The Ithaca Community News (ICN) is a non-profit news service bringing alternative news and views from Ithaca, NY to readers all over the world. ICN is also a weekly email newsletter with more than 8,000 subscribers.
Paul Glover founded ICN in 2000 and published it for five years before handing the reins to Elizabeth Field, a freelance journalist, in November, 2005.
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In this issue:
Ithaca Community News is a free, now weekly newsletter that zooms to your inbox every Wednesday. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to elizabeth@ithacanews.org with "Unsubscribe ICN" in the subject heading. Editor and Publisher: Elizabeth Bauchner. Founded by
Ithaca Community News home page: http://www.ithacanews.org
To submit an event listing: http://ithacanews.org/contactpr.htm.
Want a free Ithaca Community News bumper sticker? White lettering, green background, union made in America. Just send a self-addressed stamped envelope to ICN, P.O. Box 874, Ithaca, NY, 14851.
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NOT OFFICIALLY NEWS
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For all you other Harry Potter fans, the official Order of the Phoenix trailer has been released. Movie comes out July 13, 2007. See Harry's first kiss, some serious broomstick flying over the Thames, and meet Prof. Umbridge:
http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/videogallery/video/show/560.
See production photos here: http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/harrypotterandtheorderofthephoenix.html
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ICN NEWS
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Articles and news briefs on the ICN site:
Native Ithacan Opens Home for Orphans in India:
http://ithacanews.org/news.htm?newsID=154
Ithacans Return from SOA Protests in Georgia:
http://ithacanews.org/news.htm?newsID=155
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ICN is looking for help with ad sales. Please contact Elizabeth for job description, elizabeth@ithacanews.org.
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EDITORIAL: Why Support Community News…It's Your News
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When I took over Ithaca Community News one year ago, I envisioned a web site with news articles and profiles all about the wonderful things folks here in Ithaca are doing, a photo gallery to share our community with the world, and a space for socially conscious local businesses to advertise. In the past year, I've accomplished those things on at least a technical scale. There are a lot more stories out there waiting to be told, and a lot more voices that can be heard.
I think Ithaca is a pretty special place, with lots of good people doing good work. Indeed, the sustainability movement here is huge, with innovative thinkers and doers making changes that others in the world are noticing. We also lead in finding solutions for the health care crisis, being the birthplace of the
In places, we need to work. We have a hard time talking about issues like racism, let alone addressing it head on in our schools, government, and workplaces. We often deal with a lot of red tape before we see progress on important social issues. But the point is we keep trying, and we need an independent media out there with us, reporting on all the work being done, as well as all the roadblocks to progress that exist.
ICN tries to be that voice, to allow that voice to be spoken, and to advocate for that voice. ICN consistently gets the word out on what is happening locally within labor, health care, anti-war activism, sustainability, and race, class and gender issues. This year's goals include bringing much more local news coverage on these issues. We absolutely need independent media in our community that is not afraid to report from the angle of the marginalized or underrepresented.
If you agree, please consider making a pledge to ICN to keep it going for the next year. I feel this is truly your Ithaca Community News, with the word of what you're doing reaching far and wide, and with your actions and initiatives inspiring others around the country. But I need your help to keep it going. I need to raise $15,000 to make it work—that comes out to be 125 people pledging ten dollars per month for one year. Ten dollars a month is pretty doable even if, like me, you're broke. I easily spend ten dollars a month at Gimme! Coffee, and I probably don't really needs those decaf Fionas. Isn't our news just as vital? Shouldn't we support free press while we still have one?
