Burger, fries, and a diploma
When you ask high-school students in the City of Rochester about their priorities, landing a part-time job is right up there. And that doesn’t surprise Glen Jeter, owner of the McDonald’s on Upper Falls Boulevard near North Clinton, at all. “Things are challenging in general for a lot of households when you live in a…
Rodeo watch
Some say Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, but we prefer food truck season, which is now in full swing. The next Food Truck Rodeo at the Rochester Public Market is set for June 24, so we wanted to check in on some of our recent food truck favorites. We’ve openly swooned…
Literature: “If All of Rochester…” 2016 selection
If you’re looking for an engaging read to officially kick off your summer reading list, consider getting a head-start on the work chosen for the 2016 edition of the “If All of Rocheser Read the Same Book…” city-wide book club. Writers & Books has chosen “Queen of the Fall: A Memoir of Girls & Goddesses,”…
Regents grant delay in teacher evals
The Board of Regents has agreed to changes to the teacher evaluation system that will likely take a year to implement. Under the changes, teacher evaluations will be less reliant on student test scores than Governor Andrew Cuomo has proposed, according to a report by Albany’s Times Union. State legislators approved a new and much…
Advocates, retail group offer toy bill recommendations
[UPDATED 2:05 p.m.] — An amended version of the Child Safe Products Act legislation has been submitted in the Senate. The amendments parallel those negotiated by advocates and the Retail Council of New York State. The bill, S4102A, is available on the Senate’s website. Original post: Supporters of the Child Safe Products act say that they’re…
Medical marijuana dispensary proposed for Eastman Business Park
Columbia Care has reached an agreement with Eastman Kodak Company to use of more than 200,000 square feet on the site to create a medical marijuana cultivation facility and dispensary, according to a statement from the company. Columbia Care currently operates in five states and has created one of the first national medical marijuana patient…
WEEK AHEAD: Events for the week of June 15, 2015
Rochester schools Superintendent Bolgen Vargas will hold his coffee and conversations from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16, at the district’s central office, 131 West Broad Street. The meeting gives students, parents, and teachers the chance to discuss their concerns directly with the superintendent in an informal setting. Also, Regents and local…
East End Music Fest cancels outdoor events
Due to severe weather, the festival has canceled its outdoor events, but organizers are currently looking for indoor options.
Downtown library to end Sunday hours
The reason is financial. Sunday is the library’s most expensive day to operate, and the county has not increased library funding for more than a decade.
What Brooks didn’t say in her final State of the County speech
Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks gave her final State of the County address last night — and she sneaked a couple of bits of news into it. For one, the county finally has a buyer for the Gateway and Atrium buildings on East Main Street downtown. CGI Communications, a marketing company located next door in…
Macedon voters choose dissolution
By a count of 300 to 246, Village of Macedon voters have chosen to dissolve their village. Those are the unofficial results from yesterday’s special election, which was initiated by a group of village residents. Macedon is the sixth village in New York State to approve dissolution since 2011, when a new state law came…
Dissension on the Board of Regents
Public dissension is rare among the New York State Board of Regents. But as further proof that concerns about the new teacher-evaluation law go well beyond the state’s teachers unions, a group of Regents have come out against the law. Seven members of the prestigious 17-member group issued what they described as “Position Paper Amendments”…
Abundance Co-op moving to the South Wedge
Abundance Cooperative Market is moving to 571 South Avenue. The market will exit its current space at 62 Marshall Street in early 2016, according to an e-mail addressed to abundance shareholders. An official announcement is expected later today. “Ultimately, the co-op anticipates that the more visible, larger space will allow more people in Rochester to…
Film Review: “Spy”
If you’re a fan of Melissa McCarthy, watching her career has been a frequently frustrating experience. Yes, she’s found success as an actress — starring in an impressive string of box office hits — but in each of these films, she’s called upon to play characters who are dowdy, bumbling, crass, bullying, or some combination…
Charter suit could be a milestone
The five families from Rochester and Buffalo who are suing the state over funding for charter schools will have their day in court. State Supreme Court Justice Donna Siwek last month refused to dismiss the case. “This means the court believes that this case has merit,” says Harold Hinds, legal director for Northeast Charter Schools…
SPECIAL EVENT | Seeing Animals through Different Eyes
Seneca Park Zoo will host “Seeing Animals through Different Eyes,” an event designed for patrons to get a fresh look at the Zoo through creative engagement. Chesler Photography, Sigma, and the Irondequoit Art Club have partnered to bring in artists to help provide patrons with the means to re-evaluate the familiar Zoo, and to highlight…
UPDATED: Unitarians back off fossil fuels
First Unitarian Church wants to start divesting from fossil fuel stocks.
