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| WV Hope Scholarship moves to quarterly funding schedule - NewsBreak |
| Posted on Tuesday, March 10 @ 00:02:07 PDT (9 reads) | |
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By cameron gunnoe ,
1 hours ago
charleston, wv (wvns) – state leaders said new changes to the hope scholarship program will have economic benefits for west virginians.
wife of teacher who died after prank-gone-wrong doesn’t want teens prosecuted, she says more than 10,000 students take advantage of the state-funded program each year, according to data from the west virginia treasurer’s office. Legislators proposed several adjustments to the program during the most recent legislative session.
lawmakers have approved a change to how funding is issued to recipients.
“we’re doing a really good job as far as promoting hope scholarship and also asking for just a few minor changes,” west virginia treasurer, larry pack told 59news. “Most of it will people will get paid four times a year instead of two times a year. It really helps the state budget and takes a little pressure off the program.”
registration opens march 9 for gear up swv 2026 summer camps lawmakers also approved changes to open up the hope scholarship program to all k-12 students in the state. This has opened the program for private and homeschooled students along with public school students. 59news spoke with local college counselors who said if you have any questions about scholarships or admissions, you can always stop by and talk to a staff member.
“all those resources combine into one decision at the end of the year. No matter if they have already picked out their school and are still in high school or if they make that decision later in the summer,” said wvu tech admissions counselor, david maiolo. “You might have a lot of different questions about that process, so it’s definitely good for them to be able to come and talk to us. Even if they’re looking at other schools in or out of the state.”
the hope scholarship was established to expand education opportunities for eligible west virginia students. With universal eligibility now in place, treasurer pack stated that he expects to see a significant increase in the number of students assisted through the program.
copyright 2026 nexstar media, inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to wvns.
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| Legacy Of Imbeciles: Corpus Christi Careens Toward Water-Shortage Catastrophe | |
| Posted on Tuesday, March 10 @ 00:02:07 PDT (9 reads) | |
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“legacy of imbeciles”: corpus christi careens toward water-shortage catastrophe
submitted by dylan baddour via inside climate news (emphasis ours),
the imminent depletion of water supplies in corpus christi threatens to cut off the flow of jet fuel to texas airports and other oil exports from one of the nation’s largest petroleum ports, triggering potential shockwaves through energy markets in texas and beyond.
without significant rainfall, corpus christi is headed for a “water emergency” within months and total depletion of the system next year, according to the city’s website.
“the impacts are going to be felt tremendously through the state, if not internationally,” said sean strawbridge, former ceo of the port of corpus christi authority, the nation’s top port for crude oil exports, in a 40-minute interview thursday. “This should be no surprise to anybody. We were talking about this over a decade ago.”
other current and former officials, alarmed at what they call a lack of preparations, have suggested the potential for an economic crisis involving mass layoffs, disruption of fuel supplies and billions of dollars in emergency spending to avoid an evacuation of the city.
strawbridge, who now lives in houston, laid the blame on city leaders, citing “their lack of experience, their lack of knowledge, their lack of recognizing the risks” in a bumbling, decade-long endeavor to build a large seawater desalination plant that would veer the region off its clear course towards calamity.
“they’ve found themselves in quite a dire predicament as a result of those poor decisions,” strawbridge said. “Time is up.”
a spokesperson for corpus christi mayor paulette guajardo declined interview requests, citing “prior commitments,” and did not respond to follow-up questions. City manager peter zanoni also did not respond to questions. Instead, corpus christi public information manager robert gonzales provided an emailed statement.
“the water shortage in the coastal bend is the result of a historic five-year drought,” it said. “Currently, the city of corpus christi has $1 billion in city council-approved and funded water projects underway to address our water needs. The city remains committed to ensuring water security for the more than 500,000 residents and our commercial and industrial customers.”
depletion of this region’s reservoirs would lead to “controlled depression” for the local economy, “mass unemployment” and “industrial total shutdown,” according to a two-page report by don roach, former assistant general manager of the san patricio municipal water district, which supplies many of the region’s large industrial water users.
that includes refineries operated by flint hills resources, valero and citgo that provide jet fuel to texas airports and meet much of the state’s daily demand for gasoline.
“this waiting disaster is under the radar for the rest of the state,” said roach, who worked 20 years at the water district and retired in 2014. “We hear nothing from the texas politicians about the seriousness of the situation or any state plan to mitigate it.”
he no longer had access to current water data and contracts, he stressed, but produced the report based on his own knowledge. It said the costs of trucking in emergency water “would bankrupt many local small businesses and low-income households” while state emergency managers would need billions of dollars to “build emergency temporary pipelines or subsidize desalination barge rentals to prevent a total evacuation of the city.”
strawbridge, a former director of the port of long beach, said roach’s assessment was “spot on.”
“no time to panic”
zanoni, the city manager who has overseen corpus christi’s descent toward water depletion since 2019 and receives a $400,000 salary, rejected notions of imminent disaster during a press conference thursday, when lake corpus christi, one of the city’s main reservoirs, dropped below 10 percent. The press conference took place three days after inside climate news asked the city for comment about the impending water crisis.
“i think we are going to get through this,” he told tv cameras as he stood before the dwindling remnants of the lake. “We have confidence in what we’re doing. This is no time to panic.”
zanoni, who holds a master’s of public administration from florida state university, said the city had “worked tirelessly over the past months to bring everything that we humanly and possibly could to forego what could be this supply and demand issue.”
“now we’re going to focus, with the city council and the region, on being prepared in case supply doesn’t meet demand,” he said.
“the best-case scenario, that assumes some level of rain, has this lake here going to about the early fall,” said zanoni, who indicated that the summer months would give the city enough time to boot up its portfolio of new groundwater water projects..”
james dodson, a former director of corpus christi’s water department who retired this year as a private consultant and was involved in several of those projects, disagreed. He said residents and officials “are crazy not to be panicking.”
“it’s the very worst scenario that i’ve ever seen,” said dodson, who oversaw a historic expansion of corpus christi’s water supply in the 1990s. “It’s going to be an economic disaster.”
for years, he said, the city dismissed repeated opportunities to develop groundwater import projects as it maintained a singular and fruitless focus on desalination. That includes projects that the city only recently scrambled to get started. Dodson doubted any will materialize in time.
“they’ve been kicking the can down the road for a long time and they’ve finally run out of road,” said a current regional water official who requested anonymity to preserve a working relationship with the city. “They’re looking at projects to do that they should have done five, six, seven years ago.”
the last hope to avert disaster, the official said, was a 20- to 30-inch rainfall.
“it would basically have to be a hurricane,” he said.
a spokesperson for texas gov. Greg abbott, andrew mahaleris, didn’t address specific comments about an impending water catastrophe or disruption of the state economy. In an emailed statement, he said: “corpus christi is an important economic driver not only for texas but also the nation. The state of texas has made significant investments into ensuring the corpus christi area has the water resources it needs to serve citizens and industry alike.”
he added that the governor “will continue working with the legislature to ensure texans have a safe, reliable water supply for the next fifty years.”
“i wouldn’t say that it’s a disaster”
mere months remain, according to corpus christi’s online water dashboard, until the city enters a “level 1 emergency,” which begins 180 days from projected depletion of water supplies. Functional failure of the water system, or “dead pool,” will occur before total depletion.
in a level one water emergency, the city’s plans call for an immediate 25 percent curtailment of water consumption. But city planners are only beginning to discuss what that would even look like and still haven’t determined how they would implement it.
“we can’t close and open everyone’s valves,” said nick winkelmann, chief operating officer of corpus christi water, in an interview at city hall last week. “One way to enact water restrictions is through pricing.”
the region’s largest industrial users, which collectively consume the majority of the region’s water, remain exempt from emergency curtailment. These multi-billion-dollar refineries, petrochemical plants and liquified natural gas facilities are built to run at a steady rate and can’t simply throttle down production in accordance with water availability. They consume large volumes of water primarily in cooling towers to prevent excessive heating and explosions.
the city also may enact across-the-board, pro-rata curtailment at will, said winkelmann, who assumed his role last september when the city’s former water director, drew molly, resigned days before the city council pulled the plug on its long-running desalination project. “That will have an effect on all our customers.”
for years, local business leaders insisted desalination was corpus christi’s key to overcoming the water limitations that had historically plagued it on this semi-arid coastline. Massive desalination plants, the first of their kind in texas, were supposed to kick off an era of abundant water, financial prosperity and limitless economic expansion.
instead, the plan drove this region to the precipice of ruin.
