In the October 8 New Yorker: Yet another Seymour Hersh piece warning that the Bush administration is planning to attack Iran. Although the administration had planned to use the threat of a nuclear Iran as justification, that's been abandoned, Hersh writes. The reason: the public wasn't buying it. Now, Hersh says, an attack on Iran has been recast as a counter-terrorism move, to stop Iran from aiding Iraqi insurgents.

The time for mourning the loss of Midtown Plaza will come later. Right now, it's time to celebrate what was a stunning announcement - and the biggest news for Rochester that I can remember in a very long time.

At a mid-day press conference today, Governor Eliot Spitzer announced that the city will buy Midtown, the state will provide $50 million to demolish it and remediate the site, and PAETEC will build a new building and put its world headquarters there.

A new building will replace Midtown.

Six hundred telecommunications workers will be added to the downtown workforce. And PAETEC thinks 400 more will follow soon.

The boost to the city's psyche will be enormous.

This ramps up, way up, the momentum that individual new housing projects have been providing.

Duffy administration officials must be grinning from ear to ear. They didn't get what they wanted in increased state aid, but this may be more important.

Many of us will indeed shed tears when Midtown comes down. We remember Midtown at its most glorious: packed with people, decorated for the holidays.

The loss of Midtown is significant in another way, too: it's a genuinely important complex, historically and architecturally.

But there are times when we have to let go of things. Public officials have tried for years to find a developer to reuse Midtown. Before that, some good and brave retailers tried for years, and suffered a lot, to make Midtown a success, in spite of the suburban sprawl that sapped downtown of much of its life.

It's time to let go of Midtown. Its death may very well spur the revitalized downtown many of us have hoped for. (And - dare I say it? - this looks like a much better project than Ren Square.)

In his first opportunity to speak directly to parents and teachers, Jean-Claude Brizard wasted no time in getting to his Number 1 concern at last night's Superintendent Candidate Forum: improving graduation rates for city schools.

It was the big question on everyone's mind, with some version of it asked more than a half-dozen times.

"Early intervention during the middle school years, particularly in reading and math," Brizard said, is critically important if students are going to succeed in high school.

"We can't wait to address the problem of reading until 10th grade, because by then it's too late," he said.

But Brizard's responses to some questions were less predictable, and may distinguish him from some of the other finalists.

Asked about No Child Left Behind and his experience with high-stakes testing, he said: "Testing is here and it's a reality we have to live with today." Instead of condemning NCLB's testing regimen, he said testing can help make teachers and administrators more accountable.

He also is a strong proponent of students completing high school in four years, and of having all students "aimed at" college - prepared well enough that they could at least consider college. Some educators have argued that students need more than four years to complete high school, and that districts should accept the reality that not all students are interested in or suited for college.

Asked about mayoral control of urban school districts, Brizard referred to his experience in the New York City school system under Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"It has its good points and bad," he said. While the New York City school system has seen some improvements in its graduation rates and student performance, Brizard said that the worry among parents, teachers, and administrators is what happens when a new mayor replaces Bloomberg.

"Everything will change," he said. "The danger in that is we'll have a whole new administration with a whole different set of ideas."

Brizard talked about creating smaller schools and about the success he has had at the secondary level when students remained with the same teachers through middle school - students having the same teacher for 7th, 8th, and 9th-grade math, for example.

Brizard is said to have been successful in negotiations with the district's unions. Some board members have quietly expressed concerns, wondering whether he has been too agreeable. But Brizard said no. And, he said, he is not afraid of firing incompetent teachers, principals, and administrators.

In discussions about the impact of poverty on urban districts, Brizard relies on his personal story. He left Haiti with his parents and settled in Brooklyn when he was 6. But even though they were poor, he stressed, his parents were fully engaged in his education.

By the night of the forum, a buzz was building about Brizard, with some School Board members considering him a favorite. It's easy to see why. He is has a strong presence, seems thoroughly versed about the Rochester school district, and seems to understand its challenges. He's also able to communicate his understanding of the problems with ease.

Brizard earned two master's degrees, one in school administration and supervision and one in physics. He has been high school principal and has been a regional superintendent responsible for 100 New York City schools and over 100,000 students. He is now a senior administrator with the New York City school system. He has a 6-year-old daughter.

