The Breakdown

Veterans, military members and first responders across the region will have an opportunity to receive free veterinary care for their dogs and cats during a special wellness clinic in Montour Falls next month. The Humane Society of Schuyler County is partnering with Cornell University’s Shelter and Community Medicine Program to hold the clinic on Saturday, October 3, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Humane Society, located at 124 Marina Drive in Montour Falls. The clinic will pro

Tompkins County lawmakers are continuing to explore whether the county should establish its own minimum wage above New York State’s minimum, following the presentation of a months-long study examining what such a change could mean for workers, businesses and the broader local economy. Researchers from Cornell University’s ILR Ithaca Co-Lab presented the findings to the Tompkins County Legislature after a study that included data analysis, public meetings, focus groups, stakeh

Public records identify processors for most material collected locally. But pooled recycling streams, incomplete destination fields and weaknesses documented by state auditors prevent the public from following every ton to a final manufacturer. When Tompkins County residents place bottles, cans, cardboard and paper at the curb, the material enters a system with a clearly documented beginning. Casella Waste Systems collects the countywide curbside stream and transports it to t

Photo by David Yu Ithaca is the kind of place where people want to believe they can walk home from a show, meet a new friend, rent a first apartment, and begin an independent life with more excitement than fear. That is part of the promise of a college town. It feels open. It feels connected. It feels young. It is full of people arriving, leaving, studying, working, starting over, and figuring out who they are becoming. But this weekend, that feeling was shaken. The killing o

In a world where nearly everything online gets called “news,” it can be helpful to pause and define what different kinds of local media actually do. At Life in Ithaca, we are not trying to be a breaking news outlet. We are a web magazine focused on stories, places, people, events, culture, and everyday life in and around Ithaca. That distinction matters. A traditional news source is usually built around urgency. It reports what happened, when it happened, who was involved, an

If you live, work, or walk around Ithaca, you probably remember the headlines from 2021. The city was abuzz with a radical idea to "reimagine public safety"; with some calling to "abolish the police." The headlines were loud, but the complex policy reality left many residents scratching their heads, wondering: Who will show up when I call for help? Five years later, we have an answer. The heated political rhetoric has cooled, giving way to a new reality that is now live on ou

If you’ve been following local news, you know that 2026 is already a year of big shifts for Ithaca. But while we’ve been talking about housing dashboards and school closures, a major change to food security just quietly went live. As of March 1, 2026 , a longstanding New York State waiver has expired. For many of our neighbors relying on SNAP (formerly food stamps), the "rules of the game" just changed significantly due to the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 . What

Whether you’ve been following the local headlines or noticed the "Flock Off Ithaca" signs around town, the debate over Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR) just reached a major turning point. This week, the Ithaca Common Council made a definitive move regarding the city’s relationship with surveillance technology. Here is a breakdown of the recent decision to end the Flock camera contract and what it means for our community. The Vote: Ithaca Says "No" to Flock On Wednesday