ITHACA, N.Y. -- For those seeking more fall-like conditions, this week will be favorable. Following a coastal system that will impact the Ithaca area tonight and tomorrow, a cool but dry pattern will take hold for the remainder of the week, with no rain expected from about sunrise Tuesday through about next Sunday afternoon. It'll be good weather for some warm cider and chunky sweaters, …

ITHACA, N.Y. — Volunteers of America Upstate New York (VOA) will operate Tompkins County’s emergency cold-weather shelter this year, adding those duties to their existing agreement to run the county-owned permanent housing shelter when it is constructed.  The contract with Rochester-based VOA was unanimously approved by the Tompkins County Legislature on Tuesday. VOA will operate the shelter out of the Cherry Street location soon to be vacated by Found in Ithaca, a vintage and antique marketplace, which is moving elsewhere.

ITHACA, N.Y. — Nighttime low temperatures are set to dip below freezing Thursday night for the first time this fall. Tompkins County will offer emergency shelter to anyone who asks through the state mandated “Code Blue” program. Tompkins County does not have a conventional congregate facility available, so those seeking shelter are expected to be provided rooms in local motels at no cost.

ITHACA, N.Y. — The City of Ithaca’s proposed 2026 budget tops $112 million, about a $6.1 million increase from 2025. City Manager Deborah Mohlenoff presented her proposed budget to the Common Council on Oct. 6. Spending increases, she said, are “based on the cost of doing business” for the city, and the budget is aimed at slowing down the rapid growth in property taxes seen in recent years without slashing services.

ITHACA, N.Y. — Cornell University's spending spree in Collegetown doesn't appear to be over yet, as the university moved forward with plans to purchase the property at 209-215 Dryden Road, just steps from the Big Red's campus. The Breazzano Family Center is a six-story, 76,200 square-foot office and academic building, purposely built for Cornell's use by developers John Novarr and Phil Proujansky in 2017…

This is an opinion piece written by Ward 3 Alderperson David Shapiro. It was not written by The Ithaca Voice. To submit opinion pieces, please send them to Matt Butler at [email protected]. Every year when budget season arrives, we face the same dilemma: our city has more needs than it has dollars. This year, two proposals in particular highlight that tension.

ITHACA, N.Y. — The hills are changing color. There’s a distinct crispness in the air. It can all mean only one thing: budget season is upon us here in the City of Ithaca. The city’s yearly operating budget covers everything from property tax rates to availability of city-funded youth programs to parking rates in municipal garages. Common councilmembers received an…

ITHACA, N.Y. — Being a senior in high school comes with its fair share of challenges — college essays, placement exams and navigating the complicated world of being a teenager with adult responsibilities looming on the horizon are a few examples. And yet, some students in Tompkins County have managed to balance all of this with the additional responsibility of helping local governments create climate policy, with the goal of not only protecting the county’s natural environments but also building resilience against a warming climate.

ITHACA, N.Y. — Ithaca Mayor Robert Cantelmo announced on Friday the formation of an advisory committee to study the financial compensation the city’s elected officials receive. The group will be responsible for delivering a report and recommendations on what elected officials in Ithaca should be paid. Its members will be tasked with reviewing pay structure in similarly sized municipalities, work requirements of council members, as well as living wage standards in Ithaca.

ITHACA, N.Y. — Local officials and public schools received a spate of threatening emails Monday morning, spurring an investigation from federal and local law enforcement. Tompkins County Sheriff Derek Osborne said in a press release that the threats appear to be part of a larger campaign, as several other counties reported similar incidents Monday morning. Osborne said local law enforcement is investigating the threats, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

NEWFIELD, N.Y. — Law enforcement responded to a fatal two-vehicle crash that killed a Newfield man over the weekend. Officials said Shaquille M. Stuttle, 31, was pronounced dead at the scene after a black 2019 Toyota 4-Runner struck his Honda CR-V while he attempted to cross Route 34 while driving east down Decker Road in the town of Newfield around 11:13 a.m.

ITHACA, N.Y. -- It feels uncannily summer-like right now, other than the early sunsets and late sunrises. However, this heat will be replaced with more autumnal conditions following a sharp cold front Tuesday night, which will also be our only chance for significant rain this week. If you're waiting for sweater weather, hang on, it's coming. Dry conditions continue into Sunday.

This story originally appeared in New York Focus, a nonprofit news publication investigating power in New York. Sign up for their newsletter here. ALBANY, N.Y. — In theory, the process that determines your energy bills plays out in public, through innumerable documents and comments posted online and hearings that are open to all.  In practice, watchdogs say, the key decisions are made behind closed doors, in confidential settlement proceedings where utilities set the agenda and bring legal firepower that is impossible for most other participants to match. 

