Headlines for September 1, 2022

TCAT is facing a $3.7 million budget deficit. The bus operator is funded in part by three local underwriters: the City of Ithaca, Tompkins County, and Cornell. TCAT has had an agreement with the underwriters that if it were to face a budget shortfall, they would step in and provide additional funds. However, according to the Ithaca Voice, the agreement governing this partnership will expire in October and objections from Cornell have raised doubts that it will be renewed unchanged. Cornell has argued that each partner should only step in to fill budgetary gaps on an optional basis. While each of the three underwriters pay equally to support TCAT, 75% of ridership is Cornell affiliated.

Senator Gillibrand was at Cornell Monday to tout benefits to New York farmers expected from the Inflation Reduction Act. The bill will distribute some $3.7 billion to farmers nationwide to support the adoption of more sustainable practices. According to the Ithaca Voice the Senator and several Tompkins County legislators toured facilities at Cornell where some of these greener farming practices are studied. According to sustainableagriculture.net practices that will be supported by the bill include those that will increase soil carbon, reduce nitrogen losses, or reduce, capture, avoid, or sequester greenhouse gasses. According to lancasterfarming.com the bill also contains more than $5 billion to help farmers who’ve faced discrimination or are facing financial distress.

In State news, the New York Times is reporting that a plaque at West Point Military Academy pictures a hooded Ku Klux Klan member. A spokeswoman from West Point said the bronze panel that includes the KKK figure was meant to tell the story of “how our nation has flourished despite its tragedies.” Notably the triptych also depicts abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. The plaque was identified by a commission working to inventory military assets that pay tribute to the Confederacy and make recommendations for their removal or renaming.