The early bird deadline for 
The 2025 Freelance Fellowship Recipients
One of the redacted documents California Watch received. In California Watch’s series Broken Shield, Ryan Gabrielson uncovered abuse and unknown injury cases at developmental centers that weren’t reported to the local police or district attorneys’ offices. Despite a number of condemning reports and a decreasing patient population, the number of abuse and unknown injury cases…
Read MorePhillip Reese and Darrell Smith, of The Sacramento Bee, analyzed hospital discharge data from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development to determine that, “The number of Northern California hospital stays resulting in charges of $1 million or more rose sevenfold in the past decade, from 430 in 2000 to almost 3,000 during 2010.”…
Read MoreSix years ago, the federal government set out to indefinitely detain some of the nation’s most dangerous sex offenders, keeping them locked up even after their prison sentences had ended. But despite years of effort, the government has so far won court approval for detaining just 15 men. Far more often, men the U.S.Justice Department…
Read MoreMichael J. Mishak, Los Angeles Time, reports that “energy companies across California are injecting a mysterious mix of chemicals into the ground to tap oil deposits while frustrating attempts to regulate the controversial process, known as hydraulic fracturing.” “So far, nine states require energy companies to disclose what they put into the ground but the…
Read MoreStett Holbrook, for the Food and Environment Reporting Network, reports that “nitrate contamination in groundwater from fertilizer and animal manure is severe and getting worse for hundreds of thousands of residents in California’s farming communities, according to a study released today by researchers at UC Davis.” “The report is the most comprehensive assessment so far…
Read MoreAt a time when the uninsured had to wait a year to be seen by a doctor, The Bay Citizen uncovered that California’s Health Care Districts are hoarding funds which should be used for caring for needy patients. The Peninsula Health Care District, funded by tax-payers, held onto a $43 million reserve, but when San Mateo County…
Read MoreIn an investigation by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, reporter Gina Barton found that a Milwaukee man who was in need of medical attention while in police custody was ignored, until it was too late. “The man repeatedly told officers he couldn’t breathe, but no one called an ambulance until he lost consciousness, despite a department…
Read Moreby Lise Olsen Twenty leading journalists gathered in Mexico City on Feb. 18 to exchange information and discuss ways that Investigative Reporters & Editors can continue helping reporters who, under pressure and often at great personal risk, continue to do investigative reporting on transnational (U.S. – Mexico) topics such as cartel violence, wasteful government spending, political…
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