The Ithaca Journal from Ithaca, New York • 15

The Ithaca journal Saturday, January 4, 2003 For The Record 3B Longtime local man recounts memories of downtown Ithaca Cigarette companies sue to keep cost-cutting promotions in N.Y. Pieces of the Past CAROL KAMMEN -NO rettes. In briefs filed with the state Court of Appeals, it contends that rebates for retailers have been accepted practice for nearly 20 years. In fact, Lorillard lawyers noted that the Tax Department approved the practice in 1985 during a review of cigarette marketing standards. Buy downs are typically employed in stores that move high volumes of cigarettes.

The state modified its rules governing cigarette promotions in 1999, after a tobacco tax hike sparked a flurry of manufacturers' pricing promotions. The Tax Department issued a memorandum declaring that buy-down promotions weren't permissible because retailers could wind up selling packs for less than the state minimum. It also said that buy-down promotions were selectively offered to certain dealers. The Tax Department hasn't accused Lorillard of violating its ruling. Nor has it fined the company.

Still, the company filed suit to continue the practice. Lower courts have ruled for the state. A county court and a mid-level appellate court agreed that "it is clear that participating dealers are directly or indirectly giving price concessions to cigarette purchasers." Lorillard said the rule change was irrational. "Retailers in most other states, many of which have cigarette-minimum pricing statutes virtually identical to (New York), remain free to offer such legitimate pricing promotions," Lorillard attorneys wrote. Therefore, they added, New York's new rules will hurt competition and could lead to an increase in bootlegged cigarettes.

By YANCEY ROY Gannett News Service ALBANY A tobacco company is challenging a new state policy that bans it from offering promotions that cut the price of cigarettes. Lorillard Tobacco, the fourth-largest tobacco company in the nation, wants the right to offer rebates to retailers, through a promotion known in the industry as a "buy down." Retailers then are able to reduce the price customers pay for cigarettes. The state Tax Department contends a "buy down" is nothing but a way to undercut the state-mandated minimum price per pack, roughly $3.24. The state's highest court will hear arguments on the case next week. Lorillard, based in Greensboro, N.C., makes Kent, Newport, True and several other brands of ciga- other floors of Rothschilds, but it seems like yesterday, sitting on cold winter days in the vestibule, waiting with my mother for a city bus, or walking by the big windows that faced the street, watching the employees change the mannequin's clothes to greet the changing seasons or fashions.

"Some of the other businesses I remember are JC Penney, Charjans, which sold greeting cards and paper goods, Cosentini's and Thorn McAn, where mom bought me Buster Brown's, Fanny Farmer Candy shop my favorite and the college spa, and the Normandie, there since 1909. We bought fancy dress clothing at Irv Lewis Men's and Boy's Wear, or top-of-the-line stuff at Browning, King. Mom bought her clothes at Holley's Ladies Clothing Store. And who can forget The Home Dairy?" Next time: South Hill, thanks to Don Fenton. recall, with a big square counter in the middle of the room where perfume and the like was sold.

"Off to the side was the elevator operated by a kindly old fellow who was never out of uniform and would ask what floor you wanted. My choice, of course, was the basement where the toys were, and as at every floor a melodic "ding" would sound in the key of I think. "Many a paycheck, earned by delivering The Ithaca Journal, was spent down there and mostly on Matchbox Cars, glue-together models of various movie monsters and war planes, all to be burned up months later in mock productions and simulated battles in my back yard. "I don't recollect what was on the Researchers recognized by Science Carol Kammen, whose column is published every other Saturday, is the Tompkins County historian and the author of several books on local history. that has zero to do with changes in the DNA Having DNA sequenced, that's not good enough.

That doesn't explain enough." There are two interesting memoirs of life in Ithaca and Tompkins County, one by S.J. Parker about his boyhood in the 19th century, and another by Lew Fendrick, about his in the first part of the 20th. Fendrick's book is called "A Boy's Will, A Man's Way;" Parker's is in manuscript. Don Fenton, who was bom in the old (meaning the Quarry Street) Ithaca Hospital in 1952, said he recently began to think about his life and all that he had experienced here. He sent me 20-some pages of memoirs of growing up in Ithaca.