School 50 Principal Tim Mains will be the candidate featured tonight. The forum is at East High School, 1801 East Main Street, beginning at 6 p.m.

If there were any doubts that the Rochester School Board's search committee could come up with good, solid finalists to fill the district's superintendent position, last night's public forum with Tim Mains should have dispelled them.

For the second night in a row, the public was able to have a fairly intimate question-and-answer session with a candidate.

And Mains didn't disappoint.

He is the only local candidate. He served on City Council for 20 years, made an unsuccessful run for mayor in 2005, and he is principal at School 50.

Mains and finalist Carlinda Purcell were caught in a hailstorm of criticism last summer when their names were leaked to the media as the two finalists. Much of the public's concern was directed at school board members and the search process, but both candidates faced unexpected scrutiny.

Last night was Mains' opportunity to reshape public opinion. 

Smart, ambitious, and particularly insightful, Mains' interaction with the audience and his quick responses confirmed why school board members made him a finalist.

Attendance was a little higher for Mains than it was for Jean-Claude Brizard on Monday. And the questions were a bit more personal.

Among the biggest concerns last night were the district's low graduation rates, poverty's impact on student performance, and racism.

One question challenged Mains' sincerity, asking him, "First you want to be mayor, now you want to be superintendent. What is it that you really want to do, and how long would it be before you wanted to do something else if you became superintendent?"

Mains said his background on City Council and in the school district made him the ideal candidate for the superintendent job.

The forums continue tonight at East High School at 6 p.m. with Carlinda Purcell.

Over the last 30 years, Rochester-area residents have watched Tim Mains go through a series of transformations: teacher, school counselor, City Councilmember, mayoral candidate, and principal.

Now he's a finalist in the city's search for a new schools superintendent.

He's the only local candidate, and he answered questions last night with the ease of someone comfortable on his home turf.

He didn't shy away from difficult subjects, and he repeatedly praised the quality of the district's staff. He agreed that the public has lost confidence in the school district. "There's a perception out there that we're just a bunch of bumbling idiots," he said, "and it's just not true."

He said his biggest advantage as a candidate for superintendent is his insight into the district's successes and its failures, something the other finalists will have to learn on the job.

Like Monday night's featured candidate, Jean-Claude Brizard, Mains said improving the district's graduation rates has to be the new superintendent's first priority.

He called mayoral control a red herring that focuses attention in the wrong direction. "The only places I've seen it work," he said, "and that for a short period of time, is when the mayor puts a significant amount of additional resources" into the schools.

Asked what he would do to increase the number of non-white teachers and principals, Mains gave some background. The majority of the district's professional workforce is in the early to mid-career phase, he said, and to hire many more people of color would require firing white employees.

He said he recognizes that many people want the district to hire more people of color so that the largely minority student body will see people who look like them in positions of responsibility. And he said he agrees that that's important. Also important, he said, is that hiring people of color increases the district's "cultural competency." When he looks for teachers for his school, he said, he looks for talent and creativity first.

Calling racism a "stain in the American fabric," he said the way to counter it is by allowing people of different cultures to share everyday experiences, such as school and work. "Slowly those wrong opinions begin to fade," he said.

And, he said, the Rochester school district, with its diverse student population, can help overcome racism. "We can't sell this district on our graduation rate," he said, "but we can sell this district on its diversity."

After serving two decades on City Council, Mains had his disagreements with other Councilmembers. Of the more contentious times, he said: "No leader can be successful without stepping on a few toes, and it can happen unintentionally. A common game in politics is, what can I do to hurt you publicly? But I always felt I had to be a model for my students."

Making the decision to run for mayor in 2005, he said, gave him the opportunity to have a mid-life reexamination, which included reassessing what it meant to be a leader.

During his service on City Council, Mains was known as an exceptionally bright Councilmember who worked hard - almost to a fault. As he did when he was on Council, he came across at last night's forum as authentic, extremely knowledgeable about education and the Rochester district, and passionate about the city and its children. He answered questions in a clear, direct, sharply focused way. And he clearly wants the job.

Mains has two masters degrees: one in counseling and the other in educational administration. He is working on his Ph.D. through Columbia University.

Tonight's featured candidate will be former Montgomery, Alabama, superintendent Carlinda Purcell. All of the forums are held at East High School, starting at 6 p.m.