Longtime runner believes sport can offer ‘magic’ to local youth When I was about 7 (I’m 80 now), I already knew I loved to run. I raced my mom from the hen house to the windmill. She won without breaking a single egg in the half-filled bucket she carried. Three or four years later, I raced on a track in …

Nominated by Robert Birchmeyer

Each year during the first week of February, faith communities across the globe celebrate the diversity that makes them special. For some, these World Interfaith Harmony Week celebrations take the form of special programs, conferences and other public events. In Syracuse, where the local celebration began nine years ago as World Interfaith Harmony Assembly, organizers decided to move the event …

The Stand’s music columnist reflects on African Americans’ contributions It’s February again and Black History Month is upon us. BHM is significant because it’s a time that the government and most of its people set aside in unison to honestly reflect upon the struggles through which the African American people have persevered in their insufferable fight to live with respect …

Panel discussion held on current challenges and to hear new ideas for improvement On a comparatively warmer Friday night, Sen. Rachel May hosted a rounded table discussion Jan. 25 on After School Programming at the Syracuse Community Connections center. Ever since May was appointed as the senator for New York’s 53rd District, nothing has stopped her from slowing down. From …

City, County prepare for 2020 Census, announce job openings Mayor Ben Walsh and Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon have joined forces to encourage neighborhood agencies to become partners in the 2020 census outreach campaign. They want to ensure no one is missed in the upcoming count. U.S. census representatives visited Syracuse Dec. 12 to talk about why an accurate count …

The “Holiday Lights in the Valley” decorating contest received more than 30 entries this year. The contest has been held for more than a decade by the the Meachem Area Parks Association (MAPA) in an effort to enhance the sense of community in the Valley. The Valley Lighting Contest Winner is located at 3630 Midland Ave. The winning entry, selected …

Playing keyboards at the county jail in Jamesville many years ago, Joseph Perry Jr. looked over the crowd and locked eyes with a young woman he recognized from church sitting silently by herself. “When I looked into her eyes I almost cried,” he remembered. “She was just so sad and alone.” That woman was Jacqueline McMullen, who said the 45 …

Mayor Ben Walsh and Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon have joined forces to encourage neighborhood agencies to become partners in the 2020 Census outreach campaign to ensure no one is missed in the upcoming count. U.S. Census representatives visited Syracuse Dec. 12 to relay why an accurate count of all New York residents is so crucially important. Elizabeth Burkowski, deputy …