geoff kelly
@ghkelly1969
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Writes about government and politics, and other things, for Investigative Post.
Joined August 2010
The Common Council wants answers about the city's blizzard preparedness. Why? Well, this is the Broadway Garage — Buffalo's command center during a weather emergency, according to the city snow plan — in late October. Read more at @ipostnews:.
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I was just told state appeals court has put a stay on Judge Wojtaszek’s order instructing BOE to put Byron Brown on Nov. 2 ballot, pending arguments. No word from federal appeal court yet.
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Byron Brown said he wouldn't take Carl Paladino's money. But he did -- $10k on Oct. 18, according to the latest filings, which also show how expensive the Buffalo mayor's race has become. In @ipostnews Campaign Notes:.
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Byron Brown says he weighing an "outpouring of support" for a write-in campaign against India Walton. Last night that support included a bunch of high-paid staffers in danger of losing their jobs. New at @ipostnews:.
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Because of our reporting, a Buffalo Fire Department clerk was ordered back to work last month after 7 1/2 years on paid leave. So she went on vacation. Then she called in sick. New at @ipostnews:.
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About a year before he died, I asked Jimmy Griffin -- who'd have turned 90 today -- about shaking down city employees for campaign donations. He said, "Well, basically, that's a pig in a can." I still have no idea what that means.
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Here's a little primer on the three police oversight panels Buffalo has, what their shortcomings are, and what one of those boards has proposed as an effective replacement:.
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Byron Brown's top advisors are begging business people to text messages of support so Monday the mayor can say he's "heard from hundreds" of people supporting a write-in campaign. Read about it at @ipostnews:.
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The City of Buffalo suspended Jill Parisi in 2016, alleging she tampered with payroll to pad her paycheck. She's been on paid leave ever since, pulling in over a half million dollars from the city while also working a private sector job. New at @ipostnews:.
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This is the first time I've ever written about the mayor's son. It's also the first time, as far as I know, that the son has been put on the public payroll. New at @ipostnews:.
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She seeks him here, she seeks him there,.@Indiawaltonbflo seeks him everywhere. But he won’t debate. He won’t throw down. That damned elusive @MayorByronBrown.
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Stefan Mychajliw's dog-whistle hotline didn't work out the way he'd hoped: not much media, just a wave of respondents calling him "moron," "disgraceful," and worse. Maybe that's why he moved on to his parks-are-bad Twitter-series.
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Byron Brown's campaign: 1) hasn't raised much since losing the primary; 2) still leans on patronage employees and business people; 3) continues to ignore the law governing donations by LLCs. A quick look at the mayor's campaign finances for @ipostnews:.
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This is not exactly news, but I wrote it anyway: The cost of police (and to a lesser extent fire) has risen faster than every other city service. Everything else is defunded to keep pace with the cost of police and fire.
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Last summer the Buffalo Common Council asked the public to weigh in on the subject of defunding the police. There were 4,156 responses. Asked if they supported defunding the Buffalo Police Department, 58.7 percent said yes, 37.1 percent said no, and 4.2 percent said maybe.
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Byron Brown got a slap on the wrist for violating campaign finance laws - no fines, no penalties. He just had to give back some money:.
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A state appeals court just finished hearing arguments in the Byron Brown ballot case. Hard to guess what they'll do, but the panel seemed pretty skeptical of the arguments put forth by Brown's lawyers.
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The contractor for a proposed liquor store on Michigan Avenue, just down the street from the historic Nash House, listened to vehement community objections and quit the project - on the floor of the Common Council.
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The Brown administration wants money to buy ShotSpotter, an acoustic gunshot detection system. But study after study says it doesn't work well enough to justify the cost. Today at @ipostnews:.
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Assistant county attorney Jeremy Toth seems to have enjoyed writing this court filing, in which he calls Byron Brown "a sore loser" seeking "preferential treatment" to get on the Nov. 2 ballot. Campaign Notes for @ipostnews:.
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First Paladino denied posting a conspiracy theory about the Buffalo and Uwalde shooting being false flag operations. But turns out he emailed it, too. So he changed course, saying he forgot he'd done it.
