Here’s the Ithaca Minute for September 13th!

The Range is hosting a benefit concert for Hurricane Harvey victims in and around Houston tonight, with live music and DJing starting at 6:30pm. It’s the first of two events. The Range lineup for Wednesday, September 13th primarily consists of solo acts, with a few bands; while the Haunt lineup on Wednesday, September 27th is geared more towards bands. Funds raised will be split among the JJ Watt Foundation, the Montrose Center, and Friends for Life Animal Rescue and Adoption Organization, all verified non-profits helping out in the Houston area.

Starting next month, the Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport’s three commercial airline routes will all feature jet aircraft, according to airport officials. United is replacing the last remaining turboprops serving the airport with Embraer regional jets.

At the same time, Tompkins County says an FAA grant will provide 90% of the funding to install a new passenger boarding bridge at the airport. According to airport manager Mike Hall, United will be using 50-seat Embraer ERJ-145 regional jets for its service to Newark in place of 37-seat Dash-8 turboprops. United joins Delta and American regional carriers in using jets out of Ithaca.

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Here’s the Ithaca Minute for September 12th!

City of Ithaca officials say traffic will be maintained in both directions on East State Street, but blocked southbound on Stewart Avenue, while crews begin “intersection improvements” today at the corner of Route 79 and Stewart Avenue. One lane in each direction will be open on State Street, but the City encourages westbound drivers to detour around the work by turning right onto Stewart Avenue and then left onto Seneca Street. Expect delays on State Street and at the bottom of the Seneca Street hill. Stewart Avenue will be closed for southbound traffic from Seneca Street to State Street.

Registered Democratic and Republican voters have a few nominations on the ballot this primary election day, which is Tuesday, September 12th. Polls are open from 12 noon to 9pm for City of Ithaca voters in two districts, Town of Ulysses, and Town of Danby.

And with Labor Day weekend and the start of the school year just behind us, as well as disaster relief efforts for Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, the American Red Cross says there’s an urgent need for blood and platelet donations to help prevent a shortage. Several donations are scheduled in and around Ithaca over the next few weeks. Visit redcrossblood.org for a current list and to register to give.

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Here’s the Ithaca Minute for September 8th!

The United Way of Tompkins County is working with the United Way of Houston to collect items that will be useful to victims of Hurricane Harvey, and get them from Ithaca to Texas and Louisiana.

Collection sites this Friday and Saturday will accept handheld snack items like granola bars, pop-top ready-to-eat items like fruit cups, pantry items like soup and stews, personal hygiene items, cleaning supplies, bottled water, and diapers. Check 14850.com for the complete list of collection sites in Ithaca, Owego, Lansing, Trumansburg, Dryden, Newfield, and Groton.

A 16-year-old Ithaca resident was arrested this week and charged with grand larceny after an investigation into a robbery that occurred last week, police say. The victim had met the suspect “in order to sell a purse.”

Police aren’t releasing the name or booking photo of the suspect who was arrested Wednesday due to his age. The 16-year-old is being charged with grand larceny in the fourth degree, a class E felony.

And the Bandwagon Brewery is now open for business in Interlaken! Their grand opening is this Saturday at the brewery on Route 96A.

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Here’s the Ithaca Minute for September 7th!

Downtown Ithaca’s summer concert series ends this Thursday with a Battle of the Bands contest followed by Jimkata’s final Ithaca show. The popular local band says they’re going “on hold indefinitely” after their current tour.

The night kicks off with a series of bands competing for a prize package that includes a recording session at Pyramid Sound, strings and picks and more from Ithaca Guitar Works, and a photoshoot with Casey Martin Photography.

The winner of the MC Cypher contest, knew, is first at 6pm, followed by the Fall Creek Brass Band at 6:15, Stranded with a Kiss at 6:45, and Kitestring at 7:15.

Then Jimkata kicks off their farewell tour for a hometown crowd before heading to Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany, Manchester CT, and New York City.

The Ellis Hollow Fair this Saturday afternoon east of Ithaca has hay rides, a dunking booth, music, games, face painting, and food and crafts vendors, and perhaps best of all, admission is free.

And remember the Labor Day holiday means trash and recycling pickup is delayed one day for the rest of the week.

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Here’s the Ithaca Minute for September 6th!

After receiving a missing person report for a 27-year-old Ithaca woman, the Ithaca Police Department has “exhausted all leads” and are asking the public for help.

Police say the family of Nicole Dawn Marranca filed the missing person report “after they had not spoken with her in several days,” so Marranca may not have been heard from in at least two weeks. She may have last been seen in Ithaca around August 17th or 18th, police said in a statement. Photos are on 14850.com.

Kids are heading back to Ithaca schools this week, many of them walking, and a local father has taken the initiative to put up signs at several pedestrian crosswalks to remind drivers to yield.

“City leaders need to step up and take pedestrian and cycling safety more seriously,” says Armin Heurich, whose son Toby was hospitalized this summer after being hit by a car while on his bike.

The frustrated father took to a crowdfunding initiative to help pay for professionally printed signs that would be noticeable and informative and hold up to the elements.

