Ithaca Times-July 20, 2022

Ithaca Confronts Cash Bail Reform Issue

Recent String Of Commercial Burglary Arrests And Releases Highlights Concerns

Cash bail is a central element in the ongoing debate over criminal justice reform in New York State. at debate is no longer abstract for Ithacans due to the recent string of commercial burglaries in the city.

Michael J. omas, 33, of Ithaca, has been charged with 11 of the recently

reported commercial burglaries. Investigations into other commercial burglaries, currently linked only by timing and location to those for which omas has been charged, continue. omas may eventually be charged with other robberies.

omas was rst arrested for four burglaries, and then for another two burglaries.

Timeline Of Michael Thomas Arrests

Thursday, July 7

Michael J. omas, 33, of Ithaca, was arrested for 4 counts of Burglary in the 3rd Degree, a Class D Felony, for the following incidents:

• June 20—Mr. Tire, Elmira Road

• June 27— Ithaca Grain & Pet Supply, W Seneca Street

• June 28—K&H Redemption Center, W State Street

• June 29—Papa John’s Pizza, Franklin Street

omas was arraigned in Ithaca City Court and released on his own recognizance.

Friday, July 8

omas was arrested again, this time for 2 counts of Burglary in the 3rd Degree, a Class D Felony, for the following incidents:

• July 6—Hickey’s Music Store, 104 Adams Street

• July 7—Diane’s Downtown Automotive, 435 W State Street omas was arraigned in Ithaca City court and was released on his own recognizance.

Tuesday, July 12

omas was arrested for a third time, a er being observed by the IPD rummaging through a boat on a trailer in the parking lot of Bed, Bath and Beyond. He tried to ee on a bicycle and was stopped on the 600 block of Clinton Street. An investigator and o cer were injured during the stop, one requiring medical attention. omas was charged with Petit Larceny, a Class A Misdemeanor, and Possession of Burglar’s Tools, a Class A Misdemeanor.

He was also charged with 5 counts of Burglary in the 3rd Degree, a Class D Felony, for the following incidents:

• July 9— Safelight Auto Glass, 150 Cecil A Malone Drive

• July 10— e Fall Creek House, 302 Lake Street

• July 10— e Lincoln Street Diner, 309 E Lincoln Street

• July 10—Burglary of Rosie’s Ice Cream Shop 312 E Seneca Street

• July 11— Milk Stand Restaurant, 215 N Meadow Street omas was arraigned in Ithaca City Court and remanded to the Tompkins County Jail with no bail.

T AKE N OTE

A er each of those arrests he was released on his own recognizance based on the provisions of current New York State law. It was a er his third arrest, following being observed by police and then eeing the scene, during which an investigator and o cer were injured, that omas was remanded to the Tompkins County Jail without bail.

Based on the timeline of burglaries and arrests compiled by the Ithaca Times (see the sidebar), from information provided by the Ithaca Police Department, it appears that omas committed the crimes for which he was arrested the third time, a er being released without bail following his second arrest and arraignment. omas was legally required to be released on his own recognizance a er his rst and second arrests.

Bail is an amount of money that someone who has been arrested must post in exchange for remaining free prior to a trial taking place. In New York, bail’s only legal purpose is to ensure that people return to court for subsequent proceedings. New York is the only state that does not have what is called a “dangerous standard” that allows judges to consider a defendant’s dangerousness in setting bail.

New York laws were changed in 2019 so that fewer people who were waiting for a trial a er being arrested for a list of misdemeanors and non-violent felonies would remain in jail because they did not have the money to allow them to go free. is list included commercial burglaries such as those with which omas was charged.

is change was seen as an element of criminal justice reform, since many poor people do not have the nancial resources to make bail, resulting in their being jailed while awaiting trial, while more a uent people who do have the nancial resources to make bail, are able to go free. Propo-

ON THE COVER: ITH Director Roxan Noble on the airport tarmac (Cover photo: Ash Bailot) NEWSLINE

ON THE WEB

 IC Alum’s Rainforest Odyssey

Ted Nivison, a comedian and Ithaca College alum, has released a YouTube video of his 3-week, 10,000-mile road trip safari to every Rainforest Café in the United States, which he calls “the stupidest, most ridiculous restaurant to ever exist…and I love it so much.” You can see Nivison’s jungle journey, complete with thunderstorms, animatronic creatures, Gorilla Grilled Cheese Delights and Jurassic Chicken Tidbits at https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=7InqrH1TCI8.

 Ithaca Wages Lag National Averages

— According to an analysis by the Smartest Dollar website, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, average weekly wages in the Ithaca metro area increased 4.6% in the past year, as opposed a national average increase of 5.9%. Adjusted for in ation, weekly wages in the Ithaca area actually fell 2% in the past year, as compared to an average .8% decrease nationally.

 Watch Out For Exotic Animals

New York is tied for fth place in states with the most fatalities caused by exotic animals between 1990 and 2022, according to a study published on AllAboutCats.com. This includes one death by elephant, two by reptiles, and two by other wildlife, which in New York’s case included deer and a nilgai antelope. The most dangerous state for exotic animal deaths? Where else but Florida, with 16 total fatalities, including ve by “big cats” and four by elephants.

F

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IN UIRING

PHOTOGR PHER Q A

Achieving carbon-neutrality

Ithaca is Electrifying (and Decarbonizing Its Buildings)

By Julia Nagel

More than a hundred people gathered outside the Southside Community Center last week to commemorate a major step towards achieving carbon-neutrality in Ithaca by 2030.

Eight months ago, Ithaca made the historic decision to commit to the electri cation and decarbonization of all its buildings—the rst city in the United States to do so. Ithaca’s electri cation (or E ciency Retro tting and ermal Load Electri cation) program is now o cially o the ground.

Earlier this month, acting Mayor Laura Lewis signed a contract to partner with BlocPower, a tech company that specializes in retro tting pre-existing buildings with new, greener energy technology. e project has the potential to eliminate around 40% of Ithaca’s carbon emissions.

“It’s just so f***ing awesome,” Ithaca’s Director of Sustainability Luis AguirreTorres remarked about the electri cation initiative, his unscripted comment eliciting a round of laughter, applause and cheers.

With 3000 and change days to go until 2030, this ambitious Green New Deal plan aims to electrify all 6000 public and privately owned buildings in Ithaca.

“ is is a wonderful start, but it's just that. It is the start. We have 3092 days to go before we reach the [2030] deadline. We're counting the days,” Aguirre-Torres said at the event.

According to Aguirre-Torres, Ithaca residents can expect to see the rst few buildings undergo electri cation by the end of the year, and the project will ramp up from there.

Since its founding in 2014, BlocPower has completed energy projects in 1200+ buildings across multiple cities, though this is their rst project of this scale.

“Is this program really challenging? Yes, it is. Because this is really the rst of its [kind],” Chief of Engineering at BlocPower Dom Lempereur acknowledged.

BlocPower CFO Cullen Kasunic detailed the wide range of upgrades that BlocPower can implement to lower a building’s energy footprint and eliminate the need for fossil fuels and natural gas.

In addition to installing an electric air source heat pump system that can both cool and heat a room, the company tailors each project to the speci c needs of a building. is could include upgrades such as addressing dra s or installing LED lights.

For information about a speci c building, building owners can ll out a questionnaire on BlocPower’s site to receive a report and schedule a call with a representative.

ough the upgrades facilitated by BlocPower will certainly make Ithaca’s buildings more energy e cient and eliminate reliance on fossil fuels, they won’t achieve the goal of carbon neutrality on their own.

Simultaneous e orts such as the “greening” of the electric grid by creating solar farms or establishing a Community Choice Aggregation program are in the works.

New York State Electric and Gas also plans to invest around $55 million in Ithaca over the next ve years to do its part to help achieve the net zero 2030 target.

“NYSEG has been performing initial modeling of what the system will need to manage full electri cation, and that could more than double the electricity demand from where it currently stands,” a NYSEG spokesperson stated in an email.

In addition to NYSEG, Ithaca will also collaborate with private equity group Alturus; to help fund the rst phase of electri cation, Ithaca will receive $100 million from Alturus. is will likely fund the electri cation of up to 1,000 residential and 600 non-residential units in the city.

“We're excited and proud to be a partner to Ithaca in its implementation of this large-scale program to increase the use of renewable energy and achieve decarbonization targets,” said Alturus Managing Director Gopal Vemuri.

Perhaps the most unique aspect of this electri cation project is the fact that home and building owners will not need to pay anything upfront and low- to no-interest loans can be available to those who need it. is helps the project realize one of its core goals: equity. e location for ursday’s event was a testament to the project’s

commitment to providing clean energy to everyone, but especially to underserved and underprivileged groups in Ithaca.

e Southside Community Center, along with the Henry St. John Building on Geneva St., are some of the rst buildings that will undergo electri cation, according to Aguirre-Torres.

“We here at Southside serve the underserved, but then also this community is historically Black. And so I think that we were chosen just because we are here in the oldest black neighborhood in the city,” Executive Director of Southside Chavan Bunch said.

e rst batch of building owners can reportedly opt-in as soon as September; for now participation in the program is voluntary.

Aguirre-Torres didn’t seem too worried at the moment about participation, explaining that momentum will build, especially as the economy of scale increases and resulting prices decrease.

“Before we need to think about a mandate or a di erent type of promotion, we're gonna be at like, 30% of the city. And that is 2000 buildings.”

Other cities have already started to follow Ithaca’s lead; Menlo Park, California announced in June that it would also be partnering with New York-based BlocPower to electrify thousands of buildings in the city.

Lo y plans are also afoot throughout Ithaca to revolutionize its energy landscape; Cornell recently broke ground on its large-scale earth source heating project, commencing borehole drilling for a rstof-its-kind mass-scale geothermal initiative. is project is integral to the University’s carbon neutrality by 2035 goal.

“French Fries. I could probably eat 25 large orders of McDonald’s Fries…” – Ngurngeti N.

“Chicken Enchiladas.” – Nadia W.

“Baklava. I could eat all day.” – Garret T.

“Crepes!” – Mareike W.

“Pizza. Sausage and Pepperoni.” – Richard T.

Julia Nagel is a reporter from e Cornell Daily Sun working on e Sun's summer fellowship at the Ithaca Times.

Ithaca’s Director of Sustainability Luis Aguirre-Torres hailed the BlocPower contract as “a wonderful start” for the city’s electrification efforts. (Photo: Julia Nagel)

TC Sheriff At Forefront Of New York State’s Reimagining Law Enforcement Efforts

Clerk Pilot Program Frees Armed Deputies From Non-Emergency Responses

By Julia Nagel

The Tompkins County Sheri ’s O ce (TCSO) — which recently launched its unarmed sheri ’s clerk pilot program — is at the forefront of the New York State push to reimagine law enforcement operations.

As of July 5, Tompkins County civilians Sam Pulliam and Tara Richardson have started their full-time roles as unarmed sheri ’s clerks. ough still considered “in training,” the duo has started to take nonemergency calls for the TCSO.

Comparable programs have started to develop in other cities across the U.S., including Denver, San Francisco and Portland, though many of these pilot programs are focused on diverting mental health-related calls away from armed police o cers.

But the TCSO is diverting a range of non-emergency calls to its new civilian clerks. At the moment, the clerks can assist callers whose concerns fall under a number of categories including car vs. deer incidents, certain types of tra c complaints, lost DMV-related items, telephone scam issues and fraud and larceny complaints. If necessary, a call can be escalated from the clerks to a deputy.

e unarmed clerk pilot program, which is part of the Reimagining Public Safety plan and is funded by the legislature, will span three years. Pulliam and

Richardson are embedded into the o ce’s road patrol division and are supervised alongside the armed deputies by a road patrol sergeant.

