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Aug 28

2024

Judge overturns firing of pepper-spraying cop

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Warning: This video contains graphic content. On March 25, 2020, Buffalo police officer Kevin Murphy pepper-sprayed and arrested Lakisha Neal. Viewer discretion is advised. A state Supreme Court judge has thrown out an arbitrator’s decision upholding the termination of a Buffalo police officer fired after dousing a woman with pepper spray amid a string of profanity. The city now must decide whether to reinstate former officer Kevin Murphy, according to a lawyer for the Buffalo Police Benevolent Association, which sued the city to overturn the firing.  Former Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood fired Murphy after he dropped a series of f-bombs[...]

Posted 8 months ago

Aug 27

2024

This Assemblyman makes a lot of money on the side

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New York State Assemblyman Michael Norris. Photo provided. Outgoing Republican state Assemblyman Michael Norris won’t be able to keep his lucrative side jobs — 10, all in Niagara County — presuming he becomes a state Supreme Court justice next year.  The assemblyman did not respond to a request for comment, but his law firm, Lockport-based Seaman Norris, confirmed that Norris will be withdrawing as a partner if elected to the bench in November. Norris, 48, a Lockport attorney and former Niagara County Republican Party chairman, has served as the 144th District state assemblyman  – representing parts of Niagara and Erie[...]

Posted 8 months ago

Aug 26

2024

A newspaper like few others

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Daily newspapers are tanking all over the county, including here in Buffalo. But not everywhere. The Minneapolis Star Tribune just announced a major investment to add reporters and open bureaus across the state, share content with hyperlocal news sites, and establish a philanthropic arm. It will henceforth be known as Minnesota Star Tribune to reflect its broader scope of coverage Reported The New York Times: The expansion is a rare big bet in the newspaper industry. Local newspapers have been shrinking across the country in recent years. A 2023 report from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern found that almost[...]

Posted 8 months ago

Aug 23

2024

OTB set to discuss search for Wojtaszek replacement

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OTB Chairman Dennis Bassett. Photo by Garrett Looker. If Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown is a candidate for the top job at Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp., the chairman of the organization’s board isn’t saying so.  Following the board’s monthly meeting on Thursday at Batavia Downs, Chairman Dennis Bassett said Brown is welcome to “put his name into the pot” of candidates seeking to replace outgoing CEO and President Henry Wojtaszek, who has accepted a contract buyout and is expected to leave his post before the end of the year.  OTB’s board has called a special meeting next Thursday for a[...]

Posted 8 months ago

Aug 22

2024

Beach closure blues

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Story was updated at 1:10 p.m. Last weekend was a tough one for Lake Erie beaches. First was a lifeguard shortage that kept Bennett Beach closed to swimmers last Friday. Then came the thunderstorm that chased beachgoers from Woodlawn State Park the next day.  And then, when Saturday’s rains raised E. coli bacteria levels, leading to poor water quality readings, Woodlawn was closed to swimmers on Sunday.  Both beaches were closed to swimmers on Monday, Woodlawn because of water quality and Bennett because it again didn’t have enough lifeguards.  It’s not the best way to enjoy a summer’s day at[...]

Posted 8 months ago

Aug 21

2024

Lawmakers ask for state probe into OTB buyouts

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OTB President and CEO Henry Wojtaszek. Photo by Garrett Looker. Two Western New York lawmakers — state Sen. Sean Ryan and Assemblywoman Monica Wallace — have asked the state’s Attorney General and Inspector General to investigate buyouts for three executives of the Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp., arguing the packages are illegal. Citing a law Wallace helped pass in 2019 that bans so-called “golden parachutes” for leadership of public authorities, the lawmakers argue in a five-page memo to the Attorney General and Inspector General that the buyouts violate that and/or other state laws which prohibit gifts and large buyouts to[...]

Posted 8 months ago

Aug 21

2024

Buffalo high school break-in was apparently an inside job

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Bennett High School on Main Street in North Buffalo. Photo by Garrett Looker. The sons of Buffalo school board president Sharon Belton-Cottman broke into Bennett High School last Tuesday, according to a Buffalo police incident report.  Khalil and Jamaal Cottman — both coaches at Bennett last year — entered the school through a rear window after one of the men climbed over a gate, according to the report. After entering the school, one of the brothers opened a door to allow unknown individuals to enter. The group then went to the gymnasium and stayed for three hours before leaving, the[...]

Posted 8 months ago

Aug 20

2024

The militias of the Radical Right

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Private paramilitary activity is illegal, in New York and across the nation.  Nevertheless, there are more than an estimated dozen militias active in the Empire State, and countless more elsewhere in the United States. These militias believe they’re entitled to use violence to advance their agenda, which is aligned with America’s Radical Right. Western New York is home to perhaps the movement’s most infamous figures, Timothy McVeigh, whose bombing of a federal office building in 1995 killed 168 people and injured 680. That bombing helped expedite the growth of the militia movement. ProPublica reported last week on one of the[...]

Posted 8 months ago
Investigative Post