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Joseph Neff of The (Raleigh, N.C.) News & Observer reports that a vehicle the Marines plan to use for transport of troops and mortars may be inadequate. The vehicles, called Growlers, look “a lot like a Vietnam-era jeep. But this model, a modified dune buggy, costs $127,000 each and doesn’t have armor. Some experts worry…
Read MoreMike Fish of ESPN.com examines the role of the college booster, finding “It’s a love-hate relationship that binds a college and its boosters. They are often the first ones pointed to when recruiting violations surface. And the first ones called upon when facilities need an upgrade. With their money comes their two cents. Some call…
Read MoreKen Ward Jr. reports in the Charleston, W.Va., Sunday Gazette-Mail “the nation’s miners face a mounting risk because of a rescue system that is growing ever short on personnel and is in major need of reforms.” From 2000 to 2002, the number of safety teams approved by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration dropped…
Read MoreAlan Judd, with data help from David A. Milliron, of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution compared a statewide voter registration database with a list of more than 100 commercial mailbox outlets in metro Atlanta, as well as voter registrations in the downtown business district and at government facilities, to identify flaws in the state’s voter registration system.…
Read MoreAmy Goldstein and Sarah Cohen of The Washington Post, with a team of reporters and researchers, categorized Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito’s rulings and compared them to other federal appeals court judges, finding that “Alito has taken a harder line on criminal and immigration cases than most federal appellate judges nationwide, including those who, like…
Read MoreMajor investigative reports on the nation’s methamphetamine epidemic, systemic failures in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the loss of Florida’s wetlands are winners of the first Philip Meyer Awards. * First Place: The Oregonian for “Unnecessary Epidemic” * Second Place: The Knight-Ridder Washington Bureau for “Discharged and Dishonored” * Third Place: The St.…
Read MoreKeith Epstein and Doug Stanley of the Tampa Tribune analyzed Supreme Court voting data archived by Michigan State University political science Professor Harold J. Spaeth, finding that “since 1953, the Supreme Court has formally ruled on abortion, a privacy issue, only 29 times. Abortion-related cases account for only 0.5 percent of all rulings handed down…
Read MoreRichard A. Serrano and Stephen Braun of the Los Angeles Times used documents to report that “Reps. John T. Doolittle and Richard W. Pombo joined forces with former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas to oppose an investigation by federal banking regulators into the affairs of Houston millionaire Charles Hurwitz.” The lawmakers inserted regulatory…
Read MoreYolanda Rodriguez of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, with assistance from Craig Schneider, Leon Stafford and database editor David A. Milliron, used a FOIA request to show that “Georgia hotels have billed taxpayers more than $19 million to house evacuees who fled after hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged the Gulf Coast last year.” The agency has paid…
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