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Syracuse Reboots STEM Camp for High School Girls

*Disclaimer: This story was originally published on July 26, 2017. Check for updates.*

By Stefan Oliva SYRACUSE (NCC News) – The AT&T CNY STEM Hub Summer Camp for Young Women is back for its second year in Syracuse. The camp for high school girls started today and is being hosted by Le Moyne College’s science center for the rest of the week.

The camp director, Meriel Stokoe, however, wants the girls to take in more than STEM related activities. “For me, it’s not also just about STEM, it’s about the whole camp experience. It’s about meeting new people,” she said.

The camp has activities that exposes the girls to all aspects of STEM. Throughout the week, they will be doing things like touring the Syracuse Air Traffic Control at the airport, learning about computer coding and building drones and flying them.

There are also several guest speakers, all female, slated to talk to the girls about their careers in their respective STEM fields. With that in mind, Stokoe wants the participants to pursue higher education. “Many of the girls will be hopefully going to college in the next few years, so this is kind of giving them a feel of what it’s like to be on a college campus,” Stokoe said.

Since the camp is funded by AT&T, it is free for all the girls. Last year, the camp made a concentrated effort to have at least half of their 30 participants come from at-risk backgrounds. Stokoe also emphasized diversity. “I think when people come from different cultures, different backgrounds, there’s always a lot to offer,” she said. “I don’t think that even matters whether it’s just STEM or in general.”

Listen to the re-recorded audio story here: (c) Stefan Oliva 2020

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National Grid Mulls Bill Increase

People who attended the information session and hearing about the National Grid’s intended rate increase. (c) Stefan Oliva 2017

*Disclaimer: This story was originally published on July 31, 2017. Check for updates.*

By Stefan Oliva SYRACUSE (NCC News) – National Grid might raise their customers’ electricity and gas bills by a total of roughly $18 a month. They requested that the New York State Public Service Commission approve a three year agreement, as opposed to the one year agreement currently in place.

An information session and hearing that was open to the public featured National Grid representatives at Syracuse’s Nottingham High School. The company held the event to inform the public about what they want to do with the estimated $261 million that they will make in revenue, if the NYSPSC agrees to a multi-year proposal.

Several people in attendance brought signs to protest the planned increase. A lot of them also grilled the National Grid representatives with tough questions, especially about the services that would be implemented with the added revenue. “I like to say that there’s something in it for everyone,” said Virginia Limmiatis, a media representative for National Grid. “What does that mean for our customers? It means storm resiliency, reliability…”

Cortland resident, David Gower, questioned the costs to the customers and how they would see that money. His questions were met with widespread applause, the only time the crowd applauded a question.

There will be another hearing and information session tomorrow before the vote. Gower added that the public is better informed and thinks attending informational meetings is a good first step.

He also wants to see clearer lines of communication between National Grid and its customers. “I think [they] should provide a significant amount of tangible information so that we can evaluate what their decision are based on,” Gower said.

Listen to the re-recorded audio story here: (c) Stefan Oliva 2020.
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Syracuse Roads Rated 5 or Less

Syracuse rates its roads on a scale from 1-10, with one being the worst and 10 being the best. Out of the roughly 4,850 roads in the city, more than 1,800 are either a five or worse. Only one road was ranked a one.

I filtered the numbers by street type (streets and avenues), local roads and when their last overlay –meaning when the city resurfaces its roads– was, which ranged from 2003 to 2011. Some of the roads I didn’t include had their last overlay in 1981 and the most recent was 2015.

There are also many streets that have several consecutive blocks that have roads rated from one to five. Fellows Avenue is among the streets that fits that description. In some cases, there are even roads on the same block of a street in these conditions. Some examples of that are Union, Fellows, Brighton and Ramsey avenues.

Syracuse has a deteriorating infrastructure, so this may not come as a surprise. More than a quarter of the city’s roads are either in mediocre condition or worse. Part of the reason is the lack of resources dedicated to infrastructure. Using salt to melt the snow away from Syracuse’s roads also contributes significantly to the problem. The roads being in this condition is part of why the city’s residents are not happy with its infrastructure.

 

Link for Data: http://data.syrgov.net/datasets/road-ratings-2015/data?orderBy=dateLastOverlay&orderByAsc=false