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.
Oct 27
2020
Michael Wooten of WGRZ interviewed Editor Jim Heaney about Investigative Post’s reporting that identified the largest donors from Western New York to the presidential campaigns of Donald Trump and Joseph Biden. Trump’s donors were featured in a ‘Money In Politics’ post Monday. Biden’s were published Tuesday. The posts are accompanied by a podcast featuring Heaney and Ken Kruly, who produces Money In Politics.
Oct 27
2020
Oct 27
2020
Our “Money In Politics” posts today and yesterday detail the largest donors to the presidential campaigns of Donald Trump and Joseph Biden. Ken Kruly and Jim Heaney discuss.
Oct 25
2020
Oct 21
2020
Investigative Post this week launches a new feature, Money In Politics, based on research and analysis by Ken Kruly, who has had a distinguished career in government finance. Money In Politics will be accompanied by a companion podcast that will feature Ken and Geoff Kelly, who covers government and politics for Investigative Post. The first podcast, posted below, recaps Ken’s findings on the fundraising efforts of Sean Ryan, the Assemblyman running for state Senate. Ken found Ryan’s major donors include many out-of-town labor unions. He and Geoff also discuss the prospects of Mayor Byron Brown running for an unprecedented term,[...]
Oct 18
2020
Lieutenant Michael DeLong, suspended for calling a woman a vile name outside of a West Side convenience store this summer, wants a transfer from his command position in the city’s downtown police precinct. One of his two preferences is an assignment to a command position with the unit that investigates sex crimes, where the victims are predominantly women. In addition to his suspension this summer — for calling the woman a “fucking cunt” — the department suspended DeLong in 2018 for an incident described on his disciplinary card as “conduct-off duty domestic.” DeLong has also put in for a[...]
Oct 12
2020
Editor’s note: This column originally published in Buffalo Spree. Chris Jacobs used to be a moderate Republican who Democrats could think about voting for. No more. Not if you go by his words. The moderate Chris Jacobs made a deal with the devil in accepting the endorsement of Donald Trump during his successful special election campaign for Congress. There was clearly a quid pro quo: Trump endorses Jacobs, who in turn supports the president, no matter how outrageous his policies or behavior. Jacobs underscored his fealty to Trump during an interview with me a couple of weeks after he took[...]
Sep 30
2020
M.T. Pockets, the North Buffalo bar that closed earlier his month after its patrons shouted racist slurs at demonstrators rallying for police reform, has quietly reopened. The Erie County Health Department cleared the Hertel Avenue bar to reopen Monday, after it submitted a plan to ensure the safety of patrons during the COVID-19 pandemic. Plywood that had covered its door and front windows has been removed and a limited number of patrons are being admitted. Meanwhile, the State Liquor Authority told Investigative Post it opened an investigation into the bar earlier this month. Apparent violations of COVID-19 health and safety[...]