News

After more than five years of planning, work is underway to start the construction of the Mohawk Valley Health System's new 672,000-square-foot facility.

An e-commerce startup in central New York is offering holiday shoppers a chance to show some pride in Syracuse, as well as give back to the community. The SYR Clothing Company is open for orders. 

This week, the Campbell Conversations presents a panel discussion on presidential impeachment among four faculty members at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship. The discussion took place November 15 in front of a live audience and was moderated by Campbell Conversations host Grant Reeher. 

A program meant to fight childhood obesity in some Syracuse City Schools is expanding, and adding a new component.  The Growing Healthy Hearts program will soon be in seven schools in the district, which has a 37% childhood obesity rate among students.

The program emphasizes the importance of eating right and being active in order to stay healthy.  Emanie Cook, a fifth-grader at McKinley-Brighton, likes it.

Law enforcement groups have pushed back against criminal justice changes that take effect in January, including the end to most forms of cash bail. But the advocates who fought for the changes say they are long overdue and will restore fairness to the system. 

Beginning in January, New York ends cash bail for all nonviolent crimes and will require that prosecutors tell people accused of crimes the details of all of the evidence they have against them within 15 days. 

Syracuse University student protesters walked out of classes Thursday, demanding the resignations of the chancellor, public safety chief and others. Protesters said they do not have confidence in those officials to carry out the changes they said are needed, after racist graffiti, vandalism and other incidents occurred on campus last month. 

Syracuse University is still on edge from a string of racist and anti-Semitic incidents on campus in the last month. As students returned this week from Thanksgiving Break, they gathered with faculty and administrators Wednesday for a community peace vigil.

New York state is facing the largest budget gap in several years. The $6 billion deficit is due largely to higher costs for Medicaid, the health care insurance program for low-income people.

The problem began late in the last fiscal year, when Gov. Andrew Cuomo's budget officials delayed one of the state's monthly Medicaid payments to providers, worth $1.7 billion, for three days in late March so it would count in the new fiscal year that began in April. 

Some Syracuse councilors are receptive to a police union contract, already agreed to by the mayor and the union. The council is expected to vote on the contract in two weeks. 

Councilor-at-Large Michael Greene said the biggest benefit is a provision that requires all new members of the police union to live in the city of Syracuse for their first five years.

“I think that it’s an important thing that we’ve heard from a lot of constituents is having a better connection between the police officers and the community,” Greene said.

There were five overdoses in Jefferson County in a 24-hour period from Sunday to Monday morning and one person died. Opioids are suspected to be the cause of the overdoses. First responders are now using a software system that allows the county’s health department to track the overdoses in real time.

Earlier this week, the state’s public campaign finance commission issued a plan to allow candidates for state offices to receive public matching grants for some campaign donations under $250.

But advocates worry that the final report left out a key legal clause -- and that could jettison the entire program if any one part of it is successfully challenged in court.

It’s called a severability clause, and it’s often included to protect a new law from court challenges.

The race for the soon to be vacated 50th state Senate seat is on.

When state Sen. Bob Antonacci won a judgeship on Election Day mid-term, it essentially opened the door for Democrat John Mannion to gear up his campaign team for another shot at the job. He lost to Antonacci in 2018 by two percentage points. Mannion, a high school science teacher, announced his candidacy last month.

According to the Housing and Homeless Coalition of Central New York’s annual report, the number of people living on the streets and in shelters in a three-county area is down 6% in the calendar year that ended in September. 

The salaries of Syracuse councilors, the mayor, council president and city auditor will likely be going up, after the council approved the pay raises on Monday. Those positions, with the exception of the mayor, also get 2% annual increases until 2023.

It has been 16 years since councilors had a salary increase. They will go from $21,000 to $30,000 a year. Councilor-at-Large Tim Rudd said they should be paid at least a living wage for a job some councilors work at full time.

The city of Syracuse has reached a tentative agreement with the police union over a four-and-a-half year contract. It still needs to be voted on by the union and Syracuse Common Council. The proposed contract includes a residency requirement, pay raises, and a potential change in officers’ shift schedule. 

The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign is an iconic holiday sight every year. This year, the agency is trying to keep the campaign relevant by adding some new technology options for giving.

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul joined local elected officials at the Spanish Action League in Syracuse Tuesday to give away 200 turkeys to needy families for Thanksgiving. Some of those families settled in Onondaga County after being displaced by Hurricane Maria, when it hit Puerto Rico in 2017. 

The city of Syracuse is pulling out all the stops for this year’s tree lighting ceremony Friday, which for the first time ever features an artificial Christmas tree.

Hancock International Airport in Syracuse is preparing for big crowds this week. Today will be the first day with at least 10,000 passengers moving through the airport.

According to airport officials, there will be a 17% increase in Thanksgiving week travelers this year compared to 2018. Airport Executive Director Jason Terreri said it’s not just crowded planes, but new flights either arriving or departing from Hancock.

The state’s public campaign finance commission voted on a package of bills Monday that would enact a public matching donor program, and put strict new limits on the abilities of minor parties to qualify to be on the ballot. The meeting was at times interrupted by protesters, who compared the commission’s actions to that of President Donald Trump, and some government reform groups say they can’t support the final product.  

Bipartisan legislation, recently introduced in Congress, would increase funding for local domestic violence and sexual assault service agencies. Workers with those agencies said it would help keep the lights on, enhance certain services and reach underserved communities.  

Discrimination is a word associated with a variety of populations, and as one author explains, mistreatment based on weight is common in our society, and she’s working to end the hate altogether.

Virgie Tovar is an author, activist and expert on weight-based discrimination and body image. She joined “Take Care” to talk about her work and how to change the conversation around weight, body image and self-worth.