Regional Coverage

There was an almost constant collecting of index cards in Hendricks Chapel Tuesday evening, each containing a question on the issue of gun violence in America. The questions were for five panelists participating in what was billed by Syracuse University as a discussion, not a debate, on gun violence in America.

The automatic federal budget cuts that are slated to go into effect in March would have a big impact on programs that help the poor and elderly in Syracuse.  Advocates for these programs are urging Congress to do something to prevent the across-the-board spending cuts knows as sequestration.

SUNY is asking the state for up to $185 million to stabilize its two public teaching hospitals. Most of the cash is needed for the Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn. But Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse also needs millions.

It’s wine competition season, a time of year when judges offer their opinions at dozens of events around the world. New York Wine and Grape Foundation’s Jim Trezise was at an event in Sonoma to see how Finger Lakes wines have been faring.

Lawmakers in Washington are pushing for the establishment of a Harriet Tubman National Park in Auburn, where the abolitionist lived and died. Members of the New York congressional delegation say it could have a big impact on Auburn.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announced yesterday that in line with the repeal of the military's “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy, some spousal benefits will be given to same-sex service members and their partners. The federal law known as the Defense of Marriage Act still prohibits many of the major spousal benefits, like housing and health care, from being extended to same-sex couples. But Panetta's announcement still had advocates for gay service members cheering.   

The effects of the school shooting in Newtown, Conn. in December that killed 26 children and staff, lingers in the psychological community. It's one reason Syracuse University's psychology department is hosting a panel discussion Monday night focusing on different aspects of the psychology of school violence. One presenter is worried how this tragedy could end up further stigmatizing mental illness.

This season's snowfall has brought back revenue for many winter sports industries in central and northern New York, after last year's winter with lower than normal snow levels. Friday's snowstorm that blanketed the East Coast was beneficial to area ski resorts, including Greek Peak in Cortland County.

This week begins a year long campaign in New York that focuses on the Two Row Wampum, a treaty between the Haudenosaunee, also known as the Iroquois Nation, and some of the first settlers of New York state. The idea is educate, advocate, and create a better relationship Native Americans and New Yorkers.

In the wake of the Newtown, Connecticut school shooting and the contentious push for new gun control laws in both Washington and Albany, it’s often easy to forget that the United States has been experiencing what some have called the "Great American Crime Decline."