Things certainly have been busy around WXXI this month. The recent rash of rain on the area has not put a damper on the news and activities surrounding your public broadcasting station:

• We learned that Biz Kid$ – WXXI’s nationally presented series that teaches kids how to manage their own money, has been nominated for three daytime Emmys! Biz Kid$ was nominated in the Directing, Single Camera Photography, and Sound Editing categories, and we look forward to the awards announcement on June 17 in Los Angeles. If you have never seen the program I encourage you to check it out Fridays at 5:30 pm and Sundays at 10:30 a.m. on WXXI-TV/HD. Though geared toward school-aged children, I assure you that we can all benefit from the information, regardless of our age!

• WXXI hosted a Voice of the Voter debate between 26th Congressional District candidates Jane Corwin (R) and Kathleen Hochul (D) on Wednesday, May 18th. C-Span took a video feed of the debate that aired nationally, and CNN, the New York Post, New York Times, Slate Magazine, and Bloomberg all sent reporters to cover the event. You can watch the debate online, by clicking here.

• We just finished taping the first seven episodes of our national healthcare series, Second Opinion, this past weekend. Countless doctors, experts and guests flew in from around the country to join host Dr. Peter Salgo to discuss topics like Chronic Pain Management, Medical Radiation and one on Sugar, which we suspect will garner plenty of national attention. Produced by WXXI and the University of Rochester Medical Center, the 8th season of Second Opinion will premiere this October.

• There were some recent, well-attended events – all on May 15th! 1,328 people chose to spend their rainy Sunday with WXXI at the New York Transportation Museum for Dinosaur Train Day. The little ones had pictures taken with our Dinosaur Train stand-up, they made engineer caps and Buddy The Dinosaur puppets, and screened a new Dinosaur Train episode. There was lots of fun for everyone and a great effort by the all-volunteer museum staff to establish a new record for one-day attendance.

• At the same time, 250 attendees were at the Harley School to celebrate 30 years on the air with Michael Lasser. The longtime Classical 91.5 and national Fascinatin’ Rhythm host, was joined on stage by Cindy Miller and Alan Jones to talk about and sing some of America's favorite songs.

Finally, we ended our week-long Spring Membership Drive across all of our radio services. I am proud to report that we raised over $168,000. More than 1400 individuals pledged, including many new members from Ithaca and Geneva, as listeners in those areas are beginning to discover WITH 90.1 and rediscover WEOS 89.7.

Thank you for making your membership pledge. Those dollars go towards the programming you depend on every day and to ensure a strong, independent voice in our region. That support also goes a long way in making recent events and productions, like the ones I've mentioned, possible. Whether through dollars, attendance, or loyalty to the programming – it’s your investment in public broadcasting that keeps us a strong community resource.