Archive: News

While the conventional wisdom is that the Town of Lansing is a rural conservative bastion, the news Tuesday was that Lansing (Town and Village) voted overwhelmingly for Democrats.  Lansing voters favored Democrats in every single contest.  Although Republican candidate Mike Nozollio won his ninth term as New York State Senator district-wide, even he did not fare well in Lansing.

A remarkable 5021 Lansing voters came to the polls.  When you compare that to the City of Ithaca's (pop 29,974) 7927 you realize that Lansing (pop 11,011) voters are impressively engaged.  Voter turnout was 74% in the Town and Village of Lansing, with the highest turnout of 76.7% in the 5th voting district, which includes the Reach Run, East Lake, and Waterwagon Road neighborhoods.  The second highest turnout was in North Lansing, perhaps a testament to the North Lansing Auxiliary's famous Election Day Dinner and Supper.  The lowest turnout of 67.2% came from district 8, a thin slice of North Lansing that includes West Groton , Luce , Bacon, and Goodman Roads.

On Sunday (11/02/08) at 8:04pm deputies responded to State Route 13 near the end of the airport runway for a three-car motor vehicle accident.  Upon arrival it was determined that Adam L. Bullock (19) of Dryden was operating a 2001 Dodge Neon east on State Route 13, crossing over into the path of a vehicle that was being driven in a westerly direction by Matthew P. Binkewicz (44), of Lansing.

As a result, Bullock's vehicle collided with Binkewicz's 2001 Honda.  Binkewicz's vehicle then went on to strike a 1995 Oldsmobile operated by Christopher M. Balog (40), of Ithaca, NY, who was travelling east on State Route 13 behind Bullock.

Lansing's tax rate will be -2% compared to last year when tax bills go out for the 2009 budget.  You didn't misread that -- it really is a minus sign.  Lansing's Town Board approved the $4,822,544.91 budget after a public hearing Wednesday that will set the tax rate at $1.7978 per $1,000 of assessed value, down from $1.8345 last year.  Lansing Town Supervisor Scott Pinney says that is what is supposed to happen, because the overall valuation of properties in the Town has risen.

"If the tax rate stays the same we're collecting more money," he says.  "The valuations go up every year, but typically the tax rates also go up.  So everybody's getting hit twice.  You would hope that everybody would have a decrease in taxes with that valuation."

Legislature Briefed on State Budget Process
At his first Legislature meeting as County Administrator, Joe Mareane updated Legislators on when the State will begin to address a projected $2 billion budget gap for the current fiscal year, a situation which could affect State support for County programs.  Following up a memo distributed this week to department heads and elected officials, Mr. Mareane reported that the State Legislature  will be called back to Albany November 18 to address the deficit and lay the groundwork for a 2009-10 budget, to be released in December, which could contain a $13 billion budget gap.  

While he said there are potentially hopeful signs that the State may respect the request of counties that it maintain a “hands off” policy regarding uncontrollable cuts to mandated programs that simply shift costs to counties, the administrator cautioned that this situation demands “the collective intelligence of this government” to navigate through what will be a very difficult situation. 

Village of Lansing Trustees and Planning Board members met Monday to begin to sort out the Village's role in providing affordable and workforce housing.  With thousands of workers commuting to Tompkins County every day and more than 4,000 of them coming to work in the Village, Tompkins County and large employers such as Cornell university have been trying to encourage municipalities to do what they can to increase the number of available affordable homes. 

"The Planning Board has no position pro or con on this issue," Planning Board Chairman Ned Hickey told the Board of Trustees.  "We've come to a point where we don't know an awful lot about it, but we have an interest level."

Everyone knows about next Tuesday's election.  Lansing voters will elect a U.S. President  and Congressman, and a State Senator and Assembly member.  What voters may not know is that they will be called back to the polls twice in December.  On December 8th the Lansing School District will ask voters to approve two no-cost-to-taxpayers capital projects.  And on December 9th voters will elect two fire commissioners and a fire district treasurer.

If history is any measure, not very many people will come to those elections, or run in them.  In the last few elections fire department insiders have been the only candidates to run, and typically only thirty or so voters show up to cast their ballots.  Lansing Fire Commissioner Chairman Robert Wagner thinks that a mix of department insiders and the public at large would be healthier for the district.  "I don't know if it is because we do such a good job of keeping taxes low and everything seems to be working well," he says of the apparent lack of interest.  "But I believe that it should be a split."

The first woman ever to serve as Lieutenant Governor in New York State history Monday crossed political party lines to endorse the re-election of Senator Mike Nozzolio.

Citing his proven record of working in a bi-partisan manner to produce positive results for the people of the Greater Finger Lakes region, former Lieutenant Governor Mary Anne Krupsak has endorsed Senator Mike Nozzolio and will serve as the Chairperson of a committee of prominent Democrats throughout the 54th Senate District working for Senator Nozzolio's re-election.

 

As of Wednesday, Joe Mareane is officially on board as Tompkins County’s County Administrator.

Administrator Mareane (pronounced “mar-ee-ANN-na”) began work with the County last week (in an overlap period with retired administrator Steve Whicher) and officially took over as County Administrator this morning, after taking the oath of office before County Clerk Aurora Valenti.

More than a decade after planning began and more than two years after breaking ground, Tompkins County today marked completion of its new Public Safety Communications System, a state-of-the-art system that officials praise as a critical tool to protect the citizens of Tompkins County. 

Now that construction is complete, county officials, emergency response leaders and representatives of the many community partners who have collaborated over many years to make the new system reality gathered at the system’s transmitter site on the Ithaca College campus, one of the network’s ten linked transmitter sites.  They celebrated the project, the cooperation that achieved it and, most important, the benefit of new system to the County’s citizens.  The new 800 megaHertz, trunked radio system  was built through a $22 million capital project that is the largest in County history.

Last Saturday the Lakewatch Inn sparkled with the Red Carpet Premier of the Corporate Development Committee's (CDC) 12 annual auction and dance.  The CDC's sole purpose is to raise money to purchase technology equipment for the Lansing schools.  Earlier this month CDC President Bill Currie presented the schools with a check for $60,000, which was used to purchase six electronic white boards, a CAD controlled pneumatic cutter for the technology program, and a broadcast center for the elementary school.

Next Tuesday Lansing voters will be asked to elect a U.S. President and Vice President, a U.S. Congressman, a state Senator, and a State Assembly member. You have probably heard more about the top presidential and vice presidential candidates in the mainstream media than you can stand, so we won't add to that.

But if you have been wondering how you really want to vote on the other positions, here is a brief guide to the candidates. The first item on the ballot is a proposition about veterans who want to qualify for disability payments:

On 10/15/08, at 5:45 PM, deputies charged Dennis G. James, age 59, of 1151 East Shore Drive, with Driving While Intoxicated.  It is alleged that James was stopped by deputies as they were directing traffic near the intersection of East Shore Drive and Burdick Hill Road due to an unrelated motor vehicle accident in the area.  He is scheduled to appear in the Town of Lansing Court on 11/18/08 at 9:00 AM.

On 10/16/08, at 9:25 PM, deputies charged Stephen D. Brown, age 53, of 407 Willow Ave., with Driving While Intoxicated.  It is alleged that Brown was operating a vehicle that he drove into a ditch on the east bound side of Asbury Road.  Deputies located Brown on foot nearby.  Brown is due in Lansing Court on 12/18/08 at 7:00 PM.

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