COMMUNITYCONNECTIONS Contin u ed From Page 6
Crooked Sixpence, a wildly popular contra dance trio. For some villagers, Gordon is known as “Carol’s husband” or Lucas and Nathan’s father. Despite his sons both being grown, they’re still an integral part of his life. Carol Bloomgarden, who rivals Gordon as juggler, mentions that they have enjoyed many trips to Ecuador, Spain, Trinidad, and Belize for bird watching, a passion they share. (Stay tuned for a glimpse into Carol’s life as artist, nurseteacher, partner, parent and more.) Here are the only clues I garnered from Gordon how he manages such a wild life. Writing: “I’ve always been a Morning
Person. I like to write when I first wake up…Afternoons I slow down. My blog is fun. But, when I can feel a power outage coming on, I tell my readers ‘I’m going to take a break next week. I will post again on X date.’ Ditto for vacations. This keeps the internal battery charged.” Writing Partners: “I’ve met once a week with my writing partner for 20 years. We both write fiction and we read aloud to each other. We can hear the flow and we catch mistakes…We gently critique each other.” So, Gordon, what’s it like to be retired, yet still so engaged in the world, and in one’s inner mind? “I don’t have enough time to be bored.” To catch a glimpse of Gordon, check out his website, gordonbonnet.com.
Big Ideas Competition
Heart monitor and ‘tinder for musicians’ among winning ideas
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our teams of undergraduate students were named winners of the Big Ideas Competition at Cornell, with ideas that help musicians connect, detect heart problems, train unemployed young adults and help with pollution issues in developing countries. More than 60 teams entered the 2021 Cornell competition (the largest in the Blackstone LaunchPad network), with business ideas in four tracks: consumer products, health and life sciences, social impact and general. The final 12 presented their ideas at a Nov. 17 pitch competition, which was sponsored by Blackstone LaunchPad at Cornell and Entrepreneurship at Cornell. Judges for the event were Ryoko Nozawa, Cayuga Venture Fund; Greg Galvin, Rheonix; Jenna Winocur, Spark of Hudson; Todd Edmonds, Iron Design; and Pam Silverstein, Life Changing Labs. Auni, the idea that was chosen as winner of the general track, is an app to help artists within the music industry — vocalists, musicians, sound engineering, lyricists, producers, composers — connect with one another. “Artists in the early stages of their music careers don’t have connections within the industry to create the teams they need,” said Praveen Gunendran ‘24, who teamed up with Daniel Tuan ’24 on the idea. They refer to the business as “tinder for music artists. Both are students in the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management. Along with connecting artists, the app would also provide an open platform for artists to chat with one another and grow their networks. Winner in the health and life sciences category, Cardo Vigi, is a wearable device that would instantly alert first responders and family when a cardiovascular event occurs. Founder Tori DiStefano ’22, a Milstein
Program in Technology and Humanity Scholar in the College of Arts & Sciences, lost her grandfather this year to a heart attack, prompting her to work on the idea. “Noticing symptoms isn’t always enough for people to receive proper medical care,” she said. “Many people receive care too late.” ITReady, winner in the social impact category, helps train unemployed young people in the West African country of Togo in computer science skills and guide them to find careers. “Togo has a very young population and as more people are able to access technology, there is an increasing need for IT support,” said Gbedasso Pitang ’25, a biology and society major in A&S, who founded the company with Victoria Montero ’20 MPH ’22 and Crystal Argüelles ’23, also a biology and society major in A&S. Pitang was born and raised in Togo and all three founders are members of the Cornell College and Career Readiness Initiative, which mentors young adults in their transitions to college and careers. In the consumer products category, the winner was Fan Aid, founded by Ian ShenCostello ’23, an idea that would provide affordable residential ventilation systems in developing countries. The idea addresses a worldwide problem for 2.6 billion people, who still rely on indoor fires for cooking, causing pollution that leads to 4 million deaths each year, mostly of children, said Costello, an environmental engineering major. The fan doesn’t require electricity and could be created on a 3-D printer to save costs, he said. The Big Ideas competition took place at 45 schools across the world this fall, said Felix Litvinsky, director of Blackstone LaunchPad at Cornell, and Cornell won special recognition from Blackstone for having the most student idea applications. By K ath y Hov is
YOUR LETTERS
Re: An Eclectic Mix
In support of the Elder Parole Act
