Blog
An investigation by John O’Brien of The Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) discovered Onondaga County District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick has used $11,633 of his campaign funds for dining and entertainment. His campaign paid the bill 49 times in 2006 and 2007 at restaurants and bars from Portland, Ore. to Amelia Island, Fla., spending far more than other…
Read MoreAP’s Charlotte correspondent Mitch Weiss identified 24 nuclear reactors located in areas of severe drought that could potentially force reactors in the Southeast to reduce power or shut down later this year. The drought threatens the rivers and streams that supply massive amounts of cooling water. Weiss reports that, while utility officials issue public assurances…
Read MoreAn investigation by Scott M. Reid and Dan Albano of The Orange County Register has revealed that photographs of unsuspecting high school athletes are being posted next to pornographic images on Internet sites. Investigators are tracking Web profiles and e-mail trails to determine the source of photos taken at water polo events. The discovery also…
Read MoreAfter tornadoes ripped through the southern part of the state earlier this month, Ben Poston of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel found that thousands of southeastern Wisconsin residents are out of range for tornado warning sirens. Using mapping software, Poston plotted nearly 75 siren locations in Milwaukee and Racine counties and then overlayed census data to…
Read MoreAn investigation by Grant Williams and Peter Panepento of The Chronicle of Philanthropy found that about half of the nation’s largest charities pay no taxes, even though they generate millions in unrelated business income. Some organizations are claiming a loss on their income — meaning that they are losing money on side ventures. A change…
Read MoreDetroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is under investigation after M.L. Elrick and Jim Schaefer of The Detroit Free Press obtained text messages that contradict the mayor’s testimony in a court case filed by a former deputy police chief, who claimed he was the victim of retaliatory firing. (See the chain of events in the case that…
Read MoreJason Riley of The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Ky.) found that many inmates granted “shock probation” were being re-incarcerated in Jefferson County, Ky. The program releases offenders after only one to six months of their sentence and was developed for “first-time, nonviolent offenders who, after getting a taste of prison life, would be so ‘shocked’ by their…
Read MoreAndrea Jones and Megan Clarke of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution report that abuse of government purchasing cards cost the state approximately $370 million in 2007. An analysis of over four million transactions showed that the credit cards have been used to pay for such things as pornography, tattoos, concerts, and dating services. In addition to the…
Read MoreA report by Christine Young of the Times Herald-Record in Middletown, NY, in a special eight-page supplement and online multi-media presentation, suggests strongly that a New York City man who is borderline mentally retarded was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1989. Thanks to Young’s reporting—and a bizarre set of circumstances that thrust her into the…
Read MoreA two-part series in the Jacksonville Business Journal looked into the business behind the fight over a ballot initiative will determine how Florida grows. By building his own database, reporter Mark Szakonyi was able to determine who was funding each side and how the battle for paid petition gatherers was influencing the issue.
Read More