Two robbers who have been convicted of robbing students in and around Cornell received prison sentences on Sept. 9, according to The Ithaca Journal. Whitley “Cash” Taylor, 26, faces four years in prison, while Frisco C. Meeks, 20, faces three-and-a-half years in prison. Both felons will receive post-release supervision.

Taylor and Meeks arranged to meet their victims by telling them they were interested in purchasing marijuana. But when they met, the pair would pull out a weapon and robbed the victims. Some of those robbed were Cornell students.

Meeks was arrested on April 1 and Whitley was found in Washington D.C. two weeks the later.

While college students across the country settle into their new apartments and dorms this fall, many Cornellians are scrambling to sign leases for the next academic year.

Many students feel pressure to sign leases for apartments in Collegetown early in the year, sometimes before being able to compare different properties.

Elizabeth Truax ’11 said she was concerned about signing her lease as early as September.

The Collegetown Vision Implementation Committee, in its final meeting before an indefinite hiatus, has begun to conclude a master plan that has been a year in the making. Since the moratorium on Collegetown construction went into effect last year to enable consultants to formulate the Collegetown Master Plan, the CVIC — under the direction of Mary Tomlan ’71 (D-3rd Ward) and Svante Myrick ’09 (D-4th Ward) — has been hard at work guiding the planning process.

The result is a master plan that will likely steer the future development of Collegetown. Residents hope that it will improve issues of pedestrian transportation, add mixed-use developments, provide for student parking and open up public spaces.

Correction Appended

From Ithaca Hours to the Ithaca Commons, no one can deny that the city Cornell calls home has its fair share of quirks. But the question of how unique Ithaca really is has surfaced recently with the city’s comparison to other college towns.

Last month, a delegation from the Ithaca Downtown Partnership took a trip to Charlottesville, where they observed the town, met with public officials and brought back a wealth of information on how the two cities compare. The trip was part of an effort to develop a 10-year master plan for downtown Ithaca.

Abraham Shorey, the man suspected to be the “Collegetown Creeper,” will not stand trial for charges of burglary and sexual abuse, Tompkins County District Attorney Gwen Wilkinson said on May 9. Shorey, who is allegedly responsible for a string of more than 20 break-ins and assaults that victimized Cornell women in 2003 and 2004, is currently serving a six-year prison sentence in California.

Residents of Collegetown may be glad to know that a facelift for the neighborhood is in the works. Four consultants from Goody Clancy Architects have spent an intensive two days meeting with students, permanent residents of Collegetown, merchants, property owners, Cornell administrators, trustees and the City of Ithaca planning officials. Their visit — the initial phase of a process that will continue through October — was arranged to gather the community's ideas for the neighborhood.

Amidst the controversial moratorium on Collegetown development, the Collegetown Vision Implementation Committee is moving forward to create a plan for future growth in the area. On Feb. 18, the CVIC will meet with Goody Clancy, the recently selected architecture firm that will be working on the project.

Last October, the Ithaca Common Council voted to halt approval of further development proposals in Collegetown in an effort to create a more cohesive design plan for the area. Since then, the CVIC has been collaborating with Goody Clancy, in addition to the real estate company WZHA and traffic firm Nelson Nygaard. Additionally, the University and the City each have donated $75,000 towards the planning process.

After heated debate last night at City Hall, the Ithaca Common Council passed a motion to impose a 12-month moratorium in Collegetown — putting a halt on development proposals and proceedings in the community.

By a vote of 7-3, the Council resolved to suspend approval of new development proposals in Collegetown. This suspension aims to provide urban planners ample time to create a coherent design plan for the community without disruption from new projects.