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Sep 18

2017

SolarCity’s expanded escape clause

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk was bullish about Buffalo on a call with investors last month. “We made that commitment to the state of New York,” he said, describing the company’s plan to hire thousands at a huge factory opening in Buffalo that was built at taxpayer expense. “We are going to keep that commitment.” In late 2015, though – before SolarCity was bought by Tesla – the contract that governs the company’s commitment to New York was tweaked to give it more ways out of the deal if its business goes south. Added to the list of reasons SolarCity could[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Sep 13

2017

Assessing Buffalo’s mayoral primary

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A win is a win, and Byron Brown certainly did that Tuesday, capturing a little more than half the vote in a three-way Democratic primary for mayor. The victory sets Brown up for a fourth term, equalling the tenure of Jimmy Griffin. That’s about where the good news ends for the mayor. The numbers are not otherwise kind. Let’s start with his 13,346 votes – the lowest of his four primary runs and little more than half of his total eight years ago. (Mickey Kearns garnered more votes eight years ago in losing to Brown in a landslide. Think about it.)[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Sep 5

2017

Lawsuit alleges Buffalo police misconduct

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A coalition of community activists and attorneys filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Buffalo on Tuesday and sent a letter to State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman urging his civil rights division to investigative what they allege is a pattern of unconstitutional practices by the Buffalo Police Department against minority residents. Anjana Malhotra, co-author of the report and complaint, said her research uncovered a “pattern and practice of discriminatory and unconstitutional police practices.” “The fourth amendment guarantees to everyone equally that one has a right to be free of unreasonable seizures,” she said at a press conference Tuesday[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Aug 31

2017

More honors for Telvock, Investigative Post

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The environmental reporting of Dan Telvock has been cited for excellence in two national journalism contests. His reporting that documented the disparity in Buffalo’s testing program for lead in drinking water won first place for interactive news by the National Association of Black Journalists. One of the chief findings of his report was that the testing did not target minority neighborhoods where the lead poisoning problem is concentrated. Instead, the city tested more often in predominantly white neighborhoods that report few, if any, lead poisoning cases. The other finalists were entries from Bloomberg News and The Chicago Reader. Winners in other[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Aug 23

2017

Feds pull plug on radioactive remediation

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Federally funded work to remove radioactive gravel from numerous hotspots in Niagara County has run out of money and come to a halt. Left in limbo are property owners in Niagara Falls and Lewiston, who were told by Environmental Protection Agency officials that there is no firm date of when – or whether – they will return to finish the clean up. Eric Daly, the EPA’s project manager, said he gave his superiors “options of what I could do and what I needed to do.” “What came back to me was we want you to shut down, meaning trailers out[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Aug 16

2017

When it rains, sewage gushes into Niagara River

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The Lower Niagara River is no stranger to sewer overflows. An Investigative Post analysis of state data shows the Niagara Falls sewer system has spewed more than a half-billion gallons of raw sewage mixed with storm water into the Lower Niagara River since May 2016. Even moderate rainfall can overwhelm the sewer system, causing untreated sewage mixed with storm water to gush into the Lower Niagara. The problem gained the attention of Governor Andrew Cuomo after a July 29 discharge turned the Lower Niagara into a black, smelly disruption for tourists on a busy Saturday at Niagara Falls State Park.  That incident was[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Aug 15

2017

Keith talks MetroRail extension on WBFO

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Investigative Post reporter Charlotte Keith discusses her recent story on the obstacles facing the proposed extension to Buffalo’s MetroRail. Keith found that the extension would require heavy lifting from local officials, as well as zoning changes that could prove controversial, in order to create the anticipated economic benefits. She spoke about her reporting with Jay Moran on WBFO’s “Press Pass.”

Posted 8 years ago

Aug 14

2017

Erie County Water Authority racks up legal bills

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In November, Investigative Post reported how the Erie County Water Authority had cut corners in a program required by the federal government to test tap water for lead. Two weeks later, we pointed out how the water authority used paid Facebook ads and Twitter posts to release misleading statements about the program. Now we learn from the Buffalo News that the water authority has spent almost $130,000 in legal fees in part on what it termed a “state of emergency” in action “against Investigative Post for improper conduct.” But officials with the water authority refuse “to provide any documents stating the[...]

Posted 8 years ago
Investigative Post