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.
Apr 10
2020
Phil Gambini reported Thursday on what detainees say are dangerous conditions at the immigrant detention center in Batavia. Today, he discussed his reporting with Susan Rose on WBEN.
Apr 9
2020
Updated: 1:10 p.m. It’s called B-2, one of nine units at the detention center run by ICE in Batavia. These days it’s a terrifying place for those held there. Most of the 50 or so men confined there are coughing and displaying other symptoms of COVID-19. The entire unit has been placed in a 14-day quarantine. Six detainees were removed Wednesday, and today a government attorney told a federal court that four of them had tested positive. Four others from B-2 are awaiting test results. Social distancing? Near impossible in detention settings. Soap and hand sanitizer? Running in short supply.[...]
Apr 2
2020
Prisons and jails are dangerous places for inmates and staff alike during the ongoing pandemic. Editor Jim Heaney discusses Investigative Post’s reporting on the topic on NewsRadio 930 WBEN, noting that there’s a fair number of people in county jails for non-violent misdemeanor offenses or low-level parole violations. Heaney also spoke about Investigative Post’s most-recent story about how Western New Yorkers aren’t curtailing their travel as much as residents in most other communities in the face of the pandemic. Heaney’s interview with Brian Mazurowski on “A New Morning” marks his first appearance since Investigative Post added WBEN to its distribution network. Heaney[...]
Apr 1
2020
Jim Heaney has detailed the furloughs and layoffs announced by The Buffalo News on Tuesday. He discussed the impact, along with the obstinance of Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz in dealing with the press during the COVID-19 crisis, with Jay Moran on WBFO. Give a listen.
Mar 31
2020
Well, that didn’t take long. Lee Enterprises took ownership of The Buffalo News just a couple of weeks ago and wham — the paper on Tuesday announced furloughs and layoffs. To be fair, the loss of advertising due to fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic was no doubt the driving force behind the decision, which I’m told was made at corporate headquarters in Davenport, Iowa, rather than here in Buffalo. But let’s face it, The News was going to have to act sooner rather than later due to the loss of advertising revenue, which is just one of many challenges the[...]
Mar 30
2020
Updated: 5:50 p.m. The workforce at Kaleida hospitals is being hard hit by the coronavirus. A document obtained by Investigative Post indicates that as of Friday, 34 caregivers had tested positive for COVID-19 and 81 awaited test results. Another 166 employees had tested negative. Kaleida spokesman Michael Hughes, who failed to respond to emails and phone calls from Investigative Post reporters Friday and earlier Monday, confirmed the 34 figure in an email sent today at 4:55 p.m., after this story posted. His email read: “Over 10,000 employees. 34 positive. .03% …… “Hitting Kaleida staff hard” ???!!!!” Other sources say the situation[...]
Mar 26
2020
Jim Heaney and Jay Moran, host of WBFO‘s Press Pass, talk about how Investigative Post is covering the COVID-19 pandemic. The nature of the crisis has prompted Investigative Post to switch from producing lengthy, time-consuming stories to short, but in-depth ones produced in a matter of days, sometimes hours, Heaney said.
Mar 25
2020
Lawyers defending immigrants in deportation hearings and other legal proceedings in Batavia refused to appear in court Tuesday, saying federal authorities have failed to protect all parties involved from exposure to COVID-19. Attorneys from the Volunteer Lawyers Project and Prisoners Legal Services of New York also said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, has effectively stopped them from representing their clients in court by requiring face masks and other protective equipment that they can’t obtain because of shortages and that ICE won’t provide. The federal immigration court has continued to operate despite a plea last Friday from State[...]