City Council member Loretta Scott says it’s unclear why so few of ROAR’s initial applicants graduated, and then why so few of the graduates are employed. And she says she’s frustrated by the lack of follow-through on a program that began with so much promise.
Cost of War The following people have been killed in the City of Rochester in recent weeks: -- Eugene Wade, 24, Rochester. ROCHESTER TOTALS —
Rochester Police Department, media reports SOURCE:
AFGHANISTAN TOTALS —
EDUCATION | BY TIM LOUIS MACALUSO
POLITICS | BY CHRISTINE CARRIE FIEN
Jobs training program falls short Residents, parents, and educators consistently urge the city and the Rochester school district to do more to prepare young people who aren’t college-bound for careers in the trades. Many Rochester residents who are chronically unemployed — often women, African Americans, and Latinos — could benefit from the training, too. Reaching Occupational Achievement for Residents in Rochester, a program launched more than a year ago, was supposed to help address the problem. More than 1,000 residents signed up for the six-month job preparation program, says City Council member Loretta Scott, but only 156 trainees made it to the end. “I’ve found that if you can get people employed, it alleviates a lot of other problems,” Scott says. “So I’ve been tracking it. And I was told that only about 43 of them are employed today. That’s less than one-third.” Scott says it’s unclear why so few of ROAR’s initial applicants graduated, and then why so few of the graduates are employed. And she says she’s frustrated by the lack of follow-through on a program that began with so much promise. ROAR was created by the Rochester Joint Construction Board to recruit city residents for
Election economics
construction jobs on the $325 million first phase of the schools modernization project. ROAR’s proponents say that electricians, carpenters, painters, masons, and plumbers Loretta Scott. are paid well, and that FILE PHOTO the jobs typically can’t be outsourced. And while the massive rehabilitation of city school district buildings did create some jobs, Scott says, there were also unanticipated challenges. “Our system was not prepared to absorb that many people at one time,” she says. “The project was not far enough along. And they all have different trades — electricians, painters, carpenters — and they’re not all needed at the same time. It was a workflow issue.” Scott says she has no evidence that contractors and local labor unions were not hiring minorities. “I think the problem was that this was not well thought out,” Scott says.
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City Council President and mayoral candidate Lovely Warren rolled out her economic plan last week during a press conference at her west-side headquarters. | Warren’s plan includes creating a Rochester Industrial Development Agency to guarantee jobs for city residents, pursuing social impact bonds to help deal with Rochester’s serious social problems, creating a small business center, and adopting measures to increase transparency and promote sustainability. | Warren said her biggest criticism of her opponent, incumbent Mayor Tom Richards, is that he hasn’t done enough to create jobs for city residents. Unemployment in the City of Rochester is higher than unemployment in the county as a whole. Unemployment in the Rochester metro area was 7 percent in May, compared to 9.3 percent in the City of Rochester, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. | Warren’s plan also addresses housing and aging in place — measures to help aging residents stay in their homes as long as possible. | The Richards campaign called Warren’s plan a “collection of random ideas from a politician who has never created a private sector job in her life.” | Warren and Richards will square off in a Democratic primary on Tuesday, September 10.
2,249 US servicemen and servicewomen and 1,098 Coalition servicemen and servicewomen have been killed in Afghanistan from the beginning of the war and occupation to July 1. Statistics for Afghan civilian casualties are not available. American casualties from June 28 to July 4: -- Spc. Hilda I. Clayton, 22, Augusta, Ga. -- 1st Sgt. Tracy L. Stapley, 44, Clearfield, Utah -- Pvt. Errol D.A. Milliard, 18, Birmingham, Ala. iraqbodycount. org, icasualties.org, Department of Defense SOURCES:
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