We've been writing a bit about AXA's desire to stay in Syracuse, and with a couple of smart moves by the city – beautifying public space and finding 600 parking spots for AXA to pay for – the financial company today signed a 15-year lease to commit to staying in Syracuse until 2023.

In development news, you know the whole Pyramid dropping the ball thing is really pervasive when a story about a really cool $80 million sports park/hotel complex starts like this:

Here's a new twist for the Syracuse area: A big development that promises to draw people in large numbers from hundreds of miles away is being built.

In other news, Honeywell, which bought Allied Chemical in 1999, is ready to put almost a half billion dollars into cleaning up Onondaga Lake. The state sued Allied for dumping its toxic sludge into the lake all the way back in 1989, and the company's finally stepping up to start making it right.

A cleaner Onondaga Lake means (a) the Haudenosaunee can feel a little bit better (read: less resentful) about one of their really old sacred grounds, and (b) we can eat the fish, finally. Assuming the clean-up happens, of course.