Headlines for September 8, 2022

At its meeting Tuesday, the Ithaca City School District re-committed itself to work rewriting the district’s code of conduct. According to the Ithaca Times the process has been underway since 2018 but was shelved for a period due to the pandemic. Board President Sean Eversley Bradwell said the current code was inflexible and compared it to a penal code. He said their aim was to incorporate more restorative justice practices rather than punitive ones. He added the board will be holding listening sessions with the community as they develop the new code. The soonest the new code would go into effect would be the 2023-2024 school year. 

The Tompkins County Legislature met Tuesday night and County Administrator Lisa Holmes presents her recommended 2023 operating and capital budgets. She proposed a $207.7 million budget and a $121.5 capital budget. She proposed a 1.46 percent tax levy increase which, thanks to increased property rolls, would result in an $83 reduction to the average homeowner’s county tax bill. Factors contributing to the proposed budget include strong sales tax revenue, casino revenue, increased labor costs, and required assistance for the airport. 

Two area startups are finalists in the Grow-NY competition. According to the Central NY Business Journal, 385 startups entered from 52 countries for their chance at the coveted opportunity. The twenty finalists will hone their projects in a ten-week business development course and the seven winners will be awarded up to $1 million to develop ag business in the state. The two local businesses are Forte Protein in Trumansburg which makes plant-based proteins, and Norwhey Brewing in Interlaken which ferments hard seltzer from surplus whey.