Susan Carroll Fellowship
A computer-assisted investigation by Steve Daniels of WTVD-Raleigh, Durham and Fayetteville (N.C.) compared data from the state court system with data from the state prison system to find that “only 30 percent of people facing child pornography charges in North Carolina between 2003 and mid-December have been sentenced to prison time. Twenty-six percent have been…
Read MoreIn a two part series, Washington Post reporters Dana Priest and Anne Hull uncover dismal conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. “The common perception of Walter Reed is of a surgical hospital that shines as the crown jewel of military medicine. But 5 ½ years of sustained combat have transformed the venerable 113-acre institution…
Read MoreKevin Begos of The Tampa Tribune reports that executioners in Florida “aren’t required to have training, certification or any qualifications other than being at least 18 years old, according to Florida’s interpretation of lethal injection guidelines.” The Tampa Tribune received a copy of the state’s execution guidelines through a public records request. The protocol is…
Read MoreInvestigative correspondent Drew Griffin, of CNN
Read MoreDave Fehling of KHOU_Houston reports on the city’s burglary trends. “Analyzing raw numbers from the last two years, a special mapping program found five hot spots.” Further analysis of the data showed that the hot spots covered a higher concentration of apartment complexes, where it is easier for unfamiliar faces to move around unnoticed. The…
Read MoreJonathan D. Salant and Kristin Jensen of Bloomberg report that Sen. Christopher Dodd has outpaced his political rivals in the race to raise money for a presidential bid. A third of the $3 million he raised in the last quarter of 2006 came from the financial-services industry — the industry he oversees as chairman of…
Read MoreAs spring training opens around baseball, Mike Fish of ESPN.com takes a two-day look at the state of Major League Baseball’s fight against performance-enhancing drugs in the Dominican Republic with a series of stories and reports. (The articles are also available in Spanish.)
Read MoreAs part of a two-year investigation by The (Toledo, Ohio) Blade into the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation and corruption in state government, James Drew and Steve Eder have discovered that a conflict of interest was not disclosed when in a five-year, $384,000 contract was given to the accounting firm of Ciuni & Panichi. The…
Read MoreUsing a database of school bus drivers and public records searches, Randy Ludlow and Jill Riepenhoff of the Columbus Dispatch found that more than 150 school-bus drivers have records of drunken driving and drug abuse. “State laws, practice and policies make it virtually impossible for school officials to review complete driving histories maintained by the…
Read MoreThomas Content and Lee Bergquist of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report on how Wisconsin is responsible for disproportionate contributions to global warming. By examining public records, they found that coal-burning power plants generate greenhouse gases about one-third faster than the national average. Wisconsin is one of twelve states that relies on coal for the majority…
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