Maggie Brooks has been a fixture in county government for two decades, acting as Monroe County executive for the last 12 years and before that, county clerk. But in just a couple of months, term limits will force her from office. But Brooks says she isn’t going away — and no one expects her to […]
News
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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.
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McDermott tries for school board
Matthew McDermott is one of five candidates running for Rochester school board in the November 3 general election. He’s running on the Working Families line. School board races are not head-to-head; the top vote-getters win the seats. So McDermott will be competing against incumbents Malik Evans, Mary Adams, Willa Powell, and newcomer Liz Hallmark. All […]
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Public Market to launch major campaign
The two-year campaign, which could include billboards and bus wraps, will raise awareness of the market’s popular tokens program.
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Elect a Democratic majority to the Lej
All 29 seats in the Monroe County Legislature are up for election this year, so no matter which party wins control of the chamber, we’re guaranteed at least a few fresh faces; many longtime legislators face term limits. The Legislature has major issues to tackle over the next few years. Of particular importance will be […]
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Filling the gap before the middle-skills gap
People in the Rochester region need jobs. Employers in the Rochester region need middle-skills workers. Yet thousands of machinist, lab technician, and dental assistant positions — to name a few — go unfilled because employers say they can’t find people with the right education and training. Monroe Community College’s accelerated certificate programs are an attempt […]
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This is a campaign?
So, the 2015 county executive race should be the political brawl of the decade. Term limits prevent Maggie Brooks, the star Republican who’s held the job for almost 12 years, from running for re-election, so the seat is wide open. And two experienced, well-known politicians want to take her place: County Clerk Cheryl Dinolfo, a […]
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Drone awareness walk
Members of the Upstate Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars are walking from Syracuse to Niagara Falls to make Western New Yorkers aware that the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station is now a drone control center similar to the one that’s been operating for several years at Hancock Air National Guard Base […]
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Nibbling around the edges of gun violence
Gun violence is a devastating, complicated problem. Federal lawmakers have so far been unwilling to pass comprehensive gun-control legislation, so in that absence, local, state, and federal officials continue with piecemeal efforts to fight gun violence. For example, US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand sponsors a bill that would make gun trafficking a federal crime. Guns are […]
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Inner Loop fill progress is evident
One of an occasional series It looks like someone has set up camp on the former Inner Loop. But the small white tents are actually containment units for asbestos abatement. Workers inside the tents cut the asbestos out of the pipe, and then remove the pipe in sections and haul it away. The tents keep […]
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Urbanski: school receivership is flawed
The state education law that gives superintendents of the lowest-performing public schools the power to make significant policy and staff changes, sometimes without the approval of their school boards, is flawed, says Adam Urbanski, longtime president of the Rochester Teachers Association. Receivership won’t help superintendents, including Rochester schools Superintendent Bolgen Vargas, confront the challenges they […]
