Cover Story
Unsafe at any speed?
A fiery derailment of a CSX oil train in Mount Carbon, West Virginia, in February showed the destructive potential of these trains. Twenty-seven of the train’s 109 oil cars went off the tracks — some catching fire or exploding. A nearby home was destroyed in the fire, which continued to burn for five days. The…
A blunt warning from Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia
State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia released the names last week of 144 New York public schools that are either “struggling schools” or “persistently struggling schools” as of July 2015 — these are the lowest-performing schools in the state. The announcement came in conjunction with a trip she made to Rochester and Buffalo. Fourteen Rochester schools…
Week Ahead: Events for the week of Monday, July 20
A controversial proposal to build an Aldi discount grocery store at the corner of North Winton and Blossom roads will be in front of the City of Rochester’s Zoning Board for consideration this week. The proposal is number eight on the board’s agenda for the meeting, which beings at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 23,…
Local Dems are in a heap of trouble
For years, Monroe County Democrats have been feuding their way toward trouble, and now they may be facing the consequences. At the end of the month, Monroe County Democratic Committee Chair David Garretson is stepping down because of “personal concerns regarding health and family,” he said in a press release. The MCDC will meet on…
Weekend culture: “Walk a Mile in Our Own Shoes,” WALLTHERAPY kick off, “A Street Light Festival”
The forecast for tonight and at least part of tomorrow looks rather dubious, and while it may or may not rain on Pride Parade, don’t be discouraged from joining the fun. Grab your umbrella and rain boots — there’s a lot to do and see over the next couple of days. Follow our coverage on…
Anti-poverty officials get input
Rochester has got some big problems to solve. Leaders of the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative held a town hall meeting at the Edgerton Stardust Ballroom recently. The idea was to gather input from the people who live in poverty and the agencies that serve them. Their experiences can inform the work of the initiative, and their…
![[UPDATED] Garretson resigning from Democratic leadership post](https://i0.wp.com/www.roccitymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/garretson.webp?resize=800%2C600&ssl=1)
[UPDATED] Garretson resigning from Democratic leadership post
Dave Garretson is stepping down as head of the Monroe County Democratic Committee. In a short statement released just now, Garretson cites concerns regarding health and family for his resignation. He says that he will serve until the end of the month. Garretson, who was elected to lead local Dems just last September, has presided…
Last-minute deal saves arts center study
An eleventh-hour deal yesterday saved Mayor Lovely Warren’s legislation to study a new downtown performing arts center. The fate of the legislation was up in the air until almost the last minute due to confusion over who would fund the study and questions about the study itself. City Council voted 8-1 last night to approve…
FOLK | Samantha Crain
Folk singers are a dime a dozen but Samantha Crain has a certain quality that makes her a cut above the rest. I wouldn’t call her a throwback, but I imagine she would have fallen in with the Topanga Canyon crowd. At least Crain’s tune “For the Miner” has a classic “Down by the River”…
Bordering bodies
Sometimes we learn something about ourselves through an outsider’s fresh-eyed perspective. This concept is being explored as part of a project by poet and performance artist Moheb Soliman, who is currently in the middle of a mission to trace the borderlands of the Great Lakes, documenting and digesting bits of interest along the way. Later…
A CAPPELLA | Pentatonix
Recognized by its unexpected stylistic range and impressive adaptations of pop hits, the five-piece a cappella group Pentatonix will make its way to Darien Lake for a concert full of originals and mashups as part of its “On My Way Home” tour. Pentatonix came into the limelight when high school friends Kirstie Maldonado, Mitch Grassi, and Scott…
WALLTHERAPY 2015 Coverage
WALL\THERAPY 2015 has begun. Visiting artists, local artists, and their locations are listed below. Some last minute changes may apply — check back with us for updates. Scroll down for links to our WALL\THERAPY story coverage, blogs, and a photo feed which will track the progress of the murals throughout the following week. For up-to-the-minute…
BLUEGRASS | Locust Honey String Band
Just wondering … Would it be redundant — and repetitive — if I were to refer to The Locust Honey String Band as playing musical instrument musical chairs? Well, all four gals in this sweet outfit are well-versed in fiddle, banjo, acoustic guitar, resonator guitar, and upright bass as they churn out bluegrass, old time,…
ROCK | 10 Years
Formed in Knoxville in 1999, this band has trucked with bands like Korn and Deftones, but doesn’t adhere to the sonic violence and mosh pit mayhem quite as much. 10 Years opts more for a thick, minor-keyed guitar churn that supports a lyrical agenda centered around global concern and human rights. Just a few clicks…
CLASSICAL | Finger Lakes Choral Festival
Mozart only finished a few sections of his Mass in C Minor before abandoning it in 1783; nobody is sure why. But musicians agree that what’s left still deserves the work’s nickname, “Grand.” Even unfinished, the mass is still one of the grandest sacred choral works in the repertory: a synthesis of baroque contrapuntal artistry…
BLUES | Nick Moss Band
Michael Ledbetter pumps out so much sticky soul in his voice, that it adds 20 years to his youthful look. And all while Nick Moss’ tight blues grooves have made him a 16-time Blues Music Award nominee with the likes of Buddy Guy diggin’ his sound. The band is fresh, unique and funky. Earlier this…
BLUES | Duke Robillard
Duke Robillard has a blues resume that this brief write-up won’t do much justice for. So, if you like blues, you should probably just go hear him. Regarded as keeping the blues style of T-Bone Walker alive, Robillard’s history has included playing with The Fabulous Thunderbirds (replacing Jimmie Vaughan) and blues guitarist stints for Tom…