“At least regionally and locally, it has never been done before. And coming up with a plan to di erentiate calls for different responses is entirely new,” Sheri Derek Osborne said.

e City of Ithaca has dra ed proposals to create a division of unarmed responders within the Ithaca Police Department, but this plan is largely in the early stages and could take years to implement fully.

Unlike their armed deputy colleagues, the clerks will only work within the TCSO building and will not be sent out to respond to incidents. And, given the obvious limitations with only two clerks, there won’t be 24/7 coverage; when their workday is done, both emergency and non-emergency calls will be elded by the deputies as they have been in the past.

According to Osborne, the pilot program has the potential to address two distinct issues: providing an alternative to armed responses by the sheri ’s o ce and diverting some of the more minor calls to alleviate pressure on the road patrol deputies. Osborne explained that, in the past, he has felt like there haven’t been enough deputies on the TCSO road patrol.

“So to me, it's kind of a win-win situation. It solves both issues,” Osborne said.

But building a pilot program from scratch isn’t easy, which Osborne acknowledged. He said that it has been challenging to start a new unit without a preset training program to fall back on.

With this in mind, Osborne asked the community to be patient and keep an open mind as the pilot program evolves.

“Take the time to learn what it really is and what it's not. It's a pilot program. If there are kinks along the way, which there will be and have been, we will work them out as time goes on,” Osborne said.

When asked why she applied to the position, Richardson explained that she wanted to be part of the e ort to change the way people view law enforcement. She also said that the TCSO has been welcoming and understanding as she gets a feel for the position.

“Naturally it's a lot to learn, but the environment and the training, I feel really good about it,” Richardson said.

Pulliam echoed the sentiment, saying that he has received a heartfelt welcome from his new TCSO colleagues.

“Everyone has made themselves available to help us learn, establish. We did some ride-alongs that were great,” Pulliam said.

Re ecting on the job so far, Pulliam described the experience as rewarding but also quite challenging.

“We’re learning to use so ware that we’ve never used before. We’re learning to look at situations in di erent ways than we’ve looked at them before. We’re learning how to [provide] customer service to citizens that are calling in looking for help and looking for direction,” Pulliam said.

UPS DOWNS&

Ups

Kudos to the volunteers and sta tending the owers around downtown for keeping them lovely despite the drought-like conditions.

Downs

Downtown Ithaca used to have a bookstore on every block. Now we have vape stores everywhere. A sad sign of the times.

HEARD SEEN&

Heard

A new bike share program looks to be in the works…one that won’t result in bicycles being “abandoned” haphazardly.

Seen

Seems like the people most in demand around Tompkins County are bus drivers. TCAT and the ICSD both seem desperately short of people to get behind the wheel.

IF YOU CARE TO RESPOND to something in this column, or suggest your own praise or blame, write news@ithacatimes. com, with a subject head “U&D.”

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Is ice cream better when outside? 18.5% Yes. The hotter and sunnier it is, the better. 7.4% No. It melts too fast and gets my hands sticky. 74.1% Doesn’t matter. It’s good anywhere and anytime. N

missing the students?

Visit ithaca.com to submit your response.

Tara Richardson and Sam Pulliam are focusing on providing quality “customer” service to those who call the TCSO. (Photo: Provided)

Sheriff Derek Osborne believes this type of program has never been done before, regionally or locally. (Photo: Provided)

ITHACA

Greg Harrington, Wonderful Wheelchairs And Much More

By Marjorie Olds

Greg Harrington grew up in a farmhouse at the crossroads of Snyder Hill Road and Route 79, next door to the Brooktondale Baptist Church. Both of his parents endured di cult challenges growing up, but Harrington and his siblings’ home life was stable and good in their ancestral home. Harrington loved life on their farm where his family raised all their own food with gardens and livestock. e kids all participated in 4-H and Scouts and went to the Caroline Elementary School. Harrington has remained in Caroline, New York, his entire life. Good thing for Caroline.

Harrington has loved animals as far back as he can remember. Happily married and living near his family home, Harrington worked for a large horse stable in Brooktondale for many years. He was perfectly situated to work with animals and also be on call for nearby Slaterville Fire Station and EMS calls. He always showed up to help his neighbors.

Some of us know Harrington for his volunteer work with the Slaterville Fire Department. People mention how he and his siblings and kids also rescued animals from re and disaster calls and then cared for them until the owners were stable. But few of us know all the things Harrington does in his spare time:

• Slaterville Fire Station (Fire Commissioner)

• Caroline Seniors (President)

• Tompkins County Fire and Emergency Management System (EMS) Chiefs Association (Treasurer)

• Brooktondale Cemetery Association (Treasurer)

• Tompkins County Search and Rescue Team (President)

• Brooktondale Community Center (Board member)

• Caroline History Club (Member)

• Brooktondale Baptist Church: Saddle Up for Jesus, Corp. (Board member) No wonder fans of Harrington and his wife, Beth, say, “ ose folks help out everywhere!”

Some people who need a wheelchair or walker think of Harrington as “Mr. Wonderful Wheelchairs.” But Harrington, understated and modest, replies, “Ardith ‘Ardie’ Bennett, [Ithaca College] Professor Lynn Gitlow and some other folks started

Wonderful Wheelchairs more than 12 years ago. Ellie and Monte May and Professor Carol John were essential.”

“Carol taught occupational therapy students at Ithaca College and provided OT to rehab patients at Cayuga Ridge. She found in the basement of Cayuga Ridge more than 75 broken wheelchairs. A mover and shaker, Carol applied for a grant and used the money to buy tools at Montgomery Ward. She and Ardie got the project rolling.”

When Ellie May, community dogooder, asked fellow do-gooder Beth Harrington, “Who can we get to volunteer at Wonderful Wheelchairs?” Beth said she knew just the guy.

Harrington explains that wheelchairs cost a lot of money and those seeking one may go into debt buying one. “At a commercial repair company, it costs about $100 an hour for wheelchair repairs, plus $100 travel fee for specialists from Binghamton and Syracuse. Plus, the cost of parts: footrests $25-$80; big wheels $10$80; 8 bearings per chair at $5-$6 each. Wheelchairs come in all varieties — adult and pediatric, manual or powered. Each chair has di erent size wheels, bearings, footrests. e parts are not interchangeable and it all adds up.

“When one buys a wheelchair, one needs to consider the t of the chair through doorways,” advises Harrington. “ e height and weight of the user is key for a safe and comfortable chair and usage. Some wheelchairs are just for transport, and if a person plans to sit in a wheelchair

NOTES

GrassRoots’ Home

By Stephen Burke

Summer is a formless time in Ithaca. Schools are out, thus the college students gone and the regional population more than decimated. A lot of school workers are furloughed or vacationing, thus also absent, or at least freed from the dictates of the academic calendar, its demands and routines.

Streets and stores have plenty of space. Parking is abundant. e only long lines are at ice cream stands. e exact reverse situation prevails just ten miles away, in Trumansburg, where July is the fullest, busiest time of year, because of the GrassRoots Festival. e festival does the opposite of decimating Trumansburg’s population: multiplying it by ten, or close. T’burg has 1,700 residents. e festival attracts 15,000 guests, many of whom camp during the four-day event.

It is a big festival in a small town. How small a town? So small it does not have a tra c light.

But the village (as it is, o cially) has a lot of character. Main Street, noticeably curved, full of impressive old buildings, looks like a movie rendition of a charming town. e buildings hold thriving businesses, including ne and casual restaurants (and a pizza place and a co ee shop that rival any in New York City).

Also photogenic is Taughannock Falls, about two miles from downtown, the highest waterfall east of the Rockies. A beautiful state park sits where its waters empty at Cayuga Lake.

In the heart of town is Smith Woods, a preserve of old growth forest with 200-year-old trees, a rarity in any populated area. It is open to the public. Visitors experience, in its denseness, true darkness in daylight and maybe a sense of timelessness.

GrassRoots Festival is across the road from the forest, in the Trumansburg Fairgrounds, dating from the nineteenth century, with magni cent old trees of its own providing beauty and shade, uncommon if not unique among music festival sites.

Despite its pride in itself, or maybe because of it, T’burg can be insular. Natives might not consider anyone a real T’burger who was not born there.

is localism might have helped when, 30 years ago, GrassRoots organizers rst looked to rent the Fairgrounds. “ ey

were from the greater Trumansburg area,” one resident says.

ey were musicians themselves. If they had been professional concert promoters, the private organization that owns the Fairgrounds might have turned them down. ( ere are a lot of musicians in Trumansburg. e rst synthesizer was created by Robert Moog in a storefront there.)

ere was some skepticism about the festival at rst, that it might prove too wild. But as lively as it was, it proved utterly peaceable. ere was no need for police or medical personnel. It was community-oriented and family-friendly.

Of course, there was some revelry, and the music could be loud. Prior to the event, the organizers helped create good will among its nearest neighbors with free passes to either use or sell.

At rst the lease went year-to-year. But favor grew each year as the festival brought excitement and great musicians to town from everywhere: Mahlahthini and the Mahotella Queens; Toots and the Maytals; Hugh Masekela; country legends Merle Haggard, George Jones and Emmylou Harris; Ralph Stanley, Ricky Skaggs and other bluegrass favorites; Cajun, zydeco, and brass bands from Louisiana; and gospel singers, Native American performers, and regional musicians from around the world: Central America, eastern Europe, India, Mali, and elsewhere.

Over the years there has been a certain amount of star power, too: Los Lobos, Arrested Development, Ricky Lee Jones, the Family Stone (sans Sly) and, before they were stars, Rusted Root and Old Crow Medicine Show.

Year a er year, the festival organizers proved good neighbors and tenants. ey respected the grounds and cleaned up thoroughly. Even as the crowd grew by the thousands, it remained well-behaved and well-managed. e festival brought a certain amount of money to town.

Maybe the winning stroke in ultimately gaining a multi-year agreement was, among other physical improvements GrassRoots made to the facility, building a roof for the grandstand stage, at no charge. is week, GrassRoots celebrates its 30th year. e number is a little fuzzy because of two years of absence during the

Greg Harrington is “Mr. Wonderful Wheelchairs” (Photo: Provided)

nents of this type of reform point out that a poor person could be forced to spend time in jail for a non-violent, low-level o ense, while an a uent person could go free for a violent, higher-level o ense. e issue became politically contentious as some law enforcement o cials and politicians criticized the measures as having the potential to lead to repeat offenses by those released without bail.

In 2020 the list of o enses for which a judge could impose cash bail was increased, and judges were given the latitude to consider a defendant’s criminal history and whether or not they were a persistent o ender in setting bail for o enses which were considered nonviolent.

In March 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul proposed changes to the bail legislation to give judges more discretion. In the Governor’s proposal, judges still could not assess a defendant’s “dangerousness” but they could consider whether the defendant is accused of causing “serious harm” or has a history of using or possessing a gun.

e proposed changes also added to the list of crimes for which a defendant can be required to pay, including people who are accused of repeated o enses that harm people or property. However the proposed changes also included an exception for unde ned “crimes of poverty” that could be considered “negligible.”

A study by the Brennan Center for Justice, an independent, nonpartisan law and policy organization, based in part on an analysis by the Times Union of Albany, suggested that just two percent of people released under the new bail rules went on to a rearrest for a violent crime, and that one- h of all cases resulted in a rearrest for any o ense including misdemeanors or nonviolent felonies. e Michael J. omas situation appears to fall into this category. e Brennan Center claims that there is no evidence that bail reform has driven the increase in crime.

is statistical analysis, whatever its validity, is of little comfort to those who feel victimized by a repeat o ender previously released on their own recognizance.

