News Blog

A Democratic proposal to ban the sale of personal care products containing plastic microbeads may not doomed after all.

Republicans on the Monroe County Legislature's Agenda/Charter committee last night referred the measure to the county administration for further study. Members of the GOP caucus have said that the issue should be handled at the federal level, and it appeared they'd reject the legislation. Similar bills have been passed in Erie and Chautauqua counties with Democratic and Republican support.

But a couple of things happened yesterday that may have affected the vote's outcome. For one, County Executive Maggie Brooks received an award from the Water Environment Federation — an organization of water-quality professionals — recognizing her commitment to clean water through legislation, public policy, and government service. If her allies in the Lej outright killed a major water-quality improvement proposal, the optics would have been bad.

And Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, a Democrat, sent a letter to Brooks in support of the Dems' proposal. He forwarded copies of the letter to the Monroe County Legislature, the New York State Association of Counties, and the New York State County Executives Association. Brooks is NYSAC's president, and the letter will draw attention to how she handles the legislation. The county bans will, by design, create an uneven regulatory regime across the state, which could force state lawmakers to act on bills for a statewide ban of products containing microbeads.

In the past, Republicans have referred Democratic legislation to the administration as a way to bury it. But occasionally the proposals re-emerge in an altered form, either from Brooks or from a Republican legislator. And it's starting to feel like the latter scenario is the likely one; the county has cooperated with the State Attorney General's Office to measure the amount of microbeads passing through Van Lare waste water treatment plant.

Tiny plastic microbeads are used in toothpaste, soap, exfoliating face washes, shampoos, and other personal care products. They're too small for water treatment plants to filter them out, so they're discharged into water bodies with treated waste water. In the aquatic environment, fish and other organisms often mistake the beads for food — they look like eggs.

Researchers have found that the beads absorb toxic chemicals from the aquatic environments, including heavy metals and pesticides such as DDT. And once the beads are ingested, the organisms absorb those toxins, which are then later ingested by their predators.

Lake Ontario has the highest concentration of microbeads of any of the Great Lakes.

New York's infrastructure is crummy and getting worse, as anyone who drives on the state's roads probably already realizes.

The American Society of Civil Engineers gives the state's infrastructure a C- in a report card it released this morning (the report is attached at the bottom of this post). But the grade is boosted by B- grades on parks and solid waste infrastructure. The state's roads get a D- and its bridges a D+. In Rochester, the roads are in such rough enough shape that they cost drivers an average $402 in repairs annually, according to the ASCE report. In Buffalo, the roads suck a little less, apparently, since they cost drivers there an average of $293 annually. 

The ASCE looked at other areas, too. Drinking water infrastructure receives a C, for example, and the state's waste water systems get a D.

During a press conference this morning, local ASCE leaders joined Rochester-area elected and business officials to call for more state and federal investment in infrastructure projects, particularly road and bridge repairs. Local, state, and federal governments should make modernizing New York's infrastructure a top priority, said Marco Scofidio, president of ASCE's Buffalo Section. And new projects should be designed so that they are durable and better able to stand up to changing environments, he said. 

Sam Anthony, president of the Rochester section of ASCE, said that government leaders should plan for future repairs before there's a crisis, such as a bridge closure or water main break.

"Catch-up work will be more costly," he said.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has committed to forming a task force to re-evaluate the controversial Common Core curriculum. But did he have a choice?

The Common Core was a thorny subject even before it rolled out in 2013 — which was a colossal mess by almost any standard. Opposition to the core has grown steadily since. 
  
Opponents of Common Core argue that testing has become excessive and its importance is greatly exaggerated. Teachers say that the tests don’t provide information that is relevant to instruction.

Many parents are critical, too, saying that testing anxiety is making their children dislike school, which defeats the purpose of the new standards.

And there has been strong criticism concerning how the curriculum was developed, as well as a general lack of transparency about questions and scoring.

For a long time, Cuomo and his allies argued that teachers unions are behind the Common Core controversy because they oppose accountability. Maybe Cuomo assumed that he could direct the public’s frustration to teachers who are vehemently opposed to the use of the test scores in their professional evaluations.

That strategy failed miserably because as anyone who attended even a few of the many public meetings on Common Core could see, the anger is universal. Many parents, educators, and community leaders voiced their concerns to elected state officials.

Cuomo’s feud with the teachers unions helped fuel the growing opt-out movement. Roughly 20 percent of students statewide did not take the state tests in April 2015 – and more than twice that in the Rochester school district — which greatly undermines the credibility of teacher evaluations.

But there are many supporters of Common Core or at least of its intent: raising education standards in New York. Joe Klein, a strong local advocate of charter schools, says that frequent testing is critically important, particularly when it comes to teaching urban students, who often lag in reading and math proficiency. Helping them gain those skills requires real-time understanding of what they’ve learned, he says, and where exactly they need extra support.

