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posticon 243 Acre Lansing Nature Preserve Part of Southern Tier Park Additions

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Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the expansion of Green Lakes State Park, as part of several State Parks land protection projects that cover more than 760 acres in Central New York and the Southern Tier. Buttermilk Falls State Park will also add about 11 acres. The Governor has proposed a $3 billion Restore Mother Nature Environmental Bond Act to fund projects to protect our water resources and fish and wildlife habitats for future generations, and open space protection is a critical component of the Governor's strategy to fight the effects of climate change.

On the eastern side of Cayuga Lake, the state has provided a $327,475 grant to the Finger Lakes Land Trust that will allow the not-for-profit conservation group to purchase a 243-acre parcel in the town of Lansing for use as a nature preserve with waterfalls and trails. This acquisition will protect views across the lake of Taughannock Falls State Park, as well as protect water quality in a lake that has experienced Harmful Algal Blooms.

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posticon Lansing ELA Curriculum May Need Replacement

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Lansing Elementary School

Director of Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment and Professional Development Colleen Ledley and Lansing school principals presented a summary of student test results at Monday's Board Of Education meeting that showed good results in the middle and high schools, but not as good, especially in English Language Arts (ELA) in the elementary school.  She referenced the New York State Education Department's data site, recommending that board members especially look at the district's school report card.

Ledley said there is "a lot to feel good about" in Lansing student achievement, but the test statistics and further investigation have indicated that a new ELA curriculum is indicated for elementary students.  Ledley said that administrators looked at state and local testing results that showed significant patterns of students K-4 being under the grade level. 

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posticon Cornell President Explains 'Stay Home' Decision

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Cornell President Martha E. Pollack announced Tuesday that students would stay home after Spring Break and finish their coursework online. On Wednesday she outlined the reasons that decision was made. Pollack said health experts advise that the two phases of controlling a pandemic are containment and mitigation. She said that theUnited States is beyond the containment phase, and that mitigation works best when started early.

"The best way that we can mitigate the spread of COVID-19 is through social distancing,"Pollack wrote. "Simply put, you work to minimize the number of interactions that provide the opportunity for the disease to spread. So, to the extent possible, you limit or eliminate large groups of people coming together and you try to minimize the number of people congregating in close settings. Universities are places that, by definition, have these elements; most notably in dormitories, where many students live closely together, eat together and share bathrooms, and in classrooms, where many students often sit in close proximity for extended periods of time."

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posticon Reed Optimistic That House Will Rise Above Political Squabbling Over Coronavirus

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US Capital Building

In a press call yesterday Congressman Tom Reed (R 23rd District) said that The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the White House were squabbling over partisan blame if measures taken by Washington to contain and mitigate the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) don't prove effective.  But Reed was optimistic that the House would eventually focus on bipartisan legislation, and noted that $8 billion has been allotted for health care hot spots.  He called for Americans to stay calm and take precautions to avoid getting the virus, but not to overreact.

"Don't lose sight of the fact that $8 billion was agreed upon in a bipartisan basis that would be delivered through our public healthcare system to the front line, to deal with this Corona virus situation," Reed said. "On top of that, uh, let's not lose sight that we are dealing with a U S economy. Uh, that is fundamentally the strongest we've ever seen in our lifetime.  This is not 2008. This is not a situation where the economy is based on structural flaws in the banking system or other areas, housing markets, et cetera. This is an economy that's fundamentals are solid."

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posticon Community Party Village Candidates

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Simon Moll and Randy SmithSimon Moll (left) and Randy Smith

The primary for NYS Assembly with seven Democrats (and counting...) vying for retiring Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton's seat is June 23rd.  And of course the general election is November 3rd.  But before all these -- and on the same day as the the Presidential Primary election this year -- is the election for two Village of Lansing Trustee seats on April 28th.  John O'Neill is not running again this year, having served seven terms as Trustee.  This year's Community party candidates are Trustee Randy Smith, who was appointed last May to fill out Gerry Monighan's term when Monaghan withdrew from the Board after two and a half terms, and Simon Moll.

Smith was appointed to the Board of Trustees last May when Monaghan withdrew from his board seat after about five years as a Trustee.  Smith brings his business experience to the Board of trustees, and has a particular interest in preventing uncontrolled sprawl in the Village, and is serving on the Village's Climate Smart Task force.  Since being appointed last year he has joined the Community party.

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posticon County Opposes Mall Senior Housing Sales

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Lansing Meadow

After almost a decade of project revisions the Lansing Meadows senior housing project near the Shops at Ithaca Mall finally began construction last year.  As the developer has been working to meet the construction completion deadline, it seemed like changes to the project were locked in.  But in January Arrowhead Ventures Developer Eric Goetzmann went before the Board to ask for another kind of change -- to subdivide the six triplexes in order to allow the sale of the individual units.  Goetzmann was on the Village of Lansing Board of Trustees meeting agenda Monday, ostensibly to make his case for the subdivisions, but instead told the Board that an objection from the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) has stalled the subdivision request.

"I'm not sure where that comes from," Goetzmann told the Trustees. "We've had calls into their counsel, we've sent emails trying to understand it further. I think you were also copied in the letter. So we need to understand it. With that said, um, I'm not going to take any more time with the Trustees tonight. It's another delay that we have, which is unfortunate. We need to understand what it is and we'll be back to you."

