Justin O'Connor 🌻⛱️

Why an East High teacher accused of raping a student went on to teach elsewhere Edwin Fleming resigned after he was confronted with allegations. No police report was filed, and he went on to teach in six other school districts.

Highly recommend also reading the exceptional 2019 reporting from Steve Orr and Meaghan McDermott that brought to light the shady circumstances surrounding Fleming's resignation from RCSD — after which he went on to work for six local school districts.
www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2...

The plaintiffs' lawyer in each of these Child Victims Act cases gave me a rundown of where they stand — six have been settled, one is open and two have been taken to trial. This is the first finalized judgment amount; the district is liable for $5 million.

A $12.5 million verdict  - Rochester Beacon The first case with a judgment against the Rochester City School District and Edwin Fleming, a former East High School music teacher accused of sexually abusing girls, was decided on Feb. 24.

Story: Last week, there was a $12.5 million civil judgment against the Rochester City School District and Edwin Fleming, the former music department director at East High who's been accused of child sexual abuse in nine cases. Read free below⤵️
rochesterbeacon.com/2025/03/06/a...

i have made a triumphant midwestern homecoming for #NICAR25 ! come say hi :)

hey laura could you dm me real quick by any chance? working on a long story this week tied to immigration enforcement

Judge orders Community Resource Collaborative to be liquidated The Rochester-based nonprofit misused American Rescue Plan Act funding intended for local organizations that help needy families access housing, food, and other essential services.

A judge has ordered the liquidation of Community Resource Collaborative for its misuse of ARPA funds. There are still outstanding questions, like whether CRC has the assets to meet its obligations and whether the for-profits due money will get it. Read my story free below ⤵️

The story also covers the protest this week in Rochester, where the Brooks family first spoke out publicly. It goes into some of the reform demands from activists and overseers, which are more sweeping than the DOCCS reshuffling & funding put forward thus far by Hochul. (3/3).

My new story walks through a key oversight report & two court cases that had already named officers being investigated for Brooks' death as potential abusers, including one officer alleged to be the head of a "beat-up squad" at Marcy. (2/3).

Was the death of an inmate foretold? For years, there were red flags about violence by guards at Marcy Correctional Facility. Had they been heeded, would Robert Brooks still be alive?

Story: Footage of corrections officers beating Robert Brooks before his death Dec. 10 triggered plenty of shocked statements from NYS officials, but red flags about violence by guards at Marcy prison near Utica have been thrown up for years. (1/3).

Read free in the Rochester Beacon ⤵️

This is a CIA document. Gee I wonder if one of the nominees might have worked for the agency...

Back in 1968, a rep from RG&E was int'l president of the Administrative Management Society, which—among other things, I imagine—administered the "Federal Government Paperwork Management Awards" for outstanding leadership in effective... paperwork management.

Rochester City Council passes Good Cause eviction law The law will require most landlords to provide evidence of “good cause” in housing court before they can evict tenants or fail to renew a lease in Rochester.

You can read the story for free here—includes info about how the strong version came to be and the rationale behind some of the councilmembers' votes, along with some painstaking bullet points shoved in at the end covering the specifics.

You can read the story for free here—includes info about how the strong version came to be and the rationale behind some of the councilmembers' votes, along with some painstaking bullet points shoved in at the end covering the specifics.

Rochester City Council just passed Good Cause eviction protections after about six months of deliberations, making the city the largest in NY aside from NYC to adopt the law.

The version passed tonight is the so-called "strong" version of Good Cause. Story forthcoming.

Tentative agreement includes some UR PhD students in potential union vote The decision could allow over 400 students to vote in a prospective union election after being excluded in a previous proposal.

Yesterday, graduate student union organizers at the University of Rochester announced that they have reached a tentative agreement to include over 400 PhD students in their bargaining unit after they were excluded in a university proposal pitched last month. Read free below⤵️

A screenshot of notification center shows eight recent notifications from the Democrat & Chronicle — Rochester, New York's newspaper. Seven of the notifications start with Josh Allen's name.

"Josh Allen" seems to be some kind of sleeper activation phrase for SEO specialists

The Monroe County legislature just unanimously confirmed Dr. Marielena Vélez de Brown as commissioner of public health. She's been serving as acting commissioner since March, when Dr. Mike Mendoza suddenly stepped down from the role.

Her term will run until 2030.

oh wow it's cool that there's people on here now lol

Missing professor Rantakari’s body pulled from Genesee River Tuesday RPD recovered missing professor Heikki Rantakari's body from the Genesee River midday Tuesday.

The body pulled from the Genesee River Tuesday belonged to missing University of Rochester Professor Heikki Rantakari, Simon Business School Dean Sevin Yeltekin just confirmed in an email.

Missing professor Rantakari fell into Genesee River, police say. UR still hasn’t notified students... Professor Heikki Rantakari has been missing since Oct. 21. Police said Friday they found video of him falling from a bridge into the Genesee River.

RPD say they have video showing missing University of Rochester Professor Heikki Rantakari falling in the Genesee River.

UR didn't issue any info to the entire student & faculty body about the situation — even when RPD said he might be in danger.

I spoke with 42 students about how they found out.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie headlines Mel Weekend amid transphobia controversy Despite student pushback over her past comments about trans women, Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie headlined Meliora Weekend on Oct. 7.

Lauded Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie headlined UR's alumni homecoming event, but her invitation was criticized by a coalition of student groups due to her past comments about transgender women

Below is a breakdown of the whole situation.