Mar 12
2018
Jim Heaney and Susan Arbetter talk about the troubled IBM project in Buffalo on The Capitol Pressroom. Investigative Post in recent months has published two stories, found here and here, on the project, which Gov. Andrew Cuomo said would create hundreds of good-paying, high-tech jobs but instead has resulted in a dysfunctional call center employing low-wage workers who say they are poorly trained.
Feb 13
2018
The rapid-moving and debris-filled water of the Niagara River was unfamiliar territory to Officer Craig Lehner. His previous dives were in relatively calm and contained waters like the Buffalo River and the clear, warm Caribbean where he got his scuba certification. Last October, Lehner was training with the Buffalo Police’s Underwater Recovery Team in the Niagara River, the first time the team had trained there in over a year. While the team’s commander, Detective Leo McGrath, has more than thirty years of diving experience, he is not certified to teach public safety diving. Underwater, Lehner lacked the equipment to verbally[...]
Jan 17
2018
Yesterday, Daniel Derenda was Buffalo police commissioner. Today, out of the blue, he’s retired. The lack of public notice has some people, including me, wondering if there’s more than what meets the eye. I mean, who announces their retirement the day they walk out the door, especially the guy in charge? This much is certain: He leaves behind a police department that is, well, kind of a mess. Some he inherited, others cropped up on his watch. Most telling, perhaps, are the cases of Wardel Davis, Jose Hernandez-Rossy and Craig Lehner. Davis and Hernandez-Rossy died last year during encounters with[...]
Nov 16
2017
Susan Arbetter interviews Jim Heaney on The Capitol Pressroom regarding Investigative Post’s recent story about IBM and the Buffalo Billion. Heaney said taxpayers are not getting a good return for their considerable investment in major Buffalo Billion projects and that IBM has effectively said it’s none of the public’s business how it is using $55 million in subsidies.
Sep 25
2017
Jim Heaney tells Susan Arbetter that “Buffalo has a policing problem” on Monday’s edition of The Capitol Pressroom. Arbetter interviewed him about an Investigative Post story from last week that documented unconstitutional searches and other misconduct on the part of the department’s Strike Force and Housing Unit.
Sep 13
2017
A win is a win, and Byron Brown certainly did that Tuesday, capturing a little more than half the vote in a three-way Democratic primary for mayor. The victory sets Brown up for a fourth term, equalling the tenure of Jimmy Griffin. That’s about where the good news ends for the mayor. The numbers are not otherwise kind. Let’s start with his 13,346 votes – the lowest of his four primary runs and little more than half of his total eight years ago. (Mickey Kearns garnered more votes eight years ago in losing to Brown in a landslide. Think about it.)[...]
Jul 13
2017
Jim Heaney discusses two recent stories done by Investigative Post on the proposed extension of Metro Rail and Buffalo’s continuing lead poisoning crisis. Heaney explained to Susan Arbetter of The Capitol Pressroom why he thinks the rail extension is a bad idea and chastises city and county officials for their failure to address lead poisoning with a greater sense of urgency.
Jul 5
2017
Jim Heaney tells Susan Arbetter of The Capitol Pressroom there’s a “corruption coalition” at play in Albany that explains the failure of the state Legislature to reform New York’s troubled economic development programs. Heaney also discusses the challenges faced by investigative reporting.