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The Tompkins County Health Department announced information on the BA.2 COVID-19 variant, and an update on severity of disease in Tompkins County. While new positive CO- VID-19 cases have increased over the past several weeks in Tompkins County, hospitaliza- tions and severe disease have continued to decrease and there has been no shift in local guidance. The Health Depart- ment continues to recommend masks be worn if you are around people who are ill, who may not be vaccinated against COVID-19, or with those who are at higher risk of severe illness. They also recommend masks be worn by immuno- compromised individuals and seniors who are at higher risk of severe illness from the virus. Tompkins County Public Health Director Frank Kruppa stated, “We can say with a high degree of confidence that BA is circulating in our communi- ty. It does not appear this vari- ant is driving severe disease or hospitalizations, though we continue to monitor hospital admissions closely.” The Health Department clarified that the majority of cases in Tompkins County still present with the typical COVID-19 symptoms of fever, cough, and respiratory illness. Throughout the pandemic TCHD has seen a small per- centage of COVID-positive individuals present with gastrointestinal symptoms, though there is currently no indication that these symptoms are indicative of BA.2 or any other COVID-19 variant. If you experience any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19, including sudden gastrointestinal symptoms, seek a COVID-19 test. Tests are still available for free to Tompkins County residents at the Cayuga Health System test- ing site at the Shops at Ithaca Mall (40 Catherwood Rd.).

The Tompkins County Health Department announced information on the BA.2 COVID-19 variant, and an update on severity of disease in Tompkins County. While new positive CO- VID-19 cases have increased over the past several weeks in Tompkins County, hospitaliza- tions and severe disease have continued to decrease and there has been no shift in local guidance. The Health Depart- ment continues to recommend masks be worn if you are around people who are ill, who may not be vaccinated against COVID-19, or with those who are at higher risk of severe illness. They also recommend masks be worn by immuno- compromised individuals and seniors who are at higher risk of severe illness from the virus. Tompkins County Public Health Director Frank Kruppa stated, “We can say with a high degree of confidence that BA is circulating in our communi- ty. It does not appear this vari- ant is driving severe disease or hospitalizations, though we continue to monitor hospital admissions closely.” The Health Department clarified that the majority of cases in Tompkins County still present with the typical COVID-19 symptoms of fever, cough, and respiratory illness. Throughout the pandemic TCHD has seen a small per- centage of COVID-positive individuals present with gastrointestinal symptoms, though there is currently no indication that these symptoms are indicative of BA.2 or any other COVID-19 variant. If you experience any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19, including sudden gastrointestinal symptoms, seek a COVID-19 test. Tests are still available for free to Tompkins County residents at the Cayuga Health System test- ing site at the Shops at Ithaca Mall (40 Catherwood Rd.).

Banjos and bluegrass

Béla Fleck returns to the State Theatre on April 6

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By Bryan VanCampen

Béla Fleck is widely considered one of the world’s foremost banjo players, bringing the instrument from its bluegrass roots into jazz, classical and other musical genres. In the 2008 documentary “Throw Down Your Heart,” Fleck traveled to Africa to collaborate with native musicians and explore the history of the instrument. Winner of 14 Grammy Awards, Fleck returns to the State Theatre on April 6.

Béla Fleck spoke to the Ithaca Times about “Throw Down Your Heart,” his current line-up and why guitars aren’t funny.

Ithaca Times: I really enjoyed “Throw Down Your Heart.” It feels like there’s some larger “project” aspect to what you do. It’s about learning and observing as much as it’s about playing music.

Béla Fleck: Many thanks, I loved doing that project and all the incredible musicians I encountered in Africa!

IT: What can you tell me about the show you’re bringing to Ithaca?

BF: This is a monster bluegrass band, playing my new instrumental music but also including some trad stuff too. It doesn’t get better than these guys, and I am getting such a kick out of playing with all of them.

IT: Talk a little about your current touring group?

BF: Every one of them deserves a heap of accolades, which they do tend to get. They represent the top level of our music. They play at a classical virtuoso level, but with that homespun rootedness which makes bluegrass one of America’s greatest musical offerings. They are Bryan Sutton on guitar, Stuart Duncan on fiddle, Justin Moses on dobro, fiddle, and banjo, Sierra Hull on mandolin and Mark Schatz on bass.

IT: When Steve Martin exploded in the mid-’70s I bought a banjo, but I could never make as much headway as I was with the guitar. What is it about that instrument that worked for you? BF: Guitar just isn’t funny!

