WXXI News

16 hours ago | wxxinews.org | Jeremy Moule |Veronica Volk |Noelle Evans

School board elections and district budget votes are happening on Tuesday, May 20 — and if there’s any lesson from last year, it’s that no outcome is guaranteed. With the lowest voter turnout in half a decade, Rush-Henrietta school district’s budget was initially struck down by 15 votes last year. Then in a special vote, more than twice as many people showed up to weigh in on a revised budget — which passed overwhelmingly.

16 hours ago | wxxinews.org | Jeremy Moule

Food insecurity continues to rise in the Rochester region, according to Foodlink officials and a new report from the anti-hunger group Feeding America. According to Foodlink, the number of requests for food assistance totaled 1.86 million in 2024 across its network of more than 350 food pantries and meal programs, a 40% increase over 2023.

1 day ago | wxxinews.org | Quil Lawrence |Tom Bowman

As many as 9,000 Afghan refugees are at risk of deportation, as the Trump administration has ended the temporary protected status (TPS) that allowed them to stay in the U.S. legally. The White House says their country is no longer dangerous for them, a contention that confounds Afghanistan watchers. "It's a death penalty for them if they return," said Zia Ghafoori, who worked as an interpreter in combat with U.S. Army Special Forces from 2002 to 2014.

2 days ago | wxxinews.org | Hadeel Al-Shalchi |Carrie Kahn

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2 days ago | wxxinews.org | Veronica Volk

Corn Hill Navigation launched its summer season for the Sam Patch and Riverie riverboats with a send-off in Pittsford that included a blessing of the fleet. The May 10 ceremony marked the the nonprofit’s 35th year running boat tours—and a much bigger milestone: the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal. “People come from all over to see the Erie Canal,” said Patrick Russell-Walsh, executive director of the Corn Hill Waterfront and Navigation Foundation. The canal opened to the entire state in 1825.