Local News for Thursday, March 23, 2023

Village Election Results are in for Tompkins and Schuyler Counties Area village elections were held on Tuesday. In the Tompkins County village of Dryden, Democratic incumbents won re-election in three positions. Michael Murphy was reelected mayor with 61% of the vote over his Republican opponent Thomas Corey who got 39%. Jason Dickinson and Thomas Sinclair…

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Local News for Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Caroline Broadband Expansion Gets Boost The town of Caroline is taking steps to expand broadband access to its residents. The expansion effort was awarded more than $130,000 from the Tompkins Community Recovery Fund. Caroline is investing additional $330,000 of its American Recovery Act funds toward a feasibility study and partial buildout of broadband. At its…

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Local News for Friday, March 17, 2023

New Rehab Facility To Open in Tompkins County The Alcohol & Drug Council of Tompkins County will open a new rehab in Lansing next month. The new facility will provide residential and out-patient services including medically assisted treatments. The Ithaca Times reports that walk-in services like showers and crisis care will also be available. Partner…

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Local News for Thursday, March 16, 2023

New Law Enforcement Pilot Program to Start in Tompkins County A new program to divert people away from incarceration will start in Tompkins County later this year. The pilot program is a partnership between the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Department and Tompkins Whole Health. It will pair a licensed clinical therapist and a specially-trained sheriff’s deputy…

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Local News for Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Seneca Lake Fish Contaminated Thanks to a Freedom of Information Act or FOIA filing, a 2020 report from the New York DEC has come to light showing that Seneca Lake fish are highly contaminated with PFAS chemicals. According to environmental reporter Peter Manius, the samples of lake trout and yellow perch contain hundreds of times…

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Local News for Friday, March 10, 2023

Few Attend Ithaca Public Hearing About Police Reform Draft A public hearing about the draft plan from Ithaca’s Reimagining Public Safety Committee was sparsely attended on Wednesday night. According to the Ithaca Voice most of the commenters approve of the plan, though one resident criticized the plan’s intention to hire more police officers. Alderperson George…

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Local News for Thursday March 9, 2023

City of Ithaca Seeks Public Input for National Police Chief Search, Union Critical The city of Ithaca is pushing ahead with its second search for a permanent police chief. On Tuesday it announced two virtual meetings for members of the public to voice their priorities for the role. The two sessions will be Saturday March…

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Local News for Friday, March 3, 2023

Ithaca Has a New Fire Chief Robert Covert II is the new Chief of the Ithaca Fire Department. The Common Council voted unanimously to approve his promotion during their meeting on Tuesday. Covert had been the Acting Chief since former chief Thomas Basher retired last August. He’s been a member of the department for 30…

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