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Submitted by Tianna Mañón, Nilan Lovelace, Michele Ashlee, Vanessa J. Cheeks, Photos by: Michele Ashlee on Thu, 2017-02-02 10:34
Rochester Indymedia and Open Mic are going to be cross posting and collaborating in the coming months on various stories. This is one of the first pieces to be cross posted. We're excited to be working with Open Mic! Check out the original article here: http://www.openmicroc.com/exploring-mayor-lovely-warrens-time-in-office/
Mayor Lovely Warren discusses her time in office. Credit: Michele Ashlee.
Sharing the background of many of Rochester’s black residents, Mayor Lovely Warren’s grandparents migrated north seeking better economic opportunities. And like many of our grandparents, hers didn’t find it either, settling instead for labor.
Graduating from the Rochester City School District, she went on to college, law school, then became a lawyer before working in the community and later leading City Council as the youngest to ever do so.
And then that granddaughter of migrators, sharecroppers, laborers, became Rochester’s first black female mayor.
“If you look at the history of our city we’ve had periods of challenges. And we didn’t look at those and cower down.” -Warren
Mayor Lovely Warren took office in January 2014. However, it hasn’t been an easy three years. In fact, the first year of her term saw a number of scathing reports and criticism from the community. She created security positions in her office, claiming she was being threatened, and then gave them to family members. She was constantly criticized for her handling of the press and many were worried that she wasn’t as good of a pick for Rochester as they’d first hoped.
Going into 2017, Warren hasn’t announced yet if she’ll campaign for re-election. Already James Sheppard, County Legislator for the 23rd District, has announced his campaign for her seat and Rachel Barnhart who recently lost a bid for the State Assembly against Rep. Harry Bronson is toying with a mayoral run as well. Both have charged that Warren has made no change, prompting OM to look at Warren’s time in office.
We looked at four pillars as we examined her “legacy:” development, social justice, violence and crime, and putting Rochester on the map.
For the second time in a week Washington Square Park and the surrounding sidewalks were packed with people protesting President Trump's executive order to ban immigration from certain countries. The ban included seven predominantly Muslim countries among them Syria, Iraq, Iran, Somalia and Yemen. By "coincidence" it did not include other nations in the area where Trump has business interests. Photos below.
Dr. Ted Barnett teaches people the health benefits of eating an oil-free whole-food-plant-based vegan diet in the CHIP Program. (Photo: Michael Israel)
Dr. Ted Barnett, a radiologist, teaches people the health benefits of eating non-processed vegan foods. He is the founder of Rochester Lifestyle Medicine and operates the Complete Health Improvement (CHIP) Program. The CHIP program teaches patients with chronic medical conditions how eating an oil-free whole-food plant-based vegan diet and living an active lifestyle can help them prevent relapses and can even reverse some of their health problems. Some of the many conditions that the CHIP program address includes coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. Following the CHIP program before a health problem has occurred is much more of an ideal solution than using the CHIP program to treat a serious health issue that has already occurred.
Submitted by George Payne on Sun, 2017-01-01 22:39
Despite Trump's primal appeal, the most important values of our nation did not spring from the imaginations of slave-owning philosophers, zealous pilgrims, or renegade capitalists. The values which gave birth to our nation are actually spiritual ideals which came before the moral evolution of humans. They are Equality, Justice, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
In a state of near-misery, I return to reading I did this summer: Dorothea Schmidt Wender’s ’73 translation of Hesiod and Theognis, included in the Penguin Classics series. Hesiod is most exciting, for me, in Works and Days, and especially in the verses concerning the ages of man. A famous passage (lines 170-201) concerns our own age, that of iron. Hesiod cries out:
I wish I were not of this race, that I Had died before, or had not yet been born. This is the race of iron. Now, by day, Men work and grieve unceasingly; by night They waste away and die.
