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Mike Wilkinson and James Drew of The (Toledo) Blade checked out one of Ohio’s government investment instruments: rare coins. “Since 1998, Ohio has invested millions of dollars in the unregulated world of rare coins, buying nickels, dimes, and pennies. Controlling the money for the state? Prominent local Republican and coin dealer Tom Noe, whose firm…
Read MoreMike McIntire of The New York Times has a piece on the most common of New York City political donors – homemakers. “Among the elite group of about 600 people who have contributed the maximum to candidates for citywide offices in the November election, 62 described themselves as homemakers or housewives, an analysis of campaign…
Read MoreSarah Bahari of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reviewed spending data for the city of Southlake, finding that city employees spent about $77,000 in 2004 at Lowe’s and Home Depot stores. “Employees routinely bought inexpensive items — screws, shovels, trash bags and cleaning supplies. They also made pricier purchases — dozens of pieces of plywood, a…
Read MoreJamie Smith Hopkins of The (Baltimore) Sun used data on home sales to find “clear signs that proximity to D.C. is driving the boom in Baltimore and its five surrounding counties, over and above what extraordinarily low mortgage interest rates have achieved nationwide. This region’s fastest appreciation came in Howard, Anne Arundel and Carroll counties,…
Read MoreNolan Clay of The Oklahoman used state disclosure reports to find that “Oklahoma politicians, their aides and relatives accepted at least $125,000 worth of meals, drinks, football tickets and other gifts last year.” Many of the freebies were associated with the state’s college athletic programs, including season tickets to football games at Oklahoma University and…
Read MoreSean P. Murphy and Connie Paige of The Boston Globe tracked the activities of Massachusetts’ director of the Department of Labor, Angelo R. Buonopane, finding that his “work days average two hours and 51 minutes, according to Globe reporters who observed him over a series of days during February and March. On many days he…
Read MoreDuff Wilson of The New York Times found errors in Dr. Elliot Pellman’s stated credentials and education. Pellman is the medical adviser to Major League Baseball, whose testimony praised the recent congressional hearing on steroids. Pelman “has said repeatedly in biographical statements that he has a medical degree from the State University of New York…
Read MoreMatthew Junker of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review used arrest data from the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts to determine that fully 56 percent of the people arrested last year were in the most intoxicated category under Pennsylvania’s .08 DUI law. “Statistics for the law’s first 11 months — from Feb. 1, 2004, to the end of…
Read MoreOfelia Casillas of the Chicago Tribune investigated juvenile sex offenders in schools, specifically looking into school knowledge of the sex offender(s) in their school. They found that “some principals were not told that young sex offenders had enrolled in their schools, because the state system designed to notify them is mired in confusion.” They found…
Read MoreCurtis Johnson of The (Huntingdon) Herald-Dispatch used Cabell County court and jail records to show that .”inmates facing felony charges, most of whom were awaiting trial, accounted for 62 percent of the month’s bill. That’s important, because if convicted, the state takes over the cost of their imprisonment.” The records show that “reducing the jail…
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