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MOVIE PREVIEW: ImageOut 2013
ImageOut is still going strong, with no plans for laurel-resting as its 21st chapter unfolds October 11-20 with 41 programs of features, documentaries, and short films about the lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender experience
AG’s investigation nets first charges
A grand jury investigation into Monroe County-affiliated local development corporations, led by the Attorney General’s Office, has resulted in its first set of charges. Today, Dan Lynch, president of Treadstone Development Corporation, a firm that contracts with two county-connected local development corporations, was arraigned on a charge of second-degree larceny and two charges of falsifying…
Alex White responds to proposal to create drug-free zones in the city
Green Party mayoral candidate Alex White says that a proposal by City Council member Adam McFadden to create drug-free zones in the City of Rochester is misguided and would create “rights-free zones” instead. White held a press conference outside City Hall this morning to denounce McFadden’s legislation, which first surfaced at Council’s Public Safety Committee…
Commissioner King cancels Common Core forums
Sometimes reality can overwhelm rhetoric, and that appears to be the case with a recent set of statewide public forums planned by State Education Commissioner John King. King intended to use the forums to provide more information about the rigorous new Common Core curriculum. But after a disastrous first meeting (see YouTube video below), King…
Governor Trump? Ugh
Donald Trump may be a wealthy, successful businessman, but Republicans should really think about whether he’s the type of mogul they’d want running New York. Yesterday, the New York Post’s Frederic Dicker broke the news that Republican leaders are talking up Trump as a good prospect to challenge Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo next year. At…
Concert Review: Candye Kane, So Last Year
Bless her heart, Candye Kane is giving the big C the big fight. Clearly in pain and looking a bit tired, the still ever-beautiful performer sang the pain (hers and mine) away Wednesday, October 9, at Abilene. It was the best I’d ever heard her sing as her band — starring the incredible Laura Chavez…
RCSD’s Murphy a superintendent finalist in Oswego
The Rochester school district’s number two in command, Anita Murphy, is one of two finalists for the superintendent position at the Oswego, NY, school district, according to a report by Oswego County Today. Superint endent Bolgen Vargas hired Murphy in 2012. As deputy superintendent, Murphy is arguably Vargas’s most strategically important hire. Her close relationship…
Week Ahead: COMIDA considers tax deal for Penfield apartment project
The board of the Monroe County Industrial Development Agency will take up tax exemptions for a couple of large projects when it meets at noon on Tuesday in the Watts Building conference room, 49 South Fitzhugh Street. Southpoint Cove, a proposed 358-unit apartment complex in Penfield, is seeking sales and mortgage tax exemptions. The $54…
McFadden introduces legislation to create drug-free zones in Rochester
In some places, people line up for a Friday night fish fry. In Rochester, there is at least one neighborhood where people line both sides of the street on Friday nights to buy drugs.
Could LDC probe be coming to a head?
Yesterday’s news that Nelson Rivera, Monroe County’s chief information officer, had resigned set off a new wave of speculation about the grand jury investigation taking place into county-linked local development corporations. The history is complicated, and county spokesperson Justin Feasel wouldn’t say why Rivera resigned. He’d only confirm that Rivera stepped down on October 9.…
Legislators’ environmental records ranked
Each year, Environmental Advocates of New York scores state legislators on their environmental voting records and yesterday, the group released this year’s rankings. The marks are based on legislators’ votes on a selection of environmental bills, including fracking moratorium measures, brownfield tax credit reform bills, climate change legislation, and a measure to corral wild boars. …
Group wants change in how state treats some young offenders
A group of local community leaders and children’s advocates are calling on the state to raise the age for teen offenders to be tried as adults. The group is part of the statewide Raise the Age campaign. New York is one of two states — North Carolina is the other — where 16-year-old offenders are…
Classical | Society for Chamber Music in Rochester
