Posts by hdcoadmin
Execution of unarmed Iraqi draws attention to military pressures
Salon.com’s Mark Benjamin and freelance journalist Christopher Weaver investigated the 2007 execution of Genei Nesir Khudair al-Janabi, an unarmed Iraqi prisoner. Three U.S. snipers were charged in the murder. "A review of thousands of pages of documents from the legal proceedings obtained by Salon shows that in the months prior to Khudair’s death, the young…
Read MoreObscure public agency lines pockets of private businesses
Brian Joseph of the Orange County Register investigated the California Statewide Communities Development Authority, a public agency founded to finance “projects of public value.” The agency “issued about $4.2 billion in tax free bonds in 2007, ranking behind only the states of California, Ohio and New York.” Analysis of financial documents showed that much of…
Read MorePAC spends millions on fundraising, little on candidates
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution‘s Cameron McWhirter and Megan Clarke report that former Congressman Bob Barr’s political action committee has raised $4.3 million since 2003 to promote conservative candidates and causes, primarily at the national level. But the PAC gave only $125,200 — about three cents of every dollar raised — to federal candidates and other campaign…
Read MoreStudents investigate the suicide of a mentally-ill inmate
A three-month investigation by journalism students at Humboldt State University looked into the suicide of James Lee Peters, a mentally-ill Native American inmate at Humboldt County Jail. With few people willing to talk, the students relied on public records obtained through the California Public Records Act to piece together what happened to Lee, and how…
Read MoreDistrict’s textbook procurement procedures plagued with problems
An investigation by David Andreatta, of the Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, N.Y.), examined the textbook procurement procedure of the Rochester School District and found a wide range of problems and waste. Issues range from nearly 20,000 book going undistributed eight months into the school year to $1.4 million in secondary school books being lost by…
Read MoreSchools promote students despite widespread failure
After a 10-month investigtion, The Arizona Daily Star reports that many students in Tucson-area school districts are being socially promoted and not earning the grades they deserve. “In the 2006-07 school year alone, nine in 10 students were moved to the next grade level, but data show that nearly a third of them failed basic…
Read MoreCareless Detention: Medical Treatment in Immigrant Prisons
A series by Dana Priest and Amy Goldstein of The Washington Post uncovers an alarming level of neglect in immigration centers across the United States. “As tighter immigration policies strain federal agencies, the detainees in their care often pay a heavy cost.” In the last 5 years, 83 detainees have died while being held in…
Read MoreMcCain losing business donors to Democratic nominees
Bloomberg‘s Jonathan D. Salant reports that John McCain is struggling to connect with the business donors who helped bankroll George W. Bush’s candidacy. “Employees from the securities, construction, pharmaceutical and energy industries, who accounted for about a tenth of Bush’s money in 2004, are turned off by his record and giving more to his Democratic…
Read MoreLitigation finance companies skirt usury laws for great profit
Billy Shields of the Daily Business Review exposed the growing business of litigation finance. These companies offer plaintiffs an advance on pending legal settlements, but at great cost. “The debate over litigation finance company begins over whether they are making a loan or investing in cases. Because courts have ruled their advances are not loans,…
Read MoreRace track deal emerged at great cost to taxpayers
A Charlotte Observer investigation by Adam Bell revealed what happened behind the scenes after a race track owner threatened to move his speedway following a dispute with a community over plans to add a drag strip there. The billionaire owner landed $80 million in taxpayer incentives in exchange for staying in town. A review of…
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