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Christine Hanley of the Los Angeles Times reports on an Orange County Sheriff who deputized friends, family and political supporters. “Of the original 86 reserve deputies, 29 had contributed to Carona’s inaugural election campaign in 1998 and his re-election campaign in 2002.” The Times used hundreds of documents received through public records requests and provided…
Read MoreArthur Kane and Mark P. Couch of The Denver Post used state records to show that “Colorado lobbyists have earned more than $7.5 million so far this year, sending some of the most influential people at the statehouse well on their way to another year of record earnings.” A worker’s compensation measure received the most…
Read MoreAndrew McIntosh of The Sacramento Bee used state public records to show that “the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District spent at least $790,000 to refurbish and equip a military surplus helicopter for firefighting and rescues, more than twice the $300,000 budget its elected board originally approved for the project.” A member of the fire district’s board…
Read MoreWilliam M. Hartnett of The Palm Beach Post analyzed ten years’ of housing sales for Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties, finding that median home prices have jumped dramatically during that period. In a special section published Sunday, the paper mapped neighborhoods according to median sale value and reported that water access costs more…
Read MoreScott Glover and Matt Lait of the Los Angeles Times use scores of documents shedding doubt on the guilt of a man convicted of killing his mother over 20 years ago. Among the evidence discovered was a bloody footprint found at the scene that didn’t match the convicted killer’s shoes and a mysterious phone call…
Read MorePat Stith of The (Raleigh/Durham, N.C.) News & Observer reports on how the state relaxed laws to allow overweight trucks to destroy roads, while the enforcement of heavy trucks has also declined in the past five years. “… [S]tate lawmakers voted 10 times for bills that benefit trucking interests at the public expense.” Fines for…
Read MoreJustin Pope of the Associated Press used federal data and other documents to show that “forty-seven U.S. colleges and universities now have endowments of $1 billion or more, compared to 17 a decade ago.” Along with rising endowments, many of these schools have also increased tuition: “Despite tripling its wealth over the last decade, the…
Read MoreEmily Heffter and Mike Carter of The Seattle Times, with help from Cheryl Phillips, Justin Mayo, Jonathan Martin and Nick Perry, analyzed lists of voters claimed by both Washington political parties to contain the names of felons who voted improperly in the state’s gubernatorial election last year. Using a method proposed by Republicans, the paper…
Read MoreMike Dunne of The (Baton Rouge, La.) Advocate uses state date on fish containing “action levels” of mercury to “show that about 19 lakes and streams in Louisiana may need advisories to warn pregnant women and children under 7 to limit their fish consumption.” Last year the state offered to test residents who ate fish…
Read MoreThe Northwest Indiana Times analyzed federal inspection records for 771 elevated road bridges in Lake and Porter counties (Ind.). They found “that as of 2003, 27 percent were either structurally deficient or unable to accommodate rising traffic loads because of size constraints or outdated design.” Using data from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s 2003 bridge…
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