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Posted Jan. 24, 2006 Buffalo Reporter Wins WASHINGTON, D.C. — James Heaney, a reporter for the Buffalo News, is the recipient of the third annual Hal Hovey Award, presented by Governing Magazine and Stateline.org for outstanding journalistic coverage of state and local government. Heaney is being honored for "The Half-Billion-Dollar Bust," which documents Buffalo's mismanagement of federal anti-poverty funds and failed redevelopment efforts over the past 30 years.
"This is an exemplary piece of journalism," says Alan Ehrenhalt, Governing's executive editor. "In meticulous detail and with an enviable grasp of nuance, Heaney explains what has gone wrong in Buffalo. Local government officials nationwide would do well to heed this cautionary tale." "The Half-Billion-Dollar Bust" was published as a three-part series. The first part revealed how bureaucratic inefficiencies and politically motivated decisions led Buffalo to squander hundreds of millions of dollars. Part Two investigated the city's lending practices, finding that risky loans to local businesses had largely backfired. The series concluded with a look at development of the city's Theatre District, which, despite some successes, has failed to generate many self-sustaining businesses. The award, which includes a $3,000 cash grant and is presented at Governing's annual Outlook in the States conference in Washington, D.C., is named in memory of the late Hal Hovey, a dedicated public official, meticulous scholar, tireless reporter and constructive critic of state and local government, who died in 1999 after a 30-year career that included major contributions to both journalism and public service at all levels. The entire Heaney series (a 10-megabyte Adobe .pdf file) is available online: click here. Copyright © 2006, Congressional Quarterly, Inc. Reproduction without the written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Governing, City & State and Governing.com are registered trademarks of Congressional Quarterly, Inc. |
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