I'll say...
And what did this "archetypical Ithacan" say about September 11?
"I think the U.S. is starting to pay for the fact that it's been a rogue state for years."
Yep, he's a typical Ithacan all right...and Ithaca is the City of Evil.
Posted on 03/10/2003 5:23:10 AM PST by Behind Liberal Lines
The first thing that comes to mind when you meet Joe Wetmore, the owner and founder of Autumn Leaves Bookstore, is "Ithaca." With shoulder-length grey hair, dashing bluish-hazel eyes, a smile for everybody, black jeans and a t-shirt from WEOS, a Geneva radio station, he gives off the aura of everything this small city tries to achieve.
It's a Saturday afternoon, and Wetmore is working in his bookstore, opening bills, joking with his employees, giving political advice to potential City Council candidates and answering questions from an overwhelmed Sun reporter.
"I moved here 10 years ago," he says. "Ithaca seemed like a nice place to live, and it looked like it could use a new bookstore."
10 years later, Wetmore says the city, "could be better" but after working in a health food store, as a social worker, in newspapers and in construction, the bookstore "is the best job I've ever had."
Autumn Leaves is the only bookstore Wetmore has ever worked in or owned and in the past ten years, it has grown tremendously.
"You know where See Spot Gallery is? That used to be my store," he says. He gestures to the two stories that Autumn Leaves now occupies, complete with a café and performance space and says, "We're growing like crazy."
Over the next few years, however, Autumn Leaves will have to fight the same battle that independent bookstores across the country have run into as Barnes & Noble and Borders come in, but Wetmore explained that it is too early to see what the results will be.
"I think this is just another drain on traffic downtown, but you never have one thing happen to you at a time. The economy is plummeting, it's been a rough winter ... All these things are a factor," he said.
Wetmore's biggest concern, in fact, comes from the Cornell Campus Store rather than any of the new superstores.
"The Campus Store doesn't have to pay property taxes. My store pays $15,000 a year in taxes. That's $15,000 a year that the Campus Store doesn't have to pay, and Cornell is doing that all over ... Cornell and Ithaca both need each other. On the other hand, Cornell doesn't really treat Ithaca as a partner. They make every effort to keep students on campus. You can't live off of a town and leave it like that," he said.
Wetmore is also an active participant in local politics. He's a common figure at City Council meetings, and Saturday The Ithaca Journal printed a letter from him about Wegmans' "no politics" policy.
"How can you be in a democracy and not be involved in what's going on in government?," he asked.
Last year, Wetmore put together a 50-page pamphlet entitled, "A History of Mayor Alan J. Cohen's Administration of Ithaca, NY 1996-2002: Or Why Your Taxes Are Going Up and Up."
Cohen '81 responded to the pamphlet in an interview with The Ithaca Journal by saying, "I haven't read it and I have no plans on wasting my time doing so."
Cohen recently announced that he has no plans to run again after eight years as Ithaca's mayor.
"He should have done it eight years ago," Wetmore says.
Wetmore's activism, however, extends beyond Ithaca.
"[The war on Iraq] is wrong. There's no justification for it and it won't achieve any goals. It will be destructive to a civilian population. It's not justifiable by any stretch of the imagination," he said.
Wetmore ends the interview with his classic, slightly condescending, smile and convinces me to buy his pamphlet. It's Saturday afternoon and Ithacans, students and tourists are wandering around Autumn Leaves and even buying books. One can't help but feel a bit of hope for the future of independent bookstores.
I'll say...
And what did this "archetypical Ithacan" say about September 11?
"I think the U.S. is starting to pay for the fact that it's been a rogue state for years."
Yep, he's a typical Ithacan all right...and Ithaca is the City of Evil.
Owl_Eagle
”Guns Before Butter.”
This passes for journalism in The City of Evil, supporting a radical crank's pet cause by buying a copy of his screed.
Ol' Wetmore really hoodwinked this reporter. He's enough of a capitalist to sell his manifesto instead of giving it away like a good propagandist, all the while complaining about high taxes.
And no thinking person would start/bring a business there...
I may have asked this before: Is there a private school alternative in the C of E?
Oh, but wait, this just in....Shrilliary is gonna make it all better for the Upstate NYers. So have hope Ithaca, "relief" is right around the corner.
ROFLMAO....
I do really feel sorry for my friends in Ithaca and my friends and family NYS however when it comes to taxes. Property taxes for a 150K home in NYS are about equal to those of a home over twice that value in VA.
States to avoid if you have an option and a brain: CA,NY,MA(or TA),MD
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