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1 – Progress in photos: Updates on five projects in Tompkins County
Gallery: Updates on 5 projects being built outside of Ithaca in Tompkins County — We know, we know. Ithaca city and town comprise less than half of the county’s population. Some readers would appreciate it if we gave the outlying towns a little more attention.
Well, here you go. Here are updates on five projects being built outside of Ithaca in the rest of Tompkins County. Curious about the Dryden Rite Aid construction? Or Cayuga View Senior Living? We have you covered.
2 – Cornell student charged with hate crime appears in court
Cornell hate crime charge: Defense attorney says fight, ‘trash talking’ weren’t hate crime – A Cornell University student charged with a hate crime earlier this month pleaded not guilty to the charges in court Wednesday morning, and his new attorney says he has “scientific evidence” that will exonerate the student.
John Greenwood, 19, was charged with third-degree attempted assault as a hate crime, a class A misdemeanor. He’s also being charged with misdemeanors for second-degree aggravated harassment and fourth-degree criminal mischief.
Greenwood, who is white, is accused of being part of a group of people at Psi Upsilon who attacked a black male while calling him racial slurs during the early morning hours of Sept. 15 on the 300 block of Eddy Street in Ithaca.
3 – Garrison Keillor’s Ithaca trip canceled after allegations of ‘improper behavior’
Update: Garrison Keillor show canceled in Ithaca —Garrison Keillor is no longer coming to Ithaca. The show planned Saturday has been canceled, the State Theatre of Ithaca announced Thursday.
On Wednesday, Keillor was fired from Minnesota Public Radio after allegations of “improper behavior.” Keillor, creator and former host of “A Prairie Home Companion” had been scheduled to come to Ithaca for a show Saturday at the State Theatre.
Early Wednesday, news broke that Minnesota Public Radio had terminated contracts with Keillor and his private media companies after learning of allegations “of his inappropriate behavior with an individual who worked with him,” MPR said in a statement.
4 – Plans for ‘The Nines’ redevelopment resurface
Visum Revives Plans for “The Nines” Redevelopment — At the city of Ithaca Planning Board meeting last night, Visum Development Group reintroduced a sketch plan concept to replace the Nines bar and restaurant at 311 College Avenue.
The first plan proved controversial due to concerns over aesthetic impacts and the potential loss of what many local see as a historic structure, although it is not designated as such by the city. The redevelopment plans had been cancelled shortly after negotiations between the the current owners and Visum were called off in late October.
However, in a turn of events, Visum brought forward conceptual plans for a new building to the Planning Board as a last-minute addition to the board’s agenda.
5 – 1,000 barrels of beer? Ithaca’s new brewery hopes to brew up that much in first year
Ribbon cutting officially welcomes new brew pub Liquid State Brewing Company to Ithaca’s West End — A ribbon cutting on Ithaca’s West End Wednesday night ended with the clinking of bar glasses as Mayor Svante Myrick, on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce, officially welcomed the new brew pub Liquid State Brewing Company to the community.
Owners Jamey Tielens and Ben Brotman officially opened Liquid State on Oct. 25 at 620 W. Green St., with the bar now boasting four house brewed beers and featuring guest cider and wines from the local area.
Tielens said he and Brotman met while working at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and eventually got to talking about wanting to open a brewery,
“We wanted to be in the Ithaca community,” he said.
And now that the brew pub is open, he said their goal is to brew 1,000 barrels of beer during their first year of business using their 17-barrel system. That equates to 248,000 pints of beer.
6 – Family of missing Ithaca woman still searching
Father of missing Ithaca woman: ‘I’m waiting for the worst, but I’d love to hear the best’ — Nick Marranca walks along a railroad track the day after Thanksgiving with the sun shining on an unusually warm November day. As he walks, he stops to lift discarded comforters off the ground knowing full well that under those comforters, he could find his daughter’s dead body.
But he doesn’t find her. Underneath the comforters are just stray items of clothing.
The train tracks are near the Economy Inn off of Elmira Road. It’s the last place 27-year-old Ithaca woman Nicole Marranca was seen on Aug. 18. Nobody has heard from her since then.
7 – Thousands of toys brighten holidays for Tompkins kids
Local toy tradition brightens holidays for hundreds of Tompkins kids — A local tradition makes the holidays a little more merry for hundreds of children in Tompkins County every year by distributing thousands of toys to those in need..
Cops, Kids and Toys started with two Ithaca police officers in the early 1980s, Bill Apgar, president of the Cops, Kids and Toys’ board, said. The officers were responding to a home for a domestic call around the holidays. They went into the house and arrested a man but found when they were inside that there was a little “Charlie Brown Christmas tree” with nothing under it, Apgar said. When police talked to the woman in the house, they found out the children were not getting anything for Christmas. So, after the call the officers went out and collected money and brought gifts to the children.
8 – More resources needed to help hundreds of local homeless youth
Hundreds of community youth still homeless, local organizations call for more resources in Tompkins County — As Runaway and Homeless Youth Awareness Month comes to a close, local organizations are still working tirelessly to address more than an estimated 200 youth who are still homeless in the community.
David Shapiro, director of Family & Children’s Service, said youth homelessness does not often fit the description of what some might envision.
“You don’t always see homeless youth sitting on a corner in some obvious way,” he said. “A lot of the time they just don’t know where they’re going tomorrow or the next night or even tonight, but they just know they can’t go home.”
9 – Man accused of stabbing found guilty after week-long trial
Jury finds accused man in Stewart Avenue stabbing trial guilty on two counts — A jury found the man accused of stabbing a person last year on the Stewart Avenue bridge guilty on two out of three counts on Friday afternoon.
Khaliq Gale, 22, was indicted on first-degree assault, second-degree assault, and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon after he was suspected to have stabbed a man named Zachary Pealo on September 27, 2016.
According to court documents, Gale was set to buy four pounds of marijuana from Pealo. During the exchange, Gale allegedly took the box and fled without paying Pealo. Surveillance video shows Pealo running after Gale, who was holding a large cardboard box. Upon running into him on the bridge, Pealo collapsed after a brief interaction, and testified that it was because he felt a sharp pain in his left thigh. The pain was later shown to be a six-inch gash across his leg, running approximately two inches deep.
10 – Trumansburg Winterfest signals beginning of holidays
Gallery: 14 photos from Trumansburg’s 22nd WinterFest — Trumansburg WinterFest lit up the night on Saturday, bringing hundreds to Main Street to enjoy with horse drawn carriage rides, hot cocoa and a special visit from Santa Claus.
For 22 years, WinterFest has provided winter activities for the entire family. This year brought local vendors selling art and jewelry, raffles, and entertainment by Hilby the Skinny German Juggling Boy, and the Fall Creek Brass Band.
