Cover Story
“Inspiring Beauty” exhibits impact of Ebony Fashion Fair
The annual, traveling show spanned five decades, and helped bring color to the catwalk.
After cryptic tweet, Bob Duffy clams up
Nothing deleted from social media is ever truly gone, as former Rochester mayor Bob Duffy is finding out. On Super Bowl Sunday, February 7, @BobDuffyRBA sent a tweet he called “Note to candidates.” In it, he advised candidates to stop talking and start practicing their faith. “Actions speak louder than words,” he wrote. This prompted…
Childhood trauma shown to have long-lasting impact
Acing an exam is usually a good thing, but when it involves research into adverse childhood experiences, it’s a very different matter. These experiences can have serious consequences on children’s performance in school. About 200 health and education professionals met today at Monroe Community College to learn more about ACE research, exposure to childhood trauma,…
Final LDC case defendant agrees to plea
Daniel Lynch said he thought he could get away with it because the LDC arrangement provided little to no oversight over subcontracts.
GOP proposes integrity office amendments
County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo wants to make some changes to her public integrity office proposal, which she introduced last month. They’re big ones, most of them dealing with the office’s director. County Legislature Majority Leader Brian Marianetti will introduce the changes as amendments tomorrow night when the Legislature takes up the proposal. The Legislature will…
I Scene It: So Last Year, Lee Brice, Christine Lavin and Don White
Despite the winter freeze, this town is a hotbed of live music. I caught So Last Year on Thursday night at the Bug Jar not knowing what to expect other than that several of the band’s tunes piqued my interest. Buffalo-based folk-pop outfit Darling Harbor was performing when I got there and the quartet sounded…
Classical review: Society for Chamber Music presents “German Masters”
It may not have been Panthers versus Broncos, but to some of us Mozart versus Brahms is an even more satisfactory match-up, and the Society for Chamber Music in Rochester’s pairing of two imposing quintets by these composers scored two touchdowns. Mozart’s G minor String Quintet (calling for a string quartet plus a second viola)…
Theater review: “An Iliad” at Geva
In the last century, photography, video, and the Internet provided the world with astounding visuals of war, but unless a person has experienced war, it’s difficult to fully grasp. It can be argued that only those who fight on a battleground understand the depth of that journey. A modern, award-winning adaptation of “The Iliad,” Homer’s…
The City Seen: February 5-6
Last weekend, City ventured through The Hungerford Building and Writers & Books during First Friday, then went over to Roc Brewing Co. on Saturday for the Dudes Night Out 3rd Anniversary Show. In line with the new Fungerford events, Heartbreak Hotel brought out Valentine’s Day themed art, such as Gretchen Arnold’s rejected Valentine’s cards, and…
Hijab Day brings celebration and some controversy to School 58
Dozens of female students, faculty, and staff at School 58: World of Inquiry wrapped their heads in scarves today to show their support for Eman Muthana, a 10th grader. Muthana proposed allowing the school’s women to celebrate World Hijab Day, and she’s a bit overwhelmed by the response. In a beautifully written letter to School…
Virtual fly on the wall
Luna Galassini’s “Monitored or Recorded” incorporates prison conversations and digital imagery for an anonymously intimate tension.
Theater review: NTID/RIT’s “Tribes”
One of theater’s greatest strengths is its ability to illuminate the experience of the underrepresented, the marginalized, and the disregarded. A timely play can foster connection and understanding where there was once alienation and confusion. “Tribes,” a play by Nina Raine, attempts to draw from this strength, with limited success. It’s not that this production…
RCSD exploring military option
In the mid-2000’s, many school districts across the country challenged military recruiters’ access to their high schools. Recruiters had high quotas to meet the demands of the Iraq war. And even though the No Child Left Behind Act required high school administrators to give military recruiters similar access as college recruiters to students or risk…
RIT Industrial Design students to collaborate with Poppin
RIT’s School of Design announced Wednesday that office furniture and supply firm Poppin is the industry partner that participating students will collaborate with for this year’s Metaproject. The class of 22 senior ID students gathered in University Gallery for the reveal, buzzing nervously and making guesses at what type of product they would be asked…
![[UPDATED] Brewery plan includes demolition of historic building](https://i0.wp.com/www.roccitymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/img_3318-2.webp?resize=800%2C600&ssl=1)
[UPDATED] Brewery plan includes demolition of historic building
The project has the support of George Moses, executive director of both the North East Area Development and the Group 14621 neighborhood group.
