Irreconciable Differences

The NY Assembly passed legislation on July 1 which allowed New York to join the 49 other states that grant “no-fault” divorces. Previously one party had to victim of abuse, neglect or—get this—withholding sex, practices otherwise known as, well, marriage.

Holding Center Hilton

After a year of ducking media requests to tour the much-maligned Erie County Holding Center, officials finally relented on July 2—thanks to a little federal intervention—and granted reporters a look. Big smiles everyone, nothing to see here...

Bear Patrol

Almost a year after a black bear “terrorized” Amherst, on July 5 a 200-pound bear was struck and killed on the 990. No word yet if Amherst will address this growing bear crisis, but one thing is certain: let the bears pay the bear tax, I pay the Homer tax.

Keepin' It Real

Niagara Falls rapper Sean McIver, 31, who performs under the stage name “Raw”, plead guilty on July 6 to charges of running drug gang. An alleged member of the notorious Bloods—a charge he denies—McIver faces a maximum life in prison.

Dry Heat

Gripped by some of the most miserable heat indexes in recent memory, Buffalo endured a sweaty, sticky and hazy July 4 weekend. All the while ex-pats who escaped to the Sun Belt and Arizona, justifying it was a “dry heat” just chuckled pompously.

Approximate number of hours it took Gov. David Paterson to sign all 6,681 vetoes to the New York State Legislature’s long overdue budget. This works out to a signature roughly every 3.8 seconds. On July 7 Paterson’s administration hand delievered the $525 million in spending cuts to the Assembly.