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The Ithaca Voice
Ithaca school district exec resigns to lead regional BOCES
ITHACA, N.Y. — Ithaca City School District’s (ICSD) second-in-command will soon step down to accept a position as the new superintendent of the Tompkins Seneca Tioga BOCES (TST-BOCES). Lily Talcott has served as ICSD’s Deputy Superintendent for nearly six years. She signed her new contract during a short...
What to know ahead of Tuesday’s school district re-vote elections
ITHACA, N.Y. — Voters will head to the polls Tuesday to weigh in on next year’s budget for the Ithaca City School District (ICSD). The ballot includes pared-down versions of two spending proposals that failed during an initial election on May 21. Elsewhere in Tompkins County, voters in...
Calculator: how the Newfield school budget could affect property taxes
TOMPKINS COUNTY, N.Y. — Voters in the Newfield Central School District narrowly rejected an initial school budget on May 21. Now voters will return to the polls on Tuesday, June 18 to vote on a slightly smaller version of the budget. Use this calculator to explore how your housing...
Local wrestler Kyle Dake preparing for second Olympics trip
ITHACA, N.Y. — Local wrestling icon Kyle Dake will make the trip to Paris, France in early August. The Lansing native and Cornell University graduate is going there to compete in his second Olympic Games with his family in tow. It’s a welcome change from his first trip to...
Opinion: Voting “yes” on the Ithaca City School District’s new budget proposal
This is an opinion piece submitted by former Ithaca Common Council member Jorge Defendini. It was not written by The Ithaca Voice. To submit opinion pieces send them to Matt Butler at mbutler@ithacavoice.org. Last month, voters across the Ithaca School District rejected the ICSD budget and accompanying propositions. I was...
New cookbook celebrates 50 years of the Ithaca Farmers Market
ITHACA, N.Y. — A new Ithaca Farmers Market (IFM) Cookbook commemorates the market’s 50th anniversary and highlights seasonal cooking using local ingredients. Michael Turback, food and wine writer and former Ithaca restaurateur, and Izzy Lecek, cook at Café Dewitt and former baker for Macro Mama’s kitchen and catering company, co-authored the newly published book, “Ithaca Farmers Market: A Seasonal Guide and Cookbook Celebrating the Market’s First 50 Years.”
Cornell plans second phase of Maplewood Housing, eyeing hundreds of new units
ITHACA, N.Y. — Cornell University is taking the first public step this week towards the second phase of its Maplewood graduate and professional housing development. The Town of Ithaca’s Planning Committee will receive its first informational presentation about the proposal at its meeting Thursday afternoon. The concept plan...
Heat advisory in effect for rest of week as temperatures soar
ITHACA, N.Y. — A heat advisory will be in effect for the next several days as local temperatures are set to climb to nearly record highs as summer begins. The advisory officially begins on Tuesday, June 18, at noon and is in effect until 8 p.m. on Thursday, June 20. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are forecasted to have highs of 94, 92 and 92 degrees, respectively.
Weather: Prolonged extreme heat to impact region this week
ITHACA, N.Y. — Get your air conditioning installed, your outdoor work finished, and your cold beverages stocked up. A heat dome of hot, humid air will envelop much of the Eastern Great Lakes and Northeast in the week ahead, with widespread, unusually severe heat expected for much of the region in the coming days. A Heat Advisory is in effect from 12 PM Tuesday to 8 PM Thursday.
ICSD, Brown will not extend superintendent contract beyond 2028 amid tension
ITHACA, N.Y. — Ithaca City School District’s Superintendent Luvelle Brown appears, at present, prepared to vacate his post when his current contract expires on June 30, 2028. Days ahead of the annual school board vote to extend Brown’s tenure, news broke that the superintendent would “not seek an...
Sigler founds new political party line for State Senate election in November
ITHACA, N.Y. — A new, independent political party called Local 607 will be included on the ballot for the general election in November. Voters in Cortland, Tompkins and Broome Counties now have the option to register and vote under a new party line, which Mike Sigler, the sole Republican candidate vying to represent the 52nd New York State Senate District, worked to establish over the last two months. Sigler also represents the Town of Lansing in the Tompkins County Legislature.
Opinion: A student plea to vote for the budget
This is an opinion piece submitted by the editorial board of the Ithaca High School newspaper The Tattler. It was not written by The Ithaca Voice. To submit opinion pieces, please send them to Matt Butler at mbutler@ithacavoice.org. In response to overwhelming voter pushback on the first proposed school budget...
Monkey Run Natural Area reopens after week-long search for “potentially rabid” coyote
ITHACA, N.Y. — The trails at the Monkey Run Natural Area of the Cornell Botanical Gardens reopened to the public on June 12, after a week-long search for a “potentially rabid” coyote that attacked multiple people and dogs was unsuccessful. The environmental health division at Tompkins County...
Ithaca school board holds hearing on pared-down budget ahead of election
ITHACA, N.Y. — Roughly 130 people attended a final budget hearing Tuesday night ahead of next week’s Ithaca City School District (ICSD) budget revote on June 18. The district put forward a second budget proposal that includes a 2.79% increase to total operational costs and cuts funding for 57 positions. It is a pared down version of the district’s failed initial budget proposal, which sought to increase spending by 6.52%. Voters rejected the initial budget by historic margins during elections on May 21.
Ithaca Common Council sends “good-cause” eviction law to public hearing
ITHACA, N.Y. — The Ithaca Common Council voted on Wednesday to send “good-cause” eviction legislation, a tenant protections policy, to a public hearing and a final vote. It’s a major milestone for those who support expanding local tenants’ protection. The policy appears to have overwhelming support on city council, which voted 9 – 1 to move good-cause eviction protections one step further in the legislative process.
Large self-storage facility proposed for Ithaca Mall spaces
LANSING, N.Y. — If a developer has their way, a future trip to the Ithaca Mall could involve some shopping at Target, an annual physical at the new Cayuga Health facility, and digging the summer outdoor equipment out of the storage unit from the big self-storage facility planned on the south end of the mall.
Section of Franklin Street closes for three weeks for repaving
ITHACA, N.Y. — Franklin Street will be closed to thru traffic between Auburn Street and Willow Avenue for an estimated three weeks, starting on June 12. City workers will be tearing up the existing asphalt and repouring two rounds throughout the closure. City officials recommend local residents park elsewhere...
New nature preserve at Cayuga Cliffs opens in Lansing
ITHACA, N.Y. — A new nature preserve protecting the wooded bluffs above Cayuga Lake is now open for public use in the town of Lansing. The Sims-Jenning Preserve at Cayuga Cliffs, located off Ridge Road in Lansing, covers 223 acres and includes thousands of feet of bluffs, meadows, woodlands and gorges, according to a statement from the Finger Lakes Land Trust (FLLT), the conservation nonprofit that owns and maintains the area.
Ithaca High School junior wins division 1 long jump event at state track championships
ITHACA, N.Y. — Ithaca High School (IHS) junior Joshua Kwakye-Minott earned first place in the Division 1 long jump event at the state outdoor track and field championships over the weekend. The New York State Public High School Athletic Association Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held at Cicero-North...
Gallery: murals celebrating Ithaca’s Black community unveiled Sunday
ITHACA, N.Y. — Ithaca is now home to a series of new murals celebrating Ithaca’s Black youth, community and local Civil Rights Movement leaders. Local leaders, artists and community members were on hand during back-to-back unveiling ceremonies Sunday. One set of murals, which now adorns the walls of...
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