The violinist Richard Luby (1945-2013) co-founded the Society for Chamber Music in Rochester in 1976. He served as its music director and performed with it frequently during his years in Rochester, where he also played with the second violins of the RPO. He had a wide repertoire, but was most associated with the sonatas and…
Feedback 10/9
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. 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…
Pop/Rock | The Men
Brooklyn outfit The Men are nothing if not prolific, releasing new work at a pace of one and sometimes two records a year. Technically gifted, the band also seems to have designs on presenting observers with a genre categorization quandary, bouncing between new musical affectations with ease. While most easily defined as owning something of…
Wegmans’ contract conflict
Wegmans and local Teamsters officials will resume contract negotiations on Friday, and retirement benefits will be at the center of those talks. Last week, members of Teamsters Local 118, which represents approximately 900 Wegmans truck drivers and warehouse employees, rejected Wegmans’ final contract offer. Union leaders blasted the company’s proposal to move the union workers…
Electro-Pop | Yip Deceiver
Yip Deceiver is a side project for two members of the critically-acclaimed indie-pop band Of Montreal, but its sound does not hint at that fact. The duo’s music is much more based in dance and R&B influences, and is much more likely to be found in clubs than its previous work. Yip recently released is…
NY’s tough call on casinos
This is the beginning of City’s general-election coverage. The coverage continues in the October 16 and October 23 issues. We’ll look at the elections in Greece, Irondequoit, Monroe County, and the City of Rochester, and have special coverage of the Green Party of Monroe County. The general election is Tuesday, November 5. Mayor Tom Richards…
Classical | Voices
You may not know composers Andrea Gabrieli, Giovanni Gabrieli, Claudio Monteverdi, Heinrich Schütz, Adrian Willaert, and Barbara Strozzi. But you will understand the title of the upcoming concert featuring their work: “Serenissima – The Glory of Venice.” Conducted by William Weinert, Voices is a professional vocal ensemble. The program will include music for voice, brass,…
Unshackle agenda
Unshackle Upstate has released a five-point plan for job growth and lower taxes in the parts of the state that aren’t New York City. It focuses primarily on eliminating or changing certain taxes and surcharges. But Unshackle officials also highlight the potential benefits of fracking the Marcellus Shale. | Fracking could create 12,000 to 15,000…
Raiders of a lost art
Rochester Contemporary’s current show, “signals_now_,” was created in collaboration with Signal Culture, a new experimental media studio soon to be located in Owego, New York, run by artists Debora and Jason Bernagozzi. The exhibit showcases four artists who will be among the first to participate in Signal Culture’s residency program, and who each question the…
Urban Action 10/9
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 peace The Gandhi House will host “Transition to Peace,” a talk by Russell Faure-Brac, author of the book with the same title, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 15, at 929…
The profession that dare not speak its name
Rochester sees quite a bit of Shakespeare in the course of a theater season, but almost nothing from his runner-up in the Greatest English Playwright sweepstakes (and match in productivity), George Bernard Shaw. Last year Rochester’s Black Sheep Theatre presented Shaw’s early play “Widowers’ Houses”; this month it is presenting “Mrs. Warren’s Profession” — another…
Games Republicans play
“This isn’t some damn game.” That was John Boehner, digging in his heels last week as he insisted that Democrats negotiate over the Affordable Care Act. Not a game? I don’t know what else Boehner thinks the Republicans are up to. It certainly isn’t the business of running the country. And it’s not democracy (which,…
FESTIVAL | Folk Art Guild Fall Open House & Apple Fest
Get in the spirit of fall with the Folk Art Guild’s Fall Open House and Apple Fest. Enjoy the scenic autumn atmosphere of East Hill Farm while enjoying a series of demonstrations put on by the guild’s many skilled artisans. This year’s event includes cider pressing, gourmet refreshments, fresh-baked artisan breads, homegrown fruit for tasting…
CHOW HOUND: Just for the health of it
Andrea Parros moved to Rochester from her native Boston to open The Owl House in 2010, and when she left that restaurant, Parros says that some people asked her whether she’d head back east. Those people can find the answer to that question at the corner of Park and Oxford, where Parros recently debuted her…
