Cover Story
Vargas’s grand plan for the RCSD
Rochester school district Superintendent Bolgen Vargas rarely talks about increasing the district’s graduation rate or raising test scores, the standard promises of most new superintendents. From his first days in office as interim superintendent, Vargas has instead approached the district’s many problems from the outside in: unabashedly declaring that nothing will get fixed if the…
Concert Review: Chamber Music Society Rochester presents The Argos Trio
How’s this for a fresh classical concert idea: stage a concert at the Memorial Art Gallery on a Sunday evening, when it is otherwise closed, and during intermission, offer tours of gallery exhibitions to the audience. Sounds good? It is, and it is being brought to you by the Society for Chamber Music in Rochester,…
Grant to fund independent review of West Main church
The Landmark Society has awarded a $1,500 grant to the Susan B. Anthony Neighborhood Association to cover the cost of an independent structural analysis of a former West Main Street church. Owner Marvin Maye wants to tear down the church and replace it with a Dollar General. He says the church building is beyond saving.…
Economic development awards coming up
On December 19, the state will announce this year’s funding awards for the regional economic development councils, reports The Business Review, an Albany-area publication. The awards will be announced by Governor Andrew Cuomo and Maria Bartiromo, the host of CNBC’s “Closing Bell,” The Business Review reports. The 10 regional economic development councils are competing for…
Daily Choices: What to do on Tuesday, December 11
MUSIC: Since its inception in 2003, Hit the Lights has assembled a solid fan base all over the world on the back an incessant touring schedule, sharing stages with such internationally acclaimed acts as New Found Glory and Paramore. Overall, the outfit’s infectious brand of pop-and-punk-infused indie rock has led to the release of four…
Concert Review: Black Lillies, Bill Kirchen, Hollis Brown, Sister Sparrow
The Salamanders had an album out a while ago called “Livestock in the Livingroom” (and by “a while ago” I mean 1992), and that’s kind of how I feel when I’m digging a show at Abilene, corralled in with all my roots-rock brethren and sisteren. Tuesday, December 4, was no different as Nashville’s Black Lilies…
Rochester train station closer to construction
Construction of a new Rochester train station will start sometime in 2013, says State Department of Transportation Commissioner Joan McDonald. The project, which the state is managing, has received $26.5 million in funding commitments from the federal, state, and city governments. And during a press conference this morning, an Amtrak official announced that the rail…
Week Ahead: RCSD meetings, city violence forum, and county budget — with MCC vote
Rochester Mayor Tom Richards and Police Chief James Sheppard kick off a quartet of community forums on violence in the city. Rochester and cities across the country have experienced a significant uptick in violent crime this year, including homicides. Richards says the forums are a chance to hear from a broad spectrum of the community,…
Daily Choices: What to do on Monday, December 10
SPECIAL EVENT: Celebrate Chanukah in Pittsford for the Grand Public Menorah Lighting at 6 p.m. Carry on the tradition of Tikkun Olam (“repairing the world”) by donating canned food items that will be created into a giant menorah, then donated to the Pittsford Food Cupboard. Live music and hot chocolate. Pittsford Village Four Corners, Route…
Daily Choices: What to do on Saturday, December 8 and Sunday, December 9
MUSIC: Grab all the black and yellow clothing you have in your closet and head on down to the Blue Cross Arena (One War Memorial Square, bluecrossarena.com) on Sunday for rapper Wiz Khalifa’s rescheduled performance. He’ll be bringing along Juicy J, Chevy Woods, Lola Monroe, and Berner & Tuki Carter. Music starts at 7:30 p.m.,…
O’Brien says he’ll conference with Dems
Soon-to-be State Senator Ted O’Brien says he’ll conference with Democrats, not the Independent Democratic Conference when he heads to Albany in January. “I feel an obligation to conference with the Democrats when I’m elected as a Democrat,” O’Brien said during a phone interview this afternoon. He said he’s had collegial conversations with IDC members Jeff…
The neighborhood school dilemma
The trouble with neighborhood schools is that there many definitions and ideas of what a neighborhood school should be. That was evident last night at a public hearing on the second phase of schools modernization in the Rochester school district. Much of the evening was dominated by residents, parents, students, and teachers who either had…
County not increasing size of indigent burial payments
The county is changing the way it covers the cost of providing indigent burial assistance, but it isn’t increasing the amount it gives to applicants. During a County Legislature committee meeting last night, Scott Adair, the county’s chief financial officer, said that officials are budgeting $550,000 to $750,000 in indigent burial assistance payments for 2013.…
Daily Choices: What to do on Friday, December 7
SPECIAL EVENT: Brighten the holidays at City Hall’s Atrium Tree Lighting Ceremony. Mayor Richards will light the tree while Rochester City School District’s Enrico Fermi School No. 17 Chorus and the School of the Arts’ Choir perform. Visit Santa while there! Free. 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. 30 Church St. cityofrochester.gov.
