Tagged: Syracuse

A little over 100 days ago, Sharon Contreras began her appointment as the superintendent of the Syracuse City School District.  She inherited deep challenges--low test scores and graduation rates, and an austere budget climate.  Following her "first 100 days" period of listening and assessment, she is issuing a strategic plan to improve the city's educational system. 

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse is Celebrating it's 125th anniversary this year.  It culminated yesterday with a special mass  at the cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Syracuse celebrated by over 100 priests and deacons and bishops from across new york state.   As WRVO's Ellen Abbott reports,  probably the best known cleric joining the celebration, the man who's taken over the high profile job of Archbishop of New York.

You won't see many fully functioning stores as you walk into the addition from an entrance next to the Disney store. ..but you will get a taste of what destiny u-s-a is going to look like.  And the broad boulevard look underneath exposed steel beams doesn't appeal to everyone.

"it reminds my of New York City,  going through the bus station.  Port Authority,  that's what it reminds me of.  Said Sophie Lafontaine of Syracuse.

The expansion of Syracuse’s Carousel Center Mall—the first stage of the grander and still-planned project called Destiny USA—seems to be getting some traction of late.  Parts of the expansion will be open later this month.  David Aitken, a Destiny executive and spokesperson, discusses the expansion and the future plans for the project, and reflects on why the Destiny project has been such a political and economic lightning rod for the region’s residents and the media.  He also discusses the exterior appearance of the expansion and the possible tensions—and synergy—between this project and t

Perhaps the most intriguing local race this November is the match-up in the fourth City Council district between Democrat and Working Families Party candidate Khalid Bey and Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins. Hawkins has run for many seats in the past, including governor and U.S. Senator, and not come close to winning, but the last time he ran for city council he garnered about 40 percent of the vote.

22 years ago, in a shiny new mall in downtown Syracuse, the central library set up housekeeping.  But where department stores and food courts once enticed visitors, now offices and specialty shops hang their shingles and dramatic changes have also taken place in the library

 “When this library opened, there were 30 librarians,” said Elizabeth Daily, Executive Director of the Onondaga County Public Library System. “They spent time doing things like filing cards.  Now we have 17 librarians.  The work that takes up their time is totally different."

It started in January when Sharon Sherman noticed an increase in the number of complaints from tenants about bedbugs.

Sherman, the Executive Director of the Greater Syracuse Tenants Network, says the complaints came from everywhere.

"We are getting more calls from the north side of Syracuse," Sherman said. "But they are all over Syracuse, Solvay , Liverpool. There's not a place where it's not a problem right now."

Leonard Bernard was a platoon leader with the First Cavalry Division and saw plenty of action. 

"I saw a lot of combat," said Bernard. "We had 96 guys in my company and in 6 months 48 were killed."

It was June 20, 1967 when he suffered massive head and chest injuries while fighting in the jungles of Vietnam. He spent the next year in hospitals and was finally able to come home. At that time, the anti-war movement was escalating with everyone from college students to celebrities criticizing the government for a war that seemed unwinnable. 

By Grant Davis Reeher