A regulation to help protect Rochester neighborhoods from the trouble sometimes associated with corner stores has been repealed because the city did not have the authority to implement it. For the past three or four years, the City of Rochester regulated retail operations that sell alcohol, tobacco or tobacco paraphernalia, lottery tickets, or firearms, considering […]
Christine Carrie Fien
I'm City's news editor, which means I oversee all aspects of our news-gathering operation. I also sneak in to an occasional City Council meeting and cover Rochester's intriguing and eclectic neighbors. My family has a long legacy here, and I'm proud to continue to represent.
Posted inNews & Opinion
Short doc shows impact of drugs on North Clinton neighborhood
I found this video on Reddit and believe it deserves a wider audience. It’s a mini (about 10 minutes) documentary on the effect that open-air drug markets have on the North Clinton neighborhood in Rochester. And it is heartbreaking. “Living With Open-Air Drug Markets” was produced by Zack DeClerck, the Ibero-American Development Corporation, and the […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
City festivals to get fairness check
Rochester is known for its festivals, and the annual Jazz Festival is the undisputed jewel in the crown. But some people, including a member of City Council, say that the festival is treated like a favorite child and that it’s time to insist on more transparency. The City of Rochester will put together a committee […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
We win
Our region is one of three $500-million winners of the Upstate Revitalization Competition. Now to spend that $.
Posted inNews & Opinion
[UPDATED] Telephone poll asks about Barnhart, Warren
The poll also asks if the recent TV ads changed your opinion of Mayor Lovely Warren.
Posted inNews & Opinion
[UPDATED] Old psych center eyed for large redevelopment project
There’s a public meeting this week to talk about reusing the site for housing, commercial, and a hotel.
Posted inNews & Opinion
Two new options for Rochester’s homeless
A winter shelter has been found, and House of Mercy has a new, larger building.
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New ad campaign touts Rochester — or Warren?
Rochester is a mid-sized city with a small town’s zeal for gossip. So when a mayor who is not up for re-election until 2017 starts running TV spots, people take notice. The commercial shows Mayor Lovely Warren with a child — her daughter, Taylor? — and touts some of the things happening in the city, […]
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Citizen input sought for body-camera program
Rochester City Council kicks-off a series of public meetings tomorrow on the pending police body-camera program. Meetings will be held throughout November and one on December 3. The first meeting, on Thursday, November 12, will be held in City Council Chambers at City Hall, 30 Church Street. The city hopes to phase in the camera […]
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Home values up in Highland, Swillburg
Rising property values can be a sign of a healthy neighborhood. Unfortunately, they can also mean a higher tax bill. Preliminary data from Rochester’s ongoing citywide reassessment shows that property values are rising in some neighborhoods, including Highland, Swillburg, Browncroft, Upper Mount Hope, Neighborhood of the Arts, and Beechwood. “You can almost tell: Where [are] […]
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Is online voting a real possibility?
WXXI’s Evan Dawson had an interesting show today about elections and local politics. Dawson asked his assembled media panel, which included City’s Jeremy Moule, about the possibility of online voting. The panel pretty much agreed that consistently abysmal voter turnout would eventually force the powers that be to do….something. What? Nobody’s quite sure. Online voting […]
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Our 2015 City Council endorsements
This year’s City Council election mostly features well-known Democratic incumbents and practically unknown third-party challengers.
