Alex Crichton

New York's Insurance Chairman says lawmakers are moving forward with the implementation of a statewide insurance exchange.

Assemblyman Joe Morelle tells WXXI's Alex Crichton the insurance exchange is being crafted to address the health needs of individuals and businesses.

The PGA Championship at Oak Hill may be more than a year away, but now is the time to register for volunteer opportunities, or to get tickets.

Ryan Cannon, Championship Director for the tournament, is urging people who want to volunteer to register online at pgachampionship.com.

Cannon says golf fans who want tickets should also act quickly and register at pgachampionship.com to get on the list for a ticket pre-sale to get first dibs on tickets before they go on sale to the general public.

In Republican primary elections Tuesday, Manhattan attorney Wendy Long defeated two others, and will face Democratic U-S Senator Kirsten Gillibrand this fall.

She now faces the daunting task of trying to raise millions of dollars and build statewide name recognition by Election Day in November.

Gillibrand, a three-year incumbent, already has about $10 million in campaign cash.

Scott Regan and Alex Crichton preview Monday's happenings at the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival.

You can listen for "Jazz Break" each morning at 8:35 only on WXXI-AM 1370.

Each "Jazz Break" report will be posted online here later that morning.

Click on the audio player above to listen to Jazz break from Monday, June 25, 2012. Monday's complete lineup can be found here.

The Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County will be hosting noon time concerts during the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival.

The lineup features the The Dan White Sextet, Doug Stone, Sean Jefferson Trio, Bob Sneider Trio, and Bill Tiberio Band.

All shows start at noon the Dorris Carlson Reading Gardent at the Bausch and Lomb Library Building on South Avenue.

The shows will go on rain or shine, and rain dates will be held in the Kate Gleason Auditorium, according to the city.

New York ranks fourth in the nation in the number of deaths due to lack of health insurance coverage, according to data compiled by the consumer advocacy group Families USA.

The group says the deaths of 1,200 people each year can be connected to a lack of health insurance coverage.

The high cost of health care is one of the main reasons the uninsured delay going to the doctor, according to Health Policy Analyst Kim Bailey.

A celebration of local craft beers is underway this week in Rochester.

Chris Schultheis is bar manager at the Tap and Mallet and coordinator of Real Beer Week 2012. He says Real Beer Week celebrates a great asset the City of Rochester has: its local craft brewers.

Schultheis says 35 venues are participating in the first year of the event, and another dozen are looking to join in. He says Rochester is blessed with a "thriving pub culture."

Today's high temperatures are expected to climb into the mid-90s in parts of the state, with humidity making it feel even hotter.

The state has issued an Air Quality Health Advisory and health officials are advising you to avoid strenuous outdoor activity

There are ways to cool off:

After extensive testing at LeRoy High School, results show the mysterious illness plaguing more than a dozen students there was not caused by threats from air, water or soil on school grounds.

Students suddenly developed tic-like symptoms earlier this year, the illnesses prompted the environmental tests performed by Leader Professional Services.

President of the company, Michael Rumrill, explains the findings to WXXI's Alex Crichton. 

Budget hearings at Rochester City Hall include a focus on public safety early this week.

City Council members are questioning a number of departments, including Fire and Police, emergency communication and neighborhood and business development.

Rochester Police Chief James Shepard told councilmembers that response times have gone up slightly, due to changes in the number of personnel in the department.