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.

Aug 27

2020

WNY has a long road back from the coronavirus

These are tough times, as tough times go. And they’re not going away anytime soon. The COVID-19 pandemic remains a dual threat, to both public health and economic well being of the county, Buffalo and Western New York included. While the coronavirus is under control locally, at least compared with much of the rest of the country, it’s going to be a fact of life for quite some time. Yes, there’s talk of a vaccine, perhaps by the end of the year. But vaccines typically take five to 10 years to develop and test before they’re safe for widespread public[...]

Posted 4 years ago

Aug 26

2020

Heaney discusses ‘Billion audit with Arbetter

Susan Arbetter, the longtime host of The Capitol Pressroom, has moved on to Spectrum News. She’s been a good friend to Investigative Post over the years, frequently interviewing Jim Heaney on her radio program and headlining two events at the Burchfield Penney Art Center. Heaney appeared Wednesday on Capital Tonight to discuss the audit released last week by Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli that documented the failure of Empire State Development to oversee $2.2 billion in state investments in high-tech projects. Heaney analyzed the audit in a column Monday, concluding the report was spot on and expanding on the comptroller’s findings. You[...]

Posted 4 years ago

Aug 23

2020

Buffalo Billion audit: shock and ugh

The audit released Friday by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli told us a lot of things we already knew or strongly suspected: the Cuomo administration failed to assess the value of high-tech projects like the Tesla plant in South Buffalo both before and after the investment of tax dollars, and largely kept the public and press in the dark in between. But the audit added a lot of detail and included some new eye-popping findings, two in particular: The Tesla project fell way short — way, way short, actually — of the state’s desired return on investment. The audit said Empire[...]

Posted 4 years ago

Aug 17

2020

Investigative Post teams with UB Law clinic

Reporters face growing resistance from state and local government officials when they seek public records. The state Freedom of Information Law, intended to promote the public’s right to know, is often used by politicians and bureaucrats to delay the release of records. Investigative Post has found that many bureaucracies, including the City of Buffalo and its Board of Education, and especially the State of New York, routinely take much longer to fulfill FOI requests than what’s permitted under law. Other news organizations experience similar delays. In recent years, it’s become an epidemic. At times, there’s almost an unspoken challenge posed[...]

Posted 4 years ago

Aug 12

2020

Heaney discusses schools on WBEN

Jim Heaney follows up his story published Monday on distance learning in Buffalo schools with an interview on NewsRadio 930WBEN. Heaney tells Susan Rose and Brian Mazurowski that distance learning didn’t go very well last semester and the district officials tried to obstruct his reporting.

Posted 4 years ago

Aug 11

2020

Interview with parent leader Sam Radford

Sam Radford believes distance learning in Buffalo schools has failed many students, as reported Monday by Investigative Post. In a 20-minute interview with Jim Heaney, Radford, co-chair of We The Parents and immediate past president of the District Parent Coordinating Council, spelled out the concerns he’s heard this spring and summer from the mothers and fathers of Buffalo students. Student participation was an issue – “Some kids logged on, some kids didn’t.” But the quality of instruction is a larger concern. “I think the learning is what suffered the most,” Radford said. “Some teachers were doing really great when they[...]

Posted 4 years ago

Aug 9

2020

Buffalo schools struggled with distance learning

This story began in April with a handful of simple questions: How many Buffalo school students are participating in distance learning? How many hours a day are they engaged in learning? And how much are they really learning? They were obvious and reasonable questions. So we posed them to the folks who run the school system. Their response: hysterics and stonewalling. We then turned to teachers, who, in often heartfelt terms, described their experiences working with students since schools shut their doors the middle of March because of the pandemic. Their experiences varied, but on balance they said distance learning[...]

Posted 4 years ago

Aug 6

2020

Heaney talks police contract on ‘Pressroom

Following up on Geoff Kelly’s report last week, Jim Heaney talks about provisions of Buffalo’s contract with its police union that make it difficult to discipline officers and deprive the department’s leadership of many management rights. Heaney, speaking on The Capitol Pressroom, noted that while Mayor Byron Brown has harshly criticized the union and its contract for being an obstacle to reform, city negotiators have failed to propose changes.

Posted 4 years ago