Posts by WRFI News Staff
Ithaca and Tompkins County Release Ambitious Public Safety Reform Draft
Tompkins County and the City of Ithaca have released a draft of their Public Safety Reimagined report. The report comes in response to Governor Cuomo’s executive Order 203, mandating municipalities review their public safety systems. The draft report was produced under the advisement of the Center for Policing Equity. It includes 19 detailed recommendations for…
Read MoreCoronavirus Update, February 22, 2021
Some public-facing government workers are still not eligible for the Coronavirus vaccine. The Albany Times Union reports that employees of the DMV, highway and sewage plants and the County Clerk’s offices provide essential services to their communities, but are not explicitly listed under phase 1b. The president of New York Association of County Clerks, Michael…
Read MoreMeet Tompkins County Poet Laureate, Christine Kitano
Settle into a conversation with Tompkins County Poet Laureate, Dr. Christine Kitano. She shares her thoughts on the meaning of the position, how she teaches the craft and, of course, we hear some of her poetry. WRFI Contributor Pamela Tan brings us that conversation.
Read MoreHow Recent Development Proposals Address the Housing Affordability and Need in Ithaca
It is no secret that housing in Ithaca is a contentious issue. Prices are high and there doesn’t seem to be enough supply to meet the growing demand. While a new apartment complex seems to be going up every few months, the question becomes why is the cost of housing so high and are these…
Read MoreCoronavirus Update, February 19, 2021
And in Covid-19 news, a survey of 2,200 AARP New York Activists, found that less than half were successful in scheduling a Covid-19 vaccination appointment. This underscores the difficulty New Yorkers have been experiencing when signing up for appointments online. Difficulties to vaccinate people of color was also represented in the survey — just 38%…
Read MoreCoronavirus Update, February 18, 2021
The Tompkins County Health Department announces that a planned 800 doses of COVID-19 vaccine will not be arriving this week due to expected bad weather. However, a pop-up clinic at Beverly J. Martin elementary offering 200 doses for grocery workers and P-12 school workers will still take place Friday, February 19 . An additional 100…
Read MoreCoronavirus Update, February 17, 2021
The Tompkins County Health department received 800 COVID-19 vaccine doses for the week of February 15th. 600 doses will be set aside for grocery and P-12th grade school workers that are eligible under phase 1b. The Health Department will be sending registration links for vaccinations to grocery and school workers through their employers or association…
Read MoreThe Lingering Impacts of Vaping
Flavored vaping products were made illegal in April 2020, but College students are still able to get their hands on flavored vape products in Ithaca. Stories about vaping burned through the media in late 2019 and 2020. Cases of teenage death, long term impacts to users health, and rising nicotine addition sent concern through the…
Read More