Feedback
747 PARK AVENUE, ROCHESTER, NY 585.244.2585 129 S. MAIN STREET, CANANDAIGUA, NY 585.396.2585 154 THE COMMONS, ITHACA, NY 607.273.2585
We welcome your comments. Send them to themail@rochester-citynews. com, or post them on our website, rochestercitynewspaper.com, our Facebook page, or our Twitter feed, @roccitynews. Comments of fewer than 350 words have a greater chance of being published, and we do edit selections for publication in print. We don’t publish comments sent to other media.
Obama’s missing urban agenda
On Mayor Tom Richards’ guest commentary, “Aid the Transformation of America’s Urban Areas”): Most of the discussion about improving urban areas focuses on various government “economic development” programs, whether they be tax breaks, outright grants, or periodic “master plans” drawn up by people who will never implement them because they don’t have the money. All of these efforts have long track records of failure. The only way to rebuild a city is through jobs, and the only way to create jobs is to make your community attractive for job creators. Right now, New York is at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to attracting business. Despite the governor’s endless self-congratulatory press conferences and catchy slogans about New York being open for business, the fact is we still have the highest taxes; most burdensome, anti-business regulations; the most confrontational unions; the highest utility costs, etc. Create the conditions for business to return and grow in Rochester, and you won’t be endlessly fretting about how to divide a shrinking pie. Unfortunately, encouraging business is about as attractive to the liberal Democrats who run our cities and our state as getting the hives. BOB S
Posted on rochestercitynewspaper.com There is no vision for Rochester. Residents are seen as revenue-makers (red-light cameras, parking fees, etc.) while out-of-town developers and big projects are seen as our “saviors.” There needs to be focus on locally and cooperatively owned businesses throughout the city, not just in gentrified areas. There needs to be a change in direction, and that opportunity is coming. DAVE ATIAS
Posted on rochestercitynewspaper.com 2 CITY
JANUARY 16-22, 2013
Consult with disability community
Let’s not be pushed over an imaginary “fiscal cliff.” As this country continually runs a deficit, it makes sense to look at many programs, including Medicaid and Medicare, to see whether or not savings can be achieved. For many years, ADAPT and others in the disability community have pushed for changes in the types of services that Medicaid and Medicare would fund in order to meet the needs of the people those programs are intended to serve. For example, allowing Medicaid to pay for attendant care in the home is a policy that ADAPT helped make possible. This change in policy improved people’s quality of life and saved money. If Congress wants to be fiscally and socially responsible with Medicare and Medicaid, they need to consider suggestions put forth from those in the disability community. KENYATTA DACOSTA, ROCHESTER
A lesson from Japan
I returned a few days ago from 11 days in Japan traveling through several areas teaching and speaking about nonviolence and sustainability. Many of the people I worked with had lives devastated in various ways by radiation in the Fukushima area after the March 2011 earthquake: Couples split up because of different views on safety of air and water for their children. Families forced to move, often losing most of their financial stability as a result, as well as their communities. Hundreds of people living in camps, waiting with dwindling hope for government support to help them re-settle. Public interest in their plight has faded. Distrust with government and other official assurances about safe levels of radiation in air, water, and food continues to grow. All of this feels relevant as the people of New York and its lawmakers consider hydrofracking. Some or many of the issues from Japan could become our issues as toxic chemicals enter our ground water, eco-system, food chains, and bodies. The abundant fresh waters of New York are such an extraordinary resource in a world that is becoming warmer and drier with each passing year. I hope we will choose not to pollute millions of gallons of that resource in shortsighted pursuit of natural
gas. I hope we will choose to look harder for solutions to long-term economic and energy issues. With the anxious eyes of Japanese parents still fresh in my mind, I hope we will choose to be good ancestors for our children and their children. KIT MILLER, BRIGHTON
Miller is director of the MK Gandhi Institute.
