Extra! Extra!

Police chases lack restrictions

Eunice Trotter, Tom Spalding and Mark Nichols of The Indianapolis Star built a database of reports on police chases, showing that "police are virtually unrestricted when they chase suspects. They pursue fleeing vehicles at high speeds and usually for traffic infractions." One of five chases resulted in an injury or death, and state police chases averaged 88 mph. The paper analyzed records from nearly 1,000 chases in 2003 and 2004.

Prisoner complaints ignored by officials

Norman Sinclair, Melvin Claxton and Ronald J. Hansen of The Detroit News report that "Michigan lawmakers and prison officials have stymied investigations of sexual abuse in women's prisons, stifled inmate complaints and stripped away the rights of assaulted prisoners to sue for damages." Ten years after federal officials highlighted a problem with assaults of female inmates by guards, the number of complaints has risen slightly. Some of those complaints "have lingered for months and even years, while others were closed within days without talking to crucial witnesses or the Corrections employee accused." Michigan's Corrections Department also "has left staffers with criminal backgrounds or multiple complaints of sexual abuse on the job for years."

Former security chief spent thousands on state issued gas card

Eric Eyre and Scott Finn of The Charleston Gazette continue their investigation of Neal Sharp, West Virginia's former homeland security chief, reporting that "Sharp purchased gasoline with his state credit card at least 30 times on days he wasn't working." In all, Sharp charged $6,764 to his state-issued credit card between July 2003 and March 2005. "On a single day in October 2004, he purchased 38 gallons of gas during three stops at service stations in Charleston and Beckley. Another day later that month, he bought 24 gallons of gas during two stops near his home in Poca."

Governor ignores clemency board recommendations

Amanda J. Crawford and Ryan Konig of The Arizona Republic analyzed state records on clemency, finding that "the number of inmates recommended to the governor for shortened prison terms by the Board of Executive Clemency has skyrocketed" during the past 10 years. "But in the vast majority of cases, even in those where the trial judge agrees with the board that a sentence is too long, the governor has rejected the board's recommendations." Arizona "has more people per capita in prison than any other Western state, tougher sentencing laws than most states and no parole."

Cities, counties ignore misdemeanor warrents to save money

Chris Halsne of KIRO-Seattle reports on why many criminals with outstanding misdemeanor warrants don't have to worry about going to jail. The KIRO-Seattle investigative team analyzed 145,000 active misdemeanor warrants in Washington. They found "a growing number of cities and counties ... don't want to pay for the cost of jail time or transportation of a criminal with a misdemeanor warrant. Instead, they routinely tell the deputy to let the criminal go right there on the spot."

Sheriff deputized friends, family, supporters

Christine Hanley of the Los Angeles Times reports on an Orange County Sheriff who deputized friends, family and political supporters. "Of the original 86 reserve deputies, 29 had contributed to Carona's inaugural election campaign in 1998 and his re-election campaign in 2002." The Times used hundreds of documents received through public records requests and provided by other sources, along with interviews to uncover the appointments, which were rushed to avoid tougher training requirements.

Felons registering, voting in Oklahoma

Nolan Clay and John Perry of The Oklahoman used state voter data to show that "about 2,500 felons may be registered to vote. About 1,100 may have voted in last year's general election. An exact count is difficult — in part because voters sometimes sign the wrong lines in poll books." The paper found that Oklahoma election officials have ignored records on felons provided by prosecutors in and outside the state.

Police shooting probes flawed

Gina Barton of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reviewed police records to show that in the past 20 years, no police shooting inquest in Milwaukee County has resulted in criminal charges against an officer. "Inquest jurors never hear from the families of the dead or from their attorneys. There's no cross-examination. The only witnesses are those called by the prosecutors, who critics suggest have a vested interest in clearing shooters because of their relationship with police." The paper found two instances in which an inquest panel did not completely clear officers involved in a shooting.

Section 8 failing to provide adequate housing

Antonio Olivo, John Bebow and Darnell Little of the Chicago Tribune used local data to show that "private landlords are fast taking over government's traditional role of housing Chicago's poor. But these subsidized 'Section 8' landlords have been failing four out of every 10 inspections" during the last five years. "More than 6,000 landlords failed the majority of their inspections. Yet those landlords collectively received a quarter-billion dollars in taxpayer-funded rent subsidies in the last five years." Bebow emails that the paper's reporting "was complicated by the fact that the housing authority refused to release the addresses of any of the thousands of apartments in the Section 8 system. They cited a privacy exemption that completely contradicted the federal government's policy on release of addresses of subsidized buildings."