Driving from that dusty rhinestone, Las Vegas, across northern Nevada, Arizona, Wyoming, and into South Dakota on I-15N requires patience and serenity rare for me and completely alien to my companion. Our trip to Standing Rock on that dull highway took us through the most featureless, colorless lands in this country. Flat as old Coke. In our boredom, we even found ourselves intrigued by the odd snow fences in Wyoming and thrilled to see a hillock or a tiny gorge. Now and again there’d be an outcropping, towering over the bland landscape like a medieval castle, but for miles we had only sagebrush and an occasional steer as companions. In 1300 miles we’d seen no wildlife, few birds, not even road kill. The dead land had been stripped by cattlemen to smooth sterility. Houses were miles from one another. Gas stations so far apart the car was often running on our nervous breaths as we finally found a small pump in a cowboy town. No motels: we slept in the car at a truck pullout. We were excited to finally make the turn onto Route 83, a back road leading us to the smallest Standing Rock encampment where our arrival was awaited. We’d heard earlier that evening that road was a safe approach among increasingly patrolled entrances, and was about a hundred miles from our goal. We were buoyant. Even my friend’s elderly service dog woke, sniffing and nudging, sensing our excitement.
It was dark as dirt as we moved along Route 83, cautious as we’d been the entire trip to observe the speed limit. Suddenly, red and blue lights slashed through our cheer and an unctuous, tubby sheriff tapped on the passenger-side window claiming we’d been speeding and demanding ID from us both. The weeks-long nightmare began.
The morning after the election, I woke up to a text from a friend who said, “Hi! We’d like to get a rainbow flag to hang at the house in solidarity after what happened yesterday. Do you know where we could purchase one?” When he had said, “what happened yesterday,” I figured he meant Trump, but once I got on facebook, I saw that two pride flags had been burned in my neighborhood the evening before. Talk about getting hit close to home! It is being investigated as both arson and a hate crime, but so far there are no suspects.
So I looked up information for the gay pride store that had been a mainstay in our city, first opening in 1989 as a leather and fetish supplier, and later changing ownership a couple of times and morphing into a place that had something for everyone in the LGBTQ+ community. I was shocked and saddened to learn that it had closed in August with the death of the current owner. So instead I recommended a couple of novelty stores to my friend, hoping he’d be able to track one down.
Submitted by T. Forsyth (photo: Mara Ahmed) on Fri, 2016-11-04 22:07
Hana Chamoun, a talented Lebanese-Palestinian actress, was in Rochester on September 18, 2016 to talk about 3000 Nights after it screened. Moderating the discussion was Linc Spaulding from Witness Palestine Rochester. This heart-rending and amazing feature film opened the Witness Palestine Film Series at The Little Theatre.
Layal, a young newlywed Palestinian schoolteacher is arrested after being falsely accused and sentenced to 8 years of prison. She is transferred to a high security Israeli women’s prison where she encounters a terrifying world in which Palestinian political prisoners are incarcerated with Israeli criminal inmates. When she discovers she is pregnant, the prison director pressures her to abort the baby and spy on the Palestinian inmates. However, resilient and still in chains, she gives birth to a baby boy. Through her struggle to raise her son behind bars, and her relationship with the other prisoners, she manages to find a sense of hope and a meaning to her life. Prison conditions deteriorate and the Palestinian prisoners decide to strike. The prison director warns her against joining the rebellion and threatens to take her son away. In a moment of truth, Layal is forced to make a choice that will forever change her life.
Rochester Indymedia journalist T. Forsyth had the chance to meet Hana and was able to send her some questions via email that she happily agreed to answer.
Submitted by rbarnabas2016 on Mon, 2016-10-17 20:43
Acclaimed Israeli writer and activist Miko Peled kicked off the fifth Witness Palestine Film Festival on Sept 15, 2016. He spoke about "Justice and Freedom: the Keys to Peace in Palestine" at the Historic German House, in Rochester, NY. The event was co-sponsored by the Rochester Chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace.
Miko Peled has written "The General’s Son: Journey of an Israeli in Palestine" and he has traveled extensively, giving talks across the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, Germany and Switzerland. More information at www.WitnessPalestineRochester.org
October 4, 2016, activist Judy Bello gave a presentation at Rochester's Downtown Presbyterian Church. About 50 people were in attendance. Bello has traveled extensively in the Middle East to observe the effects of US military and economic policy on the civilian population. Her latest journey was as part of a US Peace Council fact finding mission last July. This was her second time in Syria since 2014. She has paid similar visits to Iran, Iraq and Pakistan. The 60 minute presentation was followed by an additional hour of questions and answers. The event left an entirely different perspective on the crisis than that presented by mainstream corporate media.
