This is CNY

📚 Young people aren't reading enough. The data is troubling. Only one-third of students in 4th, 8th and 12th grades read proficiently at grade level nationally. In Central NY, some city and rural schools perform worse, with 1 out of 10 students reading at grade level. Low literacy correlates strongly with poverty. When students can’t read, they’re effectively locked out of the modern workforce, facing a lifetime of lower earning potential. They also struggle to navigate housing and healthcare systems, and are less likely to vote. That's why Maria Murray, Ph.D. founded The Reading League in Syracuse. She's leading a national push to tackle the literacy crisis. Katrina Tulloch has the story: https://lnkd.in/eu57MnTn

In a lovely example of collaboration, not competition, 19 Central New York indie bookstores have teamed up to create the first CNY Book Crawl. No purchase is necessary to participate, and local book lovers are getting excited. https://lnkd.in/ezzUYcUi

Patrick Berry, a writing professor at Syracuse University, sees his role at Project Mend as “creating a space where people can be heard.” That space is for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals and others affected by the criminal justice system. Through fiction and nonfiction writing, the visual arts, audio and film, contributors to Project Mend express their identities, process their trauma and assert their humanity, often from behind the walls of prisons designed to deny it. Berry spoke to Marie Morelli about his top three leadership skills, empowering people through a publishing apprenticeship, and the healing the arts can provide. Business Matters, presented by syracuse.com https://lnkd.in/eP-Gn9TF Photo: Jack VanBeveren

Turning Stone Enterprises will officially open a new restaurant and hotel over the next several weeks. The $400 million project in Verona began in 2023 and is the largest construction project since the resort opened in 1993. The Oneida Indian Nation has dubbed the expansion Turning Stone Evolution. The expansion also includes new convention and conference space, which is expected to open by Labor Day. When Evolution is complete, Turning Stone will have more than 1,000 rooms in four hotels and more than 225,000 square feet of events and meeting space. A new 1,500-space parking garage will double current parking capacity. Emily Kulkus, Business Matters, presented by syracuse.com https://lnkd.in/eFDDN5Yj

The Erie Canal transformed New York, the way people lived and worked, and the way business was conducted. Shipping costs were reduced and the volume of materials that could be shipped via canal, as opposed to on land, nearly tripled (nyheritage.org). This week, an integral part of the Harborview Aquarium was delivered by water, including about 150 miles on a barge along the Erie Canal. That wasn't the original plan. “For the right material, the Erie Canal and the entire New York State Canal System is proving to still be very viable for commercial shipping,” said Ben Walsh, director of the New York State Canal Corporation and former Syracuse mayor. https://lnkd.in/dp4VnDpd

As Syracuse’s cultural and economic landscape expands, so does its LGBTQ+ community. With that comes a greater need for queer visibility in businesses and shared spaces. Here are 20 groups and resources uplifting LGBTQ-owned businesses and fostering queer connection, social gatherings and support in Syracuse. https://lnkd.in/ezKhQMcU

The Central New York Community Foundation hired Kristi Eck to lead the group’s Central New York Innovation and Growth Initiative, an effort started in 2024 focused on preparing workers for jobs tied to Micron Technology’s expected arrival. Eck will come to the role in July from State University of New York at Oswego, where she’s worked on workforce innovation and building partnerships to connect people with training and careers — experience that local leaders say will be critical as Central New York prepares for rapid growth. Full story by Renee Fox. Business Matters, presented by syracuse.com https://lnkd.in/gGxDaKF7

Congratulations to Carrie Mae Weems, who was chosen as one of a select group of artists to contribute commissioned art installations to the Obama Presidential Center. Weems is a world-renowned artist who lives in Syracuse and was Syracuse University’s first-ever artist-in-residence. She is the first Black woman to have a retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum. The center opens in Chicago on Friday, June 19. https://lnkd.in/gAQNqEpx

Susan Crossett's career came full circle at the beginning of 2020 when she bought CPS Recruitment, a staffing firm where she was hired for her first job out of college. Then the pandemic happened. But in the years since, she and her staff weathered the storm, rebranded as Sapphire Recruitment and moved to the Syracuse Inner Harbor. CenterState CEO named Sapphire a 2026 Business of the Year for its deep community involvement. Crossett spoke to Marie Morelli about what makes job candidates stand out, the best advice she's received and one thing she would change about Syracuse. Business Matters, presented by syracuse.com Editor's note: Sapphire Recruitment has been a partner of This is CNY. https://lnkd.in/gTXjR9hy

Thoi Trang built his Vietnamese food empire from the ground up in Central New York, after leaving Vietnam alone as a teenager nearly 40 years ago. Trang left his home in Vĩnh Long, a small city about three hours from Saigon. He joined strangers from different towns who pooled money to buy a boat and supplies to travel to Malaysia in 1985. He was just 16 — one of many seeking freedom after the fall of Saigon. Trang, the owner of New Century and Wake Up restaurants, is the latest Syracuse Trailblazer. He says his experiences influenced his business philosophy. https://lnkd.in/g342E-Cs