Cover Story
Fad or fix: longer school days
Alysha Rodriguez has one of those smart, sassy smiles that brighten fireplace mantels and living room walls. The 17-year-old senior at Northeast Preparatory High School greets visitors with a firm, sincere handshake that would impress any executive. She plans to go to college to become a zoologist. But Rodriguez says the student she is today…
![[UPDATED] Clinton to stump for Slaughter, Hochul](https://i0.wp.com/www.roccitymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/slaughterlouise_sidebar.webp?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)
[UPDATED] Clinton to stump for Slaughter, Hochul
Former President Bill Clinton will be at the Main Street Armory on Friday, October 19.
Mayor talks homelessness ahead of activists’ march
Rochester Mayor Tom Richards and leaders of human service agencies in the city and county held a press conference this morning to explain everything the city does for the area’s homeless. It can’t be a coincidence that members of many social-justice groups, including Take Back the Land-Rochester and Metro Justice, will hold a housing march…
Slaughter tops Brooks in fundraising
Louise Slaughter and Maggie Brooks have submitted their quarterly campaign finance reports and, from the beginning of July to the end of September, Slaughter raised far more money than Brooks. In fact, Slaughter raised more in individual contributions than Brooks did in total. Slaughter, a Democrat and the incumbent, raised $720,830 for the quarter, with…
Richards says Post was wrong
Rochester Mayor Tom Richards says NY Post article is inflammatory and the city is not going broke.
Cuban Missile Crisis 50 years later
When President Kennedy spoke to the nation about a U-2 plane’s photos of Soviet nuclear missile installations under construction in Cuba, the already tense stand-off between the US and the USSR grew dramatically worse. This week marks the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, arguably the closest the US has come to a nuclear…
Daily Choices: What to do on Tuesday, October 16
MUSIC: Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie are both artists who are visual in the extreme and revel in the filth of humanity, but it’s Zombie’s keen B-Movie, cinematic sensibility that truly sends me. But he doesn’t overdo it, rocking on stage and getting his slasherya-yas out on the screen. He’s earned seven Grammy nominations this…
“How I Met Your Mother” Season 8, Episode 4
Hazah! No baby Marvin! With a nanny all in place “How I Met Your Mother” can return to good times drinking beer and complaining about relationships. Right? .
NY Post makes scary prediction for Rochester
Wow — unsettling news from the New York Post, if it’s true. Post columnist Fredric U. Dicker wrote today that “several of New York’s biggest cities,” including Rochester, are close to bankruptcy and “looking for a bailout from Gov. Cuomo’s administration.” Dicker says the mayors of Yonkers, Rochester, and Syracuse have been involved in “secret…
Concert Review: Trash Wave Fest, All Time Low
So there I was at the Bug Jar Friday night for the first of what I hope will be many Trash Wave Fests, digging on the Clockmen as the band sunk its teeth into some dangerously fast and loud thinking-man’s punk (as I like to call it). This is one mighty trio, softened only by…
Week ahead: campaign finance filings; Brooks-Slaughter and Romney-Obama debates
Congressional candidates have until midnight tonight to turn in their quarterly reports, which will tell us how much money they’ve raised who they’ve raised it from. The reports can also give us some idea of who supports a candidate, and how that candidate may vote if put into office. In the 25th Congressional District race,…
Work continues on MAG Sculpture Park
Work continued Monday on the installation of the Memorial Art Gallery’s Centennial Sculpture Park, specifically the large-scale piece by Tom Otterness that will be situated near the corner of North Goodman and University. A flatbed truck holding several large elements of the piece was parked alongside University Avenue, and a police car was out front…
Daily Choices: What to do on Monday, October 15
MUSIC: Chicago Hot Six (and yeah, they are actually from Chicago) will be part of an evening of Dixieland music tonight at the Green Lantern Inn (1 E. Church St., Fairport, flowercityjazz.org) starting at 6:30 p.m.; cover is $12. How often do you get a chance to enjoy good Dixieland music anyways? And maybe, just…
