What we do on November 8 will speak volumes, to us, and to the world, about who we are as Americans and the principles we believe in.
Columns
Posted inNews & Opinion
To transform Rochester, two critical focus points
If we keep operating in our conservative ‘business as usual’ mode, Rochester will continue to envy cities like Chattanooga.
Posted inNews & Opinion
To make a bold stand, vote Bernie
Mary Anna Towler last week reluctantly endorsed Hillary Clinton for New York’s presidential primary. City writers disagree with her endorsement.
Posted inNews & Opinion
Why winning the Fight for $15 is essential
The argument that a substantial increase in the minimum wage is a “job killer” has no basis in fact.
Posted inNews & Opinion
The Paris attacks: should France rain flowers?
Why do Parisians represent humanity more than the Lebanese whose lives were extinguished in suicide attacks the day before?
Posted inNews & Opinion
A new rebellion
It’s a bit odd that in America’s thoroughly corporatized culture we have no national day of honor for the Captains of Industry, and yet we do have one for working stiffs: Labor Day. Where did it come from? Who gave this day off to laboring people? History books that bother mentioning Labor Day at all […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
The State of Monroe: what Brooks didn’t say
The county executive highlighted collaboration, finances, and economic development. But what about child care needs and luxury-housing tax breaks?
Posted inNews & Opinion
Testing’s not the key to educational success
Governor Andrew Cuomo and other critics of education view teaching and learning as a business – and as such, they believe teachers and schools should be held accountable for students’ successes and failures. But they measure success and failure only by outcomes on standardized tests and supposedly objective evaluations of teacher and school effectiveness. They […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
CITY VOICES: Is NY government corrupt by design?
As if we needed it, Sheldon Silver’s downfall provides yet another confirmation that without effective oversight, power inevitably corrupts. But his arrest is a teachable moment for the voters of New York State. The lesson is this: If Albany is an ethical swamp, the dam that prevents the swamp from ever being drained is something […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
School integration is more than enrichment
I am betting that most parents in the Spencerport school district would welcome participation in the Urban-Suburban program, despite the few voices of opposition. For 50 years, the program has opened the door for minority children from Rochester to attend school in one of seven participating suburban districts. (Spencerport would be the 8th if the […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
For the homeless, no shelter from the storm
I parked in the Civic Center garage every day for the better part of 30 years. I became accustomed to the homeless men and women who spent nights and frigid days in its darkest and dankest corners and stairwells. They were sleeping or sleeping one off, often resting their heads on plastic bags that contained […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
The ACA’s poison pill?
You are forgiven if you haven’t heard that the Affordable Care Act is headed back to the Supreme Court. After all, the court ruled on the constitutionality of the law in 2012. That should have been the end of it. But the ACA’s opponents are nothing if not relentless. This time, it is possible that […]
