Backstory: an Ithaca Voice podcast

July 25, 2025 — Ithaca's ailing dams. The fight over union dues and religious freedom.


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Part I: Ithaca's city owned dams are in poor shape and there may not be enough money in the bank to fix them. There's been little discussion of the matter among Common Councilmembers so far. What does that mean for Ithaca's water supply ... and everyone living downstream?

Part II: Cornell University took the rare move of withholding six weeks worth of union dues after a contract dispute with the union that represents its graduate student workers. The university — and some graduate students — are not happy with the way that the union handled religious exemptions, particularly for some Jewish students.

Editor’s note: transcript is auto-generated and may contain errors. Access it by clicking the transcript button on the embedded player.

Original air date: July 25, 2025

Produced by Megan Zerez.

Reporting by Fernando Figueroa, Jimmy Jordan and Megan Zerez.

Cover photo by Casey Martin.

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Backstory: an Ithaca Voice podcastBy The Ithaca Voice