Walt Shepperd
Recent Stories
Peace Action forum seeks new priorities
City Scuffle
Howie Hawkins walked into ArtRage last week looking a little disoriented.
Celebrating Mom with solos, steps and soul
City Scuffle
Ike Wynn and Larry Mathis began singing together in the Seventies, and by Century’s end had each or both sung with so many groups that when they formed their own in 1997, they labeled it with the initials UAD, for Uplites, Avatar and Destiny, to commemorate some of their past experiences.
Beyond RICO: the next gang generation
City Scuffle
When members of Southside turf crew Boot Camp first faced RICO (federal racketeering) charges in July 2004, courtroom testimony revealed that police had been under orders from the administration of Mayor Roy Bernardi not to use the G-word in their reports. It was felt then that admitting Syracuse had a gang problem would be bad PR.
DA sees no reaction to death of Rashaad
Following his personal attention to the prosecution of Saquan Evans for the murder of 20-month-old Rashaad Walker, Jr. in November 2010, District Attorney William Fitzpatrick reflected that he thought the case would have a watershed moment for the community in terms of gang violence, but it didn’t.
Rozum biking for Congress as a Green
Ursula Rozum biked to the Regional Transportation Center last week to announce she was boarding a train to Albany to file papers with 61 signatures on petitions, 23 more than needed to meet the required 3.75 percent of registered Greens.
Observing the Drug War disaster
City Scuffle
Born and raised in Syracuse, Ursula Rozum developed a conscience about El Salvador in a religion class at Bishop Ludden High School.
Watching the people watching the police
City Scuffle
Crystal Collette has a full-time job as Education and Outreach Manager at Planned Parenthood, but she recently took on a role that she knows will require the energy for a second full-time effort. She threw her hat in the ring for chair of the newly legislated Citizen Review Board, and was elected by her colleagues.
Bey brings fresh perspective to the Council
City Scuffle
Khalid Bey, the new Common Councilor for the 4th District, stopped by the monthly meeting of the Cathedral Square Neighborhood Association last week to talk about his vision for downtown and his feelings about the role of city government in the various phases of development.
Burgers on the Creek Walk?
City Scuffle
For Glen Lewis, a successful idea has many parents. Lewis, according to Andy Maxwell, is the Planning Guru of the city’s Parks Department. Maxwell oversees the municipal Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. Together they provide the point where the buck stops on the Creek Walk, one of Syracuse’s most successful ideas, they both agree.
Wanna run Green?
City Scuffle
A Green Party gathering at ArtRage last month was an informational session typical for the group, but when a member of the Green Hawks, the volunteers who door-knock to turn voters out on Election Day, shared that perennial candidate Howie Hawkins had lost the 4th District Common Council seat race by 96 votes, and that, without a Republican in on the ballot, Greens had outpolled Democrats, a realization settled in.
