Arts & Life

Did you get to see it? The Rochester area and much of the U.S. was treated to a partial solar eclipse at sunrise Thursday morning, when 78% of the sun was obscured by the moon, creating a crescent sunrise effect.

Astronomy fans gathered at several locations around greater Rochester to watch through eclipse glasses and filters.

Dan Schneiderman of the Rochester Museum & Science Center organized a viewing party at Martin Road Park in Henrietta that drew a surprisingly big crowd.

Norman Jones is old enough to remember the Inner Loop being built more than half a century ago.

“I have a clear memory of that machinery,” Jones said. “When you’re 4, 5, 6 years old, and you see big trucks and the excavators, you go, ‘Wow.’ When you see it all moved around, you just thought it was the coolest thing, and probably everyone else thought it was the coolest thing.”

The 63-year-old commissioner of the city Department of Environmental Services keeps two outsized frames hanging on the wall of the agency’s conference room at City Hall that act as his guides when he considers the future of the sunken expressway.

We're joined by two more candidates for Rochester City School Board. It's our fourth and final discussion with candidates in this race prior to the primary on June 22.

Incumbent and current board vice president Cynthia Elliott and educator and activist Clianda Florence-Yarde join us to discuss their platforms and priorities for the district.

Our guests:

• Cynthia Elliott
• Clianda Florence-Yarde
  

We talk with two more candidates for Rochester City School Board. Nine candidates are vying for three open seats on the board. Our goal is to talk to all of the candidates before the primary on June 22.

This hour, we hear from Joshua Bauroth and Tatiana Welch about their platforms and priorities for the district. Our guests:

• Joshua Bauroth
• Tatiana Welch
  

We're joined by the great Michael Lasser, longtime host of Fascinatin’ Rhythm on WXXI Radio. Lasser has been at the helm of the nationally syndicated show for more than 40 years. His work as earned him a loyal audience and a coveted George Foster Peabody Award. As reported by WXXI's Jeff Spevak, "jurors said his program was a vivid example of what a listener described as 'radio essays with songs used as illustrations.'” Lasser has decided to retire, with June 26 being the final broadcast of his program.

This hour, we sit down with him and with the program's original producer, Marianne Carberry, to talk about the many years of the show, its music, the social history of that music, and more. Our guests:

• Michael Lasser, host of Fascinatin’ Rhythm, author, teacher, and theater critic
• Marianne Carberry, original producer of Fascinatin’ Rhythm, and program host for Classical 91.5. FM