Blog
Misti Crane and Geoff Dutton of The Columbus Dispatch reported a three-day series, “Prescription for Profit,” that examines the impact of specialty hospitals on general hospitals. The series also examines how nonprofit hospitals use aggressive collection tactics to collect from poor patients and whether the four hospital systems in Columbus deserve their $88 million tax…
Read MoreMichelle Roberts of The Oregonian found that warnings about abusive behavior by state parole officer Michael Lee Boyles went unheeded for years, and Oregon officials acted only after the suicide of a young man supervised by Boyles. “State officials received repeated and detailed warnings from a family raising concerns about Boyles and his behavior with…
Read MoreMarc Chase of The (Northwest Indiana) Times used OSHA data to investigate workplace safety violations. They found “that fines at or below the minimum are the rule, not the exception, in cases involving what OSHA considers serious violations. The average fine from 1991 to 2003 was $862.74 per serious violation, $637.26 less than the minimum…
Read MoreMichael Fabey of the Savannah Morning News used Coast Guard data to find that “Coast Guard HH-65 Dolphin helicopter engines continue to lose power, threatening the lives of pilots and crew members. There were 423 incidents of power failure in the helicopters in the fleet between Aug. 4, 1985, and Sept. 30, 2004.” Air Station…
Read MoreDavid Seifman of the New York Post obtained city records to show that “more city workers are commuting in their government-owned cars, despite Mayor Bloomberg’s boast that his administration is slashing spending while maintaining services.” The number of civilian NYC employees who commuted in their city-provided cars increased 11 percent from 2003, even as the…
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