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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.

Dec 13

2015

Urban League scandal demands further scrutiny

What to do about the Buffalo Urban League and its president and CEO, Brenda McDuffie? Something, that’s for sure. As our Charlotte Keith first reported, and an audit released last week by Erie County Comptroller Stefan Mychajliw subsequently confirmed, the Urban League has been overcharging Erie County for services that include working with families to prevent child abuse. To make matters worse, the Urban League retaliated against the caseworkers who helped expose the problem, firing or running off all eight of them. To make matters even worse, Urban League officials stonewalled the comptroller’s audit and, on the eve of its[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Dec 7

2015

Buffalo’s East Side awaiting a rebound

While Buffalo is recovering, there is plenty of room for improvement, especially on the city’s East Side. That was the consensus of a panel discussion moderated last week by Jim Heaney of Investigative Post, who shared his impressions with Steve Brown on the weekly edition of Investigative Post. Panelists said the East Side lacks organizations with the capacity to manage redevelopment initiatives. The relocation of African American residents away from development hotspots was cited as another problem.  

Posted 9 years ago

Dec 4

2015

Heaney on Alcoa’s latest subsidy deal

Susan Arbetter of Capitol Pressroom interviewed Jim Heaney on Thursday about the recent deal in which New York State agreed to increase its already generous subsidy package to Alcoa’s plant in Massena. The interview runs from 22:03 to 36:58.

Posted 9 years ago

Dec 2

2015

WBFO report on iPost event

Avery Schneider of our partners at WBFO reports on Investigative Post’s panel discussion Tuesday that posed the question: “Is Buffalo really getting its mojo back?” Panelists included Henry L. Taylor of the University at Buffalo, developer Rocco Termini and Buffalo Rising Editorial Director Newell Nussbaumer. The panelists agreed that Buffalo has recovered to a degree, but that much work remains, especially on the city’s East Side.

Posted 9 years ago

Nov 30

2015

Outrages & Insights: Diversity at SolarCity

There’s a problem with the pipeline that is feeding workers to the SolarCity project at Riverbend, Jim Heaney told Steve Brown on Sunday’s installment of Outrages & Insights. Heaney, referring to a story last week reported by Charlotte Keith, noted that African Americans accounted for only 5.7 percent of the construction workers employed at the SolarCity site during the quarter that ended in September. That contrasts with a city population that is 38 percent black. The project is nevertheless meeting its goal of employing a workforce that is at least 15 percent minority.

Posted 9 years ago

Nov 25

2015

Of job growth and mojo

Not to rain on the parade, but despite talk from politicians about Buffalo’s resurgence, job growth in Erie and Niagara counties continues to lag behind the nation and state. Sounds like this might make for a good discussion.

Posted 9 years ago

Nov 22

2015

Heaney details local refugee situation

Jim Heaney and Steve Brown discuss the hot topic of the week, refugees, in the wake of the Paris terror attacks in the latest installment of Outrages & Insights. Heaney told Brown that Erie County accepts more refugees than any county in the state, more than 1,400 last year. Surprisingly, relatively few settle in New York City, despite its historic role as an entry point for immigrants. Heaney explained that, despite rhetoric to the contrary, refugees undergo more vigorous screening than others coming to America, a process that typically takes up to two years. Heaney also discussed the local refugee[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Nov 20

2015

Heaney talks refugees with Capitol Pressroom

Susan Arbetter of Capitol Pressroom interviewed Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney on Thursday regarding refugees in light of the Paris terror attacks. Heaney told Arbetter that Erie County accepted more than 1,400 refugees last year, more than any county in the state and about one-third of the statewide total. Interestingly enough, relatively few refugees settle in New York City. The interview, which can be found at this link, runs from 13:00 to 22:17.

Posted 9 years ago
Investigative Post