Jim Heaney

Jim Heaney is editor and executive director of Investigative Post. He was an investigative reporter with The Buffalo News from 1986 to 2011 and a reporter and editor with The Orlando Sentinel from 1980-86. His coverage over the years has focused on economic development, local and state government, politics, education, housing and transportation, and he was an early practitioner of computer-assisted reporting. Heaney has won more than 20 journalism awards and was a finalist for the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting.

Mar 6

2022

Monday Morning Read

Editor’s note: This post is pulled from WeeklyPost, an email newsletter written by Jim Heaney and published Sunday mornings. It recaps our coverage of the previous week and highlights other local, state and national stories that Heaney finds of interest, along with a bit of commentary. If you don’t already subscribe — for free — you can do so at this link. A story broke late last week that said the Bills stadium deal being struck is going to cost taxpayers over $1 billion. According to Sports Business Journal, taxpayers would cover $850 million of the project’s $1.4 billion price tag,[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Mar 3

2022

Cash severance pay tops $300,000

Buffalo schools, and the taxpayers who fund the district, are paying Kriner Cash more than $300,000 to go away. Cash resigned under pressure as superintendent Wednesday night. He’s been criticized of late for his frequent absences from the district, his handling of numerous issues related to the pandemic and a spike in violence in city schools, including a shooting and stabbing at McKinley High School on Feb. 9. Those issues led to increased tensions with a growing number of School Board members and a dare he issued to the board on Feb. 16 to fire him if they were unhappy[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Feb 27

2022

Monday Morning Reads

Editor’s note: WeeklyPost is an email newsletter written by Jim Heaney and published Sunday mornings. It recaps our coverage of the previous week and highlights other local, state and national stories that Heaney finds of interest, along with a bit of commentary. If you don’t already subscribe, you can do so at this link. Here’s a sampling of the “What I’m Reading” section of yesterday’s newsletter. It’s been a long time coming, but Louis Ciminelli is finally behind bars for his involvement in the Buffalo Billion bid rigging and Alain Kaloyeros is headed there next month. They were convicted on[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Feb 22

2022

Scott Levin interview with Jim Heaney

Editor Jim Heaney discussed the past, present and future of Investigative Post in an interview earlier this week with WGRZ news anchor Scott Levin. Investigative Post marked its 10 year anniversary Tuesday. Heaney, in his seven-minute interview with Levin, described Investigative Post’s place in the local media landscape, outlined his plans to continue to grow his nonprofit news organization, and noted the challenges reporters face these days – namely, stonewalling politicians and bureaucrats contemptuous of the public’s right to know. In addition to watching the interview above, you can read Heaney’s history of Investigative Post at this link.

Posted 3 years ago

Feb 21

2022

Celebrating a decade of muckraking

A billionaire is pouring money — $15 million the first year of operation alone — to launch a nonprofit news organization in Baltimore. Five foundations are putting up $20 million to start a similar venture in Houston. Me? I started Investigative Post with my credit card and an understanding wife. It was the fall of 2011. I had just taken a buyout from The Buffalo News, where I had worked for 25 years. I’d had enough. The paper was in the early stages of a downward spiral that continues to this day. I figured I had 10 years left in[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Feb 20

2022

‘Completely stupid’ burning of toxins

A Niagara Falls waste incineration plant burned almost 13 tons of firefighting foam over a three-year period, potentially releasing into the air and water insidious toxins linked in studies to infertility, birth defects, developmental disorders, compromised immune systems and cancer. When questioned by state officials, Covanta Niagara at first denied it. Eventually, the company admitted burning “a small amount” of the material — aqueous film-forming foam, or AFFF — but claimed it didn’t know what it was burning. “That is not a small amount,” said David Bond, a Bennington College professor who fought to stop a waste incinerator doing the[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Feb 15

2022

Heaney on Hochul: “I’m not impressed”

Writing for Buffalo Spree, Jim Heaney weighs in on Kathy Hochul’a performance as governor six months into her tenure. Heaney, in his Outrages and Insights column, writes that he has concerns. “I’m not impressed” he writes. “My reasons are mostly related to her handling of issues I consider of paramount importance: transparency and ethics, economic development, and fiscal prudence.” You can read his full column here.

Posted 3 years ago

Feb 7

2022

The latest news on The Buffalo News

Here’s the latest on the tussle over the ownership of the chain that owns The Buffalo News: To recap, Alden Global Capital made a bid late last year to purchase Lee Enterprises, whose newspaper holdings include The News. Lee has resisted in a series of maneuvers and the back-and-forth between the companies has gotten quite nasty. The latest salvo came last week in the release of the chain’s quarterly financial report in which it described its media holdings as “the fastest growing digital subscription platform in local media.” Net profits were $13.2 million. All is good, according to Lee. Alden[...]

Posted 3 years ago