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Neglect plagues property holdings of ex-NBA star

An investigation by The Sacramento Bee's Terri Handy and Phillip Reese shows that former NBA star Kevin Johnson is responsible for a slew of neglected properties in the downtrodden area of Oak Park where his investments have been widely publicized and praised. "Within a two-mile radius, a Bee investigation found, half of the 37 parcels owned by Johnson or companies and organizations he founded have been cited by the city in the past decade, some multiple times. The 73 violations at those Oak Park properties resulted in 42 fines or fees totaling at least $32,080."

Twin Cities residents pocket farm subsidy payments

Matt McKinney and Glenn Howatt of The Star Tribune report that millions in farm subsidies are being paid to people who live in urban areas, including some of the toniest neighborhoods of Minneapolis-St. Paul. "The flow of federal largesse comes thanks to rules that allow landowners — including some 2,000 in the metro area — to collect subsidies without farming the land themselves, a legal and increasingly common practice as farm ownership has consolidated over the past few decades." A current $280 billion farm bill before Congress aims for reform, but few expect real change.

Fatalities greatest on San Joaquin Valley's rural roads

Brad Branan of The Fresno Bee looked at federal highway safety data to find that the majority of fatal accidents in the San Joaquin Valley occur on rural roads. "These roads are riskier than city roads, in part because motorists travel them at higher speeds. But the central San Joaquin Valley faces additional problems, including roads that don't meet safety standards and limited traffic enforcement."

The U.S. Dept. of Transportation's FARS data Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database is available from the IRE and NICAR database library.

Campaign finance reform spawning young donors

Donors are skirting campaign finance laws by making campaign contributions in their young children's names according to a report by Matthew Mosk of The Washington Post. "Although campaign finance laws set a limit of $2,300 per donor per campaign, they do not explicitly bar donors based on age. And young donors abound in the fundraising reports filed by presidential contenders this year." Contributions from donors identifing themselves as "students" have risen significantly in the last several years, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Students gave $338,464 in the first six months of 2000, compared to $1,967,111 this year.

Santa Clara County soil tainted by pesticides

Amy Lynch of The San Jose Mercury News reports on environmental issues plaguing Santa Clara County. The county has more toxic cleanup sites involving old orchard pesticides than any county in California, as well as a significant number of other sites contaminated by other types of farming or pesticide handling, according to a Mercury News analysis of state records." It is believed that the problem is more extensive than even these reports suggest because they have only been identified due to pending development. Accompanying materials detail how the contamination occurred, a map of contamination sites, and the types of pesticides (pdf) present in the county.

Earmarks added $11.8 billion to defense bill

The Seattle Times kicked off an occasional series on Congressional earmarks, the companies that benefit and the political fundraising connected to the pork projects. David Heath and Hal Bernton report that, after months of collecting and checking data from press releases and campaign finance reports, they were able to "tie about half of the 2,700 earmarks in the 2007 defense spending bill to members of Congress." The estimated cost of the defense bill's add-ons: $11.8 billion.

Abuses found in Detroit's tax-relief program

David Josar of The Detroit News investigated possibly abuses by the the city's Hardship Committee, which grants millions in property tax exemptions intended for the poor but keeps no notes at its meetings, does not verify applicants' claims and has never been audited. The News' three-month investigation found that some exemptions were granted to property owners who owned multiple homes and luxury cars. The coverage led the Detroit City Council to call a closed-door session with city attorneys to discuss the committee's actions. As a result, one committee member was removed for granting a tax break of over $6,000 to her lawyer.

One-third of S. Florida gas pumps inaccurate

A report by Mc Nelly Torres of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel shows that 34 percent of gas pumps in South Florida failed accuracy tests over the past three years. "The analysis found 580 of more than 2,500 stations in South Florida had at least one pump dispensing more gas than customers paid to purchase, while 477 provided less fuel than they should." A database of gas pump inspections is included online. There is also a map of those stations which failed 10 or more pump tests over three years.

