Franchise Players

The Buffalo Bills officially hitched their wagons to the arm of the Amish Rifle on Oct. 28, signing quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to a six-year, $59 million contract, the richest in Bills history. After over a decade of searching (Todd Collins, Rob Johnson, JP Losman, Trent Edwards) it seems Buffalo has finally found its guy.

Empathy

Amherst “foreclosure mill” Steven J. Baum PC was easily elevated to public enemy number one on Oct. 28 after a New York Times article revealed the law firm threw a “homeless” themed Halloween party last year, with employees cruelly mocking the very people they were kicking out of their homes. Wow.

Safe Spaces

In a sign that the race for county exeutive must be getting tight, Chris Collins retreated to the comfy confines of FOX News on Oct. 30 to sling allegations of election fraud against Mark Poloncarz and the state Democratic Party. We knew Collins could golf, but who knew he could hit a softball so well.

Nice Try

Why don’t you have a seat right over there, please? A haunted house that was to be operated out of the home of two registered sex offenders in Lockport was ultimately canceled on Oct. 29 by organizers after the expected backlash from the community. You have to give it them, it was a pretty crafty plan.

Permanant Fixtures

The Buffalo Common Council voted 6-3 in favor on Nov. 1 of waiving the $500 permit fee for the Occupy Buffalo movement. Councilmembers Richard Fontana, Bonnie Russell, and Joseph Golombek opposed the measure. I wouldn’t expect the Niagara Square encampment to go away any time soon.

Shortest travel time in hours to get from Buffalo to Yeongcheon, our newest sister city. November airfare for a one-way trip to Daegu via Korean Air starts at $1,127.48 and requires stopovers in Atlanta and Seoul. On Nov. 1 a delegation from Yeongcheon was in Buffalo to announce the partnership, the first between a city in New York and South Korea.