It’s a sight, for sure. When 14,000 people decide to go for a run all at once, it’s bound to be an event. And when the event is the annual Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot, the event is bound to be more than a little crazy.
The 2017 version of the run didn’t disappoint. Costumes ranged from Shark Girls – there were several of them – to a man carrying a canoe. There was shrieking in the tunnels, adding to the energy of the 5-mile run.
And, in the end, there was money raised to support programs sponsored by the YMCA. Last year, the Turkey Trot kicked up about $300,000 for the cause. Here’s to the great Buffalo spirit that animates this fun and challenging event.
And speaking of challenging events, thousands of people also turned out for the annual madness known as Black Friday. Holiday shoppers looking for bargains swarmed the stores on Friday, and while numbers in recent years have been down across the country, it’s made up for on Cyber Monday, when increasing numbers of people who don’t want to fight the crowds scour the web for online deals.
The activity sometimes comes in for criticism from those who decry the commercialization of Christmas, but when people are out to spend money to provide something thoughtful to someone else, that speaks well of them. It’s also important to remember those who can’t afford to spend much on Christmas – that’s what the News Neediest Fund is all about – but giving to others is a fine thing on its own.
So, now it turns out Uber’s accounts were hacked in 2016 and the company kept the breach secret for more than a year. This is also the company that promised inflated earnings to drivers; underpaid drivers in New York City; deceived law enforcement in order to evade local ordinances; spied on its competitor, Lyft; and more.
The company worked hard to be able to do business in upstate New York. It has an odd way of promoting itself.
David Sweat, one of two men who staged a dramatic, theatrical escape from the state prison in Dannemora two years ago, has been transferred to the Attica Correctional Facility in nearby Wyoming County.
It will be helpful if the staff at Attica doesn’t include anyone who wants to help this cop killer escape, as prison worker Joyce Mitchell did at Dannemora.