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Kim Chandler of The Birmingham News used state and local records to show that “an east Alabama lawmaker steered state money to pave the dirt road that led to a subdivision he and his wife were developing.” A $50,000 state grant in 2002 went to the paving project, but was also intended to be used…
Read MoreJody Tillman of the Valley News used state-by-state analysis to compare Vermont’s fatality numbers compared to other states. The Valley News found that Vermont had the “highest death rate of any state among soldiers and Marines deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan between March 1, 2003, and October 31, 2004: 5.6 per 1,000 troops.” They also…
Read MoreDavid S. Bernstein of The Boston Phoenix analyzed campaign contributions to Massachusetts state legislative candidates, finding that “of the 650 registered lobbyists and 167 active PACs in the state, just 20 prominent lobbying firms and 10 large PACs collectively pumped more than $1 million into legislative candidates’ war chests in the past two years. And…
Read MoreAn investigation by the Detroit Free Press has found that beer and wine distributers are taking Michigan lawmakers with them every winter to a convention on a luxury resort. “The legislators fly for free to beachfront retreats like the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas and the Hyatt Regency on Grand Cayman Island. They pay nothing…
Read MoreGreg Borowski and Stacy Forester from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal investigated voter logbooks and found discrepancies between votes cast and number of people who voted. “The newspaper’s review found 24 cases where there is a discrepancy of at least 5%, with more ballots than voters listed in a ward. Logbooks for another 20 wards showed…
Read MoreMark Chellgren of the Associated Press reported on an investigation led by the Kentucky Press Association and the Associated Press into “whether public offices are allowing citizens to view government documents. The investigation “showed most are obeying the state’s Open Records Act, but compliance is not uniform.” The results were mixed, varying from a smile…
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