OCWA launches upgrade to double water supply for Micron-spurred growth (Top stories for the week of April 27)
Each week, syracuse.com will look back at some of our most important and valuable journalism from the previous week. Here are six stories for the week of April 27, 2025.
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OCWA launches biggest upgrade ever to double water supply for Micron-spurred growth. Who will pay?
The Onondaga County Water Authority has embarked on the biggest expansion of the regional water system since it was first built in the 1960s. Micron Technology’s planned semiconductor manufacturing complex in Clay, and the growth expected to follow, could more than double the amount of water the authority draws from Lake Ontario.
Grand jury clears shooter in Syracuse road-rage killing; DA changes course, won’t release his name
An Onondaga County grand jury has cleared a legally armed shooter in last week’s downtown road-rage homicide of a crime, the district attorney announced Thursday afternoon. The 43-year-old shooter was found by the grand jury to have legally acted in self-defense when he shot and killed Ezell Hicks Jr., 61, after Hicks approached his car with a “large chef-style knife.”
Why Westhill lacrosse players will likely emerge with no criminal record
Regardless of their age, all the players’ records will be sealed. Likely, their names and punishment will never be made public by courts or law enforcement. The decision to charge them with a misdemeanor instead of a felony made a world of difference. If they had been charged with kidnapping, the players would no longer have been guaranteed a clean record.
One-tenth of National Grid’s rate hike would aid customers who can’t afford a rate hike
Upstate New York residents are facing double-digit increases on their electric and gas bills if the state Public Service Commission approves a deal National Grid and PSC staff members are pushing. But not all customers would face harsh increases. Part of National Grid’s deal with PSC staff is to more than triple the amount of money for bill discounts provided to low-income customers.
A gift to the Onondagas 50 years ago still roams their land: ‘It’s part of our culture’
Nearly 100 buffalo roam Onondaga pastures. They live on 65 acres of land in the southwest corner of the Onondaga Nation. And just weeks ago, the herd welcomed a new crop of calves. About 10 calves are born each year, said Delphine Shenandoah, one of a group of Onondagas that tend to the herd. The buffalo provide peace to the Onondagas who work with them. They also provide a link to the past and the future.
Syracuse’s largest housing subdivision in decades planned for abandoned country club
A California developer has unveiled plans to turn the former Lafayette Hills country club into a resort community with nearly 300 homes, a 9-hole golf course, man-made lakes and public walking and biking trails. Lafayette Hills Estates & Country Club would be the largest housing subdivision built in Syracuse in decades, with homes ranging from $350,000 to more than $1 million.