News

Your memory is getting worse. If you don't write it down you can forget to do everyday tasks like picking up groceries or the kids after school. You chalk it up to stress or getting older, but your sleeping habits could be affecting your memory as well. 

Dr. Phyllis Zee is a professor in neurology and chief of the division of sleep medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. She joins us today to discuss the impact sleep has on your memory.

The effect of video games on the brain has been a long debated topic. One recent study shows that first and third person shooter games like “Call of Duty” have a different effect on your brain than games like “Super Mario Brothers.”

Dr. Gregory West, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Montreal joins us to discuss the study and the effects gaming may have on your brain.

Earlier this month, Juanita Perez Williams defeated two other candidates to become the Democratic nominee in the race for mayor of Syracuse, picking up more than 50 percent of the vote. She now moves on to the general election in November, where she faces three other candidates. This week on the Campbell Conversations, Grant Reeher talks with Perez Williams about her campaign and some of the issues facing city residents.

A lot of people play video games, and there's research that shows that playing video games can affect your brain. One study says some types of games can have a beneficial effect on the brain, while others can be detrimental. This week on WRVO's health and wellness show Take Care, hosts Lorraine Rapp and Linda Lowen talk with Dr. Gregory West, a professor of psychology at the University of Montreal, and the lead author of the study that looks at how different types of video games affect the brain.

Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner is considering a possible challenge to Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a Democratic primary for the 2018 governor’s race.

Miner said if she does run for governor, it won’t be a conventional campaign.

Miner, who sat down for an interview with public radio and TV, has just over three months remaining in her job as mayor and she said she’s focused on finishing up there. She’s prevented by term limits from running for mayor again.

Supporters of Democratic Syracuse mayoral candidate Juanita Perez Williams rallied across the street from an event for independent candidate Ben Walsh Thursday. The event in the Westcott neighborhood, was meant to highlight Democrats that are supporting Walsh.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is again wading into national issues this week. He’s had a press conference against the latest attempt in the U.S. Senate to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. And he met with the governors of California and Washington to discuss steps to slow climate change.

In both cases, the governor said he’s addressing the matters because the actions — or, in the case of climate change, inactions — in Washington have a harmful impact on New York.

Updated at 8:00 p.m. Thursday

Onondaga County health officials continue to say that the city of Syracuse's drinking water, along with the drinking water of other municipalities that draw water from Skaneateles Lake, is safe to drink. 

Samples tested Thursday at the state’s Wadsworth Lab in Albany found 0.25 parts per billion inside the City of Syracuse Gatehouse located in the Village of Skaneateles, but prior to the completion of the chlorination.

This level is consistent with prior reported sampling at the Gatehouse and below the health advisory levels for both adults and sensitive populations. All other locations in the water system – including the City of Syracuse, the Town of DeWitt, the Town of Skaneateles, the Village of Elbridge, and the Village of Jordan – showed non-detectable levels of algal toxins in finished water. These levels remain below the EPA’s 10-day health advisory level of 0.3 parts per billion for sensitive populations and well below the EPA advisory level for adults of 1.6 parts per billion.

Residents in the Village of Skaneateles and the other municipalities which use this drinking water source can continue to drink the water.

Original Post

Elevated levels of toxic blue-green algae have been discovered in the water of Skaneateles Lake. The lake is the primary water supply of the city of Syracuse’s water system. While tests show the public water is still safe to drink, residents who live along the lake’s shoreline and drink water directly from the lake could be at risk.

The Senate's latest attempt to replace the Affordable Care Act is getting bipartisan heat from some of New York's representatives. They are worried that the so-called Graham-Cassidy bill could disproportionately hurt the Empire State.

In Oneida County Tuesday, a group gathered outside of Mohawk Valley Rep. Claudia Tenney's (R-New Hartford) town hall, holding up signs that said "HEALTH CARE, NOT TAX CUTS." They oppose the Graham-Cassidy bill that would cap health care funding for states and phase out the money that states like New York got for expanding their Medicaid program.

