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Winter Guide
Winter, with its bitter-cold bite, is an inevitable reality in Rochester. But that doesn’t mean you have to retreat into hibernation. Our 2019 Winter Guide is a curated compilation of cold-weather ideas and activities to warm the soul and coax you out of the winter blues.
Baxter, Doorley sum up opioid task force’s first year
The Monroe County Heroin Task Force’s first-year progress report was part statistical run-down of the multi-agency strike against opioids, part warning to drug dealers, and part plea for users to seek treatment. The task force is led by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, which has a special command post for the effort. For the effort,…
Police, community, and the gap in trust
City Council is considering major changes in the way Rochester handles civilian complaints about police conduct. Supporters and Council members say the changes could improve public trust in the police, which will help officers. How police will feel about the change is another matter.
RTS holding suburban ‘mobility zone’ sessions
Representatives from RTS and its consulting firm will hold a series of information sessions over the next two weeks on the transit agency’s proposed Community Mobility Zones. The proposed zones, which are part of the agency’s Reimagine RTS initiative, are suburban areas currently served by large buses on fixed routes. The agency and its consultants…
Classical review: RPO with Jon Nakamatsu
On Thursday, Jon Nakamatsu’s finely judged reading of Beethoven’s Second Piano Concerto with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra was not only drop-dead elegant, but also full of the composer’s signature energy.
Council continues study of Police Accountability Board
City Council expects to vote at its March 19 meeting on legislation to create a Police Accountability Board rather than in February, as first planned.Council President Loretta Scott says the vote has been delayed to allow additional public input.
Graduation rate in city schools continues slow, steady climb
The Rochester City School District’s graduation rate for 2018 continued its trend of slowly inching upward, according to a State Education Department report yesterday. The graduation rate for students who entered the district as freshmen in 2014 and graduated last June went up from 51.9 percent to 53.5 percent. When students who graduated last August…
Weather delays forum on Police Accountability Board
City Council has postponed the third public forum on the proposed Police Accountability Board because of this week’s bitter cold and high wind.The forum was to have been held Thursday, January 31.
Dems gear up for intense campaign
Individual legislative-district committees have begun holding their designating meetings.
State passes Child Victims Act
For the first time, the state Senate has voted on the Child Victims Act, passing it unanimously. Governor Andrew Cuomo approves it, as he is expected to, the bill will greatly lengthen the statute of limitations for criminal and civil proceedings for a sexual offense against a child. That will allow the victims a chance…
CLASSICAL | Eastman Philharmonia
On Friday, Eastman Philharmonia and conductor Brad Lubman will offer a powerhouse lineup of varied, bold symphonic statements. The orchestra will perform “Brio,” an explosive yet accessible work by Grammy winner and former Eastman professor Augusta Read Thomas (pictured), who will be the visiting composer as part of Eastman’s weekly Symposium on composition. The program…
ROCK | Meg Gehman and The Influence
An old-school rock diva raised in New York City, singer-songwriter Meg Gehman now resides in Rochester and continues to perform deep-cut classics from the 1950’s onward, as well as her own blues rock originals. Gehman’s voice has the gritty attitude of Sharon Jones, the angelic softness of Joan Osborne, and the warm smokiness of Bettye…
ROCK ‘N’ ROLL | Bobby Henrie and the Goners
During his staggeringly short career, Buddy Holly played Rochester twice: once in January 1957 at the War Memorial, and again in January 1958 at the Auditorium Theatre. Tragically, Holly died in a plane crash at the age of 22, along with The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens. This event inspired Don McLean, in 1971, to…
Signs of life
Encounters with winter wildlife
CLASSICAL | RPO with Jon Nakamatsu
Music Director Ward Stare returns to the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra podium this week with an unusually substantial program, the first of several coming up this year. After Vadym Kholodenko’s appearance earlier this month, you can hear another of the RPO’s favorite guests, Jon Nakamatsu, performing Beethoven’s Second Piano Concerto. This is probably the least-played but…
Ice school
Ice hockey is the quintessential winter sport. The game requires a rare combination of strength and finesse, but the goal is simple: get the puck in the back of the other team’s net. And it all starts by stepping out onto the ice with skates on. But for people who never played the sport when…
19 for ’19
Perhaps you’ve heard that voice before, the one that says there’s nothing to do in Rochester. The one that says it’s too cold. The one that — wait, is that you? Do you still believe that malarkey? Now now. While weekly sessions of CITY Newspaper calendar therapy will help dispel these false beliefs, here’s something…
Beyond the toddy
The 1971 edition of Playboy’s Bar Guide devotes an entire chapter to cold-weather tipples. “Nowadays any cool evening in the fall or winter is reason enough for filling the cups to the brim with grogs and nogs,” it says. Twenty-seven individual cocktails follow, from the Blue Blazer to the Sherried Scotch. But today, cocktail culture…