And the presidents of Cornell University and Ithaca College have both issued unequivocal statements on the Trump administration’s decision to roll back protections from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Both expressed concern for the move and support for students.

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Here’s the Ithaca Minute for September 5th!

All school lunches in the Ithaca City School District will be a little more expensive this school year, and the district says it’s “due to new United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines.”

Full-price lunch prices will go up by 5 cents across the board, with elementary school lunch now $2.60, middle school lunch now $2.85, and high school lunch now $3.10. Breakfast prices remain the same as last year, at $1.50, $1.75, and $2.00, respectively, and milk costs 75 cents at all schools.

Families can apply for free or reduced-price meals using an application the district has sent to families they believe are eligible based on a list from New York State. The application is also available on the ICSD web site.

The 300 and 400 blocks of South Albany Street will be closed to thru traffic during work hours starting today as crews perform gas line work. The project should be finished in early October.

And remember the Labor Day holiday means trash and recycling pickup is delayed one day for the rest of the week.

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Here’s the Ithaca Minute for August 25th!

Nearly two years ago, Forest Home Drive was closed near the Thurston Avenue bridge “due to ongoing erosion of the gorge wall” along Fall Creek Gorge. Now, Cornell says work will begin to shore up the gorge so the road can be reopened.

Since September 2015, the roadway has been closed between the intersection with East Avenue and Thurston Avenue and the service drive to Olin Lab, near MVR Hall.

Work will begin next Monday, August 28th, and should be finished on or about November 23rd.

The third annual Big Mean BBQ brings one of the best lineups of the summer Ithaca music season together for a day and a night of festivities this weekend in Trumansburg. Gates open at noon Saturday and the music begins at 2pm with live bands and DJs set to play through the afternoon and evening and long into the night.

Set at the GrassRoots Festival off-site camping and parking area on Agard Road, Big Mean BBQ III will feature great BBQ and food trucks, beer and wine vendors, and of course hour after hour of music.

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Here’s the Ithaca Minute for August 24th!

The City of Ithaca says a position is opening up on Common Council to replace alderperson Josephine Martell, who announced last week she’s resigning as of August 24. Common Council is looking for a resident of the 5th ward to fill out the rest of her term. The temporary replacement will serve until December 31, 2017, and the vacant seat will be on the ballot this fall to elect a new alderperson as part of the November general election. Martell’s term had been through 2019. Acting mayor Deborah Mohlenhoff is the other Common Council member who serves the 5th ward.

Anyone interested in serving out Martell’s term “should forward a letter of interest and resume to City Clerk Julie Conley Holcomb at [email protected] or to the City Clerk’s Office, 108 E. Green Street, Ithaca, New York 14850, no later than August 29, 2017.”

Two days of public events will mark the inauguration of Dr. Martha E. Pollack, Cornell University’s 14th President. Events are scheduled this Thursday and Friday. Introduced last fall, Dr. Pollack was previously provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Michigan.

An installation ceremony will take place Friday afternoon at 2pm on Cornell’s Arts Quad, followed by a “Street Fair” from 4-5:30pm, featuring music, dance, displays, and a community picnic with fare from Cornell Catering and local vendors, plus the debut of a special Cornell Dairy ice cream flavor in Dr. Pollack’s honor.

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Here’s the Ithaca Minute for August 21st!

The Stewart Avenue bridge and Lincoln Street are two of several road closures to be aware of, and there’s a full list at 14850.com.

With several detours and extra-heavy traffic, and many drivers who aren’t familiar with our roads, please be especially patient and cautious as you drive around Ithaca. Use your turn signals well in advance. Expect drivers to slow or stop suddenly as they look for their destinations. And, yes, don’t be too surprised if someone turns the wrong way down a one-way street.

Radio personalities from local station Z95.5 will be at several giveaway events this week, offering free backpacks stuffed with school supplies to school-age kids, with help from Walmart, Fidelis Care, and CFCU Community Credit Union. Giveaways this week are at Guthrie in Ithaca, CFCU in Cortland, and Hickey’s Music.

And there are gatherings in Ithaca to enjoy the 70% solar eclipse we’ll get here this afternoon, at Cornell’s Fuertes Observatory, Stewart Park, Dewitt Park, and the Sciencenter. Don’t look directly at the sun without proper eye protection!

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Here’s the Ithaca Minute for August 17th!

Ithaca Police arrested two men who tried to rob a resident as he walked home from his downtown job on Monday night. The victim was hit in the head and neck and was thrown to the ground. 19-year-old Dakota Higgins Clark and 18-year-old Anthony Higgins were arrested on second degree attempted robbery and second degree assault charges.

The Tompkins County Sheriff’s Department is asking the public for help investigating two crimes. They’ve released videos of a theft at a store at the Shops at Ithaca Mall, and of a theft at a car wash in Lansing. Both videos are at 14850.com.

Cornell University says a young male bobcat has been released back into the wild after treatment and recovery following a car accident. The Swanson Wildlife Health Center and Cornell University Hospital for Animals both helped treat the bobcat, who had a badly broken leg and a dislocation.

And this week marks 17 years since the death of Andy Castrenze, who owned Andy’s 3rd Street Cafe. Go enjoy a decadent breakfast in his memory.

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