Archive: News

The Legislature, at a special meeting, accepted the determination and findings from a March public hearing regarding the public use, benefit, or purpose to be served by the proposed reconstruction of one-and-a-half miles of Hanshaw Road, between Sapsucker Woods Road and Pleasant Grove Road, in the Towns of Ithaca and Dryden and the Village of Cayuga Heights.  The vote was 9-4, with Legislators Will Burbank, Leslyn McBean-Clairborne, Kathy Luz Herrera, and Pam Mackesey voting no.  (Legislators Nathan Shinagawa and Jim Dennis were excused.)

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Rep. Michael Arcuri (NY-24) voted for tough new regulations and oversight that will prevent Wall Street and big banks from engaging in the risky behavior that led to the financial collapse.   The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 4173) will end “too big to fail” taxpayer-funded bailouts, protect consumers from predatory lending, safeguard investments and savings, and inject transparency and accountability into our broken financial system.

Lansing runners hit the track last Wednesday, June 16th at the annual Ithaca Twilight 5K . Track and cross country coach, Heather Miller, recruited team members to race the 3.1 mile course through Stewart Park.

Junior Kathryn Shaw took second in her age group with a time of 21:07 followed by cross country hopeful Blair Wigsten in a time of 22:11. Sophomore Shanna Swanson (22:27), junior Casey Phlegar (23:35) and 8th graders  Emily Rasmussen (24:50) and Rachel Brock (26:45) all finished well.  Just recovering from injuries were Chloe Ryan and Katy Bland who finished together respectfully (27:00, 27:04).

With high gas prices and a growing concern for the environment, more people are looking for modes of transportation that use less energy resources.  Nothing uses less gas than walking and biking, and add the beauty of Lake Cayuga and you have the idea behind the Cayuga Waterfront Trail.  Representatives of the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce and the City of Ithaca (partners in the project) joined together with others who have contributed to the project to celebrate the start of phase 3 of the project, which will link Stewart Park to the Ithaca Farmers Market.

"This a means of transportation to view Lake Cayuga --  get closer to it, be part of it, see it more effectively, more clearly, and engage in this gorgeous, huge lake," says U.S. Congressman Maurice hinchey, who was present for the shovel ceremony.  "This is going to stimulate economic growth.  I think it's going to bring in a lot of people who now see Lake Cayuga, but now can get closer to it."

Washington, DC – In a letter sent on Thursday, June 17, 2010, U.S. Rep. Michael A. Arcuri (NY-24) called on U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Thomas Vilsack to take action to address the increasingly high cost of production facing struggling dairy farmers across Upstate New York.   Local farmers, who are unable to turn a profit because of the disparity between the price of milk and their cost of production, have become so distressed they are threatening a wide-scale milk dump.

County Legislator Pat Pryor held a town meeting Monday to tell Lansing constituents about Tompkins County's early consideration of next year's budget.  16 people came to the Lansing Town Hall to learn about what influences the budget process, to ask questions, and to tell Pryor what they think about County taxes.  This was the second town hall meeting Pryor has held since winning her Legislature seat.

"One of the things that I would like to try to do during my term in office is to find as many ways as I can to stay in touch with constituents here in Lansing," she said.  "You may have some very strong feelings about issues, or just might want to know about what's going on at the County."

Representatives of Tetra Tech Architects and Johnson Controls joined Lansing school board members for the beginning of the final phase of the Energy Performance project Monday.  The ground breaking ceremony celebrated the upcoming digging of 40 geothermal wells that will be used to heat and cool Lansing High School.

"It is a special day in the history of the Lansing School District as we embark upon an extensive energy performance project involving geothermal wells," said Superintendent Stephen Grimm.  "We're here today to celebrate this big step in our efforts toward a more efficient and sustainable school district.  it serves as an example to our students and community on the value of new energy resources."

Town of Lansing has an opening for one part-time laborer. Applications available at Lansing Town Hall, Supervisor's Office, 29 Auburn Road, Lansing, NY 14882 or online through Tompkins county website at www.tompkins-co.org

Concerned about security in the Town of Lansing's parks, Town officials have decided to hire park monitors this season.  In past years the position has been filled by retired police officers, but Town Supervisor Scott Pinney says that there hasn't been interest in the position by experienced officers this season.  Instead the Town will hire 'laborer' positions, people who will monitor the parks and call the Sheriff or State Troopers if official action is required.

"We used to use retired police officers," Pinney says.  "Obviously we had to pay them a lot more money, and we don't seem to have any that are interested at this time.  We're thinking about hiring a 'laborer position' that would monitor the parks, just to have somebody around once in a while to keep an eye on things for us."

Tompkins County concerns about risks associated with natural gas drilling in the Marcellus shale were once again communicated, at a session in New York City earlier today.  Legislature Chair Martha Robertson was one of 15 invited speakers at the event, cosponsored by the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter and the Natural Resources Defense Council. Speakers urged immediate passage of pending state legislation which would ban hydraulic fracturing until after findings are issued on its effects on water quality and public health.

Legislature Calls for Payment of Overdue Transit Aid

The Tompkins County Legislature is calling upon New York State to immediately come through with State Transit Operating Assistance, where quarterly payments have been delayed in absence of a state budget.  Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit (TCAT) was forced to undertake unbudgeted short-term borrowing to make payroll during the quarter, assuming that borrowing will be sufficient only if a state budget is approved by the end of that period.  The measure notes that STOA funds included in a recent emergency spending bill is not sufficient to cover expenses, and that unless funding comes soon, the system could be forced to consider service reductions. Legislator Frank Proto, who also chairs the TCAT board, noted STOA accounts for 36% of TCAT’s budget and lack of STOA funding affects all upstate transit systems.