ITHACA, N.Y. — Cayuga Health and Foodnet Meals on Wheels have announced a new partnership that intends to bring food and connection for senior citizens throughout Tompkins County. Starting on Oct. 23, the two organizations will collaborate to provide weekly community dining lunches served at Cayuga Health’s location at The Shops at Ithaca Mall in the former Sears location. Doors will open each Thursday at 11 a.m.

ITHACA, N.Y. — What happens when you try to ban students from using smartphones throughout the school day? In the Ithaca City School District (ICSD), in practice, the state-mandated ban hasn’t resulted in a total, cold turkey elimination of student phone use. Nevertheless, hundreds of students and educators across two schools reported a significant, across-the-board decline in student cell phone usage, according to student-run surveys.

ITHACA, N.Y. — The first frost advisory of the season has been put into effect for the overnight hours leading into Thursday morning. The National Weather Service announced that the temperature is expected to dip between 33 to 38 degrees from midnight Thursday until 8 a.m., which will result in frost formation. The most direct threat of the low temperatures is to outdoor plants.

ITHACA, N.Y. — A candidate forum for the Tompkins County Legislature revolved around affordability issues — a perennial concern in Tompkins County — and raising the minimum wage, along with the looming financial challenges the county will face as a result of federal spending cuts. There are 16 open seats on the Tompkins County Legislature, but just four of them…

ITHACA, N.Y. — Steeped in the waters of the Finger Lakes, and raised among their rolling hills, Yvonne Taylor knows just how precious the nature that surrounds her is. For her commitment to keeping titans of industry from changing that, she’s now been recognized as one of the most influential climate leaders in the country. Taylor, the co-founder and vice president of advocacy group Seneca Lake Guardian, was named to Grist’s List of National Climate Leaders, one of the most prominent environmental awards in the country.

ITHACA, N.Y. — Ithaca’s New Roots Charter School started the school year earlier this month with its first official middle school cohort. The school enrolled 50 students in grades 6 – 8, who are split between two mixed-age classrooms. The “Montessori-inspired” charter school received formal state approval to add a middle school program during its charter renewal process in February…

ITHACA, N.Y. — A long-awaited proposal for a community responder program is now being considered by the City of Ithaca’s Common Council. The proposal would introduce a team of unarmed responders aimed at reducing reliance on traditional law enforcement for non-violent calls, as well as reducing disproportionate contact between vulnerable populations and the criminal justice system. The program is tentatively named Responders Offering Outreach, Trust and Support, or the ROOTS Team.

Robert Louis “Bob” Stull of Ithaca, New York, passed away on August 13, 2025 at the age of 94. Born in Sherman, Illinois on July 26, 1931 to parents Fred Allen Stull and Mary Ellen McCue Stull, Bob was the second of five children: Richard Francis McCue (deceased), John Frederick “Freddie” Stull, Freida Stull Green, and Thomas Stull. Bob graduated from Williamsville, IL, high school in 1949.

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Following last week's rainy weather, it's back to our drier daily grind. High pressure remains in control for the week ahead, so this will be one of the very rare instances of a forecast with no precipitation in it. The weather will be great for your early fall festivities, especially with some cooler temps with mid-week, but some of the advancement we made against the statewide drought will evaporate over the next several days.

ITHACA, N.Y. — The annual Apple Harvest Festival has begun, as of Friday afternoon, as scores of visitors will descend on the Ithaca Commons for a weekend of apple-themed products and festivities, live music and food. The festival kicked off at noon on Friday and will run until Sunday evening. Each day will feature a variety of musical performances, though it does not appear that a schedule has been released.

ITHACA, N.Y. — Telling someone to kick rocks may be a sign of frustration, but for Community Science Institute volunteers (CSI), it is a call to action — a call for science. On a cool August morning, CSI volunteers Di Florini, Lucy Gagliardo, Beth Burton and CSI’s water quality scientist Dan Pascucci, met up at 600 Road in Slaterville Springs. …

LANSING, N.Y. — A longtime retail staple of Tompkins County has a new owner after 60 years. The Triphammer Marketplace has been sold by one prominent local family to another well-known local name. The plaza sold on Sept. 19 for $11.98 million, according to the deed filed with the Tompkins County Clerk. It was sold by Triphammer Development Co. Inc., the business entity of the Thaler family of real estate owner-developers, and was bought by Triphammer Partners LLC, comprised of the husband and wife team of Spencer and Kristen Ferguson Kopko.