4A FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2024 ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT CHRONICLE Monroe County Court Judge Meredith Vacca has been nominated for a Roches- ter-based federal judgeship, a selection that, if approved, would make her the woman of color to be a federal judge in New western federal court dis- trict. Vacca, who is Korean-American, would also be the Asian-American on the federal bench in the western dis- trict. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, a Democrat, recommended Vacca, 43. President Joe Biden an- nounced nomination on Wednesday.
in the Rochester area and educated at University of Ms. Vacca is highly and represents the rich professional and demographic diversity of New York, Monroe County and the country, and when con- she will make his- tory as the Asian- American woman to serve as judge in the Western District of New Schumer said in a statement. The western federal court district in- cludes 17 counties, stretching to the Pennsylvania line, and has Rochester and as its hubs. a Korean-American who was adopted at 6 months old by her Roches- ter parents and raised in the Town of Greece she has a deep appreciation of all the opportunities to her by her adopted hometown and an inherent un- derstanding and empathy for the chal- lenges faced by diverse Schumer said in his statement. Vacca was a prosecutor in the Monroe County District from 2007 until her election to county court.
During her tenure there, she rose through the ranks, ultimately prosecuting some of the worst allegations of child abuse and domestic violence. She faced criticism in 2019 for her prosecution of Kali Watkins, a former Webster Schroeder High School basketball coach who was acquitted of the rape of a player. Critics contended there was ample proof of inno- cence. Vacca maintained that she did not think the teenager who made the allega- tion was lying. That same year, the judicial rating from the Rochester Black Bar Associa- tion showed that the totality of career was enough to earn its highest rating, despite the prosecution of Watkins, who is Black.
The Rochester Black Bar Association that year rated Vacca as quali- its highest rating. Vacca is a graduate of Colgate Univer- sity and the state University of New York at Law School. Her father, Paul Vacca, is a well-known criminal defense lawyer in Rochester. Schumer said in his statement that nomination would continue his push to bring more women to the federal bench. If approved, the western district judgeships will be an equal number of women and men, which is uncommon across the country.
Vacca would integrate one of the 23 federal district courts that has never had a non-white lifetime Lena Zwarensteyn, the senior di- rector of the fair courts program at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Hu- man Rights, said in a statement. this long overdue progress, we recognize how much work remains for us to build a judiciary that our country and provides equal justice for Biden picks Monroe County judge for federal bench Gary Craig Rochester Democrat and Chronicle USA TODAY NETWORK Vacca In partnership with PGA REACH, Monroe County Executive Adam Bello held a ceremony on Genesee Valley Golf new Calvin Peete Pitch and Putt Facility. Calvin Peete is a renowned golfer who played his round of golf at Gen- esee Valley Golf Course. The facility received a square-foot $500,000 investment with $250,000 from PGA REACH and a matching dona- tion from Monroe County. The course will have fully synthetic turf with a pitch putt facility.
It is de- signed to help golfers perfect their short game and teach golf to a new genera- tion of players. PGA REACH hopes to foster accessibility and inclusivity for golf enthusiasts of all ages. growth of the game initiative will enable individuals of all abilities and socioeconomic backgrounds the opportunity to learn the game of golf. Maybe someday produce the next Calvin Peete, but it will en- able new golfers a place to play for a PGA Ron Osborne. The Calvin Peete Pitch and Putt at Genesee Valley Golf Course and the Churchville and Durand-Eastman Golf Courses will be open daily during reg- ular park hours.
Tee times may be booked at mon- roecountyparksgolf.com New Calvin Peete Pitch and Putt Facility opens at Genesee Valley Genae Shields Rochester Democrat and Chronicle USA TODAY NETWORK Monroe County deputies on Wednesday announced they had found the body of a missing Pittsford woman. Kendra Roach, 57, was last seen leav- ing her Pittsford home for a walk May 2 around 8:30 p.m. She was reported missing to deputies Tuesday night, said Chief Deputy Michael Fowler of the Monroe County body was located Wednes- day afternoon following an extensive search of the wooded area near Mon- roe Avenue, by her residence, said spokesman Brendan Hurley. Fowler said that death ap- pears to be accidental and that it ap- peared that Roach was attempting to cross a log that had fallen over a creek in the woods and lost her footing. It ap- peared that she was walking toward the nearby Auburn Trail at the time.
it the out- come we had hoped for, but we do have some resolution and hopefully some peace for Fowler said. Missing Pittsford woman found dead in wooded area near Monroe Avenue Victoria E. Freile Rochester Democrat and Chronicle USA TODAY NETWORK WASHINGTON Astronomers have searched for years for rocky planets be- yond our solar system with an atmos- phere, a trait considered essential for any possibility of harboring life. Well, they seem to have located one. But this hellish planet apparently with a surface of molten rock no hope for habitability.
