LOCAL EDITION NEWS

Real-Time News and More for Onondaga and Surrounding Counties in Central New York

Joe Raymond, 17, from Fowler High School in Syracuse, plays drum with his band, The Last Battle, during the Battle of the Bands competition at the Jewish Community Center

Being a senior, I'm finding it hard to balance all my schoolwork and college applications.

On top of that, I'm a musician. My main "project," so to speak, is The Last Battle. It's made up of myself on drums, and my three best friends, Matt Travers (guitar), Rob Button (vocals) and Jason Purdy (bass).

We recently were signed to Burning Sun Records, a small label out of Billerica, Mass. We're in the process of recording a 10-song album, which will be released this summer on the label. We're planning to do a one-week tour this summer.

Romulus, NY -- Seneca County sheriff deputies said a Romulus man died Thursday afternoon at his home when a pickup truck apparently slipped off jacks and crushed him.

Deputies identified the victim as Levi H. Karlsen, 23, of 885 Yale Farm Road.

They said Karlsen was apparently working on a pickup in a home garage-workshop about 4 p.m. when the vehicle slipped, trapping him underneath. His father, Karl Karlsen, found his son under the pickup, jacked it up and pulled his son away from then vehicle.

Levi Karlsen was pronounced dead on arrival at Geneva General Hospital.

The death has been ruled accidental.

Syracuse, NY -- Bail was sharply increased this morning for an East Syracuse man charged with murdering a city man outside a North Side bar in February.

Carl J. Otts, 23, of 1 Grover St. had been free on $25,000 bail after initially being charged with first-degree manslaughter in the Feb. 1 stabbing death of 18-year-old Wesley Valentine.

But with Otts indicted this week on a more serious charge of second-degree murder, county Judge Anthony Aloi raised bail to $250,000 at the request of Chief Assistant District Attorney Christine Garvey.

Wampsville, NY -- Jesse Snow, the Canastota man who was found guilty in September of first-degree manslaughter in the death of his girlfriend's 3-year-old son, is scheduled to be sentenced this morning.

Snow, 24, was accused of deliberately causing head injuries to Aadon Olmsted by slamming him onto the floor or into a hard object on Feb. 6. Aadon died March 1 of a brain hemmorhage and skull fracture.

Snow initially told 911 dispatchers the boy have fallen down stairs. His lawyer later argued that Aadon's injuries were a product of roughhousing and play wrestling that went awry.

Snow faces five to 25 years in prison, according to District Attorney Jeff Aumell.

Here is a list of the latest school closings and delays, compiled from local television stations:

North Syracuse public & parochial: All schools dismiss one hour early, no p.m. kindergarten, no afternoon/evening activities

Phoenix Central School District: High school dismisses at 12:45 p.m., no after-school activities

Here is a list of the latest school closings and delays, compiled from local television stations:

North Syracuse public & parochial: All schools dismiss one hour early, no p.m. kindergarten, no afternoon/evening activities

Phoenix Central School District: High school dismisses at 12:45 p.m., no after-school activities

Dick Blume / The Post-StandardNational Grid workers Jack Kelly (left) and Richard Birden work on lamp poles Thursday on the Hiawatha Boulevard entrance ramp to Interstate 690 westbound.

Syracuse, NY -- When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, Germany partied for weeks.

When the Olympics ended in the summer, China welcomed Placido Domingo, David Beckham and 350 dancing kung fu fighters.

When Yankee Stadium closed recently, Yogi Berra reappeared.

But today, Central New York will achieve a milestone with no fanfare, fireworks or even one measly celebrity.

In a quiet, not-to-be-announced moment, the last orange cone will vanish from a ramp along Interstate 690, signaling the end of a traffic nightmare that spanned two years ... though it seemed at times like 100.

Though they finished on schedule, the two major highway projects unexpectedly outlasted Syracuse University football coach Greg Robinson, New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer and the conventional U.S. financial system.