ITHACA NOTES

pandemic. But as in all things, the festival tries to be fastidious about math.

Way back in the festival’s history, its graphic designer presented to organizers the prospective program cover for its upcoming event, featuring the anniversary number 8. e group admired the artwork.

Scott Schmutzler, president of e Antlers Restaurant, and Brian Wallenbeck, owner of Ithaca Wholesale Furniture, were interviewed on WENY-TV regarding burglaries at their places of business, for which omas has not yet been charged. Both expressed their frustrations, as have other business owners contacted by e Ithaca Times.

In response to the omas case, Rich David, Republican candidate for the District 52 Senate seat said that “We are seeing the e ects of Albany’s cashless bail laws in our own backyards. Violent crime and burglaries are becoming more frequent headlines in local news. We need leaders who will not just talk but actually x the problem. We can start by repealing these disastrous bail laws so there is accountability for breaking the law, make Kendra’s law permanent to help those who need mental health services and we need to aid our district attorneys by xing New York’s discovery laws.”

Leslie Danks Burke, a candidate in the Democratic Primary for the New York State Senate’s District 52, said, “Everyone agrees that our old cash bail system, which allowed people to buy their way out of jail for the same charges for which poorer people would remain incarcerated, was broken and biased…. We can also all agree there are going to be cases that justify holding the accused person before trial—people who commit violent crimes, abuse children, get arrested and re-arrested while awaiting trial, or whose criminal history shows they present a clear threat to public safety…. We must develop a better, quicker, unbiased mechanism for deciding when to lock up someone before they’re tried. It isn’t the answer to go back to the old broken system, so we need a real honest dialogue including everyone—defense attorneys, law enforcement, district attorneys, judges, and advocates for those whom the old regime disenfranchised.”

e Ithaca Times also reached out to Lea Webb, the other candidate in the Democratic Primary for the New York State Senate’s District 52 for comments on the omas case but had not received a response by the time this story went to press.

e problem no one else caught was noticed by Leslie Puryear, the beloved matriarch of the festival, who passed away at age 86 on July 20, 2016, the day before the 26th festival.

“ e thing is,” Leslie said, “you’ve got the number 8 on there, but this year is the 7th. Because last year was the 6th, and, well,” Leslie said, in her kind and laconic style, “that’s just the way that works.”

The Talk at

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Endorsing Lea Webb

Aer many years, Tompkins County could nally have a strong, progressive Democrat to represent us in the NY Senate. Lea Webb is endorsed by the Working Families Party, over 20 local elected o cials, SEIU Union, Cornell Democrats, Cortland Democratic Committee, and many more.

Lea has a proven record. She served 8 years on the Binghamton City Council, the rst African American ever elected to that body. She demonstrated energy, organizing skills and a deep commitment to labor and social justice issues, leading the ght to pass equal pay for women, working with the Broome Tioga NAACP, and consistently supporting labor. She also led the ght to ban fracking in Binghamton. Winning elections twice, she le the City Council only because of term limits. Lea currently works at SUNY Binghamton.

Who else is supporting her election? An impressive list, including Barbara Li on, Anna Kelles, Martha Robertson, Irene Stein, Ducson Nguyen, Svante

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

continued from page 6

all day, that needs to be considered. Good to discuss these issues before you buy a wheelchair.”

Wonderful Wheelchairs also counsels and assists with maintenance: “Bearings need to be cleaned annually. Wheel locks are essential, but they need to be adjusted to re ect the strength and agility of the wheelchair user. During Lynn Gitlow’s work as a therapist, Harrington recalls, “she created charts for wheelchair measurements to make selection of wheelchairs more precise — the width of chairs for door passage, inner and out wheel-to-wheel measurements. We still use those charts when we advise on a good t.

“When we help people achieve mobility by building ramps to their homes and trailers, matching them with well- tting, comfortable and a ordable chairs, we give people options,” Harrington explains.

Myrick, and many others. Check out the list on her web site: LeaWebb.com.

We have had the pleasure of meeting Lea several times over the past few months. Her dedication, experience and values are just what we need in Albany.

Lea has what it takes to rock the New York Senate.

Sara Hess and Je Furman, Ithaca

Ironic Sanctuary

Re: “Ithaca Now Sanctuary City For Abortion” The womb is supposed to be a sanctuary for the fragile human fetus. How ironic that "sanctuary city" Ithacans desecrate that sacred space, slaughter the life therein from limb to limb, then go around bragging about how virtuous they are. If you don't want a child then choose to not get pregnant.

Fewerlaws

Error In GrassRoots Coverage

There’s an error in [your GrassRoots story] “ ere will be over 80 bands of musicians present and performing, including favorites like George Jones, King Sunny Ade, and Ralph Stanley….” Jones passed away in 2013 and Stanley in 2016

Steven J. Getman, Watkins Glen

Editor’s note: When we titled our GrassRoots coverage: “Coming Back To Life,” we didn’t mean for it to be quite so literal. e Ithaca Times regrets the error.

Some of us have met Harrington out and about and know his many associations overlap. Right now, the Brooktondale Community Center is building a wheelchair ramp to connect the Center, Farmers Market, the old re hall, the pavilion and the trail nearby. Habitat for Humanity is organizing and providing workers for this project, and soon more fun community activities will be welcoming for wheelchair users.

“When Wonderful Wheelchairs repairs, loans or sells chairs for about $75, we all waste fewer natural resources by repairing and reusing,” Harrington adds.

So, drop o invaluable equipment to Wonderful Wheelchairs and you’ll get to meet Harrington. He’s the handsome chap wearing cowboy boots and a hat. If you miss him at WW, sign up for the Slaterville Fire Station, your local volunteer re department, or for a CPR class and you can meet Harrington o -site.

For more information on Wonderful Wheelchairs, call 607-242-1780.

FIGHTING TO REGAIN ALTITUDE

ITH Director Facing Challenges

By Julia Nagel

Roxan Noble has faced her fair share of challenges since she was appointed director of Ithaca Tompkins International Airport in November of 2021. First were the challenges COVID has posed to the aviation industry, and now there’s the more recent announcement from American Airlines that it plans to discontinue service to the airport.

In addition to Ithaca, American Airlines will nix service to Dubuque, Iowa; Islip, New York; and Toledo, Ohio e ective Sept. 7. American cited the ongoing pilot short-

age as the reason for dropping these small airports from their coverage.

“We have 100 regional aircra on the ground that we want to y but can’t due to lack of regional pilots” stated a spokesperson from American in an email. “Like many network carriers, we have reduced our regional ying in recent months in response to the regional pilot shortage.”

ough United and Delta are still serving Ithaca, both airlines are cutting some of their regional coverage elsewhere. United announced it will no longer serve Flagsta , Arizona and Texarkana, Arkansas. Delta has been “strategically decreasing [their] ight schedule this summer,” according to its website, but this change, at the moment, seems temporary.

With American pulling out, IT International will lose its nonstop daily ights to Philadelphia, as well as any of the connecting routes therein. But Noble still holds out hope that American might change their mind.

“We're still trying to get American to reverse their decision. I'm still working hard on that. ere are people in American Airlines looking at that, and reaching back out to me,” Noble explained.

e airport is currently working on its budget, and according to Noble, the vacuum le by American would certainly negatively impact the airport’s nancial situation, if no replacement is found. ough, at the moment, she’s holding out hope and still has American staying factored into the numbers.

Recent renovations have turned the airport into a more attractive, efficient and accessible facility.

“I've still planned on them being here currently is where I'm at right now,” Noble said. “We have our budget meetings coming up. So I don't really have a de nitive answer on what's going to happen.”

Cornell University, Ithaca College, county legislators, and local businesses have reportedly been voicing their support and advocating for the airport.

“My job, and I think the job of the county…is to make sure that the airlines don't ever have an opportunity to forget about how unique our community is, how unique

Airport director Roxan Noble is hoping the airport will become more crowded as travel picks up post pandemic. (Photo: Ash Bailot)

(Photo: Ash Bailot)

our airport is, and how we can be longterm partners in meeting their goals, which will be our goals, as well,” Cornell University’s Vice President for University Relations Je rey Malina said.

Noble explained that there are also ongoing e orts to reach out to Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand and the Governor’s o ces asking for any support they may be able to provide.

Noble also noted that she’s received a signi cant amount of support from customers, even from those who will need to change their travel plans due to the reshufing of carriers.

“I was expecting a lot more angry customers. e phone calls I've received are extremely supportive of the airport of American Airlines, [of] Ithaca in general. ey love to y out of here, they want to continue to y out of here. ey asked what they can do to help,” Noble said.

According to Malina, this sort of collective support is vital to the future of the airport, whether or not American’s decision is permanent.

“If we are going to convince an airline to increase its service, if we are going to convince American to come back a er September, it's not going to be done by the county alone or by Cornell alone. It's going to be in partnership,” Malina said.

e airport serves as an integral part of the local economy, generating $70 million in positive economic impact annually, directly employing around 175 people and supporting 510 jobs.

As a college town, Cornell and Ithaca College also have a vested interest in the airport, due to the services it provides to prospective and current students and faculty, as well as families, visitors

and speakers. Malina acknowledged this value.

“Among the more critical elements of [Cornell’s] community relations work, [is] transportation. e airport and TCAT are probably two of the more important areas for us to be investing our time and e ort,” Malina said. “Ithaca is an isolated place. It is not a place that is necessarily easy to get to.” ese aren’t the types of challenges Noble anticipated 28 years ago, when she started working for IT International, answering phones and processing accounts payable.

“I came here not really knowing much about airports. I'd own once to Europe when I was in high school. And when I started here, it was just learning everything from the ground up. So I think that's unique, because a lot of people may not come in as an entry-level [employee] and work their way up to director,” Noble said.

According to Noble, the best aspect of working for the airport is undoubtedly the people.

Looking to the future, Noble hopes that group will help the airport continue its trajectory of recovering from the pandemic.

e number of enplanements—or number of people boarding an aircra — was 55,282 in 2021, which is more than 33,231 in 2020 but still around half of 2019’s 108,993 enplanements.

e airport is also working on two campaigns, “Why ITH” and “Are you wITH us?” to showcase the airport’s value. e “Why ITH” campaign will focus on pitching the airport to airlines/business, and “Are you wITH us?” will target prospective customers.

In addition to increasing service, another goal Noble has is attracting a low-cost

The airport has a storied history for such a small facility. Pictured here are Deane W. Malott and Mrs. Malott with Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower as he arrives in Ithaca in May 1963. (Photo: Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library)

carrier, for example, “so families can a ord to y to Florida to take a vacation.”

She didn’t have a speci c low-cost carrier in mind, instead saying that she’s been reaching out to “any and all.”

“I'm also a person that's not afraid to ask questions. I gure if you don't ask, you don't know,” Noble asserted.

How the airport will evolve in the future is still uncertain, but the message from the community is clear: investing in the airport should be a priority.

“Getting the airlines to make a decision is just the rst step, then we need to back that up with a clear demonstration that we're using the airport,” Malina said. “We don't want to do all this work and to have these great options and then to have people still make the drive to Syracuse, or to Elmira or to drive down to New York City or Newark.”

Julia Nagel is a reporter from e Cornell Daily Sun working on e Sun’s summer fellowship at the Ithaca Times.

