Categories for Featured

Dec 14

2016

City Hall in no rush to improve police training

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Buffalo officials are in no hurry to address the police department’s lack of training in tactics that many other cities have deployed in response to police shootings of African Americans in Ferguson and elsewhere. In fact, Mayor Byron Brown said he is satisfied with the status quo. He said he sees no need to improve training programs that show officers how to de-escalate potentially volatile situations and make restrained use of force in dealing with citizens. “We are very pleased that when you look at what’s happening here in Buffalo versus other parts of the country, we are not experiencing[...]

Posted 7 years ago

Nov 22

2016

Erie County Water Authority blows a gasket

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It’s been awhile since I saw a bunch of government types become as unhinged as the gang at the Erie County Water Authority. Dan Telvock reported on Nov. 7 that the authority cut corners in its program to test the drinking water it supplies to some 550,000 customers in Western New York, primarily those in Buffalo’s immediate suburbs. In a nutshell, the authority didn’t always heed a federal requirement that they test water in the houses deemed most at risk because of the presence of a lead service line or lead solder in interior plumbing, and used the houses of[...]

Posted 7 years ago

Nov 15

2016

Second Buffalo Billion deal benefits Ciminelli

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U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara says the way LPCiminelli won the contract to build the SolarCity factory in Buffalo was criminal. The deal-making behind another Buffalo Billion project that LPCiminelli had previously landed, to build space for biotech company Albany Molecular Research Inc., bears some striking similarities to the way the company won the SolarCity work, Investigative Post has found. In both cases, for example, lobbyist Todd Howe worked for LPCiminelli and the state-affiliated economic development agency that managed Buffalo Billion projects and chose which companies would win contracts. Howe has pled guilty to federal corruption charges and is cooperating with[...]

Posted 7 years ago

Nov 9

2016

Tainted contract nets LPCiminelli $20 million

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Federal prosecutors say top executives at LPCiminelli went to great lengths to ensure they would win the lucrative contract to build a factory for SolarCity at Riverbend. Just how lucrative? State officials refuse to say how much the company is being paid. But Investigative Post has calculated, based on interviews and public records, that LPCiminelli’s fee for the project works out to between $20 million and $22 million. That’s one of the largest developer fees paid out in the region in recent years, because of the sheer size of the project, according to construction industry sources. Three LPCiminelli executives, including[...]

Posted 7 years ago

Nov 7

2016

Water Authority cut corners in lead program

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The Erie County Water Authority is cutting corners in its testing program for lead in the drinking water supplied to most local suburbs. The authority has historically made little effort to meet a federal mandate to test homes deemed most at risk for lead contamination. In fact, Investigative Post found several examples where the authority tested houses that clearly do not meet the criteria. “If this monitoring is flawed, if this monitoring it not actually targeting the highest risk homes, then consumers may be receiving erroneous information and false assurances about how safe the water is,” said Yanna Lambrinidou, a[...]

Posted 7 years ago

Oct 31

2016

Tempting a Ferguson in Buffalo

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As the body count rises – nearly 1,800 civilians fatally shot by police nationwide the past two years – a growing number of law enforcement agencies are retraining their officers to minimize their use of force. Police are being trained on how to de-escalate volatile situations and make smart use of their firearms. It’s part of a policy and cultural shift intended to avoid the Ferguson-type scenarios that have rocked city after city the past couple of years. “Police departments really need to embrace this and get in front of this,” said Paul O’Connell, a policing consultant and professor of criminal[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Oct 20

2016

Buffalo beefs up efforts to test water for lead

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Mayor Byron Brown proclaimed Wednesday that Buffalo’s water is “lead safe” after samples from more than 150 homes showed results below the federal government’s standard. “Still, we know people are concerned and we felt it was imperative that we do more in Buffalo to reassure our residents that we are using best practices and doing everything we can to make sure our water supply and distribution system is safe,” Brown said. The mayor announced a series of new initiatives that he said go above and beyond what the federal Environmental Protection Agency requires water utilities to do to ensure drinking[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Oct 18

2016

City Hall acts on lead poisoning

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The Common Council passed legislation Tuesday to address chipping and peeling lead paint hazards in rental units following years of reporting by Investigative Post on Buffalo’s serious lead poisoning problem. The new legislation requires landlords and property managers to: Permit inspectors to check for lead hazards on all rental units built before 1978. Certify that rental units built before 1978 are free of lead paint hazards by submitting a compliance letter from a licensed inspector. Disclose to renters that lead paint could be present in apartments built before 1978. Attend an accredited course on how to safely renovate, repair and paint[...]

Posted 8 years ago
Investigative Post

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