Extra! Extra!

N.M. governor used fund to pay for coffee, rental cars, more

Barry Massey of The Associated Press has the details of a $90,000 "contingency fund" for New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. "Since January, Richardson and his staff have dipped into the money several times for a mishmash of expenditures in New Mexico and elsewhere, ranging from coffee and mints to rental cars and out-of-state hotel expenses. The governor's office, after a public-records request and repeated inquiries by the AP about his use of the fund, said this week he had reimbursed or would reimburse the state for some expenses — such as coffee and newspapers — that the fund paid for." The Democrat-controlled state legislature increased the fund from $30,000 to its current level shortly after Richardson took office.

Cyber terrorists could exploit security lapses and wreak havoc

Ed Meyer of the Akron Beacon Journal reports on flaws in the computer system that controls the nation's electrical grid. It finds that the flaws leave it open to cyber terrorists. An expert quoted in the story says "security was not the highest priority" when the system was designed. He also told the paper that "A relatively small number of computer vendors devised the system, using training procedures that are virtually the same in the United States as in countries suspected of harboring terrorists."

Non-native creatures threaten environment

Michael Hawthorne and Doug Haddix of The Columbus Dispatch have a lengthy series on the threat to the environment from foreign species of insects. The stories start with a beetle from China, the emerald ash borer, that has "killed more than 6 million trees" since journeying on cargo ships and other vessels. "People inadvertently have spread the destruction by moving infested trees, lumber or firewood to four counties in Ohio and one each in Maryland and Ontario. No matter how large or strong the trees, they have no defense." Other stories explain how U.S. regulations permit ships to dump "ballast water" in American ports, helping to spread foreign species.

Maine has second-highest tax burden

Kelly Bouchard of the Portland Press Herald analyzed Census data to find that "Maine's state and local tax burden is the second-highest in the nation," trailing only New York. Neighboring New Hampshire has the lowest tax burden, according to the data. Three competing tax-reform measures appear on the Nov. 4 ballot in Maine. Other stories tackle the equity of the state's property tax and the potential impact of a ballot question mandating that Maine provide full funding for special education.

Football revenue supports other prep sports

Using school budget and booster club records, Florida Today reporters Alan Snel and John A. Torres discover just how much football means to high schools in Brevard County: "Ticket sales and other revenue from football games have raised nearly $7 out of every $10 schools can spend on prep sports in Brevard, records show." In addition, public money alone represents less than 10 percent of what is spent on high school sports, with booster clubs and other fundraising providing the bulk of the money. "The picture that emerges is a system that spends little public money yet receives much in return. High school sports, an American tradition, prevent kids from dropping out while rallying community support for local schools, experts and educators said."

DNA testing goes unused across the country

Maurice Possley and Steve Mills of the Chicago Tribune have a four-part series, The Legacy of Wrongful Convictions, beginning with a story about the failure of law-enforcement officials to use a national DNA database to try and track down the actual criminals in cases where DNA testing freed a wrongly convicted person. "The newspaper examined every case in the U.S. where DNA testing has freed a convicted inmate, focusing on 115 murders and rapes where the release left a crime unsolved. In some of those cases, DNA was quickly used to link known suspects to the crime. But in 44 of the remaining 97 cases, or just under half, authorities have not followed up by submitting the genetic profile of the suspected perpetrator to the FBI's national DNA database, a well-established law-enforcement tool that has been used to link more than 8,600 convicted felons to other crimes."

Fla. losing corporate taxes to loopholes

Sydney P. Freedberg of the St. Petersburg Times has a piece studying Florida's corporate income tax and those large companies that don't pay any, including Verizon and Carnival Corp. "In fact, 98 percent of the estimated 1.5-million businesses in Florida paid nothing (last year). And many of those that did pay found ways to reduce their tax bills. At a time when Florida is scraping for every dollar to improve education, build roads and prisons and buy prescription drugs for the poor, Florida's corporate income tax is all but dead."

Catholic churches undergo reorganization

Daniel J. Wakin of The New York Times obtained and analyzed data on attendance at Mass conducted at New York City area parishes, finding that 149 parishes "have lagged in four benchmarks of vitality — daily and weekend Mass attendance and the number of baptisms and religious-education students." The Archdiocese of New York is examining the figures as part of a reorganization plan that is "likely to close churches, reduce the number of Masses and redeploy priests," the paper says.

Records reveal dangers faced by Peace Corps volunteers

Russell Carollo and Mei-Ling Hopgood of the Dayton Daily News have a special report on violent attacks on Peace Corps volunteers, using statistics from reports covering the past four decades. "Records from a never-before-released computer database show that reported assault cases involving Peace Corps volunteers increased 125 percent from 1991-2002, while the number of volunteers increased by 29 percent, according to the Peace Corps. Last year, the number of assaults and robberies averaged one every 23 hours." The paper analyzed records from the Peace Corps' Assault Notification and Surveillance System database, concentrating on incidents that occurred in the past 12 years. The Peace Corps responded to the Daily News, claiming that the paper's reporting was flawed and that its crime reporting system "is more effective and has proven to be successful at Peace Corps." With a number of sidebars and additional stories.

