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The Watertown area’s economy is heavily dependent on Fort Drum. With the federal budget sequester on and the Afghanistan war winding down, the numbers of soldiers assigned to the post and civilians working there is likely to decrease. But the outlook is more complicated than just doom and gloom.

Syracuse police have cracked an almost 30-year-old murder case using a combination of high tech DNA and intensive police work. The arrest of a Georgia man who had long been a suspect in the investigation of the death of his estranged wife, is the latest success in the Syracuse Police Department’s cold case unit.

Authorities say Ronald Meadow will be arraigned on second-degree murder charges in Syracuse later this month, in connection with the death of his estranged wife, Colleen Meadow, who was found strangled to death in her northside apartment in March 1985.  

John Weeks discusses deep winter weathers that arrive around times of the year like this one. Animals have to face severe conditions to survive in these cold harsh winters. The sub-freezing temperatures characterize the weather conditions upstate New York. Seasonal shedding is an annoyance to pet owners but it is an adaption to this weather. Wild animals find way to adapt to the weather too. Just like we have clothing that helps us adapt to weather, animals too have natural adaptions to weather that help them prepare for the seasons to come.

There were several big winners amongst the state’s Regional Empire Development Council, as five walked away with more than $80 million each, during the third annual set of awards announced Wednesday.     

Divisions are forming in the upcoming debate over tax cuts that’s likely to dominate the new legislative session.  

Business groups are largely supportive of the findings of a tax commission appointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The commission recommends cuts to the corporate tax, faster phase out of an energy tax and easing of the estate tax. They also propose a reduction in property taxes by encouraging local governments and schools to cut spending and consolidate.

Central New York missed securing a hat-trick in the latest of the state's economic development awards competition, known as the Regional Economic Development Councils.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo handed out $715.9 million is grants and incentives to more than 800 projects across the state in the third year of his regional councils Wednesday.

SUNY Oswego is embracing Gov. Andrew Cuomo's START-UP New York program, selecting three areas on the college's main campus as possible future business sites.

Cuomo formally launched START-UP New York in October, which offers new and expanding businesses the chance to operate on SUNY campuses tax free for ten years. The only requirements are that the company has to be able to create jobs, provide an economic boost for the community and not hurt other local companies.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s tax commission is recommending a $2 billion package that includes a temporary freeze on property taxes, and a cut in corporate taxes to a 40 year low.  

With a wish of “good luck” to the new owners, the board of the Greater Syracuse Land Bank sold its first house Tuesday. The buyers of the vacant home on the 200 block of South Collingwood Ave. are Shaqir and Zahidi Halimi.

The Eastwood neighborhood home was delinquent on property taxes and seized by the land bank, one of the 88 it's taken control of so far. There are more than 3,000 vacant and delinquent properties in the city.

Last updated Thursday, December 12, 2013 at 5:05 am.

The town of Cape Vincent, in Jefferson County, has been divided over a proposed wind farm for a decade. The latest company to pursue the project is BP. But now, with a potential sale in the works, residents told the state power project siting board they’re getting impatient with the uncertainty. 

New York state’s economic development programs lack transparency and accountability at a regional level, according to a new report released Monday by the left-leaning Alliance for a Greater New York (ALIGN).

WRVO Public Media is organizing a nine-day Discovery Tour of the American Southwest in October, 2014.  This once-in-a-lifetime tour departs on Thursday, October 9 and begins in the colorful city of Scottsdale, Arizona, takes you on a journey through the visually stunning Grand Canyon, Monument Valley (the Navajo Nation equivalent to a national park),

Reform groups are focusing attention on Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s anti-corruption commission’s recommendations to beef up the anemic state Board of Elections, but say they have not given up hope of public campaign financing for state wide races.

The reform groups say the state Board of Elections in its present form is useless and incompetent when it comes to enforcing campaign violations, and needs to be replaced.

Blair Horner is with the New York Public Interest Research Group.

Advocates for public education are calling for changes in education that will give every child in New York state access to high-quality public education. The message was made clear during a national Day of Action organized by unions, community groups and schools across the nation and New York yesterday.

Supporters of public education in central New York wore blue as part of the event, meant to reclaim the promise of public education. Among those asking for the state to make changes is Shelly Chizzonite, a counselor in the East Syracuse Minoa School District.

The winter sports season is underway in the north country. Thanks to the pre-Thanksgiving snowstorm, some skiers in Jefferson County got an early start this year. 

A snowboarder twists and slides to a stop at Dry Hill Ski Area in Watertown. He unclips his boots and dashes into the clubhouse to warm up.

Josh Askins and a friend cozy up to the big stone fire pit.  “We were snowboarding, then we came inside to sit next to the fire. It smells really nice,” he says.

Askins teaches snowboarding lessons here.

Farmers aren't the only ones worrying about Congress' failure to come to an agreement on the Farm Bill. Syracuse-area Rep. Dan Maffei says partisan politics have gotten in the way, and are hurting Congress' ability to move legislation forward.

Maffei says the Farm Bill, and the legislation connected to it, which includes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, should be passed, though both Republicans and Democrats need to compromise on their positions.