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posticon County Legislature Highlights

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Legislators Endorse 2021-2027 Strategic Tourism Plan
The Legislature by a vote of 13-0 (Legislator Anna Kelles was excused) endorsed the 2021-2027 Strategic Tourism Plan, as developed by the Strategic Tourism Planning Board (STPB). The Plan establishes eight overall goals, and serves as a guide for future investments of monies collected through the hotel room occupancy tax. The goals for the next six years include: increasing the average overnight trip length by one night from 2-3 nights to 3-4 nights; increasing average visitor spending by 5% from $366 to $384 per day in established downtowns and villages; offering indoor and outdoor visitor programming year-round; increasing the share of new visitors from 24% to 30%; and increasing visual and physical access to Cayuga Lake through collaborative efforts with municipal and private stakeholders.

Legislator Martha Robertson (D-Dryden) praised the strategic plan, calling it "a thoughtful way of using tourism dollars in our community."

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posticon NOTICE OF SPECIAL TOWN BOARD MEETING OF THE TOWN OF LANSING

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PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a Special Town Board Meeting is being called, convened, and held upon March 11, 2020, at 6:30 pm at the Lansing Town Hall, 29 Auburn Road, Lansing, New York 14882, for the purpose of the Town Board to discuss the 2020 Town Center Incentive Zone Map Update, Solar & Wind Local Law, Capital Improvement Planning, and such other business as may lawfully thereat come before the Town Board. All residents of the Town and the general public are invited to attend this special Town Board meeting.

Dated: March 2, 2020
By Order of the Town Board
Jessica Hall
Deputy Town Clerk, Town of Lansing

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posticon New Coronavirus Cases Downstate - None in Tompkins County

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Cuomo Signs Coronavirus BillGovernor Andrew M. Cuomo signs coronavirus legislation during a ceremony in the Red Room at the State Capitol. (Mike Groll/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Wednesday that more individuals in Westchester County had tested positive for Coronavirus. Patients in Buffalo, Oneida and Suffolk Counties tested negative for the virus.  Later Thursday Cuomo was back to report more cases had been confirmed, a friend of a man who had flown home from China, plus the friend's wife, two sons, and daughter.  The Westchester County cases brings the total of confirmed cases in the state to 11, nearly doubling the number of cases previously reported.

"A fifty year old attorney tested positive, his wife his wife has also tested positive, his 20 year old son has also tested positive, his daughter has also tested positive, and his neighbor who drove him to the hospital also tested positive," Cuomo said. "The son is 20 years old and attends Yeshiva University. The daughter is 14 years old and is in the SAR school. And the neighbor is not just a neighbor, but actually drove the attorney to the hospital and therefore was in the car with the attorney in that closed environment - and the neighbor tested positive.  Another person who was being tested who came in contact with the 50 year old lawyer, a friend of the lawyer's who he spent time with and in close proximity in a number of situations. That person also tested positive. We then tested that person's wife, two sons, and daughter, and they all tested positive."

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posticon Record 131,604 Lab-Confirmed NY Flu Cases Reported

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The total number of flu cases in New York State has eclipsed the record number of seasonal cases since the New York State Department of Health began tracking flu cases during the 1998-99 season. The latest influenza surveillance report for the week ending February 22 shows 131,604 laboratory-confirmed cases so far this season. Previously, the most lab-confirmed influenza cases reported during a single flu season was 128,892 in 2017-18. While this year's flu season has reached historic levels, last week, the number of laboratory-confirmed flu cases decreased 26 percent and hospitalizations decreased 13 percent.

"While I am encouraged to see yet another decrease in the number of flu cases across the state, this year's flu season has been grueling and New Yorkers must remain vigilant against the spread of the virus," Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said. "If you haven't already been vaccinated it's not too late. I urge you to get a vaccine and to please stay home if you are sick to avoid spreading the illness."

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posticon Lifton Sends Energy Efficiency Letter to Governor

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Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton (D-Tompkins, Cortland) sent a letter Wednesday, signed by 50 Assemblymembers, to Governor Cuomo calling for a significant carve-out of funding for energy efficiency work in all homes and buildings across the state.

"To meet our greenhouse gas emission reduction goals, reducing energy usage in all homes, businesses, institutions, and government buildings across the state makes eminent sense as a first step," said Lifton. "Thirty percent (30%) of statewide emissions comes from buildings, and today I call, along with my colleagues, for $2 billion – from the Clean Energy Fund or any other appropriate source -- to be used for a huge weatherization, insulation, and energy efficiency program across New York. This program will significantly reduce emissions, reduce electricity bills for everyone, and create many good jobs in every community in the state," Lifton stated.

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posticon Lansing Fire District Gets A+ In Audit

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Lansing Fire District

The Lansing Fire Commissioners got their annual report card Tuesday when auditor Lawrence Johnston of Sean Hucko, CPA presented the results of the district's annual audit.  Johnston said that the district is in excellent financial shape, and there are no problems with how the money is being handled.

"Your district is very healthy," Johnston told the commissioners. "You're doing a great job with the finances. You probably are doing better than some of our larger districts that have five or six million in revenues each year.  Your district is very conservative. You're very careful with how you spend money and you tend not to spend your full budget."

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posticon TCAT and Gadabout Act to Prevent Potential Coronavirus Impact

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TCAT and paratransit provider Gadabout are taking precautions against the potential spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) while monitoring updates and heeding advice from health experts. 

New York this week joined a growing list of states reporting cases of COVID-19, but to date none have been confirmed in Tompkins County. Additionally, Cornell University, whose community makes up the largest number of TCAT’s riders, has taken several proactive and preventative measures that include enacting stringent travel policies.

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