Categories for Q & A

Oct 10

2012

Q&A: David Rust of ‘Say Yes To Education’

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Buffalo schools have a new superintendent, a new School Board president and a $190-an-hour consultant. But Say Yes to Education may hold the key to turning around the city’s troubled school district. David Rust is executive director of the non-profit organization, which will begin providing full tuition scholarships to all graduates of Buffalo public and charter schools beginning next year. Those scholarships, thus far underwritten largely by two local foundations, provide Say Yes leverage in pushing for reform of the moribund school system. Also on the agenda: providing wall-to-wall services for students and their families and reforming educational practices. Rust,[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Oct 7

2012

Talking education reform

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David Rust, executive director of Say Yes to Education, talks about how the program, if successful, will boost high school graduation rates and increase the number of students going on to college. A transcript of the full interview will be posted Monday.

Posted 12 years ago

Sep 22

2012

Interview: Chris Jacobs

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Chris Jacobs is that rare Republican who doesn’t hesitate to label himself a moderate or express his concern about his party’s shift to the far right. He took office as Erie County Clerk in January and is one of only two Republicans holding countywide office. (Sheriff Tim Howard is the other). Jacobs previously served 7 1/2 years on the Buffalo Board of Education. Other public service includes a stint as State Secretary of State under George Pataki during his last year as  governor. Jacobs is a developer by trade and his Avalon Development is active in the city. He earned[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Sep 16

2012

Interview: Watchdog researcher Kevin Connor

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Kevin Connor is a research provocateur and one of the leading intellects in Buffalo’s burgeoning activist community.  The Boston native and 2005 graduate of Harvard University moved to Buffalo five years ago. Since then, he has launched two watchdog research organizations, the Public Accountability Initiative and LittleSis. His work has garnered press attention, both locally and nationally, connecting dots among the powerful and authoring studies that have called out the false claims of developers and supposedly independent researchers. Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney interviewed Connor Sept. 12. A 4 minute 43 second feature with interview highlights appears above. The full 21-minute interview[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Sep 9

2012

Interview: Developer Rocco Termini

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  Rocco Termini is riding high these days. He recently completely a painstaking restoration of the Lafayette Hotel that is playing to rave reviews. He’s converting the Webb Building into a boutique hotel. And, if Gov. Andrew Cuomo agrees to increase state tax credits, he is poised to redevelop the AM&A’s building, a project long on the city’s “to do” list. Unlike most developers, Termini, president of Signature Development, is focused on downtown Buffalo. He’s developed some 400 apartments over the past decade, in addition to commercial projects. Rather than build new, Termini restores. Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney interviewed[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Sep 2

2012

Interview: Activist Aaron Bartley

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Aaron Bartley is arguably Buffalo’s leading community activist, someone who has worked in the trenches since his college days. Bartley is a Buffalo native and graduate of City Honors, Swarthmore College and Harvard Law School. While at Harvard co-founded the Harvard Living Wage Campaign in support of the university’s service workers. He then served as labor organizer in SEIU’s Justice for Janitors campaign in Boston. Eight years ago, Bartley co-founded People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH Buffalo), which has focused on organizing residents of the city’s West Side to improve employment opportunities and housing and other neighborhood conditions. PUSH Buffalo[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Aug 25

2012

Interview: Tom Toles

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Tom Toles is perhaps the most distinctive editorial cartoonist of his generation for his sparse drawing style and unsparing commentary. Toles is a Hamburg  native and 1973 graduate of the University at Buffalo. He began his career with the Buffalo Courier-Express, and when the paper closed he joined The Buffalo News, where he had a celebrated 20-year run. He was hired a decade ago by The Washington Post to succeed the legendary Herblock. Toles not only draws for The Post, but writes a daily blog, as well. He has won virtually every editorial cartooning award there is, including the 1990[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Aug 19

2012

Interview: Louis Grachos of Albright-Knox Art Gallery

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  Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney interviewed Louis Grachos, director of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. Grachos is leaving the gallery at the end of the year after a decade at the helm. In the interview that aired on WGRZ’s Sunday Daybreak, Grachos said: The No. 1 task confronting his successor will be upgrading and expanding the museum’s facilities, including the possible establishment of a satellite facility. Albright-Knox owns some 8,000 pieces of art, less than 5 percent of which is on display at any given time. Hence, the need for expansion. The gallery has refreshed its inventory of artwork this past[...]

Posted 12 years ago
Investigative Post