Cuomo's 15-member task force, which will include educators, is supposed to provide the governor with recommendations sometime before the end of the year. It’s a reassessment that’s long overdue. 

The City of Rochester Zoning Board voted 4-1 last week to allow Aldi to put a grocery store at the corner of North Winton and Blossom roads in the North Winton Village neighborhood. The approval seems to guarantee that the controversial project will be built.

“To my knowledge, we were the last hurdle,” says Zoning Board member Roseanne Khaleel, who cast the lone vote against the project.

The Aldi proposal divided residents in the North Winton Village and Browncroft neighborhoods. Some say that the project is too big and out of step with the urban-village feel of the area. Other residents like the idea of a discount grocer within walking distance of their homes.

Khaleel cited several reasons for her opposition. It’s becoming an unfortunate pattern in the city, she says, for people to let their properties deteriorate, waiting on a big-name, moneyed developer to swoop in, buy it, and clean it up. The thinking is that the dilapidated state of the properties will make the city more likely to approve their project, she says.

And the Blossom-North Winton corner is in the city’s most-restricted commercial district, she says, and not meant for a proposal such as Aldi.

Applicants too often come to the board with inferior designs, Khaleel says, and the board must fight to improve the project.

“Good designs are not expected anymore,” she says.

An Aldi representative at last week’s meeting said that the company has made many accommodations, including shrinking the size of the building from more than 18,000 square feet to about 15,600 square feet.

“This is more of a village feel,” said Steve Cleason, an engineer working on the Aldi project. 

Unions and an anti-violence group will hold their annual Peace on the Streets Day at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, September 29, on the corner of Dewey and Driving Park avenues.

Peace on the Streets Day is held annually in memory of Latasha Shaw, who was attacked by a mob and stabbed to death at the Dewey-Driving Park intersection in 2007. The vigil, however, is meant as a broader response to violence in the Rochester community.

“If you or someone you know experienced any type of senseless crime, please stand with us,” says a flyer.

In the event of inclement weather (and the forecast says rain is likely), Peace on the Streets Day will move to the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists office at 740 Driving Park Avenue. The event is organized by the CBTU, 1199 SEIU, and the Rochester Coalition of Family and Friends of Murdered Children and Victims of Violence.


On Tuesday, September 29, the New York Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers will release a report card on New York’s infrastructure.

The group looked at the state’s airports, bridges, dams, drinking water systems, parks, roads, solid waste facilities, roads, and waste water systems. The report will be the first from the ASCE on the status of New York’s infrastructure.

The report will be released at 10 a.m. during a press conference at the Blue Cross Arena. Among the leaders scheduled to attend: Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren, State Senator Joe Robach, Gates Supervisor Mark Assini, and Rochester Business Alliance President and CEO Bob Duffy. BY JEREMY MOULE 


AARP will release the findings of a survey of local generation X and baby boomer voters, "High Anxiety: Monroe County Gen X and Boomers Struggle with Stress, Savings and Security," at a round-table discussion on Tuesday, September 29. 

Participants will address saving for retirement, impact of student loans, debt, and the implications of student loans, debt, and other costs on the local and state economies. The AARP will also, according to a press release, outline a proposed payroll-deduction retirement savings option for New Yorkers who lack access to retirement plans at work. 

The discussion is from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Century Club of Rochester, 566 East Avenue. BY CHRISTINE CARRIE FIEN 

Pope Francis just wrapped up his address to Congress and instead of excoriating the members over gridlock, economic inequality, and inaction on climate change, he spoke of opportunity and hope. (Text of the speech should be available soon on the Vatican website.)

The pope, speaking gently and plainly, called on politicians to work together to solve some of the most difficult domestic and global problems, including poverty, violence, and environmental degradation (he never used "climate change" in his speech). A civil society thrives when it works collectively to meet common needs, he said especially the needs of the most vulnerable. And that's what Americans call on their elected leaders to do, he said.

“The challenges facing us today call for a renewal of that spirit of cooperation that has accomplished so much good throughout the history of the United States," the pope said.

The pope spent a significant portion of his speech addressing the Syrian refugee crisis, which he described as being "of a magnitude not seen since the second world war," as well as immigration. In recent centuries, millions of people came to the United States with dreams of building a future, he said. And as people continue to immigrate to the United States and other countries in search of a better life, he said, those societies shouldn't turn their backs on them. He also urged Americans not to repeat past mistakes, including violence toward immigrants.

“Let us remember the golden rule," he said. "Do unto others as you will have them do unto you.”

He also called on US leaders to take "courageous" action on global environmental degradation, and to combat poverty while protecting nature. In his May encyclical, the pope said that global climate change poses the greatest threat to poor people and nations, who do not have the resources to move or to adapt to extreme weather and heat.

He called on America to put its knowledge, industry, and technological expertise toward improving the environment.

