NEWSLINE

N EWS LINE

Joe Sempolinski (R) defeated Max Della Pia (D) and will fill out the remainder of Tom Reed’s term. (Photo: Provided) Josh Riley (D) won the chance to face Marc Malinaro (R) in November for the new NY 19th CD seat. (Photo: Provided)

Sempolinski, Riley And Webb Victorious

Della Pia Says Race For New 23rd Seat Starts Now

By Matt Dougherty

The results from the primary and special elections that took place on August 23 are in, but they will not be nalized until all of the mail-in ballots are counted. According to Tompkins County Democratic Board of Elections Commissioner Steve DeWitt, winners are initially projected based on absentee ballots, early votes, and votes cast in-person on election day. However, the projected victors from last week's elections are Joe Sempolinski, Josh Riley, and Lea Webb.

In the special election to ll the seat le vacant in the old 23rd Congressional District by former Congressman Tom Reed— who resigned from his position to take a job at a lobbying rm—Republican Joe Sempolinski defeated Democrat Max Della Pia. Sempolinski received 52.84% of the vote compared to Della Pia’s 46.37%. Even though Della Pia lost the election, he won big in Tompkins County receiving 85% of votes compared to Sempolinski’s 14%. It was the only county the Democrat won in the district, which is suggestive of one of the reasons for redistricting the seat.

Following his victory Sempolinski said, “I will work to make sure that the voice of the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes is heard throughout the remainder of this Congressional term. One of the chief things that makes our nation great is that we are governed by representatives chosen by and from among the people. To be selected as one of those representatives, even for a few months, is a sacred duty.”

Della Pia lost the special election in the old 23rd Congressional District, but he is still running for election in the new 23rd Congressional District on November 8th, a er redistricting goes into e ect. However, the Cook Political Report Partisan voter index gives the redrawn district a partisan ranking of R+12, so odds are the seat will remain under Republican control.

Sempolinski will not be running for reelection when the term for the old 23rd Congressional District expires at the end of this year.

Della Pia released a statement saying, “It’s hard to write a concession when I don’t feel as if I’ve lost…. ese results show the Midterm Election, in November, in the new NY23 is winnable and our momentum is not going to stop. is was an energizing experience, getting out the vote for November starts today.”

In the Democratic primary election to ll the seat le vacant by Antonio Delgado when he was appointed to ll the position of Lieutenant Governor of New York, and which has been redistricted into the new 19th Congressional District–which will include parts of the old 23rd District–Josh Riley defeated Jamie Cheney. With more

Lea Webb (D) will be facing off against Rich David (R), both from Binghamton, for the 52nd State Senate seat. (Photo: Provided)

Continued on Page 16

T A K E N O T E

 ITHACA’S MILLENNIAL RENTER WAGE GAP — Spending no more than 30% of one’s earnings on rent, the wage needed to rent a one-bedroom unit in Ithaca is $46,120 per year, that’s almost 27% more than the median annual wage of $33,717 for millennial renters, according to a recent report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition. That’s the 14th largest millennial renter wage gap of all small U.S. metros. The report notes that rising real estate costs, stagnant incomes, and historically high levels of debt have resulted in fewer Millennials being able to buy homes. More than 27% of Millennials are renters; that’s a larger proportion than any other generation.

 ITHACA IS 5TH LEAST

AFFORDABLE COLLEGE TOWN FOR STUDENT

RENTERS — A new study by the website Porch.com shows that student renters in Ithaca pay an average of $15,479 for o -campus room and board, compared to the national average of $11,327. Out of all small U.S. metro areas, Ithaca is the 5th least a ordable for student renters. The study was based on data from the National Center for Education Statistics and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. These high costs are especially challenging for rst generation college students and students from lowincome families that lack a rental history or the savings for deposits that help get approved for a rental.