Important visitors have continued to arrive at the airport in recent years. Pictured is Czech Republic President Vaclav Klaus, a Cornell alumnus, on his visit to Ithaca in September 2010. (Photo: Robert Barker/Cornell University)

With American pulling out, IT Int’l will lose its nonstop daily flights to Philadelphia, as well as any of the connecting routes therein. (Photo: Ash Bailot)

Best Of Ithaca Ballot 2022

PEOPLE

PLACES

ESSENTIALS

OPEN-ENDED

THE RULES

It Was Love At First Sight For GreenStar’s New GM

BESSMER LOOKS TO NURTURE LOCAL ARTISANAL PROVIDERS

By Laura Ilioaei

Although Je Bessmer has been working on the West Coast prior to taking the helm at GreenStar, he’s not a stranger to the Ithaca institution. In fact, it was love at rst sight. “I visited GreenStar for the rst time eight or ten years ago. I had a good friend from college who lives here. I went out and visited him and went to his wedding, and that’s the rst time I shopped at GreenStar. I was blown away at how beautiful it is, and all the fresh and amazing food, and then also, especially since I’ve moved here,

at how much the Ithaca community loves GreenStar and cares about it and its values. It really impresses me. And fresh and delicious food is fun. I really believe we’re in the golden age of food,” Bessmer said.

Bessmer wants to use the co-op as a way to further that golden age by nurturing local artisans and small businesses who want to locate their rst store to sell their products. “ ere’s this glass ceiling for small businesses and producers. So what co-ops do as a medium-sized organization is that someone can walk up to our service desk and say ‘Hey, I’m starting a business making bagels.’ ‘Hey, I’m starting a business making chocolate bars.’ ‘I’m starting a business doing this-or-that.’ And if they meet our product standards, or we’ll help them get to a place to meet our product standards, we’ll stock up their product on our shelves. A lot of these suppliers will use our place as the rst spot where they can retail. And what’s really cool about that is that a er they’ve sold here for a while, and their product becomes popular, then they can go to larger businesses and say ‘Hey, I sell my stu at GreenStar, and folks really love it, can I start selling here? So it’s an important step for a lot of small businesses to be successful,” Bessmer said.

Ironically this renewed sense of community involvement means going back to what it means to be a food co-op: a democratically run model that ultimately empowers its consumers. “I’ve worked for 15 years in co-ops. I really believe in the model and I believe in democratically-

owned businesses. I believe in returning the pro ts to our customer members in our community,” Bessmer said.

Anyone can shop at GreenStar, not just its 12,000 members. Members get perks like discounts, but they also get equity in the co-op. GreenStar’s pro ts are both invested back into the store and given as cash-back in the form of patronage refunds annually. To become a member, you just have to pay a $90 equity share. is can be done in one payment, or in $10 or $5 installments. If you ever change your mind, you can even withdraw your membership from the Co-op, and choose to have your equity refunded to you or donated back into GreenStar. is model allows money to circulate within the Ithaca community, as opposed to funds going to larger entities outside of the city.

is return to GreenStar’s core mission comes a er the extraordinary growth that took place under the prior general manager, Brandon Kane. Kane had served as GreenStar’s GM for over a decade. He had more than doubled GreenStar’s sales, from $10M to $26M. Part of this nancial boom

resulted from rebranding GreenStar as a local food store that tends to the needs of everyone in a community, as opposed to being a specialty organic health produce and product shop. Kane also expanded the store and created e Space, GreenStar’s event space that hosts GreenStar meetings and community events. He had also created food accessibility programs, such as BASICS and Fresh, Local & Organic Within Everyone’s Reach (FLOWER). Kane’s decision to leave GreenStar was the result of wanting to focus on personal pursuits.

GreenStar had a grand opening of their Cascadilla Street store in May 2020. It was a heavy investment, both in the construction and supplying of the store. Many employees were also hired. But the pandemic hit GreenStar’s economy hard, resulting in heavy losses and the elimination of many of the store’s community programs. Currently, the co-op is catching-up on these losses.

“We’ve spent the last two years working through the pandemic. Unfortunately, we’ve had to be focused on the present,

The new Cascadilla location represented a considerable investment for GreenStar (Photo: Provided)

New General Manager Jeff Bessmer fell in love with GreenStar years ago when he visited from the West Coast. (Photo: Provided)

The pandemic forced GreenStar to focus on the present rather than future planning. (Photo: Provided)

GREENSTAR’S NEW GM

continued from page 11

rather than future planning. We’re still trying to gure out what things are going to look like for the next couple of years and we’re going back to reframing our priorities,” Pat Sewell, Chair of the Governance Committee, said.

For Bessmer, the most challenging part of being a General Manager is triaging his tasks. “I would say prioritizing is the most challenging thing just because this is such a great organization that has so much impact on the community. It’s tough to prioritize what to focus energy on rst, and I think anyone who’s a manager knows that throughout your day you’re saying ‘okay, I could spend the next ten minutes doing this, or the next ten minutes doing that,’ and you have to make a decision,” Bessmer said.

On the other hand, his favorite aspect of the job is the community he works with. “ ings I enjoy the most are working with the amazing sta we have here, working with the amazing members of our household, our members we meet on the sales part every day are so committed and

LAW ENFORCEMENT

continued from page 5

Looking into the future, Osborne is optimistic about the program’s success and hopes to expand it down the line.

“I hope when we get this going, it's going to obviously be hugely successful…. I hope that as time goes on, maybe we can identify additional call types that they could handle,” Osborne said. “And maybe someday we'll even add more positions.”

In addition to this pilot program, Osborne explained that the sheri ’s o ce has undergone many signi cant changes during his term as sheri , which started in 2018. is includes e orts such as eliminating ghost lettering and blacked-out

Bessmer, pictured here at a recent “meet and greet,” is eager to renew GreenStar’s sense of community involvement. (Photo: Provided)

passionate about this community and being successful. It’s really rejuvenating every day, and just working with these folks is a real privilege,” Bessmer said.

Overall, Bessmer is enthusiastic to continue to grow GreenStar’s in uence on the Ithaca community and encourages buyers to check out all three stores: e large Cascadilla Street store and the more intimate Collegetown and downtown Dewitt locations. Each GreenStar features products exclusive to the store, and they also have their own distinctive vibe.

cars, providing more training and securing an increased training budget from the county as well as establishing a courtroom within the TSCO building, making the detaining process more e cient for everyone involved.

“We've basically turned the place upside down and started over from scratch. I mean, we've been working nonstop, a lot of it on the shoulders of our undersheri , redoing all our policies and procedures working towards our state accreditation, which this agency has never been able to get,” Osborne explained.

Julia Nagel is a reporter from e Cornell Daily Sun working on e Sun’s summer fellowship at the Ithaca Times.

While embedded into the office’s road patrol division, the clerks will not being going on field calls. (Photo: Provided)

Business Briefs

Ethan Ash Named the June Community Hero of the Month

Tompkins Chamber, in partnership with Tompkins Community Bank, has named Ethan Ash as the June Community Hero of the Month. is award recognizes individuals from Tompkins County who have signi cantly impacted our community.

Ash has served on a range of nonpro t boards and mission-driven organizations including the MindWell Center, State eater, SimpliFed, Planned Parenthood, and the Tompkins County Tourism Board. He also helped raise funds for the Dryden Public Library and is a partner at AGAVA Restaurant, Empowered Equity (EMPEQ), and Firelight Camps in Ithaca.

Additionally, Ash co-founded the Youth Entrepreneurship Market & Mentorship Program (YEM), along with Michael Mazza, to inspire Tompkins County youth in grades 4-12 to think with an entrepreneurial mindset through experiential learning and making connections with community members.

“Any recognition for the Youth Entrepreneurial Market has to be shared with co-founder Michael Mazza, without whom I would not be running it,” Ash said. “ is has been a passion project of ours and an incredible partnership, so if we’re going to talk about YEM, we have to talk about my fellow community hero, Michael.”

Honored to be thought of as a community hero, Ash said he is grateful to live in a community that has so many of them. “I appreciate the spirit behind the award,” Ash added. “I would love to continue recognizing other people who inspire me and inspired me to get involved with public service to help shape Ithaca into the kind of community it can be.”

Ash has supported various types of organizations through his volunteerism but has focused greatly on positively impacting youth. “I have been very focused on things that can support young people in our community,” Ash said, “to give them perspective on their choices and career paths that I did not have when I was growing up in Ithaca.

“Outside of youth and entrepreneurial training, a lot of what ties into what else I’ve been involved with is the betterment

of cultural opportunities, making the most of the land, the food, and the social fabric that exists in this area,” Ash added.

“Getting involved with any public service, it forces you to come up close to your neighbors and break down the barrier that is social media. One of the most valuable things about public service is having a personal connection to the community, and that is something I want my kids to see.”

Ash stressed this recognition would not be possible without his wife, Rachel Ash. “I want to thank my wife. ere is no way to get involved with your community and take on public service without having someone that supports and helps you, while taking care of three young kids,” Ash said. “I want to thank her for all of her support and love.”

IAED Announces Availability of Fall 2022 Tourism Capital Grants

Applications for Fall 2022 Tourism Capital Grants are now being accepted by the Tompkins County Department of Planning and Sustainability. Tourism Capital Grants support major investments in visitorgenerating projects such as theaters, parks, museums, and other cultural and recreational attractions. Funds can be used for design, renovation, and new building projects; investments in unique permanent installations such as exhibits; and feasibility studies of potential projects. e typical award range is between $5,000–$100,000. e application deadline is set for September 12th.

Tompkins County Principal Planner/ Tourism Program Director Nick Helmholdt stated, “Attracting tourism to Tompkins County is critical to the overall health and stability of our local economy and we are pleased to support organizations that play such a key part in this endeavor through the dissemination of our Fall 2022 Tourism Grants.”

Heather McDaniel, IAED President, shared, “We are pleased to assist our partners with the Tourism Capital Grants program, and to help support some of the many organizations that play such a key role in supporting the economic vitality of our community through tourism.”

Tourism Capital Grants are funded by the county’s hotel room occupancy tax. A total of $242,000 has been budgeted for the current round of projects. e program is administered on behalf of Tompkins County by Ithaca Area Economic Development (IAED). Interested applicants are strongly encouraged to schedule a pre-application meeting with IAED by emailing kurta@ IthacaAreaED.org. For more information

and grant guidelines, please visit: tompkinscountyny.gov/tourism/grants.

Community Bank Acquires Elmira Savings Bank

Community Bank of North America recently nalized their acquisition of Elmira Savings Bank . e merger added eight branch locations across a ve-county area in the Central New York and Southern Tier markets. ree of those branch locations are located in Ithaca at 2300 Triphammer Road in the village of Lansing, 702 South Meadow Street and 602 West State Street in the city of Ithaca. e bank was also just awarded one of America’s most trustworthy companies by Newsweek. Community Bank was named sixth among banks across the country, as well as the highest ranked bank on the list in every state they do business in and the highest in the Northeast.

Tompkins Promotes Mastin to VP, HR Mgr of Corporate Culture

tration in Human Resource Management. She is a Certi ed Senior Human Resources Professional.

Mastin resides in Lansing with her husband and son. She serves as a Board Member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Board Secretary of the YMCA of Ithaca and Tompkins County, Board Chair of the Lansing Youth Services Commission, and a Committee Member of the Women's Fund Advisory Committee. Additionally, Mastin is a Grant Committee Member of the United Way Community Fund.