“it has not gone as smoothly as it should have,” said bob paulison, a member of the texas chemistry council, director of the coastal bend industries association and architect of the desalination project. “There are a lot of reasons for why that happened.”
he said he worked on desalination for 12 years, but the projects got bogged down by political fights, administrative processes, the covid pandemic and “a tug of war which has resulted in very slow progress.”
“i wouldn’t say that it’s a disaster,” he said of the current situation, expressing faith that the city would complete new water projects before supplies run out. It was “too early” to assess when that could happen, he said.
presented with roach’s report, paulison expressed a longstanding respect for the veteran water manager and said, “it looks like it’s very dire, more dire than we’ve been looking at.”
“we’re relying on the model that the city has put together,” paulison said.
regarding a potential shutdown of the entire refining and petrochemical complex, he said, “that could certainly shut down at some point, but we don’t see that happening in the early stages.”
asked about plans to develop alternative jet fuel supplies for texas airports in the case of a shutdown, paulison said, “i’m sure that someone somewhere is working on that.”
charles mcconnell, a former assistant energy secretary with the obama administration, wondered why concrete plans hadn’t been prepared.
“did it take them all the way to yesterday to figure out they’re going to run out by the end of the year?” He said. “That’s pretty pathetic.”
mcconnell, who now teaches at the university of houston, doubted that a shutdown of corpus christi’s industrial sector would have acute or long-lasting impacts beyond texas. New producers would fill the gap, while new pipelines and supply chains would bypass the city.
“it’s a surprise to me that none of those refineries and industries down there have their own desal plants,” said mcconnell, who worked 31 years for the chemical manufacturer praxair in houston. “They’re using municipal water, for christ’s sake!”
rapid expansion followed the shale boom
the roots of this situation stretch back more than a decade, to the period of rapid downstream industrial expansion that followed the shale revolution in the oilfields of texas. Strawbridge joined the port of corpus christi authority in 2015, as a surge of major industrial projects sought to build in the area. Even then, strawbridge said, everyone knew corpus christi needed more water.
in january 2016, abbott traveled to israel, where he toured the world’s largest seawater desalination plant and met with israeli officials to discuss desalination.
later that year, an industry group called h2o4texas, with sponsors including dow, chevron and marathon oil, hosted an event in corpus christi.
“they were basically saying because of the growth in the coastal bend, we were gonna need desalination,” said isabel araiza, then a professor at texas a&m university-corpus christi, who attended the event.
that was the first that araiza, a corpus christi native with a ph.D. From boston university, had heard of desalination. She said she was at the meeting for a different reason, finding it strange how many business and political leaders were there.
the oil and gas industry wanted to build enormous projects in the region, processing oil and gas from texas’ shale fields into myriad fuels, chemicals and plastics before loading them onto tankers for export.
in march 2017, then-city manager margie rose sent a letter to exxonmobil, the world’s largest private oil company, that said, “because the city aggressively protects water resources for the future by implementing a matrix of supply strategies, we feel that we have sufficient water supplies to meet your needs.”
six days later, the city requested funding from the texas water development board to study the feasibility and do preliminary design of a seawater desalination plant.
around that time, strawbridge said, “it became very clear to the port authority that there was a difference of opinions as to how much water was available and how much would be needed to continue to attract large industrial investors.”
“the city felt that it had enough water to last, based on its forecast, until 2040,” strawbridge said. “We, the port authority, had a very different view of what that demand curve looked like.”
that’s when the port began developing plans for its own desalination plant, he said.
in 2018, a new, interim city manager, keith selman, promised another large volume of water to steel dynamics, which then built a steel mill in the area.
the emerging solution: four desalination plants
that same year, corpus christi created a program exempting the region’s largest industrial water users from water curtailment restrictions during drought for a fee of $0.25 per 1,000 gallons. The city said it would use the money to fund the development of a new water source. The city’s water reservoirs were two thirds full at the time.
in 2019, the city’s staff presented the city council with a plan to build a seawater desalination facility. Exxon had taken up the city’s offer for water and planned to build a massive plastics plant called gulf coast growth ventures in partnership with saudi arabia’s national oil company. It would be the largest water user in the region, consuming as much as all city residents combined.
“large increases in water demand are projected to occur in 2022,” said a presentation authored by paulison and given to the city council by then-assistant city manager mark van vleck. “To meet expected water demand, we need to move forward with the procurement of a seawater desalination plant now.”
the plant would produce 10 million gallons per day, cost $140 million and take two years to build, the presentation said. It needed to begin supplying water by the start of 2023. The city council voted unanimously to move forward.
by 2020 the size of the proposed plant had doubled. “We were recognizing that we’re going to need more water,” said ronald barrera, a city council member who has served since 2018. “If we want to expand our economy, then we have to recognize that’s the way to go.”
as the scale of the situation came into focus, the city proposed a second desalination plant, and the port also proposed two.
sounding the alarm
that’s when encarnacion serna, a retired chemical plant operations manager, found out about plans for one of those plants just up the shore from his waterfront home on corpus christi bay.
serna, an engineer who had worked on reverse osmosis water systems for valero and occidental chemical, reviewed the project’s application. What he saw, he said, astounded him: flimsy assumptions, unrealistic estimates and missing information.
a facility of that scale, he knew, would require railcars full of pretreatment chemicals, create a mountain of sludge waste every day and consume a tremendous amount of electricity. But he didn’t see serious plans for any of that, he said.
he dug deeper into the desalination boom and quickly saw what was going on: politicians and businessmen had oversold their water supply, he said, and were scrambling for more as shortages approached. But none of them had any idea what they were doing, serna remembered thinking as he reviewed the applications.
“i’ve been trying since 2020 to let them know how catastrophic this is going to be,” he said in an interview at his home. “They’ve acted with a profound ignorance.”
serna, a father of four who worked his whole life at chemical plants in texas, didn’t think any of the proposals would produce as much freshwater as projected, come online as quickly as expected or cost as little as any of the applications stated. These were not going to solve the crisis that officials had teed up, he believed.
in calls, emails and public comments to city and port officials, serna raised the alarm at what he saw unfolding. He felt brushed off and soon stopped receiving responses.
serna knew that chemical plants and refineries can’t just throttle down water consumption at will. The multi-billion-dollar facilities are meant to operate consistently at a steady state with a set inflow of water. Changing that balance raised risks of explosions. The whole region was skidding toward catastrophe, serna thought at the time, with no realistic solution in sight.
in 2022, gulf coast growth ventures, the exxon-saudi partnership, began to draw water while the desalination facility meant to supply it still didn’t even exist on paper.
strawbridge, then ceo of the port of corpus christi authority, insisted a private desalination operator should build and run a large facility that could sell its water to the city. But the city wanted to operate its own. Strawbridge considered the location of the city’s project unsuitable. Both sides said the other took steps to undermine the project.
meanwhile, veteran local scientists rejected environmental studies from developers claiming the massive discharge of brine from the plants wouldn’t turn the coastal bays and estuaries into hypersaline wastelands.
“i’ve read the engineering studies,” said paul montagna, an endowed chair at the harte institute for gulf of mexico studies at texas a&m university in corpus christi, in a 2022 interview with inside climate news. “And i just don’t get it.”
environmentalists organized against the plants. Araiza, the college professor who attended the first desalination meeting, had become a leader among groups that were fighting desalination as a means to resist the onslaught of petrochemical projects in their area, which they saw as wealthy, outside interests swooping in to hijack their resources, institutions and environment.
“they really thought it was just going to be a yes,” she said from her office at del mar college, beneath a poster of che guevara. “I think we helped slow things down.”
barrera, the city council member, started to feel uneasy as controversy and constant turnover on the council seemed to leave them unable to push the project forward.
