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September 9, 2013 | VOL. 49, No. 36 MaRk lUnGaRiello
INSIDE
BacK-to-school spendIng down Retailers say shoppers more frugal this year
TOUCH OF GLASS • 15
by crySTaL KanG ckang@westfairinc.com
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ack-to-school shopping got an A-minus from retailers as more parents compared prices and cut back on buying. Families with school-age children were expected to spend an average of $634.78 on apparel, shoes, supplies and electronics this year, down from $688.62 last year, according to a survey by Prosper Insights and Analytics for the National Retail Federation. Total back-to-school spending for kindergarten through 12th grade was expected to reach $26.7 billion nationwide. Back-to-college spending was expected to reach $45.8 billion this year. The reduction in shopping was attributed to an increase in prices. In the past 12 months, prices of consumer goods rose 1.4 percent, and consumer spending fell flat last month after rising 0.2 percent in June, the Bureau of Economic Analysis Spending, page 6
rich party, poor party GOP lawmakers post higher household income numbers by john GoLDen jgolden@westfairinc.com
repubLiCans in The sTaTe LegisLaTure on average are more financially secure – with twice as much in reported assets – as their Democratic colleagues in Albany. But a Westchester County Democrat, Assemblywoman Amy R. Paulin, led all lawmakers in household income in 2012 and was second highest in household net worth. Those were among the findings of a recent analysis of New York lawmakers’ personal financial interests by two government watchdog groups,
Common Cause New York and the New York Public Interest Research Group. Their analysis was based on financial information legislators were required to file with two state ethics commissions for the first time this year and was compiled in collaboration with The New York World, an online public-interest publication of the Columbia Journalism School. The 24 lawmakers representing the sevencounty Mid-Hudson region, which includes Westchester County, reported the highest average household income in 2012, based on the dollarParty, page 6
TEAM BUILDING ON THE MENU • 17