Gently down the stream
Between network and cable television, and streaming services incessantly launching their own original programming, there’s such a constant deluge of visual media competing for our attention. It would be a challenge finding time for even a fraction of all that content. And while those same streaming services make it easier than ever to catch up…
WORKSHOP | The Molok: Puppetry Workshop
As part of the programming associated with “The Molok,” a live-action fantasy film being filmed partly in Rochester, Broadway puppeteer Leah Hofmann (“Warhorse,” “Something Rotten!” and “Big Fish”) will be in town this week to teach a puppetry movement workshop. Offered in four sessions and in partnership with Rochester Dance Theatre Director Erika Ruegemer, the…
FOLK | The Brother Brothers
The Brother Brothers are a pair of identical twins whose musical chemistry is so good, it’s hard to tell where one’s voice ends and the other’s voice begins. Celebrating the release of their debut full-length album, “Some People I Know,” The Brother Brothers blend their separate musical stories into one cohesive journey. David and Adam…
ART | ‘Dear Jeff’
Opening at Gallery Q this week is “Dear Jeff,” an exhibition of collaborative photographic works by Out Alliance youth. The work is a result of a workshop the youth took last summer led by Nate Larson and Marni Shindelman (art duo Larson Shindelman), whose own project “#Mobilize,” is currently on view at George Eastman Museum…
ART | ‘Among Untrodden Ways’
There’s something profoundly calming about being out under an open sky, or walking a path under light filtered through a tree canopy. If the biting winter weather is keeping out from the great outdoors, you can catch some glimpses of glorious vistas in Oxford Gallery’s next exhibit, “Among Untrodden Ways.” The work of three regional…
SPECIAL EVENT | ‘Black AF February’
In honor of Black History Month, The Avenue Blackbox Theatre will host a “Black AF February” series each Friday. The events showcase artists of color vending their creations and live musical entertainment, as well as performances, brunches, and screenings on some other days of the week. On Friday, February 1, visual artist Gatekeeper Adrian (pictured)…
Feedback 1/30
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. The wall and Donald Trump The fictive phenomenon of the mercurial Donald Trump is better captured by works of fiction…
Urban Action 1/30
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.) Symbiosis and climate change ColorBrightonGreen.org will show the documentary film “Symbiotic Earth.” The film explores the 1960’s work of scientist Lynn Margulis and her theory that symbiosis – organisms living and working together…
Creating cities for everyone, 8 to 80
During the last 20 years, marketers of nearly every product and service have put a lot of emphasis on reaching the youth market. That’s important, but when it comes to development and revitalizing cities, it’s the wrong approach and it will have lasting negative consequences, says Gil Penalosa founder of 8 80 Cities and president…
Do you know how to fix Rochester’s schools?
The city school district faces enormous challenges. Wrong decisions, by elected officials and the public, will have terrible consequences.
Album review: ‘Swingin’ in Seattle: Live at the Penthouse (1966-1967)’
Cannonball Adderley ‘Swingin’ in Seattle: Live at the Penthouse (1966-1967)’ Reel to Real Recordings cannonball-adderley.com Julian “Cannonball” Adderley was not only one of the greatest alto saxophonists in jazz, he also led one of the greatest bands. That’s why the release of a newly discovered recording, culled from mid-1960’s radio broadcasts, is such a welcome…
Dominican dining on Clifford Ave
At the Latin Fusion-focused MamaJuana Roc you can get traditional, signature, or contemporary dishes, and there’s a sushi roll version of the Rochester plate.
Theater review: ‘The Magician’s Daughter’
Geva presents the world premiere of Lila Rose Kaplan’s semi-autobiographical play about a daughter’s relationship with her high-functioning addict father.
Nathan Lyons retrospective at Eastman Museum
It’s the first retrospective that focuses on his photographs as a whole, exhibiting his late-life shift to digital color photography alongside his early work.
Cuomo bill would let counties, cities block cannabis businesses
The legalization proposal that Cuomo included in his budget – the Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act – includes an opt-out provision for counties and the state’s larger cities.
Interview: Susan Graham
On February 10 at Eastman’s Kilbourn Hall, mezzo-soprano Susan Graham brings an art song program that prominently features the music of French composers Fauré, Debussy, Ravel, and Poulenc.
Film preview: Black History Month at the movies
Starting Thursday, February 7, and continuing throughout the month of February, George Eastman Museum and The Little Theatre will each be hosting film series in honor of Black History Month. Spotlighting the unique voices of black filmmakers from around the world, these series get to the heart of what the movies do best, says Eastman…
Album review: ‘Hidden Treasure, Volume One: Monday Nights’
The Gil Evans Orchestra ‘Hidden Treasures, Volume One: Monday Nights’ Bopper Spock Suns Music pledgemusic.com/projects/gil-evans-orchestra The late, great arranger Gil Evans may be best known for “Sketches of Spain” and other albums he arranged for Miles Davis, but The Gil Evans Orchestra, broke new ground every Monday night at the Greenwich Village club Sweet Basil.…
