WRVO

06/24/2026

Challenger Maurice Brown holds a slim lead over 14-term incumbent Bill Magnarelli in the 129th Assembly District primary. The race remains too close to call as election officials prepare to count absentee ballots next week.

Onondaga County legislator Maurice Brown leads 14-term incumbent Bill Magnarelli by 82 votes in a primary race for New York's 129th Assembly District.

06/23/2026

The long-standing Indian Village at The Great New York State Fair has been officially renamed the Haudenosaunee Village. Members of the Six Nations hope the change encourages visitors to learn more about the distinct culture, history, and sovereignty of the region's Indigenous peoples.

The Indian Village at the New York State Fair has been renamed the Haudenosaunee Village

06/21/2026

A newly revealed Department of Homeland Security document outlines plans to give local police access to an ICE mobile facial recognition app. The tool allows participating local officers to scan faces during routine duties and compare them against hundreds of millions of government records. Privacy experts express concern that the technology could lead to widespread surveillance affecting both immigrants and U.S. citizens.

A document from the Department of Homeland Security outlines plans to issue local police facial recognition technology used by federal immigration agents, a move that will expand the scope of ICE surveillance.

06/20/2026

Public health experts in the Northeast are examining the direct link between deer overpopulation and a significant rise in tickborne diseases. Researchers are testing new mitigation strategies, including oral medications and sterilization for deer, to help reduce tick populations.

Health officials and researchers hope that efforts to control deer populations, which serve as "party buses" for mating ticks, can reverse the tide of ticks and the illnesses they cause.

06/19/2026

While Juneteenth marks the arrival of federal troops in Texas in 1865, news of the Emancipation Proclamation had already been circulating throughout the South for months. Enslaved people learned of the orders through informal networks, Black church groups, and advancing Union soldiers.

While some enslaved people did not know about Lincoln's order, many learned of it while the fighting was still ongoing through informal networks, rumors and sometimes from slaveholders themselves.

06/19/2026

The state's highest court has ruled that it remains constitutional for New York judges to face mandatory retirement. The unanimous decision means the general ban on age discrimination in a recent constitutional amendment does not nullify the judicial age limit.

Lawyers for three judges said that adoption of the state’s Equal Rights Amendment in 2024 eliminated the age requirement because the amendment banned age discrimination.

06/18/2026

An unseasonably strong area of low pressure passing north of the region will produce strong wind gusts today, likely resulting in scattered wind damage. Peak gusts are expected to be in the 45 to 55 mph range, strongest northeast of Lake Erie an Lake Ontario.

06/18/2026

Onondaga County officials say an upcoming study will objectively evaluate the infrastructure impacts of data centers to help local governments make informed policy decisions. Five towns in the county have already implemented moratoriums on the facilities.

The study that Onondaga County will prepare on data centers will not advocate for or against them, county legislators were told at a meeting Wednesday.

06/18/2026

Agencies in Oneida and Herkimer counties are calling for the final passage of a bill that would require New York law enforcement to use a standardised domestic violence lethality assessment.

There’s a push by a number of agencies in Oneida and Herkimer counties to get state legislation in place to better coordinate the response to incidents of domestic violence.

06/17/2026

An unseasonably strong low pressure system will cross the Great Lakes Thursday, and will likely produce strong wind gusts across Western NY, the Finger Lakes, and the eastern Lake Ontario region. Peak wind gusts may reach the 45 to 55 mph range, with some isolated wind damage and power outages possible.