Researchers said Wednesday the planet is a a rocky world much larger than our planet but smaller than Neptune, and it orbits perilously close to a star dimmer and slightly less massive than our sun, rapidly complet- ing an orbit every 18 hours or so. Infrared observations using two in- struments aboard the James Webb Space Telescope indicated the presence of a substantial if inhospitable atmosphere, perhaps continuously re- plenished by gases released from a vast ocean of magma. atmosphere is likely rich in car- bon dioxide or carbon monoxide, but can also have other gases such as water vapor and sulfur dioxide. The current observations cannot pinpoint the exact atmospheric said plane- tary scientist Renyu Hu of Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Caltech, lead author of the study published in the journal Nature. The Webb data also did not make clear the thickness of the atmosphere.
Hu said it could be as thick as or even thicker than that of Venus, whose toxic atmosphere is the densest in our solar system. The planet, called 55 Cancri or Janssen, is about 8.8 times more mas- sive than Earth. It orbits its star at one-25th the distance between our so- lar innermost planet Mercury and the sun. As a result, its surface tem- perature is about 3,140 degrees Fahren- heit. this is one of the hottest- known rocky said astro- physicist and study co-author Brice- Olivier Demory of the University of Center for Space and Habitability in Switzerland, using the term for plan- ets beyond our solar system.
The planet is located in our Milky Way galaxy about 41 light-years from Earth, in the constellation Cancer. Astronomers detect a hot, rocky planet with atmosphere Will Dunham REUTERS SODUS POINT The case of a wom- an who went missing in 1991 is now be- ing as a homicide, and Wayne County investigators are seeking the help. Judith Guerin, a troubled mother of living in Sodus Point, was 46 when she disappeared, according to a Canan- daigua Daily Messenger article on the case in 2015. In October 2020, several years after a missing per- sons report was in Wayne County long after her disappearance, hunt- ers found remains on Garner Road in Huron. During a Friday news conference, acting Wayne County District Attorney Chris- tine Callanan publicly the re- mains are that of Guerin.
The positive and additional forensic evidence gathered since the discovery now leads investigators to classify this case as a homicide investigation, Call- anan said. Callanan declined to reveal the cause of death. Investigators are asking the commu- nity to contact investigators with any type of information about Guerin. hoping that with any informa- tion the community can provide, that we can proceed not only with a success- ful homicide investigation but prosecu- tion of any potential Callanan said. Callanan declined to provide information on the case because it is now as a homicide, nor would she provide further details about the discovery of the remains.
than the fact that they were found on Garner Road in Huron we identify where they were, how they were Callanan said. Wayne County Robert Milby said his will continue to pursue closure for family as case is ever put to going to continue to work for the closure of this case because we do have family members that are out there that are still grieving Ms. Milby said. do the best we can to bring whoever is responsible for her death to Milby encouraged anyone who knew anything about Guerin to come forward with information. matter how the in- formation somebody might deem it to be, please come forward and let us make that Milby said.
Woman missing 33 years called homicide victim Prosecutor ID of body found in 2020 Mike Murphy Rochester Democrat and Chronicle USA TODAY NETWORK Guerin Heartbeat and the pregnancy cen- ters which describe themselves as pro-life advertise the abortion pill re- versal a safe and treat- ment that they claim can medication abortions. reality, abortion cannot be and there is a glaring lack of evidence to support (abor- tion pill safety and James said in a statement, noting the only clinical trial to evaluate the treatment to be halted due to concerns about patient The court battle comes after Heart- beat International and a lawsuit on April 30 in state Supreme Court seeking to block the case against abortion pill reversal treat- ments and claims. Heartbeat and its are rep- resented by Thomas More Society, a Chicago-based law in- volved in religious liberty cases na- tionally that are opposed to abortion. is a political witch hunt against small that have served New pregnant women and their children for over 50 Thomas head of litiga- tion Peter Breen said in a statement. Heartbeat asserted lawsuit violated its free speech and due proc- ess rights protected under the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S.
Constitution, as well as related protections under the state Constitu- tion and civil rights law, court records show. The court battle involves claims re- lated to medication abortion, which usually involves taking two oral medi- cations mifepristone followed by misoprostol 24 to 48 hours later. The abortion pill reversal treatment involves administering repeated doses of progesterone, a hormone bodies nat- urally produce during pregnancy, to a pregnant person who has taken mife- pristone but has not yet taken mis- oprostol. James asserted that use of progester- one is an accepted mainstream medical practice, and there is no cred- ible evidence proving that the treatment is safe or in revers- ing abortions. She added the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has also cautioned not backed by sci- ence.
lawsuit asserted has business butting into the intimate medical decision of an expec- tant mother, in consultation with the medical professional of her choice, to carry her pregnancy to term and save her unborn baby from the disastrous ef- fects of mifepristone while there is still time to undo the of that powerful Abortion Continued from Page 1A State Attorney General Letitia James sued Heartbeat International and 11 pregnancy centers for allegedly making fraudulent claims about abortion pill reversal treatments. TIMOTHY A VIA GETTY IMAGES.
