April Franklin

In response to Gov.  Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Order on police reform, The United Christian Leadership Ministry has announced their proposed recommendations for changes to policing in Monroe County.

The organization says they want to change the culture within the police department and have submitted five proposed recommendations for Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren to consider. Cuomo wants plans for reform from police departments around the state.

 The effort to save St. Michael’s Church on North Clinton Avenue continues. A second proposal recently submitted has given the diocese another option to consider.

Friends of St. Michael's is a group of community members, some of them non-Catholics, who all want to keep the doors of the church open. The group submitted a proposed five-year plan to partner with the diocese.

 In the wake of a recent protest against the eviction of a Rochester woman and her family that ended with several arrests, tenants rights activists are pushing for a universal eviction moratorium.

One of the people arrested was New York state Assembly member Demond Meeks. Meeks' arrest was captured live on Facebook while he filmed officers at the eviction of Clianda Florence Yarde from her Glasgow Street apartment. 

To help with community education and equitable vaccine distribution, Monroe County leaders have announced a COVID-19 vaccination task force. 

The task force will collaborate with community leaders and organizations to share accurate information as more vaccines are made available.

Dr. Nancy Bennett, director of the Center for Community Health and Prevention, and Wade Norwood, CEO of Common Ground Health, will help lead the efforts alongside county health commissioner Dr. Michael Mendoza.

 Although Majestic Hair Design is open for business, owner Debbie Wise hasn’t spent much of the week doing hair at the Irondequoit salon.

Instead, she has been screening calls on behalf of Catholic Family Services, helping people who are applying for rental assistance through the Eviction Prevention Pilot Initiative. 

More than 2,000 people were tested for the coronavirus in Monroe County this past week, and city officials want to keep up the momentum.

The United Way of Greater Rochester is looking for volunteers to assist with testing at four Rochester high schools.

The free, rapid tests are happening through the end of the month at East, Wilson, Franklin and Jefferson high schools.

Lisle Coleman is a program associate for the United Way, and she said volunteers have been essential in helping to double the number of people tested.

The coronavirus pandemic has delayed plans for a partnership to provide recreational sports opportunities for people with disabilities in western New York.

In March, Rochester Accessible Adventures partnered with Greater Buffalo Adaptive Sports to form the Western New York Adaptive Inclusion Collaborative. The goal of the collaborative is to develop a regional adaptive and inclusive sports system.

Recent U.S. census data shows a decrease in both Rochester’s child poverty rate and overall poverty rate.

The data, taken over a four and a half year period  from the start of 2015 to the end of 2019, shows that the child poverty rate dropped from 51% to just over 47%, meaning nearly 22,000 children living in Rochester are in poverty.

The new data was compiled by the Rochester Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative, the city of Rochester and ACT Rochester.