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Artvoice Weekly Edition » Issue v11n22 (05/31/2012) » Section: Week in Review


Into the Dust

A small but impassioned group gathered outside the office of State Senator Mark Grisanti at 65 Court Street to lobby the lawmaker to vote in favor of raising the state minimum wage to $8.50 an hour. Grisanti, a Republican, is seen as a critical swing vote in the GOP-dominated Senate—he favors raising the minimum wage, but only by 25 cents an hour. Such a small hourly increase is “degrading,” according to Reverend Linda Heffley of VOICE-Buffalo, a grassroots, faith-based community organization, who led the assembly of protesters.

UB Shale Institute Website Goes Dark

Late last week, the UB Shale Resources and Society Institute (SRSI) took its website down to do some tweaking after it came under criticism in this newspaper and in a review issued by the Public Accountability Initiative (PAI) skewering SRSI’s “Environmental Impacts During Marcellus Shale Gas Drilling” report, which came out two weeks ago.

Meeting Minard

The Minard Run Oil Company, based in Bradford, Pennsylvania, claims to be the oldest family-owned and -operated independent oil producer in the United States. Founded in 1875 by Pennsylvania Senator Lewis Emery, Jr., the company today is run by four of his great-grandchildren and one of his great-great-grandchildren.

Look Who's Running Now

Betty Jean Grant, chair of the Erie County Legislature, will announce her intention to run a primary challenge to State Senator Tim Kennedy, a fellow Democrat, in the 63rd District. And Johnny Destino, a Republican who posed a credible challenge to Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster last year, has announced he’ll run a primary challenge to State Senator George Maziarz.

Scorecard: The Week's Winners & Losers





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