This morning's Ithaca Journal includes a first look at Cornell's plans to put up to eight wind turbines on Mount Pleasant, near its current observatory. Cornell is "still in the study phase of this," and has put "a 50-meter weather station near the WHCU transmission tower." The project, which would provide 10-15% of the university's energy, would be large, nearly 400 feet high overall:
The turbines under consideration by Cornell would be 80 meters tall with a 40-meter blade length, meaning when one of the three blades is sticking straight up, it is 120 meters from the ground.
Lanny Joyce, manager of the engineering, planning and energy management at Cornell, said the turbines, which are the same as those used at Fenner Wind Farm and in Madison County, are expected to turn 10 to 15 rotations per minute.
I understand there will be an informational meeting at the Varna Community Center in April to discuss this.
Area schools had mixed results on state achievement tests, with Ithaca staying about the same but Dryden's results falling for its middle and elementary schools.
The Ithaca School Board will be having another elementary redistricting hearing tonight, starting at 6:00pm at Ithaca High School. Apparently their redistricting web site is down while "Modifications are being made".
The county Environmental Management Council heard from an expert on barrel burning of trash, and it sounds like the county Board of Health has moved to ban it, pending language drafting and a public hearing.
The Journal's editorial today talks about school funding fairness issues across the state. Freeville resident Charlie Hart writes about the recent ticketing of a driver who killed a pedestrian in Ithaca, saying that:
What the heck do you think is going to happen when you live in a community that sponsors such a thing as alternatives to incarceration where a person can commit a crime and doesn't have to worry about going to jail?
Strange. I can't say I ever thought of District Attorney Dentes as a soft-headed pacifist who wasn't interested in prosecuting crime. I don't always agree with the crimes Dentes does prosecute, but if his office doesn't prosecute a crime, my assumption is that there wasn't nearly a winnable case, however unfortunate and frustrating that may be.
Posted by simon at March 10, 2005 8:53 AM in Cornell , Cornell , Ithaca Journal , Mount Pleasant , Varna , Varna , crime , crime , politics (local) , politics (local) , schools (Dryden) , schools (Dryden) , schools (Ithaca) , schools (Ithaca)