More charter schools are poised to open in the City of Rochester. The Rochester school board held a public hearing recently for Exploration Elementary Charter School for Science and Technology. And the State Education Department is reviewing an application for Rochester Charter School for Applied Technology. Locations for both haven’t been selected yet. Exploration Elementary […]
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The dirty fight for farmland in Latin America
Even though much of the world’s food supply still comes from small farmers, those same farmers from Honduras to the Philippines increasingly cannot feed their own families, and they’re fighting for survival. A wave of “land-grabbing” has swept across continents over the last 30 years — a phenomenon cited in a 2014 report by the […]
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Photonics: What? Why? How?
Rochester is undeniably excited about photonics, even if much of the community doesn’t know what it is. But there’s good reason for the buzz, since Rochester will be the heart of a national initiative to build an integrated photonics industry from the ground up. The Department of Defense is keen on integrated photonics, which basically […]
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Voter registration deadline nears for presidential primary
This story has been corrected. You are running out of time to register to vote in the April 19, 2016, presidential primary election. The deadline is October 9. You must be registered with the party of your choice in order to vote in the New York primary. If you register by mail, the form must […]
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New Labor Federation leader
Dan Maloney says he wants America to make things. Manufacturing is the best way, he says, to rev up the US economy. Maloney, president of UAW Local 1097 for nine years, has recently been named president of the Rochester-Genesee Valley Area Labor Federation, too. His goals in the new job include improving organizing, messaging, and […]
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A path out of poverty
A progress report released last week by the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative includes some heavy lifts. For one, the efforts outlined in the report will undoubtedly require significant funding. And the report says that the Rochester region needs to mitigate societal factors, such as structural racism, that keep people in poverty — no simple task. But […]
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RTA prez: ‘Where is the outrage?’
Rochester city school teachers are not happy with the proposed changes to the district’s code of conduct or with recommendations to improve school climate, says Adam Urbanski, president of the Rochester Teachers Union. The Community Task Force on School Climate released a 65-page proposal last month. The group worked for months on a code that […]
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Millennials’ money worries
Peter Scheutzow began investing when he was a child. While many young people his age spent their allowances on video games and gadgetry, he put his money in the stock market. Scheutzow says that he was curious about money matters and had an uncle who is a certified financial planner who encouraged him and showed […]
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Latinos’ growing influence
Learning how to turn growing Latino consumer and political power into action is the main goal of the annual “Upstate Latino Summit,” which is being held in Rochester this year on Wednesday, September 16. The one-day event of workshops and panel discussions is expected to draw Latino leaders from around the state to the Rochester […]
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Solar city
The largest solar power system in the City of Rochester is tucked unobtrusively behind the Bausch + Lomb building on North Goodman Street. The 3,600 glass-and-metal panels at the corner of Northland Avenue and Lyceum Street sit at the end of a quiet neighborhood and are partially shielded from view. The Bausch + Lomb system […]
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Back to the books
Officials with Seymour Library in Brockport had a plan to simplify what they say has become a burdensome budgeting process. But with a few flicks of his wrist, Governor Andrew Cuomo put a halt to it. Library officials wanted to establish a special district, which would have allowed them to collect taxes from residents of […]
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Primary warfare
Monroe County Democrats are a soft target for the media and local political junkies, mainly because they just make it so easy. The discord — essentially a power struggle between warring factions of the party — appears to be manifesting in some of this year’s primary election contests, particularly in the Monroe County Legislature races. […]
