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.

Mar 28

2022

Monday Morning Read

Below is an excerpt from yesterday’s WeeklyPost, which is sent via email every Sunday morning. You can subscribe, for free, here. Ken Kruly has a terrific analysis on New York’s gambling addiction. That is, state’s government’s gambling addiction. It’s a very smart read. Personally, I think the whole gambling thing is getting a bit much. All the ads on my Twitter feed are enough to turn me off. But now we’ve got a pro athlete, no less than hockey superstar Connor McDavid, signing an endorsement deal with an online betting site. And, of course, there’s the continued practice of The Buffalo News[...]

Posted 4 years ago

Mar 21

2022

Smart reads on the Bills stadium

I’ve got three items related to the Bills stadium situation that I want to share. The Citizens Budget Commission came out Monday in favor of an idea that’s bound to go nowhere because it makes too much sense: base the state’s investment in a new Bills stadium on the actual benefits it would produce for taxpayers. Said the commission: All economic development spending, whether direct, through tax incentives, or through reduced utility or other costs, should be justified by a rigorous analysis that shows that the public benefits that would accrue will exceed the public’s costs. New York does not[...]

Posted 4 years ago

Mar 20

2022

Monday Morning Read

Editor’s note: This post is pulled from WeeklyPost, an email newsletter written by Jim Heaney and published Sunday mornings. It recaps our coverage of the previous week and highlights other local, state and national stories that Heaney finds of interest, along with a bit of commentary. If you don’t already subscribe — for free — you can do so at this link. Below is the portion of yesterday’s WeeklyPost entitled “What I’m Reading.” Buffalo Business First had an interesting story last week on eight behind-the-scenes advisers the Buffalo Bills have recruited to help them in their push for a new stadium. One name jumped[...]

Posted 4 years ago

Mar 6

2022

Monday Morning Read

Editor’s note: This post is pulled from WeeklyPost, an email newsletter written by Jim Heaney and published Sunday mornings. It recaps our coverage of the previous week and highlights other local, state and national stories that Heaney finds of interest, along with a bit of commentary. If you don’t already subscribe — for free — you can do so at this link. A story broke late last week that said the Bills stadium deal being struck is going to cost taxpayers over $1 billion. According to Sports Business Journal, taxpayers would cover $850 million of the project’s $1.4 billion price tag,[...]

Posted 4 years ago

Mar 3

2022

Cash severance pay tops $300,000

Buffalo schools, and the taxpayers who fund the district, are paying Kriner Cash more than $300,000 to go away. Cash resigned under pressure as superintendent Wednesday night. He’s been criticized of late for his frequent absences from the district, his handling of numerous issues related to the pandemic and a spike in violence in city schools, including a shooting and stabbing at McKinley High School on Feb. 9. Those issues led to increased tensions with a growing number of School Board members and a dare he issued to the board on Feb. 16 to fire him if they were unhappy[...]

Posted 4 years ago

Feb 27

2022

Monday Morning Reads

Editor’s note: WeeklyPost is an email newsletter written by Jim Heaney and published Sunday mornings. It recaps our coverage of the previous week and highlights other local, state and national stories that Heaney finds of interest, along with a bit of commentary. If you don’t already subscribe, you can do so at this link. Here’s a sampling of the “What I’m Reading” section of yesterday’s newsletter. It’s been a long time coming, but Louis Ciminelli is finally behind bars for his involvement in the Buffalo Billion bid rigging and Alain Kaloyeros is headed there next month. They were convicted on[...]

Posted 4 years ago

Feb 22

2022

Scott Levin interview with Jim Heaney

Editor Jim Heaney discussed the past, present and future of Investigative Post in an interview earlier this week with WGRZ news anchor Scott Levin. Investigative Post marked its 10 year anniversary Tuesday. Heaney, in his seven-minute interview with Levin, described Investigative Post’s place in the local media landscape, outlined his plans to continue to grow his nonprofit news organization, and noted the challenges reporters face these days – namely, stonewalling politicians and bureaucrats contemptuous of the public’s right to know. In addition to watching the interview above, you can read Heaney’s history of Investigative Post at this link.

Posted 4 years ago

Feb 21

2022

Celebrating a decade of muckraking

A billionaire is pouring money — $15 million the first year of operation alone — to launch a nonprofit news organization in Baltimore. Five foundations are putting up $20 million to start a similar venture in Houston. Me? I started Investigative Post with my credit card and an understanding wife. It was the fall of 2011. I had just taken a buyout from The Buffalo News, where I had worked for 25 years. I’d had enough. The paper was in the early stages of a downward spiral that continues to this day. I figured I had 10 years left in[...]

Posted 4 years ago