News across Monroe County
Offering sanctuary through art
An upcoming RoCo exhibit poses questions about immigration and belonging in the United States.

Health care workers join national push to protect immigrant caregivers
Members of 1199SEIU and community allies called on Congress to restore legal protections for immigrant workers and warned that deportations and federal cuts are straining hospitals, nursing homes and home care.
We should not turn a blind eye to littering
Our city is dying, under the weight of thousands of plastic bottles, fast food wrappers, and plastic bags that have been thrown carelessly around the streets. We often discuss large-scale industrial dumping, but we easily overlook another major problem, our daily habit of…

Cornell’s five-year bet on New York hops
Five years and $1.8 million in state money have given the Cornell Hops Breeding Research and Extension Program a chance to develop a variety New York can call its own. But can New York farmers afford to grow hops?

The loan sharks in your pocket
Payday loan apps trap people in long cycles of reborrowing and debt. Enacting the STOP Act would strengthen New York’s ability to enforce the law and prevent its residents from getting fleeced.

Cornell Cooperative Extension program expanding
Acquisition of a van will allow GROWS, an agricultural workforce development initiative, to serve more young adults.

Forty years later, Jet Black Berries go back to the beginning
A remastered version of the Rochester-based band’s first album, “Sundown on Venus,” drops this week.

Should government rethink its wager on sports betting?
Is it a matter of free will or vice? The Beacon’s Counterpoint columnists debate gambling on sports contests.

Nicholson Baker’s portraits of suffering
The acclaimed writer’s drawings of people impacted by the Gaza war are on view at Hinterland Studio.
Monroe County needs to address the housing crisis
The county Legislature should pass the pilot Add-On to the Shelter Allowance proposed by Citizen Action.
Why your electric bill is going up
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which intentionally increases the cost of producing electricity from fossil fuels, is largely hidden from public view.
Program on Sept. 28 focuses on welcoming community for farmworkers
Press Release, Community Coalition for Justice ALBION – “What Does a Welcoming Farm Community Look Like?” That’s the topic Father Joseph Marcoux and other speakers will address, Monday, September 28, at 6:30 p.m. at the Hoag Library in Albion. Father Joseph Marcoux is pastor of…