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Apr 19

2021

Profane, suspended police lieutenant retires

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 Lieutenant Michael DeLong, suspended last summer after being videotaped directing a vile, misogynist insult at a woman outside a West Side convenience store, has retired. DeLong called the woman a “disrespectful little fucking cunt” when she questioned how police were handling a man in distress outside the store who has a history of drug and mental health issues. The woman, Ruweyda Salim, a claims examiner for the Veterans Administration at the time, captured her exchange with DeLong on her cell phone camera outside a 7 Eleven convenience store on Prospect Avenue near D’Youville College.  The video generated a lot[...]

Posted 4 years ago

Apr 14

2021

Paltry donations to Cuomo from WNY

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 Governor Andrew Cuomo has invested a lot of political capital — to say nothing of state tax dollars, starting with the Buffalo Billion — in Western New York. But an analysis by Investigative Post has found he’s not getting much love in return from local campaign donors. As first reported in our Money in Politics, and reported Wednesday on WGRZ, Cuomo’s campaign committee has raised $38.4 million statewide since 2017, which includes his last run for governor. Only $576,945 came from donors in Western New York. That’s only 1.5 percent of total donations. Investigative Post found one donor —[...]

Posted 4 years ago

Apr 9

2021

Dowdall discusses exam exemptions on WBEN

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Layne Dowdall reported Thursday and Friday about the cancellation of Regents exams last school year and how they resulted in inflated graduation rates in many  districts in Western New York. She discussed her reporting Friday with Susan Rose and Brian Mazurowski on NewsRadio 930WBEN.  

Posted 4 years ago

Apr 8

2021

Regents exemptions varied among districts

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Buffalo wasn’t the only local school district who graduated a lot of students who failed to pass Regents exams last year. The exams were cancelled because of the pandemic, which enabled students to obtain an exemption that allowed them to graduate, provided they earned a passing grade in any subject where exams were scheduled. Twenty-two percent of those graduating from Buffalo schools did so thanks to the exemption. Close behind them were the graduating classes of Newfane Central School District (21 percent) and Cheektowaga Central School District (20 percent). On balance 8.9 percent of seniors in school districts in Erie,[...]

Posted 4 years ago

Apr 6

2021

Exemptions boost Buffalo graduation rate

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Buffalo School Superintendent Kriner Cash was ecstatic. The city’s high school graduation rate last year jumped 11.6 percent – eight times greater than the increase statewide. Cash proclaimed he was “extraordinarily proud of the Class of 2020,” terming the increased graduation rate in the midst of the pandemic “a tremendous positive.” Left unsaid: 22 percent of the graduating class – 423 students – was exempted from passing mandated Regents exams, which had been cancelled because of the pandemic. Instead, students needed only to receive a passing grade in their individual classes, and the district adopted a generous grading policy to[...]

Posted 4 years ago

Apr 1

2021

The worst governments, agencies in WNY

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Western New York is saddled with a lot of bad governmental bodies and departments in need of reform. Some cost a lot of money in the form of high taxes, others are simply ineffective, and still more are outright corrupt. There are some 105 units of local government in Erie and Niagara counties — that is, cities, towns, villages and school districts. And countless other departments, authorities, taxing districts and the like. With apologies to David Letterman’s late, great Top Ten list, here’s my take on the worst of the worst, with the list getting progressively worse as you read[...]

Posted 4 years ago
Investigative Post