Facilitatin’ a sweaty mess
Rock ‘n’ roll in the atomic age — what with its social fallout — presented more of a threat than the bomb. With its savage heat, beat, and promise of promiscuity, rock ‘n’ roll threatened the very soul of 1950’s white picket fence, Granny-panty America. Libidos were honed and the color line got faded,…
ALBUM REVIEW: “Last of the Honey Bees”
Auld Lang Syne “Last of the Honey Bees” Self-released auldlangsyne.bandcamp.com Auld Lang Syne’s new album, “Last of the Honey Bees,” opens up with aching beauty, like Gregorian chants along the mighty Mississippi, before switching to a Beach Boys-type strum and croon. For me, this band has always picked away at the fragile membrane between utter sadness and…
ALBUM REVIEW: “The Thompson Fields”
Maria Schneider Orchestra “The Thompson Fields” artistShare mariaschneider.com By now jazz fans have come to expect something extraordinary from every new release by the Maria Schneider Orchestra. Since she began crowd-funding her albums through artistShare, Schneider has released CDs uncompromising in musical vision and physical presentation. With superb music and a lavish book full of…
Feedback 7/15
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. America is…
2015 WALLTHERAPY artists and mural locations
DAZE 646 Joseph Ave BRITTANY WILLIAMS 488 Joseph Ave JEFF SOTO / MAXX242 43 Public Market ONUR & WES21 880 E. Main Street VEXTA 20 Palmer Street JOE GUY ALLARD / MATTHEW ROBERTS 1237 E. Main Street LI-HILL 400 Atlantive Ave NATE HODGE 430 Atlantic Ave ANDREAS ENGLUND 40 Greenleaf Street NEVERCREW 14 Capron Street…
Candidates come forward
Monroe County voters are getting a better idea of who will be on the ballot in the September primary and the November general election. The deadline to fill petitions to run for office passed last week. The four district seats are up on City Council this year, as are four city school board seats. In…
SPECIAL EVENT | Pride Week
Celebrating LGBTQ culture, the Rochester Gay Alliance will present the 2015 Pride Week, July 16 through July 19. Pride Week is composed of a variety of events across the city, this year with a sci-fi theme. Among the events are the annual raising of the flag at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park (353 Court…
Skatepark advocate losing hope
The drive to get a skatepark built in Rochester is probably at its lowest point in the eight years since the push began, organizers say. The high point was in 2011 when the City of Rochester included the park in its capital improvement plan — that, organizers say, showed commitment to the project. But now,…
FESTIVAL | Canandaigua Arts & Music Festival
Food, art, and music will fill up Canandaigua’s main street for the Canandaigua Arts & Music Festival. There will be community-inspired fun for the young ones like a ring toss, face painting, and a meet and greet with animals. For the full-grown patrons, seven of the area’s select food vendors will be on deck, such…
Urban Action 7/15
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted. Course on different faiths The Nazareth College Hickey Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue will host “Interfaith Immersion: Train the Trainers 2015.” The weeklong course from Monday, August 10, to Friday, August 14,…
SPECIAL EVENT | Civil War Reenactments
This year marks the final year of the Civil War sesquicentennial. Bearing that history in mind, the weekend of July 18 and July 19, The Genesee Country Village and Museum will host reenactments to commemorate the war’s conclusion 150 years ago. Each day there will be two staged battles. The first will be on an…
Coming back to Corn Hill
Carrie Beagle lived in Corn Hill during her 20’s — and at the time she was frustrated that there weren’t more options for dining out or grabbing a drink in the area. She was excited when Corn Hill Landing was built, but had no idea that she would eventually be running her own business there.…
THEATER | “Sordid Lives”
As part of Pride Week, Black Sheep Theatre will present the first Rochester performance of Del Shores’ award-winning comedy “Sordid Lives.” Beginning with the death of Peggy, a good Christian lady who dies tripping over the wooden legs of her lover, “Sordid Lives” goes on to explore the secret lives of her family in the…
Let there be light
Long before there were the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival, Rochester Real Beer Week, or the Park Avenue Summer Art Fest, there was the inaugural Song and Light Festival held at Rochester’s Highland Park in 1915. Created by local architect Claude Bragdon, the event’s innovative means of lighting through the use of lanterns and electric…
Rochester Fringe Festival announces 2015 lineup
The First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival has announced the lineup of its 2015 event, which will include more than 500 performances, four new venues, and a larger Spiegeltent. The festival, which will be in its fourth year, will take place Thursday, September 17, through Saturday, September 26, in and around downtown Rochester. This year’s Friday…
Film Review: “Mr. Holmes”
For nearly as long as they’ve been making movies, they’ve been making movies about Sherlock Holmes. Initially appearing in print in 1887, Holmes first hit the screen in 1900, and since then Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective has been portrayed in more than 220 films. So why does a brilliant, rude, and occasionally drug-addled…
Film Review: “Self/less”
From Jennifer Lopez’s twisted, eye-popping journey inside the mind of a serial killer in “The Cell,” to a lavish love letter to storytelling itself with “The Fall,” the films of Tarsem Singh have demonstrated his admirable commitment to crafting some beautifully bonkers eye candy. Even “Immortals,” Singh’s dip into sword-and-sandal epics, managed to distinguish itself…
Theater Review: “Rent” at Bristol Valley Theater
The quaint town of Naples is a quiet community well known for skiing in the winter and the Grape Festival in the fall — but it’s perhaps less known for its summer stock organization, Bristol Valley Theater, which boasts a six-show theatrical season running from June through August. The third show in this season’s lineup…
Neighborhood schools, poverty, and the future
Studies show that high-poverty schools hurt children. But our options for lowering Rochester’s concentration of poverty are limited.
