Posts by hdcoadmin
Detroit: “The Quality of Urban Life”
A 2-day series by Greta Guest and Victoria Turk in the Detroit Free Press examined the state of grocery stores in the city of Detroit. While the housing market in downtown Detroit is experiencing growth, a lack of desirable grocery store options is a “nagging problem in terms of the city’s quality of life.” Difficulty…
Read MoreIn Louisiana, Post-Katrina insurance appeals made more often by whites
Rukmini Callimachi and Frank Bass of the Associated Press report on a disparity in post-Katrina insurance claims. Based on analysis of Louisiana’s insurance claims, they determined that residents of predominantly white neighborhoods “have been three times as likely as homeowners in black neighborhoods to seek state help in resolving insurance disputes.” Their analysis suggests that…
Read MorePhiladelphia Inquirer child welfare investigation leads to firings
In response to The Philadelphia Inquirer investigation on the failures of DHS to protect children from abuse — and death — two officials have been dismissed. “Mayor Street forced out two top officials at the city’s child-welfare agency Friday, acknowledging that his administration had not done enough to protect children from being killed by child…
Read MoreBALCO saga continues: The SF Chronicle held in contempt
Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the paper has agreed to be held in contempt of court for refusing to disclose its reporters’ [Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams] sources of grand jury testimony in the BALCO case. This could result in fines of over $500,000. “The Chronicle’s editor, Phil Bronstein, said, ‘While…
Read MoreTribes profit from gaming and grants
In a story for the Tulsa World, Ziva Branstetter used FAADS (Federal Awards Assistance Data System) to identify the amount of federal grants going to Indian tribes and comparing those numbers with gaming revenues. She found that during the three most recent fiscal years of data available, gaming revenues among all tribes nationally increased about…
Read MoreDrunk and disorderly in the Big Ten
Jill Riepenhoff and Mike Wagner of The Columbus Dispatch “collected and analyzed police incident reports to gauge behavior that broke [Big Ten] school rules or criminal laws inside stadiums and to examine police response. More than 4.8 million fans flooded the conference’s 11 football stadiums during the [2005] season.” Of the almost 1400 incidents reported,…
Read MoreDespite reports of abuse, DHS fails to protect child welfare
An investigation by Ken Dilanian and John Sullivan of The Philadelphia Inquirer shows gross failures by the Department of Human Services (DHS) led to the brutal deaths of children at the hands of their parents – parents who had been referred to DHS for abusive behavior. “Three years after a string of blunders by DHS…
Read MoreFamily connections pave inside track to lobbying dollars
An investigation by Matt Kelley and Peter Eisler of USA Today shows that “lobbying groups employed 30 family members last year to influence spending bills that their relatives with ties to the House and Senate appropriations committees oversaw or helped write…combined, they generated millions of dollards in fees for themselves or their firms.” USA Today…
Read MoreAt what cost? A look at CA community college football programs
Brent Schrotenboer of The San Diego Union-Tribune looks at the cost of community college football programs in the state of California. There are 72 community college programs in the state of California versus 68 in the rest of the US. Some argue that they cost the state at the expense of academics. “For those that…
Read MoreLax regulations for contractors a recipe for trouble
McNelly Torres of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that loopholes state regulations allow corrupt business owners to continue defrauding their customers. Citing the example of John T. Pluto and his company All American Driveways and Pool Deck Inc., Torres documented how countless complaints have not impeded Pluto’s business enterprises in Broward County. “State regulators and…
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