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10 a.m.

LOCAL SPORTS BARS

ITHACA-- On the first Sunday afternoon without football, Benchwarmers Restaurant and Sports Bar is bustling. The bar's seven large screens showing Pro Bowl chatter and sports news are largely ignored as families and students talk, laugh, and dig into a variety of cuisine. This comforting atmosphere has found a home in many of Ithaca's sports bars and restaurants, allowing them to succeed regardless of the game on the television.

By Abby Paulson.

FREECYLCE

FreeCycle is a grassroots non-profit movement that is taking a new tact on cutting down wastefulness in modern society. 4,880 groups with over 6,936,000 members create localized networks where objects that are no longer of use are posted to be picked up and used by someone else, entirely free of charge. Likewise, users can post up their needs and meet members who may be able to fill their needs. This article will explore the environmental and economic impact of FreeCycle in the Ithaca area, as well as the nation as a whole.

Kellan Davidson

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION-CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK

ITHACA, New York--- The only catholic school in Tompkins County celebrated both 125 years of existence and Catholic Schools Week by hosting an All You Can Read Winter Book Fest last night. Proceeds from the event went to the school’s library. By Kevin McCall

BRUNCH

Moosewood Restaurant hosted a Benefit Brunch on Sunday in an effort to help the Ithaca Free

Clinic in its mission to expand in the coming year.

Sam Schles

SPCA OF TOMPKINS COUNTY ANNEX    

ITHACA— Tompkins County’s SPCA has temporarily and possibly permanently opened an annex in, The Shops at Ithaca Mall. The annex was opened on Memorial

Day and has led to the adoption of over four hundred cats and kittens since then. The annex was opened to lessen the over-crowding at the main SPCA shelter and

to give the animals a greater chance of being adopted.

Jackie Wild

Heart-attack Row

ITHACA- How many fast food joints does one town really need? Better yet, how many does one road need?  Here in Ithaca, Route 13 has one of the most interesting, and mind-boggling sites ever witnessed. One “restaurant” after another, offering more grease and fat than the previous. (Last sentence might not be needed)

By Seth Schniebolk

MICAWBERS:  A Turbulent End to a Colorful Legacy

Ithaca – Large, foreboding signs handwritten in black Sharpie are pasted right beside the flyers advertising local music events, warning possible passersby to keep out of Micawber’s Pub on North Aurora Street in Ithaca.  The local hangout, open since 1977 and touting itself as “the most storied bar in Ithaca,” has finally met its demise, after a series of unfortunate events that leave this now empty bar even more storied.

Bryant Kuehner

TCAT-NEW ROUTE

ITHACA – Parents of Cayuga Heights Elementary School and others are organizing against the TCAT bus route change that causes the buses to pass along the back entrance of the school. They are afraid for the safety of the children and said they had little to no warning.

By Jessica Dillon

2 p.m.

VILLAGES

A nonprofit, Ithaca store, in affiliation with corporate company Ten Thousand Villages, has joined the relief chain for Haiti. The store carries fair-trade goods from the poorest countries in the world in hopes to stimulate economies and splice the cycle of debt. The store is currently selling Haitian goods “at cost” to maximize sales. They are also collecting donations. The stores efforts are unique as they focus on providing for the long-term, rather than solely quick, cash aid.

Amanda Riggio

ITHACA-BOUTIQUES SURVIVE

ITHACA -- Stores in the Ithaca Commons have been continuously successful in some cases for over 15 years. However, with the introduction of the commercially known Urban Outfitters, there was doubt on where college students in town would now choose to shop. While some of the more upscale boutiques in Ithaca have seen a drop in sales, most have felt unaffected, relying on their ability to familiarize themselves with customers and offer one of a kind prices and apparel.

EVIE SANTIAGO

BOUTIQUE

Clothes are being pulled off every hanger and accessories are flying across the store. These excited shoppers are experiencing the biggest sale Ithaca's "Some Girls" has ever had, but unfortunately it is their last. "Some Girls" is a local boutique in the heart of Collegetown that is coming to a close.

Erica Conte

PATTERSON

Yale had Mona Lisa Smile, Princeton had Across the Universe , Harvard had Legally Blonde, but now it’s finally time for Cornell to shine on the big screen with heart throb Robert Patterson most likely coming this June to film “Water for Elephants.” The campus is buzzing and so is the popular social networking site, Twitter with talk of the hugely famous Twilight series star coming to their very own school.

Carolyn Cutrone 

DESTRUCTIVE GROUNDHOGS 
ITHACA—Punxsutawney Phil will soon reveal himself and determine whether or not we have six more weeks of winter.  But do we really want Phil out of his hole?   Cayuga Nature Center hosted an informational session Sunday about groundhogs, and spectators learned some key facts about the animal.  When groundhogs come out of hibernation in early February, they immediately start eating and burrowing.   Their ravenous appetite can sometimes destroy whole gardens overnight. Groundhogs also typically dig new burrows where the ground has already been shifted.  As a result newly built fences become damaged and trees may lose years worth of growing.  By Laura Murray

CITY DEVELOPMENT

ITHACA -- The city of Ithaca is currently undertaking multiple development projects which city planners hope will stimulate the local economy.  Current plans include construction of low-income housing on Seneca St, luxury apartments behind the Cayuga Street Garage, the arrival of a Panera Bread and Olive Garden, and plans have gone underway for the much-anticipated Hotel Ithaca.

Peter Blanchard

BUDDHIST MONASTERY

ITHACA, NY - Nestled quietly between Farm and Cayuga Street, the Namgyal Buddhist Monastery stands tall, as the North American Seat of the Personal Monastery of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.  On Friday night, Namgyal held a discussion led by Geshe Tenzin Sherap, a teacher of Buddhism throughout America and India. Sherap’s discussion focused on the Abidharma-kosa, which is a core text for Tibetan Buddhists. 
Bridget Corrigan

TCAT CHANGES 


Ithaca- Many people in Ithaca and Tompkins County rely on public transportation to get from point A to point B.  Recently, the TCAT has undergone route and payment changes in order to better serve the community. 
Rachel Stokes

HEMP

ITHACA—Several stores located in Ithaca’s commons have joined together in their support for the Industrial Hemp Non Binding Resolution. Passing this bill would allow farmers and storeowners to cultivate/sell hemp, which is legal in only nine states in the United States.

Breanne Durning

Deadly Virus

ITHACA – Cornell University researchers discovered a deadly fish virus last week in Lake Superior. This means the virus, which causes fatal anemia and hemorrhaging in many fish species, is now present in all of the Great Lakes. 

Becca Burns

FOOD

ITHACA- More than eight local vendors have teamed up with the Food Bank of the Southern Tier to launch the organization's annual food drive. Customers can make donations through the items they purchase, with varying dollar amounts going to the Food Bank. The drive will last until Feb. 27, and it already finding challenges is soliciting donations from a public already solicited for Haiti donations.

Natalie King

TOMPKINS HYDRO FRACKING
ITHACA, NY - Signs protesting “Frack” decorate Ithaca’s front yards, along with the snow, this winter. A sizable handful of Ithaca’s residents have taken issue with the proposal to begin hydro fracking, or drilling for natural gas, in Tompkins County. Those in favor of fracking cite the economic benefits that it will bring to Tompkins, while those opposed fear the environmental risks of the controversial drilling process. 
Norah Sweeney