Gino Fanelli
@ginofanelli.bsky.social
Investigative journalist at WXXI News. Got news tips? Send them to gfanelli@wxxi.org
The Genesee Brewing Company's owner has been purchased by a private equity firm. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
Genesee Brewing Company has a new owner
Saothair Capital Partners, a Pennsylvania-based private equity firm, purchased FIFCO USA, Genesee's parent company. It will bring back two former executives, and return to the name of North American B...
wxxinews.org
After years on hiatus, Peace Village is expected to be revived, pending a vote by the Rochester City Council. The cost to operate the homeless encampment is expected to clock in at nearly $2 million per year. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
Rochester's only sanctioned homeless encampment to be revived, after years on hiatus
Peace Village will receive an initial $1.2 million investment from the city, with an expected annual operating costs of nearly $2 million.
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Judge Frank Geraci ruled the Trump administration had failed to state a valid claim against Rochester over its sanctuary city policy. The case has been dismissed with prejudice, meaning the DOJ can not sue the city again over the same policy. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
Federal judge tosses out Trump administration complaint over Rochester's sanctuary policy
In a decision Tuesday, Judge Frank Geraci threw out the Department of Justice's claim against the city, arguing it had failed to state a legitimate claim.
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Sheriff Todd Baxter's largest re-election donor in 2023 was PrimeCare's COO. The Monroe County Legislature did not perform a state directed investigation before extending its contract for $13.6 million in February. None of these people will talk to us. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
String of malpractice complaints preceded Monroe County Jail death
At least 10 federal complaints, including one inmate death, have been lodged against PrimeCare's operations at the Monroe County Jail since 2019.
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Shootings are down significantly in the city this year, but the proportion of shootings with multiple victims has risen. It's an issue which stress tests the limits of policing, policy, and community action. This story explores the complexity of the issue. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
Rochester is struggling to police street parties. Is there a better way?
Mayor Malik Evans decried these pop-up gatherings and the city’s summer-long struggle to contain them.
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John Trickey has applied yet again for an entertainment license at the Main Street Armory. At the same time, the city is taking him to court, alleging a pallet warehouse he owns on Buffalo Road is an imminent risk for catastrophic fire. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
Owner seeks to bring music back to Main Street Armory while facing new legal challenges
Property owner John Trickey has been barred from operating a music venue at the Main Street Armory since purchasing it due to issues with his other properties.
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On paper, the proposal from Rochester City Councilmember Mitch Gruber was to require members attend meetings, at the risk of financial penalties. On the floor, it turned to a debate on race, privilege, and government overreach. The bill is now held. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
City Council shelves proposal to require that members attend meetings
The move to hold the legislation followed a contentious meeting Tuesday evening in which members took aim at both the proposal and its author, City Councilmember Mitch Gruber.
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Between January 2025 and February 2026, Rochester City Councilmembers were absent from public meetings, hearings, and work sessions 115 times. Two councilmembers, both now out of office, accounted for nearly half of all absences. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
Rochester City Council attendance woes targeted by new legislation
City Councilmembers were marked absent 115 times between January 2025 and February 2025, contributing to one incident of votes being delayed due to poor turnout. A new bill aims to withhold pay from C...
wxxinews.org
Detentions by ICE have reached a new high this fiscal year. But criminals are not fueling the surge. In the detention facility in Batavia, for example, more than 80% of the average daily population have no criminal record. Criminals are at their lowest point on record.
Detainments by ICE have reached a record high. Criminals are not fueling the surge
At the immigration detention center in Batavia, the average daily count of detainees reached a peak this fiscal year. But that figure came as non-criminal detainees increase by 60%, and now make up 83...
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The city's only sanctioned homeless encampment was razed to make way for better shelters. But for three winters they've sat in storage, and the cost to operate the site could exceed $1 million per year.
