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Sep 26

2019

Multi-skilled journalist joins iPost staff

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Ali Ingersoll, known to many local television viewers for her work at Channel 4, has joined the reporting team of Investigative Post. Ingersoll, 29, spent the past year in the United Kingdom, earning a Masters of Science degree in Computational and Data Journalism from Cardiff University in Wales and working at Bloomberg News in London. Her work with Investigative Post will include, but not be limited to, coverage of criminal justice issues, along with television production and data acquisition and analysis. “Ali has experience and skills that will significantly strengthen our news organization,” said Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney. “She’s[...]

Posted 6 years ago

Sep 26

2019

Heaney talks Buffalo finances on “Pressroom”

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Jim Heaney and Susan Arbetter discuss City Hall’s ongoing fiscal problems which, among other things, has resulted in the failure to buy police squad cars so the department has an adequate fleet of vehicles. Capitol Pressroom announced Thursday that Susan is leaving the program the end of Octobers. I’ve appeared on the program regularly since January 2016 – 48 times, to be precise – and have thoroughly enjoyed working with Susan. She’s knowledgable and always prepared – a real pro. I hope we have an opportunity to collaborate again in the future.  

Posted 6 years ago

Sep 19

2019

Assessing Buffalo’s property reassessment

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If you’re a homeowner in the City of Buffalo, you received a love letter from City Hall this month: your new property value assessment and an estimate of your new tax bill in 2020. Rarely have residents demonstrated so much interest in their neighbors’ mail: Whose values went up? Whose went down? By how much? How did the value of my house go up but my taxes go down? Who determined these numbers and how? It is the first citywide reevaluation of city properties since 2001, a period in which real estate values in some city neighborhoods have doubled or even[...]

Posted 6 years ago

Sep 16

2019

City Hall stuck on budget bailout

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For the fourth straight year, the City of Buffalo must tap reserves to balance its budget. The question is: What reserves? Where will the money come from this time? The books are just about closed on the financial year that ended June 30. The bottom line: The city finished around $10 million in the red, according to preliminary numbers published at Open Book Buffalo, an online portal that publishes city financial data and is updated weekly. Those numbers are unaudited and likely to shift somewhat over the next month or so. However, sources at the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority and[...]

Posted 6 years ago

Sep 11

2019

Federal grand jury to investigate OTB

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A federal grand jury is investigating possible corruption at the Western Regional Off Track Betting Corp. Sources told Investigative Post and the Niagara Gazette the grand jury is looking into issues previously reported by the two news organizations, including the: Provision of free health insurance to the board’s part-time board members. Awarding of vendor contracts to businesses with political ties to OTB President Henry Wojtaszek and Chairman Richard Bianchi. Possible distribution of tickets purchased by OTB to Sabres and Bills games to friends, family members and political associates of OTB executives and board members. In addition, the state comptroller has[...]

Posted 6 years ago

Sep 5

2019

iPost announces fall events

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Investigative Post has scheduled the first two events of its 2019-20 event series. The season kicks off Thursday, Oct. 10, with a 5:30 p.m. social at Community Beer Works introducing Investigative Post’s new reporting team. Geoff Kelly, Kate Kaye and Ali Ingersoll will be on hand to meet with attendees and answer questions. Kelly, former editor of The Public and Artvoice, joined the iPost staff in April; Kay started in August. Ingersoll starts Sept. 23. Editor Jim Heaney will also be on hand. On Wednesday, Nov. 13, Investigative Post will host a discussion with Christopher Klein, author of When the Irish Invaded Canada:[...]

Posted 6 years ago

Sep 3

2019

Turning a blind eye to environmental risks

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You’d think that the construction of a million square feet of manufacturing space on a brownfield along the Buffalo River would warrant a thorough environmental investigation before shovels bit into the soil. And you’d be wrong. The Tesla plant in South Buffalo was built on a former Superfund site — once home to Republic Steel, Donner Hanna Coke and Feine Steel, among other historic industrial polluters. The site borders the environmental debacle that was (and is) the Hickory Woods residential development, which was poisoned by the use as fill of toxic materials created by those plants. Prior to its purchase[...]

Posted 6 years ago

Aug 28

2019

Kelly discusses cop cars on WBFO

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Geoff Kelly has recently reported on a shortage of working police cars in Buffalo (here and here). He discussed his findings this week on WBFO’s Press Pass.  

Posted 6 years ago
Investigative Post