The Newsletter

Past issues · 18

• August 24, 2026Latest

  Rochester hosts the Women's Hall of Fame — first time ever

  The National Women's Hall of Fame has called Seneca Falls home since 1969, but this year the induction ceremony comes to Rochester — and that's not a small thing. Here's who's being honored and what you need to know if you want to be in the room when it happens.

• August 17, 2026

  Roots, ranches, and a tower reborn

  David Anderson spent 96 years ensuring Rochester's story didn't slip away unnoticed. EquiCenter in Mendon just landed $900,000 from New York State to deepen the work it's been quietly doing for decades. And First Federal Plaza — that tower you've looked at a thousand times — is getting a second act. Three stories about what this region holds onto and what it's choosing to become.

• August 10, 2026

  Big energy, mobile care, and a letter from 1872

  This week: New York's most ambitious energy proposal would put a nuclear plant just outside our city — and the details are more complicated than the headlines suggest. Golisano Children's is taking its care on the road, bringing specialists to neighborhoods that don't always make it to the hospital. And a letter Susan B. Anthony wrote to President Grant one week after her arrest just surfaced — and it reads like she already knew exactly how history would judge that moment.

• August 3, 2026

  Know your neighborhoods. Know your beer.

  Some stories are worth coming back to. This week we're surfacing two pieces that hold up no matter when you're reading: a neighborhood-by-neighborhood tour of Rochester for anyone still finding their footing here, and the deeper-than-you'd-think history of how Rochester put cream ale on the American map.

• July 27, 2026

  Two Rochester places worth knowing by heart

  No new articles this week, but two pieces from the archive earned another look. The Genesee Riverway Trail stretches 24 miles through the city and most people only ever use a fraction of it. The Public Market has been Rochester's living room for over a century. Between them, they explain a lot about why people stay.

• July 20, 2026

  Rochester's next big bet is on lasers

  Rochester has always punched above its weight in optics, but the STELLAR Engine designation is something different — it's the federal government placing a national research infrastructure bet on this city. Here's what the award is, who's involved, and why it matters beyond the press release.

• July 13, 2026

  Rochester's skatepark is about to level up

  Roc City Skatepark is already a destination. This fall, it gets significantly bigger. Here's what Phase 2 brings and why it matters for Rochester's skating scene.

• July 6, 2026

  Rochester's zoning code is getting a full rewrite

  Rochester is reworking the rules that shape every neighborhood — what can be built, where, and how dense. This piece walks through what's actually changing in the new zoning code and what it could mean for the streets you live on.

• June 29, 2026

  The city Rochester keeps almost becoming

  Rochester keeps generating the right ingredients — reclaimed land, research output, new housing proposals — and then struggling to convert them into a city people want to stay in. This week we looked at the last buildable parcel on the Inner Loop, why the city leads in patents but can't hold onto its startups, and why the vehicles on your street are statistically deadlier than they were a generation ago. Three different stories, same underlying question.

• June 22, 2026

  Where Rochester gathers in summer

  As summer settles in, two of Rochester’s great shared spaces are worth a fresh look. The Public Market has been the city’s gathering table for generations, and the Genesee Riverway Trail runs 24 miles that most of us only use a fraction of. Both are open invitations — the kind of places that turn a free Saturday into something better.

• June 15, 2026

  A fund worth knowing about — and the beer we invented

  Something practical and something to savor this week. We broke down Rochester's R-Future Fund — what it is, who qualifies, and how to make it grow — so you can tell if it's for you or someone you know. And for a little hometown pride, we traced how the Flower City helped shape American beer through the cream ale.

• June 8, 2026

  Two summer traditions worth showing up for

  Rochester summers are made of moments like these. This week we mapped out how to navigate the Fringe Festival without missing the best of it, and we shined a light on the free Hopeman Carillon concerts — bells rung by hand, picnic welcome, everyone invited.

• June 1, 2026

  Nine days of jazz takes over the East End

  One big one this week: the Rochester International Jazz Festival is back, and we put together the complete guide to all nine days in the East End. Whether you go for the headliners or the free club-pass discoveries, here's how to make the most of it.

• May 25, 2026

  Street food and science — Rochester delivering both

  Two very different stories this week, both very Rochester. One is about showing up on a Wednesday night with a crowd and a hunger for good food. The other is about a team of researchers who may have just changed what's possible for the tiniest patients in our hospitals.

• May 18, 2026

  Rochester is worth exploring right now

  This week we covered the city the way it deserves — on foot and with intention. Rochester Cocktail Revival is back for RCR13. The Genesee Riverway Trail is longer and better than most people realize. The Memorial Art Gallery announced free admission for 2027. And the public art walk is a piece you'll want to bookmark for your next afternoon with nowhere to be.

• May 11, 2026

  A state park in the gorge, a walkout, and the Monroe Theatre

  Three pieces this week that all circle the same thing — Rochester doing what Rochester does. High Falls is finally getting its state park designation. The May Day walkout brought thousands into the streets in a very Rochester way. And the Monroe Theatre is still standing, still waiting, still worth fighting for. This city keeps surprising me.

• April 27, 2026

  Rochester is getting a downtown grocery store, the subway tunnels are still there, and Vision Zero Phase 2 is asking for your input

  Seven pieces this week. The downtown grocery store news is real and worth reading carefully — the details matter. The subway tunnel piece is one of those Rochester stories that surprises people who've lived here for years. And Vision Zero Phase 2 is actively soliciting public input right now, which means this week is a good time to weigh in.

• April 20, 2026

  Traffic cones as organizing strategy, a spatial symphony at Parcel 5, the full Perinton Amphitheater season, and what Rochester needs from Albany

  Four pieces worth your time this week. Reconnect Rochester started with traffic cones and built something real — we told that story. A spatial symphony for hundreds of musicians is coming to Parcel 5 and it is unlike anything else on the Rochester calendar. We put together the most complete guide to the Perinton Amphitheater summer season we have written. And we looked at what Rochester actually needs from Albany this year, and why this budget cycle feels different.