VOL. XLIII / NO. 2 / August 31, 2022 Serving 47,125 readers weekly

ON THE COVER:

TCAT’s Uncertain Future (Cover Photo: Josh Baldo) (Special section cover photo: Casey Martin)

NEWSLINE ....................................3 SPORTS ..........................................7 TCAT’S UNCERTAIN FUTURE ........................................8

Attempting to steer through labor, funding, and fare pressure issues

FALL ENTERTAINMENT PREVIEW ....................................11 ART ..............................................17 DINING .......................................18 FILM ............................................19 TIMES TABLE .............................20 CLASSIFIEDS ..............................22

ON THE WEB

Visit our website at www.ithaca.com for more news, arts, sports and photos. Call us at 607-277-7000

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G AZETTE : TOM N EWTON

IN UIRING PHOTOGR PHERQ A

By Josh Baldo

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CHILDHOOD MOVIE?

“Toy Story” – Logan K.

“Hocus-Pocus” – Qiao J.

“E.T.” – Everett B.

“Sandlot” – Megan W.

“Back To The Future” – Ernest S. Richard Onyejuruwa said prior attempts like Common Council’s Special Committee have achieved few results. (Photo: Zoom) Bruce Beem-Miller suggested the Special Committee should define reimagining and start assessing priorities. (Photo: Zoom) Deputy Chief Vincent Monticello says the IPD faces a huge task regarding recruitment and hiring. (Photo: Zoom)

Police Board Discusses Search For Chief, Reimagining, Staffing Shortages

Frustration Evident Regarding Lack Of Definitions And Direction

By Matt Dougherty

On August 24 the City of Ithaca Community Police Board held a meeting to discuss how to move forward with choosing a new police chief and reimagining public safety. e Community Police Board (CPB) was created by the City of Ithaca to act as the community liaison to the Police Department and actively foster positive communications between police and all segments of the community.

During the meeting, Common Council member George McGonigal updated the CPB on the work being done by the committee to continue reimagining public safety, which includes ve members of Common Council. According to McGonigal, the committee is looking at possible changes or additions that can be made to the Ithaca Police Department’s current training process, as well as what unarmed community resolution o cers will be asked to do. ey are also looking into collecting data regarding call types and tra c stops in an e ort to create a record of how police o cers interact with the public.

According to McGonigal, “One of the de nite things that the committee hopes to do is study call types and what the function of the unarmed contingent will be, including how much they will interact with IPD when they're doing their jobs.” e committee is going to bring in law enforcement like police o cers and the District Attorney to make clear what types of calls police o cers are required to respond to by state law.

McGonigal continued saying, “ ose things were not nished with the original task force. And input from police o cers about what is and what is not possible for unarmed personnel to do—legally—according to state law, was not gured out or talked about. So that's one of the de nite things this committee will be doing.” e committee is set to meet once a month starting on September 14. Acting Mayor Laura Lewis wants a report from the committee by the end of the year, so the committee only has four months to get answers.

According to McGonigal, “the report that we come up with at this short-lived committee is due at the end of December, that timeline may be extended, but data collection is going to be ongoing.”

Community Police Board member Richard Onyejuruwa said that he feels like attempts like these have been made in the past and have achieved little results. He also asked McGonigal to explain what de nition of “reimagining” the committee is working with.

“What is the current de nition that folks are operating with as far as what reimagining means?” asked Onyejuruwa. McGonigal responded saying, “I don’t think we have a clear de nition. at’s why it’s one of our goals.” at didn’t sit well with Onyejuruwa, who responded to McGonigal saying, “People have been doing work under a particular direction for the last two years so taking two years to come up with a de nition is leaving me a little confused.”

According to Community Police Board member Bruce Beem-Miller, “that’s part of the problem here as far as making progress, it’s either too broad or it’s not de ning exactly what the de nition is.” He continued saying that “the objective of this committee should be to narrow down the de nition and start assessing priorities.”

