Breaking: Sheriff John Garcia doesn't have an official oath of office card on file with Erie County as required by law.
Does that have implications for his job? Or is this all just political backbiting?
Geoff Kelly reports:
investigativepost.org/2026/04/20/s...
Ranked choice voting allows the electorate to rank candidates instead of choosing just one.
Soon, Buffalo voters may get their say in adopting it, along with other reforms.
How the charter commission just took a small step towards making it happen:
investigativepost.org/2026/04/16/b...
New: For this week's Off the News, editor Jim Heaney considers the future of The Buffalo News.
Could it go nonprofit, following the lead of a handful of other dailies & now the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette?
Heaney breaks down why it's doubtful:
investigativepost.org/2026/04/20/f...
The City of Buffalo has gotten millions to help communities recover from opioid addiction.
Little has gone to directly support addicts.
Officials in the Ryan admin are changing that, pledging thousands to fund a counseling program with Catholic Health.
investigativepost.org/2026/04/15/b...
Erie County Democrats are at war.
Party insiders are divided by next year’s race for county executive, primaries for state Senate & Assembly seats & succession plans over Common Council seats.
Geoff Kelly digs into all the drama:
investigativepost.org/2026/04/17/d...
New: In a raucous hearing, WNY residents again blasted a data center proposed for the STAMP industrial park in rural Genesee Co.
At times, officials tried to calm the whooping, jeering crowd. They refused.
“Enough is enough. Read the room,” said one.
investigativepost.org/2026/04/17/r...
New: We finally have numbers for Trump’s immigration crackdown.
ICE arrests in upstate & western NY quadrupled last year over 2024 levels.
Upstate = 3,700
WNY = 1,500
But those numbers are an undercount. Border Patrol arrests, for ex., are not included.
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Another billionaire says he's going to save American newspapers.
David Hoffmann, the majority owner of Lee Enterprises— parent company of the Buffalo News— believes that going "hyperlocal" is the solution.
What it means & more in this week's Off the News:
investigativepost.org/2026/04/13/i...
The comptroller's recent audit of OTB was an indictment of corruption among executives & inaction by the board.
Neither county Republicans nor OTB leadership have said a word.
The comptroller has made no criminal referrals.
investigativepost.org/2026/04/07/m...
On Wednesday, Crystal Peoples-Stokes announced she won't seek re-election as Assembly Majority Leader.
Dropping out now means voters can't choose who replaces her.
How Peoples-Stokes cleared the path for her chosen successor to take her seat this fall:
investigativepost.org/2026/04/08/d...
Trump 2.0's DOJ has dropped thousands of cases across a wide range of crimes.
The department has closed a record number of 23,000 cases, with the highest declines in terrorism, national security, white-collar fraud & drug-related crimes.
Via ProPublica:
investigativepost.org/2026/04/08/d...
Our next event is just three weeks away.
Come hear one of the sharpest minds in Albany explain how we can reform both state government — and City Hall.
Tickets $10.
investigativepost.org/2026/04/03/u...
The 25% property tax increase floated by Sean Ryan seems unavoidable.
Virtually no one in City Hall, save for the mayor's office, is down for the plan. But no one has advanced proposals to cut down on city spending, either.
How we got here & what's ahead:
investigativepost.org/2026/04/01/5...
In this week's Off the News column, editor Jim Heaney covers today's job market for young adults.
Fresh college grads are facing a brutal hiring slowdown & the worst spring for job hunting since the pandemic.
Why it's happening, plus more news, below:
investigativepost.org/2026/04/06/t...
A four-year audit of Western Regional Off-Track Betting revealed financial mismanagement by executives & poor oversight by the org's board of directors.
As a result, OTB sent millions less each year to local govts in Western New York than it could have.
investigativepost.org/2026/04/01/s...
How can we fix City Hall?
For our next talk, we'll discuss the city charter & what real reforms may look like with John Kaehny, executive director & co-founder of state watchdog group Reinvent Albany.
Join us at Big Ditch on April 30 at 7PM. Tickets are $10.
investigativepost.org/2026/04/03/u...
Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan says a 25% tax increase is needed to balance the city budget.
Other city leaders balk at such a steep increase. But if the city doesn't raise taxes, what could it cut?
Geoff Kelly dives into the numbers:
investigativepost.org/2026/04/01/5...
New: The troubled addiction services agency Save the Michaels is going out of business.
The organization has handed off operations at its last facility to another provider and has begun selling off assets.
Read more details here:
investigativepost.org/2026/04/03/s...
Breaking: The death of refugee Nurul Amin Shah Alam has been ruled a homicide by the Medical Examiner.
Border Patrol left Shah Alam at a closed coffee shop Feb. 19. Hypothermia, dehydration and a burst stress ulcer killed him in the days that followed.
investigativepost.org/2026/04/01/a...
The Theatre District needs people, housing & lots of local activity to reach its full potential, experts & audience members said.
Last Tuesday, we brought together the neighborhood's top stakeholders, including Shea's CEO Brian Higgins.
Here's the full recap:
investigativepost.org/2026/03/27/h...
Amherst lawmaker Jeanne Vinal is a rare breed in county politics.
She's the county Legislature's staunchest critic of the sheriff's office — over its use of taxpayer $ and its protection of cops "who've broken the public trust."
From this week's Off the News:
investigativepost.org/2026/03/30/a...
Opioid settlement funds are a once-in-a-lifetime resource for communities to fight opioid addiction.
Across five hard-hit local suburbs, hundreds of thousands sit unspent.
Lackawanna bought over $30K of defibrillators, which barely help w/ opioid overdose.
investigativepost.org/2026/03/26/o...
Public sector unions in New York want major reforms to the state pension plan.
Among them: lowering the retirement age but keeping full pensions to retain workers.
It won't be cheap.
New York Focus breaks down what unions want & where lawmakers stand:
investigativepost.org/2026/03/25/p...
New: In Lackawanna, funds meant to combat the opioid epidemic were spent on defibrillators.
Defibrillators are useless when attempting to revive a person who's overdosed.
Other local governments are simply sitting on the funds.
We tracked the spending:
investigativepost.org/2026/03/26/o...
Hundreds of Western NY residents made themselves clear last week: The Genesee County IDA should reject a proposal for a massive data center campus that requires tax breaks of $1.46 billion.
The IDA stands to earn a $146 million fee if the board votes yes.
investigativepost.org/2026/03/20/r...
We're a day away from our event on the future of the Theatre District, moderated by editor Jim Heaney.
It'll be a lively discussion featuring five expert panelists & plenty of audience participation.
Send your thoughts to jheaney@investigativepost.org.
investigativepost.org/2026/03/19/u...
New: The FCC just approved a merger between television chains Nexstar and Tegna — owners of Buffalo’s Channels 2 and 4.
It could mean fewer reporters and weaker local coverage.
In this week’s Off the News, editor Jim Heaney breaks down what’s ahead:
investigativepost.org/2026/03/23/a...
Buffalo Police Officer Calvis McKnight is the ninth city cop the state AG's office has cited for misconduct.
In 2019, McKnight unlawfully performed manual anal searches during traffic stops.
McKnight remains employed by the Buffalo Police Department.
investigativepost.org/2026/03/17/a...
Next Tuesday, March 24, we're having a discussion about the economic future of Buffalo's Theatre District.
We'd like you to be a part of it.
If you'd like to pose a question or suggest a talking point, send it our way to jheaney@investigativepost.org.
investigativepost.org/2026/03/19/u...
