Headlines for August 16, 2022

New York prisons will no longer allow people to send care packages directly to incarcerated loved ones. According to the Associated Press, the change is part of an effort to keep contraband materials out of prisons. While the new rule will mean prisoners can no longer receive things like homemade cookies, deliveries can still be arranged through third party vendors. NY had been one of the last US states to allow delivery of packages from homes.

City of Ithaca and Tompkins County officials met earlier this month to discuss increasing safety measures along the West MLK St corridor. According to the Ithaca Times, Acting Mayor Laura Lewis and Acting Police Chief John Joly discussed the possibility of using various technologies to increase security. These included more street lights, traffic cameras, and license plate readers. Lewis said residents and workers in the area have voiced concerns about safety however no statistics detailing complaints or crimes in the area were made available.

The founding Director of the Africana Studies program at Cornell, Professor James Turner, has died at 82. According to the Ithaca Times, Professor Turner’s activism as a Northwestern University graduate student helped lead to the creation of the school’s African American Studies department. Turner was active in the local community as well serving on the boards of Southside Community Center and the Tompkins County Human Rights Commission. He is survived by Janice Turner and three children.