Cover Story
Regional schools
A group of Rochester educators and community leaders say that Rochester school district officials have repeatedly taken the wrong approach to improving city schools. An integrated school is needed, they say. And now more than ever.
WEEK AHEAD: Psych Center meeting; take a look at the city budget; WFP undecided on Cuomo
A local meeting on the state’s plan for the Rochester Psychiatric Center will take place today at 6 p.m. in the Rehab Building at the center, 1111 Elmwood Avenue, room 206/208. The state plans to turn the Rochester facility into one of 15 regional centers across the state. It would house forensic adults — people who have had…
Kimberly and Beck issue apology
Earlier this week, Entercom Rochester fired “Breakfast Buzz” hosts Kimberly and Beck after they went on a 12-minute tirade about the City of Rochester’s decision to extend health care benefits to transgender individuals and their families. This morning, the duo issued a statement apologizing for their comments. Whether anyone will buy it is another matter, but…
Raunch and heart
Dave Attell is notorious for being a filthy, offensive, curmudgeonly old “Insomniac,” but he’s also a well-respected comedian in the business. Patton Oswalt tweeted: “Watching @attell’s new special for a 3rd time since it premiered Friday. Same way I listened to Iggy Pop’s RAW POWER over & over.” Marc Maron said, “Dave’s a funny f**king…
Hochul for LG makes sense
Governor Andrew Cuomo has picked Congress member Kathy Hochul as his running mate. Hochul replaces current Lieutenant Governor Bob Duffy, who chose not to seek re-election. But last week, when various prognosticators were tossing out Hochul’s name, I wasn’t convinced she’d make the cut. Yes, Hochul’s from Upstate, and Cuomo seemed to want a running…
![[UPDATED] Kimberly and Beck are hysterical trashing trans people](https://i0.wp.com/www.roccitymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/lgbt-pride01_square.webp?resize=800%2C600&ssl=1)
[UPDATED] Kimberly and Beck are hysterical trashing trans people
There is an update at the end of this blog. It’s about corporate responsibility. It’s about the safety and well-being of young people who are frightened, and confused about their gender identity; that society says it’s not OK to ridicule them, ostracize them, or pound their brains into the pavement. Good God, people. Have you…
County Republicans will nominate candidates today
The Monroe County Republican Committee will meet at 5:30 p.m. today (Wednesday, May 21) to nominate candidates for the 2014 elections. The convention is at the Radisson Hotel Rochester Riverside, 120 East Main Street. A GOP press release says that the party expects to nominate candidates for the 54th, 55th, 56th, 59th, 61st, and 62nd…
FILM | “Hidden Pictures”
The annual The Reel Mind Film Series presents films about various challenges surrounding mental illness and spotlights great stories of hope. On Tuesday, May 27, the Cinema Theatre (957 S. Clinton Avenue) will present “Hidden Pictures,” the story of filmmaker Delaney Ruston, who after years of estrangement, reconnected with her schizophrenic father. Ruston became interested in…
Urban Action 5/21
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.) Peace parade Several antiwar and social justice groups will hold the 30th annual Rochester Memorial Day Peace Parade on Monday, May 26. The parade honors those who have suffered and died in war.…
SPECIAL EVENT | Memorial Day Parade
Each Memorial Day, we commemorate members of the armed forces who were killed in the line of duty. We might ask ourselves if it is enough to passively praise those who have served. Memorial Day is also a time to consider the purposes of our conflicts, and to not only remember the lives destroyed by…
The US, the super-rich, and the Great Society
Should income inequality in the United States be a matter of great public concern? Is it something that government should stick its nose into? Questions like that seem particularly timely this week, which marks 50 years since Lyndon Johnson announced his Great Society vision. Great Society programs – the Voting Rights Act, Medicare, Medicaid, and…
JAZZ | Jimmy Bennington Colour and Sound
Colour and Sound are two of the key ingredients to great drumming. While sound is fairly obvious, colour (the British spelling) is especially important when playing in free jazz circles. That’s where Jimmy Bennington has spent much of his career, exploiting his percussive palette in group improvisations. It doesn’t hurt that he studied with John…
ELECTRONIC | DJ Zombie Kitty
There’s times where I go to a nightclub and the DJ’s overpowering music scares me into seeking repose at a dive bar. Sometimes it’s just too much. That’s not the case with DJ Zombie Kitty. The Philadelphia-based DJ has been keeping club goers entranced since 2009 with her versatile range, which covers a smorgasbord of…
Trans health coverage
The City of Rochester will add transgender health care benefits for employees and their families starting on January 1, 2015. The new coverage means that services related to gender reassignment procedures such as medical and psychological counseling, hormone therapy, and reconstructive surgeries will be covered by insurance. To receive the benefits, employees will have to…
HONKY-TONK | Moot Davis
This is some red-hot, in your face, ants in your pants, longneck in your hand, sweetheart in your arms barroom boogie. New Jersey-born Moot Davis’ twang and croon calls to mind the country revolution that resuscitated and rescued country music from the Nashvegas vampires. Though the music displays plenty of rural, rocking giddy-up and go,…
Bagging the food waste problem
Chew on this: food makes up approximately one-fifth of the waste sent to US landfills every year, and 30 to 40 percent of the country’s food supply goes uneaten annually. Food waste is a global problem. It makes products more expensive for consumers and squanders important resources like water, fertile land, and energy. And with…
ROCKABILLY | Jenna and the Hops
Having staked her claim to the throne of roots rock wailers in bands like the big-guitar rockin’ and swingin’ Krypton 88, Miss Jenna Weintraub ventures out with Jenna and the Hops. With Weintraub at the helm who knows where it’ll go now. I’m gonna find out, myself? Anyone need a ride? Jenna and the Hops…
