Free Republic

The ABC story on Obama's basketball picks consisted of highlights from corporate cousin ESPN's session with Obama as he filled out a big bracket chart, and World News included Obama's spelling challenge. “Should be an R in there,” ESPN's Andy Katz corrected Obama upon spotting how the President had misspelled “Syracuse” as “Sycacuse.”ESPN shows him write every team in the sweet 16 except for Syracuse, which they EDITED OUT.

Syracuse, NY - Syracuse has the authority to demolish the crumbling building that has disrupted the commutes of 50,000 people a day for nearly a week, but it wants the state to pay for it. The state is OK with paying, but it’s not sure it has the authority to demolish the building, whose bricks are threatening to drop onto Interstate 81. Instead of deciding on a method of demolition, or hiring a contractor, or setting a tear-down date, officials at both levels of government have spent the past five days wrangling over legal issues. Meanwhile, the one mile stretch...

Hendricks Chapel recognized Mary Hudson as its first pagan chaplain on Feb. 1, in line with its goal of being more inclusive of all religions on campus. This is the first new chaplain since the appointments of the Buddhist and the historically black church chaplains and the 11th chaplain at Hendricks. As a chaplain, Hudson will work at Hendricks two days a week, sponsor community outreaches and be apart of the Chaplains Council. Syracuse University may be only the second university in the nation to have a pagan chaplain, Hudson said. The only other one she was aware of is...

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer will speak at Syracuse University next week on the financial crisis. Spitzer's talk, "From Libertarianism to Angry Populism: Have We Learned Anything From the Crisis of the Past Two Years?" will begin at 5 p.m. Thursday in the Maxwell School auditorium. Spitzer resigned in March 2008, after barely more than a year in office, amid accusations he patronized a prostitute. The talk is free and open to the public.

roughly 18,000 people in Central New York ... are working part-time because they can’t find full-time work. They aren’t counted in the unemployment numbers released every month because they are working. Just not enough. People who have stopped looking for work also aren’t counted in the monthly unemployment figures. If both groups were counted, the Syracuse area’s unemployment rate would be 14.8 percent. That’s almost 50,000 people, and almost double the unemployment rate in November, 7.8 percent.

Syracuse, NY -- An explosion in the basement of a private Islamic school has been ruled accidental, said Syracuse fire investigator Ken Heffernan. The Ihsan School of Excellence, on West Onondaga Street near the intersection with West Street, was evacuated Oct. 8 after the explosion sent a dust cloud and natural gas into the building, investigators said. The 75 children were safely removed from the school building, which has remained closed since. The FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were contacted by investigators looking into the explosion because the West Onondaga Street school is considered a place...

The following news brief is a quote: Syracuse, NY -- Syracuse fire investigators have not yet determined the cause of an explosion Thursday at the Ihsan School of Excellence, a private Islamic school on West Onondaga Street. More meetings with investigators are planned before a determination is made, Lt. Joe Galloway, a Syracuse fire investigator, said today. A cause for the explosion in the school's basement will possibly be released on Monday, Galloway said.

Syracuse, N.Y. (AP) - Vice President Joe Biden plans to visit Syracuse next month to attend a private fundraiser for Democratic Rep. Dan Maffei.

Dan Maffei has another town hall meeting scheduled for Friday August 14 from 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM. The meeting will be held at his office located at 100 East Miller Street, Newark, NY. Click here for directions. There were no other details on his web page.

Syracuse, NY - Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, the popular Syracuse eatery, may have been founded by bikers. But now, it has a big corporate backer. Soros Strategic Partners LP, a private investment company launched by one of the world's wealthiest people, billionaire financier George Soros, owns 70 percent of the business, Dinosaur co-founder John Stage said today. Soros' company made the investment last year, but Stage kept it quiet until now. News leaked out after Dinosaur Bar-B-Que filed documents listing the company owners on an application for tax breaks in Troy, where Stage hopes to open his next restaurant. The Times Union...

Bishop Robert J. Cunningham Syracuse, N.Y., Apr 21, 2009 / 10:50 am (CNA).- The Diocese of Syracuse in New York received the news this morning that it has a new shepherd—Bishop Robert J. Cunningham. The Buffalo-born bishop will move from the Diocese of Ogdensburg in upstate New York to serve the faithful in his new diocese.Pope Benedict's appointment of Bishop Cunningham to lead the Diocese of Syracuse comes almost two years after Bishop James Moynihan submitted his resignation upon reaching the age of 75. Until Bishop Cunningham is installed on May 26 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception...

