The early bird deadline for 
The 2025 Freelance Fellowship Recipients
Brent Schrotenboer of The San Diego Union-Tribune looks at the cost of community college football programs in the state of California. There are 72 community college programs in the state of California versus 68 in the rest of the US. Some argue that they cost the state at the expense of academics. “For those that…
Read MoreMcNelly Torres of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that loopholes state regulations allow corrupt business owners to continue defrauding their customers. Citing the example of John T. Pluto and his company All American Driveways and Pool Deck Inc., Torres documented how countless complaints have not impeded Pluto’s business enterprises in Broward County. “State regulators and…
Read MoreJohn Cheves of the Lexington Herald-Leader examined Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell’s career, based on thousands of documents and scores of interviews, to show the nexus between his actions and his donors’ agendas. “He pushes the government to help cigarette makers, Las Vegas casinos, the pharmaceutical industry, credit card lenders, coal mine owners and others.”…
Read MoreA watchdog report by Kimberly Kindy and Natalya Shulyakovskaya of The Orange County Register looks at how the California Department of Transportation “has repeatedly displaced property owners for highway projects that went nowhere — from the abandoned widening of Pacific Coast Highway through Orange County to Hayward
Read MoreOver several months, Tom Meagher of the Herald News examined the records of a bulk sale of property tax liens that the city of Paterson, N.J., conducted to raise the revenue needed to balance its budget. While this resulted in a quick influx of cash for the city, the short-sighted plan cost the city millions…
Read MoreAllison Klein and Dan Keating of The Washington Post looked at police data and found that some of the liveliest neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. are also the ones riddled by the greatest number of robberies. “The Washington Post analyzed years of police statistics, focusing sharply on crimes this year, and found the biggest share of…
Read MoreJames Grimaldi and Susan Schmidt of The Washington Post present details from a new Senate committee report that says former power lobbyist Jack Abramoff paid conservative nonprofit groups to use their influence to benefit his clients. “The report includes previously unreleased e-mails between the now-disgraced lobbyist and officers of the nonprofit groups, showing that Abramoff…
Read MoreU.S. News and World Report’s David Kaplan writes about the killing of Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya and the Russian government’s shocking and atrocious lack of response to the execution-style slaying of journalists there. “For those of us in international journalism training, Anna was something of a legend–a relentless investigative reporter who refused to back…
Read MoreJean Guccione and Doug Smith of the Los Angeles Times analyzed data from the Small Business Administration, the federal agency primarily responsible for disaster reconstruction loans, and found that of more than 150,000 homeowners and business owners approved for the loans, 2% were transferring the money to a new property in New Orleans. “Most New…
Read MoreDiana B. Henriques of The New York Times, with computer analysis by Andy Lehren and research by Donna Anderson, examined the quiet expansion of special benefits for religious groups. “In recent years, many politicians and commentators have cited what they consider a nationwide ‘war on religion’ that exposes religious organizations to hostility and discrimination. But…
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