“i’ve been accused of being a fearmonger,” he said in an interview at his office in downtown corpus christi. “Now everybody’s scared.”
it all falls apart
strawbridge took an entourage of about 30 texas lawmakers, businessmen and lobbyists to israel in november 2022 to visit desalination facilities “to see that it is possible to solve for our water issues,” he said.
strawbridge encouraged the lawmakers to support the port’s development of a private desalination plant, which he said was urgently needed to cover for the failures of the city. But he drew public outrage from city officials when he applied for state funding for a facility that struck them as a competitor to theirs.
strawbridge said the trip to israel ultimately led the texas lawmakers to pass legislation in 2023 that created the state’s $1 billion water fund.
but the trip, not disclosed to the public at the time, ultimately ignited a scandal that led to strawbridge’s resignation when an investigation by kris 6 revealed that the port, which is not a taxing entity, spent more than $200,000 taking the crew to israel. The station described “a pattern of lavish spending” on that trip and in prior port activities.
strawbridge earned $750,000 in the prior year and had expensed an average of $10,000 per month on food and alcohol, including parties. One day later, strawbridge resigned, but maintained that all expenses were incurred properly through his work representing the port.
in an interview, he characterized the report and scandal as “a hit job” by political opponents and “an effort to hasten my departure from the port.”
“they used the expenses from the israel trip as a basis for smearing my good name, although the trip ultimately proved fortuitous for the state and its water funding,” strawbridge said. “Ultimately an independent audit of the previous five years of my expenses found absolutely no irregularities or departures from policy. But of course that wasn’t covered by kris 6.”
that year, 2023, was the hottest on record in texas. Water levels in corpus christi reservoirs continued to plummet as the drought intensified. Desalination had moved to the center of corpus christi’s public conversation. Local politicians spoke for or against it while activists flocked to city council meetings and permit hearings.
“blessed be the environmentalists,” said serna, the retired engineer. “But 90 percent of them don’t know what the hell they’re talking about.”
in january 2024, corpus christi city council produced a new cost estimate for its proposed desalination plant of about $550 million to produce 30 million gallons of freshwater per day.
“these numbers are ridiculously low, fraudulent and deceitful,” wrote serna in an email to city officials.
by that time, serna was angry. The subject line of his email read: “the legacy of the imbeciles.”
where was the city even getting this cost estimate from, he asked, if it “does not have engineering and construction drawings.”
“all the city has at this time are deficits and bills incurred by lunatics in the millions of dollars already spent in the pursuit of this scam project with nothing tangible on hand yet,” serna wrote.
later that year, a new cost estimate put the project at nearly $760 million. Another estimate, in july 2025, said $1.2 billion.
two months later, corpus christi city council, dominated by newly elected members and unable to stomach the cost, voted to cancel the project after a rancorous, 12-hour public meeting that broke repeatedly into yelling from the audience. By then, the port of corpus christi authority also handed off one of its desalination projects to the nearby nueces river authority and mothballed another.
corpus christi city leaders expressed optimism over plans to quickly pipe in groundwater from the evangeline aquifer about 20 miles away. But when users of that water, like the small city of sinton, requested in february 2026 that an administrative law judge review corpus christi’s groundwater permits, hope faded for a timely solution, other than hurricane-scale rainfall.
“let the shit hit the fan,” said serna. “Let dog eat dog.”
what does he think will happen to corpus christi? In time, he said, the refineries and chemical plants will probably build their own water projects, somehow, and possibly restart their facilities that they will have to mothball in the meantime.
for residents, he said, life might be like it used to be for him, 70 years ago, as a boy in the rio grande valley, when he would hang plastic jugs on mesquite branches and carry them on his shoulder to ask nearby companies for water.
“this is the legacy of the imbeciles,” he said.
tyler durden
mon, 03/09/2026 – 21:25 |
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| Gov. Landry calls for more school voucher money, judicial overhaul to open legis |
| Posted on Tuesday, March 10 @ 00:02:07 PDT (10 reads) | |
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Gov. Jeff landry is calling for the louisiana legislature to double funding for his private school voucher program and take action to hold “incompetent” judges accountable.
landry used his annual state of the state speech, given monday on the first day of the regular legislative session, to pitch his agenda.
also in his sights this year are more state dollars for workforce development programs, eliminating the state income tax, overhauling the orleans parish judiciary and creating a new, cheaper vehicle inspection sticker.
landry’s proposed budget calls for increasing spending on his la gator program, the central plank of his education platform, to $88 million. For more than a decade, a comparable school voucher program has placed 5,600 students from low-income families in private schools. The additional money the governor is seeking would add another 4,000 to 5,000 students, according to the landry administration.
louisiana senate president cameron henry, r-metairie, led efforts to block a similar request last year from the governor. He has questioned the wisdom of the expense without evidence that it results in better outcomes for students.
“it’s not whether you support gator or not,” henry said. “It’s not whether or not you support a program taking kids from a failing school and putting them in a good school … it’s whether that’s what the program actually does, and can you afford to do it?”
landry is also seeking increased funding for the mj foster promise program, which provides financial aid for students to pursue an associate degree or short-term credential in a high-demand occupation.
the state spends approximately $300 million on tops, which funds four-year degrees, but just $6 million on vocational and technical students, according to the governor. He called that a significant imbalance, adding that only “30% of new jobs were are creating” in louisiana require a four-year degree.
“this is not about choosing one path over another,” landry said. “It’s about respecting every path that leads to work and opportunity.”
landry’s proposed budget requests an additional $14.5 million for the program.
sen. Royce duplessis and rep. Shaun mena, both new orleans democrats, said they support the governor’s idea to expand the mj foster program, noting that four-year college degrees aren’t necessary to get a well-paying career.
“overall, the issues he chose to highlight are ones we all want to address,” duplessis said. “We just might have some differences in how to do that.”
as he seeks more funding for his education priorities, landry also supports legislation to phase out the state income tax, a primary way state government is funded. Based on the most recent figures from the state revenue department, individual income taxes accounted for 36% of louisiana’s revenue in fiscal year 2023-24. When the corporate income tax revenue was added, the share climbed to 43% two years ago.
“i just don’t see why he’s pushing that so much,” duplessis said about eliminating the state income tax, noting that the proposal isn’t all that popular with senate democrats or republicans.
last year was the first under louisiana’s new flat income tax, which dropped the rate to 3% for individuals across all incomes and 5.5% for businesses. As of december, the state’s revenue estimating committee calculated the state anticipated a $217 million increase in its take despite the lower income tax rates
henry said it may be feasible to lower the tax further.
“we have focused on controlling our expenses this year so that next year we can just lower [the tax] half-percent … which is about a half billion dollars.”
the governor emphasized to lawmakers that his proposed $46.9 billion budget is down from $50 million a year ago.
landry also put the orleans parish judiciary in his crosshairs, criticizing its criminal court judges.
the governor specifically mentioned the 2024 murder of jacob carter, a tacoma, washington, man who was killed while on vacation in new orleans. His murderer, malik cornelius, was a 16-year-old and under court supervision for drug and weapon charges at the time carter was slain. The court contract that covered cornelius’ ankle monitor expired, landry said.
“incompetence has no place on the bench,” the governor said.
cornelius, who was tried as an adult, pleaded guilty to manslaughter last year and sentenced to 26 years in prison.
multiple bills propose substantial changes to the orleans parish judicial system, which is unique in the state in that it has separate courts for civil and criminal cases.
state rep. Dixon mcmakin, r-baton rouge, has authored a bill that would combine the courts. A proposed constitutional amendment by sen. Jay morris, r-west monroe, would reduce the number of district judges in the consolidated orleans parish court from 14 to 12.
landry said the state’s cost to support the orleans court system is double what it spends in the largest parish, east baton rouge, which has 15 district judges.
but new orleans legislators point out that crime in the city has declined and argue that getting rid of judges is not the best way to continue that momentum.
