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The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press’ quarterly magazine, The News Media & the Law, reports “more than 450 cases in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., were completely hidden from the public through the use of a hidden docketing system that two federal appeals courts have declared unconstitutional.” The report, written by Reporters…
Read MoreGregg Jones and Doug Swanson of The Dallas Morning News use a fatal 2004 truck accident near Dallas to illustrate many of the problems in the trucking industry. Miroslaw Jozwiak, a Polish immigrant, plowed the commercial truck he was driving into incoming traffic in 2004, killing 10 people, including three children. The investigation found that…
Read MoreMatthew Haggman, Lisa Arthur and Tim Henderson of The Miami Herald analyzed home sales over the past five years and found South Florida has gone through the most explosive housing boom in its history. “The land rush has transformed just about every corner and corridor of the region, sending prices skyward since 2000 — more…
Read MoreGarrett Therolf and Matthew Waite of St. Petersburg Times used Internet records to show that three Pasco commissioners visited numerous Web sites during commission meetings over the past three years. The investigation found personal use of county computers has gotten rank-and-file county employees fired. “Like many other workplaces, the county uses software to track employees…
Read MoreLeah Rush and David Jimenez of The Center for Public Integrity report that 24 states have worked to strengthen or improve electronic disclosure systems since the Center’s 2003 report, “Hired Guns.” Meanwhile, federal lobbying disclosure laws have not changed in the past eight years. Political scandals, in many cases, were the catalyst for changes in…
Read MoreMiles Moffeit and Kevin Simpson of The Denver Post found Colorado has one of the harshest systems in the country for handling juveniles in the adult criminal justice system, in a four-part series looking at teen crimes. Prosecutors, wielding broad discretionary powers found in only 14 other states, convicted kids in 1,244 cases since 1998.…
Read MoreAlejandra Fernandez-Morera of the Scripps Howard News Service found there are significant invisible casualties of the Iraqi occupation. Almost 505 civilian contractors have died in Iraq since the beginning of the war. “Another 4,744 contractors have been injured, according to insurance claims by 209 companies on file at the Department of Labor.” The investigation found…
Read MoreStephanie Strom of The New York Times investigated Boone Pickens, the Texas oilman turned investor, to show the $165 million that he gave to a tiny charity set up to benefit the golf program at Oklahoma State University was invested in a hedge fund controlled by Pickens’ BP Capital Management. The gift, which helped Pickens…
Read MorePete Thamel, with contributions from Thayer Evans, Jack Begg and Sandra Jamison, of The New York Times found more than a dozen institutions claiming to be prep schools, some of which closed soon after opening. “All or most of the students were highly regarded basketball players. These athletes were trying to raise their grades to…
Read MoreJohn McCarthy of Florida Today reviewed reports by local, state and federal agencies to show the state agency that oversees elevators has failed to ensure proper inspections as state law requires, in a three-day series on elevator safety. The newspaper found that in Brevard County, 221 of 1,113 passenger elevators do not have a current…
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