Categories for GreenPost

Feb 28

2013

Frustration grows in toxic Tonawanda

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Martin Luther King Jr. once said that of all forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and most inhumane. I don’t have cancer or children. I moved here in September and I don’t live close to the Tonawanda industrial corridor. Until recently, I rarely ever heard of Tonawanda. But I still felt the pain and frustration of the approximately 150 people who showed up to Tuesday night’s meeting at the Sheridan Parkside Community Center, where state Health Department officials explained their recently released review of high cancer and birth defect rates in the Tonawanda industrial corridor. Read[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Feb 20

2013

Can Senator Kennedy bring transparency to Peace Bridge plaza expansion plans?

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Residents in Buffalo’s Lower West Side continue to be left in the dark about the Public Bridge Authority’s expansion plans for the U.S. plaza. On Feb. 11, Kathy Mecca, representing the Prospect Hill Neighborhood Alliance, and three other neighborhood leaders sent state Sen. Timothy Kennedy a letter asking him to not support using funds for any road projects related to the Peace Bridge without first demanding full transparency of what exactly those plans are for the neighborhood. Kennedy’s district includes the neighborhood around the Peace Bridge. I reported about a month ago how revenue from truck tolls and duty free[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Feb 14

2013

Health department coy on further study of Tonawanda’s high cancer rates

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After several back-and-forth emails and a refusal to return phone calls, it appears the state Health Department won’t commit to conducting further studies to determine why so many people living near Tonawanda’s industrial corridor have cancer. The Health Department thus far will only commit to a public forum on Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. in the Sheridan Parkside Community Center. At this meeting, health officials will provide an overview of its health review and answer questions. Here is the Investigative Post story about the review. The department took almost four years to conduct its review, prompted by a 2009 air[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Feb 14

2013

Tonawanda has a polluted history

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Investigative Post introduces a new feature that uses Storify, a publishing platform that enables the curation of online content, including stories, video and social media. Our first Storify post, prepared by Jeremy Izzio, our intern this semester from Fredonia State University, focuses on pollution in the Town of Tonawanda. Take a look and let us know what you think. [View the story “Tonawanda: A History of Pollution” on Storify]  

Posted 12 years ago

Feb 13

2013

Pinpointing high cancer rates in Tonawanda

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The state Health Department’s review of cancer rates and birth defects for the Town of Tonawanda that were released Tuesday can be a bit confusing because the author used a complicated method to come up with the elevation rates. I reported on the review Tuesday and WGRZ aired a version of the story during its 11 p.m. newscast. You can read and view the story here. Basically what the health department found was elevated cancer rates in neighborhoods surrounding the industrial corridor. The review does not make any cause-and-effect conclusions. In other words, it doesn’t place any blame on any[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Feb 12

2013

A “cancer crisis” in Tonawanda?

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Residents living near the Town of Tonawanda’s industrial corridor have higher cancer rates than others in the state and region. The state Health Department revealed the concerning data Tuesday in a health review that has been in the works for almost four years. The review also noted that two of the cancer types are associated with chemical compounds the state Department of Environmental Conservation detected in its 2009 air monitoring program of Tonawanda, which has one of the highest concentrations of industrial polluters in the state. “There are definitely health issues of concern in Tonawanda that could be related to the pollution,”[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Feb 7

2013

Locals chime in on Peace Bridge story

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Last week’s story on Investigative Post that reviewed the Public Bridge Authority’s revenue streams along with its U.S. plaza expansion plans sparked some interesting feedback from readers. The story was shared with our media partners —Artvoice and WGRZ — and here are a few of the comments from those two sites: The following comments come from reddit.com’s Buffalo page:

Posted 12 years ago
Investigative Post