By: Charlie Specht | April 24, 2022 More than 225 police officers and jail guards in Western New York have been suspended, fired or resigned while facing allegations of misconduct in the last five years. A Buffalo News investigation of more than 1,300 police records that until recently were …
Gov. Kathy Hochul is rolling back criminal justice reform laws that have been on the books since January 2020 specifically giving judges more discretion in setting bail for defendants. Reform advocates like Partnership for the Public Good Policy Agenda Director Tanvier Peart are calling foul on the …
By: Maki Becker | April 8, 2022 The debate over bail reform has been one of the most contentious elements of Gov. Kathy Hochul's first budget negotiations as the state's top leader. Amid a jump in gun violence in cities from Buffalo to New York City, she sought to retool the landmark …
By: Thomas O'Neil-White | March 30, 2022 Following Tuesday night’s car chase, during which four people, including three police officers, were shot, Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia rebuked bail reforms, saying it allows dangerous people out of jail and back out on the …
By: Tom Puckett| February 3, 2022 When a deal on a new lease for the Buffalo Bills and new stadium is finally reached and announced, it will eventually make its way to the desks of Erie County and New York State lawmakers for review and approval. Without the details being yet known, some area …
By: Thomas O'Neil-White| February 2, 2022 A Community Benefits Agreement, or CBA, attached to a large-scale development project is an agreement that spells out what contributions could come back to the community impacted by the project. In Erie County, talk of a new football stadium for the Buffalo …
By: WBEN.com Newsroom| February 2, 2022 A local coalition known as Partnership for the Public Good held a press conference at the steps of the Johnnie B. Wiley Pavilion in Buffalo on Wednesday calling for Erie County Legislators to insist on a robust community benefits agreement as part of …
By: Geoff Kelly| January 25, 2022 Pro teams are increasingly agreeing to pay for community improvements, diversity initiatives and living wage jobs in exchange for subsidies for new stadiums and arenas.
By: Bryce Covert| January 20, 2022 After the state rolled back a progressive bail law, data from the Vera Institute of Justice suggests judges are ordering more people be held in jails, amid continued worry over COVID-19.
By: Matt Glynn | January 13, 2022 The city of Buffalo should make more-productive use of the vacant lots it owns, said Jeanette Koncikowski, executive director of Grassroots Gardens WNY. "While the city has long evaluated repurposing ideas for its 8,000-plus vacant lots, they continue to …
By: I'Jaz Ja'Ciel | January 10, 2022 As a former public defender, Miles Gresham encountered many people with marijuana-related offenses, most of them from Black and Latinx demographics. To let arrest records tell it, these communities possess and use the substance most. Statistically, however, …
By: Matthew Spina | December 30, 2021 As the campaign heated up, the union representing Erie County’s road deputies threw its support to John C. Garcia, a Republican candidate for sheriff. “John is the best candidate and understands the needs and concerns of our membership,” …