NEWSLINE

N EWS LINE

1,000 acres of solar

New solar farm set for Lansing, Groton

By Robert Rieger

Ahuge solar energy project taking up about 1,000 acres in Lansing and Groton and supplying power for up to 32,000 homes has been announced for construction in 2025-6.

Once operating, the 160-megawatt solar project, developed by CS Energy, will supply electricity to 32,000 homes according to an announcement by Gov Kathy Hochul. e project, known as Yellow Dog Solar, is planned across several parcels in an eastern section of Lansing, north of Route 34B, and the southwest corner of Groton. Seventy- ve percent of the acreage would be in Groton with the remaining twenty ve percent in the town of Lansing.

“ e New York Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) contract announcement is a big rst step in the project,” said Mitch Quine, Director, Project Development for CS Energy. “We’re very excited.” Prior to the governor’s announcement, all conversations about the project have been preliminary.

CS Energy hopes to submit the 94-C application to NY’s O ce of Renewable Energy Siting by the end of this year, with construction on the $200 million project beginning in 2024. Operations will begin in 2026.

Quine provided an update and responded to questions at town boards in Groton on June 14 and Lansing on June 15.

Lansing Town Board member Joe Wetmore expressed two concerns. “ ey are running cables through the Bear Swamp Unique Natural Area in Groton,” said Wetmore. “ eir public participation plan is woefully out of date and doesn’t include talking to neighborhood property owners at all,” he said.

Lansing resident Karen Edelstein has prepared a map highlighting DEC wetlands and Tompkins County Unique Natural Areas within the solar project’s boundaries. e project will plug into NYSEG’s 115 Kilovolt transmission line, which runs from the former power plant in Lansing. “ e fact that these lines are here is a major draw for us,” said Quine. Quine noted that the project will employ “well over one hundred construction personnel at peak.” e solar farm will sit on privately owned land. According to Quine, contracting with various landowners is now complete. He said that CS Energy will soon be reaching out to neighbors of the project to discuss their priorities and concerns, including any landscaping.

Based in Edison, New Jersey, CS Energy is both a developer and contractor of sustainable energy projects. According to Quine, the long-term owner of Yellow Barn Solar will be another entity, typically a large investor. e project lifespan is thirty years, a er which the system would be decommissioned, and the land returned to its original state.

Yellow Barn Solar is one of twenty-two projects awarded by NYSERDA. e latest round of projects represents the largest land-based renewable energy procurement to date in New York. According to Doreen M. Harris, the agency’s President and CEO, “ New York is strengthening an already massive renewable energy pipeline that is positioned to deliver increasing amounts of clean and a ordable electricity to thousands of families across the state for years to come.”

As called for under NY’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, the Clean Energy Standard requires seventy percent of the State’s electricity come from renewable energy sources by 2030.

 July 4 Weekend - If you’re looking for something to do before or after your barbecue there are some unique events taking place in and around Ithaca on Independence Day Weekend

CannaMarket - The inaugural CannaMarket will take place from noon to 8 p.m. at The Ithaca Farmers Market. Exhibitors representing the New York State cannabis, CBD, and hemp industry will be on hand to celebrate legal cannabis culture and connect with visitors. The event is free and open to the general public.

Ithaca PRIDE - Ithaca PRIDE Week concludes with events Saturday and Sunday on The Commons and other venues. Among them are an LGBTQ+ Vendor Fair on The Commons from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and a Family Picnic in Dewitt Park from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, featuring performances by the Ithaca Gay Men’s Chorus, AFAB4, and Jonah Hirst.

Fireworks - While the traditional City reworks event has been cancelled this year, those interested in pyrotechnics can drive up the lake to Taughannock Falls State Park on Sunday night for a show beginning at 9 p.m. Parking is available in the park.

T A K E N O T E

VOL. XLII / NO. 45 / June 29, 2022 Serving 47,125 readers weekly

ON THE COVER:

Christine Donovan at Racker’s main o ce (Cover photo Ash Bailot)

NEWSLINE ....................................3 SPORTS ..........................................5 STEPPING UP ...............................8

A new leader takes charge at Racker this week.

