When you visit our website today, you will notice some striking changes: the layout will be cleaner, the photography more pronounced, the colors more welcoming, and the logo transformed. Over the coming weeks and months, you will see our content expand as new contributors join our team and new features appear on the site.
Today’s launch marks the culmination of nearly a year of planning, but it is also just the first of many steps forward leading into the summer months. This new platform will give us the space and structure to publish the work of our growing newsroom in a way that is focused, elegant, and distraction-free. Delivering news that is free of ads and paywalls has always been integral to our identity. We are taking that a step further by featuring full-size images and single-column articles that make reading the news an immersive and satisfying experience.
Moving forward, you will see the following new additions gradually appear as you return to Central Current now through July:
- Regular columns from a soon-to-be-announced contributor: a columnist with deep ties to Syracuse and Upstate New York.
- Photojournalism exhibits and photo stories that hold a mirror up to our community.
- Coverage from our new Report For America staff reporter on I-81 and public housing.

A note on the logo
Marwa Bailey’s striking line drawing captures the red-tailed hawk, a species native to Syracuse. Often seen soaring over the city and surrounding areas, the bird adds beauty to the skies while keeping a watchful eye as a pillar of the local ecosystem.
Shown carrying a bulletin, Central Current is proud to borrow its image as we deliver independent, in-depth, reporting to people building a life in Central New York.
Read more of Central Current’s coverage
Brandon Hanks, SHA host last 10K tournament at Wilson Park for the foreseeable future
The Syracuse police officer said he’s looking for a place to host next year’s tournament, which has traditionally been held at Wilson Park.
McMahon proposes ‘path forward’ as Onondaga County legislators contemplate litigation
The county executive proposed what he termed a “bipartisan compromise.” Some legislators said they hadn’t seen the proposal before it was released.
As Onondaga County braces for potential legal civil war, it’s already planning on being $500K in the hole on outside lawyers, comptroller says
Both of the county’s elections commissioners have been assigned lawyers. Neither has committed to suing the other.
Syracuse never posted its license plate reader policy. Chief Mark Rusin plans to change that before activating Axon readers
Rusin said the department is working with Axon to meet requirements laid out four years ago by surveillance oversight experts and authorized by the mayor.
Flock Safety removes its license plate readers, finalizing eight-month breakup with City of Syracuse
All readers have been removed, police and the company said. One lawmaker who led efforts to remove them called on other entities to also cut ties to Flock.
