ITHACA, N.Y. — Despite the objections of Cornell University officials, the encampment of protesters on the school’s Arts Quad, organized by the student group Coalition for Mutual Liberation (CML), has remained overnight and into a second day.  The protest, similar to others happening around the country on college campuses, is calling for Cornell to divest in its Israeli holdings, call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, increase academic programming around Palestine, guarantee amnesty for students and faculty participating in the “Liberation Zone,” as they have termed the encampment, repl ..read more

ITHACA, N.Y. — The City of Ithaca is in the early stages of a campaign to replace thousands of water meters that have aged past full functionality.  When those old meters are replaced, some customers using city water might find out they’ve been overcharged or undercharged for potentially years.  City officials stated they’ll reimburse customers who were overcharged. However, for those that the city has been undercharging, a surprise water bill is coming down the pike. It’s up to Common Council to decide how high that bill can be.  A divided council approved a resolution to limi ..read more

DRYDEN, N.Y. — While superstition can only go so far, if any one piece of property in Tompkins County was “cursed” to developers, it might be the northeast corner of Dryden and Freese Road in the hamlet of Varna. The hamlet has long had an allure to real estate developers near and far, hoping to take advantage of its proximity to Cornell just to the west, and more affordable, less onerous zoning in comparison to Ithaca. But the former site of “Mt. Varna,” arguably one of the most prominent properties in the hamlet, has been a longstanding irritant for Town of Dryden officials. Over the years ..read more

ITHACA, N.Y. — A pair of projects received Site Plan Approval at the City of Ithaca’s Planning and Development Board meeting Tuesday evening during a relatively short but productive session. In addition to the two approved projects, on Lake Street and East State Street, a third project was granted re-approval, and the board continued discussion on a couple of other proposals currently in the works. A meeting summary follows for your edification below. For those who like to take a glimpse at the agenda, a copy of that can be found here, and the full meeting can be found here. Lake Street Tow ..read more

ITHACA, N.Y. — The Ithaca Voice has been selected as a host newsroom for Report for America, a nationwide program that places reporters with newsrooms in areas that need more robust news coverage. The Voice is one of 60 newsrooms across the country selected for the Report for America program in 2024, which has now matched more than 650 journalists with local news organizations since its 2017 launch. Through the program, The Ithaca Voice will welcome Fernando Figueroa, a senior at the University of Florida, to our newsroom. Figueroa will take on the local environmental beat when Report for Ame ..read more

ITHACA, N.Y. — Members of the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency were intrigued with plans shared last week essentially aiming to push the bounds of Ithaca’s downtown westward with mixed-uses and mixed-income housing. But first, a willing developer has to be located. The discussion, formally called the “Block 14 request,” was led by former Downtown Ithaca Alliance Executive Director Gary Ferguson and retired real estate developer Mack Travis, whose children now run the family business of Travis Hyde Properties. The property Ferguson and Travis wanted to discuss, called “Block 14” w ..read more

ITHACA, N.Y. — Tompkins County’s Rapid Medical Response (RMR) program will receive $300,000 from the New York State’s Department of Health to defray operating costs past the program’s first year, as outlined in the state’s 2025 budget bill.  Leaders and staff from the county and the City of Ithaca joined Senator Lea Webb (D-Binghamton) Tuesday at Dewitt Park in Ithaca to announce the news, along with the architects of the program, Michael Stitley, the director of the Tompkins County Department of Emergency Response (DoER) and Joe Milliman, the department’s emergency medical service’s pro ..read more

ITHACA, N.Y. — Joining several other Ivy League schools, Cornell University announced Monday it will reinstate standardized testing requirements for undergraduate applicants, starting in 2026. A report compiled by a task force directed to assess the impact of the school’s 2020 decision to pause its SAT/ACT exam scores requirement was published along with the announcement, outlining the school’s justification for reinstating the requirement. The task force’s report, which can be read in full at the bottom of this article, states that they found no clear indication that the elimination of the t ..read more

ITHACA, N.Y. — A man charged with fatally shooting his own father in 2023 pleaded he was not responsible by reason of mental disease or defect in Tompkins County Court on Thursday.  Keith Rowser Jr., 29, admitted in his plea that he fatally shot his father, Keith Rowser Sr., with a handgun in the Town of Ithaca on July 19, 2023. A court-ordered psychological evaluation diagnosed the younger Rowser with schizophrenia. His condition was exacerbated by the abuse of opiates and hallucinogens. The evaluation found that Rowser was delusional when he killed his father.  County Court Judge ..read more

ITHACA, N.Y. — The Ithaca City School District (ICSD) has set three public hearing dates for discussion of the district’s 2024-2025 operating budget. The hearings will be Monday night, April 22, at the Greater Ithaca Activities Center at 5:30 p.m.; May 8 at the Danby Fire Hall at 5:30 p.m.; and May 14 at 5:30 p.m. at York Hall at Ithaca High School. The final vote on the district’s budget will come May 21, when voters can decide whether or not to approve the budget via referendum. The budget has been set for $168,935,371, which would result in a $15.68 tax rate per $1,000 in assessed property ..read more