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Pam Louwagie, of The Star-Tribune in Minneapolis, reports on the devastating results of “designer” drug use. These legal substances are marketed online as “herbal incense” and “bath salts,” which seem like a safer alternative to street drugs. However, Louwagie points out that all over the country teens and adults alike are experiencing some terrifyingly dangerous…
Read MoreIn 2002, farmers in two Colorado counties experienced a devastating drought but because of shares held in a “century-old irrigation company,” were told they would be able to “keep their coveted their irrigation water.” However, nine years later, the farmers are still facing dry land and looming financial ruin. In this investigation by theDenver Post, reporters…
Read MoreRestraint training for teachers who deal with unruly students has become a bigger need than ever in some California counties, reports the Bay Citizen. Negative “behavioral episodes in California schools more than doubled to 21,076 between the 2005-6 and 2009-10 school years, according to California Department of Education figures.” Instances of the restraint or seclusion…
Read MoreIn today’s story on dangers in the workplace, John Ryan covers hospitals and emergency rooms. “Most of us face little risk of being assaulted while we’re on the job. But if you’re a cop, a convenience store clerk or a cab driver, your line of work can quickly turn violent. The same is true for…
Read MoreThe Social Security Administration each month falsely reports that nearly 1,200 living Americans have died. These clerical errors, found in a federal database ominously titled the “Death Master File,” might be darkly humorous — evoking Mark Twain’s famous quip that death reports can be greatly exaggerated — were not the consequences so severe. Thomas Hargrove…
Read MoreJohn Ryan takes a closer look at some of the more dangerous jobs in the country with an eye for safety laws and regulations. http://www.kuow.org/specials/danger-at-work.php Today, KUOW highlights a day in the life of a lineworker, one of the most dangerous jobs, right up there with commercial fishing. Ryan talks with workers who ‘free-climb’, or…
Read MoreSharona Coutts and Jennifer LaFleur of ProPublica lay out, flawlessly, data previously unreleased by the federal government that shows “Florida leads the nation in the percentage of high-school students enrolled in high-level classes—Advanced Placement and advanced math. That holds true across rich and poor districts.” LaFleur, Coutts, Al Shaw, and Jeff Larson also put together a…
Read More“Reporter Lori Jane Gliha and photographer Matt Anzur at KNXV-TV in Phoenix spent months digging into local ties to the controversial ATF “Fast and Furious” case that was run out of the Phoenix ATF office. After the ATF denied Gliha’s Freedom of Information Act request for gun trace records, she began investigating the old fashioned…
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