Morning Edition

Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and in honor of the civil rights leader, the Utica Municipal Housing Authority is teaming up with AmeriCorps volunteers for a homeless outreach program. The goal is to get homeless people into shelters and eventually, permanent housing. 

Women's Marches took place across New York and the nation this past weekend, including in Syracuse and Seneca Falls, which marked the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment, giving women the right to vote. Seneca Falls was also the site of the Convention on Women's Rights.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was one of the leading suffragists at that convention in 1848. Her great-great-grandaughter, Coline Jenkins, marched on the same grounds 172 years later pushing people to exercise those rights.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo releases his state budget plan Tuesday afternoon, and he’s expected to detail how he will close a $6 billion budget gap. With resistance in the State Legislature to new taxes and spending cuts, the governor may have to get creative to thread that needle. 

The budget gap is largely due to overspending on Medicaid beyond Cuomo’s self-imposed 2% per year spending cap. Factors include increases in the minimum wage, resulting in higher labor costs, and a spike in New Yorkers using Medicaid to pay for their health costs, as part of the Affordable Care Act.  

The New York Counts 2020 Coalition, which is made up of a large number of community based organizations across the state, is preparing central New Yorkers with the plans they need to ensure an accurate count of the population is made for the 2020 census. Several challenges face organizers this year, including a citizenship question, which was blocked by federal judges last year. 

It was a year ago in his State of the City address, that Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh introduced the idea of the Syracuse Surge, a massive development plan meant to lift parts of the city out of poverty. During this year’s address, Walsh said Syracuse is surging, but noted there are still things to be done.

The fight over bail reform intensified again yesterday in Albany. Supporters of the controversial new policy rallied against efforts by Republicans and some Democrats to roll back or suspend many of its provisions.

Bail reform seen as civil rights issue in many neighborhoods

Gathered in the State Capitol, dozens of activists from criminal justice reform groups drew a line in the sand, chanting "Leave our bail reform intact, we will not accept rollbacks."

There has been progress and improvements in the health of babies in the City of Syracuse, according to recent statistics. But there is one area that Onondaga County health officials want to work on going forward. 

Nyasha Boldon, project director of the Syracuse Healthy Start program, said there is one group of worrying statistics when looking at numbers from 2018; a lag in the time it takes women to begin prenatal care.

A political newcomer and former Syracuse University football player announced his candidacy to challenge state Sen. Rachel May (D-Syracuse). Republican Sam Rodgers, 28, said May consistently aligns and votes with a downstate coalition.