Happy Memorial Day! Here’s a recap of the weekend's top three news stories impacting Ithaca-Tompkins County and beyond, and a list of voting deadlines for the June 23 primary.
NYS to Reopen Professional Sport Training Camps, Veterinarians, Campgrounds and RV Parks
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced several statewide reopenings in his Sunday press briefing. Most notably, Cuomo called for the return of professional sports to New York State, beginning with reopened training camps. The governor mentioned that he thought sports would mark a return to normalcy, though he cautioned that sporting events should be held without fans and follow appropriate health protocols.
Sunday's briefing in Albany. Photo courtesy of the Office of Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Later in the press conference, Gov. Cuomo reported that campgrounds and RV parks throughout the state would be allowed to reopen today, May 25. Veterinarian offices are permitted to reopen Tuesday, May 26.
Cuomo’s entire Sunday briefing can be read and viewed here.
TC Reopening Update
In a virtual town hall on Thursday, May 21, Tompkins County Administrator Jason Molino indicated that the Southern Tier Region will be ready to move on to the next reopening phase on May 29. In response to the State COVID-19 Dashboard numbers, Molino said, “We are well-positioned to graduate to the next phase, and future phases from there.”
The next reopening phase would allow professional services, retail businesses, administrative support, and real estate industries to reopen with protective guidelines regarding density, hygiene, and face mask usage. The complete NYS reopening guidelines can be found here.
Watch the Tompkins County virtual town hall here.
Cornell Trustees Vote to Stop New Private Investments in Fossil Fuels
The Cornell Board of Trustees voted on Friday to institute a moratorium on new private investments in fossil fuels as part of a review of Cornell’s $6.9 billion endowment portfolio. They also intend to increase the endowment’s investments in alternative energy technologies. The Cornell Chronicle reports that the decision was driven by the short-term and mid-term financial outlook for gas, coal, and oil investments, as well as climate change concerns.
The new policy applies to new private equity and bond vehicle investments that focus on fossil fuels, but does not apply to indexed funds or other public equity mandates. Indexed funds and other public equity mandates, including the S&P 500, include a broad variety of securities that cannot be altered or chosen by individual investors. Cornell’s policy already prohibited direct investments in any individual equity securities, including firms in the fossil fuel industry.
The vote came after all five of the Cornell constituent-elected governing bodies, including the Faculty Senate and the Student Assembly, called for the university to divest from fossil fuel funds.
Read the entire Cornell Chronicle article here.
June 23 Primary Voting Deadlines
After a ruling from federal judges, New York State’s primary election will go on as rescheduled for June 23.
Important voting deadlines:
Voter registration applications must be received by Friday, May 29 in order to be eligible to vote in the June 23 election. To register for the election by mail, applications must be postmarked by Friday, May 29 and received by Wednesday, June 3.
Absentee ballot applications must be postmarked, emailed, or faxed by June 16
In-person absentee ballot applications end on June 22
Absentee ballots must be postmarked by June 22, and received by June 30
Ballots can be delivered in-person until June 23
All revised voting deadlines can be found here.