Posts by Alena Rehberger
FERPA Frustrations: How to outmaneuver university officials to get the info you need
By Donovan Harrell Three journalists offered advice to students struggling with public records requests during a brown bag session at the 2014 CAR Conference. Student attendees talked about attempts to outmaneuver their respective universities, which had been denying public records requests using laws such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the…
Read MoreAUDIO: Alberto Cairo on the next generation of data viz
[View the story “Highlights: The next generation of data viz” on Storify]
Read MorePentagon slow to identify remains of missing service members
The Pentagon spends about $100 million a year to find men like World War II POW Arthur “Bud” Kelder, following the ethos of “leave no man behind,” ProPublica reports. Yet it solves surprisingly few cases, hobbled by overlapping bureaucracy and a stubborn refusal to seize the full potential of modern forensic science. Last year, the military identified just…
Read MoreData Deep Dives: What we can learn from ‘Deadly Delays’ and other powerful projects
By Ariana Giorgi One of the best ways to start your own data story is to learn what worked – or didn’t work – for other journalists. Three pros took NICAR attendees behind their data-driven projects as part of “Data Deep Dives.” Speeding Cops | John Maines, Sun Sentinel John Maines presented his story…
Read MoreBorder Patrol agents criticized in report for ‘lack of diligence’
The LA Times obtained a report criticizing the U.S. Border Patrol for a “lack of diligence” and its use of tactics that may give officers an excuse to open fire. The report by law enforcement experts was the result of a review commissioned by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Of 67 cases involving border patrol officers…
Read MoreUniversity of California losing millions of dollars on interest-rate bets
The University of California has lost tens of millions of dollars, and is set to lose far more, after making risky bets on interest rates on the advice of Wall Street bankers. University officials agreed to the financial deals – complex contracts known as interest-rate swaps – because they believed they could save money in…
Read MoreMembers of Mesa Police Department pose as Nazi stormtroopers, Hispanic males, gang members
The hearing was kept quiet. Officers with the Dobson Bike Patrol displayed a lack of respect to the homeless and immigrants in their community, keeping bulletin boards of mocking photos and signs. One officer even posed for a photo as a Nazi stormtrooper. The hearing resulted in disciplinary action against the officers, but the department…
Read MoreCalifornia clears daycare, nursing home workers before conducting background checks
The California Department of Social Services cleared workers without the proper background checks, a KCRA 3 investigation found. The department allowed some with felony arrest records for crimes like elder and child abuse to work in nursing facilities, foster homes and daycares. The state said officials have been issuing “criminal records clearance” letters to workers…
Read MoreGeneral Motors recalls Cobalts after series of fatal crashes
The death of 16-year-old Amber Marie, who died when her 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt crashed the air bag failed to deploy, was an early warning in what would become a decade-long failure by G.M. and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to address a problem that engineers and regulators had been alerted to years ago. For…
Read More#NICAR14 in sketches
If you’re following Emily DeMarco (@eademarco), of PublicSource, on Twitter, you know she sketched her way through the 2014 CAR Conference. We turned her visual depiction of #NICAR14 into a Storify. Here are a few of our favorite cartoons: Thanks to all the @IRE_NICAR organizers, speakers (and Nicarians for retweeting my #comics!) #nicar14 pic.twitter.com/cKsFyKnsO4 —…
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