95 Search Results for lead poisoning

Dec 19

2020

Brown a formidable, yet vulnerable candidate

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Since 2005, Mayor Byron Brown has raised and spent more than $5 million to win and hold the mayor’s office.  He spent $1.4 million to fend off Bernie Tolbert, his Democratic primary challenger in 2013. Four years later, he spent another $1 million in his primary race against then Comptroller Mark Schroeder. As of July, however, when his campaign committee last filed a disclosure report, Brown had just $115,568 in the bank. That may sound like a lot of money — and for most Buffalonians it is — but for the four-term mayor of a medium-sized city, it is a[...]

Posted 4 years ago

Jul 20

2020

The roots, and consequences, of WNY’s racism

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Note: This column originally appeared in Buffalo Spree. Our nation has a lot of work ahead of it if it is to address the structural racism laid bare by COVID-19, the killing of George Floyd and the protests that followed. Buffalo and Western New York have an even heavier lift. Much of the initial focus has been on reform of the Buffalo Police Department, and that’s certainly a good place to start. But the region’s problems run deeper – much deeper. They begin with segregation, which, going back generations, has advantaged whites at the expense of blacks in any number[...]

Posted 5 years ago

May 31

2020

Discuss the real issue. Racism.

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Allow me to provide some perspective in light of what transpired Saturday night in Niagara Square. The issue isn’t “outside agitators,” the unsubstantiated claim made by Mayor Bryon Brown and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz. And it’s really not vandalism and looting, as unfortunate as that was. No, the real issue is how city government under Brown and his rubber stamps on the Common Council have targeted black and brown residents. Many of them turned out Saturday to rally against not only the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis but the manner in which police treat people of color right[...]

Posted 5 years ago

Jan 10

2020

Our local politicians are getting worse

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The November local elections are behind us and the national chaos of 2020 is right around the corner. (Like winter, it can’t end soon enough.) This seems like a good time to take stock of our elected officials in Western New York. But first, allow me to hold my nose. I’ve been reporting in this town for more than 30 years, and the quality of our elected officials has never been worse. I’m not talking politicians at the town and village level, as I don’t travel much in those circles. However, it’s safe to say that with sixty-two towns and[...]

Posted 5 years ago

May 2

2019

Heaney discusses OTB probe on ‘Pressroom

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Investigative Post reported last week that the FBI is investigating the Western Regional Off Track Betting Corp. Editor Jim Heaney discussed the investigation, and related issues, Thursday with Susan Arbetter of The Capitol Pressroom. Heaney also discussed a recent Investigative Post story on Buffalo’s failure to enact recommendations made more than a year ago to address the city’s serious lead poisoning problem.  

Posted 6 years ago

Jan 1

2019

Probe into cop drowning voted top story of ’18

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An investigation by Daniela Porat that documented how Buffalo police put diver Craig Lehner in harm’s way was voted by readers as Investigative Post’s best story of 2018. Porat’s deeply researched story reported that Lehner, who drowned during a training exercise in October 2017, was not sufficiently trained and equipped to handle the swift currents of the Niagara River. Wrote Porat: “Trainees for swift water diving elsewhere typically start out in water moving somewhere between 1 and 4 knots, or under 5 miles per hour. But the Niagara River on the day Lehner trained – and drowned – was moving[...]

Posted 6 years ago

Jan 6

2018

Police misconduct voted top story of ’17

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Readers have voted Daniela Porat’s story about misconduct by Buffalo police as Investigative Post’s best story of 2017. Buffalo police who cross the line, published and broadcast Sept. 20, documented how the department’s Strike Force and Housing Unit conduct illegal searches and sometimes submit dubious testimony. Defense attorneys described some officers as “vigilantes” with a “cowboy mentality.” Reported Porat: “I think they have a complete disregard for the Constitution of the United States, and most importantly, the Fourth Amendment,” said Michael Stachowski, a Buffalo defense attorney. “They just seem to roust kids in the street, chase people, and hope they[...]

Posted 7 years ago

Dec 19

2017

Vote for best Investigative Post story of 2017

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Investigative Post produced another bumper crop of hard-hitting stories in 2017. The best ones? We’ll leave that up to you readers to decide. Dan Telvock continued his relentless coverage of lead poisoning in Buffalo’s inner-city, radioactive contamination in Niagara County and pollution along Scajaquada Creek. Charlotte Keith exposed yet more wrongdoing and broken promises involving the Buffalo Billion. Daniela Porat documented abuse and other shortcomings in the Buffalo Police Department. Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney selected 10 stories for consideration as the best of 2017. They include, in no particular order: Entrepreneurs take state grants and flee WNY (43North) Buffalo[...]

Posted 7 years ago