New: Carl Paladino does it again. The right-wing developer posted to Facebook and emailed to friends a claim that the Buffalo and Uvalde massacres were orchestrated by the government. @ghkelly1969 reports
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Why isn't the News's above-the-fold article today by its Washington bureau chief, instead of a reprint from the New York Times? Jerry Zremski is a really good journalist.
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Here's a distillation of some our @ipostnews reporting on the Buffalo mayor's race for @thenation:.
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Byron Brown keeps underlining the "record low turnout" in the June primary to downplay his loss and offer a motive for the write-in campaign. That's wrong: June's turnout was bad, but Brown's 2013 reelection campaign set the record low:.
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11 years ago, Buffalo's Common Council, dealing w/the city's population loss, gerrymandered council districts. Now the city's population has grown, but the Council wants to double-down on the old lines. There is an alternative. This morning at @ipostnews:.
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The GOP candidate for Erie County executive scrubbed then deleted her Twitter account last month. Maybe she she thought voters wouldn’t like her takes on Damar Hamlin or the Jan. 6 riots. Not sure, because she wouldn’t tell me. New at @ipostnews:.
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Byron Brown latest campaign finance filing isn't available yet, but India Walton's is. She raised nearly 200k in the last month, most of it after her June 22 primary win over Brown. Here's a quick rundown at @ipostnews:.
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I just wanted to know if Brown's deputy mayor was taking time off to run his campaign. What I got was a bunch of non-answers from Brown's spokesman. Who might also be his campaign spokesman. I still don't know, because he wouldn't tell me:.
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Developer Carl Paladino says he no longer supports Byron Brown's reelection effort. He calls the mayor "a mope." Read more (expletives deleted) at @ipostnews:.
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The NYS Association of Realtors dropped $170k to support Byron Brown's reelection last month. (Credit @RobCGalbraith for finding it.) In today's @ipostnews Campaign Notes:.
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Every election cycle a mystery person sneaks a campaign sign into my yard. This year’s entry is next level.
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Send congratulations to my colleague @marshamcleod_TO today. Her work on traffic ticket fines for @ipostnews contributed to real, progressive policy changes, state and local:.
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ADM may have let the Great Northern Elevator deteriorate to the point of collapse, but city government allowed that to happen. Read more a @ipostnews:.
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AOC comes to Buffalo Saturday to headline an India Walton rally:
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A plastics company seeking tax subsidies submitted a fake, AI-generated study to Lockport officials, in an effort to prove their facility won't cause environmental harm. The company's getting the subsidies anyway, @ipostnews's @JDale_Shoemaker reports:.
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Tonight's public hearing on redistricting was, in fact, a public shaming for Buffalo Common Council. New at @ipostnews:.
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Dr. Henry-Louis Taylor issued a report today, updating his 1991 study on living conditions for Blacks in Buffalo. @Maceo13's conclusion: There's been little progress in 30 years. @ByMarkScheer reports for @ipostnews:.
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This is pretty interesting.
Remember the narrative that progressive candidates like @Indiawaltonbflo don't win in working class communities of color? *Unofficial* results say otherwise. Patterns appear to have shifted from the Primary. Walton won low-income precincts, lost in affluent & white neighborhoods.
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The Pegulas are billionaires and the Bills are profitable. They can pay for their own stadium, writes @ipostnews's @JimHeaney:.
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@MatthewPelkey A candidate for public office once told me, “I don’t need this. I could make much more money in the private sector,” and I thought: This interview is over.
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It feels good to have good lawyers. Better still to know the developer who filed a baseless libel lawsuit may have to pay their fees. Congrats, @DanielTelvock and @JimHeaney, and thanks to @inFinnnerty and @KarimAAbdulla1: .
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Geico workers in Amherst are trying to unionize. Management told employees "you have every right to contact the police" if a co-worker comes to the door asking for a signature. @JDale_Shoemaker reports for @ipostnews:.
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A lawsuit filed today seeks to undo the Buffalo Common Council redistricting plan that drew heated opposition over the summer. Court documents coming soon.
City voters and good-government organizations are asking courts to reject a redistricting proposal adopted this summer, faulting the process and calling it "an incumbent protection plan." @ghkelly1969 reports, with more details to come:.
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M.T. Pockets is famous now for confrontations between demonstrators and angry white guys. Previously, it was famous as a hub for Democratic Party fundraising. @Ali_IngNews and I report for @ipostnews.
