The Rochester school district’s growing challenges offer opportunities, but the community will have to take advantage of them.
Mary Anna Towler
Mary Anna Towler is a transplant from the Southern Appalachians and is editor, co-publisher, and co-founder of City. She is happy to have converted a shy but opinionated childhood into an adult job. She credits a grandfather for instilling in her a love of politics. And she makes no apology for her liberal views.
Posted inNews & Opinion
Animals on the carousel? Yes. Racist art, no
Landmarks can be altered. And removing a painted panel that mocks African Americans is a darned good reason to do it.
Posted inNews & Opinion
Have we all gone mad? Guns, anger, and us
We may not be able to get control of our gun violence unless we do something about our anger, fear, and hatred.
Posted inNews & Opinion
Get a grip on fear
We shouldn’t be naïve about the danger of homegrown terrorism (whether it comes in the form of ISIS-inspired mayhem or an attack at a Planned Parenthood clinic, a church, or a movie theater). But we shouldn’t be foolish, either.
Posted inNews & Opinion
Downtown and its future
Careful planning and development incentives can guarantee that downtown will serve and benefit all of us.
Posted inNews & Opinion
What Trump’s support says about the country
Donald Trump may not become our next president, but that won’t cork the hatred he has set loose.
Posted inNews & Opinion
After San Bernardino: fear, guns, and politics
Muslims have caused very, very few of the gun deaths in this country. But with gun violence, facts don’t seem to matter.
Posted inNews & Opinion
Forcing Urbanski out won’t help city students
An attack on Rochester teachers union president Adam Urbanski is an attack on teachers, and that distracts us from the enormous challenge ahead of us.
Posted inNews & Opinion
The Paris attacks and a US response
Just as we had choices as a country after 9/11, we have choices now. And what we do matters.
Posted inNews & Opinion
Monroe County election shows a divided community
It matters how important the city is in the eyes of the new county executive and the heavily Republican legislature.
Posted inNews & Opinion
The media, the candidates, and the future of politics
What will this presidential campaign teach our children? What do we want them to learn from it?
Posted inNews & Opinion
Vargas out: Impossible job claims another superintendent
This is not a Rochester problem. It is a problem facing every urban school district in the country.
