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The Rochester Beacon
An economy that’s still healing
After the Great Recession began in December 2007, the number of Rochester-area jobs plummeted. Though the recession—the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression—officially ended in summer 2009, employment in this region did not return to its previous level until February 2014, a period of more than six years.
‘Surround sound’ from the 17th century
If you thought stereophonic sound began in the 1950s, think again. A concert Thursday evening at the Memorial Art Gallery proves that the concept of musicians tossing sounds back and forth has been around for centuries. “Echoes of the Renaissance,” the latest concert by the early music ensemble Publick Musick,...
I know what’s best for my children’s education
I have always taught my children to use their voice. And recently, I showed them the power of using your voice when I traveled to Albany to join 200 New York public charter parents for School Choice Week. I met with several state Assembly members to tell them that I know what is best for my children, and that means sending all four of my children to Rochester Prep Schools, part of the Uncommon Schools charter network.
Evans defends city’s reassessment process
Rochester Mayor Malik Evans believes delaying the city’s assessment process could create challenges. He expressed his opinion Monday in a detailed response to Councilmember Willie Lightfoot’s call to halt any new assessment for a period of two years. “A delay would put me in a position of ignoring...
Questions on ‘critical incident video’ footage
Before giving comments at the February meeting of Rochester City Council’s Public Safety Committee, Councilmember Stanley Martin called for a moment of silence for Todd Novick. The questions she subsequently asked probed into the bodycam footage of his death. “Let me echo a lot of what Chair (Willie) Lightfoot...
The toll of emissions from landscape equipment
When it comes to air pollution, the lawn and garden industry might not come to mind as a significant source of hazardous emissions. But statistics say that’s so. According to a recent analysis of data from the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Pollution Inventory, lawn and garden equipment powered by gasoline and other fossil fuels—such as lawn mowers, string trimmers, leaf blowers, chainsaws—released more than 30 million tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere in 2020. They also emitted more than 21,800 tons of fine particulates (PM2.5), as well as substantial amounts of methane, volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides.
A new step for ‘Kinky Boots’
Through Feb. 18, OFC Creations Theatre Center is producing “Kinky Boots,” the accoladed musical that hasn’t been seen on a Rochester stage since 2015. The production stars Nicholas Japaul Bernard, a disabled Seattle-based actor who is returning to his hometown of Rochester. With Bernard, OFC Creations is setting the bar for accessibility within the theater.
Fighting back against natural invaders
Almost every Tuesday, volunteers meet at Durand Eastman Park to cut and pull plants that don’t belong. The faces of the helpers have changed over the past two decades, and some of the targets of their work have as well, but the commitment to reduce the spread of invasive plants endures.
Stop STAMP, save Tonawanda and wildlife
It’s time to stop abusing the Earth for profit. It’s time to listen to Indigenous people. All of Nature is our relations and should be treated with respect. Almost everyone has benefitted from living and working on stolen Native land. It’s time to stop taking, poisoning, and discounting Indigenous people and the Earth. You thought it happened a long time ago? You are correct, only it has never stopped, not here in New York nor around the world. Settler colonial mindset is poisoning the Earth and harming us all.
The human cost of cashless transactions
When it comes to poverty in Rochester, many of the available statistics are grim. One study shows that Rochester has the highest rate of extreme poverty of any comparably sized city in the United States. Extreme poverty is defined as below 50 percent of the poverty level. This same study also points out that Rochester is the fifth-poorest city among the top 75 metro areas nationwide. A 2022 report contends that nearly one-half of all children in Rochester live in poverty and that this number is the second-highest rate in the nation.
URMC, Five Star Bank launch telehealth initiative
The University of Rochester Medical Center and Five Star Bank have joined forces to improve health care access and wellness outcomes in rural communities. Telehealth stations will be located at select bank branches as part of a pilot initiative. URMC says banks offer the ideal physical location to bridge the...
Seeding a new industry
Brandi Hester’s family sold cannabis her whole life. Hester wasn’t aware of it; she was more focused on going to college to get out of poverty. “To come back and know that the seed that we had in our community could be the same seed that saves our children, whatever is necessary to do, we have to do. Because a burning building is happening in Black and Brown communities,” says Hester, strategic partner with BLOOM ROC. “Cannabis, the thing that broke our families, can be the thing to heal our families now.”
Reorganization plans stall in diocese bankruptcy
It was the first time since COVID closed the federal courts that the Rochester Bankruptcy Court held an in-person hearing. Dozens of abuse survivors crowded Judge Paul Warren’s court on Jan. 30. They were hoping to see a solid step forward in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester’s four-year-old...
Rising from the ROC
To call Micah Walker’s determination “a chip on his shoulder” would be too aggressive of a phrase; it isn’t from a place of anger that he draws his strength. Not that he doesn’t have good reason to feel upset. Part of him has always felt at odds with the rest of the world, says Walker, an artist and musician.
It’s time for automated traffic enforcement
Just before 6 p.m. on Dec. 22, 2022, Edgar Santa Cruz and his dog, Rosey, were struck by a car and killed crossing South Goodman at Park Avenue. The driver ignored a red light, striking Santa Cruz in the crosswalk. While any needless death should prompt introspection, Santa Cruz was...
Welding workshop creates joyful experience
I wanted to share my recent experience at a Women’s Welding Workshop at Ironwood Studios in Springwater, NY. Under the expert guidance of local sculptress and owner/founder Stacey Mrva, the Workshop was defined by intentionality, hospitality, and empowerment. From Stacey’s meticulously planned projects to her masterful class sequencing, the...
Hilton Evening of Jazz celebrates 20 years
The annual Hilton Evening of Jazz marks its second decade of bringing award-winning talent to perform alongside student musicians next week. Presented by the Hilton School District Jazz Department and Hilton Music Boosters, the Feb. 9 event features Rochester International Jazz Fest veterans the Chris Minh Doky All Stars Band, starring Dennis Chambers and Bill Evans.
A place for creativity, collaboration, and discovery
Some months ago, Rochester Institute of Technology officially opened the university’s $120 million Student Hall for Exploration and Development–a project that was not only large in size and scope, but also in campus collaboration. More than 150 people were involved in envisioning and making the space come to...
Empire Justice Center staff plan to form a union
Empire Justice Center staff is hoping to unionize. Founded in Rochester, the Empire Justice Center is a nonprofit center for public interest law providing free and low-cost legal services to Upstate New York low-income clients. Its practice areas include housing, public benefits, immigration, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, domestic violence, civil rights, LGBTQ issues and crime victims support.
Declaring war on deepfake porn
In October, sexually explicit photographs of a number of female students surfaced at Westfield High School in New Jersey. A month later, teenage boy at a high school near Seattle reportedly circulated pornographic images of classmates. Then in December, two Miami high school students were suspended for distributing nude images...
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