Connections

Alastair Bruce, OBE, historian for Downton Abbey, was our guest on 1370 Connection to talk about his role on the PBS series Downton Abbey which airs on WXXI-TV.

Bruce will share more about his experience with the show during a special luncheon on November 26.

Long time listeners, frequent callers, guests, fill-in hosts, and elected officials all paid tribute longtime 1370 Connection host Bob Smith during a two-hour tribute to him on Wednesday. Elissa Orlando and Jeanne Fisher hosted the tribute which you can listen to here if you missed Wednesday's tribute show.

If you would like to send a message to Bob Smith, please address your note to: 

WXXI

c/o Bob Smith

PO Box 30021

Rochester, NY 14603

"I'm bored!" may be an exclamation you hear from your kids this summer. If you're looking for something to do, listen to our interview with Debra Ross, Rochester editor and publisher of KidsOutAndAbout.com, about ideas to cure summer boredom.

Cheryl Strayed is the author of the best-selling memoir Wild and the advice collection Tiny Beautiful Things. Strayed visited Rochester Thursday to speak at a SUNY Brockport event, and she visited WXXI for an interview on 1370 Connection with host Scott Fybush. 

New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says so far, so good in describing the economic health of the state at this point in the budget year.

DiNapoli was in Rochester Tuesday to highlight seed money investments the state employee pension fund is making in businesses across the state to help foster growth and create jobs.

In an appearance on WXXI's 1370 Connection, DiNapoli said the best way to describe the outlook for the state balance sheet is cautious optimism about the state's prospects.

Rochester City Council begins discussion of Mayor Tom Richards’ budget proposal this week.

City Council Finance Chair Carolee Conklin spoke with WXXI’s Bob Smith about the city budget in including the impact of Albany’s budgeting and policies, and the obligations the city has to help funding public education.

Click on the audio player above to listen to a portion of the interview from Tuesday’s 1370 Connection.

One of the most active journalists covering the story of natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale Region says it's become controversial partly because of a spotty environmental record for the industry, and partly because of a lack of openness on the part of gas drilling firms about what they're doing and how they're doing it.