Dear reader,
My name is Patrick McCarthy, and I am starting my first full week as the new government and politics reporter for Central Current. I was born and raised in Syracuse, and developed a passion for writing at a young age. Inspiring teachers at Nottingham High School encouraged and guided my storytelling, and I honed my craft at Syracuse University’s Maxwell and Newhouse Schools. I am eager to leverage my homegrown writing chops to benefit the city that has given me so much.
Community journalism is disappearing around the nation. The creation of Central Current was an incredible development for an area that has seen its local journalism capacity slip away.
Too often, the reporting on our city fails to understand the systemic issues causing what we see on the surface and dehumanizes our neighbors. I believe Central Current can be different.
Growing up here, I’ve seen the good our community has to offer. We can and will prosper. With the slated removal of the I-81 viaduct, we are entering a new era for the city of Syracuse. It’s important that the prosperity from Micron’s arrival and proposed downtown development is shared among all of our neighbors.
In this role with Central Current, I aim to provide access and transparency to our elected officials – helping raise accountability and connecting you to the decisions that shape our community.
This non-profit newsroom is an opportunity for all of us, and I am so grateful to play my part in getting our community the information it needs.
Before joining the Central Current team, I worked as a writer at Friends of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo. For the past two and half years, I wrote concert reviews for syracuse.com | The Post Standard, and also served as a contributing writer for TriplePundit, a publication focused on sustainability and corporate responsibility. I’m grateful for the chance to bring my experience to a role in which I can find new ways to make a difference for Central New York.
Syracuse is New York’s Central City. We live in a hub of rich history that flourished as the midway stop on the Erie Canal, and served as a crucial station on the Underground Railroad. Renowned authors, abolitionists, artists and athletes once called Syracuse home. We have so much to be proud of, and our story is just beginning.
With Central Current, I’m here to cover our next chapter.
Read my first story as a full-time reporter with Central Current about the city’s new license plate readers — they will have an impact on you, me and every other driver in the city.
Thank you for your support,
Patrick McCarthy
Reporter
Central Current
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Another Syracuse-area Starbucks will vote on whether to unionize
The workers at the Starbucks on Erie Boulevard East in DeWitt will vote May 6 on whether to unionize.
Friends of the Zoo comes to agreement with McMahon after alleging the county was ‘threatening the very existence’ of the nonprofit
Friends Vice Chair Megan Thomas on Tuesday accused county officials of carrying out a “campaign of retaliation” after the nonprofit declined to contribute $1 million toward the aquarium.
