Posts by George Christopher

Ithaca Mayor Laura Lewis has endorsed Leslie Danks-Burke for State Senate. Lewis is one of Danks-Burke’s most prominent endorsements in the race for the Democratic nomination. Lewis’s predecessor Svante Myrick has endorsed Danks-Burke’s opponent Lea Webb, a former Binghamton City Councilor. Danks-Burke and Webb are running in New York’s new 53rd senate district, a heavily…

The Trumansburg Central School District has seen a surge in COVID cases. According to the Ithaca Voice, the school district went from 21 cases last Tuesday to 53 on Thursday. The cases have spread across the elementary, middle and high schools in students, staff, and teachers. The school pinned the recent case surge on the…

The City of Ithaca has released answers to Frequently Asked Questions regarding the city’s Reimagining Public Safety Plan. The FAQ denies claims that the city is abolishing the police stating that the city will continue to use armed police officers in addition to unarmed civilian first responders. The report, outlining proposed reforms, was presented to…

The City of Ithaca Redistricting Group has released a draft of the city’s new ward maps. According to the Ithaca Voice, the maps were announced on Thursday. The maps would maintain 5 heavily Democratic seats where Joe Biden took at least 87 percent of the vote. Under the new maps 2nd Ward Councilor Phoebe Brown…

Cornell University is raising its COVID-19 Alert Level to yellow. In a statement the school said positive COVID cases had increased beyond their predictions. The school pinned the increase in cases on the relaxing of mask requirements, the new BA.2 variant, and an increase in social activities. Cornell is urging students to practice extra caution…

On Tuesday the Ithaca Planning and Economic Development Committee approved the Catherine Commons project. According to the Ithaca Voice, the project will mean the demolition of 11 older student apartment houses to make way for the $39 Million development. The development will include 6 buildings with 360 residential units. The project was approved unanimously and…

Local Environmental groups are touting a new paper out of Columbia Law School saying New York Governor Kathy Hochul has the legal authority to enact a moratorium on proof-of-work Cryptocurrency mining. Seneca Lake Guardian, Sierra Club, and others have urged the state Department of Environmental Conservation to reject an air permit renewal for the Greenidge…