P-Tech gives students opportunities in higher education, professional fields Whenever Jo’sada Pacheco’s grandmother gets a new phone, she goes straight to Jo’sada for advice. The buttons and features confuse her, but Jo’sada is there to help. Recently her grandmother’s computer broke, and Jo’sada was there to delete the unnecessary files and get the device up and running. “I played with …

Syracuse considers how to provide better Internet in the digital age Nathan Mills spends as much time as he can every day at Beauchamp Branch Library. But Mills does not come for the books; he comes for the Internet. Mills, 20, lives at home and his family recently had to shut off its Internet and cable. So every day he …

It is important to know the signs of syphilis, how it’s diagnosed and how it’s treated Between the years 2008 and 2014, the number of syphilis cases in Onondaga County has increased more than 1,800 percent. Dr. Indu Gupta, the Onondaga County Health Commissioner, and other health officials reported on the implications of the rise in syphilis cases at a …

As their population grows, single fathers need help as much as ever As a single father for the past two years, Anthony Pitts relies on the resources of the Southwest Community Center to help raise his 10-year-old son, Amarri. Pitts, a community outreach worker for Syracuse Save Our Youth, works at the center, and Amarri is there almost every day …

“We the Dark Girls are talented, smart and strong…” This is the beginning of the manifesto of the Dark Girls Project. These words can be heard from the voices of 40 young girls and women every Thursday after school at Danforth Middle School. These words mark the start of every meeting.

Stop Proposed Cuts to CENTRO Service On Thursday, Feb. 19, we had a meeting at City Hall in Syracuse concerning CNY Centro. Centro is proposing service cuts to the Syracuse area. Local 580 is not in agreement with these cuts. We believe they should be adding services and hiring more drivers. The Mission of CNYRTA is to provide services which …

A housing complex on the South Side honors two notable African American personalities: Lewis Latimer, a member of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and Maya Angelou, a Pulitzer Prize nominee. The housing complex has terraces named after both. But an African American more familiar to the neighbors got a bigger honor. He had the whole housing complex named after …

Community figure, Nation of Islam minister recently named to Syracuse School Board Mark Muhammad guards himself as if he were his own personal Queen’s guard. He is hesitant about showing emotion, explaining who he is and expressing his beliefs. But once he is willing to speak, he opens up about who he is like the call to the altar. He …

Week-long series to use hip-hop to teach urban youth survivor skills The Good Life Youth Foundation is using the power of Hip-Hop culture to address current challenges of violence affecting urban youth. During school’s Winter Break, Feb. 16 through Feb. 20, from noon to 3 p.m. daily, The Good Life Youth Foundation will present a series of interactive workshops filtered …

South Side quilting group plans Valentine Rendez-vous The Sankofa Piecemakers take pieces of fabric that most people would discard or overlook and sew them together, making a one of a kind masterpiece: a quilt. This coming Valentine’s Day, as part of the Syracuse Beauchamp Branch Library’s Black History Month celebration, the quilting guild will demonstrate the basics of quilt making, a …