Crosswordese.Com



Word of the Day – Monday, July 14th

 


Home

Word of the Day

Archives

Clever Clue of the Month

The Cruciverbalist

Links

Daily Email







UTICA (YOO-tih-kuh)

1. City of eastern New York state
2. Ancient city northwest of Carthage
Common clues: New York city; City near Syracuse; Rival of ancient Carthage;
Carthage neighbor; City on the Mohawk; Upstate New York city
Crossword puzzle frequency: 2 times a year
News: 37th Annual Boilermaker Is In The Books, Energy Still High in Utica
Video:
Peregrine Falcons in Utica New York


Utica is a city in the American state of New York, and the county seat of Oneida County. The current mayor of Utica is David Roefaro. The City of Utica is situated within the region referred to as the Mohawk Valley and the Leatherstocking Region in Central New York State. Utica has an extensive park system, with winter and summer sports facilities. Utica and the neighboring city of Rome are principal cities of the Utica–Rome, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Oneida and Herkimer counties.



Looking south on Utica's Genesee Street


Like many industrial towns and cities in the northeastern Rust Belt, Utica has experienced a major reduction in manufacturing activity in the past several decades, and is in serious financial trouble; many public services have been curtailed to save money. Suburbs in Utica have begun to experience suburban sprawl; this is common in many Upstate New York cities, which are suffering from what the Sierra Club termed "sprawl without growth," although recently notable efforts have been made to revitalize the Downtown and Oneida Square areas of Utica by planning the construction of quality apartment housing.


In "The Simpsons" episode from season 5 titled "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)", Grampa watches an old newsreel of Springfield's early period of prosperity. The newsreel ends with the narrator declaring, "So watch out, Utica, Springfield is a City on...the Grow!"


***


Utica is an ancient city northwest of Carthage near the outflow of the Medjerda River into the Mediterranean Sea, traditionally considered to be the first colony founded by the Phoenicians in North Africa. Today, Utica no longer exists, and its remains are located not on the coast where it once lay, but further inland because the Medjerda River caused the silting over of its original port.



The ruins of Utica


Utica was founded as a port located on the trade route leading to the Straits of Gibraltar and the Atlantic, thus facilitating Phoenician trade in the Mediterranean. The actual founding date of Utica is controversial. Several classical authors date its foundation around 1100 BC. The archaeological evidence, however, suggests a foundation no earlier than the eighth century BC. Although Carthage was later founded about 40 km. from Utica, records suggest “that until 540 BC Utica was still maintaining political and economic autonomy in relation to its powerful Carthaginian neighbor”. By the fourth century BC, Utica came under Punic control but continued to exist as a privileged ally of Carthage.


In AD 439, the Vandals captured Utica, in AD 534 the Byzantines captured it once more, and the Arabs were responsible for its ultimate destruction around AD 700. "Excavations at the site have yielded two Punic cemeteries and Roman ruins, including baths and a villa with mosaics".




This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Utica, New York" and “Utica, Tunisia”.



17 Tu+