Dear reader,
What an exciting time to start covering Onondaga County! I jumped into my new job on the last day of September, so my first two weeks have been absorbed with the budget and elections and trying to learn as much as I can as quickly as possible. (If you have advice or a unique perspective on the county, I’d love to hear from you!)
Although I’ve been away for a few years, I’m a daughter of upstate New York. I grew up in Owego, a small, historic town on the banks of the Susquehanna. Local politics, with all their idiosyncrasies, have always been a part of my life. (I have vivid memories of being an anxious ten-year-old getting up to speak at a county hearing on fracking.)
Growing up in a small, close-knit community taught me the patience to listen for nuance in complex stories.
When I report ongoing stories, I sometimes think about what it was like to be a little girl in the 2011 flood that swallowed the streets of my town. First came hard news and stark details: the downtown shelter had to be moved to higher ground because it flooded; people used kayaks and canoes to rescue their neighbors; and waterlogged books piled up next to the second-hand bookstore in town.
Later, there was the aftermath: FEMA descended on our town and people grappled with relief on the one hand, and exhaustion with bureaucracy on the other. I work to capture those details in the stories I cover.
I’ve spent the last five years in Alaska, Tajikistan, and suburban New Jersey, but a part of my heart has always stayed in upstate New York. I am so excited to get to know a new part of this state that I love. I have broad interests—agriculture, migration, incarceration, labor, and more—and I hope to use my role covering the county to examine the effects of seemingly small, bureaucratic decisions and processes on real lives.
I’m always thrilled to meet new people and would love to hear from you! With almost half a million people in Onondaga County, I need your help to build a kaleidoscopic view of what goes on in all its corners.
You can reach me at lrobertson@centralcurrent.org or text me at (315) 992 – 1595 to set up a time to get coffee and chat about what you see from where you’re sitting. And if you run into me around town, come say hi! Chances are I’ll be wearing big green glasses and a colorful coat.
I’m so grateful to the Central Current team for welcoming me into this amazing newsroom, and I look forward to meeting more of you around Syracuse.
Warmly,
Laura Robertson
Reporter
Central Current
Read more of Central Current’s coverage
Dem legislators approve term limits, ability appoint legislators but need approval from the county executive and voters
Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon panned process of the legislature’s move to limit how many terms he can serve.
Inside the Onondaga County Legislature’s new majority Pt. 1
Onondaga County Reporter Laura Robertson discusses how county Republicans and Democrats are adjusting to their new roles, and shares which stories she thinks will be most important to follow ahead of the November elections.
Sean Kirst: For John Kucko, envoy of woodlands and waterfalls, hard new journey for guy whose work unveils the nature of a region
Shortly after witnessing a moment at Letchworth that Kucko describes as intensely beautiful, a seizure and the great challenge of his life.
Onondaga County lawmaker proposes buffer zone for protests outside houses of worship; civil liberties expert calls it ‘flatly unconstitutional’
Republican legislator Tim Burtis’ effort to create safe spaces outside places of worship met skepticism from Democratic legislators — and the promise of a lawsuit from a First Amendment expert.
Democrats flipped control of the Onondaga County Legislature in 2025. Will they keep it?
Voter registration trends and even-year elections may benefit Democrats. But they have just 10 months to convince voters they deserve four more years.
