Justin O'Connor

Rochester

Data Reporter at Rochester Beacon

data reporter @rochesterbeacon ||| email: [email protected] || #DaBears #WhiteSox

Articles

Breaking silence over a Pittsford school incident - Rochester Beacon

2 weeks ago | rochesterbeacon.com | Justin O'Connor

Two Pittsford parents have come forward alleging they faced stonewalling and silencing by the Pittsford Central School District after their daughter’s hair was touched repeatedly by a Barker Road Middle School lunch monitor early last year. Jerome Jean-Gilles and Deepika Singh’s daughter, who is half Black and half Indian, was a seventh grader when the incident occurred in January 2024.
Breaking silence over a Pittsford school incident

2 weeks ago | flipboard.com | Justin O'Connor

20 hours agoThe religious right is headed toward a revolutionary victory in the Supreme CourtThe Court’s Christian right makeover of the Constitution enters its endgame. During an oral argument on Wednesday, the Supreme Court appeared all but certain to divide along party lines in a case that seeks to fundamentally expand the role religion plays in American public schools. This isn’t …6 hours agoNew congressional district gives voice to Black voters in AlabamaMOBILE, Ala.
Wrongfully convicted man seeks $200 million in suit - Rochester Beacon

1 month ago | rochesterbeacon.com | Justin O'Connor

Justice & Public Safety After serving 37 years in state prison for a double homicide conviction that was overturned in late 2023, Michael Rhynes is now seeking $200 million in a lawsuit alleging Monroe County prosecutors and Rochester police conspired to frame him.
For RGRTA, the road ahead looks rough - Rochester Beacon

1 month ago | rochesterbeacon.com | Justin O'Connor

The Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority, which operates the Regional Transit Service, is staring down a growing budget shortfall if the state doesn’t increase subsidies to upstate transit agencies. The agency relies heavily on government subsidies to supplement revenues—especially subsidies from the state government, which are its largest single source of revenue, according to its multiyear budget projection.
A $12.5 million verdict - Rochester Beacon

2 months ago | rochesterbeacon.com | Justin O'Connor

The Rochester City School District and Edwin Fleming, a former East High School music teacher accused of sexually abusing numerous girls decades ago, were hit with a $12.5 million verdict Feb. 24 in the second case against Fleming to go to trial. The jury found Fleming and RCSD liable for damages to the plaintiff, anonymously referred to as BL Doe 4.
Murder charges filed in death of Marcy inmate Brooks - Rochester Beacon

2 months ago | rochesterbeacon.com | Justin O'Connor

Justice & Public Safety Several corrections officers are being arrested and charged with murder in the Dec. 10 death of Robert Brooks, who was beaten while handcuffed at Marcy Correctional Facility, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday.
A direct attack on research funding - Rochester Beacon

2 months ago | rochesterbeacon.com | Justin O'Connor |Smriti Jacob

Ryne Raffaelle spent much of last week in Washington, D.C. His mission, like that of university officials across the country, was to press lawmakers on the need to lift restrictions on National Institutes of Health research funding that the Trump administration is attempting to impose. Then, Raffaelle, vice president of research at Rochester Institute of Technology, returned to Rochester to make a public plea alongside the University of Rochester.
Workers authorize strike at UR Medicine Home Care - Rochester Beacon

Feb 10, 2025 | rochesterbeacon.com | Justin O'Connor

Workers seeking a contract with UR Medicine Home Care have voted overwhelmingly for a three-day strike, their union says. The vote gives the union’s bargaining committee the authority to issue the company a 10-day notice. For nine months, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East and UR Medicine Home Care have been negotiating the first union contract for the company’s 110 professional and clinical home care workers.
A new cloud over Li-Cycle - Rochester Beacon

Feb 6, 2025 | rochesterbeacon.com | Justin O'Connor

With its nearly $1 billion Rochester Hub project on a construction pause as the company works on financing, Li-Cycle Holdings Corp.’s support for aspects of a presidential executive order that may end electric vehicle subsidies and federal climate regulation could be a harbinger of even more challenges for the project. Toronto-based Li-Cycle recovers critical minerals from lithium-ion batteries and reintroduces them to the supply chain.
United Farm Workers secures first contract in New York - Rochester Beacon

Jan 30, 2025 | rochesterbeacon.com | Justin O'Connor

United Farm Workers, the California-based union co-created by Cesar Chavez, secured its first contract in New York Thursday after years of organizing and amid a major legal battle. UFW secured a three-year deal for agricultural workers at Cahoon Farms in Wolcott after the union was certified in December 2022.