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Nov 20

2017

UB Foundation invests in fracking

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The University at Buffalo Foundation quietly invested in an offshore fund that finances fracking and oil companies, even as the university declares itself a leader on combating climate change, leaked documents reveal. The private foundation, whose assets top $1.1 billion, is technically separate from the public university and does not disclose information about specific investments – despite mounting pressure from a student-led campaign for divestment from fossil fuel companies. But, in data made public Friday through the so-called “Paradise Papers,” a massive leak of documents from an offshore law firm, the foundation is named as a shareholder in a fund[...]

Posted 7 years ago

Nov 16

2017

Heaney talks IBM on ‘Pressroom

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Susan Arbetter interviews Jim Heaney on The Capitol Pressroom regarding Investigative Post’s recent story about IBM and the Buffalo Billion. Heaney said taxpayers are not getting a good return for their considerable investment in major Buffalo Billion projects and that IBM has effectively said it’s none of the public’s business how it is using $55 million in subsidies.    

Posted 7 years ago

Nov 13

2017

Zemsky pressed on Buffalo Billion projects

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Howard Zemsky, the state’s economic development czar, told state Assembly members Monday that state officials are pushing IBM to create more high-tech jobs in Buffalo. “The kinds of jobs that we’re going to see at the IBM center are not going to continue to be call center jobs,” Zemsky said. The state pledged $55 million to renovate and equipment the six floors of Key Center’s south tower to lure IBM here on the promise of creating good-paying, high-tech jobs. But, as Investigative Post reported last week, many of the employees at the company’s office downtown work call center jobs for[...]

Posted 7 years ago

Nov 9

2017

iPost kicks off fundraising campaign

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Want to double the value of your charitable donation? Investigative Post has a deal for you. Donations of up to $1,000 made through the end of this year are eligible for a dollar-for-dollar match under News Match, a national campaign to provide grassroots support for 501(c)(3) nonprofit news organizations like Investigative Post.  Donors who contribute at least $100 are enrolled as Investigative Post members, entitling them to benefits that include free admission to most of our events, including a Dec. 4 panel discussion on challenges confronting the press in the face of hostility from the likes of Donald Trump and Andrew[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Nov 9

2017

IBM another Buffalo Billion letdown

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Bringing IBM to Buffalo was meant to create good-paying jobs and develop a technology hub downtown. Three years ago, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that the state would spend $55 million on equipment and office space for the company to set up a “center for cutting-edge software development.” In exchange, IBM and its partners agreed to create 500 jobs over five years. State officials made the point over and over: these would be good-paying, high-tech jobs. But many of the employees in IBM’s Buffalo office, at least so far, are working in low-skilled, relatively low-paying, call center jobs. Most of them[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Nov 8

2017

Failing kids with lead poisoning

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Sherry Slaper was at wit’s end trying to help her lead poisoned daughter. She followed the orders of the Erie County Health Department by painting over the lead paint on her window sills and staircase, throwing away cheap Chinese toys that can contain traces of lead and obsessively cleaning her Kaisertown apartment. But her daughter’s lead levels did not drop. “It was a storm of emotions,” Slaper said. “You go from being angry to scared to sad.” Could it be the water, she thought? To be safe, she installed a water filter on her kitchen faucet. Then — and only[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Nov 7

2017

Testing to get the lead out

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The crisis in Flint, Mich., put a spotlight on the risks of lead in drinking water. The public water supplies in Buffalo and surrounding areas are not facing the same problems as Flint. Nonetheless, lead still poses a risk here because of our old infrastructure and housing stock. In fact, experts say there is always a risk of lead leaching into your tap water if you have a lead service line. Days after my story “Looking for lead (in all the wrong places)” in August 2016, I got calls from concerned Buffalo residents who wanted to know how they could[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Nov 7

2017

Keith talks 43North on WBFO

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Investigative Post reporter Charlotte Keith discusses her recent story on the state-funded 43North business plan competition on WBFO’s Press Pass.

Posted 8 years ago
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