Max Schulte

About 20 activists gathered outside the Hotel Cadillac on Wednesday calling for the hotel to be converted to permanent housing for people who are without stable housing in Rochester.

“You got people in wheelchairs living on the street. That’s not fair! That’s not right!” said John Jones, 71, who is staying at the House of Mercy homeless shelter. “It hurts when you can’t do nothing about it. It hurts, you understand? We’re asking the state to give us the opportunity to get somewhere to get people to live. It’s a lot of rooms up here, y’all.”

After a fairly slow early voting period, Monroe County Board of Elections commissioners are hoping for a larger turnout during Tuesday’s primary.

According to the board, 5,142 voters participated in the 10-day early voting period.

Republican Elections Commissioner Lisa Nicolay said she was disappointed that more voters did not participate in early voting, but she predicts traditional voters will show up on Tuesday.

The thunderstorms that rolled through the area Monday afternoon brought down trees and power lines, leaving thousands of people without electricity.

Hundreds of people protested outside the Federal Building on State Street in Rochester Wednesday afternoon in support of Palestinians injured during the recent increase in violence in the Middle East.

One of the protesters, Basem Ashkar, called on U.S. politicians to stop supporting Israel.

Basem Ashkar speaks outside the Rochester Federal Building during a protest Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/DEtlF5JDxo

The decision by a grand jury not to indict Rochester Police officers involved in the incident last March that eventually led to the death of Daniel Prude brought hundreds of protesters to different parts of the city on Tuesday night.

It started with speeches by activists and a gathering on Jefferson Avenue, where so many other protests started out last year. Jefferson Avenue is where Prude was pinned to the pavement by police after they responded to the reports of a man acting erratically. Prude suffocated after being held down by officers, and he died a week later.

Hundreds of people lined up Wednesday at the Dome Arena in Henrietta, one of the state-run sites where COVID-19 vaccinations are being given.

Marianne Gustafson was among those waiting to get her shot, and when it was done, she said she was very glad she had signed up.

“It was great, everything went smoothly," Gustafson said. "I had absolutely no trouble, they’re very organized, lots and lots of volunteers, and I’m thrilled to be here on day 1 getting my vaccination for the first time.”  

Several hundred people will be heading over to one of  the new rapid testing sites for COVID-19 in Monroe County on Tuesday and Wednesday evening this week.

It’s taking place at the Irondequoit Department of Public Works, and the slots set aside for testing have all been filled, but officials are hoping to be able to do more testing in the coming weeks.

Bob Kiley is Commissioner of Public Works in Irondequoit. He said that  setting up for this week’s testing has been a challenge, but it’s gratifying that they can provide that service.

A rally was held at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park in downtown Rochester Wednesday afternoon, part of a nationwide effort called Protect the Results.

Similar events are happening in dozens of cities this week, organized by a coalition of grassroots organizations, advocacy groups and labor unions, who say they are concerned President Donald Trump is trying to undermine the results of the election.

Dan Maloney, president of the Rochester Labor Council and Rochester and Genesee Valley Area Labor Federation, spoke at the rally.

Voter turnout in Monroe County was just shy of 74% as of 8 p.m., according to the county Board of Elections, a figure that would put the county on pace to eclipse the highest general election turnout in many years but fall short of the record.

County elections officials issued the following numbers:

Early voting has been consistently busy in Livingston County, with wait times of about 30 minutes, said Democratic Elections Commissioner Dave DiPasquale. 

He said just over 1,000 people voted early last year. This year, the county surpassed that total in less than three days. He said the busiest day so far was Wednesday, when nearly 800 people voted.