ONONDAGA CITIZENS LEAGUE NEWS
MARCH 2008
Health Inequalities in Onondaga County, OCL’s 2007-08 study, wraps up just as WCNY-TV gets ready to announce a new PBS series, Unnatural Causes, to be broadcast on Thursdays @ 10 P.M. March 27, April 3, 10, 17 - “The U.S. is one of the richest countries on the planet. Yet, we rank 29th in the world for life expectancy, among the worst in the industrialized world - and even lower than some poor countries like Costa Rica and Chile. What's happening to our health? UNNATURAL CAUSES will, for the first time on television, sound the alarm about America's glaring socio-economic and racial inequities in health - and search for root causes. The four-hour series (slated for PBS broadcast beginning March 27 and a March 2008 DVD release) sifts through the evidence to discover there is much more to our health than bad habits, health care, or unlucky genes. The social conditions in which we are born, live and work profoundly affect our health and longevity."
The OCL study report will be issued at the end of March. OCL Study Committee members Mary Jensen, Martha Ryan, and Peter Sarver will appear on WCNY’s Central Issues on Friday, March 21, to discuss the report with host Dan Cummings.
Rethinking I-81, OCL’s new study, got off to a very informative start in February with two excellent presentations: Seattle’s Freeway Removal Project and Urban Mobility Plan; and a short history of I-81 and related urban and transportation planning in Syracuse.
Tom Brennan is a principal in the Nelson/Nygaard consulting firm, which is working for the City of Seattle to develop an alternative to the Alaskan Way Viaduct, or SR 99, an elevated freeway through the city. Damage inflicted on the facility during a 2001 earthquake has pushed the region to expedite its review of replacement options. A March 2007 public vote rejected both elevated rebuild and tunnel options, so local and state government agencies involved took this as a sign that the public wanted other solutions and hired the firm to evaluate the viability of a Surface + Transit solution – or in other words to answer the question – '’can we build a urban boulevard in place of the freeway and use other roadway enhancement, land use, transit and pricing solutions to continue to move people and goods effectively through the urban core?.” The presentation provided useful lessons on how a city can use a highway reconstruction project to serve as a catalyst for positive change to accomplish community goals.
Dennis Connors of the Onondaga Historical Association and Emmanuel Carter of SUNY College of Environmental Forestry described for the study committee how some local, state and federal policy decisions have profoundly affected the fabric of the city and the region.
30th Anniversary OCL recently received a 30th Anniversary Certificate from the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce at an After Hours event hosted by CXtec, which is also celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2008.
Save the Date OCL Annual Meeting Keynote Speaker: County Executive |
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