Newsline

N ews line

EPIDEMIC

Attorney General Letitia James (center right) hands off a ceremonial check for $1.75 million from the opioid lawsuit to elected officials in Tompkins County.

Tompkins County receives $1.75M from opioid lawsuit

New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced that Tompkins County will receive $1.75 million as part of the state’s lawsuit against opioid drug companies.

“We sued big pharma and now they’re paying for the tragedy they caused,” James said.

The settlement is part of a lawsuit brought by James and other states’ attorneys against drug companies blamed for the deaths of hundreds of thousands due to the current opioid epidemic.

“No amount of money we have received will bring loved ones back, and I hope it can only provide some comfort, some relief to families knowing we’re trying to avoid this happening again,” she said. “We want big pharma to know that you should not be more interested in lining your pockets, and you should not place profit over people and if you do, I will sue you and we will bring you to bankruptcy.”

James added that 2020 was the deadliest on record for drug overdoses and that it is a government’s obligation to provide resources to people who are struggling. She said as part of that belief, and as part of her promise to families who have lost loved ones to drug overdoses, the funds received as part of the settlement will be earmarked for addiction education, prevention and treatment.

“I hope we can get to the point where it’s treatment on demand,” James said. “We need to recognize that this is a health crisis. Law enforcement has its role […] but for the purposes of this settlement, it’s a public health crisis.”

Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick credited James for accomplishing the impossible.

“I thought [big pharma] was too well-funded, too powerful, too strong, and they have too much of a grip over legislators,” he said. “But [James] did one thing further than just punishing them, she focused on making sure the fruits of that litigation would go back to healing New York state.”

Chair of the Tompkins County Legislature Leslyn McBean-Clairborne agreed and said that she was happy to see big pharma paying the price.

“Finally, someone is pointing the finger in the war on drugs at the right people,” she said. “For years, pharmaceutical companies have rolled with the winds of escapism and capitalism, casting the blame on the users, the providers, the families, and society.”

She added that the settlement money will help provide resources and treatment for many who cannot afford it.

“At a time when people are more wary of government, this here helps restore a modicum of faith that the government will look out for its citizens,” McBean-Clairborne said.

The announcement was held at the Tompkins County Drug and Alcohol Council building on Triphammer Road. The building is still currently undergoing renovations but will house 40 beds and is the future home of the detox and stabilization program. -Tanner Harding

T a k e N o t e

▶ Vax clinics - The Tompkins County Health Department announced two upcoming clinics for booster dosing of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. The first is Oct. 20, 3 p.m. - 7 p.m., and the second is Oct. 22 from noon - 4 p.m. TCHD is encouraging eligible individuals to get a booster dose when they are able. Individuals with underlying conditions and those who are at increased risk of exposure to COVID-19 due to workplace or institutional settings may receive a booster dose at least six months after their original Pfizer COVID-19 series. Visit tompkinscountyny. gov/health for specifics and to register for appointments. All upcoming local clinics will take place at the Cayuga Health Vaccination Site at the Old Sears Building at the Mall (40 Catherwood Road, Ithaca). Register for an appointment using the links below or call 211 (1-877-211-8667) during business hours, 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. for assistance registering and for transportation options. Please have the date of your second vaccination available for the registration process.

VOL.XLII / NO. 9 / October 20, 2021 Serving 47,125 readers weekly

FEATURES

In the running��������������������������������8

We talk to the candidates of the contested County Legislature races in next month’s election. Sports.........................................................10 Whose Live�������������������������������������11 The kings of improv return to the State Newsline ..................................................3-5 Opinion ........................................................6 Letters ........................................................7 ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

Film .............................................................12 Art ..............................................................13 Music .......................................................... 14 Times Table .............................................. 16 Classifieds ...............................................18 On the Cover: The four stars of “Whose Live” — Ryan Stiles, Greg Proops, Jeff Davis and Joel Murray — return to the State Theatre on Oct. 27’ Photo: Provided

