Categories for Outrages & Insights

Apr 25

2013

Demone Smith’s continued defiance

Published by

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver are among those who have gone on record in favor of tougher enforcement of election laws and other statutes aimed at promoting ethical conduct on the part of public officials. The catalyst to these calls has been two recent high-profile corruption cases that snared New York City politicians. Not that we needed two indictments to know something is rotten in the Empire State. Look no further than the “D” grade the state received on a risk for public corruption report card issued by the Center for Public Integrity. Nor do[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Apr 2

2013

The problem with Albany governing in the dark

Published by

As if we needed more evidence that New York’s “Three Men in a Room” way of governing doesn’t work, there is this year’s legislative session. First there was the wham-bam bill to toughen gun control laws. Among other things, it limited magazines to no more than seven rounds of ammunition. Turns out that few such magazines are actually manufactured and sold. O0ps. The mistake was fixed – in more secret deliberations, of course. Then there is the budget passed last week that included two provisions that are looking worse with each passing day, now that they are actually seeing the light[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Mar 22

2013

GOP job offer to Rodriguez a possible felony

Published by

Sergio Rodriguez told me in an interview that airs Saturday morning on WGRZ’s Daybreak that unnamed higher ups in local Republican Party circles “strongly encouraged” him to drop his candidacy for mayor. He further asserts that they dangled a job as an enticement. Not so, Erie County Republican Party Chairman Nick Langworthy told WGRZ’s Scott Brown. In fact, he said it’s “silly” to even be discussing the allegations. Believe who you want. I wasn’t in the room and therefore can’t say for sure what transpired. I’ll say this much, however: I found Rodriguez to be a refreshing interview. He strikes me[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Feb 22

2013

The state of Investigative Post

Published by

This is the time of year everyone from the president to the mayor makes “the state of …” speeches. I’ll spare you the sound of my voice, but I do want to take stock of Investigative Post on this, the first year anniversary of our launch. We’ve had a good first year. A very good year, in fact. We’ve broken a number of important stories, which, of course, is why we’re in business. But just as importantly, we’ve started to build a solid foundation with media partners and funders that’s necessary for our growth and sustainability. Journalistically, we’ve made our[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Feb 19

2013

Cash & kudos for Investigative Post

Published by

Joshua Sterns went looking for a couple of non-profit news organizations to donate to. He’s got a bird’s eye view of the press as journalism and public media campaign director of Free Press, a national media reform organization. He cast his net yet wider by soliciting suggestions from readers via his blog, on which he wrote: We are at an exciting moment when it is now possible to imagine nonprofit journalism becoming a much more prominent part of America’s media ecosystem. But to make the leap from start-up to sustainability we need to step up our support for nonprofit news and encourage others to[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Feb 15

2013

Details on Cuomo’s first Billion To Buffalo investment

Published by

I’ve been reporting on economic development in this town for more than a decade and the way Andrew Cuomo and Co. plan on spending the first installment of the $1 billion they’ve pledged to revitalize the Buffalo area economy is like nothing I’ve ever seen. I mean this in a good way. Gov. Cuomo in December announced a state investment of $50 million to set up a drug research facility to attract Albany Molecular Research to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. State officials have refused to discuss details since then. Until now. Alain Kaloyeros, architect of the successful effort to[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Feb 8

2013

Pegula of Sabres pushed for hydrofracking in New York

Published by

Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula, who made his fortune hydrofracking, has used his status as a sports mogul at least once to lobby state lawmakers to embrace drilling for natural gas. Jon Campbell of the Gannett News Service’s capital bureau in Albany is reporting that Pegula invited lawmakers to his hockey arena 15 months ago and pitched them on the merits of hydrofracking. In late November 2011, nine months after he took control of the National Hockey League club, Pegula gathered Buffalo-area officials and state lawmakers in a boardroom at then-HSBC Arena. There, he and members of his East Resources team[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Dec 21

2012

The Bills lease by the numbers

Published by

Some perspective on the Bills lease signed Friday. In terms of sheer public dollars, state and local government are getting off relatively cheap, although you’ve got to keep in mind that the improvements are intended as a 10-year stop gap at the aging Ralph Wilson Stadium. New York State and Erie County are on the hook for $95 million. Compare that with Kansas City, where taxpayers spent $250 million to renovate Arrowhead Stadium. Or the $160 million spent by taxpayers to renovate Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers. Or the $548 million Minnesota taxpayers will pay for a[...]

Posted 11 years ago
Investigative Post

Get our newsletters delivered to your inbox * indicates required

Newsletters *