Maintenance workers at Syracuse University today were going around campus trying to clean up a spree of vandalism.

Eight messages were spray-painted on five buildings at the school, according a spokesperson in Syracuse University's Department of Public Safety.

A tag on the side of the school’s communications complex read “#1 in communication. LAST in free speech.” Another message read: “liars live here. Are you one?” On Maxwell Hall, the Latin words "cui bono?" and "war" were sprayed, which translates to "for whose benefit."

Researchers from Clarkson University are gearing up to study the impacts of water pollution on property values across 26 counties in upstate New York.

Funded by a two year NYSERDA grant, researchers will study water quality data and correlate that with property sales over the past decade. And there’s already evidence of a relationship between the two.

In a recent study, economics professor Martin Heintzelman - who’ll be working on the new study – found that high water acidity lowered property prices in the Adirondacks by up to 24 percent.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s commission to study tax cuts has missed its December 6 deadline to report it’s findings, after facing controversy over former Gov. George Pataki’s desire to cut income taxes for all wage earners, including the wealthy.  

Although the tax commission has now bogged down over co-chairman George Pataki’s push to lower income tax rates, its original charge was to look at ways to lower New York’s highest in the nation property taxes, as well as find ways to reduce business taxes.

A proposed wind farm in Cape Vincent, in Jefferson County, has been in limbo since energy company BP said earlier this year that it's planning to sell off its entire wind power division.

Town officials have been anxious for news about the wind farm's fate since then. The review process that produced one tense public meeting after another came to an abrupt halt earlier this year.

Depending on how much we get, sleep can either be our best friend or our worst enemy. A good night’s sleep can make us feel refreshed and rejuvenated, while a bad night’s sleep can leave us feeling moody and groggy. So exactly how much rest is needed to call it a good night’s sleep?

This week on Take Care, Dr. Orfeu Buxton discusses sleep deprivation. Buxton is assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, associate neuroscientist in the Division of Sleep Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and associate professor at Pennsylvania State University. He participated in a recent Q&A on sleep featured in the New York Times.

Click 'Read More' to hear our interview with Dr. Buxton.

Emerging research reveals that good digestion and a healthy digestive tract are dependent on beneficial bacteria, also known as probiotics. But you don't have to buy special yogurt to add probiotics to your diet. Fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi also aid in digestion and improve your immune system. Once you learn the basics of fermenting, it can be a fun and inexpensive way to preserve food at home and add essential nutrients.

This week on Take Care, Amy Jeanroy explains the benefits of eating fermented foods. Jeanroy is a newspaper editor, food writer and co-author of the book, "Fermenting for Dummies," published earlier this year. She's been making and eating fermented foods for 20 years and shares her love of preparing food at home on her website, TheFarmingWife.com.

Click 'Read More' to hear our interview with Amy Jeanroy.

  The Syracuse University Men's Basketball Team is off to a good start this season, in its first season in the ACC.  The team is 9-0 and ranked 4th in the nation after defeating Binghamton University on Saturday.  On this week's edition of the Campbell Conversations, Grant Reeher talks with Mike Hopkins, SU associate head coach.  Hopkins discusses how athletics and academics mix in big-time college sports, the recipes for success as a player and a coach, and how some aspects of the system might be improved. 

Think of a large Thermos, large enough to put a family in. That’s a passive house. Passive houses are buildings that rely on their construction, insulation, and the environment to heat them in winter and cool them in summer.

They’re popular in Europe, but there are only a handful of them in the U.S. and one of them belongs to a family in upstate New York, who are getting ready to take on their first winter in their passive home.

The state attorney general is investigating disciplinary action policies within the Syracuse school district, and the school system says it's cooperating with his office.

On Friday, the school district's top administrator admitted there likely have been violations.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s civil rights office issued a subpoena to the Syracuse City School District on Oct. 16.

Roman Catholics all over the world are being asked to answer a questionnaire in order to help the church deal with what it calls a social and spiritual crisis that exists, especially in regard to marriage and the family. While some parts of the country are asking clergy to answer questions, the Syracuse Diocese wants the opinion of every day parishioners.  

Cities across the country saw strikes Thursday as part of a campaign by fast food workers to raise the federal minimum wage. The movement faces strong opposition both within and outside the fast food industry.

Walkouts were planned in at least 100 cities in support raising the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour, roughly $15,000 per year for a full-time job.

The fast food industry claims that raising wages would be difficult without bumping up the prices on their menus too.

Getting a good night's sleep is easier for some people than others. But research has shown it's essential for everyone. Lorraine Rapp and Linda Lowen, hosts of WRVO's health and wellness show Take Care, recently spoke with Dr. Orfeu Buxton, a neuroscientist and sleep researcher from Harvard, about the health issues a lack of sleep can cause.

Lorraine Rapp: Can you tell us what role does sleep play in our overall health?

A new dairy processing facility under construction in Cayuga County plans to make most of its money on the export market and its owners are hoping trade rule changes don’t hinder that.

An $80 million dairy facility going up in Auburn plans to sell powdered milk to countries in Asia and North Africa, but current trade rules with some of those countries could make exporting their products difficult.