New evidence casts doubt on convicted killer's guilt

Scott Glover and Matt Lait of the Los Angeles Times use scores of documents shedding doubt on the guilt of a man convicted of killing his mother over 20 years ago. Among the evidence discovered was a bloody footprint found at the scene that didn't match the convicted killer's shoes and a mysterious phone call made from the crime scene. The footprint was attributed to Bruce Lisker at trial. But a recent analysis by the Los Angeles Police Department concluded "that the footprint did not match Lisker's shoes, suggesting there was another suspect in the house at the time of the killing." When the reporters contacted eight of the 12 jurors, "five said the new information about the case would have prompted them to acquit Lisker." The former prosecutor in the case, after being shown the findings by the Times, said, "The bottom line is I now have reasonable doubt." The story includes PDFs of 14 documents ranging from a rap sheet of a jailhouse snitch to an inventory record listing the contents of the victim's purse, which includes the $120 that was alleged to have been a motive in the murder.

Medium home value soars

William M. Hartnett of The Palm Beach Post analyzed ten years' of housing sales for Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties, finding that median home prices have jumped dramatically during that period. In a special section published Sunday, the paper mapped neighborhoods according to median sale value and reported that water access costs more than it ever did. A number of other maps and photos also illustrate the data, and the paper provided an explainer of its work. Hartnett credited similar work by the St. Petersburg Times last year for inspiring the project.

Fire district underestimates cost of helicopter

Andrew McIntosh of The Sacramento Bee used state public records to show that "the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District spent at least $790,000 to refurbish and equip a military surplus helicopter for firefighting and rescues, more than twice the $300,000 budget its elected board originally approved for the project." A member of the fire district's board called the vehicle "a toy for the chief." Eight other California counties or cities have firefighting helicopters. "Documents show district officials grossly underestimated the need for costly spare parts, that some expenses were labeled 'operating costs' when the aircraft wasn't operating and that the board approved the helicopter hoping that it might generate revenue to defray costs, but little money has been raised."

State lobbyists on course towards record earnings

Arthur Kane and Mark P. Couch of The Denver Post used state records to show that "Colorado lobbyists have earned more than $7.5 million so far this year, sending some of the most influential people at the statehouse well on their way to another year of record earnings." A worker's compensation measure received the most attention from lobbyists, with more than 250 lined up either for or against it. "Over the past decade, the amount special interests paid lobbyists has increased every year, nearly tripling from $7.56 million in 1995 to $20.95 million last year. During that time, lobbyists were paid $147 million to influence legislation and spent more than $14 million lobbying."

Governor still wins, analysis shows

Emily Heffter and Mike Carter of The Seattle Times, with help from Cheryl Phillips, Justin Mayo, Jonathan Martin and Nick Perry, analyzed lists of voters claimed by both Washington political parties to contain the names of felons who voted improperly in the state's gubernatorial election last year. Using a method proposed by Republicans, the paper found that Democrat Christine Gregoire "would still prevail over GOP challenger Dino Rossi." The paper also went beyond the parties, finding that "both parties made mistakes in compiling their lists: Some people on the lists were not felons - nor had they voted." An explanation on how the story was done is also availabe.

Large endowments lead to heavy spending

Justin Pope of the Associated Press used federal data and other documents to show that "forty-seven U.S. colleges and universities now have endowments of $1 billion or more, compared to 17 a decade ago." Along with rising endowments, many of these schools have also increased tuition: "Despite tripling its wealth over the last decade, the average billionaire college has nearly doubled its price. Tuition and fees at the average private billionaire college hit $29,002 in 2004; at public universities in the group, it cost $7,230 to attend the typical flagship campus." The AP also published an explainer on its methods for the piece.

Heavy trucks wearing down roads

Pat Stith of The (Raleigh/Durham, N.C.) News & Observer reports on how the state relaxed laws to allow overweight trucks to destroy roads, while the enforcement of heavy trucks has also declined in the past five years. "... [S]tate lawmakers voted 10 times for bills that benefit trucking interests at the public expense." Fines for overweight trucks have dropped by half since the last legislation on the issue in 1981 and "about 100 fewer officers prowled the state's back roads to weigh trucks with portable scales or were available to work at the weigh stations on North Carolina's interstates." The series includes an interactive calculator that calculates how an overweight truck can damage the road.

