Jim Heaney

Jim Heaney is editor and executive director of Investigative Post. He was an investigative reporter with The Buffalo News from 1986 to 2011 and a reporter and editor with The Orlando Sentinel from 1980-86. His coverage over the years has focused on economic development, local and state government, politics, education, housing and transportation, and he was an early practitioner of computer-assisted reporting. Heaney has won more than 20 journalism awards and was a finalist for the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting.

Sep 8

2024

So much for reforming OTB

The Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. stayed true to form last week in hiring Byron Brown as its new president and CEO. OTB, perhaps the sleaziest government operation in Western New York, conducted what appears to be a sham recruitment process leading up to the mayor’s hiring. Officials have been largely silent about how they went about advertising the job, aside from Chairman Dennis Bassett telling The Buffalo News the agency posted the job on LinkedIn. LinkedIn? No ads in trade journals? No outreach through recruiters? If OTB did anything beyond LinkedIn, officials aren’t saying. OTB officials said 133 people[...]

Posted 3 months ago

Sep 8

2024

The continuing assault on the public’s right to know

On paper, New York State’s Freedom of Information Law is OK. Not great, but OK. In practice, however, state and local government officials often flout its requirements, using them not to produce records, but delay their release. The response of the state Legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul hasn’t been to toughen the law to penalize bad faith conduct, but to add a requirement that public employees be notified when their disciplinary records are requested under FOI. Good government groups vigorously opposed the change, saying it places further burdens on a system already functioning poorly and could discourage members of the[...]

Posted 3 months ago

Sep 2

2024

NFL move could help – or hurt – the Bills

The National Football League last week voted to lift its ban on private equity firms owning a piece of franchises. That’s good news for Terry Pegula, who is looking to unload a minority share of the Bills, presumably to help cover stadium cost overruns. The Buffalo News published a good analysis of the NFL vote last week. The league’s move is partly in response to the escalating price of franchises and the dwindling pool of people able to afford buying a team. Looking down the road, the lifting of the ban could further come into play if Pegula decides to[...]

Posted 3 months ago

Aug 26

2024

A newspaper like few others

Daily newspapers are tanking all over the county, including here in Buffalo. But not everywhere. The Minneapolis Star Tribune just announced a major investment to add reporters and open bureaus across the state, share content with hyperlocal news sites, and establish a philanthropic arm. It will henceforth be known as Minnesota Star Tribune to reflect its broader scope of coverage Reported The New York Times: The expansion is a rare big bet in the newspaper industry. Local newspapers have been shrinking across the country in recent years. A 2023 report from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern found that almost[...]

Posted 3 months ago

Aug 12

2024

Free speech may not be as popular as the Buffalo Bills

Mark Sommer of The Buffalo News has a good read on a new policy imposed by the Chautauqua Institute that stifles demonstrations, apparently out of fear that protesters advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza might show up at their gated community. (No one has.) Some folks are OK with the move, others are not, accusing the institute of betraying its self-proclaimed support of democracy and free speech. On one hand, the move is kind of surprising, given Chautauqua’s reputation. Then again, a lot of Democrats, including big city mayors who cracked down on Gaza demonstrators on college campuses this spring,[...]

Posted 4 months ago

Aug 5

2024

DOT plays gotcha on the Scajaquada Expressway

The Scajaquada Expressway isn’t a toll road. Not technically. But the state Department of Transportation has turned it into a moneymaker by surreptitiously installing speed detection cameras under the guise that a stretch of the roadway is a construction zone. As a result, DOT has been issuing a lot of speeding tickets – in the thousands, by the department’s own admission – to motorists. WKBW first reported on the situation, here and here, followed by The Buffalo News. As The News reported: Patrick Freeman, a retired police officer who spent 30 years on SUNY Buffalo State University’s force, has filed[...]

Posted 4 months ago

Jul 29

2024

Trump vs. Harris: The heavyweight battle begins

I like to lead my Monday Morning Read with something local, but how can you ignore the presidential election? Maybe it’s just me, but it seems every time Donald Trump or J.D. Vance open their mouths, they alienate non-MAGA voters and turbo-charge supporters of Kamala Harris. Take, for example, Trump’s pronouncement the other day that there will be no need for elections in four years should he win the White House in November. Here’s a story and, better yet, the video. Then there’s the proposal floated by Vance in 2021 to give voters with children more clout at the polls[...]

Posted 4 months ago

Jul 22

2024

Joe Biden: American Patriot

Politicians tend to be egotistical, me-first creatures. That’s what makes President Biden’s decision to withdraw as a candidate that much more remarkable. He faced facts and put his country ahead of his ego. Good for him, and good for us. Lindsey Graham, before he went to the dark side, described Biden as “as good a man as God ever created.” I wouldn’t go that far, but he’s been a good president who struck me as a decent human being – Gaza notwithstanding. While his legacy is yet to be written, it will no doubt include him saving us from another[...]

Posted 5 months ago