STAGE ..........................................11

FILM ............................................12

MUSIC ..........................................13

DINING .......................................14 TIMES TABLE .............................16

CLASSIFIEDS ..............................19

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WELL, IT’S OFFICIALLY IN UIRING PHOTOGR PHER Q A N E W S L I N E Cafe and Cookies on the Commons Via’s Cookies Cafe Opens Up At Autumn Leaves

SUMMER IN ITHACA

WHAT’S YOUR CHOICE By Laura Ilioaei

HEAT WAVE OR

ARCTIC BLAST? Autumn Leaves Used Books is a used bookstore on The Commons (115 E. State St.) containing over 60,000 books and 10,000 records. It also houses a cafe upstairs. This cafe space was formerly Ten Forward Cafe, but it closed down when the pandemic hit. This temporarily left shoppers and bookworms without their fair “Heat Wave! We’d rather be warm…. trade organic coffee and other beverage and we love the beach!” fixes and vegan treats between bookshelf – Don & Lisa S. browses. But Saturday, June 18, the cafe space reopened as Via’s Cookies Cafe. The cafe launch ran 12-6 p.m. People could try cookie samples and learn about upcoming events that would take place in the cafe, as it plans to start holding events on weekends to entice customers and encourage creative initiatives, particularly by Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) and LGBTQ+ artists. People could also sign up for a cookie CSA, a biweekly box of a dozen assorted cookies, with one of the flavors being a seasonal cookie whose flavor changes monthly. The cafe is run by Olivia “Via” Carpenter, who had approached Autumn Leaves bookstore owner Joe Wetmore back in November of 2021 to rent the space. Carpenter is the founder and owner of Via’s Cookies, a cookie company that seeks to provide delicious cookies to people with and without food restrictions, while also helping struggling BIPOC and LGBTQ+ students. Carpenter has been baking and selling the cookies themselves since she was in high school but officially licensed her business as an LLC during the pandemic.

A recent Ithaca College graduate, Carpenter quickly realized after back-toback jobs that she had a strong entrepreneurial spirit. “The tipping point that made [Via’s Cookies] all started was when I was living above Nothing Nowhere on The Commons — that little coffee shop that Caleb [Harrington] runs — and I was like, ‘I wonder what would happen if I sold a few cookies there? Just a few.’ And so I made some cookies, brought them to him, and he said ‘Whoa, these taste amazing. We’ll put them in here.’ And so, because I did that, I had to make a logo, the packaging,” Carpenter said.

Simultaneously, Carpenter signed up for the Ithaca College Startup Business Pitch Demo Day, where student entrepreneurs from all majors and class years present their most brilliant business concepts to seasoned entrepreneurs and compete for a portion of startup funding. Carpenter was awarded $5,800, giving her the money needed to become an official LLC. There was no turning back. e cafe is also a “safe space” for art from marginalized artists. e walls feature art from local BIPOC and LGBTQ+ artists, including Black artist Lauren Reid. Reid’s artwork ranges from charcoal drawings to pastel drawings, but she’s primarily a painter, her medium of choice being oil paintings. e paintings are primarily of human faces and gures, o en abstractly painted on vibrant backgrounds. ese paintings are intended to be emotionally expressive, while also being vehicles of social change.

Social justice, particularly pertaining to that of economic equality for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ students, is also a major part of Carpenter’s business, as she was a Black student from a lower-income background.

“I want to give other students, people like me, the opportunity to have fun with their college experience, and even high school and middle school [experiences] because it goes all the way back. The education system is the same all the way through,” Carpenter said.

At least 5% of her cookie sales go toward these students. Carpenter has a link on her website that enables donors to contribute directly to specific students.

Cafe pickup options, online purchases, and donation opportunities can be found at Carpenter’s website, https:// www.viascookies.com/.

“Heat Wave. I spent too many winters in Syracuse…” – Joy R.

“Depends on the duration of each… but probably arctic blast! Layer UP!” – Annika R.

“Heat Wave. …I grew up in Rochester” – Amy F.

“Arctic Blast. Why would anyone be in Ithaca if they didn’t enjoy the cold?” – Ben S. Olivia “Via” Carpenter