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A series by Debbie Cenziper and Sarah Cohen of The Washington Post looks at the condo boom in the District of Columbia. Tenants are being displaced as landlords convert apartments to condos using “vacancy exemptions” — sidestepping tenants’ approval and avoiding conversion fees that would offset renters’ relocation costs. Through the analysis of government documents,…
Read MoreA five-month probe by Jeff Donn, Martha Mendoza and Justin Pritchard, of the Associated Press, found traces of medications in the drinking water supplies of over 40 million Americans. While the testing found pharmaceuticals diluted to miniscule concentration levels, some scientists question the long-term effects of sustained exposure. The AP reports: “The situation is undoubtedly…
Read MoreThe Hartford Courant‘s Lisa Chedekel and Matthew Kauffman continue their coverage of the U.S. military’s mental health policies with a report revealing that fewer than 1 percent of deploying combat troops received mental-health evaluations in 2007 despite a congressional order to improve screening, as revealed in pre-deployment data for nearly 350,000 soldiers sent to war.…
Read MoreDespite championing “green” firehouses and pledging to be more environmentally friendly, Orlando’s city officials are driving some of the biggest gas-guzzling vehicles on the road. Dan Tracy and Mary Shanklin , of the Orlando Sentinel, requested records from about 90 local government agencies and found that Ford Expeditions and Explorers were the vehicles of choice…
Read MoreThe San Antonio Express-News conducted a three-month study of the Tactical Response Unit of the San Antonio Police Department, a unit created to reduce violent crime. “The unit used force to subdue only three of almost 1,000 Anglo suspects it arrested. By comparison, officers struggled with nearly six times as many minorities per 1,000 arrests,…
Read MoreIn a third installment of “Dangerous Doctors,” Gina Barton of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel showed how doctors who prescribe too many painkillers to patients in Wisconsin are rarely disciplined— even when patients are harmed. One man who overdosed had three doctors with troubled pasts, including a doctor who would later go to prison for selling…
Read MoreAn investigation by Corey G. Johnson of the Fayetteville Observer finds that North Carolina is the only state in the nation that selects the top leaders of all its public universities in secret. The Observer surveyed every state university system and more than 50 individual universities in the U.S. and analyzed approximately 113 responses for…
Read MoreClark Kauffman of The Des Moines Register reports that some of the worst nursing homes in Iowa are collecting tens of thousands of dollars in taxpayer-funded bonuses that are supposed to reward quality care. The bonuses are paid through a little-known program that boosts the amount of Medicaid money received by homes that score well…
Read MoreEric Nalder, Daniel Lathrop and Lewis Kamb of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer found in a three-part investigation that Seattle police’s use of the “obstructing a public officer” charge leads to arrests of African Americans at a rate eight times higher than whites, and that nearly half of all obstruction cases are dropped before trial due to…
Read MoreBrad Branan of The Fresno Bee found that the number of foreclosures in Fresno County increased 405 percent in 2007, with the brunt of the mortgage crisis impacting already vulnerable neighborhoods. According to the article, “Already there are signs that a torrent of foreclosures could trigger more crime and decay in the city’s struggling core.”…
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