The two opinion polls on mayoral control sure didn't settle much, did they?
The first poll, sponsored by the Rochester Teachers Association and other critics of mayoral control, showed strong opposition. The second, sponsored by the Center for...

The Obama administration today announced changes to vehicle fuel efficiency and emissions standards that will actually reduce oil consumption. This follows the president's announcement yesterday that he wants to increase domestic oil supplies by...

Surely, surely: isn't there such a thing as being too rich?
I know. There's not.
But there is something insane and unjust about a hedge-fund manager earning $4 billion in a single year. Billion.
It boggles the mind.
This morning's Times...

Also from the Times, this story: Some of the Haitians who survived January's earthquake were flown to the US - and were then picked up by federal immigration authorities and sent to detention centers. The reason: they didn't have visas.
Some...

Mayor Bob Duffy provided a glimpse of his strategy for getting mayoral control legislation through the state Senate during Thursday night's mayoral control forum. He's using previous votes on mayoral control to pressure the area's two senators to...

On our forum on WXXI on Thursday night, school board President Malik Evans said that while he doesn't want mayoral control, he's not opposed to some major changes in the school system. And he offered some suggestions, including this one: make the...

You've got to be kidding!
I missed it over the weekend, but Politics Daily reported that GOP Chair Michael Steele - already suffering from party scandals - has hired a "special assistant for finance."
PD says the newbie, 31-year-old Neil...

Chuck Schumer sure was sounding tough.
In a snippet aired on WXXI this morning, Schumer said China should change its monetary policy - or we should force it to.
The Bush administration wouldn't stand up to China, said Schumer, who was visiting...

Members of City Council will tour the RGRTA building on East Main this morning, a sign that dealings on a new downtown transit center are alive and possibly headed toward some sort of climax.
We say "possibly" because Council members, City Hall,...

I'm guessing many Catholics were a little uncomfortable at Easter service this year. The Vatican's response to more charges of child molestation by priests has been utterly ridiculous. This time, though, it's clear that the troubles for the Roman...

A new study out shows that America's waterways are warming, particularly in urbanized areas, reports the New York Times.
Among the warming rivers: the Hudson and the Potomac. The study's author told the Times that the warming could be due to...

A year after her son Carl's suicide, Massachusetts resident Sirdeaner Walker is lobbying Congress to pass anti-bullying legislation.  The Safe Schools Improvement Act, HR 2262 has 101 bi-partisan co-sponsors. And Sirdeaner and the Gay,...

Now that Democrats have selected a candidate for the 29th Congressional District seat, Governor Paterson should call a special election, says Tom Reed, the Republican candidate.
Various media outlets are reporting that Democrats have selected...

I don't think I can ever read Maureen Dowd again.
In her column in this morning's Times, she levels a sickeningly uninformed attack on gays.
Technically, Dowd didn't write most of the piece. She had been upset at the reaction by the New York...

Congress member Louise Slaughter says the health care bill passed by Congress could be better, but any further reforms may have to wait a while.
Slaughter is pleased with the bill, but she wishes it had included provisions for a public option...

The good news of the day is really good news: In one of the Obama administration's most important foreign-policy accomplishments so far, President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have signed a nuclear-arms reduction treaty.
That's...

Many of us interested in public schools have been following developments in Washington, DC, closely. The District's schools chancellor, Michelle Rhee, has talked and acted tough, insisting that she would make major changes regardless of her...

Today's press conference with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was more pep rally than any sort of announcement.
LaHood, Congress member Louise Slaughter, and state and Amtrak officials gathered at the train station this morning to talk up...

Mayor Bob Duffy is correct when he says that creating a vibrant downtown is linked to improving city schools, says Heidi Zimmer-Meyer, president of the Rochester Downtown Development Corporation. Her organization tracks and promotes commercial...

We got an invitation a few days ago to a reunion at the World of Inquiry School, a wonderful, successful Rochester public school. Former parents as well as student alums are invited, so Bill and I are going. And we're forwarding the invitation to...