May 19th, 2022 Daily Headlines

On Tuesday, the Ithaca City School district election came with some confusion. According to the Ithaca Voice, some voters were confused by the layout of the Board of Education’s webpage. The webpage listed polling locations for the school district vote along with other locations where those voters would typically vote in a General election. Some mistakenly went to the general election polling place for the school board vote. Another controversy arose when a sign was posted at one polling location falsely claiming that Board of Education candidate Benjamin Mumford-Zisk had dropped out, when he hadn’t. However, Mumford-Zisk was later declared ineligible anyway because of the district’s residency requirement which requires board members to live in the district for at least a year before taking office. Another sign was also posted telling voters to only select three School Board candidates when they were actually able to vote for up to four. 

——-

Cornell has received a $15 million gift to create a scholarship fund for STEM students from urban high schools or historical black colleges and universities. According to the Ithaca Voice, the gift came from Cornell graduate Robert F. Smith, the founder and CEO of Vista Equity Partners. Smith is the richest black person in America. 

——-

Yesterday Governor Kathy Hochul signed a series of executive orders in response to the white supremacist attack on a Buffalo supermarket. According to WHAM, Hochul signed an order establishing a unit within the state Department of Homeland Security to focus exclusively on domestic terrorism and a threat assessment management program. Hochul also signed an order requiring state police to report “extreme risk orders of protection.” That measure is meant to strengthen the state’s red flag laws. The governor also announced a new bill to mandate the microstamping of bullets to make them easier to trace.