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Apr 2

2018

Judge shutters a neighborhood nuisance

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A State Supreme Court judge has at least temporarily shut down Battaglia Demolition, long a plague on the Seneca Babcock neighborhood. The plant, located about one mile south of downtown, crushes and otherwise processes concrete, bricks, asphalt and other construction and demolition debris. Residents have long complained that the plant and trucks that service it are the source of dust, noise – even rats. Two years ago the state filed suit against the plant owner, Peter Battaglia, contending the facility was a “public nuisance” and lacked necessary permits. On Monday, Judge Deborah Chimes issued an injunction that ordered the plant closed until[...]

Posted 7 years ago

Mar 30

2018

UB students rally to demand divestment

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Dozens of University at Buffalo students rallied Thursday, calling for the university’s foundation to divest from fossil fuels. UB has positioned itself as a leader on green initiatives, even as the private and technically separate UB foundation has invested in funds that back fracking companies, according to documents leaked as part of the Paradise Papers, Investigative Post reported last year.  The Fossil Free UB campaign, which organized the protest, has earned support from the representative bodies for both both the faculty and professional staff, as well as student government. In response to the divestment campaign, the foundation has said it is “actively looking”[...]

Posted 7 years ago

Mar 29

2018

Investigative Post recruiting to hire a reporter

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Investigative Post is looking for a hard-nosed reporter to join its award-winning team. Based in Buffalo, Investigative Post has earned a reputation as one of the leading local nonprofit investigative reporting centers in the country. We do newspaper-quality investigative reporting and produce stories for print, online, television and radio. Our reporters are adept producing pieces for all platforms. Our partners include the NBC and NPR outlets in Buffalo and our audience reach of up to 265,000 readers, viewers and listeners per story is the largest of any news outlet in upstate New York. Our work has been cited for excellence[...]

Posted 7 years ago

Mar 27

2018

Blueprint issued for combatting lead poisoning

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 The City of Buffalo needs to empower inspectors to get inside houses to determine whether they are contaminated with chipped or flaking lead paint, a report issued Tuesday said. While noting steps the city and Erie County have taken in recent years, the 102-page report by CGR Inc., a Rochester-based consulting firm, declared that defeating “lead poisoning will require much more from local government and the entire community.” The report included 17 recommendations, the most important ones addressing the need for stepped-up inspections of residential properties. As it now stands, inspectors are not guaranteed entry to test interiors for[...]

Posted 7 years ago

Mar 27

2018

Progress on Buffalo police accreditation

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 The Buffalo Police Department is getting closer to obtaining professional accreditation from the state, according to police representatives who spoke Tuesday at the Common Council’s Police Oversight Committee.   As Investigative Post reported last year, the City Charter requires the police to maintain professional accreditation, a good housekeeping stamp of approval that ensures departments are following contemporary best practices. Over 150 departments across New York are accredited with the state’s Law Enforcement Accreditation Program While the Buffalo police is updating its policies and procedures to comply with the state program  in areas like administration and property maintenance, changes to[...]

Posted 7 years ago

Mar 26

2018

Telvock leaves Investigative Post

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Award-winning environmental reporter Dan Telvock has left Investigative Post. Telvock, perhaps best known for his reporting on the polluted Scajaquada Creek and lead-poisoning among inner-city children, is joining WIVB, Channel 4, as investigative producer. “Dan was the first reporter I hired after I started Investigative Post and he’s been a big reason for our success,” said Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney. “He’s won more than his share of journalism awards, but more importantly, his reporting had a huge impact in the community.” Said Telvock: “My six years at Investigative Post are among the most memorable and rewarding of my 18-year career.[...]

Posted 7 years ago

Mar 26

2018

Heaney talks corruption on ‘Pressroom

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Susan Arbetter, host of The Capitol Pressroom, quizzes Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney on the Joe Percoco verdict, the candidacy of Cynthia Nixon and the curious manner in which Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown selected his new police commissioner.

Posted 7 years ago

Mar 22

2018

No job search for Buffalo police commissioner

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 Mayor Byron Brown didn’t search for job applicants or interview any candidates other than Byron Lockwood before he nominated him to succeed Daniel Derenda as police commissioner in February. Selecting a police commissioner without conducting a job search is not standard practice for large municipalities. Other cities take their candidate hunts national by posting on professional police association job forums, like the one provided by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. In towns like Amherst and Cheektowaga, applicants take a civil service exam and only the three top-scoring candidates are considered for the position by the town boards.[...]

Posted 7 years ago
Investigative Post