On Tuesday, a joint US-Canada board tasked with managing St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario water levels will hold a teleconference on that topic. The teleconference, which starts at 7 p.m., is being held by the International St. Lawrence River Board of Control, a sub-board of the International Joint Commission. The presentation will address current […]
Sibley Building
Posted inNews & Opinion
The week ahead: meetings on teacher evals, East truancy, Sibley building; key primaries
The Rochester school board will hold a special session Tuesday night, September 11, to discuss the latest version of the district’s teacher evaluation plan. The plan was recently submitted to the State Education Department for approval. All teachers and principals must be evaluated using the new plan this school year. The evaluation plan has been […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Bad memories haunt Sibley deal
The extended limbo in which the City of Rochester has found itself over the Sibley building — unable to collect on a huge outstanding debt, unwilling to foreclose on a massive, underused building — has made City Council members gun-shy. They say they want to make sure the city doesn’t fall into the same trap […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Sibley sale imminent
Rochester Mayor Tom Richards announced today that the sale
of the Sibley building to a Winn Development company is practically imminent.
Posted inNews & Opinion
Big gamble?
Plans to put a $500 million hotel and casino at MidtownPlaza and the SibleyBuilding are barreling ahead, with many local leaders unsure of their role in the proceedings. But word that nobody locally can have a say in the development may be inaccurate. Officials of Wilmorite (owner of the SibleyBuilding and several Rochester-area suburban […]
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Urban casinos: lessons, suggestions
One group that has been monitoring the casino proposal closely is the Rochester Downtown Development Corporation, a non-profit economic development organization. The RDDC began intensive research on urban casinos and state land-claim settlements once casino talk started surfacing in the media months ago. Much of that research has been compiled on RDDC’s website (www.rochesterdowntown.com/news/casino_news.html). […]
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Wait just a damn minute!
Do the people of Greater Rochester want a casino downtown? Nobody knows. Nobody has asked. Would a casino help the economy? If so, would the benefits outweigh the costs that legalized gambling brings? Nobody knows. There’s been little chance to study it. Would a casino help downtown development efforts or hurt them? Would […]
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Develop this!
The dead center of downtown Rochester could thrive with life again, if only county Republicans would get out of the way. That’s what Democratic city officials are saying, and though they do their fair share of useless political sniping, in this case, I happen to believe them. If you care what happens to the […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Big debt downtown
Economic development can be a gamble between public officials and private real-estate developers. When the gamble pays off, everybody wins. The developer attracts tenants to a property, such as businesses that create jobs, pay taxes, and improve the general economic climate in the area. The developer makes a profit. And the public entity that […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
If we build it, will they come?
What will it take to breathe life into the center of downtown Rochester? The
corporate crusaders of Wilmorite Inc. thought they had an answer.
