Edgewater Resources failed to meet the city's deadline to secure financing. That project is dead.

That's right.
The development featuring a hotel, condos and boutiques at the Port of Rochester always hinged on Edgewater Resources securing the funding to complete the project. That was always stated by the city.
The Charlatans were too busy working themselves into a frenzy the last few years to be able to remember that.
They were having too much fun making asses of themselves to come up with a development plan of their own.
Today, when Edgewater asked for an additional nine months to secure funding, the city said "no."
That spells an end to this particular development plan, but it does not mean there is an end for plans to develop Charlotte.
The city will seek other development partners to redecorate the Port of Rochester, preferably partners with enough money to see it through.
The Charlatans ought to remember that if they are getting festive tonight.
It isn't over yet, not by a long shot.

Update: The little black bear was caught up a tree at RIT.

The little black bear that has caused such an uproar of media interest was caught today. He had been roaming Rochester's suburbs for a few days.
He was caught up a tree on the grounds of Rochester Institute of Technology and brought down with an anaesthetizing dart.
Branches on the tree broke his fall, and he will be sent back to the forests.
The bear's age was estimated at one year old, little more than a cub.
No deaths or injuries have been attributed to the little black bear during his hike.
On the other hand, the murderous thugs that roam Rochester's ghetto streets have not been caught yet.
But then, thugs look exactly like the people they prey upon.
Ironic, isn't it?

There's a little black bear roaming the suburbs. Big deal.

That's right.
A little black bear has been spotted in two of Rochester's suburbs over the last two days.
In the mean time, little thugs have been shooting and killing each other in the city of Rochester for years. In the last three days, there have been three shootings on Hague Street alone.
That doesn't count the shooting murder near School 54 last week, or the stabbing on Emerson Street this weekend, or those from the previous week.
Those locations are within spitting distance of each other, and are the usual venues for such activity on Rochester's west side.
It is also near Lyell Avenue, Prostitution Central of Rochester, New York.
But that is a different blog.
Ultimately, the little black bear will be cornered, anaesthetized and released in some forest in the Southern Tier from whence it came.
The little thugs might be caught, spend a little time behind bars and then turned loose into the neighborhoods where they do their drug deals, shootings and killings.
Political correctness requires it, so there is absolutely nothing that anyone can do about them, except perhaps hope that they all kill each other off.
I am less frightened of a little black bear in my backyard than I am of the little thugs that roam our streets.
Besides being dangerous, they're a bloody fucking embarrassment. Except to their mommas, daddies and baby mommas.

The gay massacre in Orlando: Don't blame a whole religion because of a few nuts.

That's right.
There are plenty of Fundamentalist Christians floating around out there who believe that all gays should be killed or converted to heterosexuality. Or that they should go back into their closets and hide.
All religions are oppressive by nature, demanding obedience to outmoded beliefs and behavior patterns, promising heaven in return.
Heaven, of course, is an unseen and unknown place that good people go to after they die if they've followed the dictates of their religious leaders.
Frequently, religion works hand in hand with politics and the state to impose oppressive beliefs on the rank and file, condemning them to hell and/or prison for objecting to these controls. This is a deadly combination from which even the United States is not immune.
On the other hand, many good people object to the violence, cruelty and fear that organized religions institutionalize for their survival. They are generally harmless, although sympathetic on occasion, and unwilling to protest too loudly out of fear of retribution.
It's the oddball extremists who raise the bar on cruelty, like Omar Mateen.
Mateen was American born, though of Muslim descent. He also had a history of trouble, and had been scrutinized by the FBI for some time.
That didn't prevent him from getting an assault weapon by legal means, which suggests that the people who oversee such purchases need more stringent guidelines.
Which would piss off devoted gun lovers who see such restrictions as a violation of their constitutional rights.
Like that Sarah Palin bitch.
The FBI has come up with some half-hearted explanations as to why their surveillance of Mateen didn't prevent him from legally purchasing a military assault weapon. Perhaps they were hoping that he would lead them to bigger fish to fry than Mateen alone.
Then, oops.
As for the massacre, Mateen worked alone. He was upset by the sight of two men kissing some days before and decided to commit a "propaganda of the deed" action that left more than fifty people dead.
He probably knew that he wouldn't survive, but what did that matter? He was willing to pay the supreme price to strike a blow against people that he felt had no right to live.
Plenty of Fundamentalist Christian extremists feel the same way.
Most Muslims, like most Christians and most Jews, are not an evil lot. They want to left alone to practice their religions in peace and quiet, whatever their inclinations toward the gay community.
It's the extremist nuts who kill and make trouble for the rest of them that are to be feared.
Unfortunately, many people are too stupid, hateful and fearful to understand that.

A gambling casino in downtown Rochester? The real reasons to be concerned.

I don't care if people gamble or not.
Most people do, whether by playing the lottery or the football pools offered by most bars in the city.
I don't care if people choose to bankrupt themselves as a result of gambling. It isn't government's function to protect people from their own stupidity, although some bleeding heart liberals feel that it is.
As for a gambling casino in downtown Rochester, that is a different matter.
The way I understand it, gambling casinos in New York State are only permitted on Native American soil. Land in downtown Rochester designated for a casino would have to be ceded back to whichever Indian Nation claims jurisdiction here.
Sovereign Native American territory is not subject to usual taxation, so the city, state and federal governments would not be able to impose taxes on it that other businesses are subject to paying.
That is a problem for the rest of us taxpayers who will have to take up the slack.
Casinos in New York State are self contained. Besides gambling, they offer restaurants, entertainment, boutiques and hotel accommodations. This will not benefit the other businesses downtown.
The City of Niagara Falls, USA has not benefitted from the existence of a casino there. It remains a city in decay and Rochester should pay heed to that less than shining example.
The only benefit a casino in downtown Rochester will bring is jobs, which won't make up for the loss in tax revenue.
Of course, the promoters of a casino argue that we could negotiate all of that with whichever Indian Nation will own it.
Negotiating with the Indian Reservations that sell items like cigarettes and gasoline tax free hasn't worked so far, so why do people think this will be any different?
If a gambling casino opened in downtown Rochester that was subject to the usual property and sales taxes that the rest of us are, I'd say "Hell yes, go on with it."
Not that I'd patronize it.
Lotto, football pools and penny ante poker are good enough for me.

There go da judge: Astacio doesn't want a jury trial in fighting her DWI arrest.

That's right.
Judge Leticia Astacio doesn't want to be tried by a jury of her peers in fighting her DWI arrest.
Astacio's arrest occurred on Saturday, February 13. She has already pleaded "not guilty" to a misdemeanor DWI charge in March and had her license suspended.
You might want to scroll down and see my previous blogs on the subject.
The case is already being treated as "special" with a change of venue from the City of
Rochester. Canandaigua City Court Judge Stephen Aronson will be deciding on the validity of the arrest at a bench trial in August, to avoid what the D&C has described as a conflict of interest.
Nobody has explained exactly how trying Astacio in the Rochester courts would constitute a conflict of interest, especially since Canandaigua receives the Rochester D&C and is aware of the facts that our local newsrag has chosen to make public.
Simply put, Astacio does not want to be subjected to the same legal process that is deemed good enough for the rest of us. She doesn't trust the judgment of the people. She knows them too well.

At the same time, her legal problems will continue to be a subject of media scrutiny and public amusement.

It's a pity that Leonard Redon and Charlie Benincasa didn't pull this stunt and ask for a change of venue when they were picked up for DWI.
But then, they were smart enough to take their lumps and put it behind them.
Unlike Astacio.