Archive for January, 2006

Kinko’s deal costly for Dallas schools

Monday, 01/30/06 Posted in Business, Education

Kent Fischer, Pete Slover and Tawnell D. Hobbs of the The Dallas Morning News used district records to show that a plan by Dallas schools to outsource copying ... Read more..

University leader serves on 10 boards

Monday, 01/30/06 Posted in Business, Education, First Amendment & FOIA, Nonprofit

Eleanor Yang of the The San Diego Union-Tribune used calendar records obtained under the California Public Records Act to show that UC San Diego Chancellor, Marye Anne Fox, has served ... Read more..

Vulnerable live in Sacramento’s flood zones

Monday, 01/30/06 Posted in CAR, Census & Demographics, Disasters, Mapping

Phillip Reese of The Sacramento Bee used Census data and maps to report that “more than 150,000 of Sacramento County’s most vulnerable residents — the elderly, the poor and the ... Read more..

Miami transit OT draining county budget

Monday, 01/30/06 Posted in CAR, Government (federal/state/local), Transportation

Jack Dolan, Larry Lebowitz and Scott Hiaasen of The Miami Herald analyzed local payroll data to find that “transit overtime pay — which is 1.5 times as high as regular ... Read more..

Flawed criminal justice system

Saturday, 01/28/06 Posted in Justice (courts/crime/law)

Fredric N. Tulsky, with staff writers Julie Patel and Mike Zapler, data analyst Griff Palmer and research librarian Leigh Poitinger, of the San Jose Mercury News , reviewed every ... Read more..

City pays millions for bottled water

Saturday, 01/28/06 Posted in Government (federal/state/local)

Cecilia M. Vega of the San Francisco Chronicle used public records to show that San Francisco, owner of a pristine reservoir in the Sierra Nevada with a reputation for ... Read more..

Brake plant workers suffer serious work-related health effects

Wednesday, 01/25/06 Posted in Workplace

Randy Ludlow of the The Columbus Dispatch reports that nearly five years after more than a quarter of TRW brake plant's 400 workers contracted respiratory illnesses, dozens remain disabled ... Read more..

Judge violates federal law

Tuesday, 01/24/06 Posted in Justice (courts/crime/law)

Will Evans of the Center for Investigative Reporting, writing for Salon.com, reviewed court and financial records and found that a judge nominated by President Bush to one of ... Read more..

Hurricane shutter company failed to deliver

Tuesday, 01/24/06 Posted in Business, Disasters

Mc Nelly Torres of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reviewed bankruptcy records, county licensing records and complaints filed with the local consumer affairs division to show that Palms West Shutter ... Read more..

Loopholes put school bus drivers with violations on roads

Tuesday, 01/24/06 Posted in CAR, Education, Justice (courts/crime/law), Transportation

Brad Branan of the Tucson Citizen used court records to show that Arizona school bus drivers with criminal records or multiple moving violations are escaping state regulatory enforcement and putting ... Read more..