“we don’t want to unwind the system to the detriment of the criminal justice system,” sen. Gary carter, d-new orleans, told wvue-tv fox 8.
lawmakers will also consider a constitutional amendment, also sponsored by morris, that would give the governor the ability to suspend or remove elected judges and prosecutors with the support of the two-thirds of the louisiana senate.
critics have noted that giving the governor the ability to remove elected officials might be unconstitutional.
another cause the governor said he supports is replacing state vehicle inspection stickers with qr codes that police could scan to find information about a vehicle and its owner. The plan would lower the price from $10 per vehicle to $6 per vehicle.
lawmakers have rejected proposals in the past that would have done away with inspection stickers entirely over concerns of how to replace the funding they provide to louisiana state police.
wesley muller contributed to this report
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| Scholarships, leadership training initiatives, and student online seminars - His |
| Posted on Tuesday, March 10 @ 00:02:07 PDT (9 reads) | |
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The hispanic association of colleges and universities (hacu) has announced that applications for this year’s capital one launchpad close march 16.
the legacy & leadership program will offer 50 college students from hacu-member institutions an immersive development journey from july 13-17, 2026.
last summer, students from educational institutions across the country participated in a five-day immersion experience at the capital one headquarters in virginia.
the 2025 launchpad: legacy & leadership program equipped high-achieving students with the personal, professional, and technical skills necessary to excel in competitive industries.
hacu and the thurgood marshall college fund brought the students together.
during the program, students worked closely with capital one mentors, who guided them in preparing for a final capstone presentation to conclude the week’s activities.
participants also had the opportunity to network with capital one recruiters, associates, and current interns, as well as attend fireside chats with capital one executives.
on march 19, hacu will host a webinar titled, “a case study in building student agency and opportunity,” for hacu-members.
hacu has also announced that applications are open for the e. Kika de la garza fellowship program, which is designed for faculty, staff or administrators employed at hispanic-serving institutions or hispanic-serving school districts. The application deadline is march 23.
hacu will host a webinar titled, “equitizing career mobility – a case study in building student agency and opportunity,” for hacu-members, on march 19, 2026, at 2:00 p.M. Ct.
register today![Https://t.Co/svmru4trak][pic.Twitter.Com/dzm9v57yib]— hacu (@hacunews)
[march 3, 2026]
applications are open for the usda e. Kika de la garza fellowship program, for faculty, staff or administrators employed at hispanic-serving institutions or hispanic-serving school districts. Application deadline is march 23, 2026.
[https://t.Co/sjiovex6v6][pic.Twitter.Com/xhyyyfrawt]— hacu (@hacunews)
[february 26, 2026]
the u.S. Army corps of engineers has been tasked with…
brown and caldwell, a leading environmental engineering and construction firm,…
humboldt state university, one of four campuses within the california… |
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| Ground Troops, Airstrikes, and Displacement: No Guarantee of Safety in Lebanon W |
| Posted on Tuesday, March 10 @ 00:02:07 PDT (9 reads) | |
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the aftermath of an israeli air and ground attack on nabi chit, lebanon. March 7, 2026. Photo by adri salido/getty images.
beirut, lebanon—for several nights, walaa raya had barely slept. The 32-year-old lay awake in her home in the village of tamnin al-tahta in eastern lebanon’s bekaa valley, listening to the roar of warplanes and refreshing the news updates on her phone, waiting for the warning that might force her family to flee. Israel had dramatically escalated its war on lebanon over the past week, and she feared that if she dozed off, she might miss a displacement order.
shortly after midnight on friday, the sounds overhead grew louder. Fighter jets and drones circled the sky, and soon raya began hearing helicopters. Then came a strange popping noise that sounded like fireworks.
confusion quickly spread through the village’s whatsapp groups. Some messages claimed the helicopters belonged to the lebanese army and were evacuating wounded soldiers. Others warned that israeli troops were attempting to invade the area.
panic set in. Flares lit up the sky as the lebanese army responded to what it had identified as an israeli military incursion. Moments later, the sound of fierce clashes broke through the night — bursts of gunfire followed by a wave of airstrikes. At around 2 a.M., The sky finally fell silent.
in the hours that followed, details of what transpired began to emerge.
israeli forces had launched an operation on the nearby town of nabi chit with helicopters and ground troops that it claimed was to retrieve the remains of israeli soldier ron arad, who disappeared in lebanon four decades ago. Lebanese army commander rodolphe haykal said in a statement that the israeli commando unit involved in the operation disguised themselves in uniforms that resemble the lebanese army’s and moved through the area using ambulances marked with the insignia of hezbollah’s islamic health organization.
hezbollah said in a statement its fighters “observed the infiltration of four israeli enemy army helicopters from the syrian direction.” Hezbollah fighters alongside local residents fought back against the israeli incursion, engaging in a fierce gunbattle. Israeli troops were eventually forced to withdraw as warplanes and helicopter gunships fired 40 strikes on the area. At least 41 people were killed, including at least three lebanese army soldiers and one member of the general security directorate, according to lebanon’s national news agency. The israeli military reported no casualties.
footage from a mass funeral the following day showed crowds weeping around dozens of coffins and raising their fists in defiance. Since the attack, raya said residents of tamnin al-tahta have begun leaving, fearing their village could be next.
“i lived through 2006 and i lived through the war in 2024, but the conditions today are harder than everything that happened in the past 25 years,” raya told drop site news. She said she had purchased a plane ticket to istanbul, where lebanese citizens can stay for one month on a visa.
the raid on nabi chit was one of the deadliest attacks on lebanon by the israeli military since march 2, when it began heavily bombarding southern and eastern lebanon, and the capital beirut, in response to hezbollah firing a barrage of rockets into israel. The group said the strike was meant to avenge the killing of iranian supreme leader ali khamenei and respond to israel’s continued attacks and occupation of territory in southern lebanon.
since the escalation began last week, israeli attacks have killed at least 486 people in lebanon—including 83 children—and wounded more than 1,313 others, according to lebanon’s health ministry. “On average, more than 10 children have been killed every day across lebanon over the past week, with approximately 36 children injured each day,” unicef said in a statement.
sweeping displacement orders issued by the israeli military have forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. After ordering everyone south of the litani river to flee north on march 4, the israeli military issued a displacement order for all of beirut’s southern suburb of dahiye—home to approximately 700,000 people—causing panic and traffic jams across the capital. Evacuation orders have also been issued for parts of the bekaa valley.
more than 517,000 people have been officially registered as displaced, according to lebanon’s ministry of social affairs, with many now taking refuge in schools and sports arenas that have been converted into shelters. The international rescue committee and unicef estimate the total number of displaced since last week at over 700,000.
“this time, it’s more about the orders instead of the bombing,” said mohanad haj ali, deputy director for research at the malcolm h. Kerr carnegie middle east center in beirut. “They’re more focused on the collective punishment of the shia populace and putting pressure on the lebanese government.”
the renewed fighting follows a fragile ceasefire reached after 66 days of intense combat in late 2024 between israel and hezbollah. Under the agreement, israel would halt its attacks if hezbollah ceased military operations south of the litani river. According to the united nations, however, israel has violated the agreement more than 15,000 times, including at least 1,500 incursions into lebanese territory, and killed over 340 people.
hezbollah’s escalation last week increased pressure on the lebanese government to confront the group directly. Following the rocket attacks, lebanese prime minister nawaf salam declared the group’s military operations “illegal” and imposed a ban on its security and military activities.
hezbollah has largely ignored the government’s orders and continued resistance attacks, conducting drone strikes and firing anti-tank missiles. On friday, hezbollah issued its own displacement order, posting a message on its telegram channel in hebrew warning residents in northern israel to evacuate towns within 5 kilometers of the border. “Your military’s aggression against lebanese sovereignty and safe citizens, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and the expulsion campaign it is carrying out will not go unchallenged,” hezbollah said.
members of lebanon’s change parliamentary bloc and several independent lawmakers have sharply criticized haykal, the lebanese army commander, accusing the military of dragging its feet on implementing directives to disarm the group.
haykal addressed the situation during a meeting at army headquarters in yarze on saturday. “The army is exerting its utmost efforts to protect internal stability and national unity,” he said, and “stands at equal distance from all lebanese and deals with them from its comprehensive national role.”
haj ali said that israel’s objective is to “increase public pressure and corner the lebanese government to take action on hezbollah.” He added, “[haykal’s] statement is trying to preserve internal peace, which is not what the israelis want,” said haj ali. “They want a civil war.”
on sunday, israel’s military chief of staff eyal zamir said the war in lebanon “will take a long time,” describing hezbollah as “an extremist arm of the iranian octopus.”
meanwhile, lebanon’s strained shelter system is struggling to cope with the surge in displaced families.
in bir hassan, a neighborhood on the outskirts of beirut’s southern suburbs that has endured repeated bombing since the escalation began, a technical college has been converted into a makeshift shelter.
inside the gates, displaced residents sit around tables in the sun, trying to warm themselves after another cold night. Children play beneath a canopy tent while newly arrived families wait to register.