COMEDY | Shawn Wayans
Comedian Shawn Wayans is best known for his sprawling filmography alongside brothers Keenen Ivory, Damon, and Marlon. Showcasing his stand-up abilities, Wayans will perform at The Comedy Club (2235 Empire Boulevard, Webster) on Thursday, June 11, through Saturday, June 13. Beginning his career on Fox’s classic sketch-comedy series “In Living Color” (created by Keenen), Wayans…
Ethics boards: you’ve got it all wrong
When Donald Youngman heard his boss, Henrietta Town Supervisor Jack Moore, make what he felt were inappropriate remarks, he filed a complaint with the town’s ethics board — which, on the surface, seems like a logical course of action. The circumstances behind Youngman’s complaint are now well-known. Youngman, a 36-year town employee, overheard Moore talking…
SPECIAL EVENT | Rochester Real Beer Expo
Anchoring Rochester Real Beer Week, the Real Beer Expo will feature more than 80 craft beers, along with ciders, local cheeses, and a plethora of locavore foods ranging from Cajun barbeque to pizza, poutine, and more. The event will take place on Gregory Street in the South Wedge between Whalin Street and Bond Street, set…
Red sauce done right
There is something about the sauce at Antonetta’s that grabbed me right from the first bite of the slow braised pork ($6). The pork was cooked in the house red sauce and the combination led to a fantastically simple dish with a surprising amount of depth. That’s not to say that I had low expectations…
ART | Our Decay
Bread & Water Theatre will host the first solo exhibit of local photographer CM Goodenbury through the month of June. The exhibit, titled “Our Decay,” depicts images of decay from in and around the Rochester area. Goodenbury is a Western New York-based photographer whose focus is in urban decay, and as he puts it, contrasts…
SINGER-SONGWRITER | Jon Dee Graham
Though not particularly well-known outside his home town of Austin, Texas, musician Jon Dee Graham is somewhat of a legend. He’s played with Alejandro Escovedo in the True Believers, and guitar in John Doe’s band. Electrically, the man wails; acoustically, he’ll give your goosebumps goosebumps. A thoughtful and hauntingly gruff troubadour in our midst. Jon…
ROCK | East End Music Fest
The long-running East End Fest has had its ups and downs as the area has seen businesses and bands come and go. And in fact, this year will be the last East End Festival as we know it — the organizers will replace it in the future with a smaller, free “City Celebration” event. I’m…
POP | Men Without Hats
People underestimate how cutting-edge Canadian synth-pop band Men Without Hats was back in the 1980’s. Lead singer Ivan Doroschuk’s baritone sprechgesang on “The Safety Dance” paid homage to rappers like Grandmaster Flash as the tune’s three-chord riff simultaneously was pummeled into your head. “The Safety Dance” was actually meant to be a protest song…
CLASSICAL | Finger Lakes Chamber Music Festival
An upstate summer music tradition for 13 years and counting, the Finger Lakes Chamber Music Festival, begins its 2015 season this Saturday, June 13, 7:30 p.m. at Hunt Country Vineyards (4021 Italy Hill Road, Branchport) with a recital of baroque chamber music by Bach, Telemann, Corelli, and Handel featuring harpsichordist Yi-heng Yang. The season roster…
ROCK | King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard
These guys are hard to pin down and pleasantly so. And with little bio info out there and minimal self-description of their music they seem to like it that way. It’s a bit garage, a bit surf, a bit of jazz with some rich rock riffs. The lyrics, like the music, seem more interested to…
HIP-HOP | Future
It’s cars, cash, gold, and girls; and in three short years, Future seems to have quickly raced to the front of the rap scene. In a handful of music videos, he’s already collaborated with Kanye West (“I Won”), Miley Cyrus (“Real and True”), and Pharrell (“Move That Dope”). Born Navyvadius Wilburn, this 25-year-old from Atlanta…
HIP-HOP | M.O.P.
Back in 1992, emcee Billy Danze and rapper-producer Lil’ Fame came together as the Brooklyn duo M.O.P., short for “Mash Out Posse,” and have maintained a consistent underground following. But they might be remembered for some mainstream success with the songs “Ante Up” and “Cold as Ice,” both of which featured on their 2000 album,…
Band of brothers
There’s a distinct difference between a duo and a two-piece band. Nashville’s Jeff the Brotherhood is two cats, brothers in fact, that make up a two-piece band. But they ain’t a duo, Gumby. The band’s very existence since 2001 has helped clarify the duo-two piece conundrum. And it’s all in the size of the band’s sound.…
ALBUM REVIEW: “Phineas”
Chris Biesterfeldt “Phineas” Biest Records chrisbiesterfeldt.com If you haven’t yet heard of Brooklyn-based guitarist Chris Biesterfeldt it’s probably because he’s spent so much of his career in the shadows. He was literally under the stage in the pit bands of Broadway shows like “Rent,” “Pippin,” and “Hairspray,” and he has contributed to the soundtracks of…
A view anew
In the early 1990’s, as the medium of film’s centennial approached, British filmmaker Peter Greenaway decided to hold a series of 10 exhibitions in capital cities around Europe. Each of these exhibitions would, in its own way, reflect upon the language and the history of film. This first installment, held in Geneva, Switzerland, was about…
Urban Action 6/10
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted. Talk on applying faith The Interfaith Alliance of Rochester will present “Are We Working Our Faith?” a talk by James Lawrence, at 3 p.m. on Sunday, June 14, at the Nazareth College Shults…
ART | Tom Kirn Collection at NYMT
Celebrating a defunct facet of Rochester history, the New York Museum of Transportation (6393 East River Road, Rush) presents a collection of works by Tom Kirn, a Rochester-native who captures the story of the subway system through both photos and illustrations. The Rochester Subway, which ran from 1927 to 1956 and forged from an abandoned…
Feedback 6/10
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. The super-rich…
SPECIAL EVENT | Pop-Up Art Show
The pop-up art show, a concept based around art exhibitions placed in non-traditional locales, has experienced increasing popularity in the U.S. in the last decade, and Rochester is no exception. Local artist Joan Rusitzky will host a Pop-Up Art Show, her fourth since 2012, at the former Fleet Feet Store (2210 Monroe Avenue) from Friday,…
Film Review: “Entourage”
Raymond Chandler once wrote, “The dilemma of the critic has always been that if he knows enough to speak with authority, he knows too much to speak with detachment.” So please let that serve as my disclaimer for whatever happens next, because I’ve seen every episode of the HBO series “Entourage,” which ran for eight…
