Artvoice: Buffalo's #1 Newsweekly
Home Blogs Web Features Calendar Listings Artvoice TV Real Estate Classifieds Contact
Previous story: Fracking Letters
Next story: Messages From Home

Scorecard: The Week's Winners and Losers

The Week's Winners & Losers

Misdirection

After 15 months of delays due to water leaks and mold, on Nov. 4 local judges and politicians toured the yet-to-be-named new $137 million federal courthouse, the tallest addition to the city skyline since 1990. It’s nice to finally have something shiny and new to draw attention away from the crumbling Statler Towers.

Bounties

Tea Party magnate Rus Thompson announced on Nov. 4 that an anonymous donor has put up a $5,000 bounty in exchange for info on the Erie County ballot tampering case. However, with Chris Collins’s overwhelming defeat on Election Day, we’ll see just tives are willing to holler this time.

The Postman's Revenge

A postal worker in the Cattaraugus County town of Dayton is facing charges of animal cruely and criminal mischief after allegedly intentionally running over a dog while on her route on Nov. 4. The dog is expected to fully recover and the postwoman has been placed on suspension.

Goalie Controversies

Plagued by slumping play of late and having lost four of his last five starts, Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller was benched in favor of backup Jhonas Enroth on Nov. 5. We’re not going to say it has anything to do with his recent marriage to Yoko Goal-no, but we’re not going so far as to say it doesn’t either.

Taxing the Poor

The NFTA board voted to recommend a 25-cent fare hike to the administration on Nov. 8 as part of budget manueveurs to close a $14.4 million gap next year. While less drastic than a previously considered 50 cent hike, in a city marked by poverty, this impending hardship will no doubt hit ridership in the chin.





By the numbers...

0

Incumbents who faced opposition in their races for Buffalo Common Council. All nine sitting members of the council ran unopposed in this year’s election, and only four faced primary challengers. Current president and Fillmore District member David Franczyk will enter his 26th year on the Council, the longest-tenured member.

76

Days between the shooting death of a 30-year-old East Side man on Nov. 6 and the city’s last recorded homicide on Aug. 22. This span represents the longest period between murders in the City of Buffalo dating back to 2007. The previous longest stretch between murders was 45 days, from Sept. 23, 2008 to Nov. 7 2008.

28.3

Percent margin of victory received by Chris Collins (61.6 percent) over Democratic challenger James P. Keane (33.3 percent) in the 2007 election for County Executive. Oh, what a difference four years makes. The final election tally shows Collins (47.3) was defeated soundly by Democrat Mark Poloncarz (52.7) a margin of 5.6 percent.


blog comments powered by Disqus