Backstory: an Ithaca Voice podcast

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Last month, long time local elected official and civil servant Rod Howe stepped down from his most recent role as the Town of Ithaca’s supervisor. He’s served in many different roles in town government over the past 25 plus years, and he’s got a lot of stories.

The town supervisor may not get as much attention as his counterpart over in city hall, the mayor. But overseeing the Town of Ithaca — the more varied, less urban ring of communities surrounding the city center — requires its fair share of leadership savvy.

Ithaca Voice managing editor Jimmy Jordan sat down with Howe a few weeks ago to chat about his time in elected office.

Producer's Note:

Backstory is transitioning to a twice-monthly release schedule so that we can put more of our efforts into the in-depth local reporting that helps power the show. Today's will be our last weekly episode. Our next episode will be Oct. 27.

Our mission at The Ithaca Voice is to provide our community the news they need to make informed decisions and participate in civic life. A big part of that is meeting folks where they are, whether that's on a traditional news feed, a podcast or on social media. We appreciate all the support for the show so far.

Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors.

Original air date: Oct. 13, 2026.

Reported and hosted by Jimmy Jordan

Produced by Jimmy Jordan and Megan Zerez.

Cover art image by Anna Lamb/Ithaca Voice.

Listen and subscribe to Backstory on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Amazon Music, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts.

This episode contains descriptions of sexual assault and drug use.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual abuse, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (800-656-4673). Locally, the Advocacy Center of Tompkins County provides confidential help and other resources. They can be reached anytime at (607) 277-5000.

Cornell University has become the epicenter of a major national news story after a former student — identified only as Jane Doe —filed a civil lawsuit last month alleging she had been raped by seven members of a now-barred fraternity in October 2024.

The lawsuit has reignited a nearly two-year-old investigation and sparked national outrage over Cornell's fraternity culture and the way local and university officials handled the case. The ripple effects go well beyond Cornell University.

Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors.

Original air date: Oct. 6, 2026.

Reported by Hailea Potter, Jimmy Jordan, Megan Zerez and Fernando Figueroa.

Hosted and edited by Megan Zerez.

Cover art image by Casey Martin/Ithaca Voice.

Listen and subscribe to Backstory on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Amazon Music, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts.

New York has set lofty environmental goals for itself … and it's behind schedule.

In 2020, the state set up a complex judicial process to standardize the permitting process for renewable energy projects. But that process also takes much of the decision-making power away from local officials and from people who live in these communities.

Now, that conflict is coming to a head just across the county line, in the Town of Hector, where a Colorado-based company wants to build a 100 megawatt wind farm.

Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors.

Original air date: September 29, 2026.

Reported by Fernando Figueroa

Hosted and edited by Megan Zerez

Cover art image by Ayşenur Yılmaz/Pexels

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It’s the second school year since Governor Kathy Hochul issued a statewide ban on student cell phone use during the school day. The Ithaca City School District, like many others across the state, is still working out the kinks on how to best to implement the reforms.

For months, some parents, teachers and students have said that while the policy has managed to cut down some phone use, it's not uncommon to see students flouting the rule. Infractions related to cell phone use have contributed to a major increase in the number of disciplinary cases, though some teachers and students say they suspect the actual number of violations is much higher.

Now, the majority of the school board seems to agree that change is necessary. They just can't agree on how to do it. An attempt to beef up the policy before the start of the school year fizzled out. And now, several weeks into the school year, the debate seems to have reached a stalemate.

The cell phone ban has become an early point of contention between the district's elected and appointed leaders … and the hundreds of teachers, students and families affected by their decisions.

Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors.

Original air date: September 22, 2026.

Reported and edited by Megan Zerez.

Hosted by Jimmy Jordan.

Cover art image by Jimmy Jordan.

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Every fall, Tompkins County leaders begin the arduous process of hammering out a spending plan for the upcoming year. What will it take to keep government services — like Medicaid payments, the county sheriff's office or the health department — going? And how much in taxes are needed to pay for all of it?

For the last few years, Tompkins County Legislators have opted to draw from the county’s rainy day fund to make ends meet and close a deficit. But now, legislators are facing an uncomfortable situation. Pulling money from the fund balance isn’t going to be sustainable forever. And this year, the county’s administrators say it might be time to stop.

Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors.

Original air date: September 15, 2026

Produced, hosted and edited by Megan Zerez.

Reported by Hailea Potter and Jimmy Jordan.

Cover art image by Casey Martin.

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Tompkins County's cost of living is higher than anywhere else in the region. And for several years, county leaders have been mulling the idea of setting their own, higher minimum wage, which some argue could better reflects the economic reality of life here.

Last summer, after the most recent round of debate over the proposal, county legislators opted to commission a study of the potential implications of a local minimum wage.

Now, that study is complete. Researchers say raising the minimum wage would help reduce longstanding inequities. But there are some lingering questions, and not everyone is on board.