Cutting-edge jail's electronic security system failing

Aaron Corvin of The (Tacoma, Wash.) News Tribune writes about Pierce County's multimillion jail that opened in April, promising state-of-the-art security but falling short of that goal. "The computer-driven security system regularly failed before and after the new jail opened," and in the old jail — where the security system also was installed — errors led to the wrong doors being opened, "forcing officers into guessing games in a maximum-security unit." Interviews and records also show the new jail and renovations to the old one are $2.5 million over budget. "County officials have been reluctant to discuss the problems. They rejected a News Tribune request for records about claims filed against the county. County officials said making the information public would threaten the security of the two-jail complex, even though The News Tribune specifically excluded codes, blueprints or anything that would endanger lives."

Public lands in Arizona have high crime rates

Judd Slivka of The Arizona Republic reports that "national parks and other federal recreation sites in Arizona have some of the highest crime rates of any public lands in the country, and those in southern Arizona lead the list." Coronado National Memorial and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument are among the most dangerous such sites in the nation. Both are close to the state's border with Mexico and offer less visibility and lighter security than other areas. The paper called them "virtual highways for smuggling."

Army unit's actions in Vietnam went unpunished

Michael D. Sallah and Mitch Weiss of The (Toledo, Ohio) Blade investigate alleged war crimes by an American Army platoon in 1967, finding that although "the Army substantiated 20 war crimes by 18 Tiger Force soldiers committed in 1967 — with numerous eyewitnesses — no charges were filed. ... Instead, the case was hidden in the Army's archives, and key suspects were allowed to continue their military careers." Included with the several stories are audio files of platoon members interviewed years after the incidents

Taxpayers foot bill for campaign activities

John M.R. Bull of The (Allentown, Pa.) Morning Call delves into Pennsylvania's "Special Leadership Accounts," taxpayer-funded operations controlled by the majority and minority leaders of the state House. "A Morning Call investigation has revealed that $3.2 million was spent from funds controlled by the top state House Republican and Democrat on an array of services meant to protect incumbents facing re-election last year." Spending from the accounts is detailed in House records and the two party leaders can use the money as they see fit. Some of the expenses: "public service" television spots featuring legislative candidates and consulting services from firms run by friends and relatives of state lawmakers. Democratic House leader H. William DeWeese spent "almost $97,000 in travel bills in 16 months" from his account, many times on a state jet. Another $61,000 paid for a private driver for DeWeese.

Private lenders endangering federal student loan program

Megan Barnett, Julian E. Barnes and Danielle Knight of U.S. News & World Report find that many colleges and universities are abandoning the U.S. Department of Education's direct-loan program in favor of deals with private lenders that promise profits to the academic institution. "In all, 62 colleges and universities have dropped out of the Education Department's direct-loan program since 2000, and the list is growing." In the process, the U.S. Treasury is losing out on as much as $250 million a year. The story details how the private lenders went about "undercutting the direct-loan program and wooing away big schools like Michigan State."

Illegal pharmaceutical trade threatens lives

Gilbert M. Gaul and Mary Pat Flaherty of The Washington Post begin a five-part series on America's prescription drug system, finding it riddled "by a growing illegal trade in pharmaceuticals, fed by criminal profiteers, unscrupulous wholesalers, rogue Internet sites and foreign pharmacies." A shadow trade in prescription drugs that includes orders for nursing home patients who don't exist, watered-down or fake medicines and middlemen of dubious (or criminal) natures "constitute a new form of organized crime that now threatens public health."

Flaws in Ind. missing kids list reveals little follow up

Marc Chase of The (Munster, Ind.) Times kicks off a three-part series on missing children in Indiana by reporting that the state's official list of cases is flawed: "At least 16 children remained on the list for months, and in some cases years, even though they had returned home in a matter of hours or days after missing children's reports were filed." The lack of follow-up in some cases helps explain why the smaller cities of Hammond and Gary each have more than 50 kids on the list, while Indianapolis has 32. In 12 of the Hammond cases, the missing children "were located or returned home within a matter of days or hours after police reports were filed."

Little to show for redevelopment effort in Miami

Oscar Corral of The Miami Herald studied the impact of $70 million in spending to improve Miami's Overtown neighborhood, finding that "the community has little to show for it." Nearly half of the amount spent went to Miami's Community Redevelopment Agency, which has finished just five of its 36 proposed projects in the past decade, none of which is a major housing development. "Almost every investor who got a city loan to rehabilitate multifamily housing in the past 20 years went into default. Some of those rehabilitated buildings have now been demolished, and the city has had mixed results in recovering its money." A nonprofit builder that owns land in Overtown "has not completed a single new housing project in the area in 10 years, despite receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding through the city of Miami." The FBI and prosecutors are looking into the money trail.

