The Debrief Podcast

Last week FingerLakes1.com reported on the stories of those at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, who felt that administrators fell short in protecting them during the pandemic. After a relatively quiet first semester in the fall- a number of issues bubbled to the surface in the first two months of 2021. 

On Thursday, Robb Flowers, VP for Campus Life at HWS joined Ted Baker on Finger Lakes Morning News to talk about issues raised in the story. Listen to that conversation below. 

Editor's Note: Before publishing the original story we reached out to HWS Communications for comment on the issues at play. In addition, we provided HWS with any opportunity they desired to respond- whether it be written, spoken, or otherwise. We did not hear back from them about fulfilling that request after the story was published.

Later this month Seneca Lake Pures Waters Association will be putting on a farming symposium. It's all about Soil Health Incentive programs for farm and vineyard owners- which are typically known as Payment for Ecosystem Services. The programs allow farmers to be paid to use agricultural practices that sequest carbon and are favorable for the environment. Jacob Fox of SLPWA joined Josh Durso to discuss it all on today's FL1 Daily.

Over the winter Finger Lakes Textiles celebrated its 10,000th winter hat produced for sale at its manufacturing facility in Waterloo. It was a history making milestone, and given the last year- with a global pandemic crunching Mozaic's operation- it was a necessary one. Allen Connely, who serves as CEO of Mozaic, which oversees the Finger Lakes Textiles operation, says the last 12 months has been inspiring. Between the sacrifices made by employees, hard work put in each day by staff, and creative thinking that allowed Mozaic to find success- it has given him pause several times. 

Despite the spring feel that Wednesday gave us we all know winter is still here. And it will stick around for a while. That said, Chris Lajewski, Center Director for the Montezuma Audubon Center, says there are plenty of signs of spring at the Montezuma Wetlands Complex and associated property. That's because nature gives us clues about the upcoming seasons before we ever see it in the forecast. 

On this edition of the FL1 Daily podcast Chris talks to us about late-winter, and early-spring activities, as well as how fast that transition actually happens.

What happened to the individuals who were taken into custody after the riot last winter at a handful of Cayuga Nation properties along Rt. 89 in Seneca Falls? Nation leaders claimed that arrests, charges, and legal proceedings would be coming. However, we learned this week that this was never the case. Even the alleged jail that the Nation was using in Pennsylvania to detain people was not used to actually detain anyone. Wanda Johns, aunt of one arrestee spoke with FingerLakes1.com's Gabriel Pietrorazio about it all in an exclusive interview.

Open enrollment is an annual event. It's the window where those who don't have insurance, or those who have lost it - can obtain it. Each year there are always a lot of questions. However, open enrollment is usually over by now. The coronavirus pandemic turned everything - including open enrollment - upside down. Today on the program, Kelly Smith of MVP Health Care, who walks us through some of the essentials of open enrollment after Gov. Andrew Cuomo extended it through March. The key is that no matter your economic situation - there's a health insurance plan for you.

Heather McDaniel leads Ithaca Area Economic Development, which was previously known as TCAD or Tompkins County Area Development. In part two of our conversation with Heather, a look at the components that will be most important to succeeding in the future. She says recovery is underway, and that's what they are focused on now.

Heather McDaniel leads Ithaca Area Economic Development, which was previously known as TCAD or Tompkins County Area Development. Today in part one of our conversation with Heather, a look at what economic development was before the pandemic; and the components that made the Finger Lakes region thrive and succeed over the last two decades.

The end of 2020 was an historic one for the Montezuma Audubon Center. Director Chris Lajewski says that their fundraising effort was more successful than ever before, and was a truly inspiring conclusion to a tremendously difficult year. Now he's focused on 2021; and looking forward to what will come next. Chris says there's a lot of positive going on, and a great opportunity to get outdoors even during the winter months. In our monthly feature in partnership with The Montezuma Audubon Center, Chris talks about some of the species being seen at the Wetlands Complex, as well as some upcoming events for the whole family.

What's next for journalism? What about journalists who were laid off or are underrepresented in the news business? Well, Patch Labs could be a solution to that problem. We caught up with Abe Brewster, President and CTO of Patch Labs over the weekend for our Sunday Conversation. 

Today we hear one of the most-important parts of that conversation, where he walks us through the platform, and how Patch incorporated all the painstaking elements of running a digital publication - including ads and monetizing audience - bringing it under one platform's roof.