However, Onyejuruwa responded saying, “it sounds like this committee was put together to attempt to rectify some of the mistakes that might have occurred in the last review session. But is that going to be the same situation in the future? Is there going to be another committee in the Spring? How is this a sustaining endeavor?” e answers to these questions remain unknown, and it seems that confusion continues to surround much of the reimagining public safety process.

McGonigal also announced that the search committee that was formed to look for the next Chief of Police in Ithaca has found three quali ed candidates. However, the search process is being reopened for a short period of time so more applicants can apply. According to McGonigal, the interview process will begin once more people apply for the position. e di culty to nd a new Chief of Police is representative of the overall sta ng crisis that has hit the Ithaca Police Department. According to IPD Deputy Chief Vincent Monticello, following the recent retirements of three police o cers, IPD currently has 52 of cers and fourteen vacancies. Monticello told the Community Police Board, “With recent retirements we’re trying to recruit

School Board Divided Over What To Do About Vacancy

Special Election Too Costly But Appointment Option Raises Concerns

By Matt Dougherty

Following a tumultuous election in May that changed the structure of the Ithaca City School Board, the Board Of Education, which is usually a nine-member organization, was le one member short.

A er longtime Board of Education member Rob Ainslie was voted out and Kelly Evens resigned, they were replaced by Karen Yearwood and Jill Tripp following a controversial election last May. However, according to the Ithaca City School District website, Board of Education member Nicole LaFave—whose term is set to expire in June 2024—has also resigned from the board. It remains unclear how the vacancy created by her resignation will be managed.

During an August 23 meeting of the Ithaca City School Board, the board discussed several options they have available to them to ll the vacancy created by the departure of LaFave. According to the Board of Education President, Dr. Sean Eversley Bradwell, there are three options on the table regarding how to ll the vacancy. e board can either organize a special election, appoint someone to ll the vacancy, or choose to leave the position vacant.

During the meeting Bradwell said, “if the board does choose to leave the seat vacant, the commissioner of education could force us to appoint somebody or force the board or command the board to appoint somebody. But that has not happened that I'm aware of for quite some time.”

According to the Board of Education, putting together a special election would cost the district somewhere between $60,000 to $80,000. As a result, very few districts hold special elections because of the costs associated with them. In addition, a special election would require the board to notify the public at least 45 days in advance of election day, and a person wouldn’t ll the seat for at least 60 days.

If the vacancy created by the departure of LaFave is lled through a special election then the replacement would remain in their position on the board until 2024. However, if the board chooses to appoint someone to ll the vacancy then their position would end in May of 2023.

While appointing someone to ll the vacancy allows the district to avoid the costs associated with organizing a special election, some board members said that they felt uncomfortable with the prospect of appointing a replacement given the “messiness” of the last election.

“I don't know who we could appoint just out of nowhere…I wouldn't be comfortable appointing anyone based on who was voted for in the spring,” said Board of Education member Erin Croyle.

According to Dr. Patricia Wasyliw, who has served on the Board of Education since 2011, “In the years that I’ve been on the board we have done one of two things. We have either appointed the next highest vote getter or le the spot vacant.” She continued saying, “I am personally not in favor of spending another couple of months and close to $100,000 on a special election, but I have always been uncomfortable with the idea of eight people choosing someone to be on the board who hasn’t been voted for.”

According to Wasyliw, “we have le the position vacant just as o en as we have lled it.” However, she also said that if an appointment was made, the person should be chosen from a random pool of former board members since there is “a lot of training and knowledge” associated with doing the job.

During the meeting Wasyliw said, “there’s a former board member who got three votes fewer than the person who stepped o the board. I have no idea whether that person would be interested or not.”

Board member Eldrid Harris came out in favor of appointing someone to ll the vacancy saying, “my instinct is to use the opportunity to appoint someone who either has been with us in the trenches before or use the opportunity to look at appointing someone who’s a rising young superstar in the community.”

