Jul 29
2013
Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney, appearing on WBFO’s Press Pass with Eileen Buckely, discusses the federal government’s unprecedented aggression against reporters and its implication for a democratic society.
Jul 25
2013
The 650-foot smokestack at the Somerset coal-fired power plant in Niagara County billows plumes of smoke carrying greenhouse gases that can be seen on a clear day all the way across Lake Ontario in Toronto. The amount — 3.8 million tons in 2011 — makes the coal plant the top greenhouse gas polluter in New York State. That’s equivalent to the emissions from 712,893 cars annually. Western New York has two other facilities that rank in the state’s top 10 of greenhouse gas polluters: coal-fired power plants CR Huntley in the Town of Tonawanda and NRG Dunkirk in the City[...]
Jul 24
2013
City Hall’s belated effort to collect $22 million in unpaid Housing Court fines is coming up empty. A dry run by a collections agency hired by the city earlier this year that sought about $430,000 from deadbeat court defendants yielded only $59 in fine payments, according to City Comptroller Mark Schroeder. That experience prompted city officials to scale back their expectations of what was collectable from the $22 million in unpaid fines that have accumulated since Mayor Byron Brown took office in 2006. Rather than $1 million, Schroeder said administration officials believe only $40,000 to $80,000 is collectable. “In terms[...]
Jul 11
2013
Daily Beast previews new documentary, “Terms and Conditions May Apply,” that details the threat to privacy from corporations, as well as government. “The film argues that the threat is worse, and more troubling, than mere NSA spying on U.S. citizens.”
Jul 10
2013
A Lake Ontario Waterkeeper member estimated that more than 200 million gallons of sewer overflowed into Lake Ontatio after a drenching of rain in Toronto flooded streets and overwhelmed the sewer systems there. City water officials contested the estimate.
Jul 7
2013
Glenn Greenwald’s latest column concludes: “The US government – in complete secrecy – is constructing a ubiquitous spying apparatus aimed not only at its own citizens, but all of the world’s citizens.”
Jun 30
2013
Buffalo News columnist hits the nail on the head: “The governor didn’t so much ensure progress as threaten it.”
Jun 21
2013
The intent of the Sewage Pollution Right to Know law passed 10 months ago was to inform state residents within four hours of sewage overflows into waterways to protect them from the dangers of swimming or fishing in tainted water. Not only would residents know the estimated amount of all overflows, they would know where it happened, the duration, what time, the reason and a description of steps taken to control it from happening again. But only half of the disclosure is happening 45 days since the law went into effect. The Department of Environmental Conservation and environmental advocates are[...]