My excuse(s)

So, my blog has been pretty quiet of late. I have a few excuses. I got married on May 17th and we went on our honeymoon to Ireland right after the wedding. Click here to see a few pictures--Ireland is beautiful.

I'm also back on the Internet at home, which is helpful when it comes to a blog. We went with Clearwire, primarily because we don't plan on getting cable and they mark up the Roadrunner rate for non-subscribers, and we don't plan on getting landline phone service, which rules out DSL. I was a little nervous based on a few Internet comments that I found, but I've been impressed with their service and support so far.

That's about it from here. I'm looking forward to getting out to a Rhinos game soon. It was evident that they improved food and added some enhancements to PAETEC Park at the Rattlers opener. Attendance has been modest by their standards, but that's not surprisingly given the bumps this past off season. Hopefully they'll win a few games and gain some momentum. The off-the-field moves have certainly been helpful.

The Resurgence of the Rochester Rhinos and PAETEC Park?

The Rochester Sport Group's financial issues have been a popular story here in Rochester. Due to a $10 million loan that the ownership team took on for PAETEC Park, they've found themselves overleveraged. That issue caused the organization to fall behind on its obligations which ultimately put the 2008 soccer season in jeopardy. Thankfully, an individual tied to one of the banks that provided the loan, Rob Clark, had an interest in running a sports team and decided to purchase the team and stadium.

This is exciting for two reasons. First off, the team has been plagued by a lack of marketing thanks to a cash-poor organization. Suddenly, that burden has been removed. Within the first week, the new owner fired an unpopular coach, signed a popular former player to coach the team, signed an international player to also assistant coach, and began working to replace a food vendor that many complained about with a local vendor. Even further, $4 million in state funding to complete the stadium was being held up due to the team's financial issues. That's being released and the stadium will be "completed" for 2009.

This has led to a surge in season ticket sales. They're already above 3,000, so they should top last year's number despite the majority of the off-season being mired in controversy. And, perhaps more importantly, the stadium will be finished, which will give it the opportunity to live up to its full potential. There's a buzz about the Rochester Rhinos and soccer in general again, and that's certainly a breath of fresh air.

Midtown Plaza's Final Holiday Season?

On December 1st, the City of Rochester will host a holiday celebration in Midtown Plaza for the second consecutive year. The event will consist of the annual tuba concert, a second stage for other performers, free monorail rides, and the event will conclude with the lighting of the Liberty Pole. This event was extremely successful last year, and it could be even more successful this year.

The reason it could be is this may be the final holiday season for this historic retail center--the first downtown indoor mall in the country. Earlier this year, it was announced that PAETEC Communications will utilize the site to locate its corporate headquarters. It's wonderful news for the most underutilized section of downtown, even if it's a little sad since it marks the end of Midtown.

The fact the property has been largely abandoned by its current ownership mixed with that announcement has left Midtown as lean as ever in terms of stores. Hopefully its remaining loyal stores like Fauna's Gifts and Peebles will be helped with finding space nearby. The good news for these businesses is the addition of hundreds of new workers should make their stores as viable as ever.

Update: I visited the event late in the afternoon, and like last year, it was packed. Here is a Democrat & Chronicle article on the event.

RIT Hockey Defeats Cornell 4-1

Congrats to the Tigers for beating #18 Cornell 4-1. RIT played the game at the Blue Cross Arena in downtown Rochester, and a program record 5,142 fans attended--with 80% or so cheering for RIT. The Tigers dominated in special teams play with two power play goals and seven successful penalty kills, and that was the difference. Ultimately, it was a defining moment for this third-year Division 1 program: a lot of people got exposed to the team for the first time locally and it made a statement nationally.

Excellus's Radiology Management Program

Yesterday, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield of Rochester kicked off a new radiology management program. In a nutshell, it requires doctors to fill out paperwork, fax it out-of-state, and then await approval from CareCore International before patients can access these services (unless they are in the emergency room). The point of this program is to minimize the hefty expenses that come with radiology services. The Monroe County Medical Society has concerns about this program and they've posted a letter to Excellus patients on their website, while many doctors are distributing that letter on their own.

To me, this seems like another reason not to fear a national healthcare system. Our per-capita spending is well above nations with superior health indicators, while we're seeing measures like this one implemented across the country anyway. But, who knows, maybe we'll actually see a rate increase that's not greater than inflation thanks to this program. Time will tell, although I wouldn't hold my breath.

Update: The Democrat & Chronicle reported on early complaints tied to this program (11/1/2007). Click here for the article.