Categories for Co-produced with WGRZ

Jul 16

2015

Water woes at Gallagher Beach

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  Gallagher Beach has a serious bacteria problem. The bacteria counts at the unofficial beach on Buffalo’s Outer Harbor – which local, state and federal officials want to open for public swimming – exceeded safe levels more than two-thirds of the time in tests conducted last summer. The test results are included in a 181-page study Investigative Post recently obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request. The state has not officially released the report to the public. “The results are that this is not a safe place to swim,” said John Finster, a retired public health engineer who used[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Jul 6

2015

Limited progress on lead poisoning

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In the second of a two-part series, Investigative Post reports on limited progress being made by local government officials to address lead poisoning in low-income neighborhoods on the city’s East and West Side. The Erie County Health Department has concentrated its inspections for lead paint to houses in at-risk neighborhoods where children live. Meanwhile, Mayor Byron Brown said he’s willing to have City Hall consider teaming with the county to deal with the problem. A similar effort by officials in Rochester and Monroe County has proved successful. Investigative Post reported Thursday that nearly 500 children in three ZIP codes comprising[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Jul 2

2015

Update: Buffalo’s lead poisoning problem

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March Moon fled Burma for a better quality of life in Buffalo. Instead, she’s got a sick kid suffering from lead poisoning. Her five-year-old son has kidney problems. He struggles to eat and sleep. His stunted growth makes him the smallest pupil in preschool. He’s been hospitalized numerous times with stays of up to eight days. “The Erie County Department of Health came to my house and they said that my son has lead poisoning,” Moon said. “I had never heard of that before. What is that?” Moon and her ailing son are not alone. Thirty-seven years after lead was[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Jun 25

2015

Recycling coming to Buffalo’s waterfront

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In San Francisco, residents can recycle food waste. In fact, it’s mandated. In Seattle, residents can recycle cigarette butts. But in Buffalo, we can’t even get recycling bins downtown. Despite this, there is something good to report. Baby steps, folks. Canalside visitors will soon notice bins for recycling cans and bottles at the popular waterfront destination. Wednesday morning, the Coca-Cola Bottling Co. in the Town of Tonawanda provided the city with 50 recycling containers. This is a step in the right direction in the city’s effort to boost its dismal recycling rate, which is less than half the national average. But what[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Jun 24

2015

Demone Smith promoted despite violations

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Demone Smith’s long history of violating the state elections law hasn’t stopped Mayor Byron Brown from appointing him to a key position in his cabinet. Smith, majority leader of the Common Council and a political ally of the mayor, starts next week as executive director of the Buffalo Employment and Training Center. The center matches employers with city and county residents seeking jobs. Over the past decade, Smith has failed to file campaign disclosure reports on time 28 times. That’s prompted the state Board of Elections to impose seven penalties, five of which remain unpaid. Smith owes $3,382 in penalties.[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Jun 17

2015

SolarCity update: Progress and problems

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Construction of the massive $750 million solar panel manufacturing plant is approaching the half-way point and SolarCity is starting to hire in anticipation of a phase in of operations early next year. Meanwhile, the company is losing record amounts of money, its stock price is languishing and federal investigators continue to look at some of its past dealings out of state. New York officials, for their part, continue to thwart efforts to open the SolarCity project to public scrutiny.

Posted 9 years ago

Jun 2

2015

Goodyear’s emissions a concern

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Investigative Post and WGRZ continue their coverage of the potential risk air pollution poses to residents in Niagara County. We reported Monday that the risk to public health from air pollution released from chemical and industrial plants, most of them in or around Niagara Falls, is higher in Niagara County than in nine out of every 10 counties across the United States where emissions are reported to the federal government. In Tuesday’s report, we focus on Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. The plant’s emissions, which include two carcinogenic chemicals, account for nearly half the county’s risk score. Goodyear’s risk score is[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Jun 1

2015

Pollution risks in Niagara Falls

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Joe Cessna’s neighbors include chemical plants that are as much a part of the Niagara Falls landscape as the Cataracts. He’s constantly reminded of their presence. There’s the “nasty smell” that permeates his neighborhood and the greasy film that coats his pool in the summer and car year-round. “I can wash my car and within a couple of hours there’s a film on it,” he said. “Everybody says it’s safe, but you’ve got to wonder.” Cessna has good reason to wonder. And perhaps worry. Twenty-six industrial plants in Niagara County, most of the larger ones located in Niagara Falls, reported[...]

Posted 9 years ago
Investigative Post

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