Posts by hdcoadmin
Chicago Housing Authority falling behind goals
Jason Grotto, Laurie Cohen and Sara Olkon of the Chicago Tribune found that the Chicago Housing Authority, despite vows to reform its failing policies, has spent hundreds of millions of federal tax dollars on “housing complexes that preserve the very policies the plan was meant to reverse.” With crime and pollution on the rise, many…
Read MoreThe Favor Factory 2008
An investigation by The Seattle Times shows that Congressional earmarks remain a problem despite efforts in ethics reform. A Times analysis of the 2008 defense bill found $3.5 in hidden earmarks, and used this to point out flaws in efforts to curb these favors. Members of the House violated laws mandating disclosure of earmarks 110…
Read MoreAir bag fraud can lead to serious injuries, death
Liane Hansen and Jenni Bergal of NPR caution used car buyers to check their cars for signs of air bag fraud. In their investigation, they found that some car dealers and body shops either removed air bags from cars or did not replace deployed air bags. Air bag compartments were often stuffed with items such…
Read MoreObama campaign slow to return money to fictitious donors
Michael Luo and Griff Palmer of The New York Times report that nearly 3,000 donations to Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama’s campaign have been in the name of fake donors. While some of the campaign contributions had been refunded, Times analysis found about $40,000 in questionable donations had not. Mr. Obama has raised approximately $450…
Read MoreMcCormick grant will expand Ethnic Media Watchdog Workshops
A $100,000 grant from the McCormick Foundation will allow us to continue and expand our Ethnic Media Watchdog program. The funding will support a series of regional workshops that will bring low-cost, high-quality training on local, regional and national topics to journalists working in small- to medium-sized ethnic media organizations in areas throughout the U.S.…
Read MoreNORAD relocation could compromise security
A report by Michael de Yoanna and Bill Gertz of The Washington Times reveals that the relocation of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) from Cheyenne Mountain to office space at nearby Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo. could undermine national security. “According to military and defense sources familiar with the missions…
Read MoreSix states under fire for blocking voters
Ian Urbina of The New York Times reports that elections officials removed or blocked tens of thousands of eligible voters from voter registration rolls in at least six swing states and that elections workers misused Social Security databases. The actions, revealed in a Times review of state and Social Security records, appear to violate federal…
Read MoreCDC report riddled with errors, put public at risk
Joaquin Sapien of ProPublica reports that the CDC’s original report on the safety of FEMA trailers dispensed to Hurricane Katrina victims was fundamentally flawed. While an agency standard states that formaldehyde exposure for two-weeks or more at levels measuring 30 parts per billion (ppb) can lead to health problems — the FEMA trailers all measured…
Read MoreConvicted criminals allowed to renew California nursing licenses
ProPublica’s Tracy Weber and Charles Ornstein, in conjunction with The Los Angeles Times, have found over 115 cases in which the state of California did not seek to restrict or revoke nursing licenses until the nurses had three or more convictions. Twenty-four of the nurses had five convictions, and crimes ranged from Medicare fraud and…
Read MoreAtlanta 911 center mistakes put lives in danger
An investigation by D.L. Bennett, Cameron McWhirter, Heather Vogell and data analysts Megan Clarke and John Perry of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has found that the apathy and negligence of workers at the Fulton County 911 call center endangered the lives of emergency workers and of those seeking emergency help. The reporters, who reviewed nearly five…
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