Categories for DailyPost

Jul 11

2023

Risks vs. benefits of proposed Lockport plant

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An India-based plastics company is seeking to build its first U.S. plant in the Town of Lockport, despite strong objections from environmental groups who argue such a facility could harm human health and the environment. But the plant’s potential ecological impact isn’t the only issue up for debate: The firm wants tax breaks, and could further benefit from a limited environmental review. SRI CV Plastics Inc. is seeking $500,000 in subsidies, including $311,856 from the Lockport Industrial Development Agency, to build a $2.3 million, 14,000-square foot factory in the Lockport Industrial Park. The firm’s CEO, Varunkumar Velumani, said he plans[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Jul 10

2023

Contract extensions for 18 OTB executives

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Days before state lawmakers stripped them of their duties amid concerns about corruption within the organization, the board of the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. signed off on multi-year contract extensions for 18 top executives. Among them was CEO and President Henry Wojtaszek, who received a three-and-half year extension that pays him more than the governor of New York.  OTB officials refused to voluntarily provide details of the contract extensions, and instead required the Niagara Gazette to file a request for the documents under the state Freedom of Information Law. Those documents, obtained by the Gazette late Friday, show Wojtaszek[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Jul 9

2023

Monday Morning Read

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Subscribe to WeeklyPost and you’ll get Jim Heaney’s recommended reading – and a summary of Investigative Post’s reporting from the previous week –  in your inbox Sunday mornings. ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- Chris Collins – remember him, the convicted felon who relocated to Florida and was later pardoned by Donald Trump? – is making noise about running for Congress in the Sunshine State. Or perhaps he’s simply making noise. Collins recently went on an anti-gay rant in which he lectured about ethics and morality. This, from a disgraced, and disgraceful, felon. Terry Pegula is looking for more ways to get even richer. (And that’s not counting his[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Jul 5

2023

Federal oversight ends of county jails

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Editor’s note: This is the first story reported by Bruce Rushton for Investigative Post. Bruce joined the staff last week; he covers criminal justice. He can be reached at brushton@investigativepost.com. A federal judge has approved termination of a consent decree designed to improve health care and reduce suicide risk in Erie County jail facilities. At the request of county lawyers and the U.S. Department of Justice, which sued the county in 2009, U.S. District Court Judge William M. Skretny on June 13 approved dismissal of the decree created more than a decade ago to provide oversight of the Erie County[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Jul 3

2023

Monday Morning Read

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Subscribe for free to WeeklyPost and you’ll receive our weekly newsletter in your in-box first thing Sunday. It includes Jim Heaney’s recommended reading, below.  Jim Shultz, writing for the Lockport Union-Sun & Journal, rips into Republicans who control the Niagara County Legislature for taking steps to legally challenge reforms at the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. intended to address what state Sen. Tim Kennedy has called a “culture of corruption.” Western Region OTB has been turned into a political fortress manned by one of the region’s most powerful party bosses, its CEO, Henry Wojtaszek. Wojtaszek, who is also the husband[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Jul 2

2023

Investigative Post adds two veterans

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Investigative Post has added two veteran, award-winning journalists to its staff. Bruce Rushton will cover criminal justice, drawing on his 36 years of reporting for daily and alternative newspapers.  Sue Schulman will serve as assistant editor in a part-time capacity. She is the former editor of The Buffalo News investigative reporting team and has 42 years in the news business. “Our bench is deepened considerably with the addition of Bruce and Sue. They’re experienced, highly skilled and their addition positions us to take the next step as a news organization,” said Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney, who worked under Schulman[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Jun 30

2023

Phil Rumore: An appreciation (of sorts)

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Phil Rumore is considered Public Enemy No. 1 by a fair number of people in this town. His term as president of the Buffalo Teachers Federation ends today, and a lot of folks are happy to see him go.  I get it. He can be obstinate. The Buffalo teachers he represents enjoy generous health insurance benefits through to retirement. Nary a teacher gets fired for incompetence. Settling grievances, of which there were many, could be overly difficult. But you know what? All these years, 42 of them, he was doing his job. He didn’t represent taxpayers or students or their[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Jun 29

2023

Yet another subsidy for local meatball maker

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A West Seneca-based frozen food manufacturer — the rumored maker of Olive Garden’s meatballs — won yet another tax break from the Erie County Industrial Development Agency on Wednesday, its third since 2016. And that’s not counting six previous low-interest loans the IDA has granted to Rosina Food Products dating to 1981. The company manufactures frozen Italian food products, including meatballs, ravioli and pizza toppings. In a unanimous vote, the IDA board of directors approved $749,000 in property, sales and mortgage tax breaks for Rosina. Executives said the company will use the tax breaks to renovate and expand two buildings[...]

Posted 2 years ago
Investigative Post