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Meaghan McDermott

Rochester
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Covers:  hearts and flowers, police, government, data journalism, public schools
Pop culture geek. Data nerd. Westsider. Surly cuss. Recovering journalist. This is a personal account.
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Officials ID victims found in burned car in Hamlin, say both were shot

Officials ID victims found in burned car in Hamlin, say both were shot

Democrat and Chronicle — CLOSE Police on Wednesday identified the two men who died in connection with a car fire earlier this week behind a warehouse in Hamlin as Alexander Allen Cease Burrow and Bruce Kane, both former athletes at Brockport High School. Monroe County Sheriff Todd Baxter said both men had sustained gunshot wounds and the case is being investigated as a double homicide.
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Rep. Chris Collins suspends re-election campaign days after arrest on insider trading charges

Rep. Chris Collins suspends re-election campaign days after arrest on insider trading charges

Democrat and Chronicle — CLOSE Rep. Chris Collins, the New York Republican congressman who is charged with insider trading, said Saturday he is suspending his re-election bid to keep Democrats from electing a pro-impeachment candidate in the district.
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Commission: Rochester woman's 2016 jail death 'homicide due to medical neglect'

Commission: Rochester woman's 2016 jail death 'homicide due to medical neglect'

Democrat and Chronicle — CLOSE Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn Jr. has asked the state Attorney General's Office to investigate the death of India Cummings, a Rochester woman who died in 2016 after being held for 17 days at the Erie County Holding Center.
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Your baby or your job? Albion Walmart workers allege pregnancy discrimination

Your baby or your job? Albion Walmart workers allege pregnancy discrimination

Democrat and Chronicle — CLOSE Your baby or your job? That's the choice two Orleans County women allege they faced back in 2017 when they needed to take time off from their jobs at the Albion Walmart so they could seek medical attention for pregnancy-related illnesses. Both ultimately picked their babies.
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Child Protective Services: Dinolfo halts diversion program following expert review

Child Protective Services: Dinolfo halts diversion program following expert review

Democrat and Chronicle — Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo is ending a child protective services diversionary program after an expert review found the Family Assessment Response (FAR) initiative has failed to make children safer and may hinder efforts to look into allegations of abuse or maltreatment of children.
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After CPS workers attacked, union calls for special attention on safety

After CPS workers attacked, union calls for special attention on safety

Democrat and Chronicle — CLOSE After two violent incidents last week involving Monroe County Child Protective Services workers, the union that represents them is calling on officials to take worker safety more seriously. In a statement, the Federation of Social Workers said the union "is deeply concerned about ongoing issues of safety that can place all workers in the field at risk of harm."
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Despite reform effort, Child Protective Services remains mired in disarray

Despite reform effort, Child Protective Services remains mired in disarray

Democrat and Chronicle — CLOSE More than a year before 3-year-old Brook Stagles was beaten to death by her father's girlfriend in November 2016, the frayed fabric of Monroe County's Child Protective Services unit was already apparent. Beginning in 2015, the agency was on the state Office of Children and Family Services' radar for chronically overdue child safety assessments, incomplete investigations, poor recordkeeping, slipshod follow-up and chronic understaffing.
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Abraham Cardenas' death: State shutters Monroe County CPS diversion program, Dinolfo orders agenc...

Abraham Cardenas' death: State shutters Monroe County CPS diversion program, Dinolfo orders agenc...

Democrat and Chronicle — CLOSE The state Office of Children and Family Services has ordered a shutdown of a Monroe County child protective diversionary program aimed at providing supports and services for families in crisis.
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State rejects call for Monroe County child abuse hotline, calls previous one ineffective

State rejects call for Monroe County child abuse hotline, calls previous one ineffective

Democrat and Chronicle — Saying a now-defunct Monroe County child abuse and neglect hotline may have "potentially compromised the safety of children," state officials have denied a request by the county to reinstitute the service. In a Jan.
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Little Girl Lost: The questions left behind by Brook Stagles' death

Little Girl Lost: The questions left behind by Brook Stagles' death

Democrat and Chronicle — At every turn, every safeguard that could or should have protected the life of young Brook Stagles failed her. Her mother and mother's family were unable to secure custody of the girl in the weeks before her death on Nov. 14, 2016.
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Watchdog report: How dangerous is driving?

Watchdog report: How dangerous is driving?

Democrat and Chronicle — You put the key in the ignition, start up the car and head off to wherever it is you need to be: work, school, an errand, a date, or maybe even home. Adjust the mirror, snap on the seat belt and hit the road, most of the time never wondering if you're going to make it safely to your destination. But about once every eight days in Monroe County, someone headed somewhere on our local roadways doesn't make it at all. The good news: reflecting a statewide trend, fatal motor vehicle accidents in Monroe County have been on a three-year downswing.
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Watchdog: Wrong-way crashes raise concerns | rocdocs

Watchdog: Wrong-way crashes raise concerns | rocdocs

Democrat and Chronicle — In the review of local crashes, a distinct point of entry was reported in 10 cases. Twice, the records show, drivers got on I-390 going the wrong way (in opposite directions) at the East Henrietta Road interchanges, in 1994 and 2009. The older instance was an elderly driver who quickly realized his mistake and veered toward the shoulder of the road, colliding with another car and injuring two people. In the 2009 instance, driver Daniel Tewksbury smashed head-on into a southbound car driven by Nancy J. DeCarr, killing her. That accident scene was so chaotic police initially thought DeCarr was the wrong-way driver.
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Watchdog: Making roads safe for the unprotected | rocdocs

Watchdog: Making roads safe for the unprotected | rocdocs

Democrat and Chronicle — How you can help New Yorkers for Active Transportation, a coalition of the New York Bicycling Coalition, Parks and Trails New Yorkand the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, is mobilizing residents to call on legislators to provide dedicated funding to improve the state's pedestrian and bicycling infrastructure. The group urges residents to contact their state legislators to support dedicated funding for biking and pedestrian projects, re-establish the state's bike-ped advisory committee and revise the Department of Transportation's Preservation First policy so it does not exclude new pedestrian and bicycling infrastructure projects.
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Watchdog report: Your right to know | rocdocs

Watchdog report: Your right to know | rocdocs

Democrat and Chronicle — From domain name renewals to auto parts, lollipops for recreation program parties and everything in between, municipal check registers and credit card statements are the truest way to see exactly how government officials are spending your tax dollars. There are payouts for salad fixings, pond liners, library books, rain pants, work boots, dental insurance, health insurance, office supplies - and that's just a cursory snapshot of the spending habits of local municipalities as reviewed by the Democrat and Chronicle.
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Watchdog report: Drivers beware of school buses | rocdocs

Watchdog report: Drivers beware of school buses | rocdocs

Democrat and Chronicle — Last September, a distracted teen slammed his speeding car into the back of a stopped Brighton Central School District school bus. In October, a pickup rear-ended a Marcus Whitman Central School District bus, sending the bus careening off the road and onto its side in a corn field. Just months before that, a sport-utility vehicle collided with a school bus carrying students from the City School District, sending the bus into a 180-degree spin, causing it to topple over at State Street and the Inner Loop. RocDocs database: School bus crashes | Interactive map In each of these potentially horrific crashes, no bus occupants suffered life-threatening injuries or were killed.
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