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Diana B. Henriques and Andrew Lehren of The New York Times report on the proliferation of faith-based rehabilitation programs funded by tax dollars and springing up in correctional facilities across the country. “Since 2000, courts have cited more than a dozen programs for having unconstitutionally used taxpayer money to pay for religious activities or evangelism…
Read MoreAs part of an on-going investigation of Democratic state Rep. Jim Black, Dan Kane and J. Andrew Curliss of The News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) report the coordinator of the state page program, Ann Lassiter, had arranged for student pages to stay with her son, a convicted felon. Rep. Black removed Lassiter from her position…
Read MoreThe Dallas Morning News has conducted a year-long investigation into safety issues plaguing the trucking industry in Texas. The final installment of the series focuses on felons in the workforce, harsh working conditions that make trucking a dangerous job, and the industry’s political influence in shaping safety laws and regulations. The Department of Transportation’s Truck…
Read MoreIn a three-day series, Spencer Hunt of The Columbus Dispatch reports on the environmental issues arising out of a resurgence in coal mining in the state of Ohio. He found that “state laws and programs designed to safeguard the land and water are riddled with problems.“
Read MoreTony Plohetski of the Austin American-Statesman reports on short-comings in Texas estate laws which make it easy to defraud the deceased. “State probate laws don’t ensure that a deceased person’s assets actually get to heirs
Read MoreCatherine E. Shoichet of the St. Petersburg Times reports on a bogus real estate company that defrauded unsuspecting buyers of millions. Natalia and Victor Wolf, owners of Sky Development Group, are currently under investigation for real estate fraud; no charges have been filed in the case. The Wolfs apparently fled the country in October and…
Read MoreCorey G. Johnson of The Daily Reflector in Greenville, N.C., reports that East Carolina University “employees destroyed numerous Office of Student Financial Aid records in apparent violation of university policy and federal requirements” during an audit and investigation at the school. It is not known what specific documents were destroyed or what impact the shredding…
Read MoreMatthew Doig and Maurice Tamman of the Herald-Tribune analyzed every ballot cast in Sarasota County in an effort to understand the substantial undervote for the disputed District 13 congressional race. Their analysis points to ballot design as the culprit, although they discuss other theories offered to explain the dramatic 13 percent undervote, or “nearly twice…
Read MoreIan Demsky of Willamette Week in Portland, Ore., investigated the records of law enforcement and corrections officers in Oregon who had their licenses revoked. Since 2002, about one third of the revocations stemmed from sexual misconduct.
Read MoreVikas Bajaj and Ron Nixon of The New York Times looked at the impact of subprime loans on minority homeownership over the past six years. The very loans that allowed for the purchase of a home are now crippling buyers’ finances as interest rates inflate, leading to an increase in delinquencies and foreclosures. “Industry officials…
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