Indiana bridges failing in comparison to Illinois bridges

The Northwest Indiana Times analyzed federal inspection records for 771 elevated road bridges in Lake and Porter counties (Ind.). They found "that as of 2003, 27 percent were either structurally deficient or unable to accommodate rising traffic loads because of size constraints or outdated design." Using data from the U.S. Department of Transportation's 2003 bridge inventory they found that "47 bridges had sufficiency ratings of 50 or less, which means they're eligible for federal replacement funds." The Times review of Illinois bridges found a much lower percentage of deficient bridges.

Mercury levels in fish may mean more advisories

Mike Dunne of The (Baton Rouge, La.) Advocate uses state date on fish containing "action levels" of mercury to "show that about 19 lakes and streams in Louisiana may need advisories to warn pregnant women and children under 7 to limit their fish consumption." Last year the state offered to test residents who ate fish from Bayou Bartholomew or the Ouachita River. "Of the 77 people tested, 25 percent had blood levels of mercury greater than what might be considered "background" and were advised to limit their fish consumption. Seven percent, or about five of those tested, had elevated blood mercury levels and were advised to be evaluated by a physician."

Extreme speeders get off easy

Scott Powers of The Orlando Sentinel used county traffic ticket data to show that "last year Florida Highway Patrol troopers, Orange County deputies and police ticketed 342 high rollers for driving at least 100 mph." Those who are caught typically are young, white men and many were traveling on the Central Florida GreeneWay. "And though the penalty for a 100-mph speeding ticket normally includes a stiff fine of $305, the vast majority of high rollers last year avoided getting traffic-violation points attached to their license records, usually by attending traffic school. Officially they are not convicted, so their insurance companies cannot raise their premiums."

Thousands erasing convictions due to murky law

Jason Riley and Kay Stewart of The (Louisville) Courier-Journal used Kentucky court records to show that "thousands of Kentuckians are erasing their arrests and convictions every year by taking advantage of expungement laws that make it cheap and easy to bury their past mistakes." Variances in the process and the lack of a tracking systems for expungements help to hide repeat offenders and create unequal justice. "In the past two years, more than 12,000 criminal cases have been wiped off the state's books as if they never existed," while neighboring Indiana makes it more difficult to have a case expunged from the record.

Domestic violence cases dropped despite attorney general order

Rick Brundrett of The State continued the paper's investigation in South Carolina domestic violence cases, finding that "more than a third of the most serious criminal domestic violence cases statewide have been dropped in the four years since South Carolina's attorney general ordered prosecutors not to drop any unless absolutely necessary." That amounts to nearly 4,000 charges since July 1, 2001. Another 1,400 charges were pleaded down. "Victim advocates said the high dismissal rates partly explain why the state has led the nation in recent years in the rate of women killed by men." This follows the paper's earlier work on pre-trial intervention.

Many to blame for social programs mess

Karen Augé of The Denver Post used state records to show that "nearly every agency, contractor and department that touched the state's new $200 million computer benefits system in some way contributed to its debacle." Colorado's new system was a year late when it came online last fall, and the contractor and state officials have blamed each other for its failures.

State senator makes big bucks with bank

Craig R. McCoy, Jennifer Lin and Mario F. Cattabiani of The Philadelphia Inquirer detailed the relationship between state Sen. Vincent J. Fumo and the bank he heads, finding that "PSB Bancorp Inc. has served one man especially well: its chairman, Sen. Fumo. The bank paid Fumo $709,800 last year. For a few years, it provided him a Mercedes-Benz roadster. He also has received $950,000 in reduced-rate loans, a 'golden parachute' estimated at $4.2 million to $6.4 million if the bank is sold, and stock worth millions more." Fumo helped the bank grow from a single office to 13 branches in the Philadelphia area, and the board includes "the manager of Fumo's South Philadelphia legislative office, his biggest campaign donor, and a city councilman whose campaigns are heavily financed by Fumo's campaign funds." Fumo and PSB Bancorp declined to respond to the paper's inquiries, citing "the unadulterated bias that the Inquirer has shown toward Senator Fumo and PSB Bancorp."

N.C. judges influenced by local lawyers

Ames Alexander of The Charlotte Observer, working with database editor Ted Mellnik, investigated the relationship between lawyers and judges in the North Carolina's judicial district that is most lenient on drinking and driving. "District judges there acquitted suspects in more than 87 percent of the DWI trials in which they rendered a verdict. Statewide, the acquittal rate is 39 percent, state courts data show." One lawyer, John Nobles won 203 straight DWI trials from 2000 to mid-2004. The story also links to in-depth information on the judges, the lawyers and information on how and why the data was analyzed.

