UPCOMING EVENTS

Check out our new Event Calendar!

It includes Metro Justice and community events in a calendar format. 

TODAY, May 18, 4:00 pm at 936 Portland Ave. Zoning and Permitting Accountability Coalition press conference highlighting an attempt today to hijack the City Planning Commission decision on the Portland Ave. cell tower by requiring the Commission to make a determination regarding "effective prohibition of service" for which they are not authorized and have been given faulty information. The conference at the cell tower site will be followed by a carpool to City Hall to the observe the CPC meeting at 5 and speak at the hearing at 6. Today's hearing will also include consideration of a moratorium on new electronic billboards.

Thursday, May 21, 1-2:30 pm Henrietta Public Library and on zoom, Elder Justice Committee monthly meeting. 

Thursday, May 21, 7-8 pm Statewide Campaign for New York Health zoom Campaign leadership from around the state will share promotion plans around the new white paper on municipal, county and school district savings.

Sunday, May 31, 12-3 pm Join Rochester for Energy Democracy (RED) at Washington Square Park, across from RG&E's S Clinton office, on Sunday May 31st for an anti-rate hike block party! The event will kick-off at noon with a press conference responding to the current state of our utility bills, and the rest of our afternoon will be spent enjoying a potluck, yard games, and music. We're all broke, but at least we'll be broke together, and together we're stronger.

PUBLIC PRESSURE FORCES POSTPONEMENT OF RGE RATE HIKES

If you haven’t yet seen, the Public Service Commission (PSC) just announced that public pressure works. The PSC announced Thursday that they would postpone a final decision on the pending rate cases from RG&E and NYSEG, in which RG&E sought for average rates to go up by over $50/month for most residential customers. In the meantime, the PSC has capped temporary increases  at a rate of around 2.9% for RG&E electric and 1.2% for RG&E gas, effective as of June 1st.

So why do we care about this?

Because pressure works.

The PSC specifically cited a “wave of public sentiment,” pressure on elected officials that has caused many to register as parties in the rate cases, and “societal pressures” as reasons for delaying a final decision.  

We have been a large part of building and showing that public sentiment, and continuing to make known the grave threat rate hikes pose to this community is more than just a form of speaking out. With this ruling, we have clear evidence that public pressure is a key, proven pathway for us all to avoid the worst of the potential rate hikes. It seems all but guaranteed that there will be some permanent increase in rates, but that increase will also almost certainly be less than what RG&E asked for. And possibly significantly less. By maintaining public pressure, we can be the difference between rates increasing $5/month, or $50. 

So if you’re interested in keeping your rates down, join us in publicly demanding as much. Metro Justice’s RED Campaign is hosting a press conference and block party later this month to demand a sharp limit to the rate hikes that feed RG&E’s runaway profits. We’ll have speakers, food, music, games, and info on getting more plugged into the campaign to stop rate hikes now, and get rid of RG&E’s massive profits for good with a public utility. RSVP here to join us. 

In the meantime, please also take the opportunity to share what unaffordable utility bills mean to you on the electric and gas rate cases, and stop the excesses of RG&E’s corporate greed.

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Reject the Development of an AI Data Center on Cayuga Lake: TeraWulf, a bitcoin mining company-turned AI data center company, is proposing a 300 or 400 Megawatt AI data center on the shores of Cayuga Lake. This development will bring adverse environmental, quality of life, and economic impacts to much of all life as we know it throughout the Cayuga Lake watershed.

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