Mission Driven Solutions: New Business, Expanding Missions

Challenge

Community Bank announced Stacie Mastin has assumed the role of VP, HR Manager of Corporate Culture. Mastin began her career with Tompkins in 2008 as the Learning & Development O cer, later becoming the Employee Relations Manager and Human Resources Manager. Most recently, Mastin worked as a Wealth Advisor with Tompkins Financial Advisors. In her new role, she will establish and reinforce an employee-centric and equitable culture.

Tompkins

Bonita Lindberg, SVP, Director of Human Resources, shared, “We are thrilled for Stacie to assume this new position which will focus on achieving our strategic and cultural objectives including advancing our diversity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives. We also look forward to her building an unparalleled team member experience by working with leaders to drive team member engagement throughout the organization.” Lindberg added, “We look forward to the valuable contributions she will make in this new role.”

Mastin has 25 years of experience in the nancial industry and holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Services with a concen-

Workforce Solutions is launching a new business venture: Mission Driven Solutions (MDS). MDS aims to help organizations succeed through collaboration by providing services and resources, while respecting their missions, visions, and values. MDS assists businesses in achieving further nancial sustainability by analyzing their unique needs and putting together a customized plan to address them, resulting in lower operating costs and an increased ability to focus on business strategy and constituents. Some of these services include: contract management, monitoring scal strength and viability, managing the digital workplace and employee life cycle, promoting the visibility of your product(s), service(s), program(s), and more.

By partnering with MDS, businesses can not only maintain and enhance their own mission but also support the mission of Challenge. e eventual aim is to create a strong network of organizations united by their a liation with MDS.

“We really wanted to continue our passion which is helping others within our communities succeed,” says President and CEO of Challenge, Allen Connely. “ rough Mission Driven Solutions we can do just that, help other organizations become stronger, more nancially independent, and expand their missions.”

To explore your organization’s needs and identify customized solutions to meet them, go to missiondrivensolutions.org/contact. To learn more about Mission Driven Solutions, its bene ts, and the services o ered go to missiondrivensolutions.org.

Love Living at Home Promotes Cassie Besemer to Assistant Director

L

ove Living at Home (LLH), a notfor-profit that provides a variety of services for older adults throughout

Ethan Ash is the Chamber’s June Hero of the Month (Photo: Provided)

Stacie Mastin has assumed the role of VP, HR Manager of Corporate Culture for Tompkins Community Bank (Photo: Provided)

REV’S QUASIMODO MORE DISNEY THAN HUGO

e moralizing cleric who tirelessly condemns others is himself besotted with the gypsy girl, and Randal Dodge conveys this twisted personality marvelously.

Sean ompson plays Phoebus, the attractive soldier who wins Esmeralda, but he and Quasimodo together fail to save her from Frollo’s judgment.

Fine Performances Are Let Down

Pedestrian

By

Dialog

the celebrated building to an impressive set, and in this production, only one small photo in the program reminds us of the devastating re of 2019. (To check out the state of current restoration, visit www.friendsofnotredamedeparis.org/ reconstruction-progress/.)

e large ensemble e ectively lls the stage, in solemn moments like the resonant choral piece, “ e Bells of Notre Dame,” or the rowdier tavern song. e boisterous gypsy clan (choreography by Julie Tomaino) is led by the wily Clopin, excellently played by Dino Nicandros.

By Barbara Adams

Auburn’s e Rev pulls out all the stops for its big production, 30 performers strong, of “ e Hunchback of Notre Dame.” We’re lo ed to the highest reaches of the great cathedral, where the deaf bellringer, Quasimodo, looks down on the world below he can never be a part of.

Victor Hugo’s 1831 three-volume, nearly 1,000-page novel may not be on your summer reading list, but it’s been admired by many –– having inspired nearly 60 adaptations, including plays, lms, ballets, musical recordings, tv and radio shows, even comics and video games. What explains this tale’s fascination? emes of hopeless love, wanton cruelty and physical deformity, resistance by the downtrodden and ostracized, or simply the melodramatic and macabre?

Hugo’s work, tellingly titled “Notre-Dame de Paris,” included all these in its epic 15th-century portrait of a historical moment and people, but it was mainly written as a defense of Gothic architecture (like the cathedral itself), which was being dangerously neglected and even destroyed. Yet the novel’s o spring tend to relegate

e Rev’s production, directed by artistic director Brett Smock, splendidly evokes the cavernous tower interior, with 20 enormous bells overhead –– set design by Je rey D. Kmiec, lit in dusty golden hues by Jose Santiago. e spacious stage easily adapts to being a tavern, a prison, the streets of Paris, or the gypsies’ Court of Miracles. And the swarming populace ––from clerics to commoners –– is classed by their vibrant costumes (Ti any Howard, designer).

e principals are all strongly portrayed and well sung. A handsome Alex Prakken enters and dons his padded hump, bends, besmirches and contorts his face and becomes Quasimodo, the deformed youth doomed to servitude and loneliness. Esmeralda, the gypsy (Romani) girl he watches and tries to protect, is passionately played by Jisel Soleil Ayon (whose web page describes her as a “statuesque cocktail of African American and Latina ferocity”) –– a curious mix of ministering kindness and sultry sexuality.

Quasimodo’s captor, or benefactor, as he styles it, is the cleric Claude Frollo, a prototype of the heartless inquisitioner (just then emerging in Spain). In this version, he’s actually the youth’s uncle, having fostered the infant o spring of his dying younger brother, a pro igate rogue.

But Quasimodo never knows that; he only nds himself torn between his devotion to the lovely Esmeralda and loyalty to his “master.”

As ne as these performances generally are, other elements distract. As scripted (book by Peter Parnell), the storyline is carried by multiple characters, whose delivery is sometimes unclear (though the simple plot is obvious enough). Je eiss’s musical direction is secure but the orchestra’s sound frequently overwhelms the voices.

e dialogue itself is o en pedestrian and predictable, opening with a clichéd performance of the errant younger brother and his mistress. And at certain moments, especially between Esmeralda and Phoebus, the speech sounds far too contemporary, as if they were in today’s Albany and not some otherworldly time and place.

Alan Menken’s music, with Stephen Schwartz’s lyrics, has moving moments, but too many Quasimodo solos seem to be anthemic, ending on the same prolonged note. Overall, the musical e ect and epic staging feel overwhelming, even at times bombastic.

One engaging reprieve is the presence of the “gargoyles” Quasimodo converses with to ease his loneliness. Actually stone angels and saints (in striking grey robes), they o er a welcome camaraderie and moments of normalcy. But their presence reminds us that this musical is, ultimately, based on the 1996 Disney lm, and for one moment, when a martyred saint is carrying her severed head in her hands, I actually thought I was watching a cartoon.

Which leads to my main concern: How do cruelty, con nement, and deformity equate to entertainment (much less cartoon humor)? e darkness of the actual tale –– and its exploration of physical vs moral “monstrosity” –– is submerged by the musical genre’s obligatory song-and-dance. Amidst this cognitive dissonance, it was di cult for me to nd an emotional anchor or unsimpli ed truth, though e Rev’s audience unquestionably enjoyed themselves.

“ e Hunchback of Notre Dame,” music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, book by Peter Parnell. Directed by Brett Smock. At e Rev (Merry-Go-Round Playhouse), Emerson Park, Auburn. Mon-Sat through August 2. Tickets at https://therevtheatre.com/tickets/ ticketing-options / or 1-800-457-8897.

& Entertainment

Barbara Adams, a regional arts journalist, teaches writing at Ithaca College.

Alex Prakken and Jisel Soleil Ayon shine in the Rev’s production of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” (Photo: Provided)

Bernstein Returns To Maccabiah, Locastro Back In The Bigs And Sivi On The Mend

By Steve Lawrence

Awhile back, I shared the good news that retired ICSD teacher and cross-country coach Rich Bernstein had been invited back to the Maccabiah Games, a year later than anticipated, given the Olympics were delayed a year due to the pandemic. Rich is there at this writing, this time as a head coach, a er serving as an assistant when he rst went to Israel for the Games in 2017.

e Games—o en referred to as “the Jewish Olympics”—are underway, and Opening Ceremonies saw 30,000 spectators show up to cheer on the 10,000 athletes. e USA contingent is comprised of 1,500 athletes. I asked Rich to give me some updates on the trip thus far, and he wrote, “Our rst week is called Israel Connect, where culture and history of Israel is covered. We toured Masada, home of the Maccabees’ ght against the Romans, the Dead Sea, old Jerusalem and the Western Wall, a holy site that all Jewish people face towards when they pray. Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum had a sobering (but needed) e ect on the kids. So, our day was up at 5:30 a.m. to get to practice at 6, eat, onto the buses for this touring, coming back late. Rinse and repeat for a week. Now we are settled into our hotel in Haifa (a beautiful city on the sea) for training and then we go to Jerusalem for our meet on the 19-20th. Kids are getting excited and focused and I’m enjoying doing some track coaching again—I haven’t forgotten everything. We have only two coaches, my assistant is handling distance and I have all the other events. Kinda like being on roller skates from event to event. Having only met the kids for the rst time when we landed, I feel like I know them well and they’ve adjusted to my coaching style: short and sweet. A er the meet, a little more touring then home on July 26 so a full three weeks here. Miss my family and my pup, but my wife is holding it down for me!” ● ● ●

So, how about that Tim Locastro? e Auburn native and 2013 Ithaca College grad realized his dream of making the Big Leagues in 2017 (breaking in with the L.A. Dodgers), then playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Locastro’s raw

speed and base running savvy are valuable commodities, and Locastro’s boyhood dreams came true when he was traded to the N.Y. Yankees last season. He spent some time rehabbing his injured knee a er hitting the wall during one of his highlight lm catches, and he hoped to come back stronger than ever. is season, he strained a lat and spent six weeks at Triple A Scranton-Wilkes Barre, and it was a thrill to read last weekend that the Yankees had recalled the speedster to e Show. Locastro took the eld—playing in right eld—against the Red Sox on Sunday, and let’s just say that any questions regarding his ability to contribute were answered. Tim went 3 for 5, had 2 RBI, scored 2 runs and launched a 2-run shot into the le eld bullpen. It was great to see, as many of us have believed for a long time that Tim belongs in the Bigs, and if he can stay healthy for extended periods, he will have a great career.

An update on Sivasangari Subramaniam, the Cornell squash player injured in an auto accident in her native Malaysia last month. Sivi was discharged from the hospital last week, and according to posts on her Caring Bridge page, she is grateful to be back with her family as she begins what will be a long and arduous rehabilitation regimen. e post stated that she was able to begin some light, lower limb exercises and that one of her main challenges will be to pace herself as she recovers. Sivi is not one to do things in a half-hearted manner, as she is the defending NCAA Division 1 national champion and had risen to #16 on the professional squash tour.

Rich Bernstein and members of the US team at the Opening Ceremonies of the Maccabiah Games (Photo: Provided)

By Bryan VanCampen

It’s a paradox. Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” (Warner Bros.-Bazmark Films- e Jackal Group, 2022, 159 min.) is a worthy epic bio-pic about the corrupt and complex relationship between Elvis Presley (Austin Butler) and his manager Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks). If you’re going to do a cradle-to-grave Elvis saga—a subgenre that I’m not crazy about—that relationship makes the most dramatic sense. Why didn’t Elvis ever tour the rest of the world? Because Parker was worried about his citizenship status. What if Presley had severed ties with the Colonel and concentrated on making better movies? “Viva Las Vegas” (1964) is probably his best lm and it shot for six weeks. Parker made sure that the follow-up, “Roustabout” (1964), was shot on the cheap in 18 days. Every time the King tried to sever ties with Parker, he wound up chastened, cowed and doing what he was told.