The Walking Dead Season 3, Episode 1
Season two of “The Walking Dead” was hit or miss with me. Parts of it dragged on, but the last few episodes were some of the strongest in the television show’s run, giving us confrontations the show had been waiting a long time for (Boom! Rick, Andrew Lincoln, and Shane, Jon Bernthal) , getting us…
Daily Choices: What to do Saturday and Sunday, October 13-14
SPORTS: The RocCity Roller Derby will hold a home-team round robin, pitting The 5-H8-5’s vs. The Rottenchesters vs. The Midtown Maulers on Saturday at 6 p.m. (doors open at 5 p.m.). The event takes place at the Dome Arena at the Fair & Expo Center (2695 E. Henrietta Rd.). Tickets are $5-$20; more info at…
“The X Factor” Season 2: Top 24 Judges’ Houses performances
Having slogged through this week’s three hours of “The X Factor,” spread over two shows in which we winnowed the contestants down to 24 from 60, something struck me: how goddamned boring this show is. It just kept going and going and going, but it felt so repetitive and dull. The funny thing is, we…
Biden comes through for Dems
For those Democrats who needed to be juiced up again after last week’s first presidential debate, Vice President Joe Biden came through for them during last night’s vice-presidential debate with Republican candidate Paul Ryan. While there will surely be some jeers about Biden’s many laughs and interruptions, it was pure Biden on display. Nobody really…
Brizard out as Chicago’s schools chief
After about a year and half on the job, Jean-Claude Brizard is no longer CEO of the Chicago Public School System, according to an article in the Chicago Tribune. Brizard approached Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel about rumors that he was hearing suggesting the mayor was not pleased with his performance. In a conversation with the…
Daily Choices: What to do on Friday, October 12
MUSIC: If your idea of a perfect night involves tropical beats and a balance between synth and guitar-driven rock, then Young Empires will make you head straight for the dance floor tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Water Street Music Hall (204 N. Water St., waterstreetmusic.com, $10-$12). The Toronto quartet blends the grandiosity of bands like…
Utica’s gassy, but not like Marcellus
Recently, the US Geological Survey released its first estimate of “undiscovered, technically recoverable” natural gas in the Utica Shale: 38 trillion cubic feet. That’s a lot of gas, but for the sake of perspective, the estimate isn’t even half of the USGS estimate for the Marcellus Shale: 84 trillion cubic feet. The federal agency also…
Congress backs laws that help members
Public opinion of Congress has reached all-time lows, according to some polls. And a recent article in the Washington Post isn’t likely to help. The Post examined financial disclosure forms and public records of all members of the House and Senate. The findings help explain why the public has become so cynical. More than 70…
Maggie Brooks wins…the Twitter war
I’ve been keeping a relatively close eye on #ny25 — a Twitter hash tag for the Congressional race between incumbent Democrat Louise Slaughter and her Republican challenger, Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks. So far, Brooks’ followers seem to be Tweeting more and with a sense of purpose. When the Fair Elections Committee ruled against a…
Daily Choices: What to do on Thursday, October 11
SPECIAL EVENT: Calling all freaks and geeks (or just those who like to dress up as either). Tonight at Heat Night Club (336 East Ave., 899-0620) is a special Freaks & Geeks inspired party, with DJ Ease spinning the music. And for you younger geeks, don’t feel left out, as Heat is 18+. Of course,…
South Park Season 16, Episode 10
After two back-to-back strong episodes of “South Park,” social commentary was high, but laughs were low this week, even to the point where pulling in Bane from Batman couldn’t save the show.
The Legend of Zelda Symphony of the Goddesses Tour: Interview with producer Jeron Moore
I’ll travel for “Zelda.” I saw The Legend of Zelda Symphony of the Goddesses tour while out in Los Angeles for E3, but getting a chance to see it again and talk with the people behind it when it came to Toronto in September was something I just couldn’t pass up.
Charter schools: innovation or mission creep?
