Cover Story
Sinclair TV spreads the conservative message
For years, Sinclair has forced its TV stations to run conservatively biased news and commentary within local newscasts. Rochester’s top-rated WHAM Channel 13 is no exception.
RCSD’s dash to place students from Puerto Rico
The Rochester City School District has enrolled 482 new students from Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria struck the island in September, and school officials are preparing for as many as 1,000 total by the end of the school year. “When you really think about it, 482 students, that’s a school,” says Carlos Garcia, assistant to the…
Kate Washington, Dana Miller get new city positions
Kate Washington, who has been director of development services in the city’s Department of Neighborhood and Business Development, is being moved from that position to that of executive director of the city’s new Market Driven Community Cooperatives Corporation. And Dana Miller, who completes his term on City Council at the end of this year, has…
ART | ‘Crafts for Critters’
We’re in the home stretch of holiday gift-buying — and of opportunities to get those gifts from local makers at ready-made vendor events. Supporting small-biz artists and crafters is a good cause in every case, but this week’s “Crafts for Critters” event will also benefit Flower City Critters Small Animal Rescue. The organization is dedicated…
Album review: ‘Flow’
Tart Vandelay “Flow” Self-released tartvandelay.com Simple beauty just pours out of this EP like a bloodless, self-inflicted wound. In order for someone to take beauty, somebody has to give it. And Rochester’s Tart Vandelay just gives and gives on its new, four-song salvo, “Flow.” What catches the ear right out of the gate is the…
SPECIAL EVENT | Soul Santa for Families
When photographer Christopher “GoodKnews” Cardwell heard from customers that they wanted an African American Santa for their holiday photos, he listened, and in 2012 started teaming up with Henry “Big Hank” Phelps Jr. Big Hank has been making appearances at community events in the red suit as “Soul Santa” for 15 years, and for the…
Theater review: ‘Little Women’ at Blackfriars
On opening night of “Little Women” at Blackfriars Theatre, artistic director Danny Hoskins and development manager Mary Tiballi Hoffman took the stage to greet the audience. They asked if anyone was visiting Blackfriars for the first time, and nearly half the audience raised hands. An older man in the front row leaned to his younger…
STOMPGRASS | Groveland Station
You’ve heard of bluegrass, right? These Livingston County cats play stompgrass, or American fiddle boogie, if you like. But unlike other artists of the genre in this corner of New York, it doesn’t stop there. They get funky and contemporary, so when the blue or stomp kick in, you’ll hold onto it — or your…
Feedback 12/20
We welcome your comments. Send them to themail@rochester-citynews.com, or post them on our website, rochestercitynewspaper.com, our Facebook page, or our Twitter feed, @roccitynews. For our print edition, we select comments from all three sources; those of fewer than 350 words have a greater chance of being published, and we do edit selections for publication in…
MUSICAL COMEDY | Matt Griffo
We’re definitely in need of some comedic relief. Comedian and singer-songwriter Matt Griffo isn’t afraid to work blue to tackle the fundamentals that plague our society. Enter Griffo’s world, where he tells a story from two sides: as a diatribe and as a song played with his ukulele, guitar, and piano or accompanied by a…
Local projects get state funds
The Finger Lakes region is getting $63.9 million through the state’s annual Regional Economic Development Council awards. The funding will cover 110 different projects across the nine-county area served by the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council. The awards are based on an annual strategic plan prepared by the council. One of the bigger awards…
CLASSICAL/POPS | RPO Holiday Pops
The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra closes out its Pops concerts for 2017 with a feel-good gala event to get you in the holiday mood. Jeff Tyzik will lead the RPO in a well-rounded program that features everything from iconic classical works by Bach, Schubert, and Handel to cultural touchstones like Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride” and excerpts…
Legislation would open Upstate to Tesla stores
Teslas are hardly a rare sight on Rochester’s roads. But there’s no Tesla dealership in the Rochester region or, for that matter, any part of Upstate. The nearest ones are in major metros such as Toronto, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and New York City. And the same holds true of the company service centers that can perform…
HIP-HOP | Ace Hood
