News briefs 12.17.03

One more time around

The
current session of the county
legislature will end on December 31, 2005, instead of December 31, 2004.
The lej voted to extend the session at a meeting last week.

            The vote was 18-11, with all but two
Democrats opposed.

            The session now matches the terms of
most legislators, which expire on December 31, 2005. The lej took similar
action following the general election of 1992, and Republicans say this newest
extension provides consistency with the body’s previous actions.

            Many Democrats, however, argued that
the extension will stifle debate on important issues. Under county code, a
referral cannot be introduced more than once during a single session. Democrats
also say the measure gives the lej president too much power to decide which
referrals make it to the floor.

            At least one Democrat disagreed.
Bill Benet argued that if a referral came up that the Democrats really cared
about, they’d find a way to write it so it would be perceived as something new.

            Democrat H. Todd Bullard questioned
why the referral was considered a matter of urgency, thereby bypassing a full
hashing-out in committee.

            “This is supposed to be a new era of
cooperation and working together,” he said.

What the f@*#?!

What
kind of crazy, mixed-up world is this?

            Last Tuesday’s county lej meeting
was Jack Doyle’s last as Monroe
County executive. All smiles and in good humor, Doyle (or someone who looks
exactly like him) wandered over to the Democratic side of chambers during a
short recess to say his farewells.

            He was received like an old friend.

            “I wish you well. I do. Serious,”
said Democrat Fred Amato, shaking Doyle’s hand.

            Democrat H. Todd Bullard patted
Doyle on the back.

            “My man, Jack!” he said. “I’m going
to miss you, man.”

            Democrat Kevin Murray offered a
back-handed compliment.

            “We may look back at your years as
the good old days,” he said, laughing.

            But lest you think some of the magic
of the season may have been piped in through the air vents, Doyle couldn’t
resist a few parting shots when asked to speak a little later.

            “This has been a lot of fun for me,”
he said, adding that he considers most legislators his friends.

            Recounting his years in county
government, Doyle said — referring to the ease of the race — that in 1999
he had the “fortuitous experience” of running against legislator Bill Benet for
county executive. He never ran a dirty political ad during that campaign, Doyle
said, because there was “no need to.”

            The full lej gave Doyle a standing
ovation at the meeting’s end.

Somebody
killed rock ‘n’ roll

Keeper
of the local rock ‘n’ roll torch, Unkle
Roger McCall was murdered this past Friday night, December 12, in what
appears to have been a robbery attempt. The yet-to-be identified killer robbed us
of a dear friend, a great musician, and the only DJ to ever play The Sex
Pistols on WCMF.

            Roger was involved in every aspect
of local music for the past 30 years, playing in the ’80s with barroom
favorites, The Fugitives. His Sunday-night “Homegrown Show” championed local
favorites and just about anybody with a guitar and a dream. On his “All Night
Rock ‘N’ Roll Café,” Rog was our C-trick companion, providing the soundtrack
for Rochester’s wee hours.

            A DJ at WCMF since 1974, Unkle Rog was the longest running DJ at a single station in
the entire country.

            Viya con Dios, friend.

Erie
atmosphere

The
Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor
Commission, an arm of the National Park Service, is on the lookout for new
ideas about the Erie Canal and the lands and communities near it. To that end,
the Commission recently held public planning meetings in Syracuse, Lockport,
Glens Falls, Albany, and Ithaca.

            What happened to Rochester, you ask?
The Commission will rectify the slight with a public meeting Thursday, January
15, 7 p.m., at Rochester City Hall, 30 Church Street.

            The series of meetings is part of a
“scoping stage,” a framework for determining what people want to see
along the entire 524-mile New York Canal System. Each meeting so far, says NPS
staffer Frank Dean, has been “a kind of general discussion” prompted
by presentations about the canal and its history, resources, and potential for
tourism.

            The Canal System includes not just
the Erie, but also the Cayuga-Seneca, Oswego, and Champlain canals. And the
Heritage Corridor contains 220 cities, towns, and villages along the waterways.

This article appears in Dec 17-23, 2003.