Content warning: this story includes obscene language and allegations. Update 9:40 p.m.: The Ithaca Teachers Association has rescheduled its candidate forum. It will be held at Ithaca High School’s York Hall on Monday, May 13 at 6:00 p.m. ITHACA, N.Y. — A virtual Board of Education candidate forum hosted by the Ithaca Teachers Association was interrupted Thursday night with booing, heckling and a looped clip from a pornographic video. The disruptions came from multiple Zoom accounts and appeared to be a coordinated effort specifically targeting incumbents Eldred Harris and Adam Krantweiss. Th ..read more

ITHACA, N.Y. — City officials and a local car wash-chain owner have struck an agreement to turn off the business’ vacuums earlier in the evening. The decision came after a wave of Southside neighborhood residents living near the new Squeaky Clean Car Wash location at 501-507 South Meadow Street appeared at a Common Council meeting to complain that the carwash’s vacuums created a highly irritating noise. Meg Prichard and Andrew Lunn live on Center Street in Ithaca’s Southside Neighborhood. Squeaky Clean, a Lansing-based company with several other car washes in the region, opened its new car wa ..read more

ITHACA, N.Y. — Cornell University President Martha Pollack is set to retire on June 30. Pollack made the announcement in an email Thursday, calling her time as president of Cornell “an amazing privilege.” She had been president of the Ivy League school since 2017 after working as provost at the University of Michigan. “After seven fruitful and gratifying years as Cornell’s president – capping a career in research and academia spanning five decades – I’m ready for a new chapter in my life,” Pollack said. Cornell Provost Michael Kotlikoff will take over the interim president’s role on July 1, 2 ..read more

ITHACA, N.Y. — Slope Day at Cornell University, the school’s annual celebration of the end of another academic year, brought thousands of students to the school’s sprawling Libe Slope. Hip-hop artists A Boogie Wit da Hoodie and special guest Flo Rida were the day’s featured artists, along with opener Oya Baby. The yearly festival is held after undergraduate classes have ended for the spring semester but before final exams begin. According to people in attendance, the crowd grew so excited during the performances that the concert had to be stopped at least once to maintain the barriers between ..read more

ITHACA, N.Y. — In a market as tight as Ithaca’s, with housing costs rising as fast as they are, the last thing local electeds and economic development officials want to hear is a construction deceleration. But the extended period of high interest rates at the national level has resulted in a plunge in multifamily housing construction, including in Tompkins County. The Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency (TCIDA) broached the topic at their April meeting, reviewing a lengthy list of projects that had been reviewed by TCIDA but are currently “on hold.” Details on most of the projects a ..read more

ITHACA, N.Y. — An overturned tractor crash left an adult and a child injured Monday afternoon in Trumansburg, according to a press release from Trumansburg Fire. Trumansburg Fire lieutenant Alix Gresov said first responders were called to Route 96 for a report of a tractor crash with two people trapped underneath the vehicle. When responders arrived, a neighbor was trying to free the two people from the tractor. Gresov said crews worked to remove the victims from the wreck by raising the vehicle enough, all while a fire had developed in the engine of the crashed vehicle. “Once extricated, the ..read more

ITHACA, N.Y. — The Downtown Ithaca Alliance announced this year’s Summer Concert Series lineup last week, introducing the 19 acts that will liven up the Ithaca Commons during Thursday evenings throughout summer. The concerts are held each Thursday from 6-8 p.m. and are free to attend. The event spans 14 weeks with 12 concerts total, skipping July 4 and July 18. Seven of the concerts are listed as double-headers, with two acts performing consecutively at the Bernie Milton Pavilion. June 13, 2024 Front & Main Alex Cano June 20, 2024 Thousands of One New Planets June 27, 2024 Ariel Ar ..read more

ITHACA, N.Y.  — Crews of city workers began cleaning out an area of the city’s homeless encampments last week. Workers used heavy machinery to pile whatever refuse or belongings were left in the abandoned encampment. Bicycles, propane tanks, shopping carts, and plywood are some of the most visible types of debris put into mounds in preparation for their removal.  The scene was triggered by a notice of violation Tompkins County Environmental Health served the City of Ithaca in April. The encampment, which is on city-owned land, was deemed a public health hazard, giving Ithaca officia ..read more

ITHACA, N.Y. — Leaders of a plan for mixed-income supportive housing in Ithaca’s West End are hoping a boost from the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) will help them break ground. First, they have to make their case to the IDA, and hope the authority approves. The Meadow on Seneca is an 80,754 square-foot, 70-unit building approved for construction at 116 North Meadow Street on Ithaca’s West End. First proposed last spring, the Rehabilitation Support Services (RSS) plan would have 35 units set aside for individuals managing serious mental illness, survivors of domestic viol ..read more

ITHACA, N.Y. — An off-duty police officer with the Cornell University Police Department was charged in connection with a crash early Saturday morning that left a 19-year-old Ithaca College student with “serious injuries,” according to police. According to a statement from the New York State Police, a pedestrian was struck while walking near the 1500 block of Slaterville Road in the Town of Ithaca around 1:30 a.m. on May 4. Medics responded to the scene and the victim was airlifted to Robert Packer Hospital for treatment. Thirty-year-old Blake Curtis, of Ithaca, was arrested at the scene and c ..read more