Political Pessimism

Well, color us surprised. After predicting last week that lawmakers were sure to find a way to screw up the $132 billion budget deal they were close to passing on deadline, on Mar. 31 they got together and just did the damn thing. Is this the dawn of a new era of compromise? Nah, probably not.

Closed Cases

After seven days of trial and deliberating for just over seven hours, an Erie County jury on March 31 found Riccardo McCray of Buffalo guilty in the shooting deaths of three of the four people killed last summer at the City Grill. McCray will now face sentencing of 50 years to life in prison.

Backups

Sabres backup goalie Jhonas Enroth stepped up big time in the absence of an injured Ryan Miller, helping to earn seven out of a possible eight points and putting Buffalo on the cusp of a playoff spot. The once sparingly used netminder was rewarded on April 3, earning the NHL’s third star of the week award.

Magic Numbers

In the wake of last week’s Census results, Mayor Byron Brown stated on April 1 he is giving “serious thought” to challenging data that showed a 10.7 percent decline last decade. I know there’s a lot of federal money at stake, but are you hoping to find 10,000 immigrants under a mattress or something?

The Luck of the Draw

Parents crossed their fingers and said their prayers during the annual charter schools lottery on April 5, desperate that their children wouldn’t have to attend a Buffalo Public School. Is this what urban education has come to in America? Pegging your children’s future on a fortuitous ping pong bounce?

Year that Rochester will overtake Buffalo as the second-largest city in New York if current population trends continue according to 2010 census figures. With Buffalo decreasing 10.7 percent every 10 years and Rochester losing only 4.2 percent of its population, the two cities would reach equivalency sometime during 2040 at roughly 184,500.