Ferry update, November 24: Rochester’s ferry crisis kicked into high gear on Wednesday, when two companies that financed the boat began foreclosure proceedings. A very possible outcome: A court will permit the lenders — ABN AMRO Bank and EFIC (the Export Finance and Insurance Corp.) to take the boat and sell it to recoup […]
Chad Oliveiri
Posted inNews & Opinion
Dominick Delucia: CATS wants to stay in
“We have been at this thing for five very long, grueling years. We haven’t quit on this project or this community, and we’re not about to quit now.” CATS founder Dominick Delucia is determined to find a recovery plan for the ferry that CATS and the city can approve. In his mind, ferry service should […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Bill Johnson: CATS’ plan is ‘too risky’
In Mayor Bill Johnson’s ferry plan, city council would approve establishing a public authority to take ownership of the ferry in December, and the state legislature would approve it in early February. The authority might handle the operation itself, or it might hire a company to do it. The authority would be appointed immediately so […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Land of the free?
When people throughout the country chose a president on November 2, voters in 11 states had an additional charge: deciding whether to ban same-sex marriage. In all 11 states, and in frequently overwhelming numbers, voters approved the ban. And same-sex marriage became a strong political tool for the Right, which aimed to win voters based […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Solidly and confidently Red in Monroe County
As the results of last week’s presidential election trickled in and Four More Years began materializing, there was an overwhelming sense that many Democrats were getting schooled. It’s one thing to not have your man win the election. It’s another thing entirely to feel blindsided by the results. Sure, wartime incumbents never get booted from […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Design down the Avenue
This Saturday marks a chance for residents of the Upper Monroe to stake a claim for the future of their neighborhood. Local architects, city planners, and neighborhood residents will be banding together for a day-long design charrette. And there are some big topics to address during the brainstorming session: the Culver Road Armory, Cobbs Hill, […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
The sounds of silence
It’s official: Amy Goodman has become a celebrity. Touring the country to promote her new book, The Exception to the Rulers: Exposing Oily Politicians, War Profiteers, and the Media that Love Them (cowritten by her brother, David), the host of the independent news program Democracy Now! is frequently confronted by thousands of fans. Democracy Now! […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
‘Democracy’ denied: Why WXXI won’t air ‘DN!’
Standing by their decision to keep Democracy Now! off their airwaves, WXXI officials are maintaining their stance that the show fails to meet the station’s standards for balance and objectivity. City Newspaper placed calls to WXXI Radio News Director Peter Iglinski and Radio Vice President Jeanne Fisher, and our questions were referred to Creative Director […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Playing ‘political piñata’
City Councilman Tim Mains often jokes that he’s spent the past two years serving as City Hall’s resident political piñata. And it’s an experience that Mains says forced a hard lesson: that “political friends,” as he says, “are sometimes better defined by the adjective than by the noun.” Over the past two years, Mains, a […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
To market with downtown
It’s been a little more than a year since Bill Pritchard was sworn in to City Council, filling a seat vacated by Nancy Griswold. While spending much of the past year learning the ropes of his new post, Pritchard has also placed his focus on downtown development. Much of that is an outgrowth of Pritchard’s […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Ferry tales
It struck a pier in New York City and survived. It faced early delays and scheduling snafus. But it overcame those problems and was able to thumb its nose at skeptics, serving 73,000 riders in the month of August and making fans of many Torontonians. And then last week, The Breeze suspended service. Its […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Say what?
It’s gone from hot topic to footnote in a matter of weeks. Mall magnate and Wilmorite CEO Tom Wilmot’s proposal for an Indian-run casino in downtown Rochester seems dead in the water. First, Governor George Pataki told the media he wasn’t even considering a Rochester location. Then news came out of Albany that all land-claim […]
