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Mar 29

2017

Lack of scrutiny for subsidy programs

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This is the final part of a series that began Sunday. The full lineup of stories, columns and radio interviews can be found here » State and local economic development agencies in New York give away billions of dollars in subsidies to businesses every year but do little to assess what taxpayers are getting for their money. “What politician doesn’t want to stand there with a shovel in their hand and a hard hat on their head to announce new jobs coming to their district?” said Ron Deutsch, executive director of the Fiscal Policy Institute, a labor-backed think tank. “The[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Mar 29

2017

Lackadasical vetting of subsidy seekers

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This is the third part of a series that began Sunday. The full lineup of stories, columns and radio interviews can be found here » Craig Bernier had only been bagging grain at Harbor Point Minerals in Utica for a few months when the company started sending him inside its silos to “walk down” the grain to help it flow to the bottom. Bernier, 24, was claustrophobic and hated being in the dark, closed structure, but Harbor Point told him he would have to go back in, his father said. “He told his mother, ‘I don’t want to go to[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Mar 28

2017

Heaney talks subsidies with ‘Pressroom

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Susan Arbetter of The Capitol Pressroom interviews Jim Heaney on the “State of Subsidies” series being published this week by Investigative Post and select newspapers across the state. They were joined partway through the interview by E.J. McMahon, research director of the Empire Center for Public Policy, and Ron Deutsch, executive director of the Fiscal Policy Institute.

Posted 9 years ago

Mar 27

2017

Corning masters the subsidy game

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This is the second part of a series that runs through Thursday. The full lineup of stories, columns and radio interviews can be found here » Rita McCarthy could finally relax. After months of speculation and negotiation, strategy sessions and late night phone calls, Corning Inc. announced in the spring of 2013 that it would expand its factory in Erwin, New York, where McCarthy serves as town supervisor. Corning is the largest employer in Steuben County, within the economically struggling region of western New York that stretches along the Pennsylvania border, known as the Southern Tier. Assuaging McCarthy’s fears that it would[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Mar 27

2017

Wheatfield landfill subject of lawsuit

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Current and former residents of neighborhoods near a toxic landfill allege in a lawsuit that “ultra-hazardous” chemicals migrated onto their properties, making some of them sick. The 65 plaintiffs contend the landfill off Nash Road, which is owned by the Town of Wheatfield, is the source of the contamination. Many of plaintiffs are or were residents of North Tonawanda, which borders the landfill. They are asking the state Supreme Court in Niagara County to award them damages, including money to cover medical care, because of what they claim is the town’s negligence. The lawsuit names the Town of Wheatfield and seven companies as defendants: Occidental[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Mar 27

2017

Heaney talks subsidies with WNYC

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Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney, in an interview with New York City’s NPR station, discusses the key findings of the first installment of  “State of Subsidies,” a series produced in collaboration with ProPublica and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. The complete lineup of stories and interviews can be found here.

Posted 9 years ago

Mar 26

2017

State of Subsidies

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This is the first part of a series that runs through Thursday. The full lineup of stories, columns and radio interviews can be found here » Gov. Andrew Cuomo has sunk a lot of taxpayer money – $25 billion by his estimate – into recharging upstate’s moribund economy. The governor has increased spending on subsidy programs to record levels, launched bold policy initiatives and crisscrossed upstate to announced projects he has frequently described as “game-changers.” “Economic success is shared all across the state. It’s not just New York City that’s doing well, it’s the entire state,” the governor declared in his[...]

Posted 9 years ago
Investigative Post