LeShea Agnew

The debate over the legalization of medical marijuana is still a "smoking" issue. In a recent poll by Siena College, voters weighed in and 57 % support the proposal.

According to the poll, 2/3 of New York voters say they're paying close attention to the debate.

Dr. Don Levy is the Director of the Research Institute. He says more than 700 voters were polled.

"There was no single group that stood out saying 'Hey, wait a minute.' We know the arguments against it and the concerns about it being effectively regulated. But when presented with just the issues, a simple thumbs up or a thumbs down, New Yorkers feel there's a way to do it," says Levy.

Monroe County's Executive and the County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency have donated funds to keep a job training program for students up and running. The program trains high school students for a career in construction.

17 year old Jose and nine other high school students are building a house off of Planet street in Rochester.

They're part of the Robert Brown School of Construction and they've been building this house from the ground up for the past two years.

"When you start building, there's nothing. Absolutely nothing. But with your skills and the help of other students you can build something...a house or anything other than a house," says Jose.

University of Rochester scientists are gearing up to test a new vaccine designed to stop the norovirus, the microbe behind most cases of what people commonly call the stomach flu.

The U.S. government is keeping a close eye on the vaccine's test study as well. The symptoms include nausea, abdominal cramps and vomiting. The illness usually only lasts a day or two but affects more than 20 million Americans each year.

Dr. John Treanor is chief of the Infectious Disease Division at the University of Rochester. He says the norovirus can be temporarily disabling, which can pose a major threat to the country's defense system.

This weekend, the moon will perform an impressive visual illusion...it will "appear" to be much bigger and brighter than usual.

This optical illusion is called a 'supermoon,' when the full moon's peak coincides with its closest approach to the Earth's orbit. The moon will come within 221,802 thousand miles from the Earth. The last supermoon was in March of 2011. WXXI's LeShea Agnew spoke with Steve Fentress, Planetarium Director at the Rochester Museum and Science Center.
 

Some anti-poverty groups are criticizing both Houses of Congress for seeking to cut funding for food stamp programs in this year's Farm Bill. 

Every 5 years Congress takes a fresh look at the Farm Bill. But groups are saying it appears Congress is only looking for ways to cut programs, not enhance them.

Mark Dunlea is with Hunger Action Network of New York State. He says Congress must establish a food system that will support programs to consistently combat poverty and help low-income families gain more access to healthier foods.

"We have a food system from the Farm Bill that subsidizes unhealthy food choices, particularly corn which is turned into corn syrup and sugar. And soy, which is turned into fat," says Dunlea.

According to a new report by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, more than 2,000  children in New York were abused or neglected in 2010.

Monroe County's District Attorney Sandra Doorley says more than 200 children were abused every day during that year around the state but in Monroe County, thousands of cases go undocumented. She adds, most abused children grow up to become abusers themselves.

“77,000  children are abused every year. 77,000...that’s enough to fill Madison Square Garden three times over,” says Doorley.

Rural/Metro Medical Services is teaming up with the Rochester Police Department to equip parents with free home drug tests. Officials say it's an early intervention effort to prevent teen drug use.

April 20th, more commonly referred to as "four-twenty" by teens, is an underground holiday called National Weed Day or National Get High Day. The Rochester Police Department is handing out free home drug test kits to parents who either suspect their child is using drugs or may participate in "four-twenty."

Thomas Bonfiglio is the General Manager of Rural Metro Medical Services. He says his teams respond to at least three calls a day related to an overdose and many of those calls are from kids 10 to 2o years old.

Monroe County is participating in a statewide recruiting effort for firefighters at a time when the number of volunteer firefighters in New York has declined for the past five years.

There are approximately 88,000 volunteer firefighters in New York State. That sounds like a large number but last year, there were more than 100,000.

According to Monroe County Fire Coordinator Sam DeRosa, local numbers dropped from 3400 last year to 2800 this year.

DeRosa says it costs the state $5,000 to $6,000 per volunteer to provide them with the appropriate customized gear for the job.

The RecruitNY initiative begins this Saturday and more than a dozen fire departments will hold open houses around the county. 

Excellus BlueCross BlueShield has named Christopher Booth new chief executive officer of the health plan and its parent corporation The Lifetime Healthcare Companies.

Booth succeeds David Klein, who retires at the end of the year.

Excellus spokesman Jim Redmond says the company expects this will be a seamless transition as Booth has been with Excellus since 2004 and was named President in March of 2011.