South Side native says she was born into a life of music and has never known any other way Markita Collins did not have a choice growing up about the role religion and music would play in her life. Her parents made those rules. “I was not born into a democracy; I was born into a dictatorship,” Collins said. “You …

Scholar speaks on African women’s possibilities Abye Assefa went from living in a refugee camp in the African republic of Djibouti to teaching sociology at St. Lawrence University in Upstate New York, where he is an associate professor. In between, he worked in a factory assembly line in New York City and earned a Ph.D. from the State University of New York at …

Eat to Live board says working on business plan The Eat to Live Food Cooperative on South Salina Street closed its doors due to a lack of funding after being open less than three months, but its board is addressing the issues that caused its closing in hopes of reopening it this spring. “We didn’t make the money we needed …

Residents hear multiple perspectives, pose questions The future of Interstate 81 remained shrouded in uncertainty following a public forum hosted by the Moving People Transportation Coalition on Thursday night. Held at the Tucker Missionary Baptist Church, 515 Oakwood Ave., at 7 p.m. Feb. 13, the forum allowed about 50 residents of Syracuse’s various neighborhoods to voice their concerns and questions …

A pack of cats have taken over the plaza adjacent to the Everson Museum of Art. The felines creep up at dusk and mysteriously vanish by 11 p.m. Attempts to physically capture the critters had been futile so far. These aren’t regular cats. Instead, they are anthropomorphic animals, meaning they possess human characteristics such as walking on two legs.

Four days. Six films. Four countries. Two directors. One actor. One curator. Four discussion moderators. When you blend all these ingredients what comes out of this mix is the Caribbean Cinematic Festival.

Highlight of six sessions: Building of a 14-Foot Geodesic Dome From building websites to growing food, students from Syracuse University and the city’s high schools are practicing ways to sustain themselves and their communities through a workshop series, which began Saturday, Feb. 8, at 601 Tully. “We put all these different workshops together that would be kind of a nice …

Working to cultivate food justice and community development through urban agriculture, Syracuse Grows, a grassroots coalition, will celebrate six years of advocacy, programming and education through community gardening at its annual meeting set for Feb. 11. This meeting provides the opportunity for Syracuse Grows to report on its accomplishments in 2013 and to discuss plans for the 2014 gardening season. …

This year’s event to also feature play, ‘Poor Girl Rich Girl’ The Payton Memorial Temple Church of God in Christ will hold its annual Valentine’s Ball Saturday, Feb. 8, at the church, located at 1816 Midland Ave.  The doors open at 6 p.m., and the event will include dinner and staged, Christian play, “Poor Girl Rich Girl,” presented by Cordero …

Art depicting African-American history on display for Black History Month   On the first day of Black History Month, artist Arthur Brangman encouraged others to quell their anger over the historical treatment of black America. “I feel the worst enemy you can have on Earth is found in the dark corners of your own mind,” he said. To help begin …