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Andrew Maxwell is revitalizing Syracuse with dedication and help from a new grant In a Sept. 13 community meeting attended by casually dressed local residents, Andrew Maxwell stood out. Dressed in a crisp navy suit, the 27-year-old director of the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability clenched his hands around his knee, listening intently to his City Hall colleague, Katelyn Wright, …

The A-OK! Acts of Kindness Weekend volunteer efforts held Sept. 10 & 11 throughout Syracuse’s South Side were covered by a group of The Stand’s Community Correspondents including The Kirk Park Clean Up by Ruthnie Angrand, Vickie Patterson & Laura Finkbeiner; the Stone Soup Garden by Miguel Balbuena, and the Veteran Build by Rasheeda Alford.

Marcus Curry, 75, still performs locally, and he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon Cat(s) is a popular slang term affectionately used by musicians and music aficionados to show respect for musicians ­— usually men — of stellar ability. During the early years of jazz in America, many would refer to players like Benny Carter (jazz composer, saxophonist, clarinetist), Dave …

The New Direction Community Network was established to empower young women Tongela Smith was driving one day in 2008 when she had a vision. So the reverend and mother of three pulled over to the side of the road and began to pray. “I knew that I was called to do something bigger with my life,” Smith said as she …

Two nonprofits team up to build garden for the South Side Two Syracuse nonprofit organizations — one a nursery, the other a free clinic — are turning a vacant South Side lot into an edible forest garden to provide a healthy crop of fruit and vegetables to local residents. Members of the Alchemical Nursery and the soon-to-be-opened Rahma Clinic, together …

Seniors are losing their hair over the Ida Benderson Senior Center closing. Literally. About a dozen seniors lined the sidewalk in front of the downtown center Wednesday, to show support for three women having their heads shaved to protest the center’s closing Oct. 1, after 36 years.

Winter, the inspirational dolphin star of the new movie, Dolphin Tale, was rescued by one of Syracuse’s own, James P. Savage. A Syracuse native, Savage is the fisherman that saved the dolphin’s life. Savage had gone out fishing in the Canaveral National Seashore on December 10, 2005, when he discovered Winter caught in the line of a crab trap. He …

Mentoring programs collaborate to help young men get into college Justin Williams knows the value of making a simple connection. As an incoming freshman at George W. Fowler High School, Williams was academically apathetic and uninvolved in his community. One organization changed his perspective, and ultimately, his life.

Celebrating 26 years of providing service to Onondaga County, Habitat for Humanity has launched the first ever Veteran Build in New York State. The announcement to go forward with the premier project was made on Veterans Day 2010, and construction began in April 2011. The two homes currently inhabit Syracuse’s Southwest area on Fitch Street, and over A-OK Weekend, volunteer …