September 5, 2006

Manufacturing declines; affordable housing needed

There was lots of news about the county and region over the holiday weekend. Neighboring Cortland County lost 51.7% of its manufacturing jobs between 1990 and 2005. Tompkins only lost 9%, but we had a lot less to start with. Service jobs in Tompkins climbed 25.1%, while Cortland service jobs climbed 19.1%.

Whooping cough, or pertussis, is making a comeback, with 29 cases in Tompkins County since June. If you encounter these symptoms, call a doctor:

Bishop noted that pertussis begins with mild cold symptoms including sneezing, runny nose, low-grade fever and a mild cough. Within two weeks, the cough becomes more severe and is characterized by episodes of numerous rapid coughs followed by a high-pitched “whoop.� Coughing episodes may recur for one to two months and are more frequent at night.

Yesterday's paper reported on a problem with the county's "relatively stable economy that continues to draw people to the area": a housing shortage, especially in affordable housing. A study concluded that Tompkins County will need 2500 more affordable housing units to avoid high housing costs, above 30 percent of household gross incomes.

Posted by simon at September 5, 2006 8:35 AM in , ,
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