Sex offenders clustered in impoverished areas

Brady Dennis and Matthew Waite of the St. Petersburg Times mapped the locations of registered offenders to show that "9 of 10 people in Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties live within a half-mile of a sex offender." Most are clustered in poor areas, and state law restricts some offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school.

Incentives pay millions, while companies fall short

Mike McAndrew and Michelle Breidenbach of The (Syracuse) Post-Standard report on how New York Governor George Pataki's administration gives millions of dollars to businesses that promise to hire people, but often don't. The Post-Standard uses the state's Freedom of Information Law to obtain financial accounts, as well as records on companies' penalties. "The newspaper's review of those records shows that in 2004, companies with active grants and loans fell short of their combined targets by at least 6,000 jobs. In all, 47 percent of the companies missed their targets."

Fund-raising costs average at state college

Lynn Campbell, Erin Jordan and Madelaine Jerousek of The Des Moines Register analyzed fund-raising costs by state universities, finding that "foundations at ISU and the University of Iowa are about average in the amount they spend on salaries, travel and other overhead to raise money for their universities." The two schools spend about 11 or 12 cents per dollar on fundraising costs compared to other Big Ten and Big 12 colleges. The University of Northern Iowa spends about 16 cents per dollar raised.

Detroit mayor spends on city's dime

M.L. Elrick and Jim Shaefer of The Detroit Free Press continues their investigation into personal expenditures made by Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick on the city's credit card. Numerous Freedom of Information Act requests uncovered expenditures including an $850 steakhouse dinner and $11,644 he spent on Super Bowl hotel rooms. On the mayor's first day on the job "the mayor charged $52.55 for Pearl Moon swimwear and $265 at the Four Seasons Spa for him and bodyguard Mike Martin". The story also includes information on how the story was orchestrated and what the law says about open records.

Review finds hundreds of deficient bridges in Utah

Lee Davidson of The Deseret Morning News used federal data to review deficient bridges in Utah. "Federal data, based on state inspections, show that 256 bridges in Utah were considered structurally deficient in 2004. Another 250 were functionally obsolete." Despite the high number of deficiencies, Utah's bridges are rated Ninth best among states, federal data shows.

Confusing stats help mask plant deaths

Lise Olsen of the Houston Chronicle continues the Chronicle's investigation into the 1995 explosion at the BP oil refinery. Olson used OSHA data to uncover why few deaths had been attributed to refineries in the past. "Increasingly, the accuracy of government safety statistics is undermined by the changing work force. These days, up to half of refinery workers are contractors, who generally get some of the most dangerous jobs." Olson also reports on how BP is the fatality leader in their industry in the United States. "BP leads the U.S. refining industry in deaths over the last decade, with 22 fatalities since 1995 — more than a quarter of those killed in refineries nationwide ..." The paper included this explainer on how they did the story.

Top 10 businesses top $1 billion in St. Petersburg

Helen Huntley of the St. Petersburg Times analyzed the cities top 10 companies finding that, for the first time ever, all 10 are more than $1 billion in revenue. "Eight of the 10 increased revenues by double digits last year. Their average return on equity was 20 percent." The story includes graphics that provide details ranging from most valuable company to fastest growing company.

Lack of inspectors lead to unsafe trucks on highways

Ginny MacDonald and Brett J. Blackledge of The Birmingham News used federal data to show that "thousands of big trucks travel Alabama's highways with bad brakes, bad tires and bad drivers ... Many of those dangerous trucks in recent years have been involved in accidents that have killed hundreds, injured thousands and cost millions in highway repairs." The state has many fewer inspectors than other states, and nearly one in three stops in 2003 resulted in yielded a condition "so serious that officers wouldn't let them back on the road until the problem was fixed."

Delay gives more to colleagues than any other legislator

Jonathan Salant of Bloomberg Markets analyzed Federal Election Commission records finding that House Majority Leader Tom Delay "gave more money to U.S. congressional candidates than any lawmaker in the last decade ... the Texas representative has contributed $3.5 million to 432 congressional candidates ..." After Delay, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is next in helping out colleagues.