Why do two schools about a mile apart with similar demographics, largely disadvantaged African-American and Latino kids, have such different outcomes? What is a charter school like True North Rochester Prep Elementary doing differently from what a traditional city school is doing that leads to dramatically higher student achievement? Those were some of the questions…
Ad nauseated
A week ago, I wrote an article, “Ad Nauseam,” about the outside groups that are spending hefty sums on ads in two local Congressional races. This morning, the Buffalo News published an article detailing the independent spending in the race between Democrat Kathy Hochul and Republican Chris Collins. The numbers are astonishing. The News says…
Empty Closet archived
The University of Rochester now has an online archive of 438 issues of the Empty Closet, beginning with the first issue published in January 1971 to the April 2011 issue. | The EC was founded by a group of UR student-activists who formed the Gay Liberation Front’s Rochester chapter. The newspaper is New York State’s…
MOVIE REVIEW: “Searching for Sugar Man”
This is the information age, but there was a time relatively recently when we didn’t know everything about everyone. That air of mystery could be incredibly frustrating, especially, if you’re in Cape Town and you want to know more about your favorite musician, an American singer-songwriter called Rodriguez who released two albums in the early…
GUEST COMMENTARY: Wealth disparity and our graduation rate
Not long ago, published research demonstrated that countries that had a high disparity between wealth and poverty were also characterized by low confidence in their government and contempt for the law. There is a justifiable assumption that the government is corrupt, serving the elite while either actively suppressing the poor or failing to use the…
MOVIE REVIEW: “V/H/S”
I’ve never gotten the fascination with horror films, or more specifically slasher flicks. I understand the adrenalin rush of shock, but I don’t see what pleasure is derived by watching fake throats getting slit or someone being relieved of several feet of his intestines. I love inventive filmmaking, however, and though it’s not always successful,…
Feedback 10/10
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. Can voters…
MUSIC REVIEW: Hot-rod sonics
With a seasoned cool, classic noir haberdashery and a velvety voice, Big Sandy commandeered the SS Abilene and positively rocked all souls on deck Tuesday night, October 2. Along with his Fly-Rite Boys, Sandy ran a nice cross-section review of his lengthy catalogue, from the debut “Fly-Rite With…” to the bust-out Hightone Records smash hit “Jumpin’…
CHOW HOUND: Fiamma, Finger Lakes Restaurant Week, and more
I watched Fiamma co-owner Giuseppe Paciullo slide his pizza-laden peel into a wood-burning oven aglow with flame, turned around to jot something down, then, less than a minute later, heard shocked noises coming from photographer Matt DeTurck: “It’s done!?” Forty-five seconds. That’s how long co-owner Robby Brockler says it takes for Fiamma’s Neapolitan pizza oven,…
MUSIC INTERVIEW: Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie’s brutal creativity is spread equally over his music and films. Both aspects of his career bleed with a visceral cult verve and classic B-movie horror. Zombie’s work is over the top. Whether rocking the stage with his trademark metal/industrial kerrang or getting his slasher ya-ya’s out on film, one look, one listen and…
MOVIE REVIEW: “Taken 2”
As everyone knows, in the film industry success tends to breed success, and of course too often excess also breeds excess, which helps to explain the common practice of proliferating sequels to pictures that bring in the big bucks. Mixing memory and desire, the studio executives, bankers, accountants, and agents, or in other words, the…
ROCK: Generationals
New Orleans, while an obvious hotbed of musical talent, is not the first metropolis to come to mind when discussing the current state of indie rock. And yet, there’s Generationals, a duo from the Crescent City that plies a nostalgic brand of shiny pop/rock, updated to reflect modern musical sensibilities. The band has released two…
PUNK: Andy Smash & the Rust Belt Hotrods
Andy Smash traces his lineage to French settlers in colonial New York and cites that as a musical influence, along with his days in seminary and a photo of his grandfather playing a banjo in the 1930’s. His band, the Rust Belt Hotrods, is a 100 percent certified organic homebrew that fires on all cylinders…
JAZZ/METAL: Pillow Fight Accident
You get what you deserve when you combine jazz and metal. It seems more akin to picking a fight than choosing a genre, yet Pillow Fight Accident picks and explores and abuses the cracks between the keys in sharp twists that go from horribly dissonant to mildly serene. It’s as if the band is laying…
JAZZ: Tribute to Rayburn Wright
Before Rayburn Wright (1922-1990) founded the jazz program at the Eastman School of Music in 1970, he was trombonist/arranger for the Glenn Miller-Tex Beneke Orchestra, he wrote scores for the Joffrey Ballet, he was a record producer, and an arranger/composer for Radio City Music Hall, movies and television. The school honors Wright Friday with a…
BASS: Seth Horan
