Ellen Abbott

It's not clear where it came from, but an outbreak of shigellosis, more commonly known as shigella, continues to afflict dozens of people in Onondaga County. 

The candidates running for the 24th congressional district seat offered three distinct choices for voters in the first televised debate featuring all three candidates last night.   The budget deficit,  jobs, and health care reform were major issues discussed in the WCNY studios, but the most pointed comments mirrored a dispute in the campaign over abortion and the definition of rape.

It won't be someone in a police costume pulling drunk drivers over this weekend. Police agencies across Onondaga County are cracking down on Halloween partiers in what has become a busy weekend for police when it comes to drunk driving.

At the Sisters of Saint Francis' motherhouse in Syracuse there is a museum and chapel dedicated to Mother Marianne Cope, who was canonized a saint in Rome on Sunday. The Sisters anticipate Cope's canonization will bring more interest in her history.

The troops in the Dan Maffei for Congress campaign have been energized after the visit of former President Bill Clinton in Syracuse last week.  Clinton gave Maffei supporters talking points for the campaign.

Two of three candidates in the race for the 24th congressional district, met with voters in Cayuga county yesterday during a town hall forum organized by one of those candidates, Republican Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle.

The Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate was in Syracuse this week and called poverty an issue that's being ignored this political season. 

Voters got their only chance to watch the candidates for U.S. Senate from New York State debate last night.  The two candidates tangled  on issues ranging from abortion to hydrofracking.

Democratic congressional hopeful Dan Maffei is calling on Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle to take a stand on hydrofracking.   At the same time, Maffei is reiterating his support for federal legislation that would regulate the practice. 

Central New York will have its own saint when Mother Marianne Cope is canonized in the Vatican on Sunday, October 21.

Now that the abuse of the designer drug bath salts seems to be easing, scientists are warning of a new chemical cocktail. The drug called "smiles" has started making an appearance in upstate New York.

It is CROP Walk weekend in central New York. The annual walk, sponsored by Church World Service to raise money for the hungry, comes at a time when the need is great.

Attorneys for the Onondaga Nation are scheduled to appear in a federal appeals Court in New York City Friday. It's a continuing land claim dispute between the Native American nation, and New York state, over treaties signed hundreds of years ago.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer is skeptical about the latest compromise being discussed in Washington to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. Schumer expects a deal to be done by the end of the year, but says he won't support what's under discussion now.

Congressional hopeful Dan Maffei has the support of one of the state's top democrats as he tries to unseat incumbent Republican Ann Marie Buerkle.

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama wrapped up a two-day world peace event at Syracuse University Tuesday night joining musical artists from around the world for the One World Concert.

Peace is the word on the Syracuse University campus Monday and Tuesday. Promoters say the first-of-its-kind event in Syracuse, which includes the Dalai Lama, will spread the message through words and music.

Green Party candidate Ursula Rozum says she's been pressured to drop out of the race in the 24th Congressional district.  She won't say who's putting that pressure on her, but says she has the ability to take votes away from both major party candidates, Democratic challenger Dan Maffei, and incumbent Republican Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle.

Onondaga County lawmakers have agreed to give a fledgling group that's trying to revive a Syracuse orchestra in central New York some seed money.

A political ad is making waves in the race for the 24th congressional district. At issue, is a piece of legislation regarding federal funding for abortion, specifically the language regarding rape victims who want an abortion.

More than 200 zoo keepers from around the country descended on the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse this week for the 39th annual conference of the Association of Zookeepers.

The city of Syracuse is taking some new steps in the fight against gun crime and gang violence. "Syracuse Truce" will bring police and community organizations together to deter crime.

A document that changed history was displayed in Syracuse Thursday.  School children and history buffs lined up to look at the first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation, the order from President Abraham Lincoln that ultimately freed the slaves in the midst of the Civil War.

Some central New Yorkers are taking a Stand Against Suicide. An Elbridge-based organization is trying to raise awareness about the risks of mental illness that can sometimes lead to suicide.

The deaths of two homeless people in Syracuse in the last week has put the spotlight on the people who live under bridges and overpasses of central New York. A memorial service for a woman who was found unconscious, and who later died, ended with calls for patience and help for the homeless.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer is calling on the federal government to change the regulations for GPS systems used in trucks and buses. He believes truckers using systems meant for cars is the reason that there has been a dramatic increase in the number of trucks ramming into low bridges in New York state in recent years.

The city of Syracuse could be penalized for coming in under-budget in the Creekwalk Project. U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer was in Syracuse Tuesday and promised to try help cut through red tape.

Syracuse common councilors are trying to get a clearer snapshot of the city's fiscal problems. Lawmakers have been holding a series of meetings to try to figure out how the council can take a more proactive approach to dealing with an impending budget implosion.

Democratic Congressional candidate Dan Maffei used the almost-empty former New Process Gear factory in East Syracuse as a backdrop to call for policies that he says would bring more manufacturing jobs back to central New York.  Maffei says NAFTA-like trade agreements are one reason the sprawling complex that once employed hundreds of central New Yorkers is now idle.

Tree lovers are uniting behind a plan by a biologist from Salisbury University in Maryland to preserve and encourage old growth Forests .  The goal, is to create a network of over two-thousand undisturbed, yet accessible, forests across the country.