Peace Village was supposed to be better. Three years later, it's in snow-covered storage
Completing the project is the top recommendation of an extensive report on homelessness released Monday by City Council President Miguel Meléndez.
wxxinews.org
It's been nearly three years since Rochester's last shelter veterinarian quit. They have not had a single viable applicant. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
Rochester's struggle to find a veterinarian prompts $30,000 recruitment effort
After three years, the city has still not received a single viable applicant to be its shelter veterinarian.
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In the 2025 fiscal year, Rochester police overtime shot up by about $2 million. But a staffing shortage wasn't the driver. Rather, the cost of manning festivals, parades, and parking lots surged. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
Rochester police cash in on surge of special event overtime
Special event overtime rose by 31% from the previous year. While often reimbursed, that variety of overtime is given first dibs by senior officers, and a chance to boost pensions.
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The city intends to seek a dismissal of a federal complaint brought by the Trump administration over its Sanctuary City policy. That complaint was already dismissed once, in November, and was refiled last month. www.wxxinews.org/2026-01-28/r...
Rochester to ask federal judge to throw out Trump administration’s sanctuary city lawsuit
The city intends to use the same arguments of Tenth Amendment protections in its defense. The Department of Justice has argued the city's policy obstructs federal immigration enforcement.
wxxinews.org
Virtually every category of crime fell in Rochester in 2025, with some types hitting 10-year lows. People still don't feel safe. www.wxxinews.org/2026-01-21/e...
Every category of crime down in Rochester in 2025
All categories of crime dropped in Rochester between 2024 and 2025, with some hitting 10 year lows. But a gun violence state of emergency continues on.
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President Donald Trump has threatened again to pull funds from sanctuary cities and jurisdictions, in defiance of court orders and without a clear path to legally do so. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
Trump appears to flout courts with new threat to halt aid to sanctuary cities
For the third time, and after twice being blocked by federal courts, President Donald Trump has threatened to withhold funds from sanctuary cities and locales. He set a start date of Feb. 1.
wxxinews.org
In a last minute amendment, which did not see public review, City Council voted to increase its own pay from the proposed 3% to by nearly 25%. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
In last minute switch, Rochester City Council gives itself a big raise
The pay increase was originally slated to be 3%. But a last minute amendment increased the amount to nearly 25%, with no justification given for the change in amount.
wxxinews.org
It's been two-and-a-half years since the city of Rochester's last cobblestone house was saved from demolition, and nearly a year since it's been placed under city ownership. So what's changed for the long-neglected building? Turns out, not very much yet. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
Fate of the last cobblestone house in Rochester still up in the air
The city officially acquired the Lockwood-Alhart house on Culver Road in January. But its future has still yet to be determined, and a costly restoration need.
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Proponents of building the registry see political machines and corporate interest guiding the vote to opt out of building the system, mainly from the son of Congressman Joe Morelle, a close ally to County Executive Adam Bello. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
Monroe County votes to not track AirBnbs and other short-term rentals
By a vote of 21-8, Monroe County became the only major county in upstate New York to vote to not create a registry for short-term rentals.
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Omar Ramos Jimenez is currently appealing a determination for asylum status. On Wednesday, he went to the ICE Buffalo field office, under the guise of getting a new app for reporting to ICE installed on his phone. He was immediately detained without any hearing. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
ICE detains local businessman and La Casa founder in alleged sting
Omar Ramos Jimenez, 50, is originally from Mexico and has lived in Rochester since 2004. He and his wife founded and ran La Casa on Alexander Street and, before that, operated La Placita at the Public...
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The proposed HUD funding changes radically reduce support for permanent housing placements, and specifically target programs which support transgender people, or in areas that aren't harsh enough in punishing street homelessness. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
Federal lawsuit challenges Trump cuts to housing funds, targeting of transgender people
The proposed funding changes aim to radically reduce support for permanent housing, and target programs which acknowledge transgender people, show a racial preference, or are in areas that do not have...