“some buildings are at capacity but there is a waiting list,” a member of the lebanese civil defense helping run the shelter told drop site. “When someone finds shelter elsewhere—an apartment to rent or space with family—we take in new people.”
in the hallways, families have erected makeshift partitions from cardboard and hung blankets for privacy. There are no showers, only overcrowded bathrooms.
norma zayneddine fled to the shelter with her husband and seven children from the neighborhood of laylaki in the southern suburb of dahiye on the first night of the escalation.
“we left with nothing, just the clothes on our back,” she said. “We can’t sleep. We have no privacy. This is not a life, to be honest with you. We don’t know where we’re going.”
another displaced resident, samah al-ghaddaf, evacuated with her husband and three children from kafa’aat, another neighborhood in dahiye. The shelter does not feel safe, she said. Since the escalation began, the israeli military had issued warnings for bir hassan. The previous day, the israeli military announced it would strike the nearby neighborhood of jnah. Al-ghaddaf and her family drove to the seaside district of raouche and slept in their car before returning to the shelter the following morning.
even areas outside israel’s declared evacuation zones are no guarantee of safety. Early sunday morning, an israeli airstrike struck the ramada hotel in raouche, in the center of beirut, killing four and sending shockwaves through the city. The israeli military claimed the strike targeted commanders from iran’s elite quds force of the islamic revolutionary guard corps.
across lebanon, the relentless airstrikes have continued.
on saturday evening, an israeli drone strike leveled a home in the al-athar neighborhood of sour, killing eight members of a single family as they prepared the ramadan iftar meal. The area had been considered safe and had not been targeted before.
among the victims were a lebanese man who held swedish citizenship, his wife, and their two children. Also killed were the wife of the man’s nephew—who was pregnant—her five-year-old daughter, and two elderly relatives.
“what was the goal of this massacre?” Asked mohammad saleh, a relative. “My uncle was european, he had a swedish passport. My sister-in-law’s aunts were old people. The rest were children.”
saleh said his brother hassan ran to the scene after hearing the strike and began digging through the rubble while calling out for his daughter. He eventually found her head severed from her body.
“the drone appeared above the house 15 minutes before the strike and flew very low,” saleh said. “They knew who they were targeting.”
khalil al-zain, a local leader in the city of sour told drop site that many residents have no choice but to remain in their homes. “Many people are staying not because they’re stubborn but because they have nowhere else to go or no resources to leave.” |
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| New aerospace facility touches down in Torrance |
| Posted on Tuesday, March 10 @ 00:02:07 PDT (9 reads) | |
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Trinity audioplayer ready...
torrance is home to the newest addition to the city’s already dense aerospace industry. Flightwave, a facility specializing in the manufacturing of an unmanned drone, has migrated from its former location in carson to a 51,000 square foot manufacturing facility located at 2660 columbia street.
“today marks an exciting milestone not just for flightwave, but for the broader aerospace and advanced manufacturing ecosystem here in southern california,” sean webb, president of flightwave, said during the grand opening, attended by community and city officials, on monday, march 9. “We have 85 employees and are still growing. We designed this space so manufacturing, engineering and product management can work together more closely than ever before; because when those teams operate in lockstep, innovation moves faster and quality improves.”
flightwave was originally a startup, inspired by six individuals working out of an apartment.
“when they started, they had a powerful idea – build an unmanned aircraft that could give operators better information while keeping people out of harm’s way,” webb said. “That vision led to the development of the flightwave edge 130.”
the edge 130 is an independent unmanned aircraft system designed to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability to operators. With a medium-range and long-endurance, the aircraft can assist in critical surveillance and communication during high risk situations.
“it carries advanced imaging sensors that deliver real-time video and telemetry to operators on the ground, giving them situational awareness, needed to make better decisions,” webb said. “It’s built to deliver reliable intelligence while keeping operators and personnel out of dangerous environments whenever possible.”
this technology caught the eye of red cat holdings, a massive company that provides advanced drone and robotic solutions for defense and national security. Red cat acquired flightwave in 2024, providing the funding for the company to expand.
“i personally joined this journey with more than 30 years of experience building and scaling operations,” webb said. “And one of the things that immediately stood out was the strength of the flightwave technology and the potential of the team behind it. From that small apartment startup, we quickly grew into a 14,000 square foot facility in carson and even that space quickly became too small.”
flightwave is already developing new technology that will add new capabilities to the edge 130 including radios, resilient gps systems, expanded payload architecture and deeper integration across red cat holdings.
“it’ll support battlefield needs while also enabling commercial applications, such as infrastructure monitoring, disaster response and security operations,” webb said. “Again, all while keeping people out of harm’s way and saving lives.”
webb said that flightwave is committed to contributing to the city of torrance by providing high-skilled careers for engineers, technicians, manufacturing specialists and software developers. Additionally, they plan to work closely with local workforce programs, colleges and trade schools. |
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| LAWYERING FOR LIBERATION | A Busboys and Poets Books Presentation | Busboys and |
| Posted on Tuesday, March 10 @ 00:02:07 PDT (9 reads) | |
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Lawyering for liberation | a busboys and poets books presentation
date and time
mar 26, 2026 6:00 pm
location
14th & v
mar 26, 2026 6:00 pm
14th & v
this is not just a manual for resistance—though it is that. Its a call to reimagine what legal work in service of liberation actually looks like. In a moment when authoritarianism is consolidating and traditional legal strategies are failing, that reimagining couldn’t be more urgent. —The anti-authoritarian playbook
this fiery manifesto provides a concrete action plan for legal professionals and activists advancing black liberation and transformative social change.
revolutions happen in the streets, not in courtrooms. But in the struggle against systems increasingly designed to perpetuate inequality and benefit those in power, lawyers must do their part. As leaders from the acclaimed movement lawyering and advocacy organization law for black lives, editors marbré stahly-butts and ameca reali have spent years on the front lines of transformative social change. With lawyering for liberation, they offer concrete tools for fellow legal workers and lawyers working to achieve a just future.
grounded in the politics of abolition, black queer feminism, and anticapitalism, this approachable how-to guide distills key concepts of movement lawyering and assembles advice from dozens of lawyers, legal workers, and organizers in areas like jail and bail support, stop-and-frisk litigation, protester defense, reparations, family law, housing, and more. The result is not just a manual for resistance but an urgent call to join the movement.
co-editor of lawyering for liberation and former executive director of law for black lives marbré stahly-butts is joining us on the busboys stage alongside visionary civil rights leader and movement lawyer judith browne dianis and iman freeman, co-founder and executive director of baltimore action legal team. Copies of the book will be available for purchase during and after the event, and the co-editor and contributing authors will be signing following the program.
this event is free and open to all. Our program begins at 6:00 pm, and will be followed by an audience q&a. Copies of lawyering for liberation will be available for purchase before and after the event. Please note that this event is in person.
we ask that guests rsvp in order to receive direct updates about the event from busboys and poets books
book details
lawyering for liberation
a toolbox for movement lawyers
edited by ameca reali and marbré stahly-butts
january 06, 2026 | paperback, 288 pages, $19.95
all proceeds of the book benefit law for black lives
marbré stahly-butts (she/her), co-founder and former executive director of law for black lives has worked closely with organizers and communities across the country to advance and actualize radical policy. She co-founded and served on the leadership team of the movement for black lives policy table and was one of the chief architects of the vision for black lives policy platform. Since graduating from yale law school, marbré has supported local and national organizations from across the country in their policy development and advocacy. She was a co-founder of the national bail out collective and the peoples coalition for safety and freedom. Before her role at law for black livesmarbré worked as deputy director of racial justice at the center for popular democracy (cpd). She joined cpd as a soros justice fellow in fall 2013. Her soros justice work focused on organizing and working with families affected by aggressive policing and criminal justice policies in new york city in order to develop meaningful bottom-up policy reforms. While in law school, marbré focused on the intersection of criminal justice and civil rights and gained legal experience with the bronx defenders, the equal justice initiative, and the prison policy initiative. Before law school, marbré received her masters in african studies from oxford university and studied in zimbabwe, where she focused on community responses to violence. She also taught in south africa at nelson mandelas alma mater. Marbré graduated from columbia university, with a b.A. In african-american history and human rights. In addition to her work to support and build movement marbré is busy trying to raise two young children to be joyful and purpose-filled people.
