Categories for News

Feb 14

2022

OTB reform bills pass first test

Published by

Amid pushback from some county law legisislatures, a series of bills aimed at restructuring operations of the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. have cleared their first legislative hurdle.  The the three bills, sponsored by Buffalo Democratic Sen. Tim Kennedy, moved through the state senate’s Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wager on Monday.  Kennedy introduced the bills last month in a bid to end what he described as “perverse dysfunction” within WROTB. His proposed legislation calls for a restructuring of OTB’s board based on population. It would also limit the take-home use of OTB vehicles by select agency employees and put[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Feb 4

2022

State paid $1B in OT last year

Published by

It cost New York taxpayers nearly a billion dollars to cover the overtime for state employees last year. That’s part of the findings from a review of state salary data posted Thursday to seethroughny.net, a government transparency website operated by the Albany-based think tank, the Empire Center for Public Policy.  In its analysis of the 2021 state government payroll, the Empire Center determined state agencies paid $953.6 million in overtime during the calendar year. That’s $100 million, or about 12 percent, higher than in 2020.  According to the Empire Center, 228 state employees were paid $100,000 or more in overtime[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Feb 3

2022

Stadium benefits campaign goes public

Published by

 A coalition that wants a community benefits agreement attached to public subsidies for a new Buffalo Bills stadium has taken their campaign public, after months of quiet organizing. The coalition held a press conference Tuesday morning at Johnnie B. Wiley stadium on the city’s East Side — the old Rockpile, the original home of the Bills. The speakers included community activist Karima Amin, Tanvier Peart and Miles Gresham of Partnership for the Public Good, Bridge Rauch of Buffalo Transit Riders United, and Dr. Myron Glick, the founder and CEO of Jericho Road Community Health Center. The coalition wants a legally[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Feb 2

2022

Intel lured by $2 billion subsidy

Published by

The microchip subsidy game is getting more and more costly for taxpayers. Multiple media outlets reported this week that it cost the state of Ohio more than $2 billion worth of incentives to convince tech-giant Intel Corp. to invest $20 billion in the construction of two chip-making plants just outside of Columbus. The subsidy package for what’s been described as the largest single private-sector company investment in Ohio history reportedly involves $1.2 billion in cash incentives, including a direct cash grant to the company valued at $600 million.  Economic development officials in Ohio described the $600 million as an “onshoring[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Feb 1

2022

OTB striking back: Officials to fight reform effort

Published by

Officials from the Western Regional Off Track Betting Corp. plan to fight one state senator’s efforts to reform their operation. Following OTB’s monthly meeting on Jan. 21, agency President Henry Wojtaszek told the Daily News in Batavia that he was directed by the agency’s board to explore options for challenging three pieces of legislation introduced by state Sen. Tim Kennedy. Wotjaszek hinted that one option could be litigation. Another could involve encouraging local lawmakers representing Western New York communities served by OTB to approve resolutions opposing Kennedy’s reforms. “You heard today that the board certainly doesn’t support a measure to[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Jan 13

2022

Kennedy proposes OTB reforms

Published by

A series of legislative proposals announced Thursday by State Sen. Tim Kennedy are an effort to correct what he called “perverse dysfunction” at Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. Kennedy proposes three bills in response to an audit by the Office of the State Comptroller, he said. The audit criticized OTB leadership for a bevy of issues, including managers and board members improperly taking tickets to luxury suites at sporting and music events at Highmark Stadium and Keybank Center.  “There has been perverse dysfunction happening at the OTB and it needs to be addressed,” Kennedy told Investigative Post. The government-run, Western[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Dec 30

2021

One inspection of grain elevator in 28 years

Published by

Since it bought the Great Northern grain elevator in 1993, ADM Milling Co. has told city officials at least three times the iconic Ganson Street structure needs to come down.  Each time, to justify its request for a demolition permit, the company has commissioned and filed with the city — and most recently with the state Supreme Court — engineering reports and affidavits outlining the building’s alleged structural deficiencies and the danger it poses to the public. And yet, city inspectors have never in those 28 years demanded the company repair the problems those reports detail. The city has never[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Dec 28

2021

Tesla reaches its jobs target

Published by

Tesla has finally met its job creation goals at the company’s plant in South Buffalo, according to a state spokesperson. The state required Tesla to employ 1,460 at the plant in exchange for subsidies worth $950 million. Meeting that mandate has proven difficult for a variety of reasons, including Covid-19.  Employment stood at 1,058 on May 31, the original deadline to meet the job goals. The state extended Tesla’s deadline to Dec. 31. In response to questions from Investigative Post, a spokesperson for the Empire State Development Corp. said Tuesday that, as of Nov. 10, Tesla had reported  employment of[...]

Posted 2 years ago
Investigative Post

Get our newsletters delivered to your inbox * indicates required

Newsletters *