Central Current

Central Current Independent nonprofit journalism for Central New York.

Central Current would like to introduce our newest board member Meredith Ouderkirk! She works at Planned Parenthood of C...
05/27/2026

Central Current would like to introduce our newest board member Meredith Ouderkirk! She works at Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York, where she directs media, public, and governmental relations and grassroots organizing efforts in support of reproductive freedom.

Reading Central Current’s facts-forward, independent journalism sparked her interest in supporting the organization’s invaluable work and mission.

She is grateful to bring her years of experience in the nonprofit sector, her enthusiasm for transparency, and her love for Central New York to her service on the board.

Read more about Meredith here: https://centralcurrent.org/introducing-our-board-meredith-ouderkirk/

“Music for Palestine," a benefit concert to be held Saturday at May Memorial Unitarian Universalist Society, is meant to...
05/16/2026

“Music for Palestine," a benefit concert to be held Saturday at May Memorial Unitarian Universalist Society, is meant to spread the message of Refaat Alareer’s writings, organizers said. Alareer, renowned for his depiction of life in Gaza under Israeli occupation, died in an Israeli airstrike Dec. 6, 2023.

Among the organizers and participants are Syracuse-based composer Steven Button, who will premiere his own composition of Alareer's famous poem "If I Must Die," and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mosab Abu Toha, a friend and former classmate of Alareer.

Story by Patrick McCarthy. Read more here: https://centralcurrent.org/you-must-live-syracuse-musicians-poet-laureate-to-tell-slain-gazan-scholar-refaat-alareers-story-at-benefit-concert/

CNY Decides is brought to you in part through support from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. CNY Dec...
05/15/2026

CNY Decides is brought to you in part through support from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

CNY Decides is a limited series that takes readers inside real-time shifts in the local political landscape, with a focus on how the upcoming elections will impact our region. This new collaboration between Central Current and public radio station is focused on breaking down the decisions that shape life here, budgets, infrastructure, education, and more.

Early voting for primary races starts June 13. and Central Current collaborated to create CNY Decides, a collaboration ...
05/14/2026

Early voting for primary races starts June 13. and Central Current collaborated to create CNY Decides, a collaboration to demystify the political process and bring stories you can take to the voting booth. The next story from Central Current will drop Friday morning while a companion conversation between host Bob Beck and reporter Patrick McCarthy will air on WAER at 4:50 p.m.

You can read, watch and listen to the first two installments here: https://centralcurrent.org/cny-decides-2026/

Making a gift of any size helps us sustain and expand our reporting. https://centralcurrent.fundjournalism.org/?campaign...
05/04/2026

Making a gift of any size helps us sustain and expand our reporting.

https://centralcurrent.fundjournalism.org/?campaign=701Rb00000JJps0IAD

Just this year, our reporters have:
- Taken readers inside the East Adams public housing redevelopment project, tracking the flow of funding and impact on residents.
- Tracked the debate over donor transparency regarding contributions made to the aquarium project.
- Revealed how National Grid had installed utility poles on a historic South Side church’s property in violation of a city permit, leading to an order for them to be taken down.
- Profiled immigrants who learned to file their own habeas corpus petitions from TikTok.

At a time when distrust of the media is at a record high, we are working to repair that relationship locally through transparent, accessible, and fact-based journalism.

Increasingly, people detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are getting out of detention by filing habeas ...
05/02/2026

Increasingly, people detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are getting out of detention by filing habeas corpus petitions. Rafael, from Syracuse, was released from detention after his family filed a habeas corpus petitions. Since his release, Rafael has faced recurring appointments with ICE in Mattydale. Story by Laura Robertson. Photos by .

Read more here: https://centralcurrent.org/a-syracuse-mans-family-got-him-out-of-ice-detention-he-still-lives-in-fear-of-deportation/

After Le Moyne College invited Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and Syracuse University graduate Mosab Abu Toha to Le Moyne C...
04/30/2026

After Le Moyne College invited Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and Syracuse University graduate Mosab Abu Toha to Le Moyne College to speak at an event, college President Linda LeMura in an email issued Tuesday condemned Abu Toha saying the word "genocide" at the event.

In the email, LeMura wrote that the use of the word carries "profound historical weight" for Jewish people and that the use of it can cause hurt. In a Substack post about the email, Abu Toha said that he did not use the word “Jewish,” and rejected LeMura’s apparent conflation of Judaism with the state of Israel. “Seriously? Are the crimes of the Israeli state representative of all Jewish people? I personally refuse to believe that is the case,” Abu Toha wrote.

Story by Patrick McCarthy. Read more here: https://centralcurrent.org/le-moyne-president-condemns-pulitzer-winning-poet-and-gazan-refugee-mosab-abu-toha-for-saying-genocide/

Editor’s note: This post has been modified to reflect a clarification of the story’s headline.

When Josué Alvarado, 19, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at work in Onondaga County in mid-Febr...
04/30/2026

When Josué Alvarado, 19, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at work in Onondaga County in mid-February, his mother filed a habeas corpus petition to have him released. She ran into a problem, however: Alvarado's case was assigned to Judge John Sinatra, who has granted a bond hearing or release in one habeas corpus case on which he's ruled, or 1.4% of his cases. The three other judges on the bench in the same U.S. district court have found for a detained person in 75% of the cases on which they've ruled. Story by Laura Robertson. Read more here: https://centralcurrent.org/in-the-u-s-western-district-of-new-york-your-judge-may-matter-more-than-your-immigration-case/

Central Current is launching its 2026 spring campaign in May, and we'd love to see all of you at our kickoff event! Come...
04/16/2026

Central Current is launching its 2026 spring campaign in May, and we'd love to see all of you at our kickoff event! Come out to Salt City Coffee & Bar on May 6 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. to meet our staff and your fellow readers. We'll be celebrating the beginning of Central Current's fifth year of publishing and the first anniversary of welcoming Sean Kirst back to Syracuse. Click the link to register and find out more: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/celebrate-with-central-current-tickets-1986559588205?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

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