However Jill Tripp, who was recently elected to the Board of Education in May said, “I nd the reasons for not appointing anyone very compelling.” For example, Tripp says that by not making an appointment the board can save money and “avoid possible inter-familial con ict about who the person appointed is.”

A straw poll was conducted at the end of the meeting at the recommendation of Tripp. Following the poll, two board members voted to appoint someone to ll the vacancy, four members voted to leave the position vacant, and two members abstained.

Right now, it looks like the Ithaca City Board of Education is going to be le with an eight-member board going into the 2022-23 school year. An o cial decision regarding how to ll the vacancy on the Board of Education has yet to be made.

Patricia Wasyliw said in the past either the next highest vote getter was appointed or the spot was left vacant. (Photo: Provided) Erin Croyle expressed discomfort appointing anyone based on the Spring election. (Photo: Provided) Sean Eversley Bradwell said the board can hold a special election, appoint someone, or leave the position vacant. (Photo: Provided)

UPS DOWNS &

Ups

While some folks are upset there are plans in place to turn the old Thai Cuisine building into a car wash, this is a site that isn’t easy to develop; that’s why it has been unused for so long. Having a respected local business develop the location would be a big improvement.

Ups

Thanks to all those who turned out to vote in the August 23 elections. Everyone would like turnout to be higher, but this was a second primary this year and it had a Byzantine combination of special elections and jumbled new and old districts. Those who voted showed a real dedication to democracy.

HEARD SEEN &

Heard

Bike Walk Tompkins is looking for donated used adult-sized bikes they can refurbish and pass along, at reasonable prices or even sometimes free, to other people in the community. If you want to donate a bike contact simon@bikewalktompkins.org.

Seen

That viral YouTube video of a rabid fox attacking Sherri Russo of Caroline in her yard (https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=e-gXkm_WcZM) is truly frightening. It’s a reminder for all of us that if we see a normally nocturnal animal during daytime we need to be concerned.

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 Who would you support in a Subway Series?

24.4% The Yankees, of course. They’re the greatest franchise ever. 19.5% The Mets. I love underdogs and hate the Yankees.

56.1% Neither. Baseball is boring and I couldn’t care less.

NEXT WEEK’S QUESTION: How much more would you ride TCAT if it were free?

Visit ithaca.com to submit your response.

Left Hanging

By Stephen Burke

You moved from a big city to a small town to simplify your life, and it worked.

By city standards your trip to work now quali es more as a jaunt than a commute. It used to be an hour each way minimum, on a four-lane highway with no control or do-overs: Namely, when a chemical truck ips over there’s no escape, the o -ramp is two miles and thousands of stuck cars ahead of you, and now your main goal is just not to combust. Eventually, with luck, you’ll be someplace else, someplace safe, someplace sane.

Well, now you are, permanently, having made that big move to littleness. Ironically, the things you thought (or knew) you’d miss have not been available much anyway since 2020, even to the closest people and most central residents.

Not that you’d deny anyone the pleasures of the theaters, museums, sports teams, parks, varied neighborhoods, historic buildings, ancient dive bars, family pizza parlors, chopsteak joints: all the old favorites and new nds. But the fact is that many points of pleasure have been closed for a while, or severely restricted in operation.

Much is coming back now, blessedly, and not a moment too soon. Now you can go back and visit. But all along you’ve been in control of the relationship. You’re the one who le .

You changed cars. You knew your transformation was complete, or at least furthered, with that rst Volvo. A station wagon, no less. When your city friends saw it they asked if you do a lot of things that require a station wagon. You had to think about it, and of course if you have to think about it the answer is no. You answered no very brightly without knowing quite why. oreau didn’t live in the automotive age, but if he had, he wouldn’t have said beware all enterprises that require Volvo station wagons. He probably would have said the opposite.

What he did say was beware all enterprises that require new clothes, and here he nds common ground with residents of this small town.

