Feature

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

Each week, Life in Ithaca is highlighting three local updates worth knowing, from road closures and city government to arts, events, and community life. Here are three things to keep on your radar this week. 1. Stewart Avenue Bridge Closure Begins If Stewart Avenue is part of your regular route, this is the big one. The Stewart Avenue Bridge over Fall Creek is scheduled to close beginning Monday, May 4, as part of a major rehabilitation project. According to the City of Ithac

Today, Friday, April 24, is the final day of this year’s New York State Police “No Empty Chair” Teen Driver Safety Campaign, a statewide effort focused on keeping young drivers safe during one of the most exciting and risky stretches of the school year. The campaign is timed around prom, senior events, and graduation season. Its name carries the whole message: No Empty Chair. No missing student at graduation. No family left with an absence that should have been prevented. Thi

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

On February 19, 2026, the Dryden Town Board voted unanimously to permanently ban data centers and commercial cryptocurrency mining operations . This makes Dryden the first town in New York to implement such a total prohibition. Why the ban? Energy Grid Strain: Officials and the Climate Action Committee argued that data centers consume "exorbitant" amounts of electricity, which could lead to higher utility rates (NYSEG) for local residents. Climate Goals: New York’s Climate

With all of the talk of a local AI data center, I was curious what the LLM's themselves would say about the environmental impact of AI. I asked them to present it as a student report. Gemini: As a student diving into this, the main thing I’ve realized is that AI’s environmental impact is a massive paradox. It’s essentially a "high-cost, high-reward" scenario where the technology we need to save the planet is also one of the fastest-growing threats to our energy and water st