ON THE WEB

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

Tanner H arding , M anaging E ditor , x1224 E ditor @ i thacatim E s . com J aime Cone , E ditor , x1232 s outh r E port E r @ flcn . org C asey m ar T in , Staff P hotogra P h E r p hotograph E r @ i thacatim E s . com C H ris i ber T, C al E ndar E ditor , x1217 a rts @ i thacatim E s . com a ndrew s ullivan , S P ort S E ditor , x1227 s ports @ flcn . org sT eve l awren C e , S P ort S Colu M ni S t st E v E s ports d ud E @ gmail . com m ars H all H opkins , P rodu C tion d ir EC tor /d ES ign E r , x1216 p roduction @ i thacatim E s . com

s H aron d avis , d i S tribution front

J im b ilinski , P ubli S h E r , x1210 jbilinski @ i thacatim E s . com l arry H o CH berger , a SS o C iat E P ubli S h E r , x1214 larry@ i thacatim E s . com F reelancers : Barbara Adams, Rick Blaisell, Steve Burke, Deirdre Cunningham, Jane Dieckmann, Amber Donofrio, Karen Gadiel, Charley Githler, Linda B. Glaser, Warren Greenwood, Ross Haarstad, Peggy Haine, Gay Huddle, Austin Lamb, Steve Lawrence, Marjorie Olds, Lori Sonken, Henry Stark, Dave Sit, Bryan VanCampen, and Arthur Whitman THE ENTIRE CONTENTS OF THE ITHACA TIMES ARE COPYRIGHT © 2021, BY NEWSKI INC. All rights reserved. Events are listed free of charge in TimesTable. All copy must be received by Friday at noon. The Ithaca Times is available free of charge from various locations around Ithaca. Additional copies may be purchased from the Ithaca Times offices for $1. SUBSCRIPTIONS: $89 one year. Include check or money order and mail to the Ithaca Times, PO Box 27, Ithaca, NY 14851. ADVERTISING: Deadlines are Monday 5 p.m. for display, Tuesday at noon for classified. Advertisers should check their ad on publication. The Ithaca Times will not be liable for failure to publish an ad, for typographical error, or errors in publication except to the extent of the cost of the space in which the actual error appeared in the first insertion. The publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising for any reason and to alter advertising copy or graphics deemed unacceptable for publication. The Ithaca Times is published weekly Wednesday mornings. Offices are located at 109 N. Cayuga Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 607-277-7000, FAX 607-277-1012, MAILING ADDRESS is PO Box 27, Ithaca, NY 14851. The Ithaca Times was preceded by the Ithaca New Times (1972-1978) and The Good Times Gazette (1973-1978), combined in 1978. F ounder G ood Times G aze TT e : Tom Newton

INQUIRING PHOTOGRAPHER

By Casey Martin

WHAT SMELL IMMEDIATELY TRANSPORTS YOU BACK TO YOUR CHILDHOOD?

“Vanilla. I used to eat a TON of Vanilla Ice Cream.” -Rifiqi R.

“Sunscreen. I spent a lot of time outside on the playground as a kid” -Brett W.

“Christmas Trees!” -Jen T.

“Linguica Sausages. My mother is Portuguese and always had a soup going on the the stove.” -Tim T.

Nora: “Cow Manure. I grew up in the country (Greene NY Represent!) and my Dad worked on a farm.” Casey: “Baked Beans. Beans on toast was a staple growing up!” -Nora G. & Casey R.

BUDGET County Leg begins voting on 2022 budget, approves amendments

During two meetings of the expanded budget committee of the whole Legislature, legislators considered and voted on several member filed amendments to the Interim County Administrator’s recommended 2022 county budget.

Interim Tompkins County Administrator Lisa Holmes gave an overview of available unassigned fund balance to inform the process of assessing the over-target requests. Holmes outlined that at the close of 2020 the fund balance was $47.9 million, this year the known withdrawals from the fund balance bring that figure down to $41.6 million, and with what’s targeted for use in the 2022 recommended budget the figure decreases to $36.8 million. In 2021, fund balance has been used to balance the 2020 budget, for pandemicinduced impacts and is budgeted for use in 2022 for Capital Program recommendations, upcoming one-time and contingency requests, and the purchase of the Tioga Street properties and improvements to the public safety building. The fund balance estimates are expected to change based on revenues being greater than anticipated in 2021. Member-Filed Amendments

Member-filed amendments are budget items considered one-by-one outside of funding in the recommended budget. The impacts of these memberfiled amendments will result in changes to the tax levy and/ or fund balance. Prior to the consideration of the memberfiled amendments the recommended tax levy increase was 2.7%, representing a $42 increase in taxes for a median priced home in Tompkins County ($205,000). Following the amendments the tax levy was adjusted to 1.6%, or a $22.46 increase of the median priced home’s tax bill over the previous year. This totals $1,265 in taxes on a median priced home.

