Cover Story
A former paperboy’s story of sexual abuse
Rick Bates claims in a lawsuit against Gannett Co. that he was sexually abused as a paperboy in 1983
GOP files state election complaint over DA’s race
The Monroe County Republican Committee is filing a formal complaint with the New York State Board of Elections against the campaign of Democratic district attorney candidate Shani Curry Mitchell. The complaint alleges that Mitchell’s campaign illegally coordinated with a political action committee funded by billionaire and political activist George Soros. The New York Justice & Public…
Album review: ‘For the Record’
Jack West ‘For the Record’ Self-released jackwestlive.com Local fourteen-year-old prodigy Jack West collaborated with famed producer Barrett Jones at Laundry Room Studio in Seattle for his debut studio album, "For the Record," released back in August. The eight-song album is an homage to old-school vinyl records, while West’s lyrics reflect the simultaneous feeling of jumping…
Accused ex-D&C newspaper carrier supervisor once arrested for groping paperboys
A late supervisor of Democrat and Chronicle newspaper delivery carriers, who was accused in a recent lawsuit of sexually abusing a paperboy in the 1980s, was arrested in 1987 on suspicion that he was groping paperboys in a Greece doughnut shop. Jack Lazeroff, the supervisor, was charged with disorderly conduct, a violation, according to the…
Court clears the way for Police Accountability referendum
If a decision by a panel of state Appellate Division justices stands, the city will have its referendum on a proposed Police Accountability Board. On Thursday, justices overturned a ruling by state Supreme Court Justice John Ark that allowed the county Board of Elections to put the referendum on city voters’ ballots, but blocked elections…
The F Word: Our Lady of the Blessed Three Heads
In the latest edition of The F Word, CITY Music Writer Frank De Blase shares his thoughts on performances by SuicideGirls Blackheart Burlesque and Amy Helm.
Album review: ‘Dream Float EP Vol. 1’
Dream Float ‘Dream Float EP Vol. 1’ Self-released dreamfloat.bandcamp.com Rochester piano trio Dream Float performs with little to no written material, allowing compositions to flow from improvisations focused around a theme. Drummer Chris Palace and keyboardist Thomas Mariano originally formed the group in 2018, adding bassist Jordan Rabinowitz later that year. In September, the instrumental…
Album review: ‘Always There’
Full Body ‘Always There’ Five Kill Records fullbody.bandcamp.com After four years together and a recent personnel change, local quartet Full Body is about to release its third studio album. Recorded mostly at Headroom Studios in Philadelphia, "Always There" delivers a sludgy mix of hardcore, grunge, slowcore, and shoegaze. Lead singer Dylan Vaisey’s vocals cut through…
JAZZ | Thomas Heberer’s X Marks the Spot
Fast-rising trumpeter Thomas Heberer has worked with a “who’s who” of jazz luminaries, including Steve Lacy, Dave Douglas and Oliver Lake. Born in Germany in 1965, Heberer began playing at age 11. His wide-ranging activities include a long-time stint with the ICP Orchestra and composing music for Pina Bausch’s dance company. In his own quartet,…
BAROQUE AND DANCE | ‘Keyboard and Key Moves’
The Memorial Art Gallery’s season-opening concert in its Third Thursday series features an uncommon combination of keyboard music and dance called “Keyboard and Key Moves: Baroque Explorations in Synesthesia.” While the performance will certainly showcase Eastman School of Music’s beautiful Italian Baroque Organ, played here by Stephen Kennedy, an accompanying dance component that imagines aristocratic…
CLASSICAL | Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
Former Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra music director Christopher Seaman makes his annual guest conducting visit this week. The program includes a 20th-century classic in Hindemith’s “Symphonic Metamorphoses of Themes by Weber,” and a 19th-century classic in Tchaikovsky’s grandiose Fourth Symphony. They’re both orchestral spectaculars, but they couldn’t be more contrasting. Violinist Simone Porter (pictured) made her…
LITERATURE | Poetry with Terry Blackhawk
Ekphrastic writing is about creating vivid descriptions that help the reader visualize something, very commonly a work of art, but it also lifts off from what the senses detect into existential ether. Two of the most famous examples in poetry are John Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn” and W. H. Auden’s “Musée des Beaux…
MUSEUM | SciFiTech
The newest interactive exhibit at Rochester Museum & Science Center focuses on the impact that pop culture has had on real technological advances and everyday tools, while it celebrates humanity’s innovation and imagination. The 8,000-square-foot “SciFiTech” exhibit is divided into four zones that explore: “How We Play” with an “Oculus Rift” virtual reality experience, 3D-projected…
LITERATURE | ImageOutWrite Reading
This year’s iteration of ImageOut, Rochester’s LGBT Film Festival, is well underway, with screenings and events continuing through Sunday, October 20. On Wednesday, October 23, the literary side of LGBT creative expression will be celebrated with the release of ImageOutWrite Volume 8, which features 25 moving, heartbreaking, humorous, and poignant personal stories from Rochester writers,…
