Categories for Featured

Sep 23

2014

SolarCity deal is a rich subsidy package

Published by

My first blush impressions of the SolarCity deal announced Tuesday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo: It’s a rich package. The state is committing $750 million – $350 million to build a manufacturing plant and $400 million in potentially forgivable loans to equip it – in exchange for creating 3,000 jobs, half of which would be employed by SolarCity, the other at firms in their supply chain. That works out to $250,000 to $500,000 per job, depending on how you do the math. By comparison, the subsidy package cobbled together to lure the Yahoo! data center in Lockport five years ago involved[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Sep 18

2014

SolarCity shakedown?

Published by

Gov. Andrew Cuomo last fall pledged $225 million to build and equip a clean energy hub along Buffalo’s waterfront. It was good enough for Silevo, a solar panel manufacturer, and Soraa, the makers of high-efficiency light bulbs. It apparently isn’t good enough for SolarCity, however, which bought Silevo in June. Cuomo has subsequently suggested it’s going to take a richer incentive package to bring SolarCity into the fold and press reports indicate at least two other states are in the hunt for the solar panel plant that is penciled in for Buffalo. Given the track record of SolarCity Chairman Elon[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Sep 17

2014

Support Investigative Post via United Way

Published by

Western New Yorkers can now donate to Investigative Post through the United Way. The United Way of Buffalo & Erie County has approved the inclusion of Investigative Post in its Donor Choice program. That means donors can designate Investigative Post as a recipient through their employer-led United Way campaign. “The United Way is making it easier than ever for citizens to support watchdog journalism in our community,” said Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney. “A donation of as little as a dollar or two a week can help us build our newsroom and enable our growing team of reporters to tell[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Sep 11

2014

Some perspective on Pegula’s purchase of Bills

Published by

My buddy Jerry Sullivan, reacting to the news that Terry and Kim Pegula purchased the Buffalo Bills, wrote that Tuesday was “a day for people to cry and embrace … in communal joy, relief and celebration.” Well, I was happy to hear the news, but mostly for different reasons than what Sully had in mind. Pegula’s purchase means we’ll no longer be bombarded with stories speculating whether the Bills will leave town. The hand wringing has been going on for more than a decade, speculation passing as reporting, and it’s behind us now. Which frees the press to report on[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Sep 9

2014

Investigative Post launching event series

Published by

You’ve seen us on screens of all sizes: laptops, televisions, cell phones. Now there’s an opportunity to interact with Investigative Post face to face. Western New York’s only news organization dedicated exclusively to watchdog journalism is hosting 15 events through next June. The series, entitled “At Issue,” is geared towards providing the public with thought-provoking events focused on important issues. Events include: Investigative Post journalists discussing their work and engaging experts and audiences on the issues they cover. A film series dealing with important issues confronting journalism, held at the Burchfield Penney Art Center, and followed by an informative discussion with[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Sep 4

2014

Progress on Scajaquada Creek pollution

Published by

After years of inaction, local and state officials are acting to stem the flow of sewage overflows into the badly polluted Scajaquada Creek. Following a series of stories by Investigative Post last month that aired on WGRZ and published in Artvoice: The Buffalo Sewer Authority, which treats Cheektowaga’s sewage, proposed several options to reduce the flow of untreated sewage into the creek after heavy and moderate rains. The most promising option could cut the volume of overflows by about half, according to town Supervisor Mary Holtz. Town of Cheektowaga has retained an engineering firm to develop a new blueprint to[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Aug 7

2014

DEC’s dustup with Battaglia Demolition

Published by

The decade-long conflict between Peabody Street residents and an adjacent construction and demolition recycling facility continues despite recent enforcement actions by state environmental regulators. The Department of Environmental Conservation on May 1 cited Battaglia Demolition, owned by Peter Battaglia, with five notice of violations. Two of the alleged violations deal with failing to control dust that the DEC say drifts off the property from his concrete crusher as well as from the 80 to 200 trucks that rumble down Peabody Street most days of the week to get to and from his facility, located a mile southeast of downtown in[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Jul 30

2014

Cheektowaga pledges action on Scajaquada

Published by

There is progress to report on Scajaquada Creek. The creek has been badly polluted by the dumping of more than 500 million gallons a year of sewage and untreated stormwater runoff by Buffalo and Cheektowaga. As a result, the Scajaquada is plagued by high bacteria levels , botulism that kills birds and sludge up to five feet deep in parts of the creek bed. Town of Cheektowaga officials, who to this point have dodged questions since our initial report two weeks ago, acknowledged to Dan Telvock of Investigative Post that the dumping is a serious problem that they need to address.[...]

Posted 11 years ago
Investigative Post