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

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

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

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,"