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Gregory S. Reeves of The Kansas City Star used Jackson County real estate data to show that “an old problem – over-valuing homes under $50,000 – may have gotten worse with the new property tax appraisals … and homes that sold for $600,000 and up remain under-appraised by 25 percent.” Most houses, the paper found,…
Read MoreChristian Lowe of the Marine Corps Times used the Freedom of Information Act to show that “the Marine Corps issued to nearly 10,000 troops body armor that government experts urged the Corps to reject after tests revealed critical, life-threatening flaws in the vests.” The Marines obtained about 19,000 pieces of armor from Point Blank Body…
Read MoreBill Moushey and Nathan Crabbe of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, in conjunction with the Innocence Institute at Point Park University, investigated potential wrongful convictions in Pennsylvania, finding that “police failed to follow the steps that can help prevent false identifications.” Many police agencies in the state either were not aware of federal guidelines for eyewitness identifications…
Read MoreMichael L. Diamond, with contributions from Paul D’Ambrosio and Nicholas Clunn, Eileen Smith and Peter Spencer of Gannett New Jersey newspapers reviewed the state’s pension program, finding that “while the private sector has sharply cut pension and health insurance benefits, the state has gone the opposite way. New Jersey’s system features generous payouts to retirees…
Read MoreRick Brundrett of The (Columbia, S.C.) State studied records from pretrial intervention programs to find that South Carolina “prosecutors accepted more than 1,800 suspects accused of criminal domestic violence into a program that allows their charges to be dropped over the past five years.” Violent offenders aren’t supposed to be eligible for the program, but…
Read MoreDavid Kocieniewski of The New York Times uses public records to investigate the homeland security threat, specifically along a two-mile stretch, deemed the most vulnerable by terrorism experts. The investigation looked into “… a chemical plant that processes chlorine gas, so close to Manhattan that the Empire State Building seems to rise up behind its…
Read MoreJennifer Dixon and Victoria Turk of The Detroit Free Press used state campaign finance records to show that “Michigan legislators have dipped into campaign cash to buy cars, jewelry, expensive gifts and entertainment in possible violation of federal tax codes.” The IRS is investigating whether the spending, which lawmakers defend as necessary, constitutes a personal…
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