Justin O'Connor

1 week 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.

3 weeks 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.

1 month 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.

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.

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.