McMahon has hundreds of times renewed two executive orders barring outside municipalities from funding housing for migrants in Onondaga County. That’s “unconstitutional,” says an NYCLU lawyer.
Laura Robertson
Laura Robertson is a staff reporter covering Onondaga County. Prior to joining Central Current, she lived on the edge of the Bering Strait in Nome, Alaska, where she worked as a reporter for a year. She graduated from Princeton in 2024, and speaks English, Farsi, and some Thai. She grew up just west of Binghamton in Tioga County and is excited to return to upstate New York.
Laura won the 2025 Nellie Bly Cub Reporter Award from the New York Press Club for her story on an infirmary profit model that led to dozens of deaths in New York State jails. A 2024 recipient of an Overseas Press Club scholar award, she’s interviewed Alaskan gold miners, Russian draft dodgers, and former Syrian freedom fighters, and reported from Tajikistan. She’s particularly interested in money flows, the intersections of business and politics, and how those things affect people on the ground.
You can reach her at lrobertson@centralcurrent.org with tips about things going on around the county, or with recommendations of ways to get to know Syracuse better!
Posted inHousing
With power in the Onondaga County Legislature, Watts begins planning path forward on county’s housing crisis
Tuesday’s housing summit hosted a bipartisan group of elected officials from across the county. Legislature Chair Nicole Watts hopes it will be a launchpad for a months-long planning process.
Posted inJails & Prisons
New York AG’s office bars former Onondaga County jail medical provider from NY jails
Over twenty months, there were four deaths in their care at the Onondaga. County jail. The AG said they violated New York “corporate practice of medicine” laws.
Posted inNews
As the cost of Onondaga County’s new aquarium climbs over $100M, legislature fights over donor transparency
Some legislators raised concerns over “famously anonymous” donor rolls.
Posted inOnondaga County
Onondaga County begins using AI to translate, transcribe and summarize 911 calls
County officials say the technology might limit burnout among call takers, but AI researchers are skeptical.
Posted inImmigration
One Syracuse lawyer’s relentless battle against ICE
Immigration enforcement agents are changing the rules of engagement. Syracuse lawyer Jose Perez has adapted to meet them.
Posted inNews
Onondaga County legislators approve industrial wastewater district for Micron
All but two Onondaga County Democrats voted to approve the wastewater district, though they expressed skepticism about the vote over what they deemed a lack of information provided by the county.
Posted inElections
Mo Brown launches primary campaign against Bill Magnarelli, a fixture of Syracuse politics
The race pits Brown, an upstart progressive Onondaga County legislator, against Magnarelli, a longtime fixture of Democratic politics.
Posted inOnondaga County
As Democrats take power in the Onondaga County Legislature, they’re reckoning with what they can — and can’t — do
Legislature Dems are trying to set their priorities for their year in power. “We’re not moving at a pace that I’d love to see,” said one legislator.
Posted inNews
A majority of Onondaga County legislators want to help transfer Maple Bay. Here’s what’s standing in their way
Some Onondaga County lawmakers want to fulfill their decade-old promise to return the land to the Onondaga Nation.