Over the past year, ICN received close to $4,000 in donations, with many people donating $200 or more at once. If you're thinking of doing that again this year, please do that today. Donations can be made securely via PayPal or you can send a check or Ithaca HOURS to ICN, P.O. Box 874, Ithaca, NY. 14851. Thank you all so much for supporting ICN and for just being a great community worth writing about.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth
Donate here: http://ithacanews.org/donate.htm
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NEWSLETTER SPONSOR. The ITHACA BAKERY/COLLEGETOWN BAGELS is proud to present our own CAYUGA COFFEE, an exceptional, distinctive selection of 100 percent Fair Trade, custom-roasted coffee, offered as beans or brewed. Along with blends available nowhere else, we offer an authentically unique, premium "varietal" (single-origin) brew from a Peruvian cooperative of indigenous, organic farmers. Furthermore, all Cayuga Coffee will be prepared with brand-new, state-of-the-art grinding and brewing equipment, with every pot made from freshly ground beans. You’re invited to enjoy outstanding Cayuga Coffee on its own or with your favorite choices from our top-quality food. To find out about all we have to offer, visit our Web site http://www.ithacabakery.com.
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WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE YOUR AD HERE?
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THANKS TO THE DONORS WHO HAVE DONATED IN THE PAST.
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ITHACA LABOR NEWS
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The Ithaca Breast Cancer Alliance has updated the brochure, "Paying for Health Care in Tompkins County: Information for Persons facing Serious Illness." The on-line version contains brief descriptions of programs and links for more information. There is also a PDF version to for download: http://www.ibca.net/local_resources/financial_information.php.
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Recently, a woman was kicked off an airplane for breastfeeding her 22-month old child shortly before take-off: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15720339/?from=ET.
Although the woman was sitting next to the window, with her husband in the middle seat between her and the aisle, and no one else was sitting in the aisle, a flight attendant thought the mother needed to cover herself up with a blanket. According to the story, when the mother politely refused, she was told she had to get off the plane.
MomsRising.org got so pissed off that they started a petition to give to Delta Airlines, asking them to get a clue and to petition Congress to pass the Breastfeeding Promotion Act, which would amend to Civil rights Act of 1964 to protect nursing mothers.
How many mothers in Ithaca have been told they can't breastfeed somewhere they are legally allowed to be? Send your story to elizabeth@ithacanews.org.
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News from Chronicle Online:
Julian Bond speaks on the future of civil rights: With many blacks succeeding professionally, remaining civil rights problems are more difficult to attack than in the past because Americans have tended to freeze the status quo, said NAACP chairman Julian Bond, in a November 9 lecture: http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Nov06/Bond.cover.cn.html
Freed death row inmate talks about wrongful imprisonment: Ray Krone, the 100th former death row inmate found to be innocent and freed in the United States, told the story of his decade of wrongful imprisonment to a rapt audience November 9: http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Nov06/Krone.cover.MK.html
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ITHACA SUSTAINABILITY
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Thinking of where to max out your credit card on the so-called Black Friday?
Watch a video of CNN interviewing Adbusters founder and editor, Kalle Lasn, in which the interviewer chides Lasn for thinking Americans should not consume so much:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eQTh5ITYGg&mode=related&search=
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If you do have to shop Friday and Saturday, how about supporting local businesses?
For more information about the Black Friday Local Business Crawl, contact Autumn Newell, tuffsoulclothing@gmail.com.
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Other ways of giving this holiday season that don't involve over-consumption of natural resources will take place at the 2006 Ithaca Alternative Gift Fair on Saturday, December 2, from 11:00 am-4:00 pm, at St. John's Episcopal Church, 210 North Cayuga Street. The Fair offers holiday shoppers a way to honor friends and family while supporting charities and non-profit organizations in a festive atmosphere. This year, 30 organizations are participating! Last year, over $14,000 was donated in just five hours. More info: http://www.ithacaaltgiftfair.org/.
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Here is an enlightening article detailing the future of food in this country. The article, an abridged version of a talk given by Richard Heinberg, an energy expert, to the E. F. Schumacher Society in Stockbridge, Massachusetts on October 28. The text was published on November 17 by Energy Bulletin: http://energybulletin.net/22584.html.