In Ithaca we extend the exclusion to what in the olden days (not as old as oreau’s but say in 1940’s movies)

Continued on Page 16

U.S. Actions In Korea Have Echo In Today’s Ukraine

By Alan Donohue

This is a suggestion that we replace what is currently being taught in American high schools regarding the Korean War, at least in part, because what the U.S. did in Korea starting immediately at the end of WWII has an echo today in the Ukraine. e Japanese government invaded Korea and ended the 500-year-old Yi or Chosen dynasty in 1905. at same year the Ta -Katsura Memorandum was signed in which Japan’s hegemony over Korea was recognized by the U.S. in return for Japan’s pledge not to interfere with America’s control of the Philippines or Hawaii.

Japan’s occupation was hated by Koreans. Japanese Colonial land policy forced many Korean peasants o the land, and even as rice exports rose by a factor of eight from 1912 to 1935, rice consumption for most Koreans fell by over 35%. Wages in 1935 were 50% lower than in 1927, and the work day had increased from 12 to 16 hours. When a pro Korean independence rally was called on March 1, 1919, two million Koreans turned out. Repression followed. ree hundred thousand were arrested and 50,000 sent to prison. To enforce Japan’s rule the police force had increased from 6,200 in 1910, to 20,800 in 1922 and then to 60,000 in 1941. is police force was used to break up labor strikes and independence rallies, but also to enforce the public ban on the use of the Korean language.

A er Japan’s surrender and the World War Two’s end on 15 August 1945, Korea was divided between a USSR controlled northern zone and a US controlled southern zone. ere was a massive upsurge In the Korean struggle for independence. At that time there were over 30,000 Koreans in jail, most of them political prisoners. Yo Un-hyong, an anti-Japanese activist who had spent three years in prison, and others had established the Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence (CPKI). By the end of August 1945 there were 145 branches functioning as basic units of government all over Korea except in four cities where the Japanese military ruled. On September 6, 1945, activists from the CPKI met in Seoul and established the Korean People’s Republic or KPR.

Unfortunately the hope for an independent and more democratic Korea was short lived. e wealthy landowners and businessmen who had pro ted under the occupation received the backing of the U.S. military when troops landed on September 8, 1945. On September 16, these collaborators formed the Korean Democratic Party. ey, however, were tainted by their Japanese connections. Syngman Rhee, who came to the U.S. a er the repression of 1919 and claimed to be a true nationalist, returned to South Korea on General MacArthur’s plane on October 16, 1945. He denounced both the Soviet Union and the KPR. e U.S. Army Military Government in South Korea banned a KPR publication, e Traitors And e Patriots. In December it banned strikes, and in January 1946 the activities of the KPR were declared illegal.

During this time Rhee’s U.S. backed party attacked the People’s Committees that had arisen out of the KPR. Japanese trained Korean police were used by Rhee to force workers and peasants to give up control of the factories and lands which had been seized from the Japanese. e political machinery to control a 1948 election in South Korea was turned over to Rhee’s party and Koreans from the northern part of the country, who had worked or pro ted under the Japanese occupation and had ed south.

Many Southern peasants did not vote, viewing the election as rigged. One KPR candidate who was elected to the parliament, was murdered when he arrived in Seoul. It is estimated that up to 100,000 people were killed prior to June 1950, including at least 30,000 on the island of Cheju who had refused to participate in the 1948 election. Soldiers of Rhee’s government, in the mainland port city of Yosu rebelled, refused to embark for Cheju, and sided with the islanders. e Koreans living north of the dividing line mostly supported the pro-peasant socialist policies of the KPR, as did the Soviet military. ey were also led by Koreans who had been ghting the Japanese since 1932 in Manchuria. One of those leaders was Kim II Sung. It must have seemed terribly wrong to the American veterans of the war in the Paci c to see that Koreans and Chinese, who had been allies during the war, pictured as enemies by 1948. But then again that also happened to America’s European ally, the Soviet Union.