Honestly it shouted out to me the first time I heard Earl

Scruggs on the Beverly Hillbillies sitcom. It bit me on the brain and in the

heart. I’m a New York

City kid, so there’s no cultural reason why it struck me so deeply, but I continue to be moved by it.

Béla Fleck plays at the State Theatre on April 6. (Photo: Provided)

Queue News

BVC and a British sage ponder the future of James Bond

By Bryan VanCampen

Warning: Major franchiseending spoilers ahead. If you haven’t seen the new James Bond movie, you have been warned.

So, if you hadn’t heard yet, James Bond snuffs it at the end of “No Time to Die.” As in, Daniel Craig doesn’t want to play 007 anymore, he’s taking the ball and going home for supper. Craig was written out of the series in the most depressing way possible. I should have seen this coming; the Craig era has gotten less and less fun, so much so that I can barely remember the plot, something about Rami Malek as the latest bad guy, and Léa Seydoux returns from “Spectre” (2015); it’s all a sad blur for me since last October.

In these times of trouble, I reached out to my pal Jamie Lewis from the UK, and one of the sharpest, smart- est cats when it comes to pop culture. He noticed that I included “No Time To Die” on my list of 2021’s worst movies, and that’s where our conversation picks up.

JL: Double yes on Bond. So glad we’re done with Craig. I feel like I’m owed double helpings of Roger Moore for the next decade.

BVC: If you like Bond with a turkey wattle neck, yeah…

JL: What the world needs now is some Roger Moore. A return to the raised eyebrow.

BVC: The whole time I was watching “No Time to Die” I found myself thinking about the McDonald’s meal in the first “Kingsman” [movie]. Then again, with the exception of, say, “From Russia With Love” (1962), I’ve always liked the more over the top bonkers Bond movies. I’d much rather watch “Die Another Day” (2002) than “For Your Eyes Only” (1981).

So…Is Bond over? Is there a way for Bond to continue? Will they ever be fun if they do?

JL: Of course it’s not done. It survived [George] Lazenby. It survived “Never say Never Again” (1983). And the series has always promised: James Bond Will Return. I feel like it’s time to go back to a more joyous Bond. Somewhere between the hammy CGI mess of the latter Brosnan and the po-faced misery of Daniel Craig. If they’re sensible, they will return to the good days of providing some much-needed chutzpah, justice and jaw-dropping audacity to

continued on page 17

A still from “No Time to Die.” (Photo: Provided)

provide hope in a hopeless world. After all, it got most of us through the Cold War.

BVC: Give me your desert island Bonds, taking in all six actors that have played him.

JL: [For] Connery, I’d have to say “Diamonds Are Forever” (1971). It’s riddled with problems and production stories which are a feast for movie buffs. It’s the First Temptation of Connery. It was my first Bond film and considerably more exciting than the books I’d read up to that point. The movies were inaccessible to me as a kid and the occasional TV outings were shown too late for me to stay up. Sure, there’s the classics, but “Goldfinger” (1964) and “Thunderball” (1967) always left me cold. I much prefer the camp of “You Only Live Twice” (1967) or “From Russia, With Love.” Roger Moore: Has to be “Live and Let Die” (1972), [which] came out the year I was born and was gory, viscous and terrifying. I had nightmares about Baron Samedi for years.

I loved “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” (1969). It tried to do something different, and if you could erase Lazenby and replace him with literally any other Bond, it would have been in everyone’s top three. It’s a masterpiece. Plus, that score! Oh my God. It still makes my heart race in a way that the main theme doesn’t. Timothy Dalton: I’m sorry but “The Living Daylights” (1987) is another Cold War classic. That Aston Martin update, and Joe Don Baker as the… twist…AMERICAN bad guy. Bond being truly international and urbane with friends in every corner of the world?

Pierce Brosnan: Can’t get beyond Sean Bean, so “Goldeneye” (1995) never did it for me. He can’t even maintain a British accent, let alone a character. Brosnan peaked with “The World Is Not Enough” (1999) and “Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997). Both superb, both products of their time, which Bond should be: both a zeitgeist and an inspiration.

Daniel Craig in “Casino Royale” had its moments — well, the first 15 minutes. After that it became the first Bond movie I fell asleep in the theatre. A 40-minute card game? Move it along. Leave some mystery, stop providing a network of flimsy connecting material. Stop making Bond all emotional and fueled by rage. Bond is above all these things. The second you dissect the animal, you kill it.

You can rent “No Time to Die” on YouTube.

Recommended: “Making Fun,” streaming on Netflix.

RIP: John Korty (“The Candidate”)

Catherine Cannariato, MD

Family Medicine

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March 30, 2022