Rochester Beacon (https://rochesterbeacon.com/author/mike-costanza/)
In Fairport, board members and residents continue to debate the village’s first zoning update in three decades. The draft Character Based Code has not resolved disagreement over issues such as the range of housing options needed in a village where most residences are single-family homes.
A group of alumnae still hopes to buy the campus and buildings after its bid to also acquire the defunct institution was turned down by the college’s trustees.
To combat a surge in fatalities, Monroe County has adopted a national model, rolling out an Overdose Fatality Review initiative to research overdose deaths and recommend measures to prevent them.
Nearly 15 percent of the Rochester Police Department slots for sworn personnel are unfilled, boosting overtime costs and straining morale. Along with recruitment challenges, retirements have outpaced new hires.
With the decision to close Wells College in the village of Aurora, students are looking for new schools, village officials are trying to soften the financial impact, and some alumni want an answer to the question: Why?
The Pines of Perinton is undergoing a much-needed $65 million renovation amid concerns. Will the tenants, the town and the property owner WinnCompanies find a way forward?
Many discarded or seized firearms are eventually destroyed, but not all. The parts that survive can become the components of new firearms—including “ghost guns” that are difficult for law enforcement agencies to trace.
A record-breaking cold snap in May has taken a toll on many apple orchards and other fruit farms in the Rochester region. Growers are taking steps to be better prepared for unpredictable weather in the future.
The city of Rochester is starting the design phase of the Inner Loop North Transformation Project. The project will fill in a 1.5-mile stretch of the expressway, reconnecting downtown Rochester with the Public Market and the city’s Brown Square, High Falls, Upper Falls and Marketview Heights neighborhoods, and providing land for redevelopment.
The second-largest grocery chain in Monroe County has two stores in lower-income neighborhoods in Rochester. “We feel very strongly about being in those areas and serving the needs of customers,” Ron Ferri says.