http://cnylink.com/blogs Walt Shepperd is a veteran of Central New York's political scuffle, having covered government and politics in Syracuse for nearly four decades. He is the Senior Editor of the City Eagle and the Mayor of Montgomery Street in downtown Syracuse. en-us 60 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:22:08 -0800 City Scuffle Thousands of people help set new marks for the Guinness Book every year, the day after Thanksgiving, by emptying Clinton Square in record speed after the downtown Christmas tree http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1258575728 http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1258575728 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:14:33 -0800 City Scuffle T-shirts heralded the 60th anniversary of Our Lady of Pompei’s annual Election Day Spaghetti Supper, which has become tradition as a lunchtime schmooze for candidates, political http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257966873 http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257966873 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:28:48 -0800 City Scuffle The old synagogue at Crouse and Harrison may become condos, but no matter what renovations occur inside, any passing by of the majestic stone steps and columns will always be of http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257521328 http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257521328 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:01:02 -0700 City Scuffle In 1993, the year he upset Joe Nicoletti in the mayor’s race, Roy Bernardi speculated that the person following him into the City Hall top spot would be African-American. He said http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1256824862 http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1256824862 Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:55:09 -0700 City Scuffle As word spread last week that County Legislators had eliminated Julius Edwards’ position as director of the Human Rights Commission from County Executive Joanie Mahoney’s http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1255629309 http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1255629309 Thu, 08 Oct 2009 07:20:36 -0700 City Scuffle On Labor Day Howie Hawkins issued a white paper titled “How to Fight Poverty in Syracuse.” As sparkplug for the local Green Party, Howie established a perennial role running for http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1255011636 http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1255011636 Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:26:28 -0700 City Scuffle Steve Kimatian walked slowly around the office, which had headquartered the campaign Alfonso Davis waged in the Democratic mayoral primary, pausing for a knowing glance at the map http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1254410788 http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1254410788 Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:45:59 -0700 City Scuffle Samadee sat with the Has Been and the Wannabe, looking out the big front window in World, which had celebrated a soft opening the night before on the Southside of Hanover Square. http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1253907959 http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1253907959 Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:39:29 -0700 City Scuffle It’s only nostalgia at the Great New York State Fair, according to Thom Green, unless it’s your first time. Then it’s big and scary and amazing. After that, it’s all http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1253209169 http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1253209169 Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:01:17 -0700 City Scuffle Sean McLeod calls the Media Unit the Everything Club. “If you can make it through the Media Unit,” he says, “you can do everything.” Well, not everything, maybe, but certainly http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1252094477 http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1252094477 Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:43:30 -0700 City Scuffle Tommy Sullivan was back in town last week. A Mohawk who grew up in Eastwood, an activist and organizer on environmental issues who had been teaching college in California, he http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1250192610 http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1250192610 Wed, 05 Aug 2009 11:57:51 -0700 City Scuffle Tom Young won the 1985 mayoral election and packed his inner circle into a bus for a recon mission to Baltimore. There the mayor had instigated a downtown renaissance by fostering http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1249498671 http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1249498671 Thu, 23 Jul 2009 02:06:30 -0700 City Scuffle If you have time to read this summer, and you have resisted or recovered from the addiction to tiny screens with instant non-information, a dose of humor at this point could be http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1248383190 http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1248383190 Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:34:53 -0700 City Scuffle Having subsisted primarily on bar food since 9/11, Samadee looked forward to his reunion with Cousin Stella at Sparky Town as a step toward culinary rehab. His only reservation http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1247070893 http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1247070893 Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:53:31 -0700 City Scuffle Those for whom the grass is always greener someplace else, drop everything and immediately check out the city’s new pocket park. That’s where they did the demolition on the http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1246550011 http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1246550011 Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:10:48 -0700 City Scuffle For Samadee, the Friday evening stroll east on Genesee Street started getting nostalgic at Samir’s, where, back in the day he had been a regular customer for dried apricots and http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1245859848 http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1245859848 Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:05:21 -0700 City Scuffle On an evening at Shenanigan’s when the bartenders outnumber the customers, the discussion turns apolitical. “I don’t vote,” one says, sharing feelings of guilt, but being http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1244653521 http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1244653521 Mon, 08 Jun 2009 06:14:38 -0700 City Scuffle Five months before the calendar turned to the year of the fabled space odyssey, the Senior Editor began a series of excursions through the world surrounding the upcoming open race http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1244466878 http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1244466878 Fri, 29 May 2009 10:56:46 -0700 City Scuffle “Our mission in the youth department here at CNY Works, Inc.,” Andrea Schnobrich wrote early last spring, “is to serve as many youth as possible in appropriate, meaningful jobs http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1243619806 http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1243619806 Fri, 22 May 2009 11:17:16 -0700 City Scuffle Confounded by the prospect of contemplating a political future without the benefit of e-mail or Internet, Samadee surveyed the weekend dishes piled up in the Sunday bus pan. http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1243016236 http://cnylink.com/blogs/wshepperd/view_blog.php?blog_id=1243016236