Poll results show fracking support differs by region
The majority of respondents to a recent Siena Research Institute poll say they support fracking. But there’s a catch. The poll results, which were released yesterday, say that 42 percent of the 822 registered voters polled support fracking and 36 percent oppose it; the numbers were the same in October, the last time Siena asked…
Public needs to weigh in on Vargas’s schools modernization plan
There has been almost no serious public reaction to Rochester schools Superintendent Bolgen Vargas’s proposal for the second phase of modernizing city schools. Vargas has held several public meetings to present the plan, which calls for closing five schools and spending about $625 million on modernizing buildings over the next 10 years. The school board…
Daily Choices: What to do on Thursday, November 6
LECTURE: Throughout the many holidays circulating during the winter season, pie remains a staple at family gatherings. Join Lift Bridge Book Shop for a discussion with writer Beth Howard about her book, “Making Piece: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Pie.” 45 Main St., Brockport. 8 p.m. 637-2260. liftbridgebooks.com.
ARTS: Rochester Contemporary Art Center buys its building
Exciting news concerning the future of Rochester Contemporary Art Center was announced tonight amid the 300 works that make up the 22nd Annual Members Exhibition. Art Center Executive Director Bleu Cease thanked the people who have supported the institution throughout its nearly 36 years before he released the news that RoCo, which throughout its history…
Japanese artist’s take on the bomb
The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Friday, December 7, 1941, which drew the US into World War II. As everyone knows, this led to the first use of nuclear weapons. Japanese artist Isao Hashimoto has created a time-lapse video of nuclear detonations between 1945 and 1998. Though it takes a few minutes for the video…
Midtown Tower gets redevelopment deal
At a luncheon today, Rochester Mayor Tom Richards announced a $55 million plan to redevelop Midtown Tower. Larry Glazer of Buckingham Properties and Bob Morgan of Morgan Management will join forces to create up to 182 rental housing units in the tower, as well as three to five stories of commercial space, Richards said.
Congress dumps ballast water provision
The Senate and House of Representatives have rejected a provision that would have weakened an important anti-invasive species regulation in New York state. Representative Louise Slaughter, who co-chairs the Congressional Great Lakes Task Force, announced today that the Senate and House each passed a Coast Guard re-authorization bill. But the bill did not include language…
![[UPDATED] Yes, Rochester really would let RBTL go to Irondequoit](https://i0.wp.com/www.roccitymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/richardstom08_square.webp?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)
[UPDATED] Yes, Rochester really would let RBTL go to Irondequoit
UPDATE: In a voice mail earlier today, RBTL board chair Arnie Rothschild said that the league has never attempted to raise money for a new theater, because city officials have never come out and said they want the theater. RBTL wouldn’t fund raise, he said, until the city made the theater project a priority. Rothschild…
Present day: where to shop for foodies
Is your holiday shopping list filled with hard-to-shop for food fans? Our Chow Hound profiles some local stores packed with gifts for the gourmand, griller, snacker, or aspiring chef in your life.
MUSIC INTERVIEW: Honky-tonk hero
Many consider a Bill Kirchen a guitar legend, thanks to his blistering solos in songs like “Hot Rod Lincoln.” He merely considers himself a journeyman.
City socked again
A new fee to cover the cost of indigent burials included in County Executive Maggie Brooks’s 2013 budget proposal would disproportionately affect city residents and is “offensive and reprehensible.”
Urban Action 12/5
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.) Mayor, chief seek solutions to violence Rochester Mayor Tom Richards and Police Chief Jim Sheppard will host “Voice of the Citizen: Seeking Solutions to Violence,” a series of public forums throughout the city.…
ART REVIEW: Piecing together what is left
In “Contemporary African American Printmakers,” the show currently on exhibit at Nazareth College Arts Center Gallery, curator Deborah Ronnen has brought together more than a dozen artists whose works speak powerfully to identity, history, and the future.
POP/PUNK | Hit the Lights
Since its inception in 2003, Hit the Lights has assembled a solid fan base all over the world on the back an incessant touring schedule, sharing stages with such internationally acclaimed acts as New Found Glory and Paramore. While the western Ohio quartet was prepping for its second studio effort, original lead singer Colin Ross…
MOVIE REVIEW: “Anna Karenina”
The latest adaptation of Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina” is a highly stylized production – sometimes too stylized – that nonetheless evocatively captures one of literature’s great tragic romances.
