Syracuse

After months of research and public input, the city of Syracuse’s deer and tick advisory board is ready to make recommendations on how to curb the problem. They’ve come up with a ten point plan that relies on the cooperation of county government, city divisions, and private citizens.

Nearly a quarter of Syracuse residents move at least once a year, which is more than twice the national average. In some parts of the city, that number can rise to as high as 35%. All of this moving can cause physical and mental health issues. It can also erode a greater sense of commuity. 

Driverless vehicles, drones, and other forms of artificial intelligence are starting to enter our lives. Syracuse University launched a first of its kind institute to study these autonomous systems this past May. The Autonomous Systems Policy Institute or ASPI plans to take an interdisciplinary approach, bringing a number of its schools together to focus on autonomous systems.

The physical distribution of the Census in Syracuse won’t start until April of next year, but planning for the count is starting now. The 2020 census is mixed up in a Supreme Court case over a citizenship question and faces the challenge of being the first primarily digital census count.

A group of students from SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry won a national competition for designing a solar powered structure with cutting edge construction techniques.  Their project could help solve several other problems Syracuse faces as well.

The Syracuse Mayor and Onondaga County Executive say the state DOT’s initial recommendation of a boulevard to replace I-81 through the city’s core presents a new opportunity to unite the community and move the transformative project forward.  

 This is a developing story and will be updated.

The New York State Department of Transportation released its long awaited Draft Environmental Impact Statement on Monday and named the Community Grid as its preferred alternative. The DOT says the decision was made after considering social, econoimc, and environmental effects as well as the need for safe and efficient transportation. 

A new Executive Director of the Syracuse Hancock International Airport was approved today and will be making the move from Orlando, Florida.  Jason Terreri was selected from a field of 9 candidates. 

The statistics about poverty in the Syracuse City School District are well known, but students' needs and the effects of poverty aren't always completely understood. Reggie Kelley started Rise Above Poverty to bring greater awareness to the basic necessities students don’t have and the stigma that they face for not having those items.