Life & Style: Top Featured

Stories from Election Day 2012
By Megan Paolone
November 6, 2012 - 4:18pm
Using a variety of media, Syracuse University students documented the day's events for the Democracy in Action project's third year — and first presidential election.

Tight races at both the local and national level drew crowds of Central New Yorkers to the polls to vote today, some for the first time and some with children in tow.

'Street Eats' food truck set to settle down
By Mark Volain
November 4, 2012 - 10:22pm
After his food truck's successful debut, chef Steve LeClair is closing down the truck for the winter and opening up a deli.

Just seven months after opening his gourmet food truck, Steve LeClair is ready to open his first restaurant.

Testing wells earns goodwill
By Ellie Wilkinson
November 3, 2012 - 11:55am
While sampling water in New York's Southern Tier, Syracuse and ESF students had a chance to meet some of the people who could benefit the most from their data: New York landowners.

Tucked into a sleeping bag on the top of a hill in southern New York, Egan Waggoner watched as a stream of meteors flashed across the dark sky. A landowner had allowed Waggoner and his teammates to stay the night in her backyard in return for having her well’s water tested earlier that day. The next morning, he rose and roused the others after the family had gone to church, and they continued on to the next well. 

Syracuse braces for Hurricane Sandy by stockpiling supplies
By Megan Paolone
October 29, 2012 - 8:32pm
Supermarkets saw shortages today as students and locals gathered water, batteries and groceries in anticipation of the storm. Check out our tips for surviving Sandy, and make sure you're prepared.

Forecasts for Hurricane Sandy’s arrival and potential danger it could cause up and down the East Coast began late last week, but it wasn’t until Monday that the storm’s threat became real for Syracuse University students.

Around 10:30 a.m. the university issued a campus-wide email via SU News/Weather Alert informing students, staff and faculty that classes would be canceled from 1:40 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 29, through Tuesday, Oct. 30. To prepare, both students and local residents hit the stores to stock up on supplies before the worst of the weather.

Syracuse joins the CrossFit craze
By Cynthia Kao-Johnson
October 24, 2012 - 3:10am
CrossFit 315 offers SU students a place to train and improve their stamina with its structured workout routines.

"Do you CrossFit?" Jasmine Watkins asks me as I click a photo of her on the rope pull. She grunts and grimaces through her workout. "It's so addicting, I can't go more than two days before coming back here," she says.

Post-Standard columnist is the voice of the community
By Melanie Deziel
September 16, 2012 - 9:43pm
Weekly columnist Sean Kirst talks about his approach to storytelling and his love of writing.

As a columnist for The Post-Standard for the past 11 years, Sean Kirst has acted as government watchdog, a community advocate, a local historian and more. 

But he’s not acting.

“I think this is one of those rare jobs where there’s not a lot of separation between who I am here and who I am at home,” Kirst said in an interview in the cafeteria of The Post-Standard building in downtown Syracuse. What you see is what you get, he said.

Musician's flute aids in preserving his culture and past
By Dee Lockett
September 12, 2012 - 1:32pm
Native American flute player Rob Benedict lets his passion for music guide him through his complicated life.

The cellphone rang. And rang. And rang. Suddenly and abruptly, the gentle melodic whistle of a flute began playing before being cut off by a generic voice mail greeting.

“That, that right there is Rob,” Matt Simmons, a man in his early 20s, said.

It was a cool Friday night in August as four men met at a table on the outdoor patio of Dorian’s Gourmet Pizza & Deli on Westcott Street. There was a breeze, just strong enough to carry a Native American tune through the open door and into the restaurant.

Man with artistic vision has big plans for Syracuse
By Joseph DiDomizio
September 5, 2012 - 2:20am
After years of moving around, Rick Destito returned to Central New York to try to breathe a new culture into the area by providing a space designated for artists and entrepreneurs.

When he left Central New York 14 years ago, Rick Destito had the same attitude many people still have. He complained about high taxes and the weather, and he yearned to leave town.

When he returned here a few years later, Destito had a new outlook and ideas about how to change people’s perceptions of Syracuse. He wondered if bringing what he admired in other cities to Syracuse could make it a better place to be.

The value of a dog
By Heather Wentz
April 6, 2012 - 5:17pm
Students balance school and caring for man's best friend.

Student dog owners are not common at Syracuse University, largely due to the added time and expense for typical college students, but the students who do have dogs say having a canine companion is one of the greatest feelings.

And as far as being “typical” college students, Brit Potter and James Tracey are far from it. Potter, a business management junior, and Tracey, a communications and rhetorical studies junior, are busy to say the least. Potter is on the Syracuse University men’s crew team and Tracey is in the SU Air Force ROTC program.

Syracuse disc golf knows no seasons
By Drew Roberts
January 31, 2012 - 12:51am
The NewsHouse reporter plays a round with Central New York Disc Golf Association members.

They play in anything except rain. Rain makes for muddy shoes, and worse, muddy frisbees. I mean, discs.

“These are discs, not frisbees," said Eric Trippany, president of the Central New York Disc Golf Association. "Discs are heavier, smaller and flatter.”

To a pro, the distinction between disc and frisbee is as important as the difference between a footbag and a hacky sack: one is for kids; the other is for men.