Investigation finds animal corpses in Colorado Humane Society trash

Over six weeks, CALL7 Investigators discovered more than a dozen dead animals in a dumpster outside the Colorado Humane Society," report Tom Burke and Tony Kovaleski of the CALL7 investigative team in Denver. Such disposal saves the Colorado Humane Society — a private organization not affiliated with the National Humane Society or any other animal shelter — about $12 per animal. Whistleblowers implicate the executive director in allowing this practice, a charge that the director denies. The reporting also raised questions of financial mismanagement and the society's continued drive to solicit donations despite a suspended license.

Athletes' weight gain can lead to major problems

Garry Lenton of the Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa., reports on the increased average size of high school football players. The newspaper used high school football rosters from 1988 and 2006, calculating the body mass index of 800 players total and finding that "Eighteen percent of 2006 players had a body mass index of 30 or more, twice the 1988 rate." Some of these young athletes, if they maintain their 300-plus pound weight after their playing days are over, risk health problems like leg and back issues, as well as strokes and heart problems. The culture that has led to this trend is discussed, as one coach brings up the old adage that "You can't coach size."

Blackwater leaves dirty trail

PBS' Bill Moyers Journal features Jeremy Scahill, author of a book about Blackwater, a private U.S.-based company that is one of the largest private security contractors in Iraq, where its assignments have included protecting individuals and guarding the U.S. embassy. Scahill's interview comes in the wake of Congressional hearings after the company's employees were implicated in the killing of 17 Iraqis. Scahill speaks on these topics, rebutting much of Blackwater founder Erik Prince's media blitz following the various investigations of that September incident.

American Imports, Chinese Deaths

Over a 12-month period, investigative reporter Loretta Tofani traveled to China, examining worker conditions and "observed first-hand how Chinese workers routinely risk their health and sometimes their lives making products for export to the United States and other countries." Her series, printed in the Salt Lake Tribune, tells of workers using dangerous, outdated machines, sometimes resulting in serious injury. Also, the air in some factories has proven toxic, with workers exposed to benzene fumes and cadmium dust. The six-part series ends with an examination of who is to blame for these conditions, and what can be done.

The Bundling Boom

The Wall Street Journal's Brody Mullins surveys the widespread influence of "bundling," collecting individual donations and rolling them together into high-dollar, high-impact political fundraising. Although the term gained notoriety after the arrest of Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu, bundling is a longstanding and legal campaign tactic. Brody writes that "bundling has become the chief source of abuse in the American campaign-finance system." The story includes data analysis by Public Citizen and the Center for Responsive Politics.

Illinois lags in tracking teachers' misconduct

Scott Reeder, writing for Quad-CitiesOnline.com, found that Illinois ranked 49th in a nationwide analysis of disciplinary actions against teachers. The state has no system in place to investigate or flag teachers accused of misconduct. To determine how Illinois compares to other states, Small Newspaper Group obtained information on 20,000 cases of teacher licensure discipline from all 50 state departments of education. The newspaper group then built a computer database to analyze it."

FEMA aid distribution uneven to victims of NY storms

Patrick Lakamp, Mary Pasciak and Susan Schulman of the Buffalo News report on FEMA's uneven aid to areas hit by a surprise storm last October. "Almost one-half the nearly 18,000 residents in Western New York who applied for FEMA money got some help. But in Buffalo, one-third of the applicants received aid." In North Buffalo, only 20 percent of applicants received aid, even though some areas looked like "a war zone." An East Side neighborhood where FEMA workers went door-to-door encouraging residents to apply received the largest sum. "A News computer analysis was able to determine what items FEMA approved, and at what cost, for 98 percent of the claims."

Subprime crunch felt on Jersey Shore

The Asbury Park(N.J.) Press analyzed federal Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data to report that in Monmouth and Ocean counties subprime lending accounted for one out of five mortgages in 2006, a total of $3.1 billion. Reporter Jason Method found "the income of subprime borrowers was 5 percent lower than those taking out traditional mortgages, yet the subprime borrowers took out loans that were 10 percent larger."

Discipline system for teachers, staff flawed in Ohio schools

The Columbus Dispatch delves into Ohio's flawed system of disciplining and tracking teachers, coaches, aides, counselors and administrators. The Web site for The ABCs of Betrayal includes asearchable database of Ohio educators disciplined since 2000. The 10-month investigation found educators remained in the classroom despite misconduct such as theft, assault and abuse of children.

