May 1
2013
Craig Rogers, associate professor of economics at Canisius College, tells Jim Heaney that policy makers often work off faulty assumptions. Watch WGRZ’s Daybreak on Saturday for more.
May 1
2013
By Jeremy Izzio and Dan Telvock The Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority, the city’s biggest landlord, is ignoring a City Charter requirement that mandates recycling at apartment buildings and other multi-family housing units. As a result, roughly 500 tons of recyclable materials end up in a landfill each year, costing the city both money and an opportunity to improve its anemic recycling rate. There also may be a related out-of-pocket expense to the authority. The authority appears to have engaged a public relations firm to coach officials on how to deal with reporters inquiring about the recycling program. Managers are unwilling[...]
Apr 27
2013
Peace Bridge General Manager Ron Rienas has become a lightning rod over deeper divisions within the board that manages the Peace Bridge. American board members contend the Canadians are not cooperating with efforts to improve the bridge on the Buffalo side; the Canadians label the charge “absurd.” Jim Heaney reports for WGRZ.
Apr 25
2013
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver are among those who have gone on record in favor of tougher enforcement of election laws and other statutes aimed at promoting ethical conduct on the part of public officials. The catalyst to these calls has been two recent high-profile corruption cases that snared New York City politicians. Not that we needed two indictments to know something is rotten in the Empire State. Look no further than the “D” grade the state received on a risk for public corruption report card issued by the Center for Public Integrity. Nor do[...]
Apr 19
2013
Jeremy Zellner, chairman of the Erie County Democratic Party, tells Jim Heaney of Investigative Post that Gov. Andrew Cuomo still isn’t talking to party HQ after failing to elect his preferred candidate to lead local Democrats. More of the interview will air Saturday about 6:40 a.m. on WGRZ Daybreak.
Apr 11
2013
Mary Ruth Kapsiak responds to questions from Dan Telvock of Investigative Post about the district’s failure to comply with state regulations regarding health and physical education.
Apr 10
2013
If Buffalo Board of Education members want to pinpoint two reasons why almost half of city schools are failing they can look at the district’s physical and health education programs. The problem is they’ve been turning a blind eye. The youngest students aren’t getting enough exercise and about 45 percent of Buffalo’s seventh graders are overweight, which does impact academic performance according to national studies. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that the school system isn’t in compliance with state regulations for its physical and health education programs and hasn’t been for at least a decade. The state Department of Education[...]
Apr 8
2013
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz has emerged as a leading critic of local economic development practices. Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney interviewed Poloncarz on April 2, 2013, to discuss his concerns in-depth. _____________________________________ Heaney: We’re going to do a special focus today on economic development. I’ve been covering economic development in Buffalo for probably 15 years and it’s been a status quo environment. I’ve asked the county executive on it because you’ve really been a voice of reform that I really haven’t heard out of anybody in your position. There’s been some folks that have kind of talked a[...]