Research professor Ian Greer was one of a team of Cornell University researchers who conducted the study. Greer is also the director of the university's Ithaca Co-Lab, which aims to support and study labor issues and workers rights in Tompkins County.

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Original air date: September 8, 2026

Produced, hosted and edited by Megan Zerez.

Cover art image by Jacob Mroczek.

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In 2022, paramedics at Bangs Ambulance voted to unionize. Progressive activists and elected officials at the time cheered the effort. But the vote was close. And as far as union negotiations go, the four years since haven’t always been smooth sailing.

It was only this summer that the union finally reached an agreement with the family that owns the longtime ambulance company. Workers voted to ratify it in July, with virtually no public fanfare.

What does it mean for Ithaca’s main EMS provider … and the people who depend on them?

Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors.

Original air date: September 1, 2026

Produced, hosted and edited by Megan Zerez.

Reported by Hailea Potter, Megan Zerez, Jimmy Jordan and Matt Butler.

Cover art image by Casey Martin.

Listen and subscribe to Backstory on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Amazon Music, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts.

Earlier this year, Ithaca's Common Council passed a law that could start to reshape the city's built environment in the interest of addressing the housing crisis. Now, it's being tested for the first time.

Zoning law isn't a new concept: governments have long set guidelines that dictate what can be built in a particular area. And while it may take a while for the average person to notice a change, zoning laws are the quiet force that shape the way the city grows and feels for decades to come.

Some leaders say Ithaca's current zoning laws are holding the city back. Local politicians have touted the idea of zoning reform as a potential solution for all sorts of problems in the city: limited housing availability, struggling local businesses, walkability.

Earlier this year, the Ithaca Common Council took made it easier to apply for exceptions to zoning restrictions all over the city. These exceptions are called Planned Unit Developments, or PUDs for short.

The idea was to make it easier for projects that might use land a little more creatively, projects that might have otherwise been blocked by the red tape that sometimes comes with typical zoning law. It’s meant as an initial step to spur development while the city works on a bigger zoning reform.

But now, the first major test case — a new apartment complex on West Hill — is unfolding ... and so far, not everyone is convinced.

Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors.

Original air date: August 25, 2026

Produced, hosted and edited by Megan Zerez.

Reported by Jimmy Jordan and Brian Crandall.

Cover art image courtesy of the City of Ithaca.

Listen and subscribe to Backstory on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Amazon Music, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts.

If an affordable housing development gets a tax break, does it come at a cost to the rest of the community?

It’s a debate that’s been playing out with the massive new mixed-use development known as SouthWorks. Some have described the project as on the scale of a whole new neighborhood.

Last week, the first major phase of that project just got approved for a major tax break. The developers say they need the help to be able to keep rent affordable for working class Ithacans.

But some advocates say the tax break could hurt Ithaca’s public schools … which rely heavily on those taxes to keep classroom lights on and teachers paid.

Additional notes:

Report issues to the City of Ithaca's sidewalk repair program here before Aug. 20 for priority repair.

Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors.

Original air date: August 18, 2026

Produced and edited by Megan Zerez.

Reported and hosted by Megan Zerez and Jimmy Jordan.

Cover photo by Megan Zerez.

Correction 8/17/26:

This article characterizes Town of Lansing Deputy Supervisor Joe Wetmore as an “outspoken critic” of the proposed TeraWulf data center in Lansing. After a careful review of past reporting and previous statements, The Ithaca Voice found that Wetmore has not taken an explicit public position against the data center proposed in Lansing by TeraWulf.

Wetmore had previously supported a now-failed development moratorium that could have affected the data center. He stated that the policy was not specifically aimed at blocking the TeraWulf project, but rather about facilitating responsible development in the Town of Lansing.

This nuance is absent from this reporting. That error was included in this report as a result of the editing process, and is not the fault of the reporter on this story.

We regret this mistake.

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Right now, the data center proposal in Lansing is more discourse than development. But even the debate is causing ripple effects.

There’s pending legal action seeking to oust one of the members of Lansing’s town board. It alleges, among other things, that deputy town supervisor and board member Joe Wetmore had misused his power as an elected official to try to block the controversial Terawulf artificial intelligence (AI) data project.

The plaintiff is also a long time Lansing resident and community leader in her own right. She says she supports the data center ... but says the lawsuit goes beyond that. The New York City law firm representing her has ties to Terawulf, the company behind the data center.

How far are local politicians allowed to go when they oppose a project? And what — or who — is really at the heart of this case?

Access a time-stamped transcript by clicking the button with three lines on the embedded player. For a full page transcript, click here. The transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors.

Original air date: August 11, 2026

Produced and edited by Megan Zerez

Reporting by Hailea Potter and Fernando Figueroa

Cover photo by Casey Martin.