Apr 22
2016
Playing the Trump card…
Posted 9 years ago
Apr 22
2016
Apr 20
2016
One word sums up the exchange between Erie County Legislator Kevin Hardwick and Health Commissioner Gale Burstein about lead poisoning prevention funding: awkward. Hardwick cited Investigative Post’s lead poisoning reporting during an April 7 Finance and Management Committee meeting when he asked if Burstein or anyone else with the county had inquired with city officials about what additional role, if any, the city might be willing to commit to. The Erie County Health Department has primary responsibility for inspecting homes for lead hazards and employs 12 health sanitarians who inspect about 2,500 housing units a year. Burstein has said they[...]
Apr 18
2016
A team project by Investigative Post and WGRZ broadcast last year about Buffalo’s failure to solve most of its murder cases has won the Edward R. Murrow Award for investigative reporting. The project was selected as the best investigative work broadcast in small television markets in the New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey region by the Radio-Television Digital News Association. The stories were reported by Jim Heaney, Investigative Post’s editor, and Steve Brown, investigative reporter with WGRZ. Video was shot and edited by Andy DeSantis and Bob Mancuso. Their work is under consideration for the Murrow national award, which will be announced in June. The[...]
Apr 18
2016
Apr 13
2016
The Common Council’s chief response to the city’s lead poisoning problem involves a commitment to distribute lead test kits to residents that one expert has termed a “very dangerous idea” with the potential for “extremely hazardous” results. No fewer than three experts challenged the wisdom of the Council’s plan in interviews with Investigative Post, including one who shared her concerns in writing last month with the office of Masten Council Member Ulysees Wingo. Those warnings have not been shared with other members, even when the test kits were discussed during Tuesday’s Council meeting. “Overall, I think there is a strong national[...]
Apr 12
2016
Apr 11
2016
The Buffalo Urban League, disgruntled after a critical audit by the Erie County Comptroller, is pressing ahead with legal action against the county. The agency filed an Article 78 petition Friday in State Supreme Court. A court date is set for May 10. Urban League President Brenda McDuffie said the comptroller’s report was “filled with factual and procedural errors” and that had harmed the agency’s reputation. The Urban League is not seeking monetary damages but wants the report to be withdrawn. Erie County Comptroller Stefan Mychajliw said he stands by the work of his auditors. He said the Urban League was wasting money on legal[...]
Apr 7
2016
Jim Heaney discusses Donald Trump; his Mini-Me supporter Carl Paladino; the race to succeed state Sen. Marc Panepinto; and Mayor Byron Brown’s inexplicable stances on lead poisoning and workforce diversity with Susan Arbetter of The Capitol Pressroom. The interview, taped and broadcast Thursday, runs from 22:01 to 36:27.