News across Greater Buffalo
Niagara Action
Published September 01AN EMPIRE ON MAIN STREET: Restaino Extends Bogus ‘State of Emergency’ in Brazen Niagara Falls Power Grab
Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino’s illegal, made-up “State of Emergency” isn’t expiring. He keeps doubling down on it. On Monday, Restaino signed an executive order quietly renewing the emergency powers he declared in late July. The five-day extension keeps the city under…
Niagara Action
Published September 01‘Husband Wants Me Dead’: Niagara Falls Woman Calls 911 Claiming Husband Is Trying to Poison Her
POLICE AUDIO CAN BE FOUND AT THE END OF THIS ARTICLE: Law enforcement received a call around 1:14pm on August 29th after reports of a mental health episode on Welch Avenue in Niagara Falls. The 911 caller told dispatch that her husband was trying to poison her. The specifics…
Niagara Action
Published September 017-Eleven Clerk Pinned to Floor and Repeatedly Punched During North Tonawanda Fight
POLICE AUDIO CAN BE FOUND AT THE END OF THIS ARTICLE: Law enforcement received a call around 1:43am on August 22nd after reports of an assault at 7-Eleven on the 400 block of Oliver Street in North Tonawanda. The 911 caller, a third-party, told police that there was an active…
Investigative Post
Published September 01Counties weigh property tax hikes amid SNAP cuts
This story originally appeared in New York Focus, a nonprofit news publication investigating power in New York. Sign up for their newsletter here. Illustration: Leor Stylar. The cost of helping hungry New Yorkers is about to go up by over $1 billion annually and local taxpayers…
Investigative Post
Published August 31No consequences for no-show Buffalo cops
Officers Kereem Johnson and William Jones said they were seriously injured in a car accident two years ago and wanted time off. Buffalo police brass questioned the severity of their injuries and instead assigned them to light duty monitoring surveillance cameras posted around the…
Investigative Post
Published August 28ICE expanding detention center in Batavia
The ICE detention facility in Batavia. Photo by J. Dale Shoemaker. The Trump administration is moving to award a no-bid contract to expand the ICE detention center in Batavia to accommodate a surge in arrests of migrants. At the insistence of Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz,…
Investigative Post
Published August 27Companies acknowledge using face scans on customers
Rich Products, Hamburg Gaming and Wegmans have all disclosed use of facial recognition technology. Images via WKBW and J. Dale Shoemaker. Some of the biggest companies operating in Erie County have admitted to using facial recognition technology in their businesses. The list…
Investigative Post
Published August 26No discipline for no-show Buffalo cops
Two years ago, eight Buffalo police officers assigned to monitor the department’s surveillance cameras frequently showed up for work late, disappeared for hours at a time, and left early. Sometimes they didn’t show up at all. They were caught dead to rights by the use of…
Investigative Post
Published August 24WBEN says “bye-bye” to Tom Bauerle
WBEN fired Tom Bauerle, its kooky, wingnut talk show host a week before his contract was set to expire. A surprising move given his 24 year tenure with the station. His dismissal might be explained by the financial challenges facing the radio station’s chain owner, and might be…
Investigative Post
Published August 21Union pays millions to bosses, pennies to members
The International Brotherhood of Trade Unions, a union based on Long Island. Photos: Sanjana Bhambhani / New York Focus; Sam Mellins / New York Focus | Illustration: Leor Stylar / New York Focus. This story originally appeared in New York Focus, a nonprofit news publication…
Investigative Post
Published August 20iPost sues over the suppression of police records
Fans mingle outside the Bills’ new stadium, the site of ICE enforcement actions. Photo by Jim Heaney. A number of law enforcement agencies in Western New York collaborate with federal immigration authorities. Police in Cheektowaga, for example, are known to stop migrants for…