More questionable deaths uncovered at Wisconsin psychiatric hospital

Using police and coroner records, Mary Zahn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel found three more deaths at a state psychiatric hospital involving questionable medical decisions. One woman complained she was paralyzed after a fall, but doctors and nurses at Winnebago Mental Health Institute didn't believe her. They waited six days to take her to a hospital where she was diagnosed as a quadriplegic; she died 15 months later. State officials didn't know about the case until two years after the fall and spent just one day investigating.

Assisted living residents pay more for over-the-counter medication

An investigation by Jesse Jones of KING-Seattle finds that some residents of assisted-living facilities pay up to five times more for over-the-counter drugs purchased from pharmacies, compared to regular retail prices. Health care providers say the costs are justified because state law requires that a nurse or pharmacist package individual doses for patients who need assistance using the products safely.

South Florida feels crunch of exotic loans

Jack Dolan and Matt Haggman of The Miami Herald reported that home buyers in South Florida have been signing so-called toxic mortgages at rates far higher than buyers in other areas of the country. Unlike the well-publicized problems with sub-prime loans, these toxic mortgages are concentrated in some of the nation's most affluent and desirable zip codes, including the celebrity haunts of South Beach and the financial district of Brickell -- the financial center of Latin America.

Bad loans spread problems across U.S.

Rich Brooks and Constance Mitchell Ford of the Wall Street Journal examine the sad state of the country's mortgage markets, finding evidence to dispel the conventional wisdom that subprime loans mainly were given out to low-income borrowers who can't afford the payments. Instead, the newspaper reports that ". Although the concentration of high-rate loans is higher in poorer communities, the numbers show that high-rate lending also rose sharply in middle-class and wealthier communities." An interactive map accompanying the story shows the number of subprime loans issued between 2004 and 2006.

The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data used in this story was obtained from IRE and NICAR's Database Library.

Diploma mills help firefighters boost pay

The Sacramento Bee's Andrew McIntosh reports that "16 Sacramento city firefighters together pocketed $50,000 in extra pay after using bachelor's degrees purchased from online diploma mills to obtain raises." In the end, 28 firefighters, including eight captains, tried to obtain a five percent education incentive raise with questionable academic credentials. New York City penalized a group of firefighters for similar practices, but McIntosh says firefighters "were allowed to keep the extra money and no firefighter was disciplined" after local unions intervened.

No Slowing Down

Some models of 2007 Toyota Tacoma trucks have an apparent problem with acceleration, according to a report by Jeremy Finley of WSMV-Nashville. Drivers have said that when they depress the brake pedal, the car instead speeds up, and "Channel 4 found a growing number of drivers who have had problems with the vehicle, which has prompted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to start conducting tests on the model."

Florida faces downturn in real estate, jobs

Florida Today published a three-part report on how the local economic boom has gone bust. "The shifting real estate market has spooked homebuyers, frustrated sellers, stalled new development and trapped some residents with mortgages they can no longer afford." Reporters John McCarthy and Scott Blake, and assistant managing editor Matt Reed examine the trends and the stories of people who years ago sought jobs in construction and real estate but now find themselves out of luck.

Paychecks shrinking when inflation considered

David Knox of the Akron Beacon Journal takes an in-depth look at eroding income levels. The Beacon Journal examined more than 50 years of census data to consider " what happens when older workers retire, exchanging their big paychecks for smaller Social Security and pension checks? The logical answer is that they would be replaced by workers with markedly lower wages, resulting in an overall drop in purchasing power and the nation's standard of living."

Developer blows whistle on City Hall shakedowns

Reese Dunklin of The Dallas Morning News tells the story of developer Bill Fisher, who became an FBI informant after his low-income apartment complex projects were rejected by the Dallas City Council. Before the vote, Fisher was told that in order to get millions of dollars in economic incentives, he would have to do favors for friends of Dallas Mayor Pro-Tem Don Hill. The FBI's case led to an indictment alleging that "Mr. Hill and his associates demanded and received about $225,000 in contracts and fees from the developer." The News story further reveals that Mr. Fisher has his own checkered past.

