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Cornell student from Pittsford charged in antisemitic threats
A 21-year-old Cornell University junior from Pittsford was arrested Tuesday on charges that he posted online threats aimed at Jewish students. Patrick Dai faces federal criminal complaint charging him with posting threats to kill or injure another using interstate communications, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York.
Why small firms’ R&D efforts deserve more public support
Despite the fact that our three erstwhile giants—Bausch + Lomb, Eastman Kodak, and Xerox—are mere shadows of their former enviable selves, Rochester is anything but a dying city. Leslie Eaton and many others have pointed out that even though Rochester was a company town, it is now, and has been for a while, a town of tiny companies.
In this political climate, there’s a clear choice
As the 2024 election rapidly approaches, every climate-conscious American has to take on the duty of trying to steer the United States to a better future. For adults, it means voting. Those younger than 18 have a different role to play: spreading awareness of climate change, of what we can do to stop it, and the stances of the candidates.
Coalition outlines plan to combat gun violence
Shootings in Rochester this year have tapered off slightly from a high watermark set in 2021. In the first nine months of the year, there have been 237 shooting and homicide incidents recorded by the Rochester Police Department. That figure is less than the 245, 324, and 289 total incidents recorded across that same time period in each of the last three years. Over the last two decades, the average was 145 incidents.
A strong voice for social justice
Rev. Lewis Stewart, who died Oct. 27, wanted to be remembered as a man who tried to do his best under harsh circumstances while following God’s will. A champion for social justice, Stewart was president emeritus of United Christian Leadership Ministry. A familiar sight at many a press conference,...
Eastman School adds jazz vocal track
The Eastman School of Music is expanding its undergraduate jazz and contemporary media degree program to include a jazz voice track. Tasked with building and designing this new program is Sara Gazarek, the school’s recently appointed associate professor of jazz voice. A two-time Grammy-nominated vocalist, Gazarek joins Eastman after...
The RPO’s new century
The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra is gearing up for its next century of classical music with a dose of ambition. The orchestra marked the beginning of its centennial season Sept. 21, and programming will bring new community partnerships, commissions and a ping pong concerto. Behind the scenes, the preparation for this...
Beacon’s NewsMatch campaign starts Nov. 1
The Rochester Beacon, which recently marked its fifth anniversary, again has been selected to participate in NewsMatch, the nation’s largest annual fundraising campaign for nonprofit news. The campaign starts next Wednesday and runs through Dec. 31. Through matching gifts, NewsMatch has helped nonprofit newsrooms across the country raise more...
OFC Creations performance series debuts
OFC Creations Theatre Center’s new subscription model and performance series, “Broadway in Brighton,” will bring national talent to Rochester for six musicals. It is expected to help expand and anchor the company’s offerings in the community. The six-show lineup opened last month with “Dance Mums: The...
NextCorps sets second ‘no-code’ bootcamp cohort
NextCorps is rolling out a new six-month training program to help build a workforce of no-code software developers. Called the Embark “No-Code” Bootcamp, the program aims to put county residents on the path to high-paying careers. This is its second cohort, whose programming is part of NextCorps Embark.
Rochester receives Tech Hub designation
The Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse region has earned the federal Tech Hub designation created in the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. The bill included a $10 billion authorization for the Tech Hubs program. An effort led by Sen. Charles Schumer, the designation is expected to bolster the region in semiconductor manufacturing and...
Li-Cycle puts hub construction on hold
Li-Cycle Holdings Corp. has decided to hold off on construction at its Rochester Hub project until a comprehensive review of the project’s strategy is conducted. The hub and its warehouse are slated to occupy more than 65 acres, or 50 football fields, at the Eastman Business Park. The Mississauga,...
ITX acquires Philadelphia firm
With the acquisition of Philadelphia’s SUMO Heavy, ITX has an opportunity to delve deeper into e-commerce. “When we looked at SUMO Heavy, we saw an opportunity to pick up deep e-commerce knowledge, which is exciting given our existing capabilities in other data-centric industries like financial services and healthcare,” says ITX CEO Ralph Dandrea. “ITX has never been more capable of delivering excellent services to a broad set of organizations with complex needs.”
Sending the dogs racing
Going down your own path is a Fran Broderick philosophy. Transitioning into high school baseball as a left-handed player, coaches told him playing his preferred position of second base just wasn’t possible. However, he made enough of an impact in his attempt for people to start saying, “Aren’t you the left-handed second baseman?”
What’s next for the Inner Loop North
The city of Rochester plans to build on the results of its Inner Loop East Transformation Project when it turns the northern section of that roadway into a new community. “(We’re) taking the success we had with Inner Loop East and applying that to the remainder of the corridor, but in a different way,” says Erik Frisch, the city’s deputy commissioner of neighborhood and business development.
Rochester General, nurses reach tentative pact
Rochester General Hospital negotiators and a bargaining team representing some 900 unionized nurses have reached a tentative agreement on a first contract. The tentative pact comes 15 months after RGH nurses voted to form a union, one year after the union and hospital management began first-contract talks, and three days before the union planned a five-day strike.
Incentives worth nearly $64 million OK’d for fairlife project
An incentive package worth nearly $64 million for the largest industrial development business project ever in Monroe County received approval Tuesday. The County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency OK’d $63.4 million in tax incentives for Coca-Cola Co. subsidiary fairlife’s planned $660 million milk production facility on Tebor Road in Webster.
Excellus to lose schools’ retiree health plan
In a move that cuts into a key contributor to Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield’s bottom line, the Rochester Area School Health Plan is switching its retiree health plan from Excellus to Aetna. The switch, which takes effect in January, moves 8,000 Medicare Advantage enrollees out of Excellus’ coverage...
Reflections on the Beacon’s fifth anniversary
When we launched the Rochester Beacon on Oct. 18, 2018, there were no thoughts about how it might feel to reach our fifth anniversary. We were focused on surviving the next four or five weeks. Happily, the Beacon made it to the one-month mark, and beyond. Today, I’d like to...
Folk music with a message
Folk musician John McCutcheon returns to the Rochester area Thursday with a Golden Link Folk Concert at the Greece Baptist Church. “I haven’t played in Rochester since before the pandemic. And now it turns out I have this really nice problem of having too much new music to pick from,” he says.
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