Podcast Archives - Investigative Post

Jill Repman — formerly known as Jill Parisi — has been paid more than a half million dollars since being accused of tampering with the fire department payroll in 2016. The allegation against her was never resolved and she’s worked at a private-sector job while continuing to collect a check from the city.

Investigative Post’s Geoff Kelly sat down with host Garrett Looker to discuss his weeks-long search for Repman, or at least answers from anyone who would be willing to talk.

Watch via YouTube or listen as a podcast.

The post Podcast: Chasing a phantom city employee appeared first on Investigative Post.

Investigative Post’s I’Jaz Ja’ciel and Garrett Looker have reported on the state of literacy and access to books throughout Buffalo. Literacy experts say parts of the city’s East Side are “book deserts.”

In this latest episode of Investigative Post’s Reporter’s Notebook, Looker and Ja’ciel talk about their months-long analysis of library data and book access.

Watch via YouTube or listen as a podcast.

The post Podcast: “Book deserts” signal disinvestment appeared first on Investigative Post.

This week, Investigative Post’s Geoff Kelly sat down with Ken Kruly, a political analyst who examines the ebbs and flows of campaign finance in Western New York. Kruly writes about local politics for his blog, Politics and Other Stuff.

In this latest episode of Investigative Post’s podcast series, Kelly and Kruly take a look at the funding for candidates vying for the Buffalo Common Council and Erie County Legislature.

Watch via YouTube or listen as a podcast.

The post Money in Politics: Primary Edition appeared first on Investigative Post.

Last week, Investigative Post’s J. Dale Shoemaker reported on tax subsidies distributed by industrial development agencies — subsidies that deprive school districts of millions of dollars each year.

In this latest episode of Investigative Post’s Reporter’s Notebook, host Garrett Looker sat down with Shoemaker to talk about his months-long analysis into how tax subsidies are affecting school districts.

Watch via YouTube or listen as a podcast.

The post Podcast: How tax breaks deplete school budgets appeared first on Investigative Post.

Two weeks ago, Investigative Post’s Geoff Kelly reported on allegations of “racist and illegal practices” by one of the region’s biggest real estate development and management firms. In a federal lawsuit, a former employee accused the company of racially profiling communities where it was thinking of building senior housing complexes. 

Clover executives were caught on audio discussing the practice, using the code word “Canadians” to refer to Black people and “the Canadian factor” to describe the company’s reluctance to build in communities where the population was more than 20 percent Black.

We followed with a profile of Clover’s civically and politically engaged president, Michael Joseph, as well as a piece on whether his apparent move to Florida disqualified him from his long standing role as chair of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute. J. Dale Shoemaker added a report on the millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies Clover has received over the years.

All this scrutiny led to Joseph’s resignation from Roswell’s board last week.

In this latest episode of Investigative Post’s Reporter’s Notebook, host Garrett Looker sat down with Kelly to discuss our reporting on Clover, Joseph’s subsequent fall from grace, and what other shoes are likely to drop in the coming weeks and months.

The post Podcast: iPost reporting on Michael Joseph appeared first on Investigative Post.

One thing is certain: Buffalo’s Common Council will soon change.

Two members of the current Council — Council President Darius G. Pridgen of the Ellicott District and Masten District’s Ulysees O. Wingo — will not seek re-election. Several candidates are looking to fill those seats, gathering signatures to earn a spot in the June Democratic primary election.

There are other candidates looking to challenge Council incumbents, as well. Investigative Post’s Geoff Kelly took a closer look at the candidates and how Buffalo’s Common Council may change.

Kelly sat down with Garrett Looker, host of Reporter’s Notebook, to dive into who the candidates are and what they are running for. Here, Kelly touches on which races to keep an eye on, uphill battles, and the struggles of getting on the ballot.

Watch via YouTube or listen as a podcast.

The post Podcast: Buffalo’s Common Council candidates appeared first on Investigative Post.

Throughout the State of New York, industrial development agencies give out tax breaks to companies in order to bring and expand operations to local communities. From entities as large as Amazon to as small as an A&W restaurant, these deals usually involve companies paying reduced property and sales taxes over an extended period of time.

But, as Investigative Post’s J. Dale Shoemaker has reported, those deals can have expensive consequences for the community; including its children. Those expensive consequences include nearly $2 billion drained from public schools each year throughout the state. New York State Senator Sean Ryan believes these “speculative business deals” are trading away children’s futures.

Shoemaker sat down with the senator to talk the business of economic development and how it may be hurting communities.

Watch via YouTube or listen as a podcast.

The post Podcast: Sen. Sean Ryan discusses IDA reform appeared first on Investigative Post.

When plans were announced for a solar panel manufacturing plant in South Buffalo, then-Governor Andrew Cuomo described the project as a “game changer.” Based on the promise of not only a gleaming new plant and more than 1,400 jobs, but a whole new clean energy sector that would employ thousands more. Cuomo poured nearly $1 billion of state tax dollars into building and equipping the project.

Has it delivered as promised?

Investigative Post’s J. Dale Shoemaker dug deep to answer that question. Officials from Tesla refused requests for interview. Bureaucrats with the state economic development agency that oversees the project did the same. They went further, slow walking requests for records submitted under the Freedom of Information Law.

Documents revealed thousands of pages of records and emails, many of them culled from a lawsuit shareholders had filed against Tesla CEO Elon Musk. More answers came through interviews with Tesla employees and industry analysts.

Shoemaker’s conclusion: Tesla has not delivered as promised.

He sat down with Garrett Looker, host of our podcast series, to talk about his reporting.

Watch via YouTube or listen as a podcast.

The post Podcast: Reporting on Tesla’s solar factory appeared first on Investigative Post.

The Buffalo Police Department is under fire of criticism from local activists, alleging racial and civil discrimination.

Officers’ frequent use of racial slurs, including the “N-word,” and unequal, discriminating policing efforts in different neighborhoods are two of thr allegations levied in a lawsuit by Black Love Resists in the Rust.

Geoff Kelly has reported on the lawsuit the Buffalo Police Department faces, including officer misconduct and potential oversight from the Department of Justice. 

Kelly sat down with Garrett Looker, host of our podcast series, to talk about his reporting.

Watch via YouTube or listen as a podcast.

The post Podcast: Reporting on police misconduct appeared first on Investigative Post.

Investigative Post is wrapping up its tenth year in business. Founder and editor Jim Heaney and Geoff Kelly, our senior reporter, look back on the decade and what it’s meant for Investigative Post and local news outlets. This is a companion to Heaney’s post of earlier this week, a Report to Readers.

Watch or listen to the podcast here, or check it out — along with dozens of other stories and interviews — on our YouTube channel.

The post Podcast: Reflecting on 10 years of iPost appeared first on Investigative Post.