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Sarah Palin puts Alaska ‘on the map’

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­On a map of the United States, Alaska has an imposing presence. Yet, it wasn’t until this election season that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin put her state firmly “on the map” of American political and social consciousness.
Part of the challenge of Palin’s campaign has been to present to the average American an accurate view of her home state and also answer the question, ‘what’s important about Alaska?’
“Our strategic location for national defense is often overlooked,” Whitney Cushing ’09 said. Cushing is from Homer, roughly 200 miles south of Anchorage. “The only American place that has been invaded in the last 100 years was the Aleutian Islands during WWII.”

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Gun Site Clean Up Standards Raise Concerns

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Overruling the Community Advisory Group it created, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation will back the standards supported by the developers of the Ithaca Gun Factory site for its remediation.
The Ithaca Gun Factory site, located above Ithaca Falls and the Fall Creek Gorge, is contaminated with a range of harmful substances. This past May, the DEC — working with the City of Ithaca, developer Frost Travis and the engineering firm hired by the Travis, O’Brien and Gere — announced a resolution for the site for the demolition, clean up and construction of a public park and residential housing.
In order to also address community concerns, the DEC founded the CAG soon after the announcement of the resolution.

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Former U.S. Poet Laureate Charles Simic Reads Work

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Yesterday was a day fit for a poet at Cornell – crisp, full of color and feeling like fall. In Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium in Goldwin Smith, a man stood before a packed crowd. He smiled from behind his signature round reading glasses until the long applause faded. He stands for many things — former U.S. Poet Laureate, Pulitzer-Prize winning author, immigrant, American, New England man and professor. The man was Charles Simic.
“Without fanfare, he captures all of 21st century torment in language that shimmers, celebrates, honors, mystifies,” said Prof. Kenneth McClane, English, in his introduction to Simic’s reading.

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Patrolling The Streets: A Ride With The CUPD

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A squad car rolls up to the sprawling mansion of a fraternity. The beer pong table needs a challenger, and the officers are more than happy to oblige, taking off their hats and rolling up their sleeves before letting the ping-pong ball fly.
Some, especially Cornell students who have found themselves involved with the Cornell University Police Department, wish the above scenario might occur — members of law enforcement in Ithaca remembering what it’s like to be college students.
Riding along with CUPD from roughly 10 p.m. until 1 a.m. on Friday showed much can also be learned from sitting inside the squad car. Reversing roles between the CUPD and Cornell students can enlighten both sides of the story.

On Patrol

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City of Ithaca Pledges to Overhaul Contaminated Gun Factory Site

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On May 30, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation announced a final resolution for the Ithaca Gun Factory Site, closing a long and precarious chapter in the City of Ithaca’s history. However, many Ithacans feel the future of the site may still be up in the air.
The DEC — in cooperation with Mayor Carolyn Peterson, the City of Ithaca, developers Frost Travis, owner Wally Diehl and a previous pledge by the state — has authored a plan to dissolve the old Ithaca Gun Factory, which has been left stagnating above the rushing waters of Ithaca Falls for the past 125 years.

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Clean-up, Construction to Rejuvenate Ithaca Gun Site

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This article is the third in a series examining the history of the Ithaca Gun Factory.
Carefully climbing a rusty ladder, missing rungs, gives access to the upper roof of the Ithaca Gun Factory. The panoramic view of Cayuga Lake, extending to the horizon, is partially blocked by a smoke stack reading “Ithaca Guns” in white brick. The stack rises above the remains of this Gun Hill area which has been a community landmark since 1880. It may not stand for much longer.

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Clean-Up Attempts Leave Contaminants

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This article is the second in a series examining the history of the Ithaca Gun Factory.

It is not difficult to imagine what lies inside the Ithaca Gun Factory for the homeless seeking shelter from the Ithaca cold, or for the curious student.
Walking the perimeter, the dilapidated fence, vulnerable at multiple sections, shows obvious signs of entry — peeled back chain link and fallen barbed wire. Even the building’s outer appearance is foreboding — rows of shattered windows, heavy, rusty machinery with graffiti scrawlings and overgrowth climbing over the walls.

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Gun Factory Building Has Hazardous History

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This article is the first in a series examining the history of the Ithaca Gun Factory.
Until several weeks ago, on the splintering and graffitied plywood boarding up the door a sign read, “This property is the subject of a Board of Zoning Appeals Hearing on _______________ at _______________ in City Hall at 108 E. Green St. Appeal # _____________. For more information call the City Building Department at 274-6508.” Next to it was another that read, “THIS BUILDING IS UNSAFE and its USE and OCCUPENCY has been PROHIBITED by the BUILDING COMMISSIONER of the CITY OF ITHACA New York. It shall be UNLAWFUL for any person to REMOVE, DEFACE, or DESTROY this notice without permission from the Building Commissioner. Ithaca, NY Aug. 30,2006.”

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Trustees Return to Campus for Weekend Meetings

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This weekend brought not only fall colors but also trustees from around the world to Ithaca for the 57th annual Trustee/Council Meeting, a three-day event culminating in the Joint Annual Meeting, where President David Skorton delivered the State of the University Address.