Posts by Lucas Santiago

A hearing about Ithaca school district budget set for Tuesday A hearing about the Ithaca school district budget is set for today at 5:30 at Ithaca High School. Members of the public can attend in person or by Zoom. The Ithaca Times reports the school board adopted a $158.5 million budget last month. Residents can…

The city of Ithaca will receive 1.7 million dollars in federal funding to improve its transportation systems. According to Senator Schumer’s office, the funding will be used to develop a traffic signal priority system for school buses, fire trucks, and transit systems. The developments are aimed at making the local systems’s arrival and departure times…

New Proposal Filed to Expand Ithaca’s Learning Farm The Learning Farm in Ithaca is planning to expand. The organization filed documents with the town’s planning board for a kitchen facility, guest housing, parking areas, and walkways. A proposed second phase would include a welcome center and a juicing and bottling building. According to the Ithaca…

Cornell Hosts Debate on Urgency of Climate Crisis Cornell hosted a debate Friday on the urgency of reducing climate warming pollution. Professor Robert Socolow of Princeton argued that “climate science compels us to make rapid and large reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.” Professor Steven Koonin of New York University argued that it doesn’t. Both are…

New York Governor Declares Emergency for Storm Governor Kathy Hochul has declared a state of emergency for today’s winter storm. All five regions of New York State, including the Hudson Valley and Finger Lakes, are expected to receive heavy snowfall and high winds. Utility companies are prepared for widespread power outages from possible downed trees…

New Bus Hub Sought for Tompkins County Officials from Ithaca and Tompkins County are working with the Downtown Ithaca Alliance to find a new location for an intercity bus hub. Since the bus depot in the West End shut down in 2018, intercity buses have regularly stopped at either the Seneca Street area outside Starbucks…

New York state is struggling to find a new chief judge for the Court of Appeals. After Senate Democrats rejected Governor Hochul’s nomination of appellate Justice Hector LaSalle last month, the number of new submissions has been fewer than expected. According to the Times Union, the Commission on Judicial Nomination is mostly reconsidering 41 initial…