Posts by hdcoadmin
One in five taxis cited in state inspection
The Arizona Republic‘s M.B. Pell reports that one out of every five taxis in Arizona failed state inspections in the past year. Inspectors from the Department of Weights and Measures “conducted nearly 1,570 field inspections of cabs, citing 120 taxis and limousines for having improperly sealed, calibrated or installed meters. Among other citations, 126 vehicles…
Read MoreNo prosecution for prison guards accused of sexual misconduct
Ruth Teichroeb of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports on sexual misconduct by employees at the SeaTac Federal Detention Center. “At least 20 sex-related incidents involving correctional staff and inmates have been reported at the prison in the past five years, according to Department of Justice records obtained through public disclosure. The allegations ranged from groping during…
Read More57 Philadelphia area bridges “deficient”
Paul Nussbaum and Dylan Purcell of The Philadelphia Inquirer report that nearly 60 bridges in the Philadelphia area are rated structurally “deficient” with traffic on those bridges ranging from 25,000 to 160,000 vehicles daily. Six thousand bridges are rated “deficient” in Pennsylvania, the greatest number in the nation. Included in their report is an interactive…
Read MoreTravel regulations don’t touch executive branch officials
Ken Dilanian of USA Today reports that many executive branch officials regularly still accept trips from companies and associations which stand to benefit from the agencies’ decisions. Although members of Congress cannot accept these sorts of gifts according to the newly passed ethics bill, the restrictions do no apply to other branches of government. “More…
Read MorePrescription pain med use nearly doubles
An investigation by Frank Bass of the Associated Press shows that the use of pain medication has nearly doubled in the U.S. over the past eight years. According to the latest figures from the Drug Enforcement Adminstration, “More than 200,000 pounds of codeine, morphine, oxycodone, hydrocodone and meperidine were purchased at retail stores…enough to give…
Read MoreElectric co-op to energy conglomerate
Margret Newkirk of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on Georgia’s Cobb EMC, one of the largest electric co-ops in the nation and described as “an aggressively expanding conglomerate.” “While most co-ops reimburse that invested money to customers over time, Cobb EMC hasn’t returned a nickel of it in more than 30 years: It was sitting on…
Read MoreA look at Utah’s mine safety records
Following the Crandall Canyon Mine disaster, Lee Davidson of the Deseret Morning News did a couple of quick-hit stories on mine safety in Utah. The stories detail repeated safety violations in Utah mines and those violations specific to the Crandall Canyon Mine, which were fewer than average for Utah mines.
Read MoreCritics seek to close tax loophole
Palm Beach Post reporter Jeff Ostrowski reports that “trophy properties” in Florida are changing hands, legally, for $10 and costing the state millions in tax revenue. Commercial property deals are being recorded as “transfers of assets” instead of actual sales. In the case of a $600 million property, 70 cents in taxes were collected as…
Read MorePolice department plagued by internal discipline problems
Top city officials in Denver are calling for a complete overhaul of the discipline system of the Denver Police Department, reports Christopher N. Osher of The Denver Post. “At least 25 officers remained on the force from January 1997 through September 2006 after they were punished for what the department calls “departure from the truth.”…
Read MoreSanta Ana block hit hard by subprime lending
John Gittelsohn and Ronald Campbell of The Orange County Register looked at one street in Santa Ana, Calif. to see the impact of subprime lending in the community. Seventeen homeowners on this quiet block took out 83 mortgages, most of them subprime, during a six-year frenzy of deal-making. Easy credit helped triple home prices from…
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