City Newspaper

Brooks gives State of the County speech tonight

Jeremy Moule — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:30:00 -0400

City will have coverage after the address, which begins at 7 p.m. by Jeremy Moule Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks will give her annual State of the County address tonight at Eastman Business Park. The speech will be aired live on YNN Rochester, which is cable channel 9, and on the radio at WXXI AM 1370.…

Concert Review: Nikki Hill at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

Frank DeBlase — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:16:00 -0400

Wednesday night the sky looked like one big black eye as I moseyed the grey ghost downtown. I had heard word from my buddy Jason (he's the one who turned me onto Morphine) that North Carolina knockout Nikki Hill simply had to be seen.…

Sheppard, Warren events stress dire need

Christine Carrie Fien — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:06:30 -0400

I've spent some time in the West Main Street-Chili Avenue area over the last few days, first to listen to Rochester Police Chief James Sheppard talk to residents gathered at Junior's Barber Shop & Unisex Salon on West Main, and then to observe a Lovely Warren campaign event at the Iglesia Educational Center on Thurston Road. Warren, who is running for mayor, came to talk about education, but also ended up discussing crime, drugs, parenting, and other issues.…

Senate Dems push for fracking moratorium

Jeremy Moule — Thu, 23 May 2013 11:27:00 -0400

Democrats in the New York State Senate are pushing for legislation to enact a moratorium on shale gas drilling in the state. The Assembly has already passed moratorium legislation, which would ban drilling through May 2015.…

Daily Choices: What to do on Thursday, May 23

Willie Clark — Thu, 23 May 2013 09:00:00 -0400

Special Event: The Roc City Ribfest runs today, 5-11 p.m., through Monday, May 27, and includes live music, the YMCA kids zone, food and retail vendors, a variety of cook-off competitions featuring teams from across the nation, and even Canada, and the World Bacon Competition. by Willie Clark and Rebecca Rafferty Special Event: The Roc City Ribfest runs today, 5-11 p.m., through Monday, May 27, and includes live music, the YMCA kids zone, food and retail vendors, a variety of cook-off competitions featuring teams from across the nation, and even Canada, and the World Bacon Competition. Additional festival hours are Saturday-Sunday 11 a.m.-11 p.m., and Monday 11 a.m.-9 p.m.…

Richards' campaign off to a slow start

Christine Carrie Fien — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:45:05 -0400

When is Mayor Tom Richards going to join this campaign? Lovely Warren, City Council president and Richards’ likely opponent in a September primary, is active on Twitter at #lovelyformayor, and Facebook.…

Microsoft unveils Xbox One

Willie Clark — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:58:00 -0400

In a press conference today, Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One, the successor to its Xbox 360 home video game system. by Willie Clark In a press conference today, Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One, the successor to its Xbox 360 home video game system. The Xbox One system works in conjunction with a newly designed controller, a new Kinect sensor, and Smart Glass technology.…

Gay games during Pride celebration

Tim Louis Macaluso — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:03:00 -0400

Could Rochester become a hub for gay sporting events? by Tim Louis Macaluso Corrected version. Could Rochester become a hub for gay sporting events?…

Good government groups take aim at soft money

Jeremy Moule — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:41:00 -0400

A new report says that between 2006 and 2012, the Monroe County Republican Party took in more so-called soft money contributions than any other county-level political committee in New York State.

According to the report, which was put together by Common Cause/NY and NYPIRG, the party's housekeeping committee took in $4.4 million in contributions.…

Vargas wants to bus more city students

Tim Louis Macaluso — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:36:00 -0400

Rochester school district officials have asked the State Education Department for permission to change the district's transportation policy guidelines. Superintendent Bolgen Vargas says he wants to provide elementary students who live a half mile or more from their school with bus transportation.…

Daily Choices: What to do on Wednesday, May 22

Willie Clark — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:15:00 -0400

Art: Check out "Shapes, Light, and Color....An Ode to Architecture," a photography exhibit by Dan Neuberger, held at Image City Photography Gallery (722 University Ave.) through June 9. Today's hours are 11 a.m.-7 p.m., and admission is free. For more information, call 271-2540 or visit imagecityphotographygallery.com.

by Willie Clark and Rebecca Rafferty Art: Check out "Shapes, Light, and Color....An Ode to Architecture," a photography exhibit by Dan Neuberger, held at Image City Photography Gallery (722 University Ave.) through June 9. Today's hours are 11 a.m.-7 p.m., and admission is free.…

"Star Trek Into Darkness"