Florida-raised rapper and DJ Khaled protégé Ace Hood hit the road in November for his first official 22-city tour as an independent artist. Even with his busy schedule, he dropped his latest bass-heavy single, “Testify,” last week — there’s word that he’s releasing new music while on the road. Ace Hood was first widely known…
A new City Council will face big challenges
Rochester’s city government will enter 2018 with a major change in its legislative branch. A third of City Council’s nine members will be new. And Council will be losing a lot of institutional memory: two of the three members who are leaving – Carolee Conklin and Dana Miller – have each served on Council for…
DOOM METAL | The Obsessed
Scott Wino has always been somewhat of a man out of time. It’s a fact he readily acknowledges on the legendary, self-explanatory Saint Vitus track “Born Too Late,” crooned with the kind of gallows acceptance you’d expect from the only real metal dude signed to SST Records in the 1980’s. When he was peeling off…
Lanai goes island hopping on Alexander Street
We often use the metaphor of an explosion as the impetus for big changes occurring in our lives, whether it refers to a relationship, a career opportunity, or just a bunch of little things that have built up and make us want to clear our personal cache and hit the restart button. And then sometimes…
DANCE | ‘Hip-Hop Nutcracker’
“The Nutcracker” is, of course, a holiday season staple — hell, December already brought the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Rochester City Ballet version, New York State Ballet’s performance, and a traditional take with the “Great Russian Nutcracker.” You wouldn’t be blamed for being a little burnt out. But this final “Nutcracker” performance of the year…
INDIE ROCK | Swamp Trotter
If you ever find yourself pining for the heady Blogspot days when bands like Local Natives, Volcano Choir, and Yeasayer ruled the indie taste-making world, Rochester’s Swamp Trotter is right up your alley. With each member acting as a self-described “multi-instrumentalist” and dabbling in a little bit of everything, Swamp Trotter’s latest record, “Old Friend,”…
RIT students design dining at Good Luck
For the last several years, RIT’s Industrial Design department has charged its senior year students with a challenging opportunity to collaborate with designers and design houses for its Metaproject. The program creates industry partnerships for students with different established companies, which in the past have included Umbra, Poppin, and Kikkerland. And it allows students the…
COMEDY | ‘The Out-of-Towners’
A handful of comedians, all former Rochesterians, are back in town for the holidays, so they did what comes natural: put together a stand-up show. Hosted by Andrea Springer (who’s working here in Rochester), “The Out-of-Towners” will feature Dewey Lovett, Zach Swan, Dario Joseph, and Nate Clark (all now based in New York City), Tim…
COMEDY/MUSIC | Goo House: ‘A Nice Holiday Treat’
It’s been a minute since we’ve heard from alt comedy collective Goo House. The last few years, the members have been off doing their thing outside of Rochester, but in 2014 and 2015, they found time to organize packed holiday shows of comedy and music. Goo House is back for a 2017 edition, featuring another…
Hope sings eternal
Sure, Lara Hope has a crackerjack band that knows how to flood a dancefloor with its cool, custom bop and swing. And The Ark-Tones know where the traditions stand as they forge fresh tracks to avoid the mildew and clutter. But what’ll grab you and won’t let go is Hope’s creamy contralto. Whereas a lot…
Album review: ‘Volume 1’
The English Project “Volume 1” Self-released theenglishprojectband.com Drummer and bandleader Chris “Hollywood” English is a shepherd with his flock playing on ice. It’s a casual, nonchalant affair all over “Volume 1,” by English’s new band, The English Project. “Volume 1” is funky on the mellow side and mellow on the funky side. It’s seven slices…
Film review: ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’
The latest chapter in the “Star Wars” saga has arrived, and fan reaction has been divided, to say the least. “The Last Jedi” settles much of the speculation and theories set up by 2015’s “The Force Awakens,” but the answers it provides won’t necessarily satisfy the diehard fans.
Film preview: ‘The Shape of Water’
Guillermo del Toro’s genre-hopping “The Shape of Water” is a swooning love story, a valentine to classic cinema, and a celebration of anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider. It’s also the story of a woman who falls in love with an amphibious fish monster.
Film review: ‘Ferdinand’
Based on the beloved 1936 children’s picture book by Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson, the new animated film “Ferdinand” tells the heartwarming tale of a gentle bull who wants nothing more than to spend his days on the farm sitting peacefully and smelling the flowers — a pastime that earns him the scorn of his…