Canadian businesses benefit from war in Iraq

Steven Theobald, Chris Sorensen and Jim Rankin of The Toronto Star report that while Canada declined to send troops to participate in the war in Iraq, Canadian businesses have received more than 4,300 U.S. government contracts from 1997 to 2002, including $1.8 billion in work for the Pentagon. "From big-ticket light armoured vehicles and sophisticated weaponry to protective gear and mundane, low-tech products, Canadian business is cashing in." The paper used federal contract data compiled by the General Services Administration for its analysis.

Lack of oversight contributes to unequal justice in Ky.

R.G. Dunlop, Jason Riley, Jim Adams, Alan Maimon and Andrew Wolfson of The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal spent eight months assessing the methods of Kentucky's judicial system, finding that justice "is dispensed unequally because of differences among judges and prosecutors and a lack of state oversight that has allowed thousands of felony cases to stall, to disappear or to be dismissed for lack of prosecution." The paper also explains how it did the project.

Coroner's travel bill raises questions

John Woolfolk of the San Jose Mercury News details the travels of Santa Clara chief medical examiner Dr. Gregory Schmunk, who "has billed taxpayers for more than $42,000 in travel for conferences and seminars since he was hired in March 1999, a figure at least one county official found alarming and other coroners said seemed unusually high." The travel records, obtained through a public records request, show that Schmunk racked up travel costs of at least $12,000 in each of the past two years and was on track to match that in 2003. San Francisco's medical examiner has reported $125 in professional development travel costs since 1999.

Parking records document judges' hours

Michael Mansur, Lynn Horsley and Gregory S. Reeves of The Kansas City Star used parking records to determine that judges on the Kansas City Municipal Court "average less than 30 hours a week in the courthouse." The parking data records when judges arrive and departed the courthouse, with the exception of one presiding judge who typically used a key to open the garage door, leaving no electronic record. Four of the nine judges usually leave work by 3 p.m. on weekdays, and none of the full-time jurists work on Friday afternoons. (Free registration required to view the story.)

Unused sick time costing agencies

Tim Darragh of The (Allentown, Pa.) Morning Call surveyed the unused sick time policies of the region's public agencies, finding that "Lehigh Valley taxpayers have shelled out millions of dollars in recent years to public employees," with varying rates of reimbursement and overlapping geographical boundaries that can hit certain residents harder than others. In Bethlehem, for instance, the "rough bottom line for local, school, county and state workers' unused sick time last year" came to $352,674. Since December, residents have seen higher property, real estate and school taxes. The paper contacted more than three dozen school districts and government bodies for its story.

Some council members lax in repaying cell phone bills

Matt Galnor of The Florida Times-Union tracked the city cell phone bills of Jacksonville's council members, who are responsible for reimbursing the city for personal calls. "A review of cell phone records found some council members stay on top of their bills every month, some pay every three or six months and others are far less regular in their payments." After one councilman was questioned about his tardiness — he made one payment four years ago — he promptly sent a $4,655 check to the city. "There's little repercussion for council members who don't pay up for their calls. The council policy does not have any penalty provisions and council staff can only ask and remind so often."

Flammable foam in club fire found in many household items

G. Wayne Miller and Peter B. Lord of The Providence Journal have a four-part series on the dangers of polyurethane foam, the material that played a major role in the fatal fire at The Station nightclub in Rhode Island. In addition to being common in upholstered furniture, the substance is also found in "couches, love seats, chairs, recliners, mattresses, mattress pads and mattress toppers, pillows, carpet cushioning and many other places. More than 2 billion pounds of foam enters the U.S. market every year."

N.C. companies overwhelmingly run by white men

Amy Joyner of the Greensboro News & Record compiled data on the gender and racial makeup of directors at North Carolina's 50 largest public companies, finding that "white men overwhelmingly control boards of directors. In fact, some of the highest profile businesses in the Triad and the state have no minority or female representation on their boards." Women and minorities have increased their membership on corporate boards since 1992, when the paper did a similar study.

Gulf's health in decline

Cathy Zollo and a team of reporters from the Naples Daily News have a 15-part series on the declining environmental health of the Gulf of Mexico. The stories describe a "Dead Zone" the size of Massachusetts at the mouth of the Mississippi, the loss of coral and salt marshes and the introduction of invasive species as threats to the Gulf. Other pieces focus on the fishing industry and the impact of industrial pollution.

Atlantic City area has high number of fugitives

Michael Diamond and John Froonjian of The Press of Atlantic City used state figures to report that "the number of criminal fugitives in New Jersey has risen steadily over the past decade, and the numbers in Atlantic County are much higher than the statewide average. Only heavily urbanized Essex County has more criminals on the run — and not many more." Warrants for fugitives in Atlantic County have risen 63 percent since 1991.

Taxpayers subsidized city's meetings at resorts

Dion Lefler and Van Williams of The Wichita Eagle and KWCH-Wichita studied city expense records to find that city officials spent between $52,300 and $73,800 over 14 months for meetings with a health insurance consultant at tony resorts in Florida, California and South Carolina. The money included the consultant's fees as well as travel by Wichita's finance manager and risk manager. City council members have asked for an investigation into the taxpayer-funded travel.