Categories for Co-produced with WGRZ

Jun 15

2013

Q&A: Mayoral candidate Bernie Tolbert

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Bernie Tolbert is challenging Byron Brown in the Sept. 10 Democratic primary for mayor. Tolbert, 65, is a Buffalo native with an extensive background in law enforcement. He worked as an agent and supervisor with the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1980 to 2001. His assignments included special agent in charge of FBI operations in Buffalo and Philadelphia and several stints at agency headquarters in Washington, D.C. He joined the National Basketball Association in 2002, first and vice president of security and later senior vice president. He retired in 2010. Earlier in his career, Tolbert worked as a teacher and[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Jun 14

2013

Peace Bridge bill may be DOA

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I suspect a number of newspaper readers and television viewers surmise that the Peace Bridge Authority is about to go bye-bye as a result of Wednesday’s approval by the state Legislature of a bill that would dissolve the authority that operates the Peace Bridge next year unless its governing board acts in accordance with state wishes. That would be a false assumption, and the story I did Thursday evening on WGRZ was my attempt to set the record straight. I want to expand on that story here. The bridge authority has a legal opinion from Phillips Lytle, Buffalo’s biggest law[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Jun 14

2013

Sizing up impact of Peace Bridge bill

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Jim Heaney fields questions from Athan Kompos of WGRZ about about the bill passed earlier this week by the state Legislature that purportedly lays the legal groundwork for a dissolution of the Peace Bridge Authority. Heaney cautioned that passage of the bill doesn’t necessarily mean the authority will disband.  

Posted 11 years ago

Jun 13

2013

Fact checking Cuomo on the Peace Bridge

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Raw interview footage of Jim Heaney answering questions from WGRZ’s Michael Wooten and Jeff Preval about latest developments involving the Peace Bridge.

Posted 11 years ago

Jun 13

2013

Bernie Tolbert has raised more than $100,000

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Jim Heaney interviewed Democratic mayoral candidate Bernie Tolbert on Tuesday. In this clip, Tolbert tells Heaney how much he intends to raise over the course of the campaign and how fundraising has gone so far. Interview highlights will air Saturday morning on WGRZ’s Daybreak. The complete interview and a transcript will post to this site later Saturday.

Posted 11 years ago

Jun 11

2013

Ugly month for sewer overflows in Erie County

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For the first time, the numbers are flowing in on sewer overflows across the state and it isn’t pretty. In Erie County, almost 7 million gallons of untreated sewage were discharged into local waterways in May. This information wasn’t publicly available on the Internet until the Sewage Pollution Right to Know Law went into effect last month. Based on what’s reported so far, the biggest repositories of raw sewage were Ellicott Creek (2 million gallons),  Scajaquada Creek (1 million) and the Niagara River (679,000). Heavy rain or snow melt is often the cause of these overflows. The ground water seeps through cracks in the sewer[...]

Posted 11 years ago

May 28

2013

Numbers, history belie Cuomo’s Peace Bridge claims

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his minions are insisting long and loud that Canadian members of the authority that manages the Peace Bridge have shortchanged efforts to improve the American side of the bridge. But an analysis by Investigative Post found that nearly half of the $192.5 million spent or committed by the authority’s governing board since 1992 has been earmarked for work on the American side. What’s more, more funding has been committed to improve the plaza in Buffalo than in Fort Erie since the 9/11 terrorist attacks when projects on the books are factored in. Investigative Post also found[...]

Posted 11 years ago

May 25

2013

Asthma plagues Peace Bridge neighborhood

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D’Youville Porter School is a few blocks from the Peace Bridge. Some 660 students attend the elementary school. A quarter have asthma. Instruction at the school includes reading, writing and, for some pupils, how to use an inhaler. “It is very difficult for these kids who are having asthma problems,” said Assunta Ventresca, director of health related services for Buffalo schools. Asthma is an epidemic on the Lower West Side. The victims, sometimes wheezing and struggling for breath, are in one in of every three households. Studies found asthma rates are nearly four times the national average in the neighborhoods[...]

Posted 11 years ago
Investigative Post