CLASSICAL | Musica Spei
Did you ever wonder when a popular carol originated? Musica Spei’s holiday concert, titled “Evermore and Evermore: Carols Then and Now,” is going to give you the answers. Musica Spei specializes in sacred a cappella music of the Renaissance, and program selections include the likes of Franco-Flemish composers Orlande de Lassus (c1532-1594) and Johannes Ockeghem…
MOVIE REVIEW: “Killing Them Softly”
Well, the good news is that it looks as though writer-director Andrew Dominik is starting to shave off a little time between films. His underseen but stunning sophomore effort, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” came out seven years after his acclaimed 2000 debut “Chopper” (a/k/a the movie that gave us…
CLASSICAL | Ying Quartet
The Ying Quartet takes to the stage at Hatch Recital Hall of the Eastman School of Music this week. The performance features 3 Bs, but at this concert, it’s Beethoven, Bartok, and American composer Kenji Bunch. The Grammy-winning ensemble has been a quartet-in-residence at the Eastman School of Music since 1997. Members are Janet Ying,…
The low-brow art low down
Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School is an international figure-drawing series for adults. The Rochester chapter will host another event next week with a “holiday fetish” theme. Get the details and BYOB.
PUNK/ROCK | It’s a Punk Rock Christmas
It’s almost Christmas and what better way to ring in the holidays than by supporting your local music scene. On Pearl Harbor Day, Tala Vera features a line-up of four great bands. The Gowns are a stealthy bunch that’s somehow eluded the radar. Lead singer Greg Hassett has a double black belt in songwriting that…
ART | Holiday Group Shows
In case the influx of commercials and ads haven’t tipped you off, we’re full swing into the holiday shopping season. Whether you want to support local and handmade art, you’re looking for a unique gift for that special someone, or you just don’t want to brave the purgatory known as the mall, go check out…
HOLIDAY | Center For Youth Services Benefit Concert
Alt-country rockers Hunu? will host a benefit concert at the German House with proceeds going to Center For Youth Services. Several members of the band are former members of local group Colorblind James Experience. This event is a memorial to Colorblind James, a.k.a. Chuck Cuminale, who was a music writer for City Newspaper and worked…
ART EVENT | The City Is Asleep And Dreaming
The gorgeous architecture of the vacant National Bank, set in downtown Rochester at 35 State Street, was the backdrop for the University of Rochester’s student-run indie arts festival, Art Awake, in 2010. The underused space will again serve as the staging for an arts event on Friday, December 7, when more than a dozen artists…
PUNK/THRASH | D.R.I.
Along with bands like Suicidal Tendencies and Corrosion of Conformity, D.R.I. (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles) helped usher in thrash elements to the hardcore scene. Formed on May 2, 1982, around 4 p.m., according to the band’s website, D.R.I. has released seven albums, steadily shifting from hardcore punk to thrash, earning it the title the fastest band…
KIDS | Family Theater Roundup
Winter is an excellent time to introduce children to the wonders of theater. When it’s too chilly outside to frolic and play, there’s a host of fun to be experienced indoors with the help of lights, costumes, and some imagination. Watch Horton the Elephant and his little friend Jojo come to life onstage as they…
ELECTRONIC | Rochester Chip Fest
The Rochester Chip Fest is a day-long music festival that features artists who implement sound chips from retro computers and old video-game systems to create new, original music. The entertainment will also include visual artists, interactive workshops, and more. NYC-based 8-bit aficionado Joshua Davis, a.k.a. Bit Shifter, is among the acts slated to perform. Davis…
SPECIAL EVENT | Sonnenberg Holiday Home Tour
Take a break from the madness of holiday shopping to enjoy looking at some beautiful historic homes in Canandaigua. Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion State Historic Park will host its Holiday Home Tour on Saturday, December 8, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Visitors have the option of driving themselves or making stops on a free shuttle bus. The…
DUB-HOP | Blackened Blues
Blackened Blues started with two brothers, one a rapper in Atlanta, one a bass player in Brooklyn. Since coming to Rochester, they’ve spared no time pulling together a band from various projects currently bouncing around in the depths of Dubland. For this funky brew, you require one dash Subsoil (Brad Sheffield on guitar and Jon…
SPECIAL EVENT | Madrigal Feast
Who doesn’t love the combination of dinner and a show? Partake in the delights of both in one sitting at Monroe Community College’s 3rd Annual Madrigal Feast. On Friday, December 7, pretend to be a lord or lady for the evening and put on your best old English accent. Medieval musicians and singers will entertain…
METAL | Ill Nino
Now on the hardcore-leaning Victory records, New Jersey metal mavens Ill Nino play classic chugga-chugga-squeal metal garnished with vocals that go from minor melody trance to a guttural birth. What sets the band apart — way apart — is its way-cool Santana-esque Latin breakdowns. It’ll give you whiplash. Arcanium opens. Ill Nino plays Thursday, December…
Feedback 12/5
Send comments to themail@rochester-citynews.com, or post them on our website, rochestercitynewspaper.com, our Facebook page, or our Twitter feed, @roccitynews. We edit selections for publication in print, and we don’t publish comments sent to other media. Catholics and and women In choosing to profile a Catholic priest (“Women of a Lesser God,” News), City had its…
B&N design changes
Upper Mount Hope neighbors have succeeded in getting changes to the design of the Barnes & Noble store that will be part of the massive College Town project. College Town, which was initiated by the University of Rochester, will be built on 16 acres on the west side of Mount Hope between Elmwood Avenue and…
