Scorecard: The Week's Winners and Losers
by Zachary Burns
The Week's Winners & Losers
 Legal Fees The Department of Justice agreed to drop its’ lawsuit over civil rights violations and poor conditons at Erie County Holding Center on Aug. 18 after reaching a settlement with the county that would require dramatic improvements in the treatment of prisoners. Totally worth fighting that one, money well spent. |
 What Would Jesus Do? Flee. Well according to Rev. Matthew Wydmanski, he would. The pastor of Buffalo’s Corpus Christi Church—who faced felony reckless endangerment and DWI charges for an August incident where he blew a .21 and almost hit two cops—skipped town for his native Poland, missing an Aug. 19 court appearance. |
 PR NightmaresQuarterback and former dogfighting kingpin Michael Vick walked back on Aug. 19 from earlier comments that NFL commish Roger Goddell discouraged him from signing with Buffalo last season. Consider the Bills lucky. Even for a team in dire need of wins, a man who murdered dogs for sport is a tough sell. |
 Retro FashionsJust a month after Buffalo was named America’s 25th “worst-dressed” city by GQ, locally based hatmaker New Era unveiled a new Zubaz-inspired cap on Aug. 22 at an industry show in Las Vegas. Not just for sweatpants anymore, the zebra print (which never really went out of style here), is back. In yo’ face GQ. |
 Blasts From The PastsFormer NY gov George Pataki announced on Aug. 22 that he is considering running for President. However, in a Republican field marked by the batshit crazy of its’ frontrunners, it’s hard to say whether Pataki’s moderate stance will be able to satiate an angry electorate’s demand for wingnuttery. |
By the numbers...
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29,055
Maximum annual household income for a family of four to qualify for the Buffalo Public Schools free lunch program. Details of the program were announced on Aug. 22 and follow the government’s federal poverty guidelines. According to a 2010 Oishei Foundation study, 74% of Buffalo students qualify for free lunces. |
5.8
Magnitude on the Richter Schale of an earthquake centered near Richmond, Va. that struck at 1:51pm on Aug. 23 and sent seismic waves through Buffalo. Effects were felt from New England to South Carolina although damage was minor. The last quake felt locally was in July 2010 when a 5.0 magnitude tremor hit outside Ottawa. |
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5
Rank of Buffalo on author Chaz Valenza’s list of the 14 American cities “Most Ready to Riot”. Citing Buffalo’s unenviable mix of poverty, income disparity, hate-crimes and frequent police misconduct, Buffalo tied New Orleans and trailed only Detroit, Miami, Cleveland and Memphis on the entirely arbitrary and opinion-based list. |
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