Categories for Co-produced with WGRZ

Sep 20

2016

DEC: Peace Bridge air quality meets standards

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The state Department of Environmental Conservation said Tuesday that its latest air monitoring program near the Peace Bridge shows the air people breathe in adjacent neighborhoods beset by high asthma rates is comparable to other similarly sized cities and high-traffic urban areas. In fact, state environmental regulators said during the community meeting at the Porter Street Library in Buffalo that some of the air toxins they measured near the Peace Bridge were similar to what one might find near Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondacks. Nonetheless, the DEC called on the federal Environmental Protection Agency to adopt stronger emission standards for[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Sep 1

2016

Urban League lawsuit dismissed

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A lawsuit brought by the Buffalo Urban League, which took the unusual step in April of suing Erie County after a scathing audit by the county comptroller, has been dismissed. The audit, which was completed last December, found that the Urban League had over-billed the county by an estimated $40,000, as well as failing to properly train its caseworkers. “This is a clear and decisive victory,” said Erie County Comptroller Stefan Mychajliw. “It’s a victory for the independence of the office of the Erie County Comptroller and a victory for taxpayers.” The Urban League had been asking for the audit[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Aug 22

2016

Looking for lead (in all the wrong places)

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Neighborhoods on the city’s East and Lower West Sides are “ground zero” for the worst lead poisoning problems in all of Upstate New York. Lead paint is considered the culprit, but the crisis in Flint, Michigan, has raised questions about the safety of the drinking water in cities like Buffalo. The testing program used by Buffalo to determine whether drinking water is safe does not target the minority neighborhoods where the lead poisoning problem is concentrated, an analysis by Investigative Post has found. Instead, the city has focused on predominantly white neighborhoods in North and South Buffalo that report few,[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Aug 10

2016

Record losses at SolarCity

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SolarCity posted a record net loss of $250 million for the second quarter of this year, according to financial statements filed Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Losses for the first half of this year stand at a staggering $533 million, putting the company on pace to lose more than $1 billion for 2016. Losses last year totaled $710 million. SolarCity’s financial woes are one of the reasons it’s in line to be taken over by Tesla, the electric car manufacturer. Noted entrepreneur Elon Musk is chairman of both companies and their largest shareholder. Tesla has its share of financial problems,[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Aug 4

2016

Untested waters at two Erie County beach bars

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Authorities steered swimmers away from a Southtowns beach more than 30 days last summer because of unhealthy levels of bacteria in the water. But adjacent beaches owned by two popular waterfront bars remained open to patrons because the businesses lack permits that require testing of the water and closure when fecal matter and other bacteria are detected at dangerous levels. One of the bars, Turtle Joe’s Sand Bar, appears to be in violation of the state beach code. Whether Mickey Rats Beach Club is in violation is open to interpretation. Owner Richie Alberts obtained what he maintains is a waiver[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Jul 20

2016

500 gallons of waste oil pollute Cayuga Creek

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Add another blemish to the long history of environmental degradation of Cayuga Creek. An estimated 500 gallons of presumed waste oil contaminated the creek between Sunday and Monday mid-afternoon, according to the Department of Environmental Conservation. That’s equivalent to dumping a dozen normal-sized barrels of waste oil into the creek. “Cayuga Creek is an already impaired system, and this waste oil spill is one more assault to a creek that has been struggling to recover for decades,” said Jill Jedlicka, executive director of Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, whose nonprofit had reported the spill to the DEC on Monday. The DEC said in a statement[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Jul 14

2016

Buffalo Billion program at Daemen struggles

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When Sonja Slother enrolled in a fledgling film production program at Daemen College, her enthusiasm was buoyed by the college’s partnership with a company committed to creating more than 100 jobs. The initiative, which was awarded $4.5 million in Buffalo Billion funding, was meant to train a workforce for the visual effects industry Gov. Andrew Cuomo said would take root in Western New York – and, specifically, for the company Daemen had partnered with, Empire Visual Effects. State and college officials touted the training program as a fast track into high-paying jobs. A graphic designer by profession, Slother had recently been[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Jul 5

2016

Radioactive hot spots pepper Niagara County

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The first hint of radioactive waste near John Grace’s home in Lewiston came from his son who carried a radiation meter for his government job. The meter would beep every time his son drove over the gravel driveway. “He said ‘something’s not right here,’ ” said Grace, who lives at 738 Upper Mountain Road. Turns out, he was right. Gravel in the driveway was first tested some 40 years ago by the federal Department of Energy and found to have radiation levels some 70 times greater than what’s found in the local natural environment. The driveway was still hot when[...]

Posted 8 years ago
Investigative Post