Ithaca Minute from 14850 Magazine

Here’s the Ithaca Minute for August 15th!

The Stewart Avenue bridge is closed for nearly three months for a City of Ithaca project to repaint and repair the structure, but the bridge will reopen this weekend and next, says an Ithaca bridge systems engineer.

For Cornell’s opening weekend, when new students arrive on campus, the bridge will be opened to two-way traffic this Friday through Sunday, August 18th-20th. It will be open for the inauguration of Cornell’s new president next weekend, as well. Throughout the closure, which is scheduled until October 13th, Ithaca officials say pedestrian and bicycle access will be maintained across the bridge, but vehicular traffic has to detour.

On South Hill, the City of Ithaca hopes to reopen Hudson Street later this month after delays caused by rain, or at least forecast rain, every week. They started setting curb on Pennsylvania Avenue on Monday and hope to pave early next week so they can reopen Hudson Street by Ithaca College’s new student move-in weekend.

And the 6th annual Corporal Christopher Bordoni Memorial Ride raised about $5,500 this weekend, according to Gary Allen of Allegiance LEMC New York.

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The so-called “Whitney Point Alligator” whipped up headlines a week ago after multiple reported sightings, and was rescued this weekend by the DEC. The young alligator will have a home at Animal Adventure Park where it’ll be available for public visits after a brief quarantine.

There’s no sign of Hudson Street reopening on south hill after a sidewalk project that was originally supposed to be finished in late June. Ithaca officials won’t say when they’ll finish, and Ithaca College move-in weekend is in just a few weeks.

New York State’s Parks Department says no swimming at Taughannock Falls State Park through at least this Tuesday, due to harmful blue-green algae blooms.

And a three-month project to rebuild East Lincoln Street begins today. Expect detours on Lincoln Street from Cayuga Street to Lake Street as the City of Ithaca mills and repaves the street and upgrades the sidewalks.

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Here’s the Ithaca Minute for July 27th!

A project to repaint and repair the Stewart Avenue bridge over Cascadilla Creek will close the bridge for nearly three months, requiring a detour around the major Collegetown thoroughfare. The City says the bridge project “will include field cleaning and overcoating the existing structural steel with minor concrete repairs to the arch footing.” It should be done in mid October.

Cornell University has rare titan arum, or corpse flower, plants, and one of them is likely to bloom within a few weeks. Carolus was recently replanted outside in Minns Garden.

Tompkins County Animal Control is asking anyone who knows the whereabouts of Stanley Schroeder to come forward. Mr. Schroeder’s dogs were involved in a “vicious attack” on another dog last month in the City of Ithaca.

And Downtown Ithaca Employee Appreciation Week ends tomorrow with employee olympics! Stop by the Commons at lunchtime to compete.

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Here’s the Ithaca Minute for June 29th!

A young cat shot with a crossbow bolt in Dryden last week is back at the SPCA after successful surgery, and already has an adopter waiting to take her home, according to the SPCA of Tompkins County. The SPCA asks anyone with information about the incident to call Animal Control at 607-319-5067. Anyone who’d like to help cover the cost of the cat’s surgery can donate online.

Many kids get their most nutritious meals at school, and in the summer, local and federal agencies team up for summer breakfast and lunch, which began this week in Tompkins County. Free meals for kids and teens 18 and younger are running at Northside Community Center, with breakfast from 8:30-10:30am and lunch from 11-1:30 until September 1st; and they start July 5th at Southside Community Center with breakfast from 8:30-10:30am and lunch from 12-2pm. No registration or paperwork is required, and there are also meals in Newfield, Dryden, and Groton.

Cornell Police say an Enfield man faces multiple charges after trying to rob a woman’s purse on Ho Plaza on Friday night. About 8:30pm on June 23 near Cornell’s Uris Library, a female victim reported that a male subject “engaged her in conversation and subsequently attempted to take her purse by force.” Police identified him as Edrick Acosta Ramos of Enfield.

And Lyft and Uber are now available in Ithaca. Have you tried them yet? Let us know.

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Here’s the Ithaca Minute for June 12th!

Expect a high UV index this afternoon, as high as 9 around 1pm. If you’ll be outside for more than a few minutes, protect your skin with sunscreen or a hat, and wear UV-protecting sunglasses.

Tuesday night’s 28th annual Taste of the Nation benefit event gathers dozens of the Ithaca area’s restaurants, chefs, wineries, beer and other beverage producers, and even musicians for a gala night aimed at ending childhood hunger.

For the last few years, Taste of the Nation has taken place at Ithaca College’s Athletics & Events Center on the east end of campus, with plenty of space for the event and lots of parking.

John G. Hertzler, who portrayed General Martok on “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and was elected to the Ulysses Town Board in 2013, will challenge Rep. Tom Reed for New York’s 23rd Congressional District Seat, he announced on Friday. He got involved in local politics as an opponent of hydrofracking, and ran on the Democratic ticket for a Ulysses Town Board seat in the fall of 2013 and was re-elected two years later.

And over two years after the fire that destroyed the popular Chapter House building in Collegetown, as well as an apartment house next door, work has begun to clear the site and rebuild. The building design allows for a ground-floor business, if the Chapter House owner decides to “return to the newly built space.”

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Kitten season means a lot of tiny, adorable mouths to feed, and the SPCA of Tompkins County says 56 kittens in foster care are going through supplies fast. They’re asking friends and fans to donate some spare kitten food to help out with the shortage. Drop off any brand of canned kitten food, but they prefer no fish or seafood varieties. Or use their Amazon wishlist.