Demographic analysis shifts Dallas crime ranking

A database analysis found that while the city of Dallas is once again ranked among "the worst large cities for violent crime," the numbers change when the sample is more closely examined. Jennifer LaFleur and Tanya Eiserer of The Dallas Morning News used "statistical tools that correct for the effect of factors such as poverty, unemployment, low homeownership, family structure and racial composition" and found that the city ranked 58th in violent crime out of 436 cities studied. The story also reports that the Dallas crime rate dropped from 2005 to 2006.

The assassination of Chauncey Bailey

The San Francisco Chronicle published a two-part series beginning with a profile of murdered Oakland Post editor Chauncey Bailey. His suspected killers are linked to Your Black Muslim Bakery, the subject of his last, still unpublished, investigation."Bailey, 57, became the first journalist assassinated in this country since 1993 — according to the Committee to Protect Journalists — his death the likely result of a chance encounter between two of his sources and a careless journalistic slip." The second story looks at the violence and corruption surrounding the downfall of the bakery's empire.

Organized theft rampant at nation's airports

After a year spent battling Homeland Security and the Transportation Safety Administration for the data, Chris Halsne of KIRO-Seattle uncovered rampant theft at airports throughout the nation. Airport employees are stealing valuables — including jewelry, credit cards, handguns, video games — from luggage. Included in the online report is a database which allows readers to check the stolen property claims at airports across the country.

Reporting of sudden infant deaths vary wildly across the country

The results of an in-depth investigation into infant deaths by Thomas Hargrove and Lee Bowman was launched online this week. They looked at over 40,000 infant deaths since 1992 to find that "the quality of infant death investigations, the level of training for coroners, and the amount of oversight and review vary enormously across the country." An online database of deaths between 2000-2004 allows readers to see how infant deaths are reported in their county compared to others throughout the US.

Anti-poverty agency funded private jet trips to MTV awards

In another installment of The Miami Herald's Poverty Peddlers series, reporters Scott Hiaasen and Jason Grotto reveal that the Miami-Dade Empowerment Trust, the county's largest anti-poverty agency, squandered millions of dollars on lavish parties, bad loans and insider deals. The reporters showed that public money for the poor went to pay for celebrities like Sean "Diddy" Combs and Shakira to fly to Miami for MTV award shows; the flights used a charter company run by a board member.

Abuse of disabled students caught on tape

Undercover video shot by KIRO-Seattle led to arrests and internal disciplinary actions at the state-operated Rainier School for the disabled. School employees were recorded shoving, poking and ear-slapping students in a park near the school. Reporter Chris Halsne notes: "Team 7 Investigators are still working undercover, looking into conditions at the facility run by the Department of Social and Health Services. However, in light of the arrests, some of the clips shared with the Washington State Patrol are being released."

Indentured doctors

Foreign doctors are being exploited by the Nevada physicians who sponsor their visas for U.S. medical residencies, reports Marshall Allen of the Las Vegas Sun. Under the Conrad State 30 program, foreign physicians are eligible for U.S. medical residencies located in underserved urban or rural areas. Instead, Allen writes, "Those sponsoring physicians pull the foreign doctors away from the clinics and assign them to work in Las Vegas hospitals, where they generate more revenue for their sponsors." In some cases, a portion of the foreign doctors' pay is redirected to the sponsor, too.

Nearly $18 million in overtime paid to Milwaukee police officers

Gina Barton and Ben Poston of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel analyzed city of Milwaukee salary and overtime data and found that the police department spent $17.8 million on overtime last year — a 23 percent increase over the previous year. Officers worked enough overtime to hire 380 more officers and pay their benefits. One officer alone earned more than $64,000 in overtime last year, more than doubling his salary. He was one of 42 officers who got paid more than $100,000 a year in 2006. The story includes a searchable database of city of Milwaukee salaries.

Book explores U.S., European responses to everyday chemicals

Mark Schapiro of the Center for Investigative Reporting has released "EXPOSED: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power," a book that examines Europe's higher environmental standards for everyday products, such as cosmetics or plastic toys, and the significance for U.S. consumers and manufacturers. In an interview, Shapiro says the book "reveals how in many ways consumers in this country are being left exposed to environmental hazards to which their European peers are protected."