“America’s outstanding academic and research institutions can make a vital contribution in the years ahead," he said. 

But the pope also said that enterprise and the creation and use of wealth is important, especially if it's done justly.

"Business is a noble vocation," he said, especially if it views job creation as essential to the common good.

State judges now have more discretion over part of the legal process for name changes. And the people who pushed for the change say that it'll help protect transgender individuals from harassment and violence.

For transgender people, legal name-changes are often part of transitioning. They have to file petitions with the state Supreme Court, and a judge's approval is typically followed by the publication of a notice in a newspaper. Those notices include people's original names and their new names, as well as their addresses and birthplaces.

Courts have long recognized that the notices can threaten the safety of certain people, in particular, victims of domestic violence. Judges have had the legal authority to waive the notice requirements, but only for people who've received threats or suffered bodily harm in the past.

But Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill this afternoon that loosens that requirement, giving judges the ability to issue waivers if they determine that publishing a name-change notice puts a person at risk. And the notices do put transgender people at risk of threats, harassment, and violence, says State Assembly member Harry Bronson, who sponsored the bill.

A report from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs says that the United States had 20 documented anti-LGBT homicides in 2014; 55 percent were transgender women and 50 percent were transgender women of color.

The Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council now knows how it would spend a $500-million state award, if it wins.

Seven Upstate regions are competing for money through the state's Upstate Revitalization Initiative. Three regions will each get $500 million. 

The Finger Lakes council has spent the past few months preparing, and today, it approved the final wording of its application to the contest. The document is basically a narrative explaining how the region would use the money, and how the funding would lead to massive private investment. 

Under the proposal, the region would direct $250 million to specific industry areas. Of that funding, $50 million would be invested in the region's optics, photonics, and imaging cluster; $75 million would go toward the local agriculture and food processing industry; and $125 million would be directed to next-generation manufacturing and technology.

The other $250 million would support other key council objectives: $100 million would be invested in workforce development and Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative programs; $75 million would be put toward entrepreneurship and development initiatives; and $75 million would be used to support higher education and research.

The council has already identified some potential projects and initiatives in the above areas. 

The application will be submitted to the state and released publicly on October 5, said Vinnie Esposito, Finger Lakes regional director for Empire State Development. The state will announce the winners in December.

The University of Rochester Medical Center will provide free prostate cancer screenings for uninsured men on Wednesday, September 23. Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men after skin cancer and causes more than 27,500 deaths annually.

The screenings will be held at Brown Square Health Center, 322 Lake Avenue, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. But the screenings are by appointment only. Call 275-2838.


Asbury First United Methodist Church will host “Why Don’t We Vote?” a panel discussion at 7 p.m. on Monday, September 21. Timothy Kneeland, professor of history at Nazareth College, will moderate panelists Andrea Cain, interim CEO at the Community Place of Greater Rochester, and George Moses, director of Northeast Area Development.

They will discuss the barriers to voting — past and present — and how to overcome them. The event will be held at Asbury First United, 1050 East Avenue. BY TIM LOUIS MACALUSO


Regional Transit Service will hold an information session on vanpooling from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Monday, September 21, to discuss the findings and recommendations from the Rochester Area Vanpool Feasibility Study.

This session will provide the opportunity for those interested to speak with members of the vanpool study consulting team and RTS, to learn more about the recommendations, and to provide feedback.

The study explored the feasibility of a regional vanpool program that links commuters who live near one another and travel to similar destinations in the Rochester area.

The session will be held at the Central Library’s Kate Gleason Auditorium, 115 South Avenue. BY CHRISTINE CARRIE FIEN 

Racism is often described as one of the most difficult subjects to talk about, but the only way for it to get easier is if we do talk about it, says Naimah Sierra, deputy director of youth and community services for Action for a Better Community.

“There are historical structures that have been put in place that are designed to keep certain people from pursuing the American dream,” she says.

Sierra, who is also a member of Facing Race, Embracing Equity or FR=EE, says the mission of the group’s third annual summit on race is to make opportunities in housing, education, and health care available to everyone, regardless of race or class.

The group will hold “Breaking Down Racial Barriers: a Community Pulling Together,” a community summit on race on Saturday, September 26, at Wilson Foundation Academy, 200 Genesee Street, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Registration for the event, which is free and open to the public: http://faceraceroc.org/

The event will feature a full day of discussions and work sessions on a wide range of topics, such as “Witnessing Whiteness: The Need to Talk about Race and How to Do It,” “Police and Community Relations: How to Build Trust,” and “Developing Authentic Alternatives: From the Streets to Jobs.”

Each session will be facilitated by people trained to create and continue a dialogue about race and institutional racism, Sierra says.

“We are uncomfortable with paralysis by analysis, sitting around having all these grand discussions,” says Tim Weider, lecturer in sociology and anthropology at Nazareth College and one of the facilitators. “We’re about doing something.”