And yet it’s weird; in Luhrmann’s operatic, orid vision, Presley’s music rarely feels authentic. ere are only three or four moments where the music cues actually sound like Presley. Most of the King’s classics have been slathered with contemporary rhythms, vocals and counter-melodies.

I get it. Luhrmann is showing us how in uential Presley’s music has been, and I sure wouldn’t argue that point. But it’s as if Luhrmann doesn’t trust the power of “Heartbreak Hotel”, among more than a dozen tunes you’ll hear over the course of “Elvis”’s 159 minutes, to convince you why Presley was one in a million.

At the end of the day, Elvis Presley was, like Frank Sinatra, an interpretive artist.

e guy who never wrote an original song inspired a generational wave of guys like Lennon & McCartney and Jagger & Richards to take the guitar and piano chords they’d learned and write their own songs. (I love me some Elvis, but I believe that the real king of rock n’ roll was Chuck Berry.)

It’s pointless to complain about Luhrmann’s lack of obligation to the past. He’s a post-modern artist, as a much a party planner and DJ as he is a lmmaker.

is is the guy who put Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” into “Moulin Rouge” (2001). If you must have verisimilitude with your impression of Elvis Presley, by all means, listen to the man’s music, check out any number of documentaries, and several biographies in the music section of your local bookstore or library. If you prefer the “Print the legend” version of the King, Baz Luhrmann’s vision of “Elvis” is for you. Luhrmann has that theatrical, epic sweep that can tell a man’s life story in one go.

It’s too early to play favorites, but Butler does a great job nding an essential part of Presley’s nature; like Gary Busey’s title performance in “ e Buddy Holly Story” (1978), Butler isn’t doing an impression but an incarnation. (For the record, my favorite ctional takes on the King are Kurt Russell in John Carpenter’s 1979 “Elvis” TV movie, and Val Kilmer in Tony Scott’s 1993 pulp masterpiece “True Romance.”)

e rest of the lm feels meticulously researched, right down to James Burton’s paisley Telecaster. Luhrmann stages epic shots sweeping through Las Vegas, even

Austin Butler as Elvis Presley (Photo: Provided)

Step Outside The Ordinary And Experience Ecstasy

By Arthur Whitman

The ordinary can spur wonder. In her book e Ecstatic Quotidian: Phenomenological Sightings in Modern Art and Literature, critic Jennifer Anna Gosetti-Ferencei writes that much modern art and literature help us step outside the everyday and experience ecstasy. She writes that, “Unfamiliarity, wonder and mysteriousness are both embedded in and turnings-away from familiarity and predictability. ese turnings-away, our stepping outside the ordinary, do not leave it behind, but draw energy and vivacity from this deviation.”

is acute sense of everyday ecstasy animates the work of landscape and still life painter Vincent Joseph, who is new to Ithaca’s art community. For the State of the Art Gallery’s (SOAG) New Members Show 2022, he has been paired with mixed-media painter Carol Spence — long familiar locally.

Both artists partake broadly in the legacy of late 19th-century Symbolism. I have identi ed Spence’s work as a kind of “New Age” Symbolism. Most characteristically, she juxtaposes elements of montage and abstraction with ethereal female gures that might be priestesses or goddesses. It’s an approach intended to evoke the mysterious and the poetic.

Joseph’s acrylic canvases are more in the vein of French painters Jean-Édouard Vuillard and Pierre Bonnard, whose work of the late 19th and early 20th centuries transmuted Impressionism into something both intimate and otherworldly. Rather than occult iconography, color and light become the preferred pathways to ekstasis — literally Greek for “to be outside oneself”.

e painter recently relocated to Burdett, New York, a er retiring from a career as a package designer. He comes out of a sophisticated artistic milieu based in New York City and Long Island, which includes such august gures as the allegorical realist Gabriel Laderman, the latter-day abstract expressionist Stan Brodsky, and — still working — critic Jed Perl.

His paintings at the SOAG are heavily indebted to the late work of Bonnard. Like his predecessor, Joseph combines and conates indoor and outdoor, the tabletop and

the garden, the decorative and the natural. And like Bonnard’s, Joseph’s paintings exist at least a couple of steps removed from the everyday pastoral scenes they appear to capture. Working from drawings — which would have been great to see here — Joseph invents color orchestrations and compositions that capture a sense of “being in the world” without literalism.

I was particularly struck by “Color Drawing 1” and “Color Drawing 2.” Both pieces capture an un nished quality related to what underlies Joseph’s other paintings here. Broken, calligraphic contours; amorphous, o en translucent color areas; and twisted, implicit panes o er a sense of animation that enlivens our appreciation of all his work.

A closer look at “Black Cloth” suggests the varieties of complexity embedded in all Joseph’s still-lifes and landscapes here. A larger, upright piece, it nds us looking down at a white-topped table bordered—around its top le and across the foreground—in black. Ordinary tabletop accoutrements take on individual personalities: a teal vase bearing an explosion of owers, a tall bottle in pale blue reaching upwards, a basket and a bottle pair o , their cool, dark color-forms merging. Pieces of fruit—really little balls of color—dot the table, scarcely contained. Elsewhere,

“Black Cloth” by Vincent Joseph (Photo: Provided)

Tompkins County, has promoted Cassie Besemer to Assistant Director. Besemer, who joined LLH in 2019, will be responsible for the coordination of all volunteer services including the recruitment, training, and supervision of volunteers as well as connecting volunteers and members.

Besemer stated, “During my time with Love Living at Home, I have seen what a di erence having a village has made in people’s lives. Even during a pandemic, I watched our membership continue to grow in numbers and friendships built. It has been a privilege to be a part of such a wonderful organization and I look forward

FILM

though “Elvis” was lensed in Luhrmann’s native Australia; I assume we’re looking at a digital Vegas. e con icts between Butler and Hanks, wearing a prosthetic nose and Droopy Dog jowls, play out over operatic set pieces like Presley’s 1968 Christmas TV special. For my money, the “Unplugged” section of that special is one of Presley’s greatest performances, and it was nice to see Luhrmann make dramatic room for it. Hanks doesn’t usually play this

to continuing to support its mission in my new role as the Assistant Director.”

LLH’s Executive Director Cheryl Jewell shared, “Cassie is a critical member of the Love Living at Home team and I am so grateful for her dedication to our members and volunteers.” Jewell added, “I am condent she will continue to do great things in her new role.”

Besemer resides in Trumansburg with her husband and their two sons. She earned an associate’s degree in Human Services from Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3) in May 2019 and a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Keuka College in May 2022. She previously worked as a Certi ed Nursing Assistant with Cayuga Medical Center and Cayuga Ridge Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

kind of antagonist under so much prosthetic make-up, and like the best villains, Hanks as Parker thinks he’s the hero of this here story.

What I appreciated most about “Elvis” is how much it lays out that I didn’t know, like Presley trying to sabotage the Christmas special and thwart Parker’s plans to show the world a neutered, sweater-wearing so ie.

At least that’s not the Elvis that Luhrmann had in mind making his “Elvis”.

RIP L.Q. Jones (“ e Wild Bunch”, “A Boy and His Dog”, “Casino”)

di cult-to-place patches of brick red, bright and dusky orange, pale purple and blue, jostle and swing.

Hung against the back wall of the main gallery, three gure paintings exhibit a di erent side of Joseph’s work. Painted in vivid reds, blues and yellows, “ e Sower” derives its design from a medieval Norwegian textile the artist found in a book. “Marie,” based on a photograph of his mother as young woman, is Matissean and strange, both atly painted and oddly sculptural.

Spence’s art is hard to get a handle on. Her unframed pieces on paper here variously combine painting, printmaking, calligraphy and collage — even decorative stitched lines.

ere’s much to admire in Spence’s work: the eloquent delineation and modeling of her female heads and the sensitivity of many of her abstract and collaged passages among them. Still, one feels coerced. We’re to regard the obscurity of her lower case “s” symbolism and the seeming arbitrariness of her juxtapositions as signs of poetic profundity.

Perhaps this re ects intractable bias on my part, but I was most struck by the pieces in which her more abstract elements come to the fore. Hung side-byside, “Emerging” and “Pentimento” are among the most striking. While most of her works here would be better o framed, the visibility of the rough-cut edges gives these two an object quality that complements their banded, geometric structure and intricate textures.

e new members’ show is a familiar tradition at the SOAG. And while the pairing here is less than provocative, it is informative see the gallery grapple with two modes that have considerable purchase in local art.

From 2 to 3 p.m this Sunday, July 17, . the artists will be giving a talk at the gallery entitled “ e independent life of the artwork and how it takes on meaning.”

“New Members Show 2022” rough July 31 State of the Art Gallery at 120 W. State St./Martin Luther King Jr. St. Open 12-7 p.m. ursday and 12-5 p.m. Friday through Sunday. www.soagithaca.org

Service Stability Strength

“Tompkins provided extremely valuable advice, oversight, and support, so that we could create a healing space for our community,” says Dr. McAllister.

DERMATOLOGY ASSOCIATES

of ITHACA Dr. Josie McAllister, Founder

When Dermatology Associates of Ithaca had outgrown their office space, Dr. Josie McAllister turned to a team who has been there for the practice every step of the way: Tompkins Trust Company and Tompkins Insurance Agencies. With guidance and financing help from Tompkins, Dr. McAllister was able to purchase and renovate a beautiful 8,000 square foot facility in Ithaca.

Visit TompkinsTrust.com or TompkinsIns.com

Thursday | Robert H. Treman State Park, 105 En eld Falls Rd. | The very rst play that ISC performed outdoors, 20 years ago! A continuation and expansion of the story begun in Julius Caesar, this epic love story spans two continents and the rise of the Roman Empire, but is dominated by one of Shakespeare’s most complex and fascinating women.

Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 | 7:30 p.m., 7/21

Thursday | Hangar Theatre, 801 Taughannock Blvd. | Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 by Dave Malloy Transport yourself to Imperial Russia, during the time of the Napoleonic Wars.

Art at BTI - “Patterns in Nature: How They Emerge and Inspire” | 4:30 p.m., 7/20 Wednesday | Boyce Thompson Institute, 533 Tower Rd | June B.W. Szabo and Dr. Magdalena Julkowska are featured speakers in this year’s Art at BTI, an annual series that explores the connection between art and science. BTI displays the work of a local artist on the Institute’s walls, while inviting the greater community to view, celebrate and learn. | Free

Music

Bars/Bands/Clubs

7/20 Wednesday

Summer Concert Series - Grass Roots Edition w/ Cortadita | 6 p.m. | Bernie Milton Pavilion, Center Commons

Homer Summer Concert Series: Doc Weismore & Real Country | 7 p.m. | Village Green | Free

7/21 Thursday

Sunset Music Series: Tru Bleu | 6 p.m. | Six Mile Creek Vineyard, 1551 Slaterville Rd

Music in Myers Park: Cruise Control | 6:30 p.m. | Myers Park | Free Cortland Youth Bureau Summer Concert Series : Austin McRae & Casey Widger| 7 p.m. | Courthouse Park, Court House Park

7/22 Friday

City Limts | 6:00pm| Hopshire Farm & Brewerry, Freeville Hot Dogs & Gin | 6:00 p.m. | Buttonwood Grove Winery, 5986 State Route 89

Cortland Main Street Music Series: Joe Louis Walker; Mike Powel; Raedwald Howland-Bolton | 6 p.m. | Main Street, Cortland Friday Night Farm Jams: Neo Project| 6:30 p.m. | Finger Lakes Cider

7/23 Saturday

Red Oak Music Series - Chasing Neon, Jon Rogalia | 12 p.m. | Lime Hollow Nature Center, 3277 Gracie Rd Eileen Shirley & Tom | 1 p.m. | Buttonwood Grove Winery, 5986 State Route 89

Doc’sology Jazz Trio | 2 p.m. | Americana Vinyards, 4367 Covert Road | Free

Taughannock Falls Concert Series: Papa Muse | 7 p.m. | Taughannock Falls State Park, 1740 Taughannock Blvd | Free

7/24 Sunday

Hot Dogs & Gin | Hosmer Winery | 1 p.m.