Dateline analyzes America's most dangerous roads

Dateline NBC analyzed five years of federal crash data to uncover the deadliest roads in America. "There are 400,000 miles of two lane highways in the United States, many with a disproportionate share of accidents." The most dangerous road they found was Florida's US-19, a six-lane highway stretching 30 miles up the coast. The highway has incurred 100 fatalities in the last five years. The story includes a searchable database, searchable by state, county and road, listing road fatalities, speeding accidents and drinking related accidents.

Bad bridges plague Oklahoma

Steve Lackmeyer and John Perry of The Oklahoman used state and federal data to find that "fixing Oklahoma's bridges — the nation's worst — would cost taxpayers billions of dollars. All proposed remedies fall woefully short." The state has had the highest percentage of structurally deficient bridges for at least three years. The bulk of such bridges are owned and maintained by county governments, which receive fuel tax revenues from the state for repair and upkeep. "Oklahoma has 140 bridges more than 80 years old. With the current funding structure, the agency can only replace about 324 bridges over the next decade. By that time, the state will have another 800 bridges more than 80 years old. The state has 199 highway bridges with either wooden structures or decking."

Front-runner grabs majority of contributions

Andrew Conte and Mark Houser of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review analyzed and mapped campaign contributions for the Pittsburgh mayoral race. They found that "nearly two-thirds of the $1.2 million raised by front-runner Bob O'Connor ... has come from outside the city." A lot of O'Conner's contributions were found to have come in large chunks. The story also features a graphic detailing the analysis.

Airport project shut down for environmental violations

Ken Ward Jr. of the Charleston Gazette filed a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain records on two logging contractors shut down for repeated environmental violations. Department of Environmental Protection records "showed that the agency cited Yeager [airport contractors] last month for two violations of its stormwater control permit on the slide repair work." The 170-acre airport project includes about 55 acres of clear-cutting.

LAPD spends millions over overtime budget

Jason Kandel of the Los Angeles Daily News obtained overtime expenditures from the Los Angeles Police Department and used Excel to analyze the data. He found that the LAPD has already overspent their overtime budget by $8 million with two months still remaining in the fiscal year. "The Los Angeles Police Department spent $62.8 million through April 30, although it had budgeted $54.7 million for 1.2 million overtime hours for the fiscal year that ends June 30, documents show." The biggest chunk of the expense was found to be from court-related activities.

Officers' diseases, deaths linked to meth exposure

Producer Nishi Gupta and reporter Debbie Dujanovic of KSL-Salt Lake City investigate the rate of disease and death in former narcotics officers who were exposed to chemicals in the meth labs they once were raiding. They found a high risk of cancers, auto-immune diseases and other illnesses in comparison to national statistics. They "discovered 24 of the 42 are suffering with chronic health problems or have died. Ten under the age of 50 have or have had cancer. That's 177-times the rate of cancer for that age group." The series of reports, titled "Something Killing Cops," includes the initial piece, a look at what research groups and experts say, a report on the financial stress these illnesses pose, and a follow-up piece after more officers responded after the investigation ran.

Highway project costing taxpayers millions more than originally projected

Kimball Payne and Bob Evans of the Hampton Daily Press uses a large number of documents, maps and thousands of e-mails to investigate a federal highway project that is projected to be completed two years past the original completion date and have an added cost of twice what the Virginia Department of Transportation had projected. "E.V. Williams has already been paid $25.9 million more than its original bid of $64.7 million. By the end, VDOT estimates the added costs will double, creating a 77 percent overrun." The series is divided into eight sections: Money, Design, Delays, Infighting, Contract, Bridge, Magruder and Next. A timeline detailing "The roadmap to chaos" is also included with the piece.

State education formula flaws found

Betsy Hammond of The Oregonian analyzed state school spending data to find that "Oregon took nearly $200 million last year from taxpayers in Washington and Multnomah counties and shipped it to schools in poorer parts of the state." Most students live in districts that spend close to the state average of $7,500 per student, but some rural districts in Eastern Oregon receive subsidies that push their per-pupil spending over $10,000. "Oregon's formula does not account for differences in cost of living from one community to another. Districts that can pay lower salaries can hire more teachers and provide more programs."

Special interest groups paying for congressional travel

Jeff Zeleny, Mike Dorning and Michael Tackett of the Chicago Tribune reviewed travel records for Illinois' congressional delegation, finding that "at least 835 trips taken by either Illinois Congress members or their staff highlight the uneasy intersection between private dollars and public policy that raises questions about whether a special interest group is trying to influence legislation. And there is little enforcement considering lawmakers file reports within Congress." The paper found that two Chicago Democrats had not filed any reports since 2000, despite taking at least 30 trips between them.

