Every first Monday the South Side Tomorrow’s Neighborhood Today holds a meeting for residents, councilmen, business owners and organizations to discuss current neighborhood issues. At this month’s meeting, held Monday, Jan. 6, at the South Side Innovation Center, attendees voted on neighborhood projects, expressed concerns on the neighborhood’s poor reaction to current snowy weather conditions and heard updates from the …

Minister practices his faith by combining singing and preaching Kevin Stephens, now 52, grew up in church. Literally. On Sunday mornings while many families were packing into the family station wagon to head off to a church down the road, Kevin and his 10 siblings were congregating in their living room for Sunday morning worship with their parents. His father, …

Event helped South Siders enroll in Obamacare At the Rahma Health Clinic, pizza and cookies were served in the waiting room for those who attended the Free Health Fair held Thursday, Dec. 19. Next to the entrance was a table with a sign-up sheet for receiving further information about affordable healthcare. Attendees received free hearing screenings, a tour of the …

The Cut-A-Thon is a memorable day for a child. Parents come to this event to see their children smile. Barbers volunteer their time to give free haircuts, and local businesses donate food and money to make the Cut-A-Thon possible. The Cut-A-Thon is an event organized by Al Lyda every year for the last 20 years. “There was nothing going on …

Ryan Johnson-Travis is struggling to tell the stories of single low-income African American men in Syracuse. He fades in and out of character between himself, as an actor and his subjects — men with stories to tell whom most are not understood. “I’m not trying to make a statement about Black men and their ability to be fathers,” he says …

Hairstylist runs Mo’s Touch by day and studies engineering by night Geek and chic. It’s all in a day’s work — and school. “In some ways, I can say that I’m a geek, but in some ways, I can say that I’m chic,” said Monique Gaulden, who studies electrical engineering technology at Onondaga Community College. “It goes both ways. It …

The Mary Nelson Youth Center’s annual Christmas party includes Christmas decorations, food, a present for the children, games for the entire family and each family will be able to leave with a gift basket of items prepared by Mary Nelson. The festivities start at 4 p.m. Dec. 21 at the center, located at 2849 S. Salina St., and the doors …

Save the Rain planting program prevents pollution The South Side has gotten a little greener as a local environmental organization has planted about 700 trees throughout the neighborhood. Over the past two months, The Onondaga Earth Corps planted the trees to absorb and prevent storm water from carrying pollution into local bodies of water, said Keenan Lewis, the group’s youth …

The South Side welcomes the Christmas season with a celebration This time of year, the PEACE Southside Family Resource Center Inc., is not just about programs. It’s about presents. The small, two-story building, which is located at 136 Dr. Martin Luther King West, houses two programs: an after-school care program, and Project Connection, a respite program for children with mental …

Our Winter print issue features a photo spread from the 2013 Onondaga City Scholastic Chess Championship. The event brought together parents and children from schools throughout Syracuse and as far away as Buffalo. The issue also spotlights the Syracuse Housing Authority’s accomplishments as the organization comes up on its 75th anniversary, we check back in with local rapper Seth Dollar and …