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In @ipostnews Campaign Notes this morning: Remember when Judge John Sinatra represented Rev. Stenhouse in a Cleveland developer's lawsuit against Byron Brown and the city? No?.
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Economists agree: new football stadiums offer little economic boost in exchange for the public subsidies NFL owners like the Pegulas demand. @ByMarkScheer reports for @ipostnews:.
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Recently Buffalo Public Schools said I'd have to pay $400 for records they were two months late in collecting for me. No accounting for the fees, provided similar records a few months ago at no charge. Our new legal partners are already at work on it.
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Over at @ipostnews, we decided maybe I should write something about Mark Grisanti, the unelected judge and inadvertent star some very popular police body camera video. So I did.
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He doesn’t want to go through it. He certainly can’t go over it. So, as usual, Mayor Byron Brown is trying to get around a problem.
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Regarding racism and segregation, @JimHeaney suggests WNYers take a long, hard look in the mirror. Today at @ipostnews:.
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Buffalo was poor when Byron Brown took office; 15 years later, it's still poor. @ByMarkScheer reports for @ipostnews:.
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The folks at @squarepodbuff lured me into their studio with donuts and coffee, which they used to coax me into talking about snowplows, campaign finance, and historic preservation.
THIS WEEK: It’s that time again! Geoff Kelly of Investigative Post joins us to talk about the financial filings of our elected officials and to complain about unplowed streets 😳. Follow Geoff-->.Twitter: @ipostnews.Website:
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It feels in recent months as if @MayorByronBrown's law department has quit even pretending to honor Freedom of Information law. Today at @ipostnews:.
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Stefan Mychajliw has been spending his time and campaign money like a candidate for Congress. The time part is an issue for voters. The money part is an issue for the Federal Election Commission.
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I was thinking about next year's Buffalo mayor race the other day. if ever incumbency could be turned against an office-holder, this is such a year.
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A Russian oligarch is a big donor to state-run Roswell Park and invested heavily Roswell affiliate companies. One is trying to sell a battlefield radiation antidote to the US government. A collaboration between @ipostnews, @OCCRP and @acdatacollectiv: .
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Some thoughts on @Indiawaltonbflo's victory in Buffalo's mayoral primary yesterday. A closer analysis of how her team did it, and its reverberations in local politics, will come down the road. For now just this, at @ipostnews:.
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If you like researching campaign contributions, as I do, you’ll hate the New York State BOE’s new search portal. Or maybe it’s just me.
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Watch @ipostnews interview with @AOC on her support for @Indiawaltonbflo in the Buffalo mayor’s race:
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On Tuesday, more than 100 people at a public hearing rejected the Common Council's redistricting plan and asked them to try again. The Council's reaction: They've scheduled a vote to adopt the plan for tomorrow at 10 a.m.
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It sure looks like the Common Council violated the city charter when it created the commission that recommended the pay raises legislators approved yesterday. New at @ipostnews:.
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The Erie County DA says he presents "irremediable problems of credibility." His bosses tried to fire him. But Buffalo Police Officer Joseph Hassett is still on the job. Read about him now at @ipostnews. Story tonight on @WGRZ.
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This is a really good read from a MacArthur Fellow with Buffalo roots:
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City officials confirm there were "no active or valid permits" for the work that might have sparked the blaze that killed a firefighter yesterday. New at @ipostnews:.
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City's finances were dicey before the pandemic, and federal COVID relief funds won't fix them. Here's an overview at @ipostnews:.
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This whole thread.
Buffalo has multiple fire trucks out of service. One of the Engines had chains come off and is wrapped up in the axel. Ladder 15 is stuck and has multiple cars blocking the firehouse. Ladder 7 needs to defrost.
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This Brown administration deal smelled so bad, the city comptroller's office audited it twice. They got no satisfaction from the mayor, and neither did we:.
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Buffalo’s ethics board hasn’t met in two and a half years. It doesn’t have enough members to make quorum. Today at @ipostnews:.
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Carl Paladino is trying to get wealthy business people to support a Byron Brown write-in campaign, but many don't want to be associated with any effort Paladino has a hand in. Read about it at @ipostnews:.
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Erie County used to make money from Bills games, but Dennis Gorski gave that revenue away 25 years ago. Now every game costs taxpayers. @ByMarkScheer breaks down the lease history and the numbers for @ipostnews:.