Rivera pleads guilty in LDC case
Nelson Rivera, the former information services director for Monroe County, today became the third defendant to take a plea deal in a bid-rigging case involving county-linked local development corporations. Rivera pleaded guilty to two low-level felony charges during a court appearance this afternoon; he pleaded guilty to two counts of combination in restraint of trade…
New York earns a D for its K-12 public school system
The Network for Public Education recently issued a 50-state report card on the relative condition of the country’s public education system. New York didn’t rank as failing, but close: it got a “D.” But to be fair, the politics of teacher-bashing and union-busting have earned their desired results. The NPE report evaluated each state on…
CLASSICAL | RPO performs Beethoven 4
This week, Ward Stare returns to the RPO, and the RPO returns to Beethoven and Haydn — with a world premiere in between. The premiere is a notable one, bringing together a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, Aaron Jay Kernis, and a soloist who’s been called “the Heifetz of the flute” by Gramophone, Maria Piccinini. They join…
CLASSICAL | “TRIO … She Wrote”
Who says you need Beethoven or Brahms to put on a piano trio concert? Six female musicians join forces to present an uncommonly interesting concert this Friday at SUNY Brockport. The musicians are three well-known local performers: violinist Pia Liptak, the concertmaster of Cordancia; cellist Joan Kinsella, co-chair of Hochstein’s string department; and pianist Doleen…
ELECTRONIC | Claude Young
Claude Young’s approach to his beat-based creations is unique and more improvisational than you might normally find in the electronic realm. There’s the familiar bass pulse on every beat, but his tracks open further into something you might find on a sci-fi underworld soundtrack. It’s spacey and cool. 7th City, Djax-Up-Beats, Frictional and Axis are…
With Susanna Rose, there’s more than meets the ear
The cocktail of talent, ingenuity, and hard work is what first draws listeners to an artist and their music. But it’s that indescribable and illusive quality that solidifies those fans. It’s something you can’t put your finger on. But who says you’ve got to understand every lick, lyric, and beat in the first place? If…
ALBUM REVIEW: “The Slackers”
The Slackers “The Slackers” Special Potato/Rare Breed theslackers.com Just like a homicide dick has to tighten his guts at a crimes scene so he can do his job impartially and keep his wingtips clean, I’ve gotta sit here and pretend I don’t like The Slackers. But I can’t because I do. Ever since this Brooklyn-based…
City’s Food Porn Photo Contest
Thank you to every one who participated in City’s Food Porn contest! We saw some seriously mouth-watering culinary visions. Congratulations to the runner up… @ruyakiraccc A photo posted by CITY Newspaper (@roccitynews) on Feb 23, 2016 at 10:14am PST …and the winner, @seantothefurture ! A photo posted by CITY Newspaper (@roccitynews) on Feb 24, 2016…
Feedback 2/3
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. Comments of fewer than 350 words have a greater chance of being published, and we do edit selections for publication in print. We don’t publish comments sent to other media. NRA uses…
ART | “Flow” by Lynette Blake
Lynette Blake’s paintings are mysterious, tonal scenes that contain elements of nature and geometry that cleaves the picture plane. Here, a tumble of leaves trips across a nebulous cloud of hot dust. There, the graceful forms of tree trunks or human figures fade into deep atmospheres that glow at points of linear convergence. Through March…
Urban Action 2/3
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. All are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. Film shows the journey of the Great Lakes The Unitarian Universalist Church of Canandaigua will show the documentary film “Waterlife” at 7 p.m. on Friday, February 5. The film follows the epic journey…
MUSEUM | Hot Wheels exhibit
On Saturday, February 6, The Strong Museum (1 Manhattan Square) will open its new “Hot Wheels: Race to Win” exhibit. More than a simple focus on the beloved toy, this exhibit is geared toward education about physics, with information about what goes into the sport of racing. In the Blue Zone, visitors will have the…
Genesee Valley market plans expansion in Chili
The Genesee Valley Regional Market Authority plans to expand its footprint in the Town of Chili. The authority is perhaps best known as the owner and operator of the Genesee Valley Regional Market at Jefferson Avenue and Clay Road in Henrietta. But it also owns an 80-acre site at 1861 Scottsville Road in Chili, and…
SPECIAL EVENT | ZooBrrrew
The winter version of Seneca Park Zoo’s successful ZooBrew summer program, ZooBrrrew opens the park for an adults-only happy hour on Friday and Saturday. A heated pavilion with food, live music, and a cash bar selling beer, wine, coffee, and soda, will serve as the headquarters for attendees to check out the zoo after hours.…
Anti-poverty group zeros-in on city neighborhoods
The Rochester Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative at United Way will start pilot programs in adult mentoring and early childhood support in two city neighborhoods this year.
