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Scorecard: The Week's Winners & Losers

The Week's Winners & Losers

Good Deeds

State Senator Mark Grisanti had to have known his votes for gay marriage and higher taxes on the rich wouldn’t go unpunished. Still, it must have stung when the Erie County Conservative Party formally endorsed Democratic (but formerly Republican) challenger Charles Swanick on Feb. 23.

Good Deeds Part Two

The hits (figuratively, this time) keep coming for Grisanti: Niagara Falls police announced on Feb. 24 that they would not file charges against any participants in a brawl at the Seneca Niagara Casino that Grisanti claims started when he tried to break up a fight between two men.

Paranoia

Not content with merely probing the private lives of everyday (albeit “scary” Muslim) UB students, documents released online allege the NYPD’s domestic spying operation extended to members of the West Side’s Somali community. Trust no one, folks, terrorists could be lurking ANYWHERE.

Wheeling and Dealing

For better or for worse, the Terry Pegula era has been one marked by aggressive moves. And at the Feb. 26 NHL trade deadline, the Buffalo Sabres were by the far the most active, dealing Paul Gaustad to Nashville and sending two prospects to Vancouver for young center Cody Hodgson.

Charity

We’re big boosters of Lloyd’s Taco Truck, but something about the news that they’re using Kickstarter.com to solicit online donations to help purchase a second truck seems off. We’re all for the proliferation of tasty tacos, but since when did for-profit enterprises start asking for handouts?





By the numbers...

28.5

Millions of dollars annually the US Postal Service claims can be saved by closing the William Street mail processing center in Buffalo and shifting operations to Rochester. A feasibility study reports that $2.85 million would be saved in transportation costs alone. However, Congressman Brian Higgins, concerned over the potential loss of some 700 jobs, cast doubt over the USPS’s numbers in a formal complaint to Postmaster General Patrick Donohoe on Feb. 26.

82

Percentage of workers age 16 and over in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls Metro area who drive to work alone, according to Census data from the 2010 American Community Survey, below the nationwide averageof one-occupant commuters of 76.6 percent. Only 11.3 percent of all Western New Yorkers used public transit or carpooled, but city of Buffalo residents ranked 22nd in the nation among cities with 13.74 percent utilizing public transit to commute. Last week average gas prices hit $3.91 per gallon locally and this summer are expected to challenge the Western New York record high mark of $4.28 achieved in July 2008.


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