Rochester Police Chief Michael Ciminelli invited the public to offer contract modification proposals to the department that they can use in their ongoing labor negotiations with the Rochester Police Locust Club, the sole bargaining agent for Rochester Police Department (RPD) officers.
“The period to present proposals is not closed,” said Chief Ciminelli. “And again, because we're in contract negotiations we would have to discuss this in executive session but if you would like to sit down with us and discuss specific ideas we're still in a position to take proposals.”
Chief Ciminelli invited the public's ideas on how to change the contract between the City and the Club at a Public Safety Committee Meeting held on September 21, 2016.
The committee meeting, usually held in executive session, was opened to the public after a video showing RPD officers brutalizing multiple people went viral. One individual, Lentorya Parker, was tackled from behind by an RPD officer as she was complying with police orders. The incident happened near Avenue A and Hollenbeck Street on September 15. A sole civilian video of the incident was posted online. The videographer, Clarence Thompson, was arrested for Obstruction of Governmental Administration and Disorderly Conduct even though he was more than 10 yards away from the police and not interfering with their activities.
Watch the Democrat & Chronicle Facebook Live video of the Public Safety Committee Meeting (Rochester Indymedia has it's own footage with better audio–will update soon)
The most recent contract between the City of Rochester and the Rochester Police Locust Club expired on June 30, 2016. According to the contract, the agreement is automatically renewed “from year to year” unless either party notified the other of any “intention to change, alter, amend or terminate this contract.”
If the meeting that took place on September 21 is any indication, then one of the two signing parties is interested in changing the contract. One possible reason for the need to re-negotiate the contract is for the need to incorporate an article pertaining to the use of police BWCs and their associated procedures and protocols for the officers represented by the Club. There are several reserved sections in the BWC policy that have been explained by city officials as pertaining to ongoing negotiations between the department and the Club. Of course, one question to ask is, who is representing the public interest in these negotiations?
Breaking down the current contract
The expired 2016 contract contains 34 articles and two appendices, one on discipline guidelines and the other on hospital and surgical health benefits.
Submitted by Rajesh Barnabas on Wed, 2016-09-28 21:43
This is the first known occurrence of an entire sports team protesting the national anthem in Rochester, NY. The World of Inquiry, School #58 High School soccer team all took a knee during the opening ceremonies of the game against Aquinas. The protests are spreading around the country, first initiated by pro NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Clarence Thompson videotaped a disturbing scene of police brutalizing and arresting multiple people of color on the north side of the city on September 15, 2016. For bearing witness, he was also arrested. Below is a story from the Democrat & Chronicle outlining what happened. The accusatory documents against Thompson, above the D&C story, show what he is charged with and the arresting officer's name and badge number along with other relevant facts from the incident.
I recently connected with Nic and Cat, a duo based in Philadelphia, who have been working super hard for about a year, creating an app for anyone who is LGBTQ+ and is looking for a health care provider. It will be simple, straightforward, user-based, and reliable. A beta version will be available soon, and Nic says, “the more the merrier, because once we’re beta testing we want to have as many reviews on there as possible–that’s what’s gonna make the app useful.”
Rochester Indymedia is now requiring editor approval for account creation.
We came to this decision after we had repeated spam posted to our website that caused difficulty with the website's functioning. We will still have open publishing and keep our site as nonrestrictive and accessible as possible.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us. As before, we will continue to be Rochester's grassroots news and education site. Thank you for your continued support and remember, "Don't hate the media, be the media!"
Editorial Meeting Times / Locations
The Rochester Independent Media Center (R-IMC) is no longer meeting regularly. We will set up meetings by necessity and appointment. Please contact us at rochesterindymedia@rocus.org. Our home is still the Flying Squirrel Community Space at 285 Clarissa St. Occasionally, we hold meetings at RCTV located at 21 Gorham Street.