George Grella — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Back to the past via the future by George Grella Decades after the famous TV show and its several sequels, after numerous feature-length adaptations, after wearing out generations of crew members, including the most famous captains, Kirk and Picard, the "Star Trek" franchise continues to boldly go where it has gone many times before. For the latest addition to the franchise, "Star Trek Into Darkness," the director, J.J. Abrams, chooses the easiest route to other galactic destinations by simply repeating a good deal of the original show and some elements from previous entries in the series, a very bad decision indeed.…

CLASSICAL | Celebration of the Piano

Paloma Capanna — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

by Paloma Capanna Let's see. If it's two hands, that's 10 fingers.…

From shepherd to Fulbright scholar

Tim Louis Macaluso — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

by Tim Louis Macaluso One of Nangyalai Attal's earliest memories is of watching foreign aircraft bomb the Afghan countryside. "I remember the people running and screaming," he says.…

RECREATION | Red White and Blue Balloon Rally

Rebecca Rafferty — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

by Rebecca Rafferty I'm not afraid of heights, I just don't particularly enjoy moving too quickly too far above ground level (rock climbing and motorcycles are just fine, go figure). That's what I tell my buddies when they try to get me to join them for a day of riding rollercoasters.…

POP/ROCK | Alkaline Trio

Dave Labarge — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

by Dave Labarge True to its name, the foundation of Alkaline Trio consists of three musicians, albeit taken in different formations over the years. Despite different members having rotated in and out, frontman Matt Skiba remains the consistent force urging on the outfit.…

THEATER REVIEW: "Venus in Fur"

Eric Rezsnyak — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Gender studies by Eric Rezsnyak "Venus in Furs" is not pornography. We are told this several times by Thomas, the playwright appearing in the play "Venus in Fur" (note the singular), now playing on the Geva Theatre Nextstage.…

"At Any Price"

Adam Lubitow — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Sowing discontent by Adam Lubitow When we first meet Henry Whipple, the farmer and seed salesman played by Dennis Quaid in Ramin Bahrani's "At Any Price," he's crashing a funeral with his reluctant son, Dean (Zac Efron), in tow, hoping to take some land off the hands of the dead man's poor, bereaved family. It's not the sort of introduction that inspires much sympathy from the audience and, for the most part, the film never attempts to turn Henry into anything resembling a likeable human being.…

ART | "Mortal: A Portfolio of Woodcuts by Kiki Smith"

Rebecca Rafferty — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

by Rebecca Rafferty Meditations on mortality gain gravitas when we are faced with the finite nature of our mothers and fathers. The decline and death of a parent truly brings home the bittersweet fleetingness of our time here together.…

Merger news

Jeremy Moule — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

by Jeremy Moule Planned Parenthood of the Rochester/Syracuse Region will merge with the western New York affiliate. The new organization will be called Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York.…

THEATER | "Talk/Radio"

Rebecca Rafferty — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

by Rebecca Rafferty The creators and several cast members of the successful production "Hide the Moon: Based on Salome," which debuted at the premier Rochester Fringe Festival in 2012, are reuniting with a new show on Friday, May 24. MuCCC (142 Atlantic Ave.) will host one performance of "TALK/RADIO," a music and theater performance project by Eastman School of Music students featuring several different historical radio genre scripts.…

DUB | Marto

Suzan Pero — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

by Suzan Pero If ever it was a night to get your dub on, this will be it. Marto is bringing us the finest and freshest trap step Ontario has to offer, as well as all the DnB and dub we could ever want along with Ghettotronics and Bittle.…

Train your brain

Rebecca Rafferty — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Various groups and organizations are beginning to pool their communal knowledge and offer it to one another at little or no cost, and in turn, individuals and groups are beginning to shape the future of this city in a very do-it-yourself manner. by Rebecca Rafferty It's unlikely that a single adult Rochesterian hasn't at least heard the phrase "brain drain," that bleak term we use to describe the phenomenon of our fresh college graduates fleeing the area in search of better prospects. The amount of educated, driven individuals in Rochester far exceeds the city's limited amount of ready-made opportunities.…

Rock-n-Roll Social Club

Frank De Blase — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Social manifesto by Frank De Blase It was a lopsided split when local band Boneyard disbanded last year. Cloud-busting singer JJ Lang went one way, while guitarist Mick Ditko, bassist Doug MacDonald, and drummer Brian Donnelly went another.…

LITERATURE | Lou Gramm book signing

Rebecca Rafferty — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

by Rebecca Rafferty I was enjoying a lively night at a local bar with friends recently when "Hot Blooded" shuffled on to the bartender's eclectic playlist. One of our number, who is not from around here, made a face at the transition and hollered, "What is this music?"…