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - It's called a white-crested laughing thrush and it's bringing smiles to zookeepers in Syracuse. The Rosamond Gifford Zoo greeted a new bird March 7. The chick is named Zephyr.

Kennedy Takes A Beating From Upstate Media Reporters Jump All Over Mostly Silent Princess Of Camelot; Mayor Of Syracuse Doesn't Offer Endorsement Who Should Get Senate Gig? Siena Poll: Cuomo 26, Kennedy 23 Reporting Marcia Kramer NEW YORK (CBS) Caroline Kennedy took a page from Hillary Clinton's playbook and began an upstate listening tour On Wednesday. The road trip included stops in Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo to help convince Gov. David Paterson and voters she's the one to replace Clinton in the U.S. Senate. But it was a tough crowd. The black SUV pulled up to Syracuse city hall Wednesday...

For the last few months, St. James Roman Catholic Church in Johnson City has seen a decline in weekly donations. About two out of four weeks the parish fails to meet its weekly budget of $14,000, said the Rev. John Donovan. A bequest from the late Robert L. and Catherine H. McDevitt - part of more than $30 million the Binghamton couple left to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse and three Southern Tier parishes - will provide a cushion for St. James, Donovan said. It should have similar benefits for other initiatives and programs across the diocese. "It's...

RYE, N.Y. (CNS) -- Atonement Father Dan Callahan evangelizes underwater. And on a bike. And while he's running. All on the same day. And he helps recovering alcoholics and substance abusers at the same time. Father Callahan, 57, is known as the "Iron Friar" for successfully completing 12 daylong triathlons since 1997. Most recently, he finished the Ford Iron Man USA competition July 20 at Lake Placid in 14 hours and 43 minutes. Three inches of rain fell while he swam 2.4 miles in Mirror Lake, biked 112 miles through the Adirondack Mountains and ran a 26.4-mile road marathon. In...

SYRACUSE, NY-David Gay says he's the unconventional congressional candidate who stands for conventional Republican ideals. The 27-year-old, who was the Syracuse coordinator for Rep. Ron Paul's presidential campaign, has never run for public office. He and his wife, Yusimy Gay-Martinez, who fled Cuba in 1999, live in a poor neighborhood on Syracuse's North Side with their 17-month-old son. Since graduating nine years ago from Nottingham High School, Gay has scraped by doing a variety of jobs, including work on the Syracuse Chiefs grounds crew, as a baseball scout in Latin America, as a Spanish translator and as a data entry...

Buffalo, NY - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials arrested 52 criminal and fugitive aliens as part of a four-day, six-state operation - including arrests in Syracuse and Binghamton. The operation ended Monday. Across the six states, officials made 225 total arrests. Buffalo-based enforcement officials focused their operation in Syracuse and Binghamton, making 22 and 30 arrests, respectively, officials said. "Fugitive aliens" are illegal aliens who fail to leave the country after having been ordered to do so by a federal immigration judge. The multi-day operation took place in New York, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Missouri. The Syracuse arrests...

100 INVADE NAZI MEETING Legion Men at Syracuse Question Kunze, Bund Leader SYRACUSE, N. Y., Feb. 10 (AP) – G. W. Kunze, national director of public relations for the German-American Bund, led a delegation of half a dozen gray-uniformed Nazis into Syracuse tonight and was met by a belligerent band of American Legion men. Dwight C. Dale, Syracuse Post commander, and other legion leaders said they would oppose formation of a bund unit here, declaring that the organization was un-American. More than 100 legionnaires marched into Kunze’s meeting and leaders questioned him. He was asked about his beliefs, especially concerning...

A formal announcement was scheduled later Thursday in Syracuse, N.Y. Walsh, serving his 10th term, nearly lost his last election in 2006 to a former House Ways and Means Committee aide, Democrat Dan Maffei. Walsh's stance on the Iraq war has been an issue in his District. Maffei is running again this year. Walsh's retirement is the latest in a spate of Republican retirements this year. Walsh sits on the influential Appropriations Committee.

Updated: 4/21/2007 9:16 PMBy: Web Staff The Catholic Diocese is facing hard times. Because of lack of resources, including money and clergy, Bishop James Moynihan said it's time for change. "We have to tailor our resources to fit what we do have, and at the same time, we want to meet the needs," Bishop Moynihan said.Discussion of how to address the problem began back in 1982. Now, a plan to close or merge churches across Central New York has been put in motion. On Saturday, Moynihan announced plans for the Eastern Region, which includes Oneida, Madison, and a small part...