judith browne dianis is a visionary civil rights leader and movement lawyer with more than 25 years of experience advancing transformative change for communities of color. She recently transitioned out of her role as executive director and co-founder of advancement project and founder of advancement project action fund, where she pioneered bold strategies that align legal advocacy, organizing, and narrative power to dismantle structural racism and strengthen democracy.
widely recognized as the “godmother” of the movement to end the school-to-prison pipeline, judith has led groundbreaking efforts in voting rights, education justice, and criminal justice reform—including work that restored voting rights to more than 1.4 million people in florida and advanced historic protections across the south. A trusted national spokesperson, she has testified before congress and appeared on major media platforms including msnbc, cnn, and npr.
a graduate of columbia law school and the wharton school of business, judith started her legal career at the naacp legal defense fund, where she ultimately served as managing attorney of the dc office and director of the fair housing program. She is the recipient of the inaugural democracy prize from the charles f. Kettering foundation, honoring her courageous leadership in building a more inclusive, multiracial democracy.
today, she continues to inspire audiences nationwide with a powerful message about justice, strategy, and the enduring possibility of change.
iman freeman is the co-founder and executive director of baltimore action legal team (balt), a movement lawyering organization founded in 2015 in the aftermath of freddie grays death. Balt operates at the intersection of community legal education, direct legal services, and strategic litigation — rooted in the conviction that legal tools are instruments of harm reduction and power-building, not reform.
under imans leadership, balt grew from a volunteer-led effort to a fully staffed independent nonprofit, including successfully transitioning from a fiscal sponsorship to its own 501(c)(3). Balt is the only organization in baltimore providing free warrant recalls and one of the few offering expungement services — direct interventions that reduce the immediate harms of a system that is not broken, but functioning exactly as designed. Balt has also secured over $160,000 in electronic monitoring assistance for 131 residents during the covid-19 pandemic, contributed to marylands 2017 bail reform coalition, and successfully litigated to compel the baltimore police department to disclose its do not call list, revealing 305 officers with credibility issues that had been shielded from public accountability.
iman brings over a decade of experience as an attorney and more than twenty years in federal public service, where she held senior leadership roles at the u.S. Department of health and human services as a strategic management professional. In that capacity, she was responsible for several public-facing priority documents and the development of performance management frameworks that shaped agency operations. She also played a key role in what became the largest reorganization in fda history — a structural transformation driven by the infant formula crisis that fundamentally changed how the agency responds to public health emergencies. She is closely aligned with law for black lives, a national network of over 3,500 radical lawyers committed to building a legal infrastructure responsive to movement organizations, and serves on its advisory board.
a contributor to lawyering for liberation (university of california press), iman has also taught at american university washington college of law, where she earned her juris doctorate and was recognized as board member of the year for her leadership in the mid-atlantic black law students association (mablsa.) She holds a master of public administration from rockefeller college of public affairs and policy at suny albany and a bachelor of science in justice studies from georgia southern university. |
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| Women & wealth: Tips for navigating your lifelong financial journey - Life & Sty |
| Posted on Tuesday, March 10 @ 00:02:07 PDT (10 reads) | |
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Photo credit: “witthaya prasongsin/moment, with getty images”
sponsored by j.P. Morgan wealth management
we are in the midst of a seismic shift in wealth. This phenomenon, often referred to as the “great wealth transfer,” describes the unprecedented movement of assets from the baby boomer generation to their heirs – an estimated $105 trillion by 2048. And women are poised to inherit most of this.
j.P. Morgan wealth management’s 2025 investor study found that women are not only set to receive significant wealth
here are a few tips for women to consider in their wealth-building journey:
create a financial roadmap
a detailed, well thought out plan is important. J.P. Morgan’s study found that 90% of those surveyed with a plan feel confident about reaching their financial goals, compared to 49% without one.
your plan should reflect your unique goals, priorities and circumstances. Consider your investment horizon and risk tolerance, and remember to revisit your plan regularly as life evolves.
are you saving up for goals like buying a house, sending your kids off to college or retiring early? Where do you want to be in the next five, ten or twenty years? Everyone’s financial situation is unique, so it’s important to think about these questions and build a plan that is unique to your life.
women tend to live longer than men on average. Many take career breaks or care for family members, which can influence long-term planning. It’s important to adjust your strategy with these factors in mind.
where to start with investing
don’t let misconceptions hold you back. Starting to invest doesn’t require a large sum, and beginning early can be beneficial. The earlier you start, the more time your money has to potentially grow over the years. Understand your overall financial situation, set clear goals and develop a long-term plan.
it’s important to also make sure you’re covered for unexpected expenses that come up before you start to invest. Build up a cash emergency fund, typically enough to cover three to six months of expenses, and pay down any high-interest debt.
taking charge of your finances
the good news is that women are taking charge of their finances. J.P. Morgan’s research found that 75% of women respondents make financial decisions with their partner or take the lead themselves. For those who have a spouse or partner, it’s important for each person in the relationship to play an active role in the process.
building wealth can be empowering for many women. The same survey found that 73% of women respondents said money gives them “security,” while 64% of gen z and millennial women associated it with “freedom.”
the power of having a team
some people find it helpful to work with a financial advisor, so you don’t have to tackle things alone. An advisor can help you craft a plan tailored to your needs and keep you on track throughout your lifelong financial journey. If you expect to receive an inheritance, you should also consult with estate planning and tax professionals.
no matter where you are on your wealth-building path, chase.Com/theknow.
as the landscape of wealth continues to evolve, women have a unique opportunity to shape their financial futures and those of generations to come. By staying informed and planning ahead, women have the tools to help them confidently navigate the great wealth transfer and set themselves up for financial freedom.
the views, opinions, estimates and strategies expressed herein constitutes
jpmorgan chase & co., Its affiliates, and employees do not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors before engaging in any financial transaction.
investing involves market risk, including possible loss of principal, and there is no guarantee that investment objectives will be achieved. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.
diversification and asset allocation does not ensure a profit or protect against loss.
j.P. Morgan wealth management is a business of jpmorgan chase & co., Which offers investment products and services through j.P. Morgan securities llc (jpms), a registered broker-dealer and investment adviser, member finra and sipc.
https://www.Jpmorgan.Com/ emaildisclaimerincluding on confidential, privileged or legal entity information, malicious content and monitoring of electronic messages. If you are not the intended recipient, please delete this message and notify the sender immediately. Any unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. |
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| Why Rochester Is One of New Yorks Most Underrated Cities |
| Posted on Tuesday, March 10 @ 00:02:07 PDT (9 reads) | |
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Rochester rarely tops the list when travelers think of new york. Many picture new york city’s skyline or the college-town charm of ithaca before they consider this mid-size city on the genesee river. Yet rochester has quietly evolved into one of the state’s most rewarding places to visit and live, combining a serious arts and food scene with accessible nature, rich history, and a cost of living that feels almost nostalgic in today’s market. For travelers willing to look beyond the obvious, rochester delivers a relaxed, authentic slice of new york that feels profoundly underrated.
a river city built on waterfalls and waterfront revival
rochester’s geography is one of its biggest surprises. The genesee river cuts through the heart of the city, dropping dramatically over a 96 foot waterfall at high falls, framed by historic brick mills and factory buildings that once powered rochester’s boom. Today, this industrial canyon is being reimagined as public space. A planned 40 acre high falls state park is underway, part of a long term effort to turn the downtown river corridor into a network of parks, overlooks, and trails rather than just a forgotten industrial zone. Remediation and construction are scheduled in phases over the next several years, signaling that rochester’s most spectacular natural feature is finally being treated as a centerpiece rather than a backdrop.
alongside the new park, the broader roc the riverway initiative is transforming how residents and visitors experience the river. More than two dozen projects, backed by substantial state funding and private investment, are knitting together both banks of the genesee with new promenades, upgraded parks, and public gathering spaces. The historic broad street aqueduct, which once carried the erie canal across the river and later hosted a subway line, is being redesigned as a pedestrian focused landmark, while nearby riverfront stretches are adding seating, lighting, and easier access to the water. The result is a downtown that is steadily turning outward toward its river, offering visitors photogenic views and locals a more walkable, livable core.