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n the time of the northern hemisphere turning back toward the sun, a bill that would bring hopeful light and genuine caring is pending in our New York Legislature. The Elder Parole Act provides incarcerated people aged 55 and older who have already served 15 or more years an opportunity to be considered for parole release. This would bring help and hope to some of our state’s oldest incarcerated people, some of them very ill. They pose no threat to our communities but keeping them behind bars poses a huge threat to them. In the spirit of the season, please write, email or call your State Senator and Assemblyperson stating your support for the Elder Parole Act. In the Senate that is Bill 15A; in the Assembly it is Bill 3475A. You’ll help bring some light to some of the darkest corners of our State. -Ruth Yarrow, Ithaca, NY
Supporting the New York Health Act
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work at Cayuga Medical and see how much time doctors spend negotiating with insurance companies to meet the needs of their patients. Doctors should be making decisions about what tests and treatments are necessary, not insurance companies. We also need a health care system that has an efficient process of billing patients. Right now, patients receive a huge number of bills mailed separately. One patient who broke her ankle came to Cayuga Medical and received more than 70 bills before her treatment was complete. The wasted time involved in the existing billing system is because the procedure allows for so much confusion and fraud. The New York Health Act would address these problems and the benefits are so obvious and comprehensive, the only conclusion that one can come to is that the insurance companies have supported politicians that agree to block its passage into law. We need political leaders who have some integrity and are willing to act in the best interests of those who voted them into office. -Sharon Hinson, RN
Re: Facility potentially opening at old power plant site
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see it as a giant environmental tragedy to make fictitious currency with immense amounts of power that originates from fossil fuel. If they want to continue with this nonsense, require renewable power be constructed and operate only when it is actually available. The power plant in Dresden NY could power several cities and is powered up to make imaginary currency with fossil fuel instead. No matter if they run the power plant for the energy or buy it elsewhere, this is a huge contribution to climate change, for no real need or good. -Lee Haefele, via Ithaca.com
J a n ua ry
5 – 1 1,
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s a SOAG member, I find your remarks in this piece very close to what I think about the show and gallery. We are proud to be an anchor while having to balance all the factors necessary to bring together and hold together a group adequate to be that anchor. Regarding the show, some additional kindnesses you might have offered could be directed toward our bringing such a show to Ithaca at all and toward the skill to hang such a diverse show in what I find to be a beautiful arrangement. Full disclosure: I am not on the installation committee. Don Ellis, via Ithaca.com
Re: Short-term rental legislation moving forward
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et another nail in the coffin of the rights of home owners. We are supposed to own our properties but it seems that we have all become renters, in the sense that we pay property taxes and have local government act like we are renters and they are the landlords who can set extensive regulations on how we use the property. Zoning is no longer limited to health and safety but used to regulate every aspect of what we can do with our own homes. It’s good that people are out protesting yet another incursion to property owner rights. -Henry Kramer, via Ithaca.com
Re: A letter to the Ithaca Town Board re: short-term rentals
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agree with Craig and Megan. Short term rentals are a great way to have the “Ithaca is Gorges” experience in a welcoming home instead of a cold hotel room. They help many community members stay in our community despite the onerous property taxes. Ithaca is one of the most expensive cities in the US to raise a family. It isn’t coincidence that New York is also one of the most highly regulated and taxed states. It shouldn’t be this way! Disincentivizing short term rentals won’t fix these issues, but will further harm community members. -Jason Evans, via Ithaca.com
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ax the ever living heck outta these rentals, equivalent to the tax say of a lux-hotel the same sqft, ya can’t say the a$&hats aren’t allowed but they also can’t continue to skip out of paying their fair share to accommodate the added burden they’re putting on others - call it the SHPT Selfish Horrible Person Tax -Seer, via Ithaca.com I disagree. I think making my street into a row of transient houses will LOWER my property values, create a space less amenable for children to have friends and to play safely. I am very against the whole idea -Joyce Stillman, via Ithaca.com
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