Amendments considered and approved by the Legislature included the following:

An amendment was proposed by Legislators Dan Klein, Shawna Black, Deborah Dawson, Leslyn McBeanClairborne, Anne Koreman, Mike Sigler and Glenn Morey that would draw from the county’s fund balance to cover all proposed levy increases. It was approved 11-2, with Legislators Mike Lane and Martha Robertson in opposition and McBean-Clairborne excused, following an amendment to the proposal brought forth by Koreman to set the amount to be withdrawn at $1 million.

Klein stated that the original amendment would bring the tax levy to 0%, reducing the 2.7% levy increase in the recommended budget, and any further expenses added to the budget by member filed amendment. Black added that the “idea of recovery funds was to invest in our community, the way I see we can help the most amount of people is by approving this amendment. For homeowners whose assessment stays the same their tax bill would stay the same.”

The original amendment equaled around $1.56 million. Interim Administrator Holmes

FUNDRAISER Ithaca Beer Co. and the Westy team up to benefit SPCA

As far as planning events for young professionals goes, former chair of Tompkins Connect Jessie White said Ales for Tails was a no-brainer.

“It makes the most sense – millennials love animals,” she said.

The event on Oct. 27, a collaboration between Tompkins Connect, Ithaca Beer Co. and the Westy, is a dog-friendly event that raises money for the Tompkins County SPCA. In its current form, Ales for Tails kicked off in 2019 under the name Pints for Pups. Prior to that, there had been two separate events operating about a month apart – Ithaca Beer Co. was hosting Pints for Paws while Tompkins Connect was organizing Ales for Tails.

“I saw that and was like, wait a minute what are we doing,” White said. “So I reached out to see if it would make sense to do a joint event. We were noticing half of the people were coming to the Ithaca Beer event, and half to ours. So we joined forces in 2019 and it was the most successful yet.”

The event drew over 100 people in 2019 and raised more than $1,000 for the SPCA. Things were derailed in 2020 because of the pandemic, but White is hopeful this year’s fundraiser will be as successful as ever. Ithaca Beer Co. is donating a keg to the Westy, and all proceeds from the keg and a portion of the proceeds from all draught drinks at the Westy go to the SPCA. Plus, Ithaca Beer provides a raffle item with about $200 worth of stuff in it.

Mike Wilber, taproom general manager at Ithaca Beer, said the raffle item is an Ithaca Beer cooler with Ithaca Beer swag in it. He added that if people are not able to make it to the event, they can purchase raffle tickets now up until the day of to support the SPCA. The winner will be chosen during the event and will be contacted if they’re not in attendance.

Ales for Tails will also feature a costume contest with two categories – there will be one dog winner and one dog/ human pair winner. Wilber said he’s looking forward to the contest, his dog will be dressed as a lion, and White said 2019 inspired some pretty creative looks. For instance, one woman dressed up in an ‘80s prom dress while her dog was dressed up as her bouquet of flowers. Another brought their dog named Pepper, and dressed up as the Morton’s Salt Girl.

At the heart of the event, though, is raising money for the SPCA.

“We’re a private, notfor-profit organization that relies on the generosity of the community to make our work possible,” Jim Boudreau, executive director of the SPCA, said. “These local groups and businesses have gone out of their way to come up with this idea for us, which is flattering.”

The event is Wednesday, Oct. 27, 5 p.m.-8 p.m at the Westy 516 W. State St. It’s family friend and dog friendly and will be an outdoor event with COVID safety measures in place. If you’re unable to attend but want to contribute, you can donate to the SPCA at http:// spcaonline.com/gifts, or visit their website to see a list of the most urgently needed items.

And lastly, while the costume contest is part of the fun, Boudreau reminds pet owners to make sure they’re aware of their dog’s comfort level in costumes, and to avoid costumes that obstruct their vision, as dogs rely on sight cues when meeting other dogs. -Tanner Harding

continued on page 7

BUDGET Police seek more staff, Fire Dept. looks to replace training facility

Ithaca’s Common Council continued to work through the 2022 budget at its meetings on Oct. 13 and Oct. 14. The budget meetings give the public a chance to speak as well as gives Council members the chance to speak to department heads about requests.

