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Aug 6

2015

Outer Harbor plans shrouded in secrecy

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The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation is again the subject of transparency complaints over its planning effort for the Outer Harbor. Board member Sam Hoyt had said the state would unveil a revised development plan at two public meetings in April. The development corporation controls some 200 acres of lakefront at the Outer Harbor. But those public meetings never happened. Instead, Investigative Post has learned that state officials have held at least two secret brainstorming sessions. Some who attended had been critical of the state’s first Outer Harbor plan released last fall. That plan included up to 2,100 housing units, stores and restaurants. But Assemblyman Sean Ryan, U.S. Rep. Brian[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Jul 30

2015

Poloncarz plays down problems at CPS

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For workers at Erie County Child Protective Services, high caseloads and missed deadlines have become the norm. But Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz is adamant that the department no longer has any serious problems. “We’ve made great progress and we’re headed on the right track, there’s just always a little more work to be done,” Poloncarz said. County Legislators disagree. They voted 7-4 Thursday in favor of asking Poloncarz to personally discuss the performance of CPS at a special public meeting. But Poloncarz said he would not do so and dismissed today’s vote as “a political stunt.” The county executive, up for re-election in November, had ducked questions[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Jul 28

2015

State relents on Buffalo Billion records

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I interrupt the state’s incessant stonewalling of my efforts to use public records to track the Buffalo Billion program to report some progress. Cuomo administration officials, for more than a year, refused to release documents related to the selection of LPCiminelli to develop SolarCity’s sprawling plant in South Buffalo. The SUNY Research Foundation and the Fort Schuyler Management Corp. went to great lengths to thwart my efforts to obtain records under the state Freedom of Information Law, as I documented in December. Alain Kaloyeros and his associates at Fort Schuyler wouldn’t budge when the state Committee on Open Government issued[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Jul 23

2015

Child abuse unit still struggling

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Kim Henderson lasted a year as a caseworker investigating allegations of child abuse and neglect. She was assigned more cases than she felt she could handle. Many of the cases she inherited were poorly documented. And many of the families she was assigned to work with hadn’t seen a caseworker in months. Henderson quit her job with Erie County Child Protective Services two weeks ago, worried that too many families with children at risk weren’t getting the help they needed. “Sometimes the kids hadn’t been seen for months on end – it was terrible,” she said. Henderson’s experience is not[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Jul 21

2015

iPost adds “revenue doctor” to its board

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Investigative Post has added Kevin Davis, an internationally recognized authority on non-profit newsrooms, to its board of directors. The Investigative Post board also re-elected David Cay Johnston as president at its annual meeting July 14. Johnston is a Pulitzer Prize winner and the past president of Investigative Reporters & Editors. Robert Skerker was re-elected vice president and treasurer. Catharine Miles-Kania was elected secretary. Davis is the former executive director and CEO of the Investigative News Network, a consortium of more than 100 nonprofit newsrooms across the United States, including Investigative Post. Davis grew the organization from a budget of $400,000[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Jul 16

2015

Water woes at Gallagher Beach

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  Gallagher Beach has a serious bacteria problem. The bacteria counts at the unofficial beach on Buffalo’s Outer Harbor – which local, state and federal officials want to open for public swimming – exceeded safe levels more than two-thirds of the time in tests conducted last summer. The test results are included in a 181-page study Investigative Post recently obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request. The state has not officially released the report to the public. “The results are that this is not a safe place to swim,” said John Finster, a retired public health engineer who used[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Jul 16

2015

A good time for a good cause

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Take a local media icon and put him behind a drum kit. Team him with one of the city’s preeminent roots-rock bands. Add legendary guest performers. Showcase all this talent in Buffalo’s premier music club. What you get is “News, Brews & Rock ‘n’ Roll,” a unique, entertaining night of music July 22 at the Sportsmen’s Tavern. The show benefits Investigative Post, Buffalo’s award-winning, non-profit investigative reporting center. “Everybody loved the show last year,” said Tom Toles, who is headlining the event. “It was a unique gathering of people who love performing and enjoying music, and everybody is looking forward to[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Jul 6

2015

Limited progress on lead poisoning

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In the second of a two-part series, Investigative Post reports on limited progress being made by local government officials to address lead poisoning in low-income neighborhoods on the city’s East and West Side. The Erie County Health Department has concentrated its inspections for lead paint to houses in at-risk neighborhoods where children live. Meanwhile, Mayor Byron Brown said he’s willing to have City Hall consider teaming with the county to deal with the problem. A similar effort by officials in Rochester and Monroe County has proved successful. Investigative Post reported Thursday that nearly 500 children in three ZIP codes comprising[...]

Posted 11 years ago
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