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Scorecard: The Weeks Winners & Losers

Showdown: March Madness Edition

It’s March Madness time again Buffalo! On March 14 the eight teams coming to town (let’s hope their fans remember to spend freely!) to play in in the NCAA basketball tournament were unveiled. Due to our minimal knowledge of college basketball, the Week In Review decided to prognosticate the results according to our own arbitrary metrics.







The Week's Winners & Losers

Snitchin'

The Erie County Sheriff’s Department unveiled a new 24/7 narcotics tip line on Mar. 12 to encourage residents to confidentially report drug activity in their neighborhood. In other news, “Stop Snitching” t-shirts coming soon to a bodega near you!

Irish Pride

In what some are saying is a first for New York State, on Mar. 13 an LGBT organization marched in a St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Buffalo gay rights group OUTspoken for Equality participated in the “Old Neighborhood” parade through South Buffalo.

Population Growth

Congressman Eric Massa of NY resigned on Mar. 8 and accused Democratic leaders of a “setup” against him in order to pass health reform. Massa, a “salty” ex-sailor, denied pending ethics probes of allegations he groped male staffers influenced the decision.

Fugitives

An extensive search by K9 units, the Erie County Sheriff’s helicopter, and several police agencies on Mar. 15 was successful in apprehending a fugitive man in Angola, accused of…wait for it…skipping out his $96 cab fare. A tad bit overkill? Nah.

Doubling Down

With plans for a permanent facility still up in the air, the Seneca Nation cut the ribbon on Mar. 16 to a $9 million expansion at the temporary site of the Buffalo Creek Casino. The site now has 445 slot machines and saw 541,000 visitors last year.





By the numbers...

800

Number of in-flight hours experience required for new commercial pilots, mandated by a bill passed in the Senate on Mar. 16. The amendment, authored by Sen.atorChuck Schumer, was pushed by the families of the victims’ of Flight 3407 in Clarence, who asked for 1,500 hours.

44

Millions of dollars in budget surplus announced by Erie County Executive Chris Collins on Mar. 11 at his State of the County address. Medicaid savings through Federal Stimulus funds accounted for $41 million of the surplus. Collins outlined plans to use $30 million of the fund towards debt payments.

91

Percentage of residents who voted in favor of a resolution on Mar. 16 to dissolve the village of Randolph (population 1,316) in Cattaraugus County. The measure passed by 125 votes to 13. Randolph was joined by two other villages in the county, East Randolph (57-11) and Perrysburg (60-9), whose residents voted to downsize government and consolidate utilities. The tiny towns will cease to exist on Jan. 1, 2012.


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