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
Syracuse Housing Authority Board Chair Ryan Benz resigns
Former Executive Director Bill Simmons complained to the federal government earlier this year accusing Benz of having an “apparent conflict of interest”— a claim that SHA counsel has dismissed and the developer has denied.
At the New York State Fair, Waymo sells its future as inevitable. Is it?
The company is gaining establishment political support and for a day has its own space at the Great New York State Fair.
Sean Kirst: Until its last gasp, a second-hand lawn mower honored work of Syracuse small-engine wizard ‘Dr. Mark’
Fond memories of a throwback repair shop — and its memorable regulars — on Grand Avenue.
Announcing an expanded twice-weekly newsletter
Central Current readers will now receive two newsletters each week: “Staying Current” and “One Big Story”.
Ahead of budget season, Onondaga County Legislature’s advisory board shares proposed solutions to housing crisis
The board derived its solutions from months of community work. Legislature Chair Nicole Watts hopes the proposed solutions end up in County Executive Ryan McMahon’s proposed budget.