THEATER | Off-Monroe Players Winter Plays
The Off-Monroe Players — the Rochester company dedicated to works by Gilbert and Sullivan — is performing a pair of farcical one-act comedies for the company’s winter show. In “Cox and Box,” with music by Arthur Sullivan, an old soldier rents out the same single room to two unwitting men on opposing work schedules. When…
Ugly Duck turns beautiful coffee
Had it not been for a game of Magic the Gathering, there might not be an Ugly Duck Coffee. In 2009, Ugly Duck Coffee owner Rory Van Grol was living in Rhode Island. He and a housemate were playing the fantasy trading card game when the housemate decided to brew some coffee. After taking a…
SPECIAL EVENT | Blue Man Group
The Blue Man Group has long been a part of the pop culture pantheon. Into its 25th year, the group has been ubiquitous — and chances are you’ve either seen the bald blue dudes, heard about them, or at least got the references on “Arrested Development.” Set against a rock music backdrop, the three performers…
THEATER | “Where Coffee Meets Culture”
In its first appearance of 2016, the Rochester Latino Theatre Company (RLTC) will present a bilingual production as part of the Cuentos Del Corazon (Stories from the Heart) series. The one act play, “Where Coffee Meets Culture,” focuses on a group of writers who meet at a coffee shop to share “personal narratives about Latino…
ALT- FOLK | Doc Baker’s Traveling Musicological Extravaganza
While sitting here mainlining Rochester’s Doc Baker’s Traveling Musicological Extravaganza through my headphones, it came to me: we all go bananas (at least I do) when we hear something without the too-often used fidelity and studio polish. Some things need to be raw — cleaning them up just takes away the personality and char. Doc…
NEW ORLEANS ROCK | Marc Stone Band
In order to list all the who’s who and the what’s what that’s gone into the Marc Stone Band’s colorful career, I’d have to start with “A” for Algiers and end with “Z” for zydeco. And the article would easily take up 20 pages. So I gotta sum it up: Marc Stone is a New…
JAZZ | Eddie Daniels
Leonard Bernstein called him “a thoroughly well-bred demon” and compared his virtuosity on the clarinet to that of Arthur Rubinstein on the piano. But classical prowess was just one aspect of Daniels’ oeuvre: he also played tenor saxophone with the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra and has been bridging the classical and jazz worlds ever since.…
COUNTRY | Lee Brice
Lee Brice is blue-eyed, boot-kicken’, country lovin’. His earnest, love-laden lyrics fall sweet from an easy drawl. He’s currently on an international arena tour with his latest release and third full-length, “I Don’t Dance.” A Nashville-based songwriter for chart-topping country stars before becoming a performer, Brice seems to pretty much have his hand on the…
Film review: “The Finest Hours”
Opening with a sepia-toned Disney logo over the sounds of some vintage 50’s tunes, there’s no mistaking the tone director Craig Gillespie’s is after with “The Finest Hours.” This is an earnest, old-fashioned adventure story. Formulaic but remarkably effective, outside of the modern special effects, the film could easily have been made in the era…
Black History Month film screenings
There’s some irony in the fact that this year’s Oscars fall during Black History Month. The #OscarsSoWhite controversy called attention to the lack of nominations for black performers and filmmakers (or any artists of color, for that matter) and how these nominations were a reflection of the larger issue of Hollywood’s racial bias. Like an…
Yet another scandal: now have we had enough?
If we care about the future of this community, and this country, we need to stop shrugging off these scandals.
Dance review: PUSH’s “Jekyll and Hyde”
PUSH Physical Theatre’s “Jekyll & Hyde” is an explosive performance that plumbs the depths of the human psyche.
