Onondaga County

The Onondaga County Water Authority (OCWA) is assuring customers that they're tryng to get out in front of water problems, such as is failing infrastructure and toxic threats to water quality.  But their investments in safe and secure water will have an impact on water bills in the future.

The state of New York is partnering with communication companies as part of a continuing effort to push broadband into more isolated areas.  Without broadband, people in these areas rely on dial-up internet, which means lower transfer speeds and available bandwidth.

Interstate 81 that runs through Syracuse has outlived its useful life and there are plans to tear it down. What comes next is a very hot topic at the moment. There are some who see the future of the highway as an opportunity to make a difference in the staggering racial segregation and poverty in the city. As a part of WAER's Poverty Project, Kijin Higashibaba look into the highway's past to understand why. 

Go to citylimitsproject.org to hear the full, unabridged version of this episode. 

A new AAA report shows that nearly 4,000 tickets were issued to motorists in Onondaga County in 2015 for using their cell phones and texting while driving.  Legislative analyst and report author Alex Slatky called the situation ‘an epidemic’ and said people need to be more aware of the severity of distracted driving.

Twenty-three billion. That’s the number of plastic bags New Yorkers use every year. Governor Andrew Cuomo recently launched a task force to address the issue. Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency Executive Director Dereth Glance says plastic bags never really break down and decompose. If they’re not recycled properly, Glance says they can cause harm to the environment.

Onondaga County is taking steps to reduce animal abuse in Central New York. Sheriff Eugene Conway today announced that his office would create and host an animal abuser registry to prevent animals from falling into the hands of abusers.

“Animal cruelty is a serious problem, and while New York has criminalized the cruel treatment of animals, animal abuse and cruelty continues to occur here in Onondaga County and elsewhere.”