Katharine Celentano is a Policy Coordinator with the Drug Policy Alliance. Based in Ithaca, she helps develop and implement state and municipal efforts to address drug use and opiate overdose. We discuss the status of Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) in Tompkins County, the basics of safer consumption spaces, and drug use as a health issue.

Pete Tyler served as Ithaca Police Department's Acting Chief when John Barber retired in March 2017 and was sworn in as Chief in December 2017. We discuss community policing, militarization of the police, the training that IPD officers have to undergo, IPD's staffing needs, and of course... the contract.

We chat with Ithaca Voice Managing Editor Jolene Almendarez as she plans to depart Ithaca for her hometown of San Antonio, Texas. What are the challenges of running a local news non-profit organization? What's frustrating about covering City Hall? Where are the best tacos in Ithaca? And somehow, as always, the conversation turns to housing.

Change is inevitable in any municipality and it's a planner's job to help manage that change. We chat with Lisa Nicholas, the City of Ithaca's Deputy Director of Planning and Development, about what the Planning Department does, what zoning is, Ithaca's biggest planning challenges, the massive Chain Works project, and Phase 2 of the Comprehensive Plan.

A chat with Ithaca Festival Executive Director Josh Dolan: his history in the community, behind-the-scenes planning and organization for the Ithaca Festival, what to look forward to at this year's event, and how you can help.

In our fourth episode we talk to Eric Hathaway, the City of Ithaca's Transportation Engineer. We discuss the duties of his role as transportation engineer, cycling and pedestrian infrastructure in the city, traffic calming, traffic issues, and much more.

In our third episode we talk to Dr. Nia Nunn, Assistant Professor in the Department of Education at Ithaca College and President of the Board of Directors of Southside Community Center. She shares her history in the Ithaca community, the history of Southside Community Center, and its bright future.

In our second episode we chat with the City of Ithaca's Historic Preservation Planner Bryan McCracken. We talk about his role in the city, get some background on historic preservation in Ithaca, and discuss The Nines and other future opportunities to designate historic buildings.

Chapters: 0:00 - Introduction 1:19 - Ithaca's housing strategy 9:36 - The missing middle 17:10 - Tax abatements 28:04 - Low Income Housing Tax Credit 34:58 - Local income tax 40:40 - Land value tax 42:55 - Rent control 46:59 - Vienna's social housing program 52:39 - CIITAP 1:03:17 - Inclusionary/incentive zoning 1:06:11 - How to participate 1:07:58 - Seg(ue)ways 1:09:07 - Autonomous vehicles 1:13:30 - Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion 1:14:47 - Opioids 1:23:57 - Svante's political future 1:26:00 - You know what really grinds my gears? 1:30:11 - Svante's second job