With permission, a small portion appears here, to be continued in two weeks. Fenton writes: "Some of the best memories I have of my childhood are of downtown Ithaca and the wonderful stores that graced State Street and the adjoining side streets in a day when most of the old buildings still stood proud and you could park right in front of where you shopped. Right next to Rothschild's store, on the same side of the street, on top of a two-story building was a movie-type screen that would flash ads day and night. "There were many of what were called "five and dime" stores back then, like J.J. Newberry's, S.S.

Kresges and F.W. Woolworths, and most had a soda fountain lunch counter and a cheap, filling meal could be had at any of them, not to mention all the gossip of the day. My parents bought all their furniture at Montgomery Ward and or "Monkey Wards," as some called it, in the building that was Treman and King Hardware before that. "One of the places I used to get my hair cut was in the basement of the old Ithaca Hotel, and what a grand building that was. I don't remember the inside very well, as I had only been in the main part a few times, but what I saw was a step back in time, with remnants of an age of beautiful wood interiors, high ceilings, ornate wallpaper and creaking floors that seemed to talk to you as you walked across them.

"The other building I have vivid memories of was the Rothschild Department Store at the corner of State and Tioga streets. The original edifice had been reworked during the early 20th century and some remodeling had been done to the inside, but what character. The main floor was women's attire, as I DeWitt Historical Society Student LAST LOOK Historians Training, Research Journalism initiative deactivate, or even destroy, foreign genetic material in a cell, such as a virus. To do that, small RNA either uses particular enzymes to chop up the alien genetic material, or it uses particular proteins as a type of cellular homing beacon to attract other proteins that take care of the foreign material, Gorovsky said. Small RNA probably started out as a defense mechanism against viruses, Gorovsky said.

But it now does a variety of tasks in the cell, he said. And small RNA is found in the cells of most complex organisms, including humans. The UR research paper into small RNA was printed in the Sept. 20 issue of the science journal Cell. "As students we were all taught that what is really our blueprint is our DNA" said Allis, himself a former UR professor who studied under Gorovsky as a postdoctoral student.

"What's emerging is this whole other layer of gene regulation By MATTHEW DANEMAN Gannett News Service ROCHESTER DNA, the blueprint to life that determines everything from eye color to species, usually gets all the glory in genetic research. But several discoveries about a particular class of RNA and how it can affect DNA including work at University of Rochester became the top scientific breakthrough of 2002, according to the journal Science. "This is kind of, for science nerds, making Time man or woman of the year," said David Allis, a professor of biochemistry and molecular genetics at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center. The UR research, led by biology professor Martin Gorovsky and postdoctoral fellow Kazufumi Michizuki, looked into the process by which small RNA in the single-celled organism tetrahymena can This attractive red leather suede purse was made right here in Ithaca at R. Appel's Ithaca Leather Products Corporation.

This factory, more commonly known as "the pocketbook factory," was opened in 1934 and managed by Oscar, or "Ozzie," Swenson. Ozzie ran the company on Pearsall Place for all twenty-five years that it was open, but the real story is what went on pe(j gu Rachid Koraichi: Path of Roses Closes Tomorrow! January 5 The David M. Solinger Collection: Masterworks of 20th Century Art Closes January 12 ueiimu uie suenes ui uie iduiuiy. Oscar Swenson, manager of the fac Hill IMHIIMIWUIIUI I I- Ithar.a Hicfti Srhnnl CuyitgCb a ember raroryn Cc rson's Landscaped oemer 4M5jewry class Stone and Timber Ja -J I Retaining Walls Paver and flagstone walks tory, became interested in the welfare of the Ithaca community as soon as he moved here in the thirties. He was Alderman in the City Council and was well known throughout the community.

