Onondaga County Legislature

Ryan McMahon and the Friends of the Onondaga County Aquarium will now accept and distribute donations for the controversial project in Syracuse's Inner Harbor.

Warming temperatures mean more people venturing out and the return of ticks and the diseases they carry.

They're scheduled to vote on a local law Tuesday that would put the county executive in charge of raising the additional $15 million dollars needed to complete the aquarium in the Inner Harbor.

Bonnke Sekarore, a Congolese refugee and nonprofit founder, will challenge Democratic incumbent Palmer Harvey for a seat representing Syracuse’s north side in the Onondaga County Legislature.

The $11 million request was added to Tuesday's agenda at the last minute, skipping the committee vetting process. But the item was abruptly removed before the vote.

Ryan, a Democrat, wraps up 13 years on the legislature. He narrowly won the wide-open 50th senate district seat to replace John Mannion, who's preparing his own transition to Congress.

The slight revisions follow a court order to accommodate 1,600 incarcerated individuals in state prisons outside of the county. But Democrats hoped to make more significant changes.

But lawmakers can still propose amendments before they take a final vote Oct. 8.

The judge didn't address allegations by Democrats of partisan gerrymandering and voter disenfranchisement in the current districts drawn by Republicans in 2021.

The $1.56 billion spending plan increases overall spending by nearly six percent, but doesn't dip into reserves.