Tag: leadership

Mar 21

2016

Higgins interview at iPost luncheon

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U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins discussed a range of local, national and international issues in an interview March 9 with Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney. In perhaps his most noteworthy comment, Higgins gave poor to middling grades to local leadership for what he said is its aversion to risk taking.

Posted 8 years ago

May 21

2015

Central Terminal decays as board delays

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For years, the Central Terminal suffered from willful neglect at the hands of its private owners. While the building lay open to vandals, artifacts were stolen and metal pipes stripped out. When the non-profit Central Terminal Restoration Corporation took ownership in 1997, the hope was that the group would halt the building’s deterioration and find a responsible developer to secure its long-term future. But the building is still deteriorating. And dysfunction in the Restoration Corporation’s board of directors has hampered progress in preserving and redeveloping it, former board members have told Investigative Post. “There’s so many different things wrong with[...]

Posted 9 years ago

May 1

2014

Common Council needs to step up

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Right about now, people ought to be missing Jim Pitts. Yeah, yeah, I know, obstructionist and all. I’ll concede, he could be frustrating at times. But Pitts was nobody’s pushover, and during his time in office the Common Council could be counted on to take the occasional lead on issues and function as some sort of check on executive power. That’s in sharp contrast to the “go along to get along” crew now occupying the Council’s nine seats. I did a package of stories last week for WGRZ that considered the effectiveness and independence of the Council and Erie County[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Apr 25

2014

Council lacks initiative, independence

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The good news: Buffalo’s Common Council doesn’t busy itself passing resolutions honoring people, be they dead or alive. But like the Erie County Legislature, the Council passes few laws and makes few changes to the executive branch’s spending plans, including the chronically troubled Community Development Block Grant program. The Council’s track record the past few years reflects a cozy relationship between lawmakers and Mayor Byron Brown. Few miss the bickering of the Griffin and, to a lesser degree, Masiello eras. But critics, who include former Council President David Franczyk, say lawmakers have surrendered their independence in the process. This report[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Aug 16

2013

Buffalo is not Denver. Darn.

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I spent three-and-a-half days in Denver recently while on vacation in Colorado, which is a beautiful state. I couldn’t have come away more impressed with the city. First, what’s there: An inviting, tree-lined downtown pedestrian mall that has block after block of stores, restaurants and people. A second thriving section of downtown, known as LoDo, anchored by a striking baseball stadium and a train station under restoration. (Imagine that.) An ample stock of historic buildings, many of them nifty brick structures. A light rail system that actually goes someplace. More than 200 parks, plus several municipal parks operated outside the[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Nov 25

2012

Q&A: Stephanie Simeon

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Stephanie Simeon is executive director of Heart of the City Neighborhoods, a non-profit housing development corporation serving Buffalo’s Lower West Side. Simeon, 31, is a native of Brooklyn who moved to Buffalo to attend the University at Buffalo, where she earned an undergraduate degree in social science and master’s degree in urban planning. She serves on the board of the Erie County Commission on the Status of Women. Last year she was selected by Business First as one of the region’s top 40 young people under 40. Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney interviewed Simeon on Nov. 20. A 4 minute, 45[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Sep 16

2012

Interview: Watchdog researcher Kevin Connor

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Kevin Connor is a research provocateur and one of the leading intellects in Buffalo’s burgeoning activist community.  The Boston native and 2005 graduate of Harvard University moved to Buffalo five years ago. Since then, he has launched two watchdog research organizations, the Public Accountability Initiative and LittleSis. His work has garnered press attention, both locally and nationally, connecting dots among the powerful and authoring studies that have called out the false claims of developers and supposedly independent researchers. Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney interviewed Connor Sept. 12. A 4 minute 43 second feature with interview highlights appears above. The full 21-minute interview[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Jul 8

2012

Complete Dyster interview

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Niagara Falls mayor discusses Wallenda Walk, municipal corruption, green economic development and the region’s improving leadership. For those who do not know much abut Dyster, the interview is a good introduction to one of the region’s brightest elected officials.

Posted 12 years ago
Investigative Post

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