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.

Jun 18

2020

COVID-19: Senecas face economic uncertainty

As reopenings across the country begin, the impacts of COVID-19 continue to threaten the economies of Native American governments, including the Seneca Nation here in Western New York. Many tribes rely on casinos and other Native-owned businesses to fund services and capital improvements, but how soon those enterprises bounce back is uncertain. Of particular concern are casinos and their related bars, restaurants, hotels and entertainment venues, as those industries across the county are expected to recover slowly from the impacts of COVID-19. That imperils the economic pillars of the Seneca Nation of Indians, three casinos run by the Seneca Nation[...]

Posted 5 years ago

Jun 12

2020

Heaney assesses police reforms on WBEN

Some in the media have described Mayor Byron Brown’s proposed police reforms as “sweeping.” Not so, Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney told Susan Rose during an interview Friday on NewsRadio 930 WBEN. The reforms are modest, at best, he said. Heaney and Ali Ingersoll, in an analysis published Wednesday, concluded that while the mayor’s proposals included some new elements, they fail to address most of the key demands made by a coalition of community activists. Moreover, one of his key reforms is already mandated in state law, while another bans a practice not used by police.

Posted 5 years ago

Jun 10

2020

Analysis: Brown’s police reforms are modest

Updated: 9:36 p.m. The police reforms announced today by Mayor Byron Brown fall well short of demands made by protestors and actions being taken by some of his big-city peers. Brown, after several lengthy meetings over the past week with a coalition of activist groups, outlined at a Wednesday press conference the first steps the city is prepared to take. Among them: more police training; greater use of de-escalation techniques; replacement of the Emergency Response Team, whose members resigned en masse last week, with a new unit; and establishment of a commission to study further reforms. Other aspects of the[...]

Posted 5 years ago

Jun 8

2020

What police reform should look like

The focus of protests in Buffalo the past week has sharpened: reform the Buffalo Police Department. A coalition of activists have put 13 demands in front of Mayor Byron Brown, some more achievable than others. Protestors have also raised the issue of Sheriff Tim Howard’s deadly management of county jails, where 30 inmates have died on his watch. Here’s my two cents on where to go from here. The big picture: We have a big problem with the actions and attitude of law enforcement in Western New York. It’s not a matter of a few bad apples — there are[...]

Posted 5 years ago

Jun 6

2020

Cops charged; mayor and activists negotiate

Updated: 8:59 p.m. Two days after their push of a demonstrator drew nationwide attention — and condemnation — two Buffalo police officers were arraigned in Buffalo City Court on charges of second degree assault. A large crowd of fellow law enforcement officers made a show of support, congregating in front of the downtown courthouse and, in some instances, attempting to obscure the view of videographers shooting the scene. Officers Robert McCabe, 32, and Aaron Torgalski, 39, members of the police department’s Emergency Response Team until all 57 members resigned from the assignment Friday, were charged in a virtual arraignment and[...]

Posted 5 years ago

Jun 2

2020

Heaney talks protests on WBFO

Jim Heaney wrote Sunday that vandalism associated with the weekend protests shouldn’t usurp a long-overdue discussion about racism, including a failure by city officials to rein in their police department and address other concerns of black and brown residents. Heaney spoke with Jay Moran on WBFO‘s Press Pass.

Posted 5 years ago

May 31

2020

Discuss the real issue. Racism.

Allow me to provide some perspective in light of what transpired Saturday night in Niagara Square. The issue isn’t “outside agitators,” the unsubstantiated claim made by Mayor Bryon Brown and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz. And it’s really not vandalism and looting, as unfortunate as that was. No, the real issue is how city government under Brown and his rubber stamps on the Common Council have targeted black and brown residents. Many of them turned out Saturday to rally against not only the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis but the manner in which police treat people of color right[...]

Posted 5 years ago

May 28

2020

My report to readers

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed life as we know it. That includes Investigative Post. Like most everyone, we began working remotely in the middle of March. It’s gone reasonably well. Suffice to say, I make a lot of phone calls to my reporters. A lot of phone calls, period. Our reporters have had to deal with sources and other news makers remotely, as well, which means lots of phone calls and emails and little to no personal interaction. “My basement is my office now,” Geoff Kelly, my senior reporter, said. “I conduct interviews from there. I watch government meetings on[...]

Posted 5 years ago