News Blog

The first debate between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump takes place at 9 p.m. tonight and if you have a TV, computer, smartphone, or tablet, you have no excuse to miss it.

The debate will be broadcast live on all four major networks and WXXI – local over-the-air channels 8.1, 10.1, 13.1, and 31.1 for the networks, and 21.1 for WXXI – and news organizations are streaming it live on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, too.

The debate will last 90 minutes, and the moderator is NBC news anchor Lester Holt. It’ll be held at Hofstra University on Long Island; the presidential debate commissions say that Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson aren’t polling high enough to participate. BY JEREMY MOULE


Metro Justice and the Alliance for Quality Education will hold a walk from the Liberty Pole downtown to the governor’s regional office. The groups will deliver a bill to the office for what they say is for an overdue increase in funding for high-needs school districts. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit.

The walk starts at 5 p.m. on Friday, September 30. BY CHRISTINE CARRIE FIEN


The University of Rochester and East High School will hold a public forum on Thursday, September 29. The meeting will highlight the progress of East’s Upper and Lower schools.

East High is under the management of the University of Rochester as its educational partner to help turn around the persistently struggling school. The meeting will be held at East High, 1801 East Main Street, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.


The 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East will hold a “Stop the Violence Rally and March” on Thursday, September 29. The event will be held at the intersection of Dewey Avenue and Driving Park, the same location where Latasha Shaw was beaten and stabbed to death nine years ago. The rally will begin at 5:30 p.m. BY TIM LOUIS MACALUSO

The seven-member Rochester Joint Schools Construction Board meets at 4:30 today (Monday, September 12). During the meeting, the board will re-take a vote on whether to include a Project Labor Agreement in the second phase of a hugely expensive overhaul of buildings in the city school district.

The board previously voted against the PLA 4 to 3.

The re-vote is the result of a ruling by State Supreme Court Justice John Ark on a lawsuit filed by the building trades, who want the PLA, against the construction board.

Ark says that board members must publicly explain their votes this time. The meeting will be held at 1776 North Clinton Avenue. BY TIM LOUIS MACALUSO


Polls are open from noon to 9 p.m. on Tuesday for the various primary races in Monroe County. To find your polling place and view your registration status: http://www.monroecounty.gov/etc/voter/.

Only Democrats can vote in the Democratic primaries, and only Republicans can vote in the Republican primaries.

In the 138th Assembly District, sitting Assembly member Harry Bronson and challenger Rachel Barnhart, a former television news reporter and anchor, face off in a Democratic primary. There’s also a Republican primary between party-backed candidate Bob Zinck and challenger Peter Vazquez.

The suicide of incumbent Bill Nojay last week complicates the Republican primary in the 133rd Assembly District. Nojay faced a challenge from Honeoye Falls Mayor Rick Milne. Because Nojay’s death occurred so close to the election, the ballots can’t be altered. If he wins, Republican leaders from the three counties in the district – Monroe, Livingston, and Steuben – will have only a few days to pick a replacement for the general election.

Republicans in the 54th Senate District have a handful of candidates to pick from: businessman Floyd Rayburn, Canandaigua Supervisor Pam Helming, Lyons Supervisor Brian Manktelow, retired police officer Jon Ritter, and former State Assembly member Sean Hanna. The district covers Wayne, Cayuga, and Seneca Counties, part of Ontario County, and the Town of Webster. BY JEREMY MOULE


The waiting list for Section 8 housing is open for the first time in 10 years. It will stay open until 11:59 p.m. on Monday, September 26

Applications can only be submitted through the Rochester Housing Authority’s website: www.rochesterhousing.org. If you are unable to access the site, you can get help by calling the RHA’s Housing Choice Voucher Waiting List call center: 697-6114 or email, [email protected]

Three-thousand people will be randomly chosen for the waiting list once the application process is finished. BY CHRISTINE CARRIE FIEN

Republican State Assembly member Bill Nojay is dead after he apparently commited suicide in a Rochester cemetery.

The Rochester Police Department says that it responded to a call around 9:30 a.m. for a welfare check on a person in Riverside Cemetery on Lake Avenue.  One of the responding officers saw a man shoot himself.

This afternoon, police confirmed that the man was Nojay, 59, of Pittsford. The department initially withheld his identification pending notification of his family; that's a typical practice for law enforcement regarding any death.

Nojay, a staunch conservative,  was running for re-election and faced a primary challenge from Honeoye Falls Mayor Rick Milne. The election is Tuesday. 

“I was saddened and shocked to hear the news of Assemblyman Nojay’s passing and I offer my deepest condolences to the Nojay family during this difficult time," Monroe County Republican Committee Chair Bill Reilich said in a statement. "Bill Nojay had a great passion for public service and served the residents of the 133rd Assembly District with great conviction. His sudden passing comes as a surprise to those who knew him well. In recent days he had been speaking with great enthusiasm about his upcoming primary and his overall excitement for this year’s election.”

This post has been updated throughout the day.