Archive: News

There is a lot of talk about the future of Lansing, how development will change the town, about whether the rural character of the community will remain.  But the fact is that the face of Lansing has changed markedly from the original farming community to a bedroom community for Ithaca and Cornell.  And despite panicked cries about development gone wild, actual development in the town has not been rising.  "We average a couple of hundred building permits per year, pretty close to two hundred, says Code Enforcement Officer Richard Platt.  "But housing is 35, 40, somewhere in that range.  It hasn't changed too much."

In fact the number of single and two-family homes has been down in the past few years.  "Around 2001, 2002 we were in the high 40s in permits," says the town building inspector Lynn Day.  "Now we're down.  Last year we did 33 and we're down in the low 30s.  I believe it will be about the same this year.  We're up to 13 so far this year."

Now that summer has begun more and more people will go to Myers Park and Salt Point, the two town parks that sandwich Salmon Creek.  While use and activities at Myers are long established, Salt Point poses a challenge for town officials who hope to change almost 50 years of unregulated behavior there.  Over the past two years since the town took over the management of the point there has been some resistance. 

The same day a gate was installed the post it would latch to was stolen.  And when the highway department began to fill in wild dirt roads to be refoliated, someone brought a tractor into the park to undo what they had begun.  After two years town officials are hoping that people will see the benefits of a controlled nature park and begin to respect the rules, town law, and the park itself.

Continental Airlines Expected to Begin Ithaca Service This Fall
In what he characterized as a “very preliminary, surprise announcement,” the chair of the County’s Air Service Board announced to the Legislature tonight that Continental Airlines plans to add new service between Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport and Newark Airport, effective October 3, 2008.  The announcement came as board chair Larry Baum delivered an update on the activities of the Air Service Board at the Legislature meeting.  Continental is expected to provide four daily flights to the Newark hub; two flights on Saturday and three on Sunday.  Baum said the Newark hub greatly facilitates travel to and from international destinations.  The carrier is also adding three Pennsylvania cities, Baum reported, but not other nearby regional airports.

In his upbeat report to the Legislature, Baum also reported that Northwest Airlines will begin offering jet service (two flights per day) in August, adding 20 passengers per day, but creating the challenge to make sure that those seats are filled.

The Ithaca Airport, a small airport that works daily to ensure constant, collaborative communication with its airlines, tenants, customers, business and leisure travelers, and the community at large, is pleased to announce an increase in jet service and welcome a new airline this fall.

"The addition of jet service for NWA and welcoming a new airline (Continental Airlines) for fall 2008 are two pieces of extraordinary news," said Robert A. Nicholas, A.A.E., Airport Manager for ITH. "During a time of cutbacks, increased service bucks the trend we're witnessing at airports around the country, particularly smaller ones," said Nicholas.

"We'll continue to update the community we serve throughout the summer and the fall," Nicholas concluded. A community celebration with federal and airline officials is planned for later this year.

Two hundred and fifty nine years after it was first built by the North family in the center of what is now Lansing, the oldest remaining log cabin in Tompkins and Cayuga Counties will likely be reassembled in its home town this year.  But before that happens the cabin must face one last hurdle: where?  "Chris offered to put this log cabin up free of charge," Lansing Town Supervisor Scott Pinney told the Town Board last week.  "Any materials that are needed he would spend his own money to buy the materials himself.  He has his own property that he can put it on.  I think we should move forward and allow that to happen."

But Councilman Bud Shattuck said that giving the cabin to Muka would be jumping the gun.  "Chris offered this last year," he said.  We looked at the property.  We actually had our highway department come and look at the property.  And it was completely ill suited for putting the cabin there.  While the space is there the configuration isn't there."

Ithaca Carshare vehicles will be available for use on Wednesday June 25. The local nonprofit provides members self-service 24-hour access to 6 hatchbacks, with a pick-up truck expected shortly. Carshare members use an online reservation system to choose the vehicle they need at the time they need it. All six vehicles were driven by organizers in the Ithaca Festival parade on Thursday.

Vehicles will be located in several locations around town, including downtown, Collegetown, two locations on the Cornell campus, at Ithaca College, and at EcoVillage on West Hill. Both Ithaca College and Cornell are supporting participation by students and staff, and as a result, organizers expect to increase vehicles and locations around Ithaca within months.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Michael A. Arcuri (D-Utica) voted for, and the House of Representatives passed, bipartisan legislation to expand GI Bill education benefits for veterans and their families, extend unemployment insurance for those displaced by the recent economic downturn and protect health insurance benefits for low-income families.

