one understands him. His reasoning is that everyone is jealous of him and this is a cross he has to bear. He comes home from work with daily with tales of his latest victimization. I can barely stand it. I have taken to making up tales of woe of my own that sound worse than his so he’ll feel like someone has it worse and shut up. It hasn’t worked, and he seems to be getting angry now when I use this tactic. I’m pretty much at my wits end with him. I’d like to enjoy my free time without this continual assault to my peace and quiet. How can I get my point across that I’m not interested in his daily tales of crucifixion?
Living with a Martyr