First hour: How can cash payment programs help reduce poverty in the City of Rochester?
Second hour: Discussing how the Canadian wildfires are impacting air quality in parts of the U.S.
Some residents of the City of Rochester will have access to new programs that provide no-strings-attached money. Mayor Malik Evans says the new Guaranteed Basic Income pilot program has attracted tremendous interest from families across the city. The program pays $500 to 351 individuals for 12 months. A separate program, called the Bridge Project, will launch next month. It will offer $1,000 a month to 100 new mothers for 18 months, and $500 a month for 18 months after that. This hour, we talk about the how the programs will work and they impact they are expected to have on reducing poverty in Rochester. Our guests:
- John Brach, special assistant to Mayor Malik Evans
- Assemblymember Sarah Clark, District 136
- Rev. Myra Brown, pastor at Spiritus Christi Church, and leader of the Black Community Focus Fund
- Megha Agarwal, co-founder and executive director at the Bridge Project
Then in our second hour, will we have to get used to the wildfire smoke? It has returned this week to disrupt some summer events and plans. But the bigger picture is one that includes climate change and serious risks to human health. We talk about this strange new reality with our guests:
- Steve Georas, M.D., professor of pulmonary diseases and critical care at the University of Rochester Medical Center
- James Wesley, retired chemist with the Monroe County Crime Lab
- Reagan Smith, youth climate activist, and rising senior at Brighton High School
