From local politics to a campus speaker, here are four of the biggest stories to catch up on from the weekend.

Rep. John Katko (R-Camillus) holds lead over Dana Balter 

Incumbent Rep. John Kato holds a 14-point lead over his Democratic opponent Dana Balter in a recent poll from Syracuse.com/Spectrum News/Siena College in the race for New York State’s 24th Congressional District.

Katko leads Balter 53 to 39 percent among likely voters, with 8 percent of voters undecided, according to the poll released Sunday. The 24thCongressional District includes the city of Syracuse, as well as Onondaga, Cayuga and Wayne counties and the western half of Oswego County.

Syracuse residents support Balter by 44percentage points more than Katko, while Katko leads by 19 percent in the rest of Onondaga County and 26 percent in the other counties, per Syracuse.com.

Margaret Atwood discusses activism, literary legacy at SU lecture

Margaret Atwood, author of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” spoke Thursday night in Hendricks Chapel to a crowd of more than 100 people about her writing process and current events in the secondeventof SU’s University Lecture series.

Atwood discussed the current political climate in the United States, her literary legacy and activism and how her lifelong interest in science still impacts her writing.

Totalitarian regimes and anxiety surrounding the current U.S. political climate were recurring topics during the lecture. Atwood said she doesn’t think the U.S. will “roll over” easily for a completely totalitarian government.

Man shot during traffic dispute in city of Oswego

A 58-year-old man shot another man during a traffic dispute on Friday at about1:43 p.m. on East Utica Street between East 10th and Duer Street in the city of Oswego, Syracuse.com reported.

The victim, a 34-year-old man, was shot at least once in the stomach, according to Syracuse.com, and taken to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse. Police are still investigating the shooting and have shut down the area, per Syracuse.com.

Syracuse adds 26 firefighters to its ranks

Syracuse Fire Department Chief Michael Monds announced on Saturday that the 26 new firefighters are all Syracuse residents and will be “immediately deployed” to fire stations where they will respond to firesand other emergencies across the city, per Syracuse.com.

The department’s350 firefighters had a base salary in 2015 of a little more than $60,000, per Syracuse.com.

Published on October 28, 2018 at 8:31 pm

Contact Mary: mdcatalf@syr.edu | @mrycatalfamo