Students looking to savor a glass of local vino may not have to travel any farther than Wegmans if the State Legislature approves Governor Paterson’s recent proposal, which allows grocery stores to sell wine for the first time in New York State history. But the liquor store owners affected by the proposal claim that the governor based his decision on drunken logic.

The proposal came about as a means of decreasing the state’s multi-billion dollar budget gap. Supermarkets selling the wine would be required to pay a franchise fee to the state, which Paterson hopes would raise over $100 million.

In an effort to help alleviate the economic strain on customers, Wegmans Food Market Inc. has decided to make prescriptions for oral antibiotics free for its Club Shoppers. The program will run during the months when usage of such medicine peaks, from Jan. 7 to March 31.

“We realize that customers and employers are feeling the pinch of economy,” Jeanne Colleluori, Wegmans communications and media specialist. “One way to help people lead healthier lives is by relieving the economic pressure of their pharmaceutical requirements.”

Although Wegmans will not divulge the financial cost of this initiative, the company expects that its customers will save $1 million.

Wegmans recently announced that it would offer free generic antibiotics to customers with prescriptions, following in the footsteps of other supermarket chains such as Giant and Stop & Shop. While this is a positive measure for families otherwise unable to afford antibiotics, the time and money spent on this program could be better spent preventing disease in the first place.

Excitement is slowly starting to build in anticipation of the holidays, but at Wegmans, that time of year seems to have already arrived. Last week, Wegmans issued a statement on their website saying, “Wegmans is lowering prices — just in time for the holidays!”

Danny and Colleen Wegman, the two owners of the grocery store chain wrote in a letter that because of anticipated cost decreases, the company had decided to bring the prices down as soon as they could. The CEO and President of Wegmans, Danny Wegman said, “It’s ok with us if we make a little less money.”

Jo Natale, director of media relations for Wegmans, explained some of the reasons for the price decreases.