The Ithaca Police Department released security video from an armed bank robbery yesterday morning in Ithaca’s west end. The suspect was described as a dark-skinned black male, about 5’10” tall and medium build, last seen wearing a white t-shirt and dark pants. He wore a mask covering his face. The robbery occurred at the Taughannock Boulevard location of the Tompkins Employees Federal Credit Union. Police say “a black male entered the bank, displayed a handgun and pointed it at several employees, and ordered the teller to give him money.”

And you may have missed the special Cornell Dairy ice cream flavor made for Joe Biden’s visit last month, but they’ve made more! Big Red, White & Biden is on sale again this week in time for Cornell Reunion weekend.

Emergency responders say an Ithaca Police Department officer who was involved in an accident in Ithaca’s west end on Monday evening “was not seriously injured.” “The patrol car had been hit head on and had extensive damage,” according to IFD, and multiple airbags deployed. Fire crews cut the officer out of the vehicle, and he was transported to Cayuga Medical Center for evaluation. IPD is investigating the cause of the accident. The officer involved has not been identified.

A 20-year-old man was airlifted to the hospital late Friday night after falling from a balcony on South Cayuga Street just after 11pm, according to Ithaca Police. Police say they believe the fall was an accident, but an investigation is continuing.

This Wednesday morning at Celebrations is the 16th annual “Kids are our Business” fundraising breakfast to benefit the Youth Services programs at the Advocacy Center of Tompkins County. Tickets for the 7:30am breakfast are available by contacting [email protected].

And Ithaca College is hosting the International Society of Bassists for its 50th anniversary convention, and hundreds of the very best bassists and bass makers in the world will participate in more than 150 performances, plus workshops and exhibits.

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Here’s the Ithaca Minute for June 2nd!

Remember, Cayuga Street is closing for this evening’s Ithaca Festival Parade, which starts at 6:30. No parking along the route from 4-9pm. And there’s a $5/day “event parking fee” if you’d like to use the Downtown Ithaca parking garages this Saturday or Sunday.

Ithaca author Linda Grace Kobas is originally from Niagara Falls, and her debut novel “Niagara” focuses on that city’s historic past and its development-filled present. She’s reading, discussing, and signing copies of “Niagara” this Sunday at Buffalo Street Books.

The Cosmic Joke Collective will mark the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” with a couple dozen musicians rotating to perform the entire album at Lot 10 this Saturday night.

After two nights of “soft opening,” a new Downtown Ithaca location of Luna Inspired Street Food opened this Thursday. It’s the latest of a small group of local food-truck-inspired eateries that began almost two years ago in Collegetown. As in Collegetown, expect plenty of locally sourced produce and meats in the tacos, bao buns, pizza, salads, sandwiches, mac & cheese, and so on, and “lots of vegan and vegetarian items.”

Ithaca College made its goal of 1,000 donors in the month of May’s “Fill the Fountains” campaign, hitting 1,023 donors as the clock ticked down.

And the Cornell Dairy Bar says they’re making more Big Red, White & Biden ice cream. It’ll be available next week in time for Cornell’s Reunion Weekend.

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Here’s the Ithaca Minute for June 1st!

A vote conducted Wednesday among baristas at Gimme! Coffee, under the supervision of the National Labor Relations Board, was resoundingly in favor of unionizing, according to the Tompkins County Workers Center. Most of the “full-time, regular part-time and variable-hour employees who were eligible to vote turned out on Wednesday, and decided 94% to 6% in favor of organizing a union.

There’s no parking along Cayuga Street on Friday afternoon for the Ithaca Festival Parade. And Festival organizers say $5 event parking is in effect for the Downtown Ithaca garages this weekend. North Cayuga Street is a tow away zone this Friday from 4-9pm. As always, parking downtown is available in the City-owned parking garages on Seneca Street, Green Street, and Cayuga Street, but as always on a big event weekend, there’s a $5/day “event parking fee” if you’d like to use the garage.

Congressman Tom Reed has scheduled four Town Hall Meetings this weekend to hear from constituents, and two of them are in nearby Trumansburg and Erin. The first is in Trumansburg on Saturday morning, June 3rd.

And there were 76 entries and four finalists, and this week 14850 Dining can tell you who won the Hunger Hero sandwich competition. Collegetown Bagels hosted a tasting event and will be selling the sandwich to benefit the United Way of Tompkins County.

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Former Vice President Joe Biden is speaking at Cornell this weekend, and the famous ice cream fan is getting his very own Cornell Dairy ice cream flavor. Students will help dish up “Big Red, White & Biden” while the veep is in town. Biden is speaking at Cornell’s Convocation, 12 noon to 1pm on Saturday, and after that, Cornell is holding an Ice Cream Social on their Arts Quad from 2-3pm.

A New York State Amber Alert was canceled yesterday afternoon after a Western New York girl was found safe.

Work begins this week to improve pedestrian access to Ithaca’s South Hill, installing sidewalks on Hudson Street between Coddington Road and Pennsylvania Avenue, and Hudson Street will be closed for two weeks of the six-week project, starting June 19th.

The Hunger Hero tasting to decide Ithaca’s best new sandwich idea to benefit the United Way of Tompkins County is moving indoors. It’s Thursday at 5:30 at the downtown Collegetown Bagels on Aurora Street.

And don’t forget there are four screenings at Cinemapolis this Thursday of “Long Strange Trip,” a new Grateful Dead documentary.

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