The Debrief Podcast

When was the last time you went to the movie theater? Theaters were forced to close along with most other businesses, and not allowed to reopen until it was safe to do so amid the Coronavirus Pandemic.  Jason Yantz, who runs Rochester Theater Management with his brother, says original expectation for reopening was mid-July as part of 'Phase 4'. RTM operates four locations in Auburn, Canandaig...

New York Coalition for Open Government President Paul Wolf says a reform of open meetings law in the Empire State is desperately needed. There are states that have better models -- Massachusetts as an example grants authority to the AG's office to investigate and reprimand in cases of negligence by elected officials. The concept is simple: Violate open meetings law and deal with consequences. But...

The Canandaigua Emergency Squad is the busiest 911 response center in Ontario County, and has served it for more than 80 years.  Chief Matt Sproul says his team responds to more than 6,000 calls for service per year in a coverage area that includes the towns of Canandaigua, Hopewell, Gorham, Bristol and East Bloomfield, and the village of Bloomfield.  As an independent not-for-profit com...

"Teachers love to teach, and that's what they want to do," Zielinski said during a conversation with FingerLakes1.com. He says that for the volume of concerns that have been raised about reopening -- as well as learning models -- administrators and teachers alike are ready. And the first day of school is here. Our Back To School series continues with the leader from the South Seneca Central School...

It starts and ends with relationships. That is the takeaway we were left with from our conversation with Dr. Tim Terranova, superintendent of the Victor Central School District.  "Education starts and ends with relationships," he explained during a conversation on The Debrief's deep dive into school reopening plans. "Reopening will be a test of relationship building and strengthening. If we c...

There are a lot of ways to reopen schools in the middle of a pandemic. You can go fully-remote, like Auburn, institute hybrid models like Marcus Whitman or Seneca Falls, and plan for almost everything.  However, we're learning that the size of a district plays a large role in its ability to bring students back. Even as calls for all schools to resume quote-unquote normal education -- leaders...

Auburn Enlarged City School District Superintendent Jeff Pirozzolo says the last several weeks have been tough. In late-August the district had to make the difficult decision to take learning fully-remote this fall. Pirozzolo says a phased-in approach to resuming in-person learning via a hybrid model will allow the district to learn what it needs to as students return to class for the first time s...

While there have been a lot of concerns raised about the prospect of students and faculty going back to school this fall -- we are just a couple weeks away from a return to learning. Students around the region will learn in a variety of ways this fall -- and we're catching up with leaders from around the region -- discussing those plans.  Today, a conversation with Karen Hall, who is a princi...

Days from now students, faculty, and support staff head back to school for the first time since mid-March, when the Coronavirus Pandemic forced shut down of all facilities. Throughout the summer districts have been working on plans to make educating students effective, while simultaneously dealing with the health and safety implications of the Novel Coronavirus. Doug Jones is a teacher in the Sene...

What happens over the next several weeks will likely play a big role in what the extended fall- and winter- months will look like in the Finger Lakes. Schools are back in session, college campuses are welcoming back students, and businesses are trying more than ever to make a go of things. This week on The Weekend Debrief, Ted Baker and Josh Durso break down the biggest headlines from the last two...

Ute Ritz-Deutch, the area coordinator for Amnesty International USA for New York state also sits on the steering committee for the Tompkins County Immigration Rights Coalition.  Deutch, who hosts the Human Rights and Social Justice Program on WRFI Community Radio speaks about the current situation that immigrants face at the federal level and how the TCIRC seeks to correct issues of mistreatm...

Summer is quickly drawing to a close, and as people in the Greater Rochester and Finger Lakes region look forward to the fall - one of the biggest questions - if not about a potential second wave - has to do with the amount of economic recovery that's taken place so far. Last week The Rochester Beacon published an in-depth look at the state of the regional economy . In just a couple weeks K-12 stu...

