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.

Sep 28

2021

Dos and don’ts of write-in voting

It’s rare that an incumbent is reduced to running as a write-in candidate, but that’s the position Byron Brown finds himself in. The challenges are many, not just for the candidate, but for voters who want to cast a ballot for him. Writing in a candidate’s name isn’t as difficult as it once was because of changes in the form of Erie County’s ballots. But there are rules to follow, and failure to follow them can invalidate a vote. James Gardner, an election law expert and professor at the University at Buffalo’s law school, said Brown has an uphill climb[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Sep 24

2021

Calls for OTB resignations

Resign. That’s the message Niagara County Democrats are sending to top officials at the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. after State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli this week faulted the organization for deficient oversight, poor leadership and shoddy record-keeping. However, the audits did not address a controversial health insurance benefit OTB provides to certain officials and its board of directors. That’s been referred to the Attorney General’s Taxpayer Protection Bureau. “They ought to take a look and see if there’s criminal activity here,” said Chris Borgatti, chairman of the Niagara County Democratic Committee. “It smells like it.” The audits, released Thursday, confirm[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Sep 20

2021

A platform for mayor

Editor’s note: A version of this column appears in the current issue of Buffalo Spree. Buffalo voters face a stark choice in November: Byron Brown or India Walton? A lot will be said between now and election day and some of it may actually involve proposals to improve the city. To prime the pump for an issues-focused campaign, allow me to offer an eight-point plan for revitalizing Buffalo. The candidates are free to borrow generously. Here goes: Poverty: Buffalo remains one of the poorest cities of its size in the nation. About one-third of residents, and close to half its[...]

Posted 3 years ago

Sep 13

2021

Fair housing complaints bypass City Hall

Editor’s note: This is a first in a series of stories on the state of the city. Our in-depth reports on key issues will continue through late October. Today’s story assesses City Hall’s track record of enforcing its fair housing law. For years housing advocates in Buffalo were frustrated by the city’s failure to enforce its fair housing law. Now, with better options in county and state laws, those advocates are sidestepping the city entirely. Representatives from the nonprofit Housing Opportunities Made Equal said they saw some effort from the city shortly after Investigative Post reported in 2018 on the[...]

Posted 4 years ago

Aug 24

2021

Heaney discusses Cuomo stonewalling

Andrew Cuomo is out as governor. What was it like to deal with his administration? Jim Heaney, interviewed by WGRZ’s Kate Welshofer and Michael Wooten, described Cuomo’s administration as hostile to the press and the public’s right to know. Heaney in 2014 broke the first of the Cuomo scandals, involving bid rigging for the rights to develop the Tesla plant in South Buffalo. His story triggered a federal investigation that resulted in felony corruption convictions involving the governor’s top economic development official and one of Cuomo’s largest campaign donors from Western New York. Kathy Hochul was sworn in as governor[...]

Posted 4 years ago

Aug 23

2021

Kathy Hochul’s largest donors

Posted 4 years ago

Aug 2

2021

Popular waterways contaminated by bacteria

E. coli is a nasty waterborne bacteria that can cause vomiting and diarrhea. Authorities close beaches when levels exceed safety limits. But they’re doing next to nothing about unsafe readings in other local waterways. There’s a particular problem with the Black Rock Canal, popular with fishermen, the occasional swimmer and, most notably, the West Side Rowing Club and high school and college crew teams. E. coli readings consistently exceed safe limits — by up to 14 times — established by the federal government. “There are people coming in contact with water with E. coli from human feces every single day,”[...]

Posted 4 years ago

Jul 12

2021

Transparency, City Hall style

Editor’s note: Phil Gambini is working on a story about sewage and stormwater runoff that flows into local creeks and rivers. Municipalities are required under state law to track the volume of these pollutants, but data reported by the Buffalo Sewer Authority does not identify discharge points or, in many cases, the amount of wastewater that flows into individual waterways. Gambini has been attempting to reach the Sewer Authority since the middle of May to make sense of the incomplete data. He documents his efforts below. There’s many ways to reach Oluwole “O.J.” McFoy, general manager at the Buffalo Sewer[...]

Posted 4 years ago