It's that time to reflect on 2022. It was a busy year with a lot of stories to cover. Here are my five most memorable stories of the year.Â
1. The "truffle kerfuffle" was one I thought of as the campaign wound down and Brandon Williams faced criticism for owning a truffle farm. I pitched the story to his campaign and they said he was willing to host me at the farm for a tour. His wife, Stephanie, showed me the honey she made and then we walked around the farm. It was a unique story and an opportunity to inform people about something that they may not know a lot about.Â
2. Following Tim Locastro's pro baseball career has produced a lot of memories. This year, he added to that virtual album with his first taste of playoff baseball. And exactly one year after tearing his ACL at Yankee Stadium, he completed his comeback with three hits and home run against the Yankees' biggest rival, the Boston Red Sox.Â
3. New York Secretary of State Robert Rodriguez visited Auburn to check out the completed Downtown Revitalization Initiative projects. I have written a lot about the DRI over the years, but this story was fun because my daughter tagged along for the tour. I interviewed Rodriguez at Cafe 108 while holding my daughter, leading to some great photos.Â
4. After chatter about the governor potentially appointing an acting district attorney, I decided to submit a Freedom of Information Law request to obtain any emails about the process. It was easy to dismiss this as a non-story or "politics as usual," but what was uncovered is that this was taken seriously — the leading candidate was interviewed twice — before the decision was made not to make an appointment.Â
5. President Joe Biden visited the Syracuse area in October to celebrate Micron's plans to build a chip manufacturing facility in Onondaga County. A presidential visit is always a memorable experience. In this case, though, it was connected to a project that could have a far-reaching impact.Â
