Feb 27
2014
Our partners at WGRZ have broken a number of stories recently about Buffalo’s misuse of block grant funds and the failure of federal regulators to hold city officials accountable. The latest story by Jeff Preval includes an interview with Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney, who has covered the issue for more than 15 years.
Feb 12
2014
Congressman Brian Higgins, following up on an Investigative Post report about Tonawanda Coke suppressing information about Jan. 31 explosion at its plant, takes the company to task. Tonawanda Coke initially claimed no one was injured in blast until iPost reported at least one worker had been injured.
Jan 31
2014
Levels of three artificial sweeteners found in Canada’s Grand River, which flows into Lake Erie, are the highest ever found in surface waters worldwide, according to a new study. Researchers aren’t sure what this means for fish and other aquatic species. A report from Environmental Health News.
Jan 16
2014
Unshackle Upstate is a pro-business, anti-tax group funded by corporate interests, including the Buffalo Niagara Partnership. It opposes public financing of political campaigns despite the corrupt culture the present system has fostered. LittleSis crunched the numbers and found out Unshackle has donated nearly $2 million to state pols, including more than $160,000 to Gov. Cuomo.
Jan 16
2014
A large grant obtained by a coalition of progressive organizations in Buffalo includes funding for Investigative Post. The Open Society Foundation, funded by billionaire George Soros, has selected Buffalo, San Diego and Puerto Rico for two-year grants of $1.9 million each. Organizations in the three regions will be candidates for additional funding of up to $1 million a year for the following three to eight years. “Our commitment to them is long-term,” wrote Kenneth Zimmerman, a senior official with the foundation, in explaining the initiative. Here is how Zimmerman explained the plans for here: In Buffalo, a city suffering the[...]
Jan 7
2014
Readers voted Dan Telvock’s story on potentially contaminated water at a proposed state beach as Investigative Post’s story of the year. The story, which aired Oct. 3 on WGRZ and published in Artvoice and on InvestigativePost.org, garnered 37 percent of votes in an online poll. Telvock reported that the beach, off Route 5 in South Buffalo, is adjacent to two Superfund sites and that an Erie County Health Department consultant had concluded that opening the beach for swimming was “probably impractical from a public health standpoint.” State officials responded to the report by first refusing to commit to testing the water[...]
Dec 16
2013
The Center for Public Integrity references a yet-to-be-published federal study that found 50 cases of bladder cancer at the Goodyear plant in Niagara Falls through 2007. A chemical called ortho-toluidine is believed to be the trigger, but Goodyear didn’t reduce employees’ exposure for over a decade, and by that time it was too late.
Dec 9
2013
The governors of eight Northeast states, including New York, want the federal government to force Midwest-Rust Belt states to prevent coal plant soot and smog from wafting across borders. The solutions are costly air pollution control technology or closing the coal plants for good.