Categories for DailyPost

Jan 5

2023

Putting legislative pay raises in perspective

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Updated: 11:18 a.m. State legislators were generous with themselves beyond the $32,000 a year raise they approved last month. The legislation also included loopholes that good government groups are characterizing as weak on ethics and conflicts of interest. What’s more, the raises, justified by supporters as compensation for inflation, far exceed increases in the cost of living. Reinvent Albany compared the provisions of the legislation with recommendations made in 2018 by a state compensation commission that considered pay raises for legislators, among other state elected officials. “The bottom line is that the law giving the Legislature a huge pay raise[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Jan 4

2023

Podcast: Reporting on police misconduct

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The Buffalo Police Department is under fire of criticism from local activists, alleging racial and civil discrimination. Officers’ frequent use of racial slurs, including the “N-word,” and unequal, discriminating policing efforts in different neighborhoods are two of thr allegations levied in a lawsuit by Black Love Resists in the Rust. Geoff Kelly has reported on the lawsuit the Buffalo Police Department faces, including officer misconduct and potential oversight from the Department of Justice.  Kelly sat down with Garrett Looker, host of our podcast series, to talk about his reporting. Watch via YouTube or listen as a podcast.

Posted 3 years ago

Dec 31

2022

iPost readers vote evictions report top story of ’22

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Readers have selected I’Jaz Ja’ciel’s report on evictions as Investigative Post’s top story of 2022.  Her Nov. 9 story, which also aired on WGRZ, not only reported on the large number of eviction warrants issued in Erie County, primarily Buffalo, but explained why. The reasons include Buffalo’s high poverty rate and meager government assistance for low-income renters. Buffalo landlords are acting to evict tenants in greater numbers than any portion of the state aside from Brooklyn, according to data from the New York State Unified Court System.  Judges have issued more than 3,700 eviction warrants this year in Erie County,[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Dec 30

2022

Buffalo doesn’t track actual evictions

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Landlords in Erie County, especially in Buffalo, are more aggressive in obtaining warrants to evict tenants than almost anywhere in the state. But no one tracks how many of those warrants result in tenants being put out in the street. Why not? The city doesn’t keep tabs, said Herbert Bellamy Jr, the city’s chief marshal. “We simply do not have the resources to compile that information,” Bellamy told Investigative Post in an email. Read our original report, voted top story of 2022 The risk of eviction was a problem in the city before the COVID-19 pandemic and the numbers show[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Dec 29

2022

Is Byron Brown the worst mayor in America?

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Byron Brown’s incompetency as mayor has been on full display since the blizzard hit last Friday. The city was unprepared to handle what was coming or clean up when the snow and wind finally relented.  No snow removal plan that contemplated a blizzard.  Not enough plows and drivers.  Too few warming centers — two of which had to close because when their power failed they lacked backup generators. No plan to police vulnerable commercial districts. The list goes on. Lots of common folks have been grumbling about the city’s ineptitude and the mayor’s insensitive, self-serving “I told you so” remarks. Erie[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Dec 28

2022

Podcast: Reflecting on 10 years of iPost

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Investigative Post is wrapping up its tenth year in business. Founder and editor Jim Heaney and Geoff Kelly, our senior reporter, look back on the decade and what it’s meant for Investigative Post and local news outlets. This is a companion to Heaney’s post of earlier this week, a Report to Readers. Watch or listen to the podcast here, or check it out — along with dozens of other stories and interviews — on our YouTube channel.

Posted 3 years ago

Dec 26

2022

Tracking the plows in Buffalo

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  Updated: Wednesday, 1:15 p.m. This post has received a lot of traffic over the past couple of days, primarily, I suspect, because of the link to the city-affiliated map showing what streets in Buffalo have been plowed. The map might have been useful at some point, but no longer. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz disclosed at a press conference earlier Wednesday that county and state crews have taken on responsibility for plowing streets. Poloncarz termed the city’s effort “embarrassing .” The Buffalo Police Department tweeted that there are more than 450 pieces of snow fighting equipment clearing city streets,[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Dec 20

2022

Donate to iPost and double your money

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As Western New York’s only nonprofit newsroom, Investigative Post depends on the financial support of the community to fund our work. Our annual drive is an important source of revenue for us. We’re down to the final week-and-a-half of our campaign. Consider donating today to support Western New York’s only news organization dedicated exclusively to producing watchdog journalism. At a time when our democracy is under threat, and our leaders are less transparent than ever, supporting local journalism has never been more important.  “Love your publication and your attention to the facts,” one donor wrote in a note that accompanied[...]

Posted 3 years ago
Investigative Post