Susan Carroll Fellowship
Sarah Okeson of Florida Today reports that hurricane storm shutter fraud is on the rise in Florida. Records from the Better Business Bureau of Central Florida show that at least six companies offering storm shutters have unsatisfactory records, and at least one faces criminal charges. Complaints range from shoddy workmanship to theft of deposits. A…
Read MoreIn a follow-up to an earlier story, Aerospace Daily & Defense Report‘s Michael Fabey writes that the Air Force rushed the deployment of its airspace defense system by bypassing typical Pentagon standards. Information received by The Daily indicates that “the Air Force accepted the BCS-F [Battle Control System-Fixed] even though it did not meet the…
Read MoreA Dallas Morning News investigation of the Dallas Independent School District’s method of making criminal background checks on potential employees has found a system that still has holes and, at times, ignores district and state rules. The News’ investigation found at least 80 current employees who have been convicted of felonies or received deferred adjudication…
Read MoreThe (Syracuse, N.Y.) Post-Standard’s Mike McAndrew and Michelle Breidenbach expose abuses of New York’s “Empire Zone” tax breaks which negate the programs intended purpose:” to create jobs in targeted impoverished areas.” One mall owner was able to cash in on about $14 million in tax breaks by paying the city of Geneva to expand the…
Read MoreBrian Sharp of the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, N.Y., takes a look at the Rochester police department’s overtime pay, an issue gouging the city’s budget. Inflated wages due to overtime are being used to bolster the pensions of officers nearing retirement. The investigation included analysis of 10 years of salary records which are included…
Read MoreThomas Hargrove of Scripps Howard News Service, along with contributions from Sruthi Kunnel and Lee Bowman, completed an investigation into food-borne illness outbreak reports made to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Medical officials in Kentucky have already ordered reform’s to the state’s disease reporting process as a result of this investigation. Links to…
Read MoreJohn McQuaid, co-author, with Mark Schleifstein, of Path of Destruction: The Devastation of New Orleans and the Coming Age of Superstorms, interviews Charles Lewis, founder of the Center for Public Integrity, on the future of investigative journalism on the Internet. McQuaid is blogging for newassignment.net.
Read MoreThe Center for Public Integrity has relaunched its “Media Tracker” database in an updated and expanded form. The improved features of the online database “detail the scope of the political influence of top communications, entertainment and electronic companies” by including information on political contribuntions and lobbying expenditures. Click here to see their press release.
Read MoreSteve Orr, of the (Rochester, N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle, investigates the failed project for a high-speed ferry intended to operate between Rochester and Toronto. Orr “reveals a troubling trail of political maneuvering, lax oversight and lack of follow-through” – issues that cost state taxpayers $14 million.
Read MoreTed Sherman and Josh Margolin of The Star-Ledger cover the details emerging from a “whistle blower lawsuit” against the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. In an effort to make their cardiac surgery program seem robust to avoid being shut down, UMDNJ “ paid at least nine local cardiologists in private practice salaries…
Read More