🌱 Improvements Being Made To Harbor Point + USA Box Lacrosse Try-Outs

Hey, Utica. I'm here in your inbox per usual to tell you everything you need to know about what's going on in town.

But first, your local weather:

• Wednesday: A shower and thunderstorm. High: 70 Low: 38.
• Thursday: Mostly sunny. High: 68 Low: 37.

From our sponsor:

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Here are the top three stories today in Utica:

1. It has been announced by the Mayor of Utica that the city will be making major investments in Harbor Point in order to make it more of a functional destination with key upgrades adding to the accessibility of the property. The American Rescue Plan Act will be investing around $2.5 million towards improvements both structurally and aesthetically including a new floating dock for recreational boating, railing along walkways for safer water accessibility, enhancements to green space, and more. Harbor Point has more than 100 acres along the waterfront between the Mohawk River and Erie Canal and is planning to make the area more accessible to the public. (WKTV)
2. Over the past weekend, the USA men's and women's box lacrosse teams held tryouts for the team at the Nexus Center ahead of this year's championships being held at Nexus Center. Team USA's assistant coach Brian Hobart was very pleased with what he saw at tryouts. This is one of the first events that has been held to fill the rosters in the past few years due to the pandemic putting a halt on things. The World Box Lacrosse Championships will be taking place in September 2024 and there will be a lot of player evaluations and roster filling until then. (WKTV)
3. Oneida County Public Market is requesting the help of the public to name its new public rooster mascot. The new rooster was revealed to the public at last weekend's season-opening and that is when the public was prompted to go online and vote on the name of the mascot out of the five names listed. The contest for the name of the mascot will run until Jul. 14 with the name being selected on Jul. 15. Known as one of the best in the nation, Oneida County Public Market takes a lot of pride in its commitment to improvement, and with the new mascot, the hopes are the market will get even more national recognition. (Utica Observer-Dispatch)

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Today and tomorrow in Utica:

Wednesday, May 24

• From Burnt Out To Fired Up At Chesterfield's Tavolo (5:30 PM)
• DIY Planter Heads At The Utica Public Library (6:00 PM)
• NA Meetings At Cornerstone Community Church (7:00 PM)

Thursday, May 25

• ICAN & The TORCH Project Present Youth Engagement Series At Delta Hotels By Mariott (8:30 AM)
• Exile McBride: An Irish Freedom Fighter At The Irish Cultural Center (7:00 PM)

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From my notebook:

• Were you aware that both male and female Transcaspian Urials will grow spiraling horns, you can usually tell the difference between males and females because males' horns are much longer. This is also a reminder that the Utica Zoo is open 363 days a year! (Utica Zoo via Facebook)
• The Utica Police Department is looking for new recruits to join the department and starting salary is over $54,000 with a potential increase to over $90,000 after five years. The announcement for the exam will be released soon, if you want to be kept up to date you can email recruitment@uticapd.com to be notified. (City of Utica, NY Police Department via Facebook)
• Rescue Mission of Utica is looking to give away a small house in the community. The deadline for the application is on Jun. 30, you can go online for more information on what it takes to qualify for this opportunity as well as to find the application. (Rescue Mission of Utica via Facebook)

Alrighty, you're all caught up for today. I'll see you soon!

— Nicole Fallon-Peek

About me: Nicole Fallon-Peek is a journalist and copywriter with a degree in Media, Culture and Communication from New York University. She has served as a freelance reporter, managing editor, copy editor, and editorial director for a variety of B2B news outlets. She currently co-owns and operates content creation agency Lightning Media Partners.