Rochester City Newspaper - News

SEC said to be investigating Kodak

Tue, 04 Aug 2020 20:03:49 GMT

The Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly probing the circumstances of a $765 million federal loan for Kodak to make generic drugs. The Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly investigating the circumstances involving last week’s announcement that Eastman Kodak will receive a $765 million government loan to make ingredients for generic drugs. According to the Wall Street Journal, the SEC probe is at an early stage and might not produce allegations of wrongdoing by the company or any individuals.…

Report: Monroe County awash in racist land deeds

Tue, 04 Aug 2020 14:23:14 GMT

Racist deed restrictions that are no longer enforceable but remain on the books plagued Monroe County, now we must confront their damage. Thousands of deeds in Monroe County still bear clauses that restrict properties from being sold to or occupied by people of color, Jews, and other ethnicities, according to a report released Tuesday by the Yale Environmental Protection Clinic and the City Roots Community Land Trust. The trust is a local organization working to establish permanently affordable housing in Rochester, and the clinic trains students at Yale University in environmental advocacy.…

Rochester tenants facing eviction would get free legal counsel under new bill

Mon, 03 Aug 2020 22:27:59 GMT

A new pilot program would allow for tenants heading to eviction court to receive free legal representation. Rochester residents threatened with eviction would be guaranteed free legal representation under a bill expected to pass City Council this month, as the city braces for an anticipated deluge of eviction cases from landlords looking to recoup income lost during the pandemic. The legislation creates a so-called “right-to-counsel” pilot program with $460,000 in federal coronavirus relief funds that would be used to pay for tenant legal services as well as staff a hotline for questions about evictions.…

After 97 years, Monroe Family YMCA closes

Fri, 31 Jul 2020 16:59:44 GMT

The Monroe Family YMCA branch is closing after 97 years. The organization has donated the building to the Center for Youth. For nearly a century, the Monroe Family YMCA has been a fixture in the Monroe Avenue neighborhood. Opened in 1923 at the corner of Monroe Avenue and Dartmouth Street, it has over the decades helped make men and women of boys and girls, hosted post-war sock-dances, weathered the construction of an interstate highway in its backyard, and housed community meetings.…

Why not use Rochester's vacant offices for schools?

Fri, 31 Jul 2020 15:41:32 GMT

Schools need space to re-open. Downtown Rochester has more than 2 million square feet of move-in ready office space sitting vacant. Rochester Superintendent Lesli Myers-Small has unveiled a plan for reopening schools that, like many suburban districts, calls for students to alternate between classrooms and online learning. Students in pre-kindergarten through fourth grade would split their time between in-person classes in school and remote learning each week, while students in fifth grade through high school would learn solely online.…

RCSD proposes hybrid schools reopening plan

Fri, 31 Jul 2020 14:01:37 GMT

Rochester Superintendent Lesli Myers-Small has introduced a plan for reopening schools that calls for a mix of in-school and distance learning. CORRECTION: This story has been corrected to reflect that students through fourth grade will have the option of attending in-person classes two days a week, not three as originally reported. Rochester City School Superintendent Lesli Myers-Small introduced a hybrid plan Thursday for reopening district buildings.…

RPD expands officer use of PepperBall guns

Thu, 30 Jul 2020 20:04:33 GMT

Previously, only the force’s specially trained tactical unit had access to the weapons. Now, trained patrol officers can also use them. As Rochester police officers in riot gear tried to break up the protest-turned-chaos that unfolded in front of the Public Safety Building on May 30, they turned to PepperBall guns, which fire projectiles that explode and disperse a highly-irritating spray of Capsaicin II powder into the air. At the time, only officers of the force’s specially trained tactical unit had access to the weapons.…

Rochester airport could be named for Frederick Douglass

Thu, 30 Jul 2020 19:01:15 GMT

The move was spurred by an online petition that received more than 2.500 signatures the weekend it was posted. The Greater Rochester International Airport could soon become the Frederick Douglass - Greater Rochester International Airport under bipartisan legislation introduced Thursday.…

School boards say more money needed to safely reopen schools

Thu, 30 Jul 2020 14:02:27 GMT

While school board members want children back in the classroom — at least part time – they're concerned there isn't enough money to do it safely. School board members in New York are concerned that they might not be able to successfully fully or partially reopen schools without an infusion of cash from the state or federal governments.…

Monroe County COVID-19 hospitalizations drop to lowest number since March

Thu, 30 Jul 2020 13:00:00 GMT

The NYS health department has credited widespread acceptance of masks, distancing, and robust testing and tracing programs for the state's success in reining in the virus. The number of people in hospitals for COVID-19 treatment in Monroe County dropped below 40 on Wednesday, according to data from the county public health department. …

RIT will test dorm, apartment sewage to monitor COVID-19 spread on campus

Tue, 28 Jul 2020 21:28:06 GMT

The approach is meant to serve as an early warning system against campus outbreaks of the virus. An effort by the Rochester Institute of Technology to protect the thousands of its students returning to campus next month from the novel coronavirus is going down the toilet — in a good way. The school plans to routinely test the wastewater coming out of its residence halls and student apartment buildings for signs of genetic material from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.…

Morelle says he contacted RIT about LaMar, but denies seeking her firing

Tue, 28 Jul 2020 19:23:36 GMT

Representative Joe Morelle acknowledged Tuesday that he contacted RIT to inquire about Sabrina LaMar, but denied seeking to have her fired. Representative Joe Morelle acknowledged Tuesday that he contacted the Rochester Institute of Technology to complain about one of its employees, Monroe County Legislator Sabrina LaMar, participating in what he considered a campaign video for his challenger in the Democratic primary this year. But Morelle denied the essence of a complaint LaMar made about him to the Office of Congressional Ethics a day earlier, namely that Morelle had pressured the school to fire her with the threat of withholding federal funding.…

Waiting game awaits Rep. Joe Morelle after ethics complaint

Tue, 28 Jul 2020 05:52:38 GMT

Whether Morelle will be investigated for an alleged ethics violation is far from certain, but history suggests any probe would be thorough and aggressive. If the Office of Congressional Ethics follows up on the request of a Monroe County legislator to launch an investigation into Rep. Joe Morelle, history suggests the probe will be penetrating, and depending on its findings, potentially politically damaging to him. The office, a quasi-independent body created in 2008 in the aftermath of corruption scandals that sent three members of Congress to prison, has faced intense criticism over the years from many of the lawmakers it has investigated for its aggressive and probing inquiries.…

Monroe County legislator alleges Rep. Joe Morelle tried to get her fired

Mon, 27 Jul 2020 20:31:26 GMT

Monroe County Legislator Sabrina LaMar alleged in a complaint to Congress that Rep. Joe Morelle tried to have her fired. Mayor Lovely Warren backs LaMar's complaint. A Monroe County legislator is calling for the resignation of Congressman Joe Morelle, alleging that he tried to get her fired from her job. Legislator Sabrina LaMar, a Democrat who represents the city’s 19th Ward, lodged a complaint against Morelle with the House of Representatives’ Office of Congressional Ethics on Monday, alleging that Morelle threatened to pull federal funds from the Rochester Institute of Technology if LaMar was not fired.…