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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.

Jun 18

2014

Buffalo recovery a Tale of Two Cities

Jim Heaney makes his debut as a columnist for City & State this week with a piece that puts Buffalo’s improved economy in perspective. Heaney notes a great and growing divide between “the haves and have-nots.” Yes, there is the psychological boost thanks to the Buffalo Billion initiative, and construction cranes denote progress at Canalside and the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. But other aspects of the economy lag. “Any way you cut the numbers—poverty rate, unemployment rate, actual number of city residents working—they lag behind where things stood prior to the Great Recession of 2008–09,” Heaney writes. Meanwhile, the public[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Jun 18

2014

Heaney assesses SolarCity deal

Investigative Post editor Jim Heaney discusses the SolarCity deal, and the thinking behind the Buffalo Billion initiative, with WGRZ’s Danny Spewak in a 6 minute, 42 second interview taped Tuesday evening.  

Posted 11 years ago

May 16

2014

IDA chairman won’t discuss resignation

Chris Johnston, chairman of the Erie County Industrial Development Agency, has dug in his heels in the face of questions regarding his suspension and resignation from his private sector job. Johnston rejected a request from John Mills, chairman of the Erie County Legislature, to appear Wednesday before the Government Affairs Committee to answer questions about his departure last month from the World Trade Center of Buffalo Niagara. Johnston was suspended in late March in the midst of an internal review of trade center finances. He resigned in early April. Johnston told Mills in a letter that he would only answer[...]

Posted 11 years ago

May 12

2014

Maziarz, Gallivan spending questioned

Do state lawmakers pocket campaign contributions for personal use? The Moreland Commission, charged with investigating corruption in state government, was asking that question before Gov. Andrew Cuomo disbanded the panel in March. A couple dozen state legislators were on the commission’s radar screen because their campaign finance disclosure reports didn’t document some expenses or failed to itemize their spending to detail precisely what they spend their money on. Sen. George Maziarz, R-Newfane, topped the commission’s list, with about $140,000 in unitemized spending over a six-year period, according to a report published today by City & State, a magazine and website that[...]

Posted 11 years ago

May 1

2014

Common Council needs to step up

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 11 years ago

Apr 30

2014

Still in charge, but under a cloud

Chris Johnston, acting chairman of the Erie County Industrial Development Agency, recently resigned as president of World Trade Center Buffalo Niagara after sources told Investigative Post a review of some aspect of the center’s finances prompted his board to suspend him. Johnston remains chairman of the ECIDA and has the “complete confidence” of Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, according to a statement his office issued. But neither Johnston nor Poloncarz will answer questions and the chairman of the World Trade Center won’t discuss specifics of what he characterizes as a personnel matter.

Posted 11 years ago

Apr 25

2014

Council lacks initiative, independence

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 11 years ago
Investigative Post