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Carl Paladino finally filed his personal financial disclosure, required of all Congressional candidates. Guess what? He's rich. New at @ipostnews:.
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A federal appeals court stayed an order directing that Byron Brown's name be placed on the ballot. Update in Campaign Notes at @ipostnews:.
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Last fall more than 100 people signed a complaint to Buffalo's ethics board alleging city workers, including cops, were campaigning on the job for Byron Brown. There was no response. Now it appears the feds are investigating. Today at @ipostnews:.
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Twice the city comptroller has asked the Brown administration to justify a no-bid contract for warehouse space. Twice the Brown administration has said, "Trust us," but provided no documents. Today at @ipostnews:.
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In @ipostnews Campaign Notes: That poll is bad news for Walton supporters, but there are a few glimmers of light. Plus, Paladino backslides, promotes a Brown fundraiser:.
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Today @ipostnews begins daily updates on the Buffalo mayoral race and other local elections. Check it out: .
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"The commissioner's authority to rescind or change the notice of condemnation is not specifically set forth in the city charter and city code," the mayor told the Buffalo News, regarding his issuance of a demo permit to ADM for the Great Northern Elevator today.
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Lawyers in a federal civil rights lawsuit accusing the Buffalo of discriminatory and unconstitutional policing want to depose cops who wrote a hugely disproportionate number of tickets to Black drivers. The city is fighting the request. New at @ipostnews:.
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In this morning's @ipostnews Campaign Notes: Looking at Brown-Walton poll numbers, with insight from @RustBeltGeo, who ran through the number with @squarepodbuff last week:.
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A Buffalo police officer driving nearly 80 mph struck a pedestrian, leaving her a paraplegic. The city must borrow $43 million to settle the resulting lawsuit — a tough financial blow, with the end of federal pandemic aid on the horizon. New at @ipostnews:.
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Top execs at Lee Enterprises, which owns The Buffalo News, got raises and bonuses last year, while asking reporters to take furloughs and axing 160 press workers here. @JimHeaney has the latest at @ipostnews:.
New this afternoon: More sobering news on @TheBuffaloNews front. #Buffalo #WNY #Niagara #newYork #journalism.
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A last word from Carl Paladino, before we return to our regular campaign coverage: He doesn't like Kathy Hochul, either. Campaign Notes at @ipostnews:.
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Another astonishing thing - apart from the $4m/job subsidy for Plug Power - is that the STAMP site in Genesee County has already cost $26m in public money. It's farm fields, with a short road and a sign that cost $50k. No utilities, nothing.
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As long as we're writing about court battles and politics: A federal appeals court upheld the criminal convictions of Louis Ciminelli and others in a Buffalo Billion bid-rigging scheme:.
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"No more Mr. Nice God," my son just said, while acting out some fantasy war between enemy bunnies.
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First cover story I wrote for Artvoice, in 1999, was about the city’s lead hazard control program. Now the city is rolling out a new one, so I wrote about that.
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I find mysellf, every hour since learning of his death, more and more saddened by the end to @Ian_Murphy.
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My colleague @brushinvest reports on a 2014 Buffalo police raid on a Parkside home that has led — 9 years later — to the City of Buffalo paying a quarter million dollars in damages to the family who lived there:.
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First up: @Indiawaltonbflo supporters get ActBlue to take down @byronwbrown's donations page, and Jon Rivera is first local elected to endorse Walton.
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Really strong story by my @ipostnews colleague @phigambini about conditions at ICE's Batavia detention center:.
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Investigative Post is a nonprofit journalism center. That means we rely on support from the community we serve. Please consider making a donation. If you do so between now and Dec. 31 and a foundation will match it, doubling your money.
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@buffalotroll Never mind, I found it. It's worth noting that Callocchia's husband, Frank, represented Brown in in his ballot lawsuits.
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My colleague @Garrett_Looker and I discuss how we reported the story of Jill Repman, formerly Jill Parisi, the Buffalo Fire Department employee who the city has paid not to work for 7.5 years. Reporter's Notebook at @ipostnews:.
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A look at this election season’s first push poll, courtesy Lynne Dixon:
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I also wrote this today, about the court fight to keep Buffalo police disciplinary records public. But I reckon most people are going to read about the bar on Hertel.
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