Ken Wolkin, a master’s student at the University of Washington’s Department of Geography has been following FingerLakes1.com’s extensive coverage ever since the start of the rekindling Cayuga Nation land dispute. This summer, Wolkin drove cross-country from Seattle to Seneca Falls just to see the infamous site along State Route 89 where ten properties stood on Cayuga Nation territory. Upon the rui...

Economic development in New York State is complicated. There are things called Industrial Development Agencies involved who work to entice prospective and existing businesses to build or expand. There are usually tax incentives, which are complicated and receive a lot of public scrutiny. But the most fundamental responsibility of an IDA is to sell the community they represent. Effectively saying,...

Earlier this summer the Seneca Falls Police Department rolled out a new program in collaboration with Seneca County Mental Health and Finger Lakes C-PEP. It put tablets in the hands of law enforcement for the purpose of connecting the community with mental health services. Specifically, when officers are dispatched to scenes where mental health comes into play.  Mental health advocates have b...

As soon as the Seneca Nation heard about the coronavirus, non-essential staff were sent home and a COVID-19 response taskforce comprising of several stakeholders had been swiftly formed. The Nation with its sprawling five territories in Allegany, Buffalo, Cattaraugus, Oil Spring and Niagara has combatted the coronavirus across their entire reservation. Jason Corwin, the executive director of the S...

Two brothers born and raised in Canandaigua speak about Haudenosaunee, also known as the Six Nations on their podcast with guests that openly include Indigenous voices and perspectives on the show about the history, folklore, politics, and culture of these peoples. Andrew Cotter, co-host of the Iroquois History and Legends Podcast joins the Daily Debrief to discuss their podcast and the history be...

Two current Wells College student and close friends helped coordinate the Rally for Black Lives, Seneca Falls’ first public demonstration since the death of George Floyd while being held in police custody in Minneapolis. Idalis Abad, a woman of color has been even targeted this Wednesday with a death threat directed to her while preparing for this Saturday’s proceedings.  “I’ve been dealing w...

What has it been like at the Montezuma Audubon Center in Savannah, Wayne County? It has been busy, and that is a great thing for Chris Lejewski, who serves as center director. He was in-studio last week previewing some exciting events coming up at the center, and the ways in which families can get out and enjoy the outdoors. The Center is a short drive from many places in the Finger Lakes, which m...

Have you ever dreamt of becoming a falconry master? Today on the Daily Debrief, Joseph Therrein, the head of the Special Licenses Unit for the Division Fish & Wildlife at the Department of Environmental Conservation brings us soaring through the skies to show us what it takes to become a falconer here in New York state.

Governor Andrew Cuomo is content with speaking to his track record surrounding the nursing home situation, but some state lawmakers are not, including Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt [R-62] – who joins the Daily Debrief, airing his concerns ahead of August public hearings on the subject. Still, there are numerous unanswered questions left outstanding regarding handling of COVID-19 at nursing ho...

What sports will return this fall? Will school bounce back like federal officials want it to? And how about enforcement of mask policies? This week we're tackling the biggest headlines and questions -- COVID-related and otherwise -- from the FL1 Newsroom. 

Today on The Weekend Debrief we catch up with the reporter who broke the news on FingerLakes1.com that Tully Environmental would be withdrawing it's application to build a sewer sludge composting facility in Butler, Wayne County. Peter Mantius' Water Front Online has been focusing on environmental issues in Upstate New York for years, bolstering his audience along the way. We also catch up with hi...

From asymptomatic to dead. As our investigation into Elm Manor Rehabilitation and Nursing continues, another personal story from a former resident's daughter. Officials at the nursing home told Christina Miller than her father Ralph had contracted COVID-19, but was asymptomatic. She called the facility herself hours after finding out -- only to learn that her father had died.

It was 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 21st when Harold Perryman of Shortsville called Elm Manor Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Canandaigua. Each morning he would call-in to wish his wife Beatrice, “Bea” good morning as she would start her own day – but that didn’t happen on this particular occasion. Instead of hearing her voice, the phone kept ringing. It rang. It rang. It rang, and no answer. H...