12:00: Assemblymember Josh Jensen on the State of the State address
1:00: Rochester crime falls; regional nursing home capacity falls; Bills fall to Broncos
We continue our discussions with lawmakers about Governor Kathy Hochul's State of the State address. This hour, Assemblymember Josh Jensen joins us in the studio. He explains his legislative priorities, as well as his take on the governor's proposals related to child care funding, affordability, local economic development investments, and more. In studio:
- Assemblymember Josh Jensen, District 134
Then in our second hour, we're joined by public media reporter colleagues to explore some of the top stories in our region this week. First, new data shows most, if not all, categories of crime fell in the city of Rochester in 2025. WXXI News' Gino Fanelli explains what the data means. Then, there are fewer beds available in nursing homes across the nation, and as WXXI News' Racquel Stephen reports, the decrease has been more striking in the Finger Lakes region. She joins us to discuss what this means for patients and families, nursing home staff, and hospital systems in our area. We end the week with a phrase..."Go Bills!" Bills fans have been up in arms since Saturday's loss against the Broncos. From a controversial call to owner Terry Pegula's decision to fire head coach Sean McDermott, fans have thoughts. We break it all down with longtime sports journalist Scott Pitoniak and multimedia reporter Alex Simone from Buffalo Toronto Public Media. Our guests:
- Gino Fanelli, investigations and City Hall reporter for WXXI News
- Racquel Stephen, health, equity, and community reporter and producer for WXXI News
- Scott Pitoniak, best-selling author, nationally honored journalist, and longtime sportswriter
- Alex Simone, multimedia reporter for Buffalo Toronto Public Media
"Connections with Evan Dawson" is livestreamed each day on the WXXI News YouTube channel. Watch here.
