Welcome to the quickest way to learn the week’s most important local news.
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1 – Dryden High School principal suspends student due to “bra stitching,” shirt
Dryden student barred from school for 2 days over ‘distracting’ shirt — Madison Kidney, a 17-year-old senior at Dryden High School, was suspended from school for not covering up after the school said her shirt was inappropriate.
On Wednesday, she was told what she was wearing was distracting and revealing, her mother Erin Kidney told The Ithaca Voice. Madison Kidney was told if she did not cover up, she would be sent home. She refused to cover up and her mother was called. After speaking with Principal Patrick Mahunik, Kidney said she was handed a letter which said Madison was receiving an “out-of-school suspension” for an incident just described as “insubordination.”
The shirt was inappropriate, her mother said she was told, because the stitching of her bra was visible. Madison borrowed the shirt and jeans she was wearing from her younger sister, who has worn the same clothes to school, Erin said.
The story gained regional attention with many local news outlets reporting about the incident.
Principal Patrick Mahunik did not initially respond to a request for comment but later referred The Ithaca Voice to the district’s Interim Superintendent William Locke. Due to privacy issues, Locke said he could not comment on individual students’ cases.
2 – Rabid fox bites several people near Kendall Avenue
Fox that bit several people confirmed to have rabies — The Tompkins County Health Department has confirmed a fox that attacked people and pets near Kendall Avenue was rabid. Rabies was confirmed in the fox Tuesday by the New York State Rabies Laboratory.
The fox was located and killed May 12 by a deputy from the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office.
Several people who encountered the fox are undergoing post-exposure treatment to prevent rabies. One dog received a rabies booster shot. The health department said this is the third animal in Tompkins County confirmed to have rabies this year.
3 – Still few details about large police presence on North Titus Street
Police respond to N. Titus for several hours Thursday — Few details have been released about a large police presence on North Titus Street Thursday.
The incident happened on the 300 block and lasted more than six hours.
Police will not release any details about the incident, except to say that nobody was injured or arrested at the scene.
4 – Details of Cornell’s 2,000 bed planned expansion released, but don’t expect a fast-moving project
Cornell releases details on 2,000 bed expansion — The gears are finally turning on Cornell University’s massive North Campus dormitory expansion.
The North Campus Residential Expansion (NCRE), as Cornell has designated it, is presently planned as five structures, with a dining facility and residential hall on the campus’s CC parking lot, and three residential halls on the Appel Fields. The project is expected to be built out in two phases, with the CC Lot construction first (800 beds), followed by 1,200 beds with the Appel Fields construction.
“By adding 2,000 beds and dining facility on North Campus by August of 2022, the North Campus Residential Expansion (NCRE) will address a significant deficit of on-campus housing for Cornell students, as well as accommodate an anticipated increase in enrollment,” writes applicant representative and architect Kim Michaels of local landscape architecture firm TWMLA.
Don’t expect this project to move quickly through review – something of this size will likely require an Environmental Impact Statement as Maplewood and Chain Works have, though it’s not necessarily a sure thing. The review will likely take several months, with construction not beginning until next year at the earliest.
5 – Board of Education elections
Results of Tompkins County school board elections — School districts throughout the county had Board of Education elections Tuesday, deciding on board candidates and propositions about budgets, buses, and general maintenance funding.
Check out the story to see the results of the elections throughout the county.
6 – Cornell Dean violated NLRA during grad student election last year
Ruling finds Cornell University violated NLRA in Graduate Student Union election — In a ruling on Wednesday, an arbitrator found that Cornell University violated the National Labor Relations Act during a union election for Cornell Graduate Students United last year.
Arbitrator Howard C. Edelman from the American Arbitration Association ruled that the violation originated in an email sent from Senior Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School, Barbara Knuth, the night before the election on March 26, 2017. Though Edelman found the email was in violation, it was not enough to warrant a new election for the union.
The election was held on March 27 and 28, 2017, where the votes came in with 856 for the union, 919 against and 65 challenged ballots and 16 unresolved ballots. The results of the challenged ballots have not been released.
7 — Good news for D.C. travelers
United to launch Washington D.C. flights out of airport —For those longing for a connection to the nation’s capital, you’ve got some good news to start off the week – United Airlines is adding daily service to Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C.
However, it comes at a price – United will no longer fly jets to Newark International Airport in the New York City area. The new flight schedule will take effect starting October 4th.
8 – Ithaca’s STAP could be part of pilot program for legal supervised injection facility
Svante Myrick wants Ithaca to be New York’s fifth pilot site for supervised injection facilities — With talk of creating four pilot supervised injection facilities in New York City, Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick has asked Gov. Andrew Cuomo to approve Ithaca to be the fifth pilot site.
“Here in Tompkins County and Ithaca, the need to stem the tide of preventable overdose deaths is urgent,” Myrick wrote to Cuomo in a letter.
Supervised injection facilities, or safe consumption sites, are spaces where people can use drugs under the supervision of medical professionals.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is behind the plan to bring pilot supervised injection facilities to several neighborhoods in New York City. The plan would need approval from the state Department of Health, council members representing the sites and an agreement from district attorneys to shield clients and operators from prosecution, the Associated Press reports.
If approved, the pilot would be located within the Southern Tier AIDS Program in Ithaca. STAP opened Ithaca’s syringe exchange in 2002, and today offers a variety of services, including offering STD testing and free and confidential services to people with HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C.
9) “Our Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand have nothing to say about these atrocities. The slaughter of Palestinians and U.S. support for these war crimes has to stop …”
Public gathering a call to action, memoriam for Palestinians killed in Gaza — In the Ithaca Commons Tuesday afternoon, activists erected three six-foot tall panels made of fencing and cardboard, spray painted to represent the barricades that divide Palestinians and Israelis. Attendees posted the names and ages of those killed within the past few weeks in the Gaza Strip, along with a Palestinian flag on the wall. People placed rocks at the base of the panels in the Jewish tradition of memorial.
The gathering, which was planned since last week, coincided with the day after the United States moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on Israel’s 70th anniversary. Palestinians call the day “Nakba”, meaning “catastrophe”, and remember how 700,000 Palestinians were uprooted when Israel became a country, creating a refugee and humanitarian crisis that is still not resolved.
Beth Harris, who is on the national board for Jewish Voice for Peace, said, “Our Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand have nothing to say about these atrocities. The slaughter of Palestinians and U.S. support for these war crimes has to stop and a first step is to demand our senators join senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Patrick Leahy in speaking out against this killing and maiming of Palestinians.”
10) LimeBikes clock in more than 8,000 rides in less than a month
New to bicycling or need a refresher? Here’s your quick guide to rules and safety — With the return of nice weather and Ithaca’s new bike share program, more people than ever are taking to the streets on bicycle.
There are a lot of benefits to bicycling. It’s a good way to add some exercise to your day, and it’s also an eco-friendly alternative to driving. And while Ithaca’s hills may be daunting, bikes can easily be attached to TCAT buses. With the roll out of Ithaca’s bike share program last month that added 200 dockless bicycles from LimeBike to city streets, bicycling has become more accessible to local residents.
In less than a month, there have been more than 8,000 rides on the new LimeBikes.
New York’s vehicle and traffic laws do apply to people riding bicycles, and people who violate the law are subject to tickets. For people who may be new to bicycling or need a refresher on rules on the rules, we decided to take a look at state and local law to put together this quick guide.
