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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.

Mar 27

2012

Hotel discounts that cost taxpayers

It seems local IDAs still haven’t come across a hotel subsidy deal they don’t like. The Amherst IDA in January approved $1.9 million in tax breaks for a hotel and retail shops on Main Street in Williamsville that Carl Paladino plans to develop on the former site of Stereo Advantage. On Monday, the Erie County Industrial Development Agency voted to grant $275,000 in tax breaks to  the Millennium Hotel adjacent to Walden Galleria in Cheektowaga. Benderson Development recently announced plans for a hotel in the former Donovan state office building it is redeveloping at Canalside. They’ll no doubt be asking[...]

Posted 13 years ago

Mar 26

2012

Sobering stats for Hochul

A reader forwarded a post from the Daily Kos that lays out all sorts of interesting voting patterns in the New York’s reconfigured Congressional districts that underscore just how amazing Kathy Hochul’s victory was last year in the old 26th District and how difficult a repeat performance will be in the new 27th. Press accounts have reported the edge in Republican enrollment has inched up from 6 percent over the Democrats in the old 26th to 7 percent in the new 27th. Not all that much movement and hardly insurmountable, given that Republicans do not hold a plurality. But then[...]

Posted 13 years ago

Mar 26

2012

Handicapping a Hochul-Collins race

There’s the matter of an almost certain GOP primary, but the announcement over the weekend by Chris Collins that he is running for the 27th Congressional District leads to inevitable speculation about a general election showdown with Kathy Hochul. Conventional wisdom holds that the Republican holds a distinct advantage because of party enrollment figures.  While precise numbers are hard to pin down, it appears enrolled Republican will outnumber Democrats by about 7 percent in a district that spans portions of eight counties. Two Republicans have announced for the seat, Collins and decorated war veteran David Bellavia of Batavia. A third[...]

Posted 13 years ago

Mar 23

2012

Weekend News Cafe

The NYPD, people of color and the Buffalo connection Reports that New York City police have been spying on Muslims in the Buffalo area – without notifying the feds – fits a pattern that is coming under increasing criticism. The NYPA has an aggressive stop-and-frisk policy in NYC that targets men of color. Reports The New York Times: The Police Department has said that it conducted a record 684,330 stops last year, and that 87 percent of those stopped were black or Hispanic. One target wrote about his experience of being stopped five times by the police: These experiences changed[...]

Posted 13 years ago

Mar 22

2012

Same as the Old Boss

Ossified. Webster defines it as “hardened or conventional and opposed to change.” As in government in New York State. A cursory reading of the headlines might lead one to believe that governance in New York is starting to move in the right direction since Andrew Cuomo took up residence in the governor’s mansion. The state budget got passed on time, the income tax code was revised, gay marriage was approved. Indeed, by one measure—passing major legislation and spending packages—there has been progress. Paralysis has been eased. But the manner in which many key measures have been passed underscores just how[...]

Posted 13 years ago

Mar 20

2012

New York ranks among more corrupt states

State governments are susceptible to corruption, New York’s moreso than most, according to a new data-driven study done by the State Integrity Investigation. The study gave New York a “D” based on score of 65 out of 100. That ranked New York 36 out of 50 states. New York received a grade of “F” in four categories – state budgeting process, redistricting, ethics enforcement and pension fund management.  The Empire State received its best grades for internal auditing (B+) and lobbying disclosure (B-). Corruptions problems are across the nation, according to the report: The stories go on and on. Open[...]

Posted 13 years ago

Mar 19

2012

Q&A: Sam Radford, parent leader

Samual Radford is president of District Parent Coordinating Council, which has emerged the past several years as the most organized and vocal advocate of reforming Buffalo public schools. After a stint in the Marines, Radford, 45, became an activist and organizer on a number of fronts, including president of the student government at Erie Community College, a trainer with the Martin Luther King Institute for Nonviolence, and head of a youth detention center for at-risk kids and a homeless shelter for young women. He’s currently a program coordinator for the Community Action Organization of Erie County. The District Parent Coordinating[...]

Posted 13 years ago
Investigative Post