Dropping the N-Bomb

It boggles the mind to try and understand how and in what context the girls basketball team at Kenmore East found their traditional pre-game chant of “1-2-3 N*****!” acceptable for over 20 years. Fallout from the Dec. 8 revelation and the subsequent suspensions have been justifiably harsh.

Holiday Haul

Last week, just in time for the holiday season, two of the larger capital projects in town recevied huge infusions of funding. UB cashed in on $35 million in state aid to move the med school downtown while another $15 million in federal bucks went to return traffic to Main Street. Yes, Buffalo, there is a government Claus.

Bus Service

NFTA officials voted unanimously on Dec. 8 to scrap a proposed fare hike and rely on drastic service reductions instead to help close a $14.7 million budget deficit. It’s hard to be pleased by the potential of a 26-percent reduction in total bus hours, but this was easily the better of two unpalatable choices.

Democracy in Action

Bucking a trend of brutal crackdowns by police and government officials seen in numerous other cities, members of Occupy Buffalo reached a peaceful agreement with the city on Dec. 12 to dictate the terms of their encampment in Niagara Square. Let this serve as a beacon of good governance of the people.

Farm Aid

Star-studded relief concerts haven’t really been en vogue since the 1980s, but apparently they still exist and Buffalo may be the target for one of them. A Dec. 11 report in the Greece Post claims that state leaders are pushing Buffalo as the site of a 2012 Farm Aid benefit. Suck on that, agri-business.

Number of New Yorkers whose votes were invalidated in the 2010 election due to “overvotes,” the selection of more than one candidate, according to a new report ny the Brennan Center for Justice. The Brennan Center blames the state’s new voting machines. In two Bronx election districts, nearly 40 percent of ballots were tossed.