Marye Lobb | 1 p.m. | Red Newt Cellars, 3675 Tichenor Road | Free

Cider Sunday Concert Series: Gravel Gertie| 1 p.m. | Finger Lakes Cider House, 4017 Hickok Road

7/25 Monday

Jazz Monday with Dave Davies RhythmMakers | 5:30 p.m. | South Hill Cider, 550 Sandbank Road

7/27 Wednesday

New eld Music Series at Mill Park: Home Remedy | 6 p.m. | Mill Park | Free

Homer Summer Concert Series: M3 | 7 p.m. | Village Green | Free

Concerts/Recitals

7/21 Thursday

Righteous Brothers | 8 p.m. | Tioga Downs, 2384 West River Rd | $20.00 - $40.00

7/22 Friday

I Love the 90’s ftg.Tone Loc, Coolio, Rob Base, Young MC, & Vanilla Ice | | Tag’s Summer Stage

7/28 Thursday

Symphoria Summer Concert: Song Mountain | 7 p.m. | Song Mountain Resort, 1 Song Mountain Rd | Free

Skaneateles Festival: The Miro Quartet & David Shifrin | 8 p.m. | Various - Check schedule

7/29 Friday

Skaneateles Festival: The Miro Quartet | 8 p.m. | Various - Check schedule

The High Kings | 8 p.m. | Center for the Arts of Homer, 72 S Main St

8/2 Tuesday

Andrew Bird | 7 p.m. | Beak & Ski Apple Orchards, 2708 Lords Hill Road

The Happy Together Tour Featuring The Turtles, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, The Association, The Buckinghams, The Vogues, and The Cowsills, | | Tag’s Summer Stage

Stage

Ithaca Shakespeare presents: The Two Gentlemen of Verona | 6 p.m., 7/20 Wednesday | Robert H. Treman State Park, 105 En eld Falls Rd. | A play that ISC has never produced in any form -- a sparkling romantic comedy featuring smart women, foolish men, a gang of outlaws, and of course, a bit with a dog...

Ithaca Shakespeare presents: Antony and Cleopatra | 6 p.m., 7/21

Ulysses S. Grant’s Friendship with Abraham Lincoln | 6 p.m., 7/22 Friday | New eld Fire Hall, 77 Main Street | General Ulysses S. Grant returns to talk about his friendship with President Lincoln. Join the New eld Public Library and New eld Historical Society for this exciting living history program! Free and open to the public! Refreshments will be served. | Free Singtrece’s Open Mic for Singers, Rappers, Songwriters & Poets @ The Downstairs at The Downstairs | 7 p.m., 7/26 Tuesday | The Downstairs and SingTrece Publishing Production Presents Ithaca’s Best Open Mic for Singers, Rappers, Songwriters, Poets and Spoken Word.

KIDDSTUFF: Dragons Love Tacos | 10 a.m., 7/29 Friday | Hangar Theatre, 801 Taughannock Blvd. |

Open Mic Stand Up Comedy Night @ The Downstairs at Downstairs | 7 p.m., 8/2 Tuesday | First and third Tuesdays of the month! Kenneth McLauren hosts Open Mic Stand Up Comedy Night at The Downstairs. View on site | Email this event

CRT Presents: Mary Poppins | 8/3 Wednesday | Little York Lake Theatre & Pavilion, 6799 Little York Lake Road | A musical based on the stories of P.L. Travers and the Walt Disney FilmOriginal Music and Lyrics: Richard M. Sherman and Robert B.

Art

Jari Poulin | Mirage at Ink Shop Studio Gallery | 1 p.m., 7/20 Wednesday | Jari Poulin | Mirage features a series of images that combine monoprints and black and white photographic transfers to create dream-like worlds that speak to memory and imagination.

New Members’ Show | 12 p.m., 7/21 Thursday | State of the Art Gallery, 120 W State St #2 | New Members’ Show at State of the art Gallery: Carol Spence and Vincent Joseph Pop In Studio Night | 4 p.m., 7/21 Thursday | Artist Alley at South Hill Business Campus, 950 Danby Road | Several artists studios and the gallery will be open to the public every third Thursday from 4-7pm.

Teen Wave Art with Molly | 4 p.m., 7/21 Thursday | Cortland Free Library, 32 Church St | Interactive Art Fun! Join local artist, Molly Reagan with Good Neighbor Art for a hands on painting experience. Open to ages 12-18. Registration is limited and is required.

Guided Tour - Prohibition Era Ithaca at The History Center in Tompkins County | 5:30 p.m., 7/21 Thursday | ##TOUR DATES Thursday 7/14 (5:30pm), Friday 7/15 (5:30pm), Saturday 7/16 (11am and 4pm) and Thursday 7/21 (5:30pm), Friday 7/22 (5:30pm), Saturday 7/23 (11am and 4pm)

Common Thread Invitational | 11 a.m., 7/23 Saturday | corners gallery, 903 HANSHAW RD | Common Thread Invitational showcases work by ve contemporary artists working in ber and textiles.

Let’s Meditate at the Museum Summer Session 9 | 12:15 p.m., 7/27 Wednesday | Johnson Museum of Art, 114 Central Avenue | During each halfhour session, a trained Cornell Health “Let’s Meditate” program guide will lead participants through exercises designed to focus on the breath and quiet the mind.

Under the Stars at Courthouse Park | 7/20 Wednesday | Courthouse Park, Church Street | Check out the lineup for this summer’s Movie Under the Stars presented by the Cortland Youth Bureau!

Cinemapolis| 120 E. Green St., Ithaca

July 22- July 28, 2022. Contact Cinemapolis for showtimes. New lms listed rst. *

NT Live: Prima Facie* | Two shows only: Thu, July 21 at 6:30 pm; Sat, July 23 at 1:30 pm| Jodie Comer makes her West End debut. Tessa is a young, brilliant barrister. She has worked her way up from working class origins to be at the top of her game; defending; cross examining and winning. An unexpected event forces her to confront the lines where the patriarchal power of the law, burden of proof and morals diverge. | 125 mins NR

Marcel the Shell with Shoes

On* | A beloved character gets his big-screen debut in this hilarious and heartwarming story about nding connection in the smallest corners. | 89 mins

Nope* | The residents of a lonely gulch in inland California bear witness to an uncanny and chilling discovery. The latest lm from Jordan Peele, with Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Brandon Perea . | 135 mins R

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris | A widowed cleaning lady in 1950s London falls madly in love with a couture Dior dress, and decides that she must have one of her own. | 92 mins PG

Where the Crawdads Sing | From the best-selling novel comes a captivating mystery of Kya, an abandoned girl who raised herself to adulthood in the dangerous marshlands of North Carolina. For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” haunted Barkley Cove, isolating the sharp and resilient Kya from her community.|

Everything

Osprey from the comfort of our spacious boat, the MV Teal.

Ithaca Night Bazaar at Steamboat Landing, Ithaca Farmers Market Pavilion | 6 p.m., 7/21 Thursday

| A monthly festival of musicians, makers, artists, performers, doers and dreamers.

Sunset Boat Cruise | 7 p.m., 7/21 Thursday | Come aboard the comfortable and spacious MV Teal for a 1.5Hour Sunset Cruise on Cayuga Lake. 30th Annual Grassroots Festival | 7/21 Thursday | Trumansburg Fairgrounds | 75 bands on 4 stages!

GO ITHACA Outdoor Tours at Bernie Milton Pavilion | 11:30 a.m., 7/22 Friday | Bernie Milton Pavilion, Center Commons | GO ITHACA is excited to be a 2022 recipient of the Tompkins County Outdoor Recreation Grant.

Night Sky Cruise at Allen Treman State Park | 9:30 p.m., 7/22 Friday | Come enjoy the wide, open skies for yourself and see if you can recognize some zodiac signs from our boat, the spacious MV Teal!

Animal Encounters! at Cayuga Nature Center | 12 p.m., 7/23 Saturday | Join us in the courtyard at noon to learn all about the Cayuga Nature Center’s animal ambassadors!

Club Cayuga Sunset Cruises at Allen Treman State Park | 7:30 p.m., 7/24 Sunday | Club Cayuga

Sunset Cruises feature lively music on board the MV Teal, operated by Discover Cayuga Lake, with some of our favorite local DJs!

Run to the Summit Trail Fest at Greek Peak | 7/31 Sunday | Greek Peak Mountain Resort, 2000 Rt. 392 | Trail festival at Greek Peak Mountain Resort. Hosting an uphill challenge, 5k loop, 10k loop, and mountain mash-ups (uphill challenge plus 5k or 10k loops).

Books

S.T.E.A.M. Book Club | 3:45 p.m., 7/27 Wednesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green Street | Lecture Escape to the Lakes w/ Kathleen A. Earle at CAP ArtSpace | 4 p.m., 7/27 Wednesday | Cornell University, 144 East Ave | ##WHEN Wednesday July 27th 4pm-5:15pm ##WHERE CAP ArtSpace Gallery located on the rst oor of the Tompkins Center for History & Culture - Ithaca Commons. 110 N.

Friday in June and July, join Jae, the Edith B. Ford Memorial Library’s Storytime Facilitator, for several fun activities and a craft!

Baby/Toddler Time | 10:30 a.m., 7/26 Tuesday | Cortland Free Library, 32 Church St | Rhymes, stories, and songs designed for children from birth to age 2 and their caregivers. Registration is limited and is required each week.

Crafty Kids | 4 p.m., 7/26 Tuesday | Cortland Free Library, 32 Church St | We will meet to make a di erent craft each month.  Meets monthly on the last Tuesday at 4 p.m. Open to ages 6-12 yrs. Registration is limited and is required each month

Community Relations & Outreach Committee Mtg | 3:30 p.m., 7/20 Wednesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green Street |

Trumansburg Farmers Market | 4 p.m., 7/20 Wednesday | Farmers Market, Hector St. | On the corner of Route 227 & 96 … In the heart of Trumansburg Indoor Cornhole at Cortland Beer Co. | 7 p.m., 7/20 Wednesday | Cortland Beer Co., 16 Court Street | Bring your nds, grab a pint, it’s indoor cornhole tournaments every Wednesday at Cortland Beer Co.

on the basics of chess and experts can meet and play.

Ecstatic Dance Sanctuary | 7:30 p.m., 7/21 Thursday | Foundation of Light, 391 Turkey Hill Rd | Ecstatic Dance at the Foundation of Light. 7:30pm: Doors open, intro music set begins 8pm: opening circle 8:30pm: full music set begins 9:45pm: closing circle and sharing time. Sliding scale donations

Everywhere All At

Once | A hilarious and big-hearted sci- action-adventure about an exhausted Chinese American woman (Michelle Yeoh) who can’t seem to nish her taxes. | 140 mins R

Elvis | From his childhood in Tupelo, Mississippi to his rise to stardom starting in Memphis, Tennessee and his conquering of Las Vegas, Nevada, Elvis Presley becomes the rst rock ‘n roll star and changes the world with his music.| 159 mins NR

Special Events

Osprey Eco-Cruise at Allan H. Treman Marina | 4:30 p.m., 7/20 Wednesday | Experience the ecology of Cayuga Lake through the lens of

New eld Old Home Days | 5 p.m., 7/29 Friday | New eld Central School, 247 Main St | New eld Old Home Days are Friday, July 29 5:00 to 9:00, and Saturday, July 30 9:00 to 5:00.| Two days of fun! Includes free live music both days, lots of food, reworks and fun events for all. Parade starts 11:00 Saturday. | Free

Route 90 Garage Sale | 9 a.m., 7/30 Saturday | The annual 50 mile Route 90 Garage Sale takes on a festival atmosphere each year as friends, family members and the occasional family dog go searching for surprises.

