Categories for Co-produced with WGRZ

Nov 7

2018

Slowdown in Power Authority subsidy programs

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It’s an unusual problem: subsidy programs that can’t find takers. The New York Power Authority has two of them in Western New York. One provides low-cost hydropower to local industry, but a quarter of the pool of electricity lacks for customers and is sold on the wholesale market. The profits from the sale of this unallocated power are earmarked for a program that funds business activity and community projects throughout Western New York. But that money hasn’t been in high demand recently, either. Roughly $4 million sits, unused, in the fund and the board in charge of awarding the money[...]

Posted 5 years ago

Nov 2

2018

Missing Maziarz funds remain a mystery

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The office of Sen. George Maziarz did such a poor job tracking spending from his campaign account that it’s impossible to know exactly what became of up to $350,000, Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said Thursday in explaining why he isn’t pressing charges against anyone who handled the money. Maziarz, who did not seek re-election in 2014 after being charged with unrelated campaign finance law violations, had accused his campaign treasurer, chief of staff and office manager of stealing the funds for their personal use. The state Board of Elections first looked into the matter and found the campaign’s[...]

Posted 5 years ago

Sep 28

2018

Successes and stumbles for 43North program

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 As the 43North startup competition, funded by the Buffalo Billion, enters its fifth year, organizers have made progress in addressing the program’s weak link: winning companies leaving Western New York after their mandatory year here is up. But, in a notable stumble, one company singled out to receive extra funding slipped through organizers’ fingers, moving all but one of its employees to Toronto earlier this year – despite receiving a total of $1 million in investment from 43North. “Jobs moving to Toronto after a year and a half doesn’t seem like a good investment,” said Kirk Laubenstein, executive director[...]

Posted 6 years ago

Sep 15

2018

Video shows deadly police shooting

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 A video of the shooting of Rafael “Pito” Rivera shows he was running from police when an officer shot him twice at close range, according to an Investigative Post review of the footage. The video shows Rivera falling as he turns off Plymouth Avenue into the parking lot of the former School 77 about 3:15 a.m. Wednesday. He crawls several feet, gets up and runs several steps until a police officer about 10 to 15 feet away fires two shots. Rivera falls to the ground, motionless. Rivera does not point a weapon at officers in the video, which shows[...]

Posted 6 years ago

Sep 13

2018

Attorney senses a police coverup is afoot

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Steve Cohen – a civil rights attorney retained by the family of Rafael “Pito” Rivera, who was shot dead by police Wednesday – told Investigative Post he suspects Buffalo police are engaging in a coverup. Cohen, in an exclusive interview with Investigative Post, said police have been uncooperative, to the point of refusing to allow the Rivera family to view the body or provide basic information about the fatal encounter. Police, he said, are typically quick to share information in the case of justifiable shootings. “When the police refuse to interact with the family, refuse to interact with the family’s[...]

Posted 6 years ago

Sep 13

2018

Dispute over Tonawanda Coke soil study

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Residents who live near Tonawanda Coke want to know whether pollution from the plant has contaminated the soil in their yards and their children’s schools and playgrounds. A federal judge agreed and ordered the Tonawanda Coke Corp. to fund a $711,000 study investigating how the plant’s foundry coke emissions have contaminated soil in surrounding communities. It’s being conducted by a research team from the University at Buffalo. That study is now the subject of a dispute between the mayor of the City of Tonawanda and researchers from UB. Mayor Rick Davis said he decided to pull the city’s support for[...]

Posted 6 years ago

Sep 12

2018

Council presses mayor’s staff on fair housing

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 The Common Council has asked the Brown administration to account for its enforcement of – or, failure to enforce – the city’s fair housing law. Last week, the Council asked for a report on the city’s handling of housing discrimination complaints over the past three years. At a brief appearance before a Council committee Tuesday, Harold Cardwell, the city’s fair housing officer, agreed to provide that report within 30 days. The Council’s request, initiated by President Darius Pridgen, came after Investigative Post reported in July that City Hall has largely failed to enforce the fair housing law. The law[...]

Posted 6 years ago

Sep 5

2018

Heaney discusses Tonawanda Coke

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Jim Heaney tells Scott Levin of WGRZ that Tonawanda Coke has been a rouge operation for years. The foundry coke plant off River Road was back in the news Monday, when federal prosecutors hauled the company into court and public officials questioned the firm’s conduct after they temporarily blocked firefighters from dealing with a blaze at the facility. Heaney gave Levin a rundown on the plant’s troubled history, including violations of the Clean Air Act and worker safety violations.

Posted 6 years ago
Investigative Post

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