Posts by hdcoadmin
Fresno fire stations fail in timely response to fires
An investigation by Brad Branan of the Fresno Bee shows that the Fresno County fire district is failing to meet the national standard for response time when called, leaving residents and property in peril. An analysis of about 1,500 fires over a 21-month period revealed frequent failure to respond in the 5-minute window. One district…
Read MoreMismanagement plaques Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District
An investigation by Keith Matheny of The (Palm Springs, Calif.) Desert Sun found questionable management practices by the local mosquito and vector control district. Following dozens of interviews and reviewing thousands of pages of documents, Matheny discovered that the agency, despite having nearly $13 million in reserves, planned to hike a tax on homeowners and…
Read MoreBackgrounding South Florida businessman reveals criminal past
While looking into complaints about a local business, Florida Today reporter Sarah Okeson unearthed the criminal record of a top executive, exposing the questionable endeavors in his past and present. His current firm was booted from the Better Business Bureau. Along with the story, a video interview with the subject of the story was posted…
Read MoreUnexploded munitions pose danger to area residents
Land that was once an isolated bombing range has since become prime real estate, the Newport News, Va.Daily Press reports. The land is still marked with dangerous remianders of its former purpose. “As the military has shut bases, bombing ranges and ordnance depots – and as it prepares to depart Fort Monroe in Hampton –…
Read MoreSt. Louis-area school district faculty travel bills found to be exorbitant
A St. Louis Post-Dispatch review of Riverview Gardens School District documents revealed a pattern of travel spending normally seen in districts twice its size. “Since 2003, Riverview has sent almost 600 teachers, staff members, principals, administrators and board members on more than 100 trips, to at least 60 cities, from Lake of the Ozarks to…
Read MoreCollateral Damage – Human Rights and Military Aid after 9/11
The Center for Public Integrity has published “one of the most comprehensive resources on U.S. military aid and assistance in the post-9/11 era. ‘Collateral Damage’ couples the reporting of 10 of the world’s leading investigative journalists on four continents with a powerful database combining U.S. military assistance, foreign lobbying expenditures, and human rights abuses into…
Read MoreForeclosure rescue firm preys on those it claims to help
An investigation by Mc Nelly Torres and Jon Burstein of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel revealed that Florida Housing Council, a foreclosure rescue firm, was defrauding the very people it claimed to aid. Interviews with 11 homeowners, in addition to the review of seven lawsuits and hundreds of property records, uncovered a pattern of deception and…
Read MorePolice chief misrepresents crime report to city council
Will Carless of voiceofsandiego.org reports that San Diego’s Chief of Police delivered misinformation in his report to the City Council. “The chief’s statements were made at the height of contract negotiations between the police department and the city. While the chief was painting a rosy picture of crime rates before four city councilmen, the police…
Read MoreDelays impeded implementation of air defense system prior to 9/11
Michael Fabey of Aerospace Daily and Defense Report writes that the inability of the Pentagon and Canadian defense officials to keep a lid on costs and schedules may have cost them the opportunity to modernize their radar-based air defense system in time to possibly thwart the terrorist from completing their 9/11 attacks.
Read MoreSpecial-ed missteps contribute to violence in Philadelphia schools
A two-part investigation by Martha Woodall and Susan Snyder of The Philadelphia Inquirer, part of a continuing series on violence against teachers, revealed the lapses in the district
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