Categories for Outrages & Insights

Feb 17

2025

Making the case for IDA reform

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There’s a case to be made for consolidating and reforming Western New York’s myriad of industrial development agencies into a single operation. There’s six alone in Erie County, another three in Niagara. Add the outlying counties and there’s no fewer than 16 of them. There’s too many of them. They compete against each other. They can’t resist the built-in conflict of interest in which they earn a commission if they approve a deal and get zilch if they don’t. Let’s face it, if they were effective, our regional economy would be in better shape. Greg LeRoy of Good Jobs First, who, for my[...]

Posted 5 days ago

Jan 31

2025

Calling out Jeremy Zellner

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Updated: 3:57 p.m. I write this post staring at the tweet posted below by Jeremy Zellner, chairman of the Erie County Democratic party. In it, he takes our Geoff Kelly to task for reporting on the forum the party hosted on Saturday where eight mayoral candidates were invited to speak to party committee members from the city. According to Zellner, more than 200 committee members attended. The forum kicked off with a question to the candidates posed by Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz: Would the candidates promise not to seek the endorsement of the local Republican and Conservative parties?  The[...]

Posted 3 weeks ago

Nov 10

2024

The numbers behind the vote for president

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Let’s unpack the presidential vote. For starters, fewer people voted this year (145 million) than four years ago (158.5 million) despite an estimated growth of 8 million age-eligible citizens. The turnout of registered voters also dropped slightly from four years ago. This helps to explain why Donald Trump won with fewer votes this year (73.6 million) than he garnered in losing (74.2 million) four years ago. He won because Harris received far fewer votes (69.3 million) than Biden (81.3 million) did four years ago. Put another way: Trump did not grow his base. Harris lost a chunk of Biden’s. Closer[...]

Posted 3 months ago

Oct 27

2024

Billionaire wants to buy parent company of Buffalo News

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A Florida billionaire is making noises about buying Lee Enterprises, and with it, The Buffalo News. The New York Times reported last week that David Hoffmann, worth $1.6 billion, has bought 5.2 percent of Lee’s stock and wants to obtain majority interest. Hoffman told The Times that while he recognizes the newspaper industry’s trend to digital, he believes print still has a future. And he believes in local news. As The Times wrote: “He wants to preserve community news — including more local sports coverage.”  The Times provided this background on the 72-year-old investor: Mr. Hoffmann is a relative newcomer to the[...]

Posted 4 months ago

Oct 15

2024

Brown resigns: Addition by subtraction

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I wrote a column in December 2022 that posed the question: Is Byron Brown the worst mayor in America? It was prompted by his mishandling of the Christmas blizzard that year. But, as I noted then, it was but the latest example of his ineptitude. Things have only gotten worse since, in particular city finances. Brown, with the cooperation of an ever-compliant Common Council, first burned through $109 million in reserves the mayor inherited from the city’s state-imposed financial control board. Of late, he has used $150 million — and counting — in federal pandemic aid to cover city operating[...]

Posted 4 months ago

Oct 8

2024

More upheaval at The Buffalo News

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This has been a tough week for The Buffalo News with word that Editor Sheila Rayam has been ousted and former Publisher Warren Colville has died. Margaret Kenny Giancola, the paper’s managing editor, succeeds Rayam. The News story announcing her appointment by Lee Enterprises, the paper’s chain owner, didn’t explain the move. I’m told Lee hasn’t explained its decision to the newsroom staff, either.  Rayam’s departure comes in the wake of Lee’s decision to eliminate 10 of the newsroom’s approximately 55 positions. That suggests her departure is in part a cost-cutting move.  Insiders tell me Rayam, the paper’s first Black[...]

Posted 5 months ago

Sep 30

2024

Unpacking Byron Brown’s move to OTB

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Byron Brown is as good as gone from City Hall.  It’s good for the city, given his nearly 19-year reign of error. Mayor-in waiting Chris Scanlon is an unproven commodity, but he’s got to be an improvement. But Brown getting a raise to take command of the troubled OTB certainly doesn’t represent good government. Here’s my take: Brown is making the move, as reported by J. Dale Shoemaker, for a couple of reasons, starting with money. The mayor is getting a huge bump in salary, from $178,518 to $295,000 next year and the possibility of still more in 2026 and[...]

Posted 5 months ago

Sep 27

2024

More newsroom cuts at The Buffalo News

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Lee Enterprises is taking another bite out of the newsroom of The Buffalo News.  A big bite. Sources tell me Lee has mandated that 10 jobs be cut from a newsroom that has an estimated 55 positions. Five of the cuts will come via either buyouts or layoffs. In addition, five vacant positions will be eliminated altogether. We’re talking downsizing approaching 20 percent, in one fell swoop. And it’s not just a loss of bodies, which translates into less coverage of our communities, but the loss of institutional knowledge when veterans walk out the door. Keep in mind that peak[...]

Posted 5 months ago
Investigative Post