Fire Chief Tom Parsons requested funding to replace two structures at the fire training center. Parsons said the burn building and rope tower have both reached the end of their useful lives, though the rope structure could potentially get a few more years with much maintenance.

“The money requested is to start studying new structures to replace these two, and also to look at other locations where we might be able to put a new training structure,” he said. He also noted that this was a capital funding request, and Mayor Svante Myrick said it just hadn’t snuck on to the recommended list.

Council member Cynthia Brock said it seemed like a good project and she would be eager to see the location moved away from the waterfront. Parsons agreed there could be a better location, but did point out that there are no fire retardants or any other hazardous materials used that could run into the water.

Parsons also explained to Council that there are several Fire Department vehicles that need to be replaced.

“We had been separating them out over years through the operating budget, but there were several years back in the mid-teens where we could not afford to replace vehicles,” he said. “In the last couple years we’ve been trying to get caught up. We’re trying to keep the process going.”

One of the new vehicles would be a fully electric pickup truck, the department’s first venture into an all electric vehicle.

“We would use it in some support roles in emergency response,” Parsons explained.

He said there are no real electric vehicles designed for emergency services, but that this model of pick-up, made by Ford, would support the department’s needs. Parsons added the department currently has three hybrids, and the fire station has emergency back-up generators with enough capacity to charge the electrical vehicles in the case of an electrical outage.

Next up in emergency services, Acting Police Chief John Joly requested the addition of two police officer positions to help bolster Ithaca Police Department’s staffing numbers. He noted that there are currently three open positions the department is working to fill, and these two would make five. There are seven officers who will be eligible to retire next year, and there are currently six officers on long-term injuries, two on long-term military deployment, one out on leave for a year, two who were injured off duty and are unable to work, and one who is out for another month of parental leave. That means of the 67 funded positions, 18 are currently vacant or on-leave.

“To say we are short [on personnel] is not encapsulating the stress right now,” joly said.

He also requested money for transfer bonuses to encourage lateral transfers to the department. That would speed up the availability of new employees, since when the department hires a new police officer that person has to wait for the regional police academy to begin, which is a six-month commitment, plus four months of field training.

“That’s quite a long time to be paying salary without impact,” Joly said. “If we can entice lateral transfers, the training is cut down to 10 weeks. Along with that, we’d save the costs of salary and benefits for the extended time the officer was in training.”

Joly said the number he has in mind is $10,000 per lateral transfer.

Council members were overall supportive of the new positions and transfer incentives, and noted that there were state requirements and processes that were hindering the department’s ability to hire. Joly noted the earliest Tompkins County could get a Civil Service test is in May 2022.

“I would like to see a change, a revision of New York State Civil Service Law,” Alderperson Donna Fleming said. “I would urge our mayor, and all mayors, to put pressure on the powers that be in Albany. They have to see how stupid and antiquated this is. There’s a rule that Tompkins County can’t go to Onondaga to take the test? That’s so stupid, it’s the same test. That really needs to be changed.”

Myrick said he would reach out to his colleagues to pursue the matter. -Tanner Harding

Action at the Ithaca Fire Department Training Facility on Pier Rd. (Photo: Facebook) Ups We’ve made it through the first three weeks of October with no snow. That’s always worth celebrating — now cross your fingers for the final 10 days.

Downs There has been a lot of gun violence in Ithaca lately, leading the police department to increase patrols in the west end in an attempt to deter it.

HEARD&SEEN

Heard An Ithaca man was surprised by U.S. Marshals during a hiking trip in North Carolina. His resemblance to fugitive Brian Laundrie prompted a hotel employee to alert authorities.

Seen Chilly fall weather made its way to Ithaca, evidenced by the breakout of peacoats, Chelsea boots and Buffalo plaid everything.

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

QUESTION OF THE WEEK What is your favorite scary movie?

17.9% Psycho 5.1% Us 7.7% Texas Chainsaw Massacre

64.1% Jaws

5.1% The Blair Witch Project

Next Week’s QuestioN: What Halloween candy should we cancel?

Visit ithaca.com to submit your response.