Tompkins County

Continental Airlines Begins Flight Service to Ithaca

Brian Karlovitz — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:30:13 -0400

Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport made a surprising announcement last week that it would expand service with the addition of Continental Airlines flights. This comes in the midst of service cutbacks across the country as airlines struggle to deal with skyrocketing fuel costs.

Larry Baum, President of the Ithaca Air Service Board, announced during a July 1 meeting of the Tompkins County Legislature that the airport would welcome back Continental this October. Continental, which left the airport in 1996 due to inadequate demand, plans to offer four daily non-stop flights from Ithaca to its hub, Newark Liberty Airport.

Baum also said that, beginning in August, Northwest Airlines' morning flight from Ithaca to Detroit will be upgraded to a larger plane.

D.A. Drops Charges Against 'Collegetown Creeper'

Emily Cohn — Thu, 29 May 2008 16:21:51 -0400

Abraham Shorey, the man suspected to be the “Collegetown Creeper,” will not stand trial for charges of burglary and sexual abuse, Tompkins County District Attorney Gwen Wilkinson said on May 9. Shorey, who is allegedly responsible for a string of more than 20 break-ins and assaults that victimized Cornell women in 2003 and 2004, is currently serving a six-year prison sentence in California.

Binghamton Student Dies in Alcohol-Related Car Accident

Ben Eisen and Emily Cohn — Sun, 04 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

A car traveling east on Rt. 79 carrying five students — four from SUNY Binghamton and one from the University of Michigan — crashed on Friday night, leaving one student dead and another charged with vehicular manslaughter. The students were leaving Cornell after attending the University's Slope Day festivities.

According to the Ithaca Journal, 22-year-old Willie Poon was pronounced dead at Cayuga Medical Center on Saturday morning due to a fatal head injury.

Tompkins County Faces Budget Cuts

Scott Rosenthal — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

The slowing economy is affecting the outlook for the 2008 Tompkins County budget, which will have to accommodate a significant cut in expenditures. Nathan Shinagawa ’05 (D-4th Ward), the Tompkins County Legislature Budget and Capital Committee chairman, described the situation as “tough” and said that his colleagues in other counties are facing similar cuts.

“When the state is in a budget crunch, it’s [an] easy temptation to push costs over to the county,” Shinagawa said.

Syphilis Investigation Continues

Jasmine Marcus and Jamie Meyerson — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Following the upswing of syphilis cases reported in Tompkins County, Gannett and Tompkins County Health Department continue to provide testing and information to the community. According to Sharon Dittman, associate director of community relations for Gannett, nine individuals have tested positive for syphilis thus far.

Tompkins Lures Young Professionals to Settle

Nathan Sermonis — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0500

While Ithaca may not at first glance seem like a bustling metropolis compared to the skylines of New York City or Los Angeles, for Upstate New York it is the pinnacle of excellence when it comes to the region’s dreaded “brain drain.”

As the young and educated throughout most of Upstate N.Y. jump ship looking for something different down south or out west, Tompkins County has actually gained many members of this demographic. In what has become known as Upstate N.Y.’s “brain drain,” many of the forward-thinking college graduates that are needed to get the region’s economy back on track are moving elsewhere.

So then what is so unique about Tompkins?

Tompkins Town Gives 'Green Light' to Sustainable Lightbulbs

Brian Karlovitz — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

In the latest step toward achieving energy independence from traditional fuel sources, the nearby Town of Caroline will receive compact fluorescent lightbulbs as part of an initiative called Energy Independent Caroline. EIC participants are planning to distribute one bulb to each of the town’s approximately 1200 households in April.

The Compact Flourescent Lightbulbs last eight to 10 times longer than the average incandescent bulb and consume 75 percent less energy than conventional bulbs.

Unique Dynamic Gives Obama Upper Hand in Tompkins

Nathan Sermonis — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Ithaca’s “ten square miles surrounded by reality” seemed to encompass the whole of Tompkins County last Tuesday when Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) soundly defeated Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) in the county’s Democratic primary. But the question remains: how?

Despite losses in every other county throughout the state, Obama finished with a nearly 17-point lead over home-stater Clinton last week in Tompkins. Across the rest of New York, Clinton received 57 percent of the Democratic vote, while Obama was awarded only 40 percent.