Posts by WRFI News Staff
Interview: Leslie Danks Burke on 2020 race, key issues for 58th District
On Friday, we welcomed Leslie Danks Burke to our program. Danks Burke was the Democratic candidate for New York’s 58th State Senate district. While the incumbent, Tom O’Mara won the election, we asked the challenger’s thoughts on how the 58th senate district, which includes Tompkins and Schuyler Counties, could be improved going forward.
Read MoreCoronavirus Update, December 4, 2020
Looking at the local COVID-19 caseload, the latest numbers, released yesterday from the Tompkins County health department, indicate that there are 23 additional positives, and 16 new recoveries. According to the County Health Department, that leaves 233 active cases of COVID-19 in Tompkins. In Schuyler County, there are 14 new cases of COVID-19 reported as…
Read MoreCoronavirus Update, December 3, 2020
The Tompkins County Health Department is reporting a potential COVID-19 public exposure at the Walgreens on South Meadow Street in Ithaca. The individual who tested positive for COVID-19 is an employee at the pharmacy, and is now in isolation. Any close contacts are being notified to quarantine. Potential public exposure may have occurred at the…
Read MoreInterview: Laura Rosbrow-Telem on audio storytelling and COVID-19 vaccines [AUDIO]
On Tuesday, Public News Service Reporter Laura Rosbrow-Telem joined WRFI Community Radio News for a live interview about her recent story for WNYC’s Radiolab. The story, which is available online and on podcast platforms, was about the process of developing COVID-19 vaccines through human challenge trials. Listen to the interview below to hear the interview…
Read MoreCoronavirus Update, December 1, 2020
Looking at the local COVID-19 caseload, the latest numbers, released today from the Tompkins County health department, indicate that there are 34 additional positives, and 8 new recoveries. According to the County Health Department, that’s 219 active cases of COVID-19 in Tompkins. In Schuyler County, there are 3 new cases of COVID-19 reported as of…
Read MoreCoronavirus Update, November 30, 2020
3 residents of the Oak Hill Manor Nursing Home in Ithaca have died in the last week from complications of COVID-19. This comes amid a cluster of cases among 39 residents and 13 staff members at the facility. The Ithaca Voice reports that the State Department of Health is responsible for all contact tracing and…
Read MoreCoronavirus Update, November 27, 2020
A second Covid-19 testing center opened today in Tompkins County. The Ithaca Voice reports that Cayuga Health Systems is operating a sampling center at 412 North Tioga street on property owned by Tompkins County. The hours will be 8am to 4pm Monday thru Friday. The new center will operate as a walk-up and will use…
Read MoreCoronavirus Update, November 24, 2020
Watkins Glen School District Superintendent Greg Kelahan announced Monday, November 23 in a phone interview that his district would move to all remote learning starting Monday, November 30. This is in advance of preparing all the schools in the district for full time in-person learning starting after Christmas break. The Odessa File reports that during…
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