Moved by ‘Le Mis’
My experience with the movie adaptation of “Les Miserables” was quite different than Adam Lubitow’s (“Better on the Boards,” review, January 2). I was accompanied to the movie by my “son” and his friend, both foreign exchange students from China, and from the opening to the final scene, we were enthralled. I proudly admit that I sat there with tears in my eyes for most of the movie and several times had to put the hood of my sweatshirt over my head to avoid disturbing other moviegoers. In my opinion, this movie adaptation of a staged musical was perfect in every sense and the best movie adaptation of a staged musical of all time. Every role was perfectly cast, even minor characters. I am not a big fan of Russell Crowe – I agree with Mr. Lubitow that Crowe cannot sing – yet I found him perfect as Javert. I was especially enthralled with stage veteran Samantha Barks as Eponine, though Mr. Lubitow barely mentioned her. The filming of the movie was spectacular in every sense. The actors’ live singing added to the immediacy and richness of this film. I have recommended this film to several friends who would not be caught dead watching a musical, either on the stage or in a film. They came back to me and said they loved it. Les Miserables is not a disappointment. TONY PERRI, ROCHESTER
A correction
An editing change to a reader’s letter in our December 26 issue resulted in a headline (“Guns, Controls, and America”) that misrepresented the focus of the letter. The original title, “The Irony of the Massacre in Newtown,” more clearly emphasized the disparity between the reaction of the Newtown shootings and the individual killings in the nation’s cities. We regret the error.
News. Music. Life. Greater Rochester’s Alternative Newsweekly January 16-22, 2013 Vol 42 No 19 250 North Goodman Street Rochester, New York 14607-1199 themail@rochester-citynews.com phone (585) 244-3329 fax (585) 244-1126 rochestercitynewspaper.com Publishers: William and Mary Anna Towler Editor: Mary Anna Towler Asst. to the publishers: Matt Walsh Editorial department themail@rochester-citynews.com Features editor: Eric Rezsnyak News editor: Christine Carrie Fien Staff writers: Tim Louis Macaluso, Jeremy Moule Music editor: Willie Clark Music writer: Frank De Blase Calendar editor: Rebecca Rafferty Contributing writers: Paloma Capanna, Casey Carlsen, Roman Divezur, George Grella, Susie Hume, Andy Klingenberger, Dave LaBarge, Kathy Laluk, Michael Lasser, James Leach, Adam Lubitow, Ron Netsky, Dayna Papaleo, Suzan Pero, Rebecca Rafferty, Deb Schleede, David Yockel Jr. Editorial intern: Lillian Dickerson Art department artdept@rochester-citynews.com Art director/production manager: Matt DeTurck Designer: Aubrey Berardini Photographers: Frank De Blase, Michael Hanlon Advertising department ads@rochester-citynews.com Advertising sales manager: Betsy Matthews Account executives: Nancy Burkhardt, Tom Decker, Annalisa Iannone, William Towler Classified sales representatives: Christine Kubarycz, Tracey Mykins Operations/Circulation info@rochester-citynews.com Circulation manager: Katherine Stathis Distribution: Andy DiCiaccio, David Riccioni, Northstar Delivery, Wolfe News City Newspaper is available free of charge. Additional copies of the current issue may be purchased for $1, payable in advance at the City Newspaper office. City Newspaper may be distributed only by authorized distributors. No person may, without prior written permission of City Newspaper, take more than one copy of each weekly issue. City (ISSN 1551-3262) is published weekly by WMT Publications, Inc. Periodical postage paid at Rochester, NY (USPS 022-138). Send address changes to City, 250 North Goodman Street, Rochester, NY 14607. City is a member of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies and the New York Press Association. Subscriptions: $35.00 ($30.00 for senior citizens) for one year. Add $10 yearly for out-of-state subscriptions: add $30 yearly for foreign subscriptions. Due to the initial high cost of establishing new subscriptions, refunds for fewer than ten months cannot be issued. Copyright by WMT Publications Inc., 2013 - all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, photocopying, recording or by any information storage retrieval system without permission of the copyright owner.