Convicted youths escaping custody

Sheila Burke of The Tennessean used state data to show that "children convicted of crimes escaped from state custody more than 4,400 times during the past five years, often by simply walking away from foster homes or other unsecured facilities where they had been placed by the Department of Children's Services." Tennessee's rate of escapes for all kids is about two times the national average.

Athletic department purchased banned supplements

Danny Robbins of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram used the Texas Public Information Act to show that "the Texas A&M University and University of Texas at Austin athletic departments have routinely purchased tens of thousands of dollars worth of dietary supplements labeled as containing ingredients that make them impermissible for distribution to student-athletes under National Collegiate Athletic Association rules." The two universities have spent about $120,000 during the past four years on such supplements.

Death penalty in Ohio applied unfairly

Andrew Welsh-Huggins of the Associated Press analyzed Ohio death penalty cases since 1981, finding that "Ohio's death penalty has been inconsistently applied since it was enacted in 1981...Race, the extensive use of plea bargains, and where a crime was committed all play a role in who is sentenced to death." Defendants charged with killing a white person were twice as likely to get the death penalty than those accused of killing a black person, and counties with a strong Democratic lean handed out death sentences less often than jurisdictions with a more conservative population.

Home assessment accuracy up

Gregory S. Reeves of The Kansas City Star used Jackson County real estate data to show that "an old problem - over-valuing homes under $50,000 - may have gotten worse with the new property tax appraisals ... and homes that sold for $600,000 and up remain under-appraised by 25 percent." Most houses, the paper found, were appraised accurately. Overall, the county's houses were appraised at around 91 percent of market value, up from last year's average assessment of 75 percent or less of market value.

Police fail to report missing children

Thomas Hargrove of Scripps Howard News Service analyzed data from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to find that "dozens of police departments across the nation failed to report at least 4,498 runaway, lost and abducted children in apparent violation of the National Child Search Assistance Act passed by Congress in 1990. Seventeen of these unreported children are dead, 131 are still missing." Twelve percent of the more than 37,000 children reported missing to the NCMEC between 2000 and 2004 were not reported to the FBI.

Security chief's use of plane, helicopter questioned

Eric Eyre and Scott Finn of the Charleston Gazette obtained flight records showing that West Virginia homeland security chief Neal Sharp "flew on the state plane or helicopter to attend meetings, scout disaster training sites and inspect emergency equipment" nineteen times in 19 months and chartered five additional private flights, prompting a state investigation. "All told, Sharp's agency was charged for 26 trips on state aircraft and chartered planes. The flights cost more than $60,000."

State spends millions transporting recovering heroin addicts

Chris Halsne of KIRO-Seattle uses receipts for methadone delivery cabs obtained through the Open Records Act to shed light on a system that is spending millions transporting recovering heroin addicts in taxicabs. "Washington taxpayers spend $2.8 million each year for transportation of heroin addicts to treatment clinics that's over and above the cost of serving up counseling and doses of methadone." The story includes links to pdf files detailing the transportation charges by county.

Police failing to prevent false identifications

Bill Moushey and Nathan Crabbe of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, in conjunction with the Innocence Institute at Point Park University, investigated potential wrongful convictions in Pennsylvania, finding that "police failed to follow the steps that can help prevent false identifications." Many police agencies in the state either were not aware of federal guidelines for eyewitness identifications or disagreed with them, the project found.

Marine Corps issued flawed armor

Christian Lowe of the Marine Corps Times used the Freedom of Information Act to show that "the Marine Corps issued to nearly 10,000 troops body armor that government experts urged the Corps to reject after tests revealed critical, life-threatening flaws in the vests." The Marines obtained about 19,000 pieces of armor from Point Blank Body Armor Inc. that failed government tests, with a Marine program manager signing a waiver to permit their use. The story prompted the service to issue recalls for the vests.

Domestic violence suspects avoid jailtime through pretrial program

Rick Brundrett of The (Columbia, S.C.) State studied records from pretrial intervention programs to find that South Carolina "prosecutors accepted more than 1,800 suspects accused of criminal domestic violence into a program that allows their charges to be dropped over the past five years." Violent offenders aren't supposed to be eligible for the program, but a loophole in state law permits those charged with domestic violence to enter. "Until last year, even the most serious criminal domestic violence charge - criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature - was not classified as violent. That meant suspects charged with the crime for the first time also could be admitted into PTI."

