Reader Feedback 8.31.05
POT, NOT In response to Steve Walter’s letter in the August 17 issue: While everyone has a right to make their own moral decisions, I get particularly prickly at the spread of blatant misinformation. Any individual is free to decide for themselves whether the ancient practice of cannabis consumption is a “vice,” but they should…
Family Valued 8.31.05
Not your parents’ how-to Having randomly selected a 9-year-old from within my household, I place two books in front of him: How to Train Your Dragon and How to Be a Pirate, both by Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, translated from the Old Norse by Cressida Cowell. Have we ever met before? Well, yes. Are you…
Fiz 8.31.05
Madden on your back “Playing Madden is like injecting a shot of happiness directly in my veins. And the cost of decreased hygiene and damaged social skills is totally worth it to me.” The inexplicable joy videogames afford their greatest devotees has nothing on Madden. The testimonial above, a random sample of Madden-related Internet postings,…
To lead this city: Wade Norwood
It is an important election year in the City of Rochester. Bill Johnson is retiring after 12 years as mayor. Three important long-time City Councilmembers will be leaving. Rochester, despite its deep, unique resources, is facing enormous challenges: job loss, tax-base erosion, the flight of well-educated young people, a federal government that is ignoring the…
For City Council: Conklin, Maneiro, Miller, Pritchard
Of City Council’s nine seats, five are up for election this fall. These are at-large seats, which means that in the September 13 Democratic primary, voters can choose five of the nine candidates on the ballot. The nine have remarkably similar opinions on several issues. Most support continuing subsidies for the fast ferry, at least…
For School Board: Porter, Henley, Brennan
In the September 13 Democratic primary, four Democrats are seeking the three Rochester School Board seats: Tom Brennan, Cynthia Elliott, Jeff Henley, and Darryl Porter. Only Porter is an incumbent; board members Rob Brown and Jim Bowers are retiring. In deciding who of the four would best serve the needs of the district and the…
County Legislature, Brighton: Travis Heider
Of the five primaries for County Legislature seats — two Democratic, one Republican, two Independence Party — we selected the two we found most interesting and most highly contested, one city, one suburban, both Democratic. In both, the current legislators are retiring due to term limits. In the 14th district, which covers most of Brighton…
Inbox 8.31.05
Props to this week’s contributor, Jason, who saved the following email from way back in 1999. We’ll let Jason set the stage. Register your constructive criticism at inbox@rochester-citynews.com. — Michael Neault “Years ago I bought a brand new Honda that was advertised with a special high-efficiency engine. However, there was a huge difference between the…
Happy endings can be relative
When the phone rings late at night, my initial reaction is to wonder who might have died. Upon being asked “Can I talk to you?” I instinctively survey my surroundings and make a mental note of the exits. And once I learn that a film like The Brothers Grimm has spent a couple years growing…
Exploring the mysteries of inner
As the summer draws near its inevitable end, this year even the seasonal blockbusters exhibit a certain fatigue, as if Hollywood itself gradually succumbed to heat, humidity, and box office lethargy. From the laborious dullness of Revenge of the Sith to the ersatz warfare of Stealth to the bourgeois melodrama of The War of the…
Music Reviews 8.31.05
Various Dimension Mix: The Music of Bruce Haack and Esther Nelson Eenie Meenie Records Pioneering electronic musician Bruce Haack is a hero to some, like Beck and Tipsy and the Eels. To others — like the police, parents, and neighbors — he was a presumed pedophile. Let’s take a step back. In the ’60s and…
Cost of war 8.31.05
The totals: 1,876 US soldiers, 194 Coalition soldiers, and approximately 23,654 to 26,773 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq from the beginning of the war and occupation to August 25. From the beginning of the war through August 23, 14,120 US soldiers were wounded in action. American soldiers killed between August 20 and 25:…
Metro Ink 8.31.05
Endorsement deal It’s a rare thing when politics take a back seat in a political endorsement process. But that’s happening in Rochester this season. This September will make 13 years since the writers at the Democrat and Chronicle have had a contract. Members of the Rochester Newspaper Guild — the union for newsroom employees —…
Present tense
Being a shy person in a customer service field is just one of the strange contradictions involving Andrea Di Projetto’s job
