Archive: Around Town

A group of seven women will represent the agricultural bounty of the Finger Lakes region at the James Beard Foundation's Finger Lakes Winter Fantasy event in New York City on January 18, 2020.

The team of seven women is made up of culinary and beverage leaders of the Finger Lakes, including Susanne Messmer of Lively Run Dairy, Samantha Buyskes of Simply red Events and Culinary Adventures, Trish Aser of Brown Hound Downtown, Linnea Shumway of FLX Hospitality, Claire Rey Benjamin of Rue Claire Lavender Farm & Artisan Chocolate, Nancy Irelan of Red Tail Ridge Winery, and Autumn Stoscheck of Eve's Cidery.

The Ithaca City School District (ICSD) will host a culminating gallery event for the Soul of the Earth Art Project involving third graders across the district. On January 13, 2020, third graders will visit Ithaca High School's Performing Arts Center where student work will be displayed in the lobby area. Students will get a chance to view their work and enjoy a concert by the Honey Child Soul Quintet. The group will perform songs that inspired the art work.

Teaching Artist and Honey Child Soul Quintet member Elisa S. Keeler began visiting third grade art classes in Fall 2019. Using a flute inspired by the Anasazi and Hopi people, Keeler led students through guided art exploration with the live flute music as inspiration. In collaboration with the art teachers, students learned about the history of the instrument and the cultural background of this music, also connecting to the social studies curriculum.

Code Red Robotics, the Ithaca High School robotics team, is competing in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition. Annually a new game is released and the team enters a six-week build season to build a robot for competition.

During the summer months, the team's focus has been community service and outreach. As a team, students participated in numerous robot demonstrations at locations such as Caroline Elementary School and the Sciencenter, where they were able to demonstrate their robot to the broader Ithaca community. Additionally, Code Red volunteered at events including AIDS Ride for Life, Taughannock Falls State Park, and the Cayuga Triathlon. Individually, members were able to help the community by volunteering with organizations like the Sciencenter, Tompkins County Habitat for Humanity, Cornell University, other IHS clubs, and the SPCA.

It is flu season and Tompkins County often experiences a peak of flu illness during January and February when holiday travelers return to the area. The CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine for everyone 6 months of age and older as the first and most important step in protecting against seasonal flu viruses. If you haven’t gotten your flu vaccine yet, now’s the time!

The flu can make even healthy people very sick. It can also cause serious complications for children younger than 5, pregnant women, people 65 years and older and people with certain chronic health conditions. Flu vaccination can reduce flu illnesses, doctors’ visits, missed work due to flu, as well as prevent flu -related hospitalizations and death.

By Adam Kramarsyck

Hello there, my name is Baby Nonsense. I'm a gentle, older fella with some stories to tell ya. I'm shy and still adjusting to the shelter so please introduce yourself to me calmly. I'd prefer to come to you, so try sitting and talking softly to me. I'll return your conversation with a whisper of a meow. As a result of my lack of teeth, you'll notice that my tongue tends to slip out of my mouth. If you have a nice calm household and you're looking for a feline to match, come visit me today!

Visit the SPCA Web Page

v16i1

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Tuesday a comprehensive proposal to fight incessant robocalls or nuisance calls. This multi-pronged legislative package will require telecommunications companies to deploy technology that allows customers to block suspected robocalls. As technology improves to identify and stop these nuisance calls, or robocallers try to find new ways to circumvent these efforts, telecom companies will be required to update their blocking technology to protect their consumers. The proposal will also require providers to quickly adopt widely available technology that warns consumers about potential robocalls and scams, including those not originating from New York numbers. The proposal would also ramp up financial penalties against companies who do not comply with New York's "Do Not Call Law."

"New Yorkers pay good money for their phone service but are still being hounded by millions of robocalls every day. With this measure, we're saying to telecom companies - get off the sidelines and stop transmitting these harassing calls to your customers or we will hold you accountable," Cuomo said. "Illegal robocallers will not be let off the hook either, and we are stepping up enforcement and doubling fines against anyone who violates New York's 'Do Not Call' Law."

The budget is approved and elections are over.  Both results went into effect Wednesday, at the start of the new year.  After a year in which many things have been accomplished for the Town, Town Supervisor Ed LaVigne hinted at what's to come in the December board meeting, talking about future projects and working with the new board. 

"These last four years have been very good," LaVigne said.  "One of the hardest thing when you run for reelection, they say, what have you accomplished?  I don't really keep track and I haven't accomplished anything. We've accomplished a lot. And I think as we continue to bring our town up to the 21st century, we have a lot of good people with good ideas and a lot of them have a wide lens. And that's all good."

When the Lansing Star took an exclusive tour of the Ithaca-Tompkins Regional Airport four weeks ago, the promise that the major renovation that increases the terminal size by 40% and adds a new U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility seemed... well... unlikely.  But when the press got to tour the facility last Friday, it was all finished except a punch list of minor fixes and finishes.  Passengers were using the gates and the bar in the new concourse, the kids play area, and the expanded check-in counters.  The canopy over the front walkway was an especially nice amenity in the current rainy and snowy weather.

"The good news is that the Ithaca-Tompkins International Airport is fully open for business at this point," said Airport Manager Mike Hall. "During the course of the year we opened pieces of the terminal as we were able to complete them.  We now are open for what, at this time of the year, is the most important part of the terminal, which is our new arrival/departure concourse, and the jet bridges.  The jet bridges are critical because -- I think anybody that's been here in the past few weeks has seen some bad winter storms.  There's a lot of ice out on the ramp.  The safety of our passengers is paramount, and they're coming and going through jet bridges now, which keeps them free of the inclement weather."

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced this month that opioid overdose deaths among New York State residents, outside New York City, declined 15.9 percent in 2018 compared to 2017, the first decrease in 10 years. While close to 2,000 people tragically died from opioid overdoses last year, the decrease remains a significant milestone and is the result of several aggressive actions taken by the Governor over the past several years to combat opioid addiction.

These actions are outlined in the new Heroin and Opioid Task Force Progress Report detailing three years of work and improvements to expand and enhance services aimed at combatting the opioid crisis. The Task Force recommendations were signed into law in 2016.

December is HIV Awareness Month and as 2020 approaches, it is time to reflect on the goal of ending the AIDS epidemic in New York State. In 2014, Governor Cuomo and the New York State Department of Health launched the “End the Epidemic 2020” campaign to end the infection of one person by another in New York State by the end of 2020.

The campaign was launched because new advances in HIV testing, treatment and preventive medications make ending the epidemic possible. HIV testing is easy to obtain from your practitioner or clinic through expedited consent policies. Testing can often be done on site with results in minutes and you can know your result and discuss it at the same visit.

By Adam Kramarsyck

Oh, hello there. My name is Doc. I'm an older fella who is looking for a calm, quiet home to relax in. I have difficulty hearing and my vision isn’t as great as it used to be, but I’ve got plenty of years left to share with you. I'm easy to sneak up on due to my failing senses but I enjoy gentle scratches on my shoulders and chin once I know you're there. I might be open to living with a dog but would prefer that they show me the respect that a man of my stature deserves. Wouldn’t you like to provide my gentle self with a retirement home? Come visit me today and we can grow older together!

Visit the SPCA Web Page

v15i46