Senator Charles Schumer is urging the Environmental Protection Agency to exempt new fire hydrants from a reduced-lead drinking water law.

The EPA recently included fire hydrants to the measure two months ago in an effort to lower the number of lead poisoning cases.

That means all new and stored hydrants must be retrofitted or replaced by January 4th to meet requirements.

Rochester Mayor Tom Richards has sent a letter to Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks as well as members of the county legislature criticizing some new charges that will affect the city.

Richards says there are several new or enhanced service charges in the proposed 2014 county budget that would be burdensome to city taxpayers.

They include doubling the contracted amount the city pays to house prisoners who have not been arraigned, and a first time charge for the cost of maintaining traffic lights that the county had assumed back in 1971.

Consumer confidence numbers for New York State in November showed some improvement. That according to the latest Siena College survey which shows the rate of the increase in the state is better  than the nation as a whole. But pollster Doug Lonnstrom says the improvement is really due mostly to the fact that October saw  really low consumer confidence numbers.

Alternatives for Battered Women CEO Jaime Saunders says a dozen boxes filled to the brim with toys were delivered to St. John's and St. Mark's Episcopal Church.

Some 80 families will receive gifts this holiday season through the Adopt-a-Family program in conjunction with city police and fire departments, and the faith community.

Saunders says toys have been collected through the "Purple Box Toy Drive," and those gifts can bring a feeling of normalcy to domestic violence victims, who often arrive at ABW shelters with very little.

One of the most controversial recommendations in Governor Cuomo’s anti-corruption commission report released this week is to enact public financing of campaigns for statewide elections.

The majority of the 25 Moreland Act Commissioners say a public campaign finance system modeled on New York City’s matching donor system is the only way to curb the undue influence of big money donors in state government.

A search has formally begun to choose the next Dean of the Eastman School of Music. Former Dean Doug Lowry died in October, after a battle with cancer. He had been dean for six years.

The President of the University of Rochester, Joel Seligman, says the search for a successor may look at candidates from around the world.

Armed with mobile radar, weather balloons and a specially-equipped aircraft, scientists from around the country are gathering on the shores of Lake Ontario this week to get a better understanding of lake effect snow.
 

About 100 parents, teachers, and other interested area residents came to the WXXI studios Tuesday  night to offer comments and try and get answers about the new Common Core standards. A panel of state education officials that included State Education Commissioner John King, and local state regents Wade Norwood and T. Andrew Brown listened to the comments and tried to address the concerns.

The state officials say  there is work to be done, but they are still focused on moving forward with the new guidelines.

The livestream of WXXI's Common Core Forum begins at 8 p.m. and will broadcast until 9:30 p.m. 

WXXI will host a public forum on the new Common Core standards Tuesday night.  It’s been a hot topic among teachers, parents, administrators and students.

There have been about a dozen forums held around the state to talk about the new educational standards, and another four hosted by public television stations.

The broadcast forum for Rochester is Tuesday night, starting at 8:00 p.m. and running until 9:00 p.m.  and it will be broadcast live on WXXI-TV and simulcast on the radio on  AM 1370 . It will also be on YouTube and at www.wxxinews.org. The web stream will continue for another half-hour from 9:00 to 9:30 p.m.