“This legislation will ensure that our nation’s veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan can attend college and provide for their families,” Arcuri said. “This legislation represents a bipartisan agreement to fulfill our nation’s domestic priorities by protecting Medicaid benefits and extending unemployment insurance benefits for those seeking jobs.”

Sheriff Peter Meskill today announced a new program in cooperation with the State Department of Correctional Services that will lead to significant cost savings for Tompkins County. Sheriff Peter Meskill said that Sheriffs across New York State, and especially those in the Western New York area, anticipate considerable savings to their counties as a result of a decision by the New York State Department of Correctional Services to designate added facilities as reception facilities for receiving state prisoners.

When county jail inmates are sentenced to serve prison terms in a New York correctional facility, the Sheriff is required to transport that individual to one of a few designated prisons for further processing by state correctional officers. At a recent training conference for Sheriffs hosted by the New York State Sheriffs' Association, State DOCS Commissioner Brian Fischer met with Sheriffs and heard that some must make very lengthy trips to deliver these inmates into State custody.

Monday night a large crowd gathered for the official dedication of the band stand in Myers Park from the Lansing Lion's Club to the Town of Lansing.  After a day of storms that rained hail over Lansing, the weather was perfect for the occasion.  Supervisor Scott Pinney, Town Board members Connie Wilcox, Matt Besemer, and Marty Christopher were on hand along with Parks Superintendent Steve Colt to be part of the ceremony.

"We put together an idea, and the idea came into fruition," said outgoing Lions President Lin Davidson.  "Today the Lansing Lions would like to convey the gazebo to the Town.  There's no key to the gazebo, so we can't hand you the key, but it is now the Town's."

ITHACA, NY - TCAT will provide free bus service between downtown and Ithaca College for the community fireworks show on Wednesday night, July 2.  TCAT (Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit) has offered the service for more than a decade, according to Fran Benedict, chair of the volunteer committee that organizes the annual fireworks shows.

TCAT will begin its shuttle service at 6:30 p.m., traveling from the East Green Street shelter near the Tompkins County Public Library.  Buses will run every 15 minutes, picking up passengers along the route until 9 p.m.  Fireworks begin about 9:45 p.m.  Return service will begin immediately following the fireworks and continue through 11:30 p.m.

The Legislature has gone on record in support of federal legislation to enact a federal carbon tax, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas, including carbon dioxide, said to be a major contributor to global warming.  The vote was 10-4, with Legislators Frank Proto, Greg Stevenson, Mike Hattery and Mike Sigler voting no; Legislator Tyke Randall was absent. 

The county’s Environmental Management Council had recommended county support for the carbon tax.  The action, advanced by Legislator Carol Chock, calls for the carbon tax to be  levied on importers and domestic extractors and refiners of fossil fuels, “with revenues directed to tax relief for low- and moderate-income households and financial support for conservation and sustainable energy programs, with public monitoring to ensure compliance.” 

Legislature Sets Fiscal Targets for 2009 Budget
By a vote of 8-5, the Legislature established guidelines for preparation of 2009 County budget by county departments and agencies.  (Legislators Martha Robertson, Will Burbank, Pam Mackesey, Dooley Kiefer and Carol Chock voted no: Legislators Tyke Randall and Leslyn McBean-Clairborne were absent.)  The guidelines keep fiscal targets for not-for-profit agencies and for county municipalities and agencies receiving reimbursement under the Sales Tax Agreement with the City of Ithaca at the level approved in the 2008 adopted budget, and set the target for county departments at the 2008-approved level, plus 2009 negotiated salary increases.  

An amendment unsuccessfully proposed by Robertson would also have provided a 3 percent target adjustment for agencies, in recognition of the need to provide increases for staff salaries and benefits,  That proposed amendment failed by an identical 5-8 vote.  Supporters of the amendment had maintained that agency needs must be recognized in a practical and meaningful fashion, in light of the important work agencies do for the County, and that failing to do so sends a clear and negative message.  But others, among them Legislators Frank Proto and Mike Hattery, countered that it is still early in the budget process, and the process should be allowed to work, and the County Administrator provided the latitude needed to craft a budget that meets the Legislature’s 3 percent tax levy increase goal.