Archive: Around Town

A group of five New Roots Charter School students participated in the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA-NY) Winter Conference in Saratoga Springs, NY last weekend.  The students, all members of the New Roots Urban Gardening and Farm to School Clubs (plus a New Roots teacher, staff member and parent chaperone), came together with farmers, gardeners, students, activists, leaders, consumers and others from around the state to network and learn more about organic agriculture, products and services.

Washington, DC (January 24, 2011)—Eighteen carsharing organizations around the world have announced formation of an association that sets the ethical, social and environmental bar for the carsharing industry. The driving principles of the new CarSharing Association (CSA) focus on environmental and social impact and responsibility, education, research and ethical practices (www.carsharing.org).

The goals of carsharing organizations in the CSA include reducing the number of cars on the road, relieving congestion, and increasing transportation options. Unlike “cars on demand” services, member carsharing organizations are “transit-oriented” services, encouraging carsharing as part of a sustainable transportation network of choices that includes walking, cycling, and transit.

SewGreen is contributing one hundred girls' dresses to an organization called Little Dresses for Africa. Over the past summer and fall, volunteers sewed the dresses, which are made from pillowcases. They will be shipped to orphanages and schools in central Africa. The dresses were made by SewGreen students as young as eight, and by teen apprentices and adults from the community.

To memorialize their beloved son Lee, Paul and Leslie Strebel wanted to plan something special for the SPCA of Tompkins County. Lee passed away on February 17, 2006 at the age of 15. On Friday, January 28th, he would have been 20 years old.

All-sports radio has been on the air in Tompkins County for years.  But on November 1st a switch was pulled, and the local ESPN affiliate started broadcasting from Lansing.  That was the day the sale of the station closed, putting Todd Mallinson in place as WPIE 1160ESPN's General Manager and co-owner with his wife Tina.  That meant an upgrade for listeners in local programming with an all-new staff broadcasting from a new studio on North Triphammer Road.

"We have significantly increased the local content," Mallinson says.  "We brought in Matt Schultz as our operations Manager and Host of Between the Lines, which airs between 4 and 5 in the afternoon.  It's all local content.  He's interacting with coaches and athletes and other people in media who have say and insight on other teams."

Hey there, my name is Tiggi. I am a two-year-old domestic short hair/mix. I'm a gorgeous girl who is looking for a loving home, so please come and visit me at the SPCA to see if I'm the right cat for you!

Visit the SPCA Web Page

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Cornell Plantations announced the successful protection of a ten-acre addition to the Caroline Pinnacles Natural Area in the Town of Caroline. The addition, which was acquired through a land trade and donation, increases Plantations’ protected lands within the Bald Hill and Caroline Pinnacles Natural Areas to 254 acres.

“Our interest in protecting the Caroline Pinnacles originates from the educational value it possesses and the significance of its unique natural features,” stated Todd Bittner, director of the Cornell Plantations Natural Areas program.  “For the past 150 years, naturalists, botanists and Cornell students have explored the steeply sloping hillsides to study the area’s unique environments.”

Conservation paleobiologists—scientists who use the fossil record to understand the evolutionary and ecological responses of present-day species to changes in their environment – are putting the dead to work.

A new review of the research in this emerging field provides examples of how the fossil record can help assess environmental impact, predict which species will be most vulnerable to environmental changes and provide guidelines for restoration.

Imagine being cared for by a single individual your whole life, almost never seeing another living soul. Then suddenly, your guardian is gone and you are in a new place with new people, noises and smells. You get poked and prodded and the food you are given isn’t what you are used to.

That’s how six cats who have come to the SPCA feel right now. Their guardian has passed away and as many as 20 cats who were living in the home need our help. In small batches, we are taking them in, providing medical treatment and spaying/neutering them. The shelter cannon accommodate all 20 cats at once so it is important to find them new homes as soon as possible.

Writing is a solitary endeavor, so many writers form groups at which they can share works in progress and get feedback.  Next Wednesday a group of Lansing writers will celebrate their group's first anniversary with a reading, 'Lansing Writers Read.'  The reading promises a variety of pieces and genres from a mix of area writers.  The reading will feature fiction and non-fiction with a sprinkling of limericks, all made better by input by fellow writers.

"I feel the group has done a really good job of providing level, constructive criticism," says Vickey Beaver, who founded the group a year ago next Thursday.  "We are honest about what we like and don't like.  Doug (Baird) and I often find ourselves on opposite sides.  The exchange of opinions is professional and everybody is mindful that we are still human beings.  We don't try to rip each other apart."

Two weeks ago marked a milestone for the Tompkins County Solid Waste Department with the retirement of Linnet Short.  Short concluded a career with the Solid Waste department that spanned 23 years, three locations, and a lot of history.  She is responsible for educating thousands of local kids and adults on the benefits of reusing materials that can be reused, and recycling the rest.  Her lifelong fascination with the potential of reuse led to powerful and innovative programs that helped put Tompkins County in the forefront of recycling.

"My grandmother was a women that never threw away anything," Short recalls.  "She would save donut boxes, so when she made cookies she could put them in them to take home so the cookies weren't all smuched when you got them home.  She got me thinking that if you could reuse a donut box, how could you reuse a milk jug?  She showed me how she hung them around her garden to chase off wild animals.  I really liked what my grandmother was doing, and it grew from there.  When the opportunity arose to work here I just took it."

Hey there, my name is Henrietta. I am a two-year-old domestic shorthair/mix. I'm a gorgeous girl who is looking for a loving home, so please come and visit me at the SPCA soon!

Visit the SPCA Web Page

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