Sugar, spice, everything nice, and a tendency to break into
cartwheels, song, and dance… that’s what the girls in the after-school double
Dutch program at School 30 are made of. And maybe a little more spice than
most.
A group of about 15 first to fifth graders gather in the
School 30 gym at 36 Otis Street to practice double Dutch every Wednesday. Annie
Pride, assistant director at the Edgerton Community Center, turns the ropes.
As the workshop begins, girls sit in small clusters and
count while their friends take turns trying to out-jog personal records. And
Pride reminds the girls to encourage each other.
Ten-year-old Jabri Bost is the other designated twirler.
“My record is 175,” she says. “I want
to be a cheerleader, the flexible kind.”
Fifth grader Gina Lapiana admits that she is new to the
sport, but she has goals to get better: It allows her an hour between the end
of school and the start of homework.
“I want to learn how to jog, and then heel-toe,” she says.
“That’s when you dance on your heel and then go to your toe,” and she
demonstrates.
Eight-year-old Noriena Parlipiano
says, “I like to do double Dutch. And run. And play. And scream. I can do a
headstand. Watch!”
Price used to coach a double-Dutch league at Avenue D
Recreation Center. And she has been calling the girls’ parents to drum up
interest in renewing it.
“[At Avenue D] we used to have
world-class double Dutch,” she says. “And I do have some of these young people
interested.”
Sure, they’re interested. But who has
time to sit quietly and wait for their turn at the ropes when there are dances
to create and songs to sing? For a little while, jumping rope takes a backseat
to determining who can do the best handstands.
Info:
There are double Dutch programs at School 30 (call Edgerton Community Center,
428-6769) and Campbell Street Community Center (524 Campbell Street, 428-7860).
— Rebecca Shore
Wage raised
New York’s lowest-wage workers are getting a raise. After
dragging their heels for more than three months, the State Senate voted 50-8 on
Monday to override Governor Pataki’s veto of a minimum-wage increase. The minimum, now $5.15, rises to $6 on
January 1, 2005, to $6.75 a year later, and to $7.15 in 2007.
In July, both the Senate and the Assembly approved raising
the minimum wage; when Pataki vetoed the increase, the Democrat-dominated
Assembly quickly voted to override. But the Senate, ruled by Republicans,
stalled, afraid that their support would jeopardize re-election chances for
some senators. They were also afraid that supporting a bill business groups
opposed would embarrass President Bush right before the Republican National
Convention.
The minimum-wage increase was supported by state Democrats
and labor unions, among others, but the win was particularly sweet — and
significant — for the Working Families Party, which had mounted a massive,
grassroots campaign throughout the state.
What casino?
The rumor mill began churning overtime last week after
Rochester Mayor Bill Johnson announced that he was scheduling a public forum on casino gambling for
Thursday, December 16, at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center from 7 to 9
p.m.
Is he trying to get gambling aboard the struggling ferry?
Are there more proposals for a downtown casino?
Well, apparently none of the above are true.
As far as the ferry is concerned, Johnson said casino talks
and the ferry negotiations are “totally unrelated.” The forum is something
Johnson says he’s been promising for months so “if discussions [of casino
gambling in Rochester] resurface, citizens will be well-armed with
information.”
For more information on the public forum, contact Alinda
Drury in the mayor’s office, 428-7045.
As for the ferry,
developments seem to be changing by the day. As of press time, the mayor’s
proposal to create a state authority to issue tax exempt bonds is dead in the
water, thanks to an Albany delegation that’s not at all big on state
authorities. So the city is busy working on other purchasing options that could
meet the approval of city council, which was expected to make an announcement
just as City Newspaper went to press.
Meanwhile, negotiations between the city, CATS, and CATS’
senior lenders have gone nowhere, and foreclosure proceedings on the boat are
underway. So if the city wants to purchase the ferry, it very likely will have
to do so in a competitive environment when the ship goes up for auction. Also,
the Toronto Port Authority has suspended construction of the nearly-completed
Toronto terminal until ferry service is certain to resume.
Generally displeased
Most folks would be flattered by the prospect of an
international figure speaking at a Rochester gala.
But that’s not the case for one local resident. After the
Lakeside Foundation announced that retired
US Army General Tommy Franks would address the group’s annual gala dinner
Friday, December 10, on the theme “Volunteerism…Caring Hearts Change the
World,” volunteer and supporter Dale Carselli soured on the organization.
Lakeside has a reputation for attracting distinguished
guests, including Generals Colin Powell and Norman Schwarzkopf, and (mainly
Republican) politicians, most notably Presidents Bush and Ford.
But for Carselli, Franks was the final straw.
In a letter addressed to the Lakeside Foundation, and
printed in the newsletter for local activist group Metro Justice, Carselli
outlined his objections to the choice, especially Franks’ statements that the
Constitution might be suspended in place of martial law in the event of another
terrorist attack.
“This man would have us believe that to save our democracy
we have to destroy it,” writes Carselli, before adding that he changed his will
to no longer benefit the foundation, and that he will no longer volunteer
there.
In a twist of irony for a volunteerism-themed event,
Carselli closed his letter with the following: “I understand that this will
have as much effect as a pebble thrown in the ocean, but that said, I still
hold on to the belief that one person can make a difference.”
On the house
The causes are different: age, race, income, children…. The
list goes on.
But the result is the same. Despite a glut of housing in the
Rochester area that has prices down, many people struggle to find a home.
Whether through racial discrimination or because of a simple
lack of affordable housing in their neighborhoods, finding shelter is often an
overwhelming challenge, sapping time, energy, and resources from the poor, the
elderly, or the working parent.
“People should be aware that there are still some of those
obstacles out there,” says longtime housing advocate Bill Selke, of Greece.
That drive to expand awareness of the problem is one reason
why the theme for this year’s local celebration of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights is “Adequate Housing for All.”
Selke and other representatives from the non-profit and
advocacy communities will be on hand Friday, December 10, to share their
experiences and strategies.
The event begins at 5 p.m. Friday with a candlelight vigil
and reading of the Declaration outside City Hall, followed by a potluck at 5:45
at the Downtown United Presbyterian Church, 121 N. Fitzhugh St., and a program
of speakers at 6:30.
Jazz dates
The next installment of the Rochester International Jazz Festival will take place this coming
June 10 through 18. And while no acts have been announced or even hinted at,
the popular Club Pass is on sale at a discounted rate of $59 plus service
charge until January 1. The charge will go up to $69 plus service charge after
that date. Info: www.rochesterjazz.com
This article appears in Dec 8-14, 2004.