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Sister Grace Miller, a Rochester legend, among the fiercest advocates for the homeless who has ever lived, has died. She was 90. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
Sister Grace Miller, a relentless champion for the homeless, dies at 90
Miller founded the House of Mercy in 1985. At the time, it was a fledgling operation in a one-bedroom house on Central Park funded by $20,000 from the Sisters of Mercy, the progressive Catholic congre...
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In September, Black Button Distilling was promised new life by a nascent liquor firm, Blackstar. A few weeks later, all staff, including founder Jason Barrett, were called into a conference room and fired. The firm is now moving to liquidate the remaining spirits. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
Black Button Distilling New Owner Fires All Staff And Founder, Moves To Liquidate Its Spirits
A few weeks after promising a new life for Rochester's first distillery since Prohibition, Blackstar fired all staff and founder Jason Barrett. It is now moving to sell off its remaining product.
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On the heels of New York's 500th dispensary opening on South Clinton Avenue, I sat down with the acting director of the state Office of Cannabis Management to talk about the early hurdles of legal weed, its social equity goals, and how the agency has moved forward. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
New York now has 500 cannabis dispensaries. Its top weed official sees that number quadrupling.
Felicia Reid, the state's acting director of the Office of Cannabis Management, sat down with WXXI News for a wide-ranging interview on the successes, and hurdles, to legal weed in New York.
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The planned health insurance coverage for lower-income workers at RRH could go up by over 500%, prompting outrage among staffers, and a shift from the hospital system that many workers say still isn't enough. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
Soaring health insurance costs spark outrage, tweaks, and a petition at Rochester Regional
The updated health plan for 2026 sees some health system employees receiving a 500% increase in their payments.
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Council will vote next week on funding a series of immigrant rights training sessions and a hotline for community and legal resources. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
City Council aims to put $125k into immigrant rights training, hotline
The partnership with Enlace would offer up to 500 people access to immigrant rights training, and fund a hotline for questions and connections to resources for immigrants.
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Democrats dominated Tuesday night in Monroe County, taking all but one of the supervisor seats they ran for, including flipping Greece, which has been Republican run for over a century. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
Democrats flip Monroe County suburbs as voters upend status quo
Democrats flipped the town supervisor seats in Perinton, Penfield, Mendon, Rush and Greece. And they held onto top posts in Irondequoit and Henrietta, while reliably sweeping all city races.
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The city made the so-called "entertainment district" as a salve to violent crime in the area. But its taken a toll on local businesses. This story explores the balance between public safety and nightlife, and how its tipped far enough to drive some to close. www.roccitymag.com/arts-enterta...
A barricaded ‘entertainment district’ in the East and Alexander neighborhood is driving popular businesses to close - CITY Magazine. Arts. Music. Culture.
It’s a clear early autumn night as crowds of revelers make their way down East Avenue to the slew of watering holes and eateries that dot the strip. Before the weekend party begins, each must make a p...
roccitymag.com
Jeff McCann nearly tripled the fundraising of his opponent, and totals more than half of the amount raised by the 17 other candidates running in contested supervisor races combined. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
In Greece, a chance for Democrats to flip a supervisor seat brings in big bucks
Jeff McCann's bid for town supervisor in the long-held Republican stronghold has raised him more funds than any other supervisor candidate—by a wide margin.
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In Irondequoit, the race for supervisor pits an embattled former assessor facing corruption charges and a longtime town boardmember against each other. With a hefty dash of finger-pointing. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
A corruption charge and finger-pointing underpin Irondequoit supervisor race
Longtime Democratic Town Board member John Perticone will face off against former assessor Anthony Costanza, who is accused of misusing his office for personal gain, in the November election.
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The popular East End bar and eatery is eyeing a closure at year's end, citing a barricaded district on Saturday nights and a changing industry in East End. This story is a preview of a longer exploration of the downtown "entertainment district," in CITY next month. www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2...
Swan Dive eyes closure, as police barricades and a changing industry take a toll
The staple of the East End has faced challenges, from post-COVID changes in the industry to a Saturday "entertainment district" barricading the street.
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