Is Central New York becoming a blue bunker for Congressional Democrats?
National and local experts expect New York’s 22nd Congressional District to stay blue. Candidates say different.
CITY AND GOVERNMENT
Backed into a corner, Onondaga County Legislature Republicans offer a trade on affordable housing. No deal, Dems say
Legislature Democrats replaced half of OCIDA’s board. Republicans offered $5M toward affordable housing to stop them.
Onondaga County Legislature unanimously passes law requiring more disclosure for aquarium donations
The law would require county leadership to disclose names of donors who gift more than $10,000 to fund the aquarium to the legislature’s chair.
Central Current honored at Syracuse Press Club Awards
Central Current received nine awards including Best News Website, Best Photo Essay, and Best Print/Digital Human Interest Feature.
FEATURED STORIES
Local advocates hope to avoid environmental inequality from I-81 demolition with new air quality monitors
Wary of past harm, three monitors will be installed at Syracuse community centers to boost residents’ air quality awareness as the I-81 viaduct comes down.
Syracuse lawmakers table local law banning biometric surveillance in some public places
Three city councilors want to block businesses in Syracuse from collecting, storing, and sharing customers’ biometric information through proposed legislation that exempts financial institutions.
I-81 local hire initiative was a success, advocates say. What’s next?
Urban Jobs Task Force of Syracuse released a report reflecting on the I-81 Local Hire Initiative’s success.
More News
Sean Kirst: To celebrate rebirth of Lincoln Aud, STEAM school teens embrace the ghosts
An open invitation to an upcoming student-led performance on a stage once walked by George Gershwin and Duke Ellington.
Onondaga County Legislature Democrats set plans to overhaul economic development agency
Democrats plan to put four new people on the board of the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency.
CNY Decides 2026
Central Current and WAER are joining forces to demystify the political process, bringing you the stories and information you’ll remember in the voting booth in 2026.
A progressive upstart faces an entrenched incumbent in the Democratic primary for the New York State Assembly’s 129th District
Maurice “Mo” Brown has called Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli “an obstacle to progress,” while Magnarelli has said his experience benefits Central New Yorkers.
In the U.S. Western District of New York, your judge may matter more than your immigration case
For detained immigrants filing habeas corpus petitions, the luck of the judicial draw could mean the difference between freedom and remaining in detention.
Le Moyne president condemns Pulitzer-winning poet and Gazan refugee Mosab Abu Toha for saying ‘genocide’
An email issued by President Linda LeMura to the Le Moyne community avoids mentioning Mosab Abu Toha by name but condemned the Palestinian poet for describing his experiences in Gaza.
A Syracuse man’s family got him out of ICE detention. He still lives in fear of deportation.
When ICE detained Rafael, his family relied on TikTok, Instagram reels and themselves.
What is a habeas corpus petition?
Explaining one of the only ways detained migrants can be released from ICE detention.
110 years after Ireland’s Easter Rising, Syracusans still gather to ‘read the names’
Since 2019, the city of Syracuse has commemorated the 1916 Irish rebellion with a flag-raising ceremony and reading of the proclamation of the Irish Republic.
Southside church leaders were blindsided by utility poles placed in front of their church. Now National Grid plans to remove them.
City officials reviewed whether National Grid properly placed the utility poles after Central Current posed questions about them and a pastor at Hopps Memorial CME Church sent letters to key stakeholders.
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.
ICE seizes advocate for migrant farmworkers
The 54-year-old grandmother was arrested at routine check-in as a fearful family waited outside. She was in the country legally while contesting a deportation order.
Sean Kirst: There’s ‘no green like it’ as ‘Leaf Day’ arrives in many Syracuse neighborhoods
That astounding and beautiful moment, after a long winter, when the Norway maples seem to go to leaf at once.
Onondaga County officials are ‘threatening the very existence’ of Friends of the Zoo, nonprofit’s leadership says
Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon asked Friends of the Zoo officials to donate $1 million toward the county’s aquarium. When Friends officials gave a lukewarm response, pressure mounted, they said.
New York AG’s office levies $100K in penalties against Syracuse father-son landlord duo over lead violations
Brian and Harry Murphy, a father and son landlord duo, has been under investigation by the AG’s office since late 2023 for renting out properties with rampant property code violations.
Sean Kirst: On Jackie Robinson Day at NBT stadium, perfect choice for the first pitch
For Al Gunn, a Syracuse youth baseball coach who endured the same conditions Robinson took on and shattered, a moment that meant everything.
Syracuse Housing Authority held apartments vacant and lost $1 million. Now SHA wants a HUD waiver.
The Syracuse Housing Authority held apartments vacant to relocate residents who were affected by the redevelopment of public housing.
Syracuse Housing Authority inches toward progress on public housing redevelopment– one phase at a time
Syracuse Housing Authority’s redevelopment of public housing on the Southside will see over 1,400 new units which will house current residents and attract market-rate renters.
‘A rising tide lifts all boats’: Syracuse University professors and researchers aim to make the university a union campus
If the educators and researchers at Syracuse University vote to form the union, they could add another 350 unionized workers to 3,000 already unionized.
Syracuse lawmakers move to ban biometric surveillance in public places
The proposal by the two members of the Syracuse Common Council follows the discovery that Wegmans introduced biometric surveillance technology in New York City stores.
The DOT is building a roundabout near downtown Syracuse. Here’s how construction could affect travel.
The roundabout will be constructed on Van Buren Street, near the Carrier Dome, and is part of construction that will eventually lead to the teardown of the I-81 viaduct.
Sean Kirst: For survivors of clergy abuse, upcoming service meant as solace for pain that never ends
Survivors say a diocesan settlement in bankruptcy court only amplifies the need for outreach and healing.
The aquarium gets a new name and new donors — as Onondaga County Legislature Democrats try to curtail McMahon’s power
For the last year, Chief Fiscal Officer Kristi Smiley has been able to accept donations on behalf of Friends of the Aquarium without approval by the legislature. Democrats proposed legislation to change that.
Syracuse University lawyers ask appellate judge to restore tax exemption to student center
The city did not send an attorney to argue against Syracuse University’s ask for a panel of judges to reinstate the university’s full tax exemption and strike down a local court ruling that upheld the partially revoked exemption.
‘What I needed was here’: How Ruthnie Angrand became Onondaga County’s poet laureate
Angrand brings together a complex range of influences – from her Haitian-American identity to her background as a classically trained singer – in her spoken word poetry.
Sean Kirst: After 20 years, that ‘Building Men’ is still rolling becomes the whole life-changing point
To help young men in the Syracuse city schools embrace notions of true masculinity, Joe Horan started with himself.
Courts, advocates to start new program seeking to blunt Syracuse’s sharp eviction rate
In Syracuse, renters lose about 65% of their eviction cases, according to state court data.
Mayor Owens has ‘no immediate considerations’ to replace vacant community position on surveillance technology group
One of the city’s five community stakeholders has vacated his seat on the Surveillance Technology Working Group, but a city spokesperson said that Mayor Sharon Owens isn’t actively seeking a replacement.
Stewards of Onondaga County’s now sold film hub funneled $5.7 million to the aquarium to be a ‘marquee sponsor’
Some Onondaga County Democrats believe the money breaks a commitment to stop using public funds on the aquarium. The county executive’s spokesperson said the funds were generated through a private sale.
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