4-H Youth Fair Family Fun Day | 9 a.m., 7/30 Saturday | 4-H Acres | For a week in July each year, 4-H members in Tompkins County have an opportunity to share and showcase their projects at an entirely youth-run event, the 4-H Youth Fair. | Free

Points of View: A Book Club | 7/27 Wednesday | Phillips Free Library, 37 South Main Street | monthly virtual book club discusses novels centered on characters from diverse cultures, life experiences, and di erent points of view.

Kids

Preschool Story Time | 10:30 a.m., 7/21 Thursday | Cortland Free Library, 32 Church St | Stories, songs, and activities with a di erent theme each week. All ages are welcome but this program is designed for children ages 3-5 yrs. Registration is limited and is required each week.

Groton Public Library Storytime at Groton Public Library | 6 p.m., 7/21 Thursday | Join the Library for a monthly storytime. This months theme is around The Winter Olympics. Storytime with Jae | 10 a.m., 7/22 Friday | Edith B. Ford Memorial Library, 7169 Main St | At 10am every

NATASHA, PIERRE, AND THE GREAT COMET OF 1812

OPENS JULY 21 AT 7:30PM.

RUNS THROUGH JULY 31

Hangar Theatre., Ithaca | Come experience the regional premiere of the Tony Award-winning musical. Drawing inspiration from a 70-page portion of Tolstoy’s War and Peace, the show features a score that includes rock, pop, soul, folk and EDM. (Photo: Facebook)

Why Do You Parent The Way You Do? (Ithaca, IN-PERSON) | 6 p.m., 7/26 Tuesday | CCE-Tompkins Education Center, 615 Willow Avenue | Many factors in uence our children and how we parent. Every family, every child is di erent and unique. Why do we do what we do? Why do we make the decisions we make?

Notices

Loaves & Fishes of Tompkins County -Indoor Meal Service | 12 p.m., 7/20 Wednesday | St. John’s Episcopal Church, 210 N. Cayuga St. | Free hot meals are served every weekday. Lunch: Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 12 noon -1:00 pm. Dinner: Tuesday, Thursday from 5:30-6:30 pm. Interested in volunteering? email info@loaves.org, or go to www.loaves. org. All are Welcome! | Free Red Cross Blood Drive | 1 p.m., 7/20 Wednesday | The Shops at Ithaca Mall, 40 Catherwood Rd. | Be kind and become a blood donor! Donate in July for chance to win a Shark Week merch package thanks to Discovery! Please call 1-800-RED-CROSS or visit redcrossblood.org to make your appointment today!

Marijuana Anonymous Meeting | 7 p.m., 7/20 Wednesday | Ithaca Community Recovery (518 W. Seneca St), 518 West Seneca St | Marijuana Anonymous in-person meeting every Wednesday @ 7pm at Ithaca Community Recovery, 518 West Seneca St, 2nd oor in Room #2. Enter from back door of building. For more info: maithacany@gmail.com | Free Nutrition Workshop Series - Nature’s Bounty is Back | 3 p.m., 7/21 Thursday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 East Green Street |

Candor Farmers Market | 3:30 p.m., 7/21 Thursday | Candor Town Hall Pavilion, 101 Owego Road | Local vendors with produce, crafts, cheese, meat, maple products, baked goods, food truck | Free

Community Garden | 4 p.m., 7/21 Thursday | Edith B. Ford Memorial Library, 7169 Main St. | For ages 16+: Join Library Director Andrea Tillinghast and new Teen Advocate Brooke Donnelly for some leisurely gardening at the Library’s Community Garden Plot at the Ovid Community Garden. | Free Chess Club | 6 p.m., 7/21 Thursday | Cortland Free Library, 32 Church St | An all ages chess club for beginners and experts.  Meets every Thursday at 6 p.m. Beginners will get a lesson

Ovid Farmers Market | 3 p.m., 7/22 Friday | Three Bears Complex, Main St. | Every Friday from 3-7. Be sure to purchase fresh, local produce and other local products. Support your local farmers and producers and keep your hard-earned dollars in your local community. | Free

Ithaca Farmers Market - Saturdays at Steamboat | 9 a.m., 7/23 Saturday | Steamboat Landing, 545 Third Street | Shop all of the best food, art and ag within 30 miles!

Self- Discovery through Movement Nature as a Dancing Partner at Community School of Music and Arts | 10 a.m., 7/23 Saturday | Connect with your senses and natural movement.

Dance Church | 11:30 a.m., 7/24 Sunday | Foundation of Light, 391 Turkey Hill Rd | Dance Church Ithaca continues in person — and online — every Sunday from 11:30 AM to 1 PM at the Foundation Of Light. Come join the dance!Masks are required, and air puri ers are running inside. Dancing on the lawn is encouraged! |

FreeCayuga Trails Club Hike at Various trails in the Ithaca region. | 10 a.m., 7/23 Saturday | Various | Explore local trails on weekly Saturday hikes starting at 10:00am. Hike length varies from 2.5-4 miles. Click here to see the location of the hikes for each week. View on site | Email this event

Food Pantry | 12 p.m., 7/23 Saturday

| GYM-Southside Community Center, 305 S Plain St

30TH ANNUAL GRASSROOTS FESTIVAL

THURSDAY, JULY 21 THRU SUNDAY, JULY 24

Trumansburg Fairgrounds, Route 96, Trumansburg | In case you missed last week’s cover story, Grassroots is back, it’s turning 30 and is ready to party with you and help you get your dance on this weekend.

(Photo: Provided) a

HAPPY JACK

100/Automotive

CASH FOR CARS!

MAKE-A-WISH DONATIONS

Wheels For Wishes benefiting Make-A-Wish Northeast New York. Your Car Donations Matter NOW More Than Ever! Free Vehicle Pick Up ANYWHERE. We Accept Most Vehicles Running or Not. 100% Tax Deductible. Minimal To No Human Contact. Call: (877) 798-9474. Car Donation Foundation dba Wheels For Wishes. www.wheelsforwishes.org. (NYSCAN)

TOP CA$H PAID

LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS

Loaves & Fishes of Tompkins County is now open for inside meal service! Free hot meals are served every weekday at St. John’s, 210 N. Cayuga St: Lunch: Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 12 noon -1:00 pm. Dinner: Tuesday, Thursday from 5:30-6:30 pm. Interested in volunteering? email info@loaves.org, or go to www.loaves.org

All are Welcome!

JOURNALIST

Ithaca Times is seeking an experienced journalist with strong organizational, reporting and editing skills. You would oversee both the news and arts &entertainment sections of our community weekly. Duties include copy editing all content, layout coordination, some reporting, and feature and editorial writing. You need to develop stories, plan several weeks ahead, and set the course for the editorial direction of the newspaper. A staff reporter,and several freelancers report directly to you. You must have a strong sense of place to do this job; the Ithaca Times is about Ithaca, and Ithaca is fascinating. Respond with cover letter, writing samples, and resume to jbilinski@ithacatimes.com and Larry@ithacatimes.com

Part-Time

Photographer

The Ithaca Times is seeking a part-time photographer to work on a per assignment basis. Please send letter of interest, and indicate photography experience to: jbilinski@ ithacatimes.com

SUNY CORTLAND

PERFORMING ARTS

SUNY Cortland’s Department of Performing Arts has several positions available for the 2022-23 academic year.

• Director of the College Community Orchestra

• Production Stage Manager

• Dance Instructor (ballet and Jazz primarily)

The Performing Arts Department offers Majors and a Minor in Musical Theatre. The Department also acts as a cultural resource for the college and the larger community.

Please apply via the link below or contact Kevin Halpin, Chair, Performing Arts SUNY Cortland for additional information 607-753-2811, kevin. halpin@cortland.edu

Prime Location, Sustainable, Pet Friendly. Visit

DISH TV

$64.99 For 190 Channels + $14.95 High Speed Internet. Free Installation, Smart HD DVR Included, Free Voice Remote. Some restrictions apply. Promo EXPIRES: 1/21/23, 1-888-6099405 (NYSCAN)

FINANCES

ARE YOU BEHIND $10K OR MORE ON YOUR TAXES? Stop wage & bank levies, liens & audits, unfiled tax returns, payroll issues, & resolve tax debt FAST. Call 888-869-5361 (hours: Mon-Fri 7am-5pm PST) (NYSCAN)

GUTTER CLEANING

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HOME WARRANTY

COMPLETE CARE

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HughesNet Satellite Internet

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320/Bulletin Board

Lost Dog

200/Buy / Sell / Trade

DIRECTV

DIRECTV for $79.99/mo for 12 months with CHOICE package. Watch your favorite live sports, news & entertainment anywhere. First 3 months of HBO Max, Cinemax, Showtime, Starz and Epix included! Directv is #1 in Customer Satisfaction (JD Power & Assoc.) Some restrictions apply. Call DIRECTV: 1-888-534-6918 (NYSCAN)

LOST 06/21/22: Midge, newly adopted, Red Tri Mini Aussie dog (32 lbs). Lost in Dryden, NY area with last sighing in Ithaca, NY. Owner of dog lives in Rensselaer, NY. Dog is in SURVIVAL MODE. If you have a sighting, DO NOT chase, follow, whistle, call, etc. Treat dog like a stray cat. If you approach or make verbal contact, she will bolt. Just OBSERVE AND REPORT any potential sighting via call or text to Dana at 719-338-3902 and/or DCO Leonard at 607-342-8477 (photos are great). Midge’s owner is working with an experienced canine recovery team to bring dog home safely.

Please, DO NOT go out “searching” for Midge; Team has area covered. Also, food stations are established so please do not place food out. Reported sightings have been incredibly helpful. Thank you for the community support.

400/Employment

Delivery Driver

Driver with SUV-sized car and good driving record to deliver newspapers 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesdays year-round in and around Ithaca. Call 607 277-7000 x 1214.

Education / Career Training

Ultimate Medical Academy Online | Medical Billing and Coding. Prepare for a Career in Medical Billing & Coding w/an Online Degree at Ultimate Medical Academy! Students Come First. Flexible Online Learning. Student support services. Call 877-568-2462 (NYSCAN)

The State University of New York College at Cortland is an Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity/Americans with Disabilities Act (AA/EEO/ADA) employer. The College actively seeks applications from women, veterans, individuals with a disability, members of underrepresented groups or anyone that would enrich the diversity of the College.

WEGMANS

HIRING

Love what you do at Wegmans Food Market. 607-277-5800, Ithaca, 500 S. Meadow St., Ithaca, NY 14850

BATH & SHOWER UPDATES

MEDICAL BILLING AND CODING

Ultimate Medical Academy Online / Medical Billing and Coding. Prepare for a Career in Medical billing & Coding w/an Online Degree at Ultimate Medical Academy! Students Come First. Flexible Online learning. Student support services. Call 877-568-2462. (NYSCAN)

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