Good morning, Ithaca.

Sustainable Finger Lakes is accepting applications for Fall 2026 Neighborhood Mini-Grants worth $150 to $750 for community projects in Cayuga, Cortland, and Tompkins Counties.

Proposals must be submitted by Oct. 1.

The Downtown Ithaca Alliance is recruiting volunteers for the 44th annual Apple Harvest Festival from Sept.

25-27 in downtown Ithaca. CEO Nan Rohrer said helpers are needed for set-up and breakdown+crossing guard and vendor support.

Part of the Fall Creek Gorge Trail between Stewart Ave Bridge and 118 McGraw Place is closed for work on the Stewart Ave Bridge project; officials say it will reopen Friday, Oct.

2.

Ithaca College's Park School of Communications wrapped principal photography in July on My Handyman is a Secret Billionaire, a vertical drama co-written by Jack Bryant and Dan O’Shannon.

Professor Jack Powers produced the film — involving faculty and students — and it is now in post-production.

Dryden Elementary School has closed its bus circle to the public during school days from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. — new crosswalk signs on James St. aim to improve pedestrian safety.

Bryan Isacks, a Cornell professor who advanced plate tectonics and digital topography in Ithaca studies — including work on the Finger Lakes region — died Sept.

9 at age 90. His legacy in research and mentorship made a lasting impact on local science and education.

Two new initiatives at Cornell are set to test AI in classrooms, with experimental integration pilots and an expanded AI Undergraduate Fellows program launching in spring or fall 2027 and spring 2028.

The projects are backed by a $2 million gift plus support from the Office of the Provost.

Karine Jean-Pierre and Gov. David Beasley have been named the 2026-27 Distinguished Policy Fellows at Cornell’s Brooks School of Public Policy.

They will visit Ithaca campus this academic year to host guest lectures, office hours, and discussions that enrich public policy classes.

Ithaca College celebrated Constitution Day with Cornell Law's Leehi Yona on Friday, Sept.

18 as she explained constitutional limits on U.S. climate laws + highlighted alternative funding methods; students asked questions about using these legal insights in their daily lives.

The Tompkins County Soil and Water Conservation District restored 2,200 feet of the West Branch of Cayuga Inlet Creek in October 2025 and held a Monday tour showing improved banks—with new vegetation and breeding brown trout—that aims to reduce erosion and phosphorous flow into Cayuga Lake.

On Sept. 16, local youth coach Rahmel Mack appeared on Good Morning America with four other coaches from across the country.

Mack, who coaches varsity boys basketball at Ithaca High + AAU teams at GIAC, was honored with a new Mazda CX-90 to support his work.