For those of you who view the electric bass as either a support instrument in the rhythm section, or as a solo weapon wielded by cats like Wooten and Clarke, here’s a third category for ya: singer/songwriter/bass monster. Or in other words, Seth Horan. This Buffalo bassist doesn’t so much accompany himself but rather sings…
ALTERNATIVE: Young Empires
If your idea of a perfect night involves tropical beats and a balance between synth and guitar-driven rock, then Young Empires will make you head straight for the dance floor. The Toronto quartet blends the grandiosity of bands like The Killers with feel-good pop a la Black Kids. The result is a modern disco-like soundtrack…
RECREATION: Reading the stories in trees
Picture yourself cross-country skiing among an ancient oak-hickory forest, the sounds of the city drowned out by downy snow on heavy branches. Or wandering with a (leashed) canine friend through sun-dappled paths in midsummer. Washington Grove is a 27-acre park located next to Cobbs Hill, home to 200-plus-year-old trees and glacial topography, and is an…
AMERICANA: Woody Dodge
This Rochester-based foursome began playing together in the mid-80’s, and its impressive staying power has been driven by a unique mix of musical styles including country, rock, folk, and even punk. Its distinctive brand of Americana garnered some critical acclaim with the release of its first album, “Emma’s Dance,” in 1995. Woody Dodge started popping…
THEATER: “Pomme is French For Apple”
The First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival is behind us, but you can enjoy the “fruits” of the Toronto Fringe Festival this week when the critically acclaimed “Pomme is French for Apple,” which won Best of the Fringe and Patron’s Pick at the 2012 Toronto festival, hits Downstairs Cabaret Theatre this week. Written by and starring…
Meeting the real Romney
It was a curious debate last week, and a depressing performance by President Obama. Like many people, I was speechless by the end of it. Did Obama think he would be debating a different Romney? Did his debate preparers advise him not to attack? Obama critics had joked that he couldn’t campaign without a teleprompter.…
THEATER: “Mary Poppins”
I vividly recall being completely enthralled as a child by “Mary Poppins.” The title character was beautiful and wise and independent, and seemed to get the children in her charge into more trouble than they did by themselves. Her best friends were the birds and her secret crush, a chimney sweep who seemed as unexpectedly…
Urban Action 10/10
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.) Candidates discuss health care The Interfaith Health Care Coalition holds a Meet the Candidates discussion with Democratic State Senate candidates Ted O’Brien, a Democrat, and Republican Sean Hanna at 4 p.m. on Monday,…
SPORTS: Roc City Roller Derby
Experience the sweat, buzz, and tears of roller derby this weekend as Roc City Roller Derby presents “Octoberfist” Saturday, October 13, with doors opening at 5 p.m., and the derby commencing at 6 p.m. Competitors in the Home Teams Round Robin will include the 5-H8-5s, the Midtown Maulers, and the Rottenchesters. Depending on how adventurous…
Housing march planned
Local social justice and political groups are joining forces to promote the concept of housing as a human right, and to get the City of Rochester to make tackling homelessness a priority. The groups, including Take Back the Land – Rochester, Metro Justice, Band of Rebels, Rochester Against War, and the Green and Working Families…
SPECIAL EVENT: Meliora Weekend
Since its founding in 1850, the University of Rochester has been one of the most central hubs of activity in this city. Each year for its annual parents and alumni reunion weekend, which the university blankets under the term “Meliora Weekend,” that hub seems to explode with a surplus of people, events, and ideas. While…
Fuel cell lab leaving
Hydrogen fuel cells have a long way to go before they’re ready for the market. Still, General Motors’ fuel cell research and development center in Honeoye Falls has served as a high-profile tech industry in the Rochester area. But last week, GM announced that it will shut down the lab and transfer the technical work…
SPORTS: Amerks Home Opener
It’s that time of year again, when the ice starts to fly, punches soar at a whim, and teeth pop out of a player’s mouth as quickly as freshly popped corn comes out of the kettle. Yes, it’s hockey season. Get into the game this weekend when the Rochester Americans have their home opener of…
I-Square’s many questions
I-Square, a mix of shops, offices, and apartments meant to revitalize a section of Titus Avenue in Irondequoit, is at a standstill. That’s because town officials and the project’s developers, Irondequoit residents Mike and Wendy Nolan, don’t see eye-to-eye on a proposed tax agreement. Last week, the town approved a 10-year payment in lieu of…
ART REVIEW: “Bob Conge / recent works”
Within the increasingly popular field of collectible plastic and resin art toys, some artists are set apart by the ambitiousness injected into their creations. Acting as a sort of modern-day mixture of Gepetto and Dr. Frankenstein, Bob Conge cannibalizes old toys to produce new, imaginative creations and invents complex, entertaining worlds from which each one-off…