KIDS | Rochester Robotics/Ro Cha Cha Ruckus
Robots are going to take over the world and overthrow humans one day, so why not gather some intel on the enemy before it’s too late? Attend the Rochester Museum and Science Center’s Rochester Robotics Weekend. The event is meant to provide a glimpse into the current robotics industry while also showcasing some of the…
SPECIAL EVENT | UR Meliora Weekend/RIT Brick City Homecoming
Two of the biggest colleges in Rochester are having their homecomings this weekend — October 10-13 — and they have lined up quite the collection of events. The University of Rochester’s Meliora Weekend will be headlined by keynote speaker Robert Gates, former Secretary of Defense (Saturday, October 12), and comedian and former “Late Night with…
FILM | “The Issa Valley”
All terrible submarine jokes aside, Poland has a lot to offer. One of those is film. The University of Rochester’s Skalny Center for Polish and Central European Studies sponsors the Polish Film Festival. While it doesn’t start until November 6, you can catch a sneak peek Sunday, October 13, at The Little Theatre. Tadeusz Konwicki’s…
REVIEW: RBTL’s “Ghost The Musical”
In theory, a musical based on the 1990 film “Ghost” might not seem like such a terrible idea. After 23 years, it remains a popular movie, filled with scenes that have become iconic in the time since its release (it’s impossible to hear “Unchained Melody” without it immediately conjuring up images of Patrick Swayze and…
THEATER | “Ghost the Musical”
If, like millions of other people, you’ve fantasized about Patrick Swayze helping you make a clay pot, chances are you’ve seen the 1990 film “Ghost.” Whether you’ve seen the movie or not, Rochester is in for a treat, as Rochester Broadway Theatre League brings “Ghost the Musical” to the Auditorium Theatre (885 E. Main St.),…
RECREATION | Zombie 5K Run & Walk
If you’re getting tired of the same old 5K runs, there’s a simple solution to spice things up: adding zombies to the mix. Hamlin Beach State Park (1 Camp Road) will be holding the Zombie 5K Run & Walk this Saturday, October 12. Runners in the race will go about the usual business, but with…
THEATER | “The Last Five Years”
The critically acclaimed Off-Broadway musical “The Last Five Years” is coming to Rochester’s JCC Centerstage this month. The show presents the love story of a young couple, Jamie and Cathy, told in a unique non-linear way from the perspective of each character. While Jamie gives his recollection of the relationship from beginning to end, Cathy…
Alternative | Two Door Cinema Club
Bands from Ireland can sure throw a party, can’t they? Emerald Isle natives Two Door Cinema Club shares the power and the passion of like-minded groups along with the kind of ebullience that makes this electropop band’s music contagious. The trio’s sound is upbeat and balanced; mixing synths with an occasional tinge of in-your-face guitar-driven…
Lost in space
(PG-13), directed by Alfonso Cuaron Now playing The digital revolution, with all its computer-generated images, optical wizardry, and wondrous special effects, now drives far too many filmmakers to produce the bloated blockbusters that rattle the cineplexes summer after summer. Far too often, mechanism substitutes for the traditional content of plot, character, and meaning. Now and…
Folk | Laura Cortese Trio
Laura Cortese grew up in the Bay Area but moved to Boston to study violin at the Berklee College of Music. She’s accompanied an impressive list of artists: Pete Seeger, Band of Horses, and Jocie Adams. But Cortese’s classical training is most intriguing when it acts as the backdrop for her own subtle, atmospheric soundscapes.…
Puppet masters
I should probably preface this review by saying that I don’t consider myself a Metallica fan. I have nothing against the 32-year-old metal band, mind you. I’ve just never actively followed the group. So take it as a ringing endorsement that, despite my relative indifference, I thoroughly enjoyed the band’s nutty but imaginative new concert…
“If Music Be the Food…”
Carol Rodland’s biography as a classical musician is sufficiently impressive to be its own article. She earned bachelor of music and masters of music degrees from The Juilliard School. She won a Fulbright Scholarship. She has traveled to study, teach, and perform in Europe. She is an associate professor of viola at the Eastman School…
Puppet masters
There’s a moment in “Enough Said,” the warm-hearted romantic comedy from talented writer-director Nicole Holofcener, when the knowledge that you’re watching one of the late James Gandolfini’s last performances becomes a bit overwhelming. Exactly when that moment comes will undoubtedly vary for you, but for me it occurred as his character goes on his first…
