Jim Heaney

Buffalo

Executive Director and Editor at Investigative Post

Editor and executive director of @ipostnews, the only nonprofit investigative reporting center serving Buffalo and Western New York.

Articles

Jim Heaney: The right's double standard on free speech

1 week ago | investigativepost.org | Jim Heaney

Reporting, analysis and commentaryby Jim Heaney, editor of Investigative Post Today’s topic: free speech. It’s under siege. The right to protest. The right to publish. The right to speak your mind. Donald Trump is leading the charge, supported by his army of MAGA quislings. Let me put the hypocrisy in context. American Nazis and their ilk have long exercised their First Amendment rights.
New York Times sues Erie County Sheriff John Garcia

2 weeks ago | investigativepost.org | Jim Heaney

Erie County Sheriff John Garcia has gotten himself sued by The New York Times for stonewalling a Freedom of Information request from the newspaper. The Times filed an FOI request last August 12 seeking assorted police disciplinary records. For example, the Times asked for what are called “Brady-Giglio” lists, named for court decisions that require prosecutors to provide defense attorneys with information about officers that might impugn their credibility with judges and jurors.
Critics — left, right and center — pan $254B New York state budget

3 weeks ago | investigativepost.org | Jim Heaney

Gov. Kathy Hochul. Three prominent think tanks of varying political stripes agree that the state budget just adopted by Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Legislature leaves a lot to be desired. The Citizen Budget Commission labeled the spending plan “a short sighted budget.”“The extremely late $254 billion State budget virtually ignores the double-whammy threat posed by looming massive federal budget cuts and a possible recession.
Granville car crash

2 months ago | investigativepost.org | Jim Heaney

Erie County Sheriff John Garcia pulled a Sergeant Schultz the other day, saying, with a straight face that he knows nothing about the hit-and-run antics of Daniel “D.J.” Granville that Geoff Kelly reported on two weeks ago. And, get this, he proclaimed he will “” if ongoing investigations turn up evidence of wrongdoing on Granville’s part. What a bunch of, ah, hooey.
Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula ranked hockey's worst owner.

2 months ago | investigativepost.org | Jim Heaney

Skip to Content Reporting, analysis and commentary by Jim Heaney, editor of Investigative Post The Buffalo Sabres are in fourth-to-last place in the National Hockey League standings. They’re doing better than their owner. The Athletic, the sports arm of The New York Times, just released its ranking of NHL owners. Led by the Tampa Bay Lightning, seven earned a grade of A, based on a combination of factors, including their team’s on-ice performance and a survey of fans. Scientific, no. But...
The SAVE Act is a solution in search of a problem.

2 months ago | investigativepost.org | Jim Heaney

House Republicans have introduced a bill that would upend voting rights. Among those at risk for disenfranchisement are 69 million married women who have taken their husband’s last name.
The scoop on the hacking of The Buffalo News

2 months ago | investigativepost.org | Jim Heaney

Reporting, analysis and commentaryby Jim Heaney, editor of Investigative Post The Buffalo News is among some 75 newspapers owned by Lee Enterprises that got hacked a month ago. The News has informed its readers in general terms, but press reports and Lee’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission reveal very serious and ongoing problems which have crippled operations. Lee was attacked Feb. 3 by Russian hackers known as Qilin.
Wasteful horse racing subsidies in New York

Mar 3, 2025 | investigativepost.org | Jim Heaney

Here’s a strange – and indefensible – subsidy. Government handouts to keep the failing horse racing industry afloat in New York. “The state is using one particularly corrosive form of gambling to keep another marginalized form alive,” reports The New York Times. The story is behind a paywall, but fear not, you can read it at this gift link, which provides access even if you’re not a subscriber.
Upstate NY microchip factory in line for $11 billion in subsidies.

Feb 24, 2025 | investigativepost.org | Jim Heaney

Politicians can’t throw enough money at Micron Technology to entice the company to build a microchip factory north of Syracuse. Ken Girardin of the Empire Center for Public Policy took a close look at the deal, and yikes, it is rich enough to make the Buffalo Billion deal that brought Tesla to South Buffalo look like a steal — which it wasn’t unless you’re Elon Musk. Micron is in line for subsidies worth more than $11 billion. That’sbillion, not million.
reform industrial development agencies

Feb 17, 2025 | investigativepost.org | Jim Heaney

Reporting, analysis and commentaryby Jim Heaney, editor of Investigative Post There’s a case to be made for consolidating and reforming Western New York’s myriad of industrial development agencies into a single operation. There’s six alone in Erie County, another three in Niagara. Add the outlying counties and there’s no fewer than 16 of them. There’s too many of them. They compete against each other.