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Archive Around Town

Feb 01 2008

Ask IMO

Matthew P. Binkewicz

Friday, 01 February 2008

Ask IMO

Lansing's Advice Column

Email your questions to IMO at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Dear IMO,

My co-workers asked me to take part in the office super bowl pool. It's only a dollar per square, but I wasn't very comfortable putting my name down as the organizer of the pool did not get permission from the manager. Am I being overly cautious? Are there legal/ethical issues to consider before placing these small bets?

Thanks,
Mary Beth

Dear Mary Beth,

Any activity in an office that brings people together for enjoyment and camaraderie is a good way to maintain office harmony and promote workplace productivity. Office sponsored events like appreciation dinners and picnics provide employees with a sense of self-worth and appreciation. Other events, like an office pool may appear to serve the same function, but there are a few things to consider.

Feb 01 2008

The Mind's Winter

Daniel Segal, The Plantsmen Nursery, Lansing
Friday, 01 February 2008
This is not another ‘looking out my window at the snow, drinking a hot mug of tea and poring over seed catalogs while daydreaming of the summer garden' piece...I have read 100 versions of that article and while it's fun to read and easy to write #101, this isn't it. No, the only reference to seed catalogs here is this: the article about starting off the new year with a clean desk, which I cut out because it offered some tips that seemed to be written expressly for my desk, is now buried under seed catalogs, on my desk. I can still see the corner of it, sticking out like the ear of a hiding critter. Part of the headline-"...with a clean desk"-is still visible. But for how long? It's January 5th as I write this, which means I'm almost past the point of "starting" the year. Another ironic tip in the article is to throw out those things on your desk you know you won't read or use, even though you say you will. Is this one of those articles I've cut out before, only to find a year or so later, yellowed and dusty, that I'll enjoy reading but wince at the date?
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Feb 01 2008

“Winter Recess” Wins National Tourism Award

Bruce Stoff
Friday, 01 February 2008
Winter Recess, Ithaca's weeklong celebration of classroom teachers, has been selected as a Bronze Award winner in the tourism industry's annual Adrian Awards competition. The national honor highlights innovative programs in hospitality and travel. Now in its 51st year, the Adrian Awards competition is among the most prestigious in the tourism industry. Organized by the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association, this year's competition attracted nearly 1,300 entries. Award winners will be honored at the annual Adrian Awards Gala in New York City, Jan. 28.
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Feb 01 2008

Sharing Music Across the Americas

Dan Veaner

Friday, 01 February 2008

Slogging through the rain forest for two and a half hours on foot to go to a one room schoolhouse isn't everybody's cup of tea. It's muddy, there are no roads, and you have to carry everything you want to bring with you. But that is exactly what two Ithaca High School students plan to do. Russ Sternglass (18) and Golda Rosenfield (18) will be leaving for the Cabecar Indian Village in the middle of Costa Rica on February 13 to share music and art with children at two Indian schools there.

The schools are one room school houses, one four old and the other built last year, largely from donated money. "We'll drive a bus to the edge of the world, through the mountains and through the rain forest until we get to the center of the Indian reservation," says Casey Carr, Sternglass's mother. "The Indians have been self sufficient so far. But since they've been crammed into such a small space, they've eaten all of the wild animals on the reservation in order to survive. Now they're trying to survive by growing crops. So one of the reasons for these schools is to try to teach the children how to be environmentally healthy and self sufficient at the same time. Otherwise they will wipe out the little that they've been allowed to have."

(Left to right) Chris Mazer, Dave Bulatek (standing), Russ Sternglass (sitting) Golda Rosenfield