Author: Josh Durso

In last week's column, I wrote about the people showing up at the Harmony Food Pantry in Waterloo. Five years ago, the pantry served 19 families during the entire month of August. Now, … more: IN FOCUS: The math doesn’t work anymore for New York families

Whether we’re talking about employees or housing, that question points to a fundamental problem that warrants more than the “Well, we just have to make do with less” attitude that surfaces nearly … more: IN FOCUS: What happens when your city, town, or county can’t afford market rate?

Last week we took a look at school enrollment across the Finger Lakes and Upstate New York. This week we ask a simple question: What has to happen to stop schools from … more: IN FOCUS: How do you avoid closing schools?

For the last few years, we’ve heard a lot of thematic reporting about what’s happening inside schools: Teachers facing burnout and the profession losing young talent, shortages of bus drivers forcing districts into … more: IN FOCUS: School enrollment data is flashing a warning sign

Small communities talk a lot about what they want. They talk less about what they can actually support. That’s the hard part of the story about a longtime, hometown grocery store in … more: IN FOCUS: Here’s why Wolcott didn’t just lose a grocery store

Can a community stay the same and still thrive? That is the question sitting underneath almost every local debate in Upstate New York right now. People want full downtowns. They want coffee shops, … more: IN FOCUS: Can a community stay exactly the same and survive?

Seneca Falls deserves better. Before I go any further, I have to start here: The town I grew up in has a lot going for it. There are a lot good people. … more: An open letter to Seneca Falls

For too long, communities across the Finger Lakes have treated housing like a problem that could wait. There was always a reason to study it a little longer, talk it through a … more: The Finger Lakes can’t solve housing without fixing power

Enrollment across the Finger Lakes isn’t just declining — it’s accelerating, and that shift is starting to reshape what school districts can realistically sustain. Dozens of districts are already operating at enrollment levels … more: COLUMN: Finger Lakes schools keep shrinking and that’s a huge problem

I sat down with urban planner and former mayor Bill Fulton for a wide-ranging conversation on In Focus, and one thing came through clearly: A lot of communities are behind the curve on … more: IN FOCUS: Making Upstate communities stronger will require tradeoffs (podcast)

Spend enough time in local planning meetings across the Finger Lakes and you’ll see a pattern: A housing project appears, concerns pile up, revisions are requested, and everyone agrees affordability is … more: IN FOCUS: Why housing still isn’t getting done across the Finger Lakes? (podcast)

A 59-year-old skydiver was found safe after an off-course landing in a wooded area near Ovid on September 5 following an intensive search. According to the Seneca County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were … more: Romulus skydiver recounts experience after off-course landing near Ovid airport

Owasco Lake has a problem and local officials say if something doesn’t change soon one of the region’s largest drinking water sources could be jeopardized. Several years ago the two communities most … more: OWASCO LAKE WATER CRISIS: “If we lose this lake we lose everything”

Canandaigua Mayor Bob Palumbo says the damage seen at Kershaw Park and along Eastern Blvd. is some of the worst he can remember in the city. A line of severe thunderstorms wreaked … more: ‘THE MOST DAMAGE I CAN REMEMBER’: Mayor says Canandaigua cleanup will take time after devastating thunderstorm

On episode #506 of Inside the FLX two leaders from the Canandaigua Emergency Squad joined us in-studio to discuss an array of EMS-related issues in Upstate New York. Whether it's declining volunteer first … more: INSIDE THE FLX: Exclusive conversation with Canandaigua Emergency Squad leaders on state of EMS (podcast)

Today on episode #505 of Inside the FLX we're talking with Judy Wentzel. She's the executive director of the Bonafiglia Family Foundation. Like many small, rural communities in Upstate New York - … more: INSIDE THE FLX: Judy Wentzel talks Bonafiglia Family Foundation (podcast)

Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck is warning residents about potential budget cuts to public safety brought on by the need to address costly repairs at the county's office building. In January, the … more: Public Safety Staffing vs. County Office Building: Sheriff Schenck Raises Alarm Over Possible Cuts

There’s no debate about it — a real housing crisis exists in the Finger Lakes. Forget about the tropes and reasons you’ve heard on the news about why homeownership is out … more: Housing Crisis in Ontario County: Findings, Themes, and Potential Solutions

There's a housing crisis in the Finger Lakes. For several years now homeownership rates have been in decline. This while the rate of rent burdened households, or those that spend 50% … more: INSIDE THE FLX: What’s Being Done to Address the Housing Crisis in Ontario County?