even long beloved landmarks are seeing new life. The pont de rennes bridge, a late 19th century steel truss that spans the gorge at high falls, has been a favorite viewpoint for decades. After more than a year of structural repairs and upgrades, it reopened in late 2024, once again offering panoramic views of the falls and the kodak tower that anchors rochester’s skyline. With the bridge restored and the state park emerging around it, rochester’s river gorge is poised to become one of the most distinctive urban landscapes in the northeast, yet it remains largely off the radar for travelers fixated on coastal cities.
beyond downtown, the genesee flows north to lake ontario, where marinas, beaches, and parks give rochester an almost coastal feel in summer. The combination of a dramatic river gorge, waterfalls in the city center, and easy access to a great lake is rare in american cities of this size, and it shapes the laid back, outdoors oriented ethos that quietly defines life here.
culture and creativity that rival bigger cities
rochester’s cultural scene often catches visitors off guard. For a city of its size, the depth of museums, music, and theater feels closer to what you might expect in a much larger metro area. At the center of this is the strong national museum of play, a sprawling, highly interactive institution that houses the world’s most comprehensive collection of toys, games, and play related artifacts. It fills more than a city block with hands on exhibits, from pinball and video game halls to re-creations of comic book worlds and child sized marketplaces. For families, it is a destination museum that can easily fill an entire day and has grown in recent years with a major new wing focused on video games and technology.
rochester’s creative legacy extends far beyond play. The city is also home to the george eastman museum, located in the former mansion of the kodak founder, which is one of the world’s oldest museums dedicated to photography and film. Its galleries and archives celebrate both the history and artistry of the medium, a fitting tribute in a city whose fortunes were long tied to the camera. Elsewhere, the memorial art gallery, operated by the university of rochester, offers a broad survey of art from antiquity to contemporary work, anchoring the city’s more traditional museum offerings.
on the performance side, rochester punches well above its weight. The eastman school of music, one of the country’s most prestigious conservatories, fuels a lively calendar of student recitals, faculty concerts, and visiting artist performances that spill out into venues across the city. The rochester philharmonic orchestra maintains a robust season, while smaller theaters and independent companies stage everything from classic plays to experimental work. What distinguishes rochester is not only the quantity of culture on offer, but the ease of access: tickets are typically far more affordable than in larger markets, and visitors are rarely fighting for last minute seats.
neighborhoods reflect this creative energy in more informal ways too. The neighborhood of the arts, just east of downtown, is packed with galleries, studios, murals, and small performance spaces that showcase rochester’s contemporary scene. Former industrial buildings have been converted into artist lofts and shared workspaces, while public art brightens alleyways and street corners. For travelers, it offers an easy way to explore the city’s creative side on foot, ducking into small cafes, boutiques, and galleries that feel local rather than curated for tourists.
a food and drink scene with serious local flavor
rochester has long been associated with a few iconic comfort foods, but in recent years its culinary scene has matured into something broader and more interesting. You can still find the legendary late night “garbage plate,” a messy, deeply local combination of meat, potatoes, and toppings that traces back to a humble neighborhood restaurant, but you are just as likely to discover inventive farm to table menus, modern cocktail bars, and bakeries experimenting with global flavors. Independent chefs have taken advantage of relatively affordable rents to open small, personal restaurants that would be financially out of reach in larger cities.
coffee and craft beer culture are particularly strong. A wave of roasters has brought single origin beans and carefully sourced blends to neighborhood cafes, which double as informal community hubs and coworking spaces. Microbreweries, many tucked into historic buildings or former warehouses, pour everything from classic lagers to bold ipas and barrel aged specialties. Seasonal beer gardens and outdoor patios appear as soon as the snow melts, making the most of rochester’s temperate summers. With each passing year, more small producers join the scene, from distilleries to cideries that draw on the agricultural richness of the surrounding finger lakes region.
the city’s location between fertile farmland and one of the state’s major wine regions shapes what appears on local menus. Farmers’ markets operate throughout the warmer months, bringing in fresh produce, cheeses, and meats from the countryside. Nearby wineries and breweries provide an easy excuse for day trips, but their products also show up on rochester wine lists and tap handles, anchoring the city firmly within the broader finger lakes culinary landscape. Diners benefit from a direct connection to local growers without the premium prices associated with many coastal food capitals.
rochester’s diversity is increasingly reflected in its restaurants as well. A growing latino community, newcomers from puerto rico, and long established immigrant neighborhoods contribute to a wide spectrum of cuisines, from caribbean and mexican to east african and southeast asian. Small, family run spots mix with more polished dining rooms, and the overall tone remains welcoming and unpretentious. For travelers, this means you can eat extraordinarily well at a wide range of price points, often in places that feel like genuine discoveries rather than heavily promoted hotspots.
festivals, seasons, and a climate haven reputation
rochester is a four season city, and locals make a point of celebrating each one. In spring, the famous lilac festival draws visitors to highland park, where hundreds of varieties of lilacs perfume the air and hillside lawns fill with food vendors and live music. As summer arrives, the rochester international jazz festival turns downtown streets and venues into an extended block party, with major headliners sharing the bill with up and coming acts. Throughout the warmer months, smaller neighborhood events, outdoor movie nights, and waterfront concerts ensure that there is rarely a quiet weekend.
autumn in rochester brings crisp air, brilliant foliage, and the harvest season in the surrounding countryside. Apple picking, farm stands, and winery visits become popular day trips, while in the city parks and tree lined streets turn vivid shades of red and gold. Winter, meanwhile, is embraced rather than endured. Snow is a regular visitor, but residents respond with outdoor skating, sledding, and lights festivals that soften the darker months. For travelers who are prepared for cold weather, rochester offers a less crowded, more atmospheric version of winter than major east coast cities, with cultural institutions and restaurants humming along even on the coldest nights.
in recent years, rochester has attracted attention for another seasonal reason. As climate change drives more extreme weather in many parts of the united states, the city’s relatively temperate climate, ample freshwater from lake ontario and the finger lakes, and lower exposure to hurricanes, wildfires, and sea level rise have prompted some observers to label it a potential climate haven. National coverage has noted that people from states like california and regions battered by severe storms have begun relocating here, drawn by a combination of environmental stability, affordability, and inclusive community values.
city leaders have responded with ambitious sustainability targets, including efforts to significantly reduce carbon emissions in the coming decade. While rochester has not aggressively marketed itself as a climate refuge, the conversation has highlighted qualities that residents have long valued: four distinct seasons without the most punishing extremes, reliable water supplies, and a built environment that is dense enough to support transit and cycling yet open enough to avoid the congestion and heat island effects of much larger cities. For travelers, that translates into a destination where outdoor plans are rarely derailed by catastrophic weather and where the rhythms of the year remain relatively predictable.
affordability, livability, and rochester’s quiet appeal
perhaps the most persuasive argument for rochester’s underrated status lies in the relationship between quality of life and cost. In an era when housing costs in many american cities have soared, rochester continues to appear on lists of places where both homeownership and renting remain within reach for a wide swath of residents. Recent analyses have placed the metro area among the few large markets where two adults earning minimum wage can still afford typical rents, a rarity among the country’s biggest cities. National rankings aimed at first time buyers have gone further, naming rochester one of the top markets for those entering the housing ladder, thanks to relatively low median list prices and short commute times.
beyond headline numbers, everyday costs like groceries, transportation, and entertainment remain moderate compared with coastal hubs. Local supermarkets, including a flagship regional grocery chain that originated here, keep prices competitive, while the city’s layout allows many residents to live near work or bus routes operated by the regional transit system. For those who prefer to drive, congestion is minimal by big city standards, and parking remains widely available and often inexpensive. This combination of manageable bills and reduced daily stress has made rochester attractive not only for young professionals and families, but also for retirees seeking value without sacrificing cultural amenities.
national personal finance publications have taken note, frequently including rochester on lists of the most affordable places to retire in the united states. Analysts point to its relatively low housing costs, solid healthcare access, and strong sense of community as key advantages. At the same time, its university presence, arts institutions, and steady schedule of events keep it from feeling like a purely budget choice. For visitors, this affordability is equally appealing: hotels, restaurant meals, tickets, and experiences typically cost less than in larger northeastern cities, allowing travelers to build richer itineraries without inflating their budgets.