Republicans in the state of New York met for a planning session in Albany on Tuesday in advance of the 2018 campaigns, which will begin shortly.

The party’s leader, Ed Cox, believes Republicans have a good chance at winning statewide offices against Gov. Andrew Cuomo and others next year.

Republicans in New York face a daunting challenge in the race for governor next year. There are fewer GOP voters than ever, as the number of Republicans shrinks and Democratic ranks grow.

Mohawk Valley Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-New Hartford) was on the defensive for the majority of her first in-person town hall Tuesday night. More than 300 people attended the event that was hosted in the Oneida County town of Camden.

Another Democrat has announced she will seek the party’s nomination to run against Rep. John Katko's (R-Camillus) 24th Congressional District seat next year. Dana Balter, a Syracuse University professor, said she was compelled to run after the results of the 2016 election. Balter said she feels like the country, its people and its values are all being threatened in the wake of last year’s election.

In light of the recent massive data breach at the credit reporting company Equifax, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration is taking steps to make sure that in the future, the credit agencies have better cybersecurity in place.

Syracuse Councilor Joe Nicoletti is endorsing Juanita Perez Williams for mayor of Syracuse, after she defeated him in the Democratic primary last week. 

Healthcare is readily accessible in urban areas and people living there have a lot of choices when it comes to the type of care they receive. That isn't the case for people living in rural communities. Dr. Alana Knudson is the program area director in the Public Health Department at NORC, an independent research institution at the University of Chicago, as well as the co-director of NORC’s Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis.

Knudson discusses the concerns rural communities might face when it comes to accessing healthcare in their area.

A chest X-ray ordered by your doctor for the cough you have been dealing with may not reveal anything about your cough, but an entirely different problem. This is called an incidental finding. While these findings can occasionally lead to something good, they can also cause unnecessary worries and costs. Joining us this week to discuss incidental findings is Dr. Robert Shmerling.

Shmerling is the clinical chief of rheumatology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, as well as faculty editor of Harvard Health Publications and an associate professor in medicine at Harvard Medical School.

On the ballot in New York this Election Day, is a referendum on whether or not to hold a state constitutional convention. If approved, the entire state government structure could be up for reform, or even up for grabs. 

If you live in or near a city, you're never far from a healthcare provider if you need one. But if you live in a rural area, it can be a lot harder to find the medical help you need close by. And for some people, driving several hours each way to see a doctor may not be worth it. This week on WRVO's health and wellness show Take Care, hosts Lorraine Rapp and Linda Lowen talk with Dr.

New York State is getting $25 million in federal funds to help fight the opioid addiction epidemic.

Lieutenant Gov. Kathy Hochul says among other things, the funding will target a particular population: addicts in more rural areas where treatment is an hour or two away.

The city of Rome will receive $10 million from the state for new downtown economic development projects. The city was one of the winners of the second round of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative. 

Cuomo announced Rome’s prize like an award ceremony.

“I’m going to open the envelope and find out, because they don’t tell me what the actual answer is," Cuomo said. "Congratulations Rome, you have won first place, which is $10 million.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said New Yorkers who use the state Thruway will have a bit of a wait before more cashless tolling is installed on the nearly 500-mile tolled portion of the road.

The Cuomo administration’s Thruway Authority has adopted cashless tolls at the new Tappan Zee Bridge and will take down the toll booths on the Grand Island Bridge in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls area early next year.

There already is an option for cashless tolling at the Woodbury exit of the Thruway in the lower Hudson Valley, although toll booths still exist as an alternative.

The Onondaga County shared services committee approved a county-wide shared services plan Wednesday, and local governments could be in line for $5 million in savings, plus a $5 million match from the state. 

The just over two month timeline to get something done that was required by the New York forced towns, villages, school districts and city of Syracuse to spend a lot of time communicating this summer.