Veronica Volk

The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct recommends that City Court Judge Leticia Astacio is removed from office. The commission says that Astacio has 30 days to accept or appeal the decision.

If Astacio requests an appeal, the Court of Appeals may decide to uphold the commission’s decision, impose a different decision which could include admonition, censure, or removal, or the Court may take no action.  An appeal would take three to five months. If Astacio doesn’t request an appeal, the Court of Appeals will remove her from the bench.

Kenneth Eastwood’s appointment as distinguished educator to the Rochester City School District has been rescinded.

A statement from the New York State Education Department said Eastwood could not come to an agreement with the school board regarding his contract.

But School Board President Van White said he was surprised by the decision.

"We were engaged in negotiations," he said via phone, "and actually had set aside office space [for Eastwood] in central office."

Eastwood's appointment was scheduled to begin April 25.

As the Rochester City School Board prepares to vote on a budget for the next school year, they are facing criticism for their bilingual and special education programs. A report from the Children's Agenda says even though the school district is proposing investments in these areas, there needs to be more transparency and oversight in the process.

Three years ago, Wailany Olio left her home in Puerto Rico and moved to Rochester. She brought her son, who is 8, and her daughter, who is 6.

After the death of Trevyan Rowe, a lot of people are asking what the Rochester City School District could have done differently. Some parents are saying this is not the first time the special education system has failed its students.

On a cold, rainy afternoon in March, several parents gather outside the central office of the city school board. Anna Kasserly is holding a sign that says, "We need change and we need it now."

"Why did we have to wait for this to happen?" she yells into the microphone. "Why we have to wait for him to lose his life?"

Several experts from across the state and the country held a summit Monday evening at Monroe Community College to try to come up with solutions to the state's algal bloom problem.

This summit is the last of four; part of a initiative by Governor Andrew Cuomo to combat the issue.

As part of his state of the state last year, the governor said, "Now we have seen a new phenomenon in water quality in many of our upstate lakes and alarming increase in water pollution that is dramatically affecting the quality of our lakes."