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39+ min ago (325+ words) Rochester, N.Y. (WHAM) " City Hall lit a giant menorah Monday to kick off the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. The city's tradition dates back some 40 years, but the holiday itself goes back millennia. Mayor Malik Evans said the public illumination is to showcase light driving out darkness. "We cannot let those who seek to divide us, that seek to traffic in division and hate, we cannot let that stop our light from shining," Evans said. The celebration came with heavy hearts, as Evans talked about growing trends of antisemitism across the United States and abroad. Sunday's mass shooting in Sydney, Australia was fresh on attendees' minds. Rabbi Nechemia Vogel from Chabad Lubavitch of Rochester was simply stunned. The deaths took a personal toll for Vogel. He knows the family of the rabbi who organized the celebration on Bondi Beach. "I knew his…...

4+ hour, 6+ min ago (214+ words) Rochester Regional Health will use a $15 million state grant to upgrade its cybersecurity systems and protect patient care from growing digital threats. The funding comes from New York State's Statewide Health Care Facility Transformation Program and was announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul last week. Officials say the money will support systemwide hardware and technology upgrades across the health system. Health care systems nationwide continue to face rising cyber threats, including ransomware attacks and data breaches. Rochester Regional Health said these incidents can delay care, compromise patient privacy, and pull resources away from frontline services. "Health systems across the country are navigating significant financial headwinds while simultaneously facing a growing number of cyber threats from those who seek to steal patient data, launch ransomware attacks, and disrupt critical care," said Richard "Chip" Davis, PhD, CEO of Rochester Regional Health. Davis said…...

5+ hour, 41+ min ago (249+ words) Map courtesy of" the MPCA. ST. PAUL, Minn. " The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) plans to add three sites to the state's Permanent List of Priorities to address contamination concerns. The sites include Dison's Cleaners and Launderers in Rochester, a former dry cleaner site in St. Paul at Selby Avenue and Grotto Street North, and Electronic Industries in New Hope. Each site poses risks due to contamination, with no responsible party available to conduct cleanups. The two former dry-cleaning sites could pose vapor intrusion and groundwater risks from the solvent tetrachloroethylene (PCE, PERC) and trichloroethylene (TCE). The former manufacturing and metal plating site, Electronic Industries, had a TCE release from an underground storage tank that caused soil, soil vapor, and groundwater contamination. The MPCA has been actively investigating these sites. At Dison's Cleaners, a vapor mitigation system was installed, and…...

6+ hour, 25+ min ago (114+ words) Updated on: December 15, 2025 / 11:12 AM EST / CBS New York The New York Jets fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks one day after getting thumped 48-20 by the Jacksonville Jaguars, head coach Aaron Glenn said." Glenn said during his Monday morning news conference that defensive backs/pass game coordinator Chris Harris will take over Wilks' coaching duties." Glenn hired Wilks, whose coaching career started in 1995, in February in one of his first moves as head coach of the Jets. New York fell to 3-11 on the season following the loss in Jacksonville. Through Week 15, the team is one of five allowing"at least 28 points per game."...

8+ hour, 54+ min ago (460+ words) More than two years since the city moved to preserve the last cobblestone house in Rochester " and nearly a year since taking ownership " the property remains boarded, and no plan exists for what to do with the historic structure. It's unclear how much it would cost to remediate the issues in the building enough to make it usable. Kyle Crandall, president of the Beechwood Neighborhood Association, said so long as the building is under ownership of the city, he is hopeful that it has a future at some point. "There's a lot of ideas that are being tossed around, a lot of brainstorming," Crandall said. "We actually think it's a good thing that the city has acquisition to it, because then we can actually try to work together as a community, as well as the city, on preserving that building…...

11+ hour, 6+ min ago (357+ words) Proposed location of new Rochester sports and recreation complex." Image courtesy of the City of Rochester. ROCHESTER, Minn. - Mayor Kim Norton has vetoed the nearly $52 million that was approved for the Rochester sports and recreation complex. In the December 8th meeting, the city council approved the motion with a vote of 5 to 2." Councilmembers Dan Doering and Nick Miller voted no." Over $24 million was earmarked for purchasing materials for the project, while nearly $28 million was to go to Knutson Construction. In the mayor's veto letter, she said she believed the project had misled the community into thinking it would be an indoor/outdoor facility, which was later revealed to be an outdoor-only endeavor." Mayor Norton suggested delaying the project in order to collect more sales tax revenue and further plan for the indoor/outdoor aspects of the project. The issue will be…...

11+ hour, 18+ min ago (568+ words) ROCHESTER, N.Y. " Rochester's Jewish community is mourning the lives lost in the mass shooting at Australia's Bondi Beach. Authorities say two gunmen opened fire during a Hanukkah celebration, killing 15 people, including a child, in an antisemitic terrorist attack. The Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester released a statement, saying it's horrified by the attack and that security is a top priority as people celebrate Hanukkah locally. In the past, the Brighton and Rochester police departments have stepped up security at synagogues during Jewish holidays. We've reached out to local police to learn about their plan to keep people safe as they celebrate Hanukkah, which began at sundown on Sunday and ends at sundown on Monday, Dec. 22. Hanukkah celebrations in the Rochester area on Monday Hanukkah celebrates the victory of light over darkness. The Chabad says celebrating Hanukkah will help to honor those…...

12+ hour, 22+ min ago (214+ words) A former teacher at Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School was convicted of rape last week in Plymouth Superior Court, prosecutors said. Andre Arsenault, 37, of Marion, was convicted of nine counts of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or over, one count of assault with intent to rape, and one count of rape after a three-day jury trial and a day of deliberations, Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz "s office said. "In October 2022, a former student of Arsenault's came forward to Rochester Police and informed investigators she had been groomed and victimized by her Culinary Art teacher while in high school," prosecutors said in a statement. "The victim reported inappropriate behavior from Arsenault dating back to 2018 which ultimately culminated in his victimization of her." The abuse took place between 2021 and 2022, prosecutors said. Arsenault is scheduled to be sentenced…...

15+ hour, 35+ min ago (529+ words) Trey Songz appeared in court on Sunday after allegedly punching a nightclub employee in New York in early December. Trey Songz was arrested in New York City earlier this month following an alleged altercation at a Manhattan nightclub " and the trouble didn't end there. On Sunday, Dec. 14, the 41-year-old R&B star appeared in court, where he was arraigned on an assault charge stemming from the late-night brawl at Dramma nightclub, the New York Post reported. According to the outlet, prosecutors allege Songz punched a club employee in the face after being told that he and his group needed to leave as the venue was closing. The incident reportedly took place in the wee hours of Thursday, Dec. 4. According to prosecutors, the employee approached Songz, born Tremaine Neverson, to inform him the club was shutting down, at which point Songz…...

21+ hour, 29+ min ago (412+ words) The New York Mets and Jorge Polanco have agreed to a two-year, $40 million contract, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan and The Athletic's Will Sammon. He is expected to mainly serve as a first baseman and designated hitter, as long-time Met Pete Alonso recently agreed to a five-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles. Polanco could also play third or second base for New York when needed. Polanco made his MLB debut with the Twins at the age of 20 in 2014. He remained with Minnesota through the 2023 season before being traded to the Mariners for right-handed pitchers Justin Topa, Anthony DeSclafani and Darren Bowen and highly-regarded outfield prospectGabriel Gonzalez. Polanco played in just five games with the Twins in 2014, then played in just four in 2015. Then, the infielder played in 69 games in 2016 before becoming a full-time starter in 2017, playing in 133 games that season....