what sets rochester apart is that this affordability does not come at the expense of vibrancy. The city has a robust base of employers in education, healthcare, technology, and advanced manufacturing, along with a long history of innovation that stretches back to its days as a photography and optics capital. This economic diversity provides a foundation for continued revitalization and new investment, particularly along the riverfront and in historic neighborhoods that are seeing sensitive redevelopment rather than wholesale demolition. Taken together, these factors create a sense that rochester is not a city resting on nostalgia, but one actively shaping a more sustainable and equitable future.
neighborhoods, nature, and day trips beyond the city
rochester’s charm often reveals itself at the neighborhood level. The park avenue area, with its tree lined streets, porch fronted houses, and cluster of independent cafes and boutiques, offers a relaxed, walkable slice of city life. South wedge, just across the river from downtown, has evolved into a creative, slightly bohemian enclave, where historic homes mix with new apartments and locally owned bars, bakeries, and restaurants. Corn hill, one of the city’s oldest residential neighborhoods, pairs victorian homes with riverfront paths and a popular summer arts festival. Each of these districts has its own identity, yet all are close to the city center, making it easy for visitors to sample more than one in a short stay.
green space is another of rochester’s quiet strengths. Many of its parks bear the imprint of frederick law olmsted, the famed landscape architect behind new york city’s central park. Highland park, genesee valley park, and others weave rolling lawns, wooded paths, and river views into the urban fabric, giving residents and visitors easy access to nature without leaving the city. As roc the riverway and the new high falls state park continue to expand trails and overlooks, the connections between neighborhoods and the water will only grow stronger, inviting more people to experience the city on foot or by bike.
just beyond city limits, day trip options multiply. To the south and east, the finger lakes region offers some of new york’s most scenic countryside, with long, glacial lakes lined by vineyards, wineries, and state parks with their own waterfalls and gorge trails. To the north, lake ontario’s shoreline provides beaches, fishing, and sunset views that can feel almost oceanic in scale. Small canal towns along the historic erie canal are within easy driving distance, offering towpaths for cycling and paddling routes that recall the waterway’s 19th century heyday. Rochester’s central position in western new york means that these varied landscapes are close enough for spontaneous excursions rather than complex expeditions.
for travelers, this mix of neighborhoods and nearby nature creates a rare kind of flexibility. You can spend the morning exploring world class museums or working from a downtown cafe, the afternoon hiking along a river gorge or sampling wines overlooking a lake, and the evening listening to live music in a neighborhood bar. Everything feels accessible, both geographically and financially, yet crowds remain surprisingly thin compared with more famous destinations. It is this balance of options and ease that quietly wins over many first time visitors and convinces some to stay.
the takeaway
rochester’s status as one of new york’s most underrated cities has less to do with a lack of assets than with a lack of national spotlight. For decades, it has been overshadowed by the outsized presence of new york city and the tourist draw of the adirondacks and finger lakes. Yet look closely and a different picture emerges: a mid size city with a dramatic river and waterfall at its core, a revitalizing waterfront, serious cultural institutions, and a cost of living that makes both daily life and travel feel refreshingly attainable.
the city’s ongoing investments in public space, from high falls state park to the broader roc the riverway initiative, signal a future in which rochester’s natural and historic strengths are more visible and more accessible. Pair that with a diverse food scene, a full calendar of festivals, and emerging recognition as a climate resilient, retirement friendly, and first time buyer friendly market, and it is clear that rochester’s appeal is broad and growing. For travelers willing to look beyond the obvious new york itineraries, rochester offers the chance to experience a city in the midst of a thoughtful, river centered renaissance.
in the end, what makes rochester so compelling is its sense of proportion. It is large enough to support world class museums, orchestras, and universities, yet small enough that you can cross much of it in fifteen minutes, recognize faces at neighborhood cafes, and find quiet corners along the river. It feels both grounded and forward looking, with a deep respect for its industrial past and a clear focus on sustainability and livability. Underrated for now, perhaps, but for many who discover it, rochester quickly becomes one of the most rewarding cities in new york.
faq
q1. Is rochester, new york, a good place to visit for a long weekend?
yes. Rochester works especially well for a long weekend because key attractions, neighborhoods, riverfront areas, and parks are all within a short drive or transit ride of one another.
q2. How expensive is rochester compared with new york city or other major east coast cities?
rochester is generally far more affordable than major coastal cities, with lower typical housing costs, moderate rents, and everyday expenses that make travel and dining noticeably easier on the budget.
q3. What is rochester best known for among travelers?
travelers often come for the strong national museum of play, the george eastman museum, the high falls area, seasonal festivals like the lilac festival, and easy access to nearby finger lakes wine country.
q4. Is rochester family friendly?
very. Interactive museums, parks designed by frederick law olmsted, a lively zoo, accessible riverfront walks, and a full calendar of family oriented festivals make it a strong choice for trips with children.
q5. Do i need a car to explore rochester?
a car offers the most flexibility, especially for exploring the finger lakes and lake ontario, but central neighborhoods, major museums, and parts of the riverfront can be reached by bus, rideshare, bike, or on foot.
q6. What is the weather like in rochester throughout the year?
rochester has four distinct seasons, with snowy winters, mild and colorful springs and autumns, and pleasantly warm summers that are typically cooler and less humid than many east coast cities.
q7. Is rochester safe for visitors?
like any city, safety varies by neighborhood and time of day, but visitors who use standard urban common sense and focus on well traveled areas generally find rochester comfortable and welcoming.
q8. How many days should i plan for a first visit to rochester?
three to four days lets you see major museums, explore a few neighborhoods, experience the riverfront, and add a short day trip to the finger lakes or lake ontario.
q9. What makes rochester feel different from other upstate new york cities?
rochester’s combination of a dramatic urban waterfall, strong cultural institutions, a major music school, and an emerging riverfront park system gives it a distinctive mix of nature and arts.
q10. When is the best time of year to visit rochester?
late spring through early fall is ideal for outdoor festivals, gardens, and waterfront activities, but winter visits can be rewarding if you enjoy museums, cozy dining, and snowy cityscapes. |
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| Ive created Frankenstein: Racist slurs and white nationalism engulf FL gov campa |
| Posted on Tuesday, March 10 @ 00:02:07 PDT (9 reads) | |
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A disgruntled former staffer for the florida gubernatorial campaign of james fishback has revealed a series of bizarre texts to the bulwark that show chaos behind the scenes.
bryant fulgham, the staffer in question, showed that staffers were alarmed about fishbacks financial problems, including rumors that his couch would be repossessed, as well as abusive-looking behavior toward his employees, chewing them out for various things, and strange fixations rooted in white nationalist groyper culture.
fulgham ultimately quit the fishback campaign, and not because he didn’t have a couch to sleep on, noted the report. Instead, he says his departure came because he ran afoul of a veterans group for sailors on uss liberty — a ship israel accidentally sank during the six-day war in 1967. The ship has become a rallying cry for groypers, who are heavily critical of the u.S. – Israel alliance (to say nothing of their embrace of antisemitism). Fulgham claims he clashed with one of the veterans over how much of their expenses the campaign would cover for an event, after which liberty crew members complained to fishback.
asked about fulgham’s criticism and account of his exit from the campaign, fishback claimed fulgham never held the county outreach chair position, reported will sommer. Fulgham provided me with an organizational chart that listed him holding the role, as well as internal campaign documents that showed him coordinating the campaign’s county chairs. Additionally, fulgham sent me several pictures that showed him speaking closely with fishback or in prominent positions at campaign events. Jesus christ, fulgham said, i’ve created frankenstein.
the oddities dont end there, said the report.
the campaign chats are also filled with what you’d expect from a group of groypers. Twice, staffers refer to fishback or his supporters as yns — a slang term involving the n-word. At one point, alex munguia — a fishback associate who, while still in college, participated in many of his hedge-fund antics and is now a senior adviser to his campaign — expressed enthusiasm for [groyper founder nick] fuentes’s view that heterosexual sex is actually, well, gay. Only thing straighter than straight sex is actually gay sex, munguia wrote in a chatroom for top fishback staffers.
fishback, despite trailing badly in all polls of the race to president donald trumps endorsed candidate, rep. Byron donalds, has managed to grab headline after headline with his antics. He has compared his black opponents political donations to a slave auction, has fantasized about former cnn reporter don lemon being lynched, and recently got banned from every waffle house in florida. |
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