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The Rochester Beacon
Rochester Mayor appoints senior leaders
Michael Burns and Patrick Beath will step into key positions at City Hall next year. Burns, the city’s budget director, will take over Patrick Cunningham’s role as deputy mayor. Beath assumes Linda Kingsley’s role as corporation counsel. Cunningham and Kingsley, who joined the Evans administration in 2022,...
MCC reports uptick in student enrollment
Monroe Community College witnessed an increase in student enrollment for the fall semester. Officials expect the number of learners to stabilize and steadily grow in 2024. Currently, 8,537 credit-seeking students are enrolled in courses– up 3 percent from 8,283 students a year ago. Based on early official numbers, MCC estimates an annual headcount of 19,000 students.
Downtown ambassador program vote delayed
Lack of information and opposition have temporarily stalled a Rochester City Council vote on a proposed downtown pilot ambassador program. “The majority of Council believe we need clarity on this item and it’s our hope we will gain clarity for next Council cycle,” City Council President Miguel Melendez said.
Reilly wins leadership of Monroe County GOP
In a Saturday vote for Monroe County Republican chair, challenger Pat Reilly scored an upset win over incumbent interim county GOP chair Larry Staub. The vote by members of the county’s town Republican committee members placed Staub second. Former Independence Party of New York co-founder and state chair Laureen Oliver placed third.
Sparking an onslaught of games
Popularity of the tabletop role-playing game known as Dungeons & Dragons has exploded in recent years with major celebrities proclaiming their love for the game, references in popular shows like “Stranger Things,” and even a “Dungeons & Dragons” branded movie. “Oh, 100 percent it’s gotten even...
The contest to lead the county GOP
The passing of the torch from one Monroe County Republican Committee chair to a successor more often than not has been an undisputed handoff. Not this time. In a race slated to be decided at a Sept. 23 party convention, three hopefuls are vying for the position: Larry Staub, Patrick Reilly and Laureen Oliver.
Careal Bayo illuminates the potential of alternative career paths
Several years removed from the height of the COVID pandemic, recent high school graduates seem to be staying away from the classroom. In New York, the undergraduate college population dropped by nearly 12 percent from 2019 to 2023, according to data from the National Student Clearinghouse. Public colleges and universities in Monroe County, which generally rely on local high school students for enrollment, dropped even more with an average 18 percent loss in that same time period.
Rochester diocese files amended Chapter 11 plan
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester last week filed an amended reorganization plan in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which is inching toward a final settlement with hundreds of survivors of decades-old sexual abuse by priests and other church officials. The filing represents a significant move forward in the case. Plans...
Focusing on legacy to interrupt racism
Tomorrow, Simeon Banister will tell his story. He will share the importance and meaning of creating and leaving a legacy at the Urban League of Rochester’s Interrupt Racism Summit. Banister, president and CEO of the Rochester Area Community Foundation, believes he has had both the honor and obligation of...
State to help Monroe County combat car thefts
Monroe County will get help to combat the high rate of car thefts through the state’s Comprehensive Auto-Theft Reduction Strategy. It joins Erie, Niagara and other counties in New York that are experiencing the same problem. A range of actions are in the works, including fast-tracking $50 million for...
New Eastman faculty member to perform
Andrew McCandless, Eastman School of Music’s newly appointed associate professor of trumpet, next week will perform for the first time as a faculty member with the Eastman Wind Ensemble. A former Eastman School student and current principal trumpet of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, McCandless has performed with symphonies across...
Remembering a drummer ‘who gave so much’
This weekend, a concert will both honor the life of a local Rochester drummer and help support his family after his unexpected death. Shae Ebner, 28, passed away in late August at a music and camping festival in Pennsylvania. While the circumstances of his death are still being investigated, Ebner’s friends decided they wanted to both celebrate a friend’s life and help his family.
College Town’s next chapter
When College Town’s original owners expressed a desire to sell the development, the University of Rochester had to make a big decision, one that would deepen its relationship with Rochester. “One of the core beliefs of the university’s strategic plan is to contribute to and benefit from a just...
URMC tops local employers on Forbes list
Six local workplaces are included on Forbes 2023 list of New York’s best employers. The 88-organization New York best-employer list includes private companies, nonprofits and municipalities. The University of Rochester Medical Center has the highest rank among Rochester organizations included on magazine’s 2023 New York list. Other Rochester...
Fringe Festival begins with “Exit” as its centerpiece
Yann Ecauvre hopes “Exit” will be the launch of a big story between Cirque Inextremiste and the United States. The artistic director of the French company will soon be in Rochester to prepare for performances at the Rochester Fringe Festival–serving as its centerpiece at Parcel 5. The free event marks the U.S. debut of “Exit.”
Are community colleges beneficial in general?
The Rochester area is home to a number of community colleges such as Monroe Community College, Finger Lakes Community College, and Genesee Community College. Even though student enrollment in these institutions has recently been falling, they still educate large numbers of local and in-state students. Nationwide, two-year community colleges enroll almost half of all first-time undergraduates.
Missing the mark
This week marks another turn of the calendar, according to Jewish tradition. Friday, Sept. 15, at sundown begins Rosh Hashanah. In Hebrew, “rosh” means head, and “ha-shanah” means the year. It’s the head of the year: It’s New Year’s. The Jewish New Year...
Clothesline Art Festival set for this weekend
Memorial Art Gallery’s largest fundraiser and the area’s biggest celebration of the arts happens this weekend. The M&T Bank Clothesline Art Festival will showcase more than 300 artists in a two-day juried event on the museum’s grounds. This year, festival goers have been tasked with an ask:...
Affordability in the suburbs
Sometime next fall, a new, affordable senior living community on Baird Road in Perinton will be ready for occupancy. Another mixed-income development also could be in the cards, increasing the town’s affordable housing stock. Home Leasing, which is currently engaging the community on its idea, envisions a mixed-use development...
Insurer files rival reorganization plan in diocese’s bankruptcy case
Last week, the Continental Insurance Co. offered to put $75 million into a fund to pay some 485 sexual abuse survivors with claims in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester’s bankruptcy. Continental is a lone holdout, the only carrier among several insurers that previously worked out deals to pay...
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