During his time in City Council and as manager of Ithaca Leather Products Co, the United States was battling the Depression. Oscar, concerned about the well being of the people in his community, tried his best to help out. The City Judge at the time, Simpson, worked with Swenson to keep Ithacans employed and out of trouble. Some Ithacans were taken to court for crimes that Simpson felt would not have been committed if the accused had not been financially destitute. Swenson took these citizens under his wing and offered them a job and stable salary.

He saved the lives of at least ten victims of the depression who had been arrested for the sole crime of what judge Simpson felt to be protecting themselves. Ozzie worked through good times and bad with the people in Ithaca and did his best to provide for the workers of the Ithaca Leather Products Co until it closed in 1960. Ozzie gave this red purse to his wife Adelaide. He died in March ofl980. Mrs.

Swenson donated this purse to the DeWitt Historical Society in 1992. It symbolizes the effort that it takes for a community to run, and the people like Oscar Swenson who make it work. Who knows, maybe this purse was made by someone that Oscar took in from the harsh effects that the Depression had on Ithaca. fernand leger, girl with yellow bodice, and patios Lakerront walls and shoreline stabilization Deer protection and winter pruning Design and consultation V-i Winter L-y or Spring Call for an jjjujf Johnson Museum of Art Tues-Sunday, 10-5 Always free. 255-6464 Office Hours Monday Friday 8-5 Our Garden Center Reopens Feb.

25th 2712 N. Triphammer Rd. (2 mi. of Pyramid Mall) 607-257-3000 HOW TO CALL THE JOURNAL NEWS: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., 272-2321; before 8 and after 5, 274-9231 SPORTS: 8 a.m.

to 5 p.m., 272-2321; before 8 and after 5, 274-9214 CIRCULATION: 24 hours a day, 274-9290 ADVERTISING: Before 5 p.m., 272-2321; after 5, 274-9237 CLASSIFIED ADS: 24 hours a day, 272-9300 DEATH NOTICES: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., 272-9300 This week's Student Historian: Ashley Ferro- The DeWitt Historical Society is inviting students from Ithaca I High School to pick out different I interesting objects from their I archives and report on them as 1 part of the Student Historians I Initiative. A different Student I Historian will be featured in The Ithaca Journal on Saturdays. I Ashley is ajlLer at Contest open to local 3rd -6th grade students Correctly answer 3 questions and submit the entry form to Cornell Athletics. One winner chosen from a random drawing of correct entries receives: no is a mDet ot i darr ''ilacefent 1 1 IbfSTillitllfi iMmmm Pizza party for your class Visit to your class by Cornell Hockey players Souvenir Cornell Hockey t-shirt for you and each classmate Two tickets to a Cornell Men's Hockey game 1 Question 1 What's the name of the ice rink where the Cornell Men's Hockey team plays its home games? Question 2: Who does the Cornell Men's Hockey team play against on Feb.

1 Question 3: What is the Cornell Men's Hockey team's mascot? Need Help? Go to www.cornellblgred.com Name: Address: If your weight is endangering your health and you are clinically overweight 1 00 pounds or more above your ideal body weight), bariatric surgery provides the morbidly obese a surgical option. Free Patient Education Seminar Wednesdayjanuary 8 at 7 p.m. Best Western, Ithaca, NY 1020 Ellis Hollow Road Presented by: Dr. Robert Cole and Dr. Douglas McKane To REGISTER CALL 607-737-4499 Topics Inc lude: 4 IsThis Procedure Right forYou? What are the Benefits of Bariatric Surgery? How Does the ProcedureWork? I I I I Phone School: Sponsored by: HealthAoui Grade: Teacher's Name: Mall entries to: Cornell Sports Marketing Teagle Hall, Campus Ithaca, NY 14853 HealthNow New York Inc.

Entry Deadline is Wednesday, January 1 5, 2003. Winners will be contacted by phone. 0 i- If.