Posts by George Christopher

City Approves Reimaging Plans The City of Ithaca has approved the 2022 and 2023 work plans for the Reimagining Public Safety initiative. The plans include aspects of implementing alternative law enforcement responses, a community healing initiative, standardized data entry, a repurposing and review of SWAT teams, and many others. The plans were initially expected to…

Ithaca City Attorney Ari Lavine is stepping away from the city’s negotiation team. According to the Ithaca Voice, Lavine announced his intention to withdraw from the negotiation team in a letter to the city administration committee. Lavine had been at the center of controversy after a November meeting where workers and labor leaders accused Lavine…

Yesterday, workers at the Starbucks on the Ithaca Commons joined other Starbucks workers in a nationwide strike. According to CNY Central, the strike was called to urge Starbucks to return to the bargaining table with union representatives. The strike, dubbed the “Red Cup Rebellion,” included around 2,000 workers at 113 stores around the country. Workers…

On Wednesday, the Ithaca common council approved the city’s budget for 2023. According to the Ithaca Times, the budget outlines $90 million in spending for the next year, a six million dollar increase over the previous budget. The budget was approved during a meeting without public comment. During the meeting city attorney Ari Lavine responded…

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has sided with Starbucks workers saying the company should reopen its Collegetown location. The NLRB is also seeking an order from a judge mandating that the store reopens. According to the Ithaca Voice, the collegetown location was the most popular Starbucks of the three in the city. Despite that,…

Ithaca’s Department of Public Works is facing staffing shortfalls and is considering using private companies to pick up the slack. According to the Ithaca Voice, Superintendent of Public Works Mike Thorne spoke at Common Council saying the department has lost 30 employees and briefed the Council on projects the department’s workers will be covering in…

The Ithaca Planning and Economic Development Committee has advanced a memorandum to allow a new bike share program in the city. According to the Ithaca Voice, the program will be run by the Center for Community Transportation and will allow Ithacans to access bicycles through an app. The city is also making a move to…

Ithaca alderpersons Jorge DeFendini and Phoebe Brown are calling for reparations to be included in the City’s 2023 budget. According to the Ithaca Voice, the two, who represent Ithaca’s 4th and 2nd Wards respectively, want $2 million set aside for direct cash payments, funding for Black institutions, and the creation of a committee on reparations.…