Facts, fiction, and Ukraine
Standing strong against “Russian aggression” has become the only acceptable US position on Ukraine for Washington and mainstream media, reminiscent of the relentless anti-Saddam propaganda campaign running up to the Iraq War. This time the demonization of Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, substitutes for any nuanced account of events in Ukraine. Former Defense Secretary…
AMERICANA | Angela Perley and Howlin Moons
Based on her quiet demeanor, it would be almost impossible to peg Angela Perley as the lead singer in a band. But she is, and she’s got a serious set of pipes. Perley and her band, The Howlin’ Moons, have drawn rave reviews for their latest album “Hey Kid,” which genre hops between country, Americana,…
Big changes for Rochester Psychiatric Center
There are more questions than answers right now about the state’s plan to overhaul its mental health system and the impact that overhaul will have on Rochester. According to the plan, the state-run Rochester Psychiatric Center on Elmwood Avenue will become the Western New York Forensic Center of Excellence — one of 15 regional centers…
PUNK | Hank Wood and the Hammerheads
Punk band Hank Wood and the Hammerheads describes itself as being, “NYC garage mutants.” The band clearly draws influences from early punk bands like The Stooges, The Clash, and The Sex Pistols — embracing the rough, oftentimes imperfect, sound that defined such bands. However, Hank Wood makes this sound its own by combining that 70’s…
Feedback 5/21
Send comments to themail@rochester-citynews.com, or post them on our website, rochestercitynewspaper.com, our Facebook page, or our Twitter feed, @roccitynews. For our print edition, we select comments from all three sources; those 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…
ROCK | Auld Lang Syne
Once in a while, a group comes along whose songwriting and musicianship are equally inspired. Auld Lang Syne is that band. With thick harmonies and raucous boot stomping the band builds upon past folk music. The vocals are near angelic, but somehow they stay rooted in that dirty old-time swagger. Started by street performers, it’s…
DINING: Free to be gluten-free
While eating gluten-free is a necessity for many — specifically those suffering from Celiac Disease or a gluten-intolerance — an increasing amount of people are choosing a gluten-free lifestyle for healthier eating. Gone are the days of the gluten-free products being tucked in a hard-to-find corner of the grocery store’s “health food” aisle. Gluten-free products…
FOLK | Band of Lovers
What the world needs now is love, or maybe just more bands like Band of Lovers. Guitarist Dave Strumfeld and ukulele player Sabina Beachdell met at SUNY Purchase but formed their acoustic group in California. They have since spent nearly a year on the road performing songs that might inspire you to cuddle up with your sweetie. Band of Lovers pulls you in with…
Art Review: “Proverbs and Commonplaces”
The current show at Oxford Gallery is a group of 61 visual meditations on the sticky bits of aphoristic phrasing found within the language of our culture. These phrases, perhaps now cliché, trite bits, nevertheless contain gems of sense and are given new life and twists of interpretation by artistic hands. Each spring, Oxford Gallery…
Fox 45
I dunno, man. Leave it to Rochester to have a girl band with a man in it. But as I’ve said before, other than the pitch of the voice, you can’t hear gender. You can, however hear Fox 45’s aggression, attitude, and yes, its balls. Fox 45 is a new band on the scene where…
“In the Heights”
Fittingly for a show about community and dreams, the upcoming production of “In the Heights” at Rochester Association of Performing Arts brings together two local companies with big ambitions. Both groups, OFC Creations and the Rochester Latino Theatre Company, are relative newcomers to the Rochester theater scene who have already amassed some impressive credits. The…
ALBUM REVIEW: “The Monkey, The Tango, and the Boogaloo”
Brian Lindsay “The Monkey, The Tango, and the Boogaloo” GFI Music Brianlindsay.net The record company is going to have to front me another copy of Brian Lindsay’s “The Monkey, The Tango, and the Boogaloo,” because I ate the first one. No shit, I got done with the preliminary spin, smeared some peanut butter on it…
ART | Window Project
“The Window Project,” running through June 15 at Image City Photography Gallery, explores our relationship to the simple window. Artist Betsy Phillips dives past merely the architectural design element to look at — and through — windows “as reflective surfaces, as sources of light and shadow, as objects of comfort and beauty, and as opportunities…
ALBUM REVIEW: “The Younger Gang”
The Younger Gang “The Younger Gang” Self-release Facebook.com/youngergangmusic The Younger Gang isn’t a band of Colt-wielding desperados, but the quartet’s sepia-soaked acoustic strain calls to mind an era when characters like that roamed the land. With bluegrass and Irish undertones, this is really a beautiful record in its melodious simplicity. The incorporation of drums and…
FESTIVAL | Roc City Ribfest
Starting with just seven teams and a little over a thousand festival goers in 2008, the Roc City Ribfest has since boomed to include over 100 teams and 30,000 people out on Memorial Day weekend. The family-friendly festival features live music, competitive cooking — ribs, chicken wings, hot dogs, burgers, and more — the Roc…
FAMILY | Boardwalk Arcade
The Strong Museum of Play is recreating the seaside resorts of the 19th and early 20th centuries with its newest exhibit Boardwalk Arcade. The summertime exhibit — running May 24 through September 7 — takes the curious through the evolution of arcade amusements, from the traditional carnival games of Coney Island and Atlantic City to…
LITERATURE | A Night with an Author and Beer
On May 22, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Roc Brewing Co. (56 South Union Street) will host a literary event for Mental Health Awareness Month. Rochester author and young professional Anish Majumdar will speak about publishing his first novel, “The Isolation Door,” and the events that inspired it. Figuring centrally in the work is his mother’s…
