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Jul 6

2017

City Hall slow to enforce lead measures

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Buffalo continues to have a lead poisoning crisis – hundreds of children were diagnosed with dangerous lead levels again last year – but you wouldn’t know it by City Hall’s slow rollout of its plan to deal with the problem. Mayor Byron Brown announced his plan in May 2016 and the Common Council passed companion legislation in October. But an Investigative Post analysis shows there’s been little progress in executing the initiative. Consider: Not a single landlord has submitted a required compliance letter with the city to confirm that they and their tenant are aware that lead paint is presumed[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Jul 5

2017

Heaney talks “corruption coalition” on ‘Pressroom

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Jim Heaney tells Susan Arbetter of The Capitol Pressroom there’s a “corruption coalition” at play in Albany that explains the failure of the state Legislature to reform New York’s troubled economic development programs. Heaney also discusses the challenges faced by  investigative reporting.

Posted 9 years ago

Jun 21

2017

Mayor won’t enforce recycling rules

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The curbside recycling rate in Buffalo continues to lag behind the national average. In 2016, Buffalo reported a curbside recycling rate of 15 percent, a negligble increase from the previous year. That’s still well below the national average of 25 percent for curbside programs. The curbside rate is based primarily on paper, plastic, glass and other materials that residents place in the green totes. Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown visited the Modern Disposal plant on Tuesday to accept a $62,500 check for the city’s recycling education fund. The city’s contract with Modern requires the company to finance a portion of the city’s program outreach[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Jun 19

2017

Support Investigative Post’s criminal justice beat

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Daniela Porat has written a string of eye-opening stories on problems within the Buffalo Police Department since she joined Investigative Post last August. Her reporting has provided a window into the criminal justice system and prompted a decision to launch a full-blown beat to cover policing, prosecution, the courts and incarceration. Investigative Post has launched a fundraising campaign to support the beat and is turning to the community for support. “Investigative reporting is a costly, time-consuming proposition that provides a huge payoff for the community, as our reporting on corruption and environmental problems has demonstrated,” said Jim Heaney, editor of Investigative[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Jun 19

2017

“Sloppy” management of state projects

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The second of two reports issued by Bart Schwartz, hired by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to look into the management of state development projects, including the Buffalo Billion, found a “sloppy process” and “systemic problems.” Jim Heaney, speaking to WGRZ’s Michael Wooten, said the reports lack details and “raise as many questions as they answer.” He also noted that the second report was issued two months ago, but that it took a Freedom of Information request from The Buffalo News to bring the documents to public light.

Posted 9 years ago

Jun 13

2017

Headway on toxic former General Motors plant

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It has been a long wait for Virginia Golden and her neighbors in the Delavan-Grider community. For over a decade, they’ve wanted the state to clean up the former General Motors plant. There is finally progress to report less than a month after Investigative Post’s investigation. The state Department of Environmental Conservation has added a portion of the former General Motors auto manufacturing facility to its Superfund program, making it eligible for state funds for remediation. The state hired a consultant to begin the investigaton of the property at 1001 E. Delavan Ave., where oil laced with PCBs from past[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Jun 8

2017

Heaney talks media dynamics with ‘Pressroom

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Jim Heaney talks with Susan Arbetter of The Capitol Pressroom about the challenges faced by local news outlets as the foundations of their business models erode and reader and viewer attention focuses on the actions of President Trump and other distractions.

Posted 9 years ago

Jun 6

2017

Keith talks ‘Billion contract perks on WBFO

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Investigative Post reporter Charlotte Keith discusses her recent story on the unusual perks of LPCiminelli’s contract to build the vast factory for SolarCity in Buffalo, the centerpiece of Gov. Cuomo’s Buffalo Billion initiative. Keith found that the company was reimbursed for thousands of dollars in lavish meal and entertainment expenses that went far beyond what state agencies usually pay for. She spoke about her reporting with Jay Moran on WBFO’s Press Pass.    

Posted 9 years ago
Investigative Post