Pension abuses hurt employees

Michael L. Diamond, with contributions from Paul D'Ambrosio and Nicholas Clunn, Eileen Smith and Peter Spencer of Gannett New Jersey newspapers reviewed the state's pension program, finding that "while the private sector has sharply cut pension and health insurance benefits, the state has gone the opposite way. New Jersey's system features generous payouts to retirees and is subject to abuse." Other employees hold multiple positions: using 2002 data, the papers found "at least $238 million was paid in salaries to 9,500 individuals holding 24,700 government jobs. That represents about 3 percent of the entire payroll in local, county and state government, excluding police, firefighters and teachers."

Immigrant women adapting, are as likely to work as U.S. women

Peggy O'Crowley and Carrie Stetler of The (Newark) Star-Ledger, with assistance from Robert Gebeloff, used Census data to show that "immigrant women, who comprise one of four mothers in New Jersey, are less likely to work outside the home — at least when they first arrive. After 10 years, though, they are as apt to hold jobs as native-born women." The rates varied for different ethnicities, although some immigrants who traditionally stayed at home in their homelands do work in New Jersey.

State legislators spend lavishly due to leeway in laws

Jennifer Dixon and Victoria Turk of The Detroit Free Press used state campaign finance records to show that "Michigan legislators have dipped into campaign cash to buy cars, jewelry, expensive gifts and entertainment in possible violation of federal tax codes." The IRS is investigating whether the spending, which lawmakers defend as necessary, constitutes a personal benefit. One state senator "has spent roughly $64,000 in campaign contributions to buy a sedan and a sport utility vehicle, new tires, insurance and license plate tags, and to pay for repairs."

Poor care at nursing homes leads to light punishments

Jeffrey Meitrodt, Jan Moller and Steve Ritea of The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune used state data to show that "most of Louisiana's 300 or so nursing homes have been cited since 1999 for mistakes that harmed or endangered residents. But in the sometimes illogical world of nursing home regulation, facilities in Louisiana often pay little or no penalty for fatal errors. In fact, homes that make mistakes resulting in a resident's death or serious injury often pay less than those cited for repeating minor violations." The paper's five-part series has numerous stories about the system, how other states regulate nursing homes and lots of photos.

Potential terrorism targets find lax security efforts

David Kocieniewski of The New York Times uses public records to investigate the homeland security threat, specifically along a two-mile stretch, deemed the most vulnerable by terrorism experts. The investigation looked into "... a chemical plant that processes chlorine gas, so close to Manhattan that the Empire State Building seems to rise up behind its storage tanks." A reporter and photographer for The Times spent five minutes snapping photos in front of the plant without being questioned. "... New Jersey officials have spent more than $350 million in state tax money on counterterrorism, building an apparatus that is run by seasoned law enforcement experts and is generally well regarded.

U.S. legislative leaders take frequent trips on corporate jets

R. Jeffrey Smith and Derek Willis from The Washington Post analyzed federal campaign expenditure records to find that top congressional leaders "flew on corporate-owned jets at least 360 times from January 2001 to December 2004." Members of both parties took part in the practice, although leading Republicans flew more often than Democrats. "The records show that flights were provided by some of Washington's largest corporate interests, including tobacco, telecommunications, business consulting, securities, air transport, insurance, pharmaceutical, railroad and food companies."

Court concealed lawsuits involving rich and famous

Dave Altimari of The Hartford Courant used documents released under a federal lawsuit by the paper to show that Connecticut's "judicial branch began an organized effort in the 1990s to hide the existence of some lawsuits involving the rich and famous, years before court officials claimed those so-called super-sealed cases were merely the results of informal decisions by a handful of judges." The paper revealed the existence of such cases in March 2003.

Pharmaceutical industry uses lobby powers to ensure legislative dominance

M. Asif Ismail of The Center for Public Integrity reviewed lobbying records to report on the "deep-pocketed pharmaceutical and health products industry", which "has lobbied on more than 1,400 congressional bills since 1998 and spent a whopping $759 million during that period ..." The story includes detailed graphics, as well as data seperated into categories ranging from lobbying firm donations to issues lobbied by the pharmaceutical and health product industry.

Top schools not necessarily producing best scores

Mary B. Pasciak and Andrew Bailey of The Buffalo News analyzed fourth-grade standardized test scores from the area to find that "top performing schools - those that get the most from their students regardless of family income - often are the ones teaching students who have the least ... These top schools didn't necessarily have the best raw test scores, although some did. But when adjusted for poverty, their scores were all well above what they would be expected to achieve given the economic background of their pupils." The Buffalo News also found that schools spending the most money are not necessarily producing the best students.

