Archive: News

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli proposed a program Tuesday to remediate contamination and establish an industry-supported fund to recover damages caused by accidents related to natural gas production.  The proposed legislation would apply to current drilling operations as well as to proposed high-volume hydraulic fracturing.  

“New York has begun to debate the many serious issues related to the production of natural gas from the Marcellus shale,” DiNapoli said.   “The only current remedy for private citizens who suffer damages to their property from natural gas production is to enter into litigation, which has the potential to be costly, difficult and slow."

The Lansing Board of Education accepted the first reading of a class size policy that reaffirms a policy passed in 2005.  The policy instructs the Superintendent to consider options to reduce the student to teacher ratio when class sizes exceed 25 in grades 5-12, or 18 in K-4.  Superintendent Stephen Grimm said the policy will serve as a starting point when next year's budget discussions begin.

"That's a very important policy because as we move into this next budget round we talked about class sizes," he said.  "The next level is do we cut programs or increase class sizes.  If we need to do something we'll talk about changing this policy.  We want to readopt it now to serve as a base line for what was established in 2005.  Then when the budget season comes if we need to make a decision related to class size this board will have to change that policy."

In the first of two sessions seeking input from municipal leaders, the County’s Redistricting Commission on Tuesday heard from two Town Supervisors concerning how the apportionment of County legislative districts could affect their municipalities.

Ithaca Town Supervisor Herb Engman, whose town’s representation is currently split among seven County legislators, urged that his town’s population be reapportioned differently in the plan based on the 2010 Census that the Commission will recommend.

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After a dramatic defeat in a bid to become the candidate for Lansing Town Supervisor last week's Democratic Caucus, Deputy Supervisor Connie Wilcox said she would be filing as an independent.  This week she made good on that promise, officially announcing her candidacy at the Lansing Fire Commissioner's meeting.  Wilcox said that the Democratic candidate represents special interests in the town.  She promised to continue to provide good services while keeping taxes down.

"I'm running on the 'no special interest' party line," she declared.  "The Republicans have put no one up for Supervisor.  69 people could have more or less decided the election last thursday night.  I decided not to take it lying down.  I have worked hard for the Town over the past eight years, so I am running as an independent."

If you you break a finger or a toe you normally just go to your doctor, or take yourself to the emergency room.  But a surprising number of people call 911 even when they don't have a serious or life-threatening emergency.  Fire Departments across the nation call these 'alpha calls'.  As of last Tuesday Lansing Fire Chief Scott Purcell says the Lansing Fire Department will no longer respond to alpha calls.

"People were driving hot with red lights and sirens to an alpha call that was only a broken finger," Purcell says.  "People were getting in accidents.  We're trying to prevent that."

Public Hearing on Road Preservation Law Scheduled August 16
The Legislature, without dissent, authorized a public hearing on the County’s proposed Road Preservation Law.  The hearing will take place on August 16, beginning at 5:30 p.m., at Legislative Chambers of the County Courthouse, 320 N. Tioga Street, Ithaca.  The hearing will take public comment on the proposed amendment to the County Code, which would regulate certain “high intensity, high frequency” truck traffic from temporary projects—such as, but not limited to gas drilling—which carry the potential to cause serious damage to ccounty roads.  The proposed law has been revised since an initial public hearing was held at the beginning of this year, revisions based on comment received at that first hearing and at several public information sessions thereafter, sponsored by the Legislature’s Government Operations and Facilities and Infrastructure Committees.

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Richard Hanna (R, C, I-Barneveld) Monday released the following statement about the Budget Control Act of 2011:

“Defaulting on our debt has never been an option. Those who aren’t voting for thoughtful change are voting for failure.

“I am pleased that both sides came together to responsibly raise the debt ceiling and, for the first time in history, cut government spending at the same time. I stated publicly months ago that it is necessary to raise the debt ceiling, but it should be accompanied by spending reforms to put our nation on a path to long-term fiscal responsibility.

When Connie Wilcox threw her hat into the ring for Lansing Town Supervisor Tuesday she did Lansing voters a favor.  She gave Lansing voters a choice that will make this election season interesting and informative and plot the path to Lansing's future in clearly defined terms.  With no Republican candidate, the Democrats' candidate, Kathy Miller, might have been the only Town Supervisor candidate in November.  Now there will be two candidates with distinctly different approaches to the challenges facing the town.  So the election will be as much a referendum on how voters see its future as a vote for an individual.

Both candidates are worthy.  Both are intelligent and capable.  Both have stepped up to serve the community in a variety of different ways and over a long period of time.  They agree on many of the issues facing the town, but I think they will prove to have very different plans for dealing with them.  They certainly have distinctly different personal styles, but both are hard-working councilwomen who do a lot behind the scenes to learn about issues and figure out how best to proceed.

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The County’s Independent Redistricting Commission, charged with preparing a plan for reapportioning County legislative districts, listened to comments from seven members of the County Legislature tonight regarding the size of the Legislature and other aspects of legislative districts, including those they represent.

As part of its charge from the Legislature, the Commission has been asked to advise on the size of the Legislature—which has stood at its current 15 members since 1974, but can range from 11 to 19 members under provisions of the County Charter.