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Scorecard: The Week's Winners and Losers
by Zachary Burns
The Week's Winners & Losers
 Final Hurdles In a move meant to assuage federal anitrust concerns, HSBC agreed to sell off 26 branches to Key Bank on Jan. 12, thus paving the way to finalizing a deal to sell off the remaining branches to First Niagara and usher their way out of town for good. So long, HSBC, good luck chasing those Chinese yuan. |
 Legal FeesFaced with a $1.4 million lawsuit that accuses him of a pay-to-play scheme in an East Side housing development, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown filed a request for dismissal Jan. 13, claiming the jilted Cleveland developer is trying to “extort a settlement.” Long live litigation for all! |
 Animal Treatment Following weeks of vocal protestations over the Niagara County SPCA’s alleged animal mistreatment, on Jan. 17 State Sen. George Maziarz called for a full investigation into the group’s actions. It’s amazing how so many people can show such empathy for dogs and cats and then go home to a nice plate of beef and chicken. |
 Claims To FameWho’d have thought the one thing this city can normally rely upon—freeze-your-ass-off cold—would be such a letdown this year? Organizers of the annual pond hockey tournament on a (typically) frozen Erie Basin Marina announced on Jan. 17 that they’ll shift to the streets due to the unusual warmth. |
 Worker ProductivityGoogle, Reddit, Wikipedia, and Craigslist were among many websites that went dark on Jan. 18 to protest the SOPA and PIPA Internet censorhip bills currently being considered—and co-signed by Senators Chuck Schumer and Kristen Gillibrand—in Congress. Call now, people, or we might actually have to keep working. |
By the numbers...
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12
Days into 2012 before the first homicide of the year was recorded in the City of Buffalo. The body of a 54-year-old man was discovered dead of multiple stab wounds in his Roebling Avenue house on Jan. 12. This marks the latest date in the past five years on which the city has recorded its first homicide of the year, besting the 10-day mark reached in 2011. Homicides were recorded on the first day of the new year in three out of the past five years (2007, 2008, 2010). |
909
Estimated net worth in millions dollars of Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson, according to a 2010 Forbes report. On Jan. 17 Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled a $131.9 billion state budget and claimed the Bills would be eligible for a share of $84 million for improvements at Ralph Wilson Stadium. However, the budget actually sets aside only $2.94 million, the final installment of a 15-year, $63 million deal signed in 1997. The Bills, whose lease expires in 2013, estimate stadium upgrades will cost upwards of $100 million. |
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5
Rank of Buffalo on chemistry.com’s list of the Top Ten Cities to Find a Sensitive Man. The Jan. 12 list used information input by the data site’s users on how men valued loyalty, respect and moral conduct. |
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