Profits high, payroll low for Pittsburgh Pirates

Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette spent two months delving into the finances of the Pittsburgh Pirates, owned by a private company, to project "that the Pirates will make a $12.8 million profit in 2005." The average Major League Baseball franchise generated about $4.4 million in profits last year, and the Pirates' payroll has been among the lowest in the league - it increased by $1.4 million since 2004. The team's managing partner said that "the team has chosen to apply most of that profit toward a debt that is estimated by knowledgeable sources at $110 million. The rest, he added, is being used for capital projects such as the $2 million scoreboard the Pirates bought for PNC Park this year."

TV evangelist receives millions from ministry

Carolyn Tuft of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch used Missouri's Open Records law to obtain documents showing that "TV evangelist Joyce Meyer and her family have received millions in salary and benefits from her worldwide ministry in recent years." The details were included in a property tax dispute involving the tax status of the ministry's headquarters. Joyce Meyer earned a $900,000 salary in 2002 and 2003, and her husband got $450,000 in each of those years.

Fewer women in top Kentucky posts

Elisabeth J. Beardsley of The (Louisville) Courier-Journal studied demographic patterns among top Kentucky officials, finding that "the share of top government posts held by women shrank when Gov. Ernie Fletcher took over from Gov. Paul Patton." Women held 36 percent of top government jobs at the end of Fletcher's first year in office, down from 42 percent in the final year of Patton's term. The Courier-Journal also studied demographics of the state legislature and state judgeships to find that women are underrepresented in both instances.

Head Start execs spend lots on trips, gifts

Susan Vinella of The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reviewed spending records from Ohio's largest Head Start agency to find "executives and board members spending tens of thousands on meals, trips and gifts. Many of the expenses were paid with government money that the Council for Economic Opportunities in Greater Cleveland receives for its annual budget, which tops $50 million." Trips to Puerto Rico and Hawaii were among the expenses detailed, as were gifts from Tiffany & Co. worth $1,300.

Disney looks to improve parks to further growth

Jerry W. Jackson, Debbie Salamone and Sean Mussenden of The Orlando Sentinel used public records to determine that Walt Disney World represents a more than $4 billion-a-year business in Central Florida. The paper reviewed state, local and county tax records, corporate annual reports and 15 years' worth of federal SEC filings, using computer-assisted reporting, to analyze the company's size and impact on the community, as well as its contribution to the revenue and profitability of the theme park division and to Walt Disney Co. overall.

Restaurant inspections find high number of infractions

Lee Davidson of The Deseret Morning News uses computer assisted-reporting to analyze nearly 10,000 restaurant inspections during 2003 and 2004. The data were obtained through a state open records request. "The analysis shows which restaurants had the most violations per inspection and the fewest, with 25 establishments averaging 13 or more critical violations per inspection, while 30 had perfect scores with no violations of any kind during the two years." The most common violation of any type, cited 5,3739 times over the two years, was the "critical" violation of using unclean equipment.

Rush hour trains running late

Rob Gebeloff and Joe Malinconico of The (Newark) Star-Ledger analyzed state data to find that while New Jersey Transit's overall on-time performance is close to 95 percent, "on-time rates for dozens of rush-hour trains are twice as bad as the overall average." The paper's analysis also showed that "on the Northeast Corridor, one of every six trains during the morning rush hour ran late. In contrast, the Bergen County Line missed the on-time mark by just one out of every 32 trains."

Police chases up in Nashville

Ian Demsky of The (Nashville) Tennessean used local police data to show that "a record number of police pursuits zipped through Nashville streets last year, even as beefed-up safety measures caused officers to cancel more of the dangerous car chases than ever before." A third of the 269 police chases in 2004 led to some kind of property damage. "While officers and supervisors called off 67 pursuits last year - almost twice as many as they did in 2003 - the number of chases for minor traffic violations, nonviolent crimes and stolen vehicles rose from 153 to 175."

Governor took gifts from lobbyists

James Salzer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution used state records to show that "Gov. Sonny Perdue has championed limiting the gifts that lobbyists can give legislators and other state officials, but he has accepted airplane rides, NASCAR tickets and dinners from lobbyists." Among the gifts was a 30-mile flight to Atlanta Motor Speedway and dinner and drinks from a tobacco lobbyist.