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ITHACA WAR AND PEACE REPORT
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Wow—it looks like the Saint Patrick's Four got off easy. Check this out:
"Three men protesting the presence of weapons of mass destruction in North Dakota were sentenced Thursday to federal prison terms of over three years and ordered to pay $17,000 in restitution by a federal judge in Bismarck. The three dressed as clowns and went to the Echo-9 launch site of the intercontinental Minuteman III nuclear missile in rural North Dakota in June 2006. They broke the lock off the fence and put up peace banners and posters. One said: 'Swords into plowshares—Spears into pruning hooks.' They poured some of their own blood on the site, hammered on the nuclear launching facility and waited to be arrested."
Read the full story, published on November 17:
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1117-08.htm
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FEATURED EVENTS
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Now on the web! Check out the events calendar here:
http://ithacanews.org/events.htm?catID=1
Just some of this week's listings: Local authors at the Bookery II, pre-Thanksgiving Pow Wow, Activist film events, Ithaca Alternative Gift Fair, a play about Guantanimo, and more. Don't miss out!
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CALLS FOR SUBMISSIONS/ANNOUNCEMENTS
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Want to know more about the Cayuga Waterfront Trail? The two mile section of Phase I is already completed at Cass Park and along the Inlet. Phase II will continue around the Inlet and connect to the Farmer’s Market. Eventually, Phase III will complete the 6 mile trail by bringing it into Stewart Park. The Cayuga Waterfront Trail newsletter is about to be mailed. If you would like to be added to the mailing list, please send your name and address to Rick Manning at rmannin4@twcny.rr.com.
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Tompkins County Public Library Launches new Children's Website November 20. The Tompkins County Public Library revamped the children's website. The space-themed site contains useful information for children and their caregivers on library programs, suggested reading, homework help, and more. The site also features a website astronaut to help guide children through the available options.
Several different animals are currently vying for the position of "webstronaut." The library is asking children to visit the site to vote on the animal they would most like see as the library's new "webstronaut." Viable candidates include: Galaxia the Giraffe, Comet the Cat, Mars-Rover the Dog, Milky
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CLASSES, LECTURES, SUPPORT GROUPS
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Now on the web! Check out the calendar here:
http://ithacanews.org/events.htm?catID=8
Just some of this week's listings: Energy Saving classes, GreenStar Classes, AIDS workshop, Pet Loss Support Group, Are you Ready for Business Class? And much more. Don't miss out!
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YOUR LETTERS
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On School Taxes:
The elections are over! However, we taxpayers must not forget the educational issues involving New York State mentioned before and during the election campaigns. More important, we must become active or continue our activity to urge our legislative representatives and their leaders to aggressively resolve issues that affect school district budgets and taxpayer school taxes.
High on a list of issues would be School Aid Formula Reform. This very complex means of distributing funds to school districts throughout New York State is dysfunctional and does not fairly allocate funds. Many school districts like Trumansburg have above average tax rates but below average per-pupil spending. We need a state aid formula that:
We are asking taxpayers in all school districts to unite in an effort to keep the School Aid Formula Reform and other issues at the forefront of all NYS Legislators’ agendas in the coming weeks. Communicate with them and let them know how important these issues are to taxpayers in your school district. Some questions to ask legislators from the recent Trumansburg Forum on Education include:
We in Trumansburg are a community that supports education, but we are at the limit of what we can pay for our schools. Many other communities feel the same way. Let us all put apathy aside and decide to take action to support our school districts and especially our children.
--Ronald Mac Lean, Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) and Political Action Concerning Education (PACE), Trumansburg Central School District
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More on Green Party Election Coverage:
Hi Folks -
Channel 10 News displays election results for many third party candidates on Election Night, including the Green Party, Libertarian, and Socialist Workers parties. I don't know whether these are still retrievable via a website. The results are reported by county. On election night I often tune in to Channel 10 to get more complete information on voting results. For instance, I noticed that in the Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton overwhelmingly received the vote for senator, but in Tompkins County one-third of the votes were cast for Tasini.
--Anne Carson
---[REPLY]: Hi Anne, Thanks for the tip. Apparently county breakdowns are no longer avialable via the web site, but it's good to know voters can find third party elections results on election night somewhere.