Articles for Investigative Post staff

Jun 3

2019

iPost coverage of police drowning wins award

Reporting that showed how the Buffalo Police Department put Officer Craig Lehner in harm’s way before his drowning in 2017 has won a statewide reporting award. The New York State Associated Press selected the story by Daniela Porat as the top investigative story broadcast in 2018 on radio stations in mid-sized markets. The story aired on WBFO. Porat reported that the current in the Niagara River was too swift for an inexperienced diver like Lehner and that he was not properly trained and equipped. The Lehner family subsequently filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city and police department.[...]

Posted 6 years ago

May 7

2019

iPost announces three summer events

Investigative Post has scheduled three events for this summer, capped by its popular benefit concert at Sportsmen’s Tavern featuring Tom Toles and The Outlyers. The Aug. 16 show will cap a summer that also includes two speaker panels at Big Ditch Brewing. On Tuesday, June 4, Geoff Kelly, former editor of The Public and Artvoice, will discuss the past, present and future of the alternative press in Buffalo. On Wednesday, July 17, two Pulitzer Prize winning editorial cartoonists, Toles and Adam Zyglis of the Buffalo News, will discuss their craft and current affairs at Big Ditch. Toles, editorial cartoonist with The[...]

Posted 6 years ago

May 6

2019

Heaney wins investigative reporting award

Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney, whose reporting exposed corruption in the Buffalo Billion program, has been selected as this year’s recipient of the Nellie Bly Award for Investigative Reporting. The award, named in honor of the pioneering investigative reporter from the late 19th century, is granted by the Albany-based Museum of Political Corruption. “The judges found much about Heaney’s passion for justice and determination to uncover the truth that mimics Bly’s celebrated career,” according to the museum’s press release announcing the award. Heaney in 2014 exposed irregularities in the state’s awarding of a contract to LPCiminelli to develop a $750[...]

Posted 6 years ago

Apr 12

2019

Geoff Kelly joins Investigative Post

Geoff Kelly, former editor of The Public and Artvoice, has joined the reporting staff of Investigative Post. “I’m really excited to bring Geoff onboard. He’s a gifted reporter and editor and has a wealth of knowledge about the community,” said Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney. Kelly was a co-founder and editor of The Public, a weekly alternative newspaper launched in 2014. Prior to that, he was editor of Artvoice for 10 years, and editor of the weekly paper Pulp in Pittsburgh for two years prior. At Artvoice and The Public, much of his reporting focused on local government and politics,[...]

Posted 6 years ago

Jan 1

2019

Probe into cop drowning voted top story of ’18

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

Dec 11

2018

Vote for iPost story of the year

Investigative Post continued to produce hard-hitting investigations in 2018. We’ll leave it up to you readers to decide which was the best one. Editor Jim Heaney has selected what he considers our best enterprise stories. Links are below, followed by a poll. You’re permitted to vote just once. We’ll post the results the first week of January. Buffalo Billion project falls short of mark Buffalo not enforcing its fair housing law Safety ignored in police diver drowning OTB board members receive gold-plated perks High cost of teacher health insurance Neighbors oppose landfill expansion IBM’s dysfunctional call center Pegula’s back fracking[...]

Posted 6 years ago

Nov 7

2018

Upcoming event features Susan Arbetter

The elections are behind us. So what does it all mean? Susan Arbetter, the popular host of The Capitol Pressroom, sorts it out with Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney this coming Tuesday, Nov. 13, at the Burchfield Penney Art Center. There’s lots to consider. Female candidates did quite well. Democrats have gained control of the state Senate, along with every other arm of state government. The Democrats also take over the U.S. House of Representatives in January, providing a check of sorts on President Donald Trump. Republicans still hold the majority in the U.S. Senate. The event starts at 7 p.m. Admission is $10[...]

Posted 6 years ago

Oct 5

2018

iPost adds Nicholas to its board

George Nicholas, senior pastor of Lincoln Memorial United Methodist Church, has joined Investigative Post’s board of directors. Nicholas is a member of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo’s Racial Equity Roundtable, a convener of the Concerned Clergy Coalition of Western New York, and chair of the African American Health Disparities Task Force. “I really believe in investigative journalism and we don’t have enough of it in our mainstream outlets,” he said. “Investigative Post fills a very important need.” Nicholas previously served as the CEO of the Geneva B. Scruggs Community Health Care Center and a legislative aid to Assembly Member Arthur O. Eve. He earned[...]

Posted 7 years ago