LITERATURE | Antiquarian Book Fair
The annual Antiquarian Book Fair returns to the Main Street Armory this week, featuring three dozen book dealers from six states. Celebrating 47 years, the event is a collaboration between the 10-member Rochester Area Booksellers Association and RIT Press. The vendors will offer rare, collectible, first edition, and scholarly titles, but also other printed materials…
FILM | ‘Stephen King’s Dollar Babies’
Okay, it’s October and some of us are cramming in monster movie marathons, but maybe this is the year for something a little different. The Dryden Theatre has reopened after renovations to the Eastman Museum property kept it closed for the summer, and its fall programming is off to a strong start with ImageOut screenings…
SPECIAL EVENT | Celebr8 24-hour Fundraiser
Over the years indie arts hub The Yards Collective has grown beyond a collaborative creativity venue to add artist studios, art residencies, and an ambitious calendar of exhibitions and events. This month The Yards celebrates its 8th anniversary by announcing it will shift to a non-profit status in the next two years, and by hosting…
Feedback 10/16
We welcome your comments. Send them to feedback@rochester-citynews.com with your name, your daytime telephone number for verification, and your city, town or village. Comments of fewer than 500 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. What really…
Urban Action 10/16
This week’s call to action includes the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.) Forums feature local candidates Two candidates’ forums for key local races are scheduled for October 16. The Children’s Agenda will host a forum for county executive and County Legislature candidates at the new…
Data shows decrease in Rochester emissions
Rochester is one of two areas nationwide where carbon dioxide emissions from cars decreased over the last few decades. That’s according to A New York Times report that drew on data from Boston University and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The researchers looked at carbon dioxide emissions from traffic in 100 metro areas from 1990…
What does it mean to harass police?
New York’s various harassment laws are pretty specific. They spell out what forms of intimidation, communications, threats, or physical contact — for example, shoving or slapping someone — are illegal. But a proposed county law that would make it a misdemeanor to harass police officers, peace officers, and first responders contains no such detail. It…
Meredith Monk visits U of R for artist residency
Meredith Monk is a living legend in the world of contemporary classical music. Monk will bring her Vocal Ensemble to the University of Rochester for a residency entitled “Dancing Voice/Singing Body” from Sunday, October 20 through Wednesday, October 23.
JAZZ | Nabaté Isles with Eastman Jazz Lab Band
[ UPDATED AND REVISED 10/23/19 ] On his debut album, “Eclectic Excursions,” Grammy-winning trumpet player Nabaté Isles plays tunes ranging from smooth jazz to hard bop, with a detour to funk. Since graduating from the Eastman School of Music, Isles has played with Christian McBride, Jill Scott, Dianne Reeves, and many others. When he joins…
When opportunity zones knock . . .
Investing in opportunity zones sounds like a win-win. But there is some evidence thus far that the investments could end up doing little more for Rochester than enriching the people running the funds.
ROCK | Screaming Females
Beneath her shaggy ‘do and proto-Amish duds, Screaming Females frontwoman Marissa Paternoster positively guts her guitar in a pure rock ‘n’ roll spectacle. It isn’t so much a scream as a desperate, vibrato-drenched, and snotty howl from her pipes. The New Brunswick trio has seven albums in its short history, including its most recent, 2018’s…
The money race
Taxes: they’re what this year’s county executive race is fundamentally about. As Republican incumbent Cheryl Dinolfo and Adam Bello, her Democratic opponent, lay out how they’ll approach county government, they’re really talking about how they’ll spend money that comes from county, state, or federal taxes. They’re talking about how they’ll manage the county’s $1 billion…
All in the family
‘The Addams Family’ is a kitschy, corny ride that immediately breaks the fourth wall, and the entire two-hour show is based on the premise of daughter Wednesday falling in love with a boy at school and inviting him and his parents to dinner.
Film preview: High Falls Women’s Film Festival
Spotlighting movies made by or about women, this year’s festival presents eight narrative features, six documentary features, and four shorts programs by filmmakers from around the world.
Downtown lunch scene evolves with VOLO
The new eatery is headed up by a familiar face: chef Giuseppe Paciullo, executive chef and owner at Fiamma Centro on Elton Street in the Neighborhood of the Arts. A native of Salerno, Italy, Paciullo is bringing a more casual, streamlined version of his popular restaurant to downtown Rochester.
Film review: ‘Joker’
It’s one-note, overly serious, and self-satisfied, making for a film that’s alternately tense and kind of tedious. “Joker” so desperately wants its story to be viewed as holding a mirror up to our violent, empty society.
