Categories for News

May 19

2015

iPost sues over suppression of records

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Investigative Post has sued a state development corporation so intent on withholding records involving the Buffalo Billion program that a leading state official likened efforts to obtain them under the Freedom of Information Law to an act of terrorism. Investigative Post has asked the State Supreme Court to rule on whether the Fort Schuyler Management Corp. is subject to the state FOI Law. WGRZ and the Gannett Company are helping to finance the lawsuit that was filed Monday in Albany. Fort Schuyler is managing the construction of three facilities that will house SolarCity, IBM and Albany Molecular Research Inc., which have been[...]

Posted 10 years ago

May 15

2015

Speakers want more autonomy for city schools

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A longer school day. More freedom for schools to make their own decisions. Redefining success through alternative paths to graduation. Those were among the issues panelists discussed at a happy hour event Wednesday sponsored by Investigative Post. Asked what one thing they would change about the city’s schools, all three speakers  mentioned more autonomy for schools in how they hire, budget and use testing standards. Strong centralization might have been necessary in the past to create accountability, said William Kresse, principal of City Honors School. “Now it’s on us: let us do the work,” he said. David Rust, executive director of Say[...]

Posted 10 years ago

May 12

2015

Tonawanda Coke settles civil case for $12M

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Federal prosecutors and environmental regulators hailed Monday’s $12 million civil settlement with Tonawanda Coke as a “tremendous environmental victory.” The company will spend $8 million on pollution control upgrades at its century-old plant on River Road. Tonawanda Coke also will hire a third party environmental expert to audit its operations for additional safety and environmental improvements. In addition, the state and federal governments collect $2.75 million in penalties. Another $1.3 million is earmarked for environmental projects to benefit residents of Tonawanda. The only project formally announced Monday was $357,000 to the nonprofit Ducks Unlimited to acquire and preserve a wetland within[...]

Posted 10 years ago

May 8

2015

Progress to report on Scajaquada Creek

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There is limited, but noteworthy progress to report some 10 month after Investigative Post and WGRZ reported on the sorry state of Scajaquada Creek. The Town of Cheektowaga is poised to sell more than $12 million in bonds to finance the first phase of work to line sewer pipes to seal cracks and update infrastructure in the Winston-Vegola neighborhoods which have the most sewer overflow problems in the town. Another $41 million in planned work will be spread out over a decade. The Buffalo Sewer Authority, meanwhile, continues to study the feasibility of treating more of Cheektowaga’s sewage to reduce overflows into the[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Apr 30

2015

Quinn and Rumore: No to mayoral control

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Buffalo School Board Member Larry Quinn and Phil Rumore, president of the Buffalo Teachers’ Federation, discussed their differences of opinion – and some agreements – Wednesday at a luncheon sponsored by Investigative Post. Here’s what they agree on: Mayoral control of Buffalo schools is a bad idea and reducing class sizes should be a priority. And they’d both give a “C-” to the overall quality of city schools. Quinn was particularly critical of the health benefits currently in place for Buffalo teachers, which he said cost the district more than $19,000 per policy each year. “It makes me sick to[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Apr 21

2015

City Hall still ignoring Scajaquada Creek filth

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Investigative Post reported four weeks ago that the Brown administration had fudged the city’s recycling rate by including, for the first time, clothing donated to outlets like Goodwill and the Salvation Army. Tuesday we reported another attempt by the mayor’s office to mislead the public, this time involving Scajaquada Creek. Environmental reporter Dan Telvock told WGRZ on Monday that the administration had failed to follow through on its pledge of last July to clean sewage and garbage from a badly polluted section of Scajaquada Creek in Delaware Park. Mike DeGeorge, the mayor’s spokesman, responded with a call to WGRZ after[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Apr 16

2015

Bye-bye, Dug’s Dive

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The owner of the popular waterfront restaurant on the Outer Harbor tells Investigative Post he is pulling out at the end of the season. Tucker Curtin said he and the Tennessee-based company selected by the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. to manage the marina and adjoining land at the Small Boat Harbor don’t see eye to eye on how the property should be redeveloped. “We don’t think the vision down there is congruent with what we’re looking to do,” Curtin said Wednesday at a forum on the Outer Harbor hosted by Investigative Post, the latest in its “At Issue” series.[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Mar 26

2015

Panel split on need for new Bills stadium

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A new stadium for the Buffalo Bills would cost $1 billion to construct and require up to $600 million in public infrastructure improvements, an entrepreneur who has proposed building a facility on the Outer Harbor says. A new Bills stadium was the topic of discussion for a panel of speakers Wednesday during a happy hour discussion at Allen Street Hardware sponsored by Investigative Post. But do the Bills really need one, especially considering the $130 million in renovations to Ralph Wilson stadium that the team unveiled this past season? “Absolutely yes,” said George Hasiotis, vice president of the Greater Buffalo Sports &[...]

Posted 10 years ago
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