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Very few hold power in Richmond
Staff at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, along with Aaron Kessler used the social network analysis program UCINET and more than 50 interviews to investigate who really wielded power in Richmond, Va. The series includes a story about the four men central to Richmond’s power, a story about minorities and how political influence does not equal power,…
Read MoreState lobbyists spending nears $1 billion
An analysis by The Center for Public Integrity found that lobbyists and their employers in 42 states reported spending nearly $953 million in 2004 attempting to influence state legislators and executive branch officials. That figure is up from the $904 million reported in 2003. “It seems likely that state lobby expenditures will exceed the $1…
Read MoreAfrican-American voter turnout high
Nancy Cook Lauer of the Tallahassee Democrat used local voter data to show that federal oversight of elections in five Florida counties meant to ensure African-American participation seems to have worked: “voting behavior in the five counties under federal scrutiny – Collier, Hardee, Hendry, Hillsborough and Monroe – pretty much reflects voting behavior in the…
Read MoreCounty grant program riddled with problems
Daniel Chacón of the San Diego Union-Tribune analyzed county grant receipts finding a multimillion-dollar system riddled with shoddy bookkeeping and lax oversight. The investigation “found that records for 54 grants totaling nearly $1 million are missing. Receipts that have been collected show that money has been spent on everything from Cheetos to seared ahi crostini.”…
Read More‘Highly qualified’ teachers don’t always equal high student scores
Amy L. Kovac and Jaci Smith of New Jersey’s Herald-News used state education data to show that in Passaic County, having a “highly qualified” teacher doesn’t always mean that students will do better on standardized tests. “The largest disparity was in Passaic’s Lincoln Middle School. About 71 percent of eighth-graders there failed to achieve proficiency…
Read MoreMost traffic chases caused by minor infractions
Eunice Trotter, Tom Spalding and Mark Nichols of The Indianapolis Star analyzed police pursuit data to investigate the 86 deaths Indiana saw in the last decade following police chases. They found that “initiated pursuits that ended with at least one injury or death in one of five cases.” Most of the pursuits were found to…
Read MoreHate crimes down in New York
Jo Craven McGinty at The New York Times reported this weekend that hate crimes in the city are down 44 percent between 2000 and 2004. The crimes are broken down in graphics and maps. A member of New York’s hate crimes unit credits people “just behaving better” in the city in the wake of a…
Read MoreHomicides on the rise in Milwaukee
John Diedrich and Bob Purvis at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel detail a sharp rise in the number of murders in Milwaukee this year, finding that “through Friday, 72 people have been killed this year, compared to 49 at that time last year. In response, police last week beefed up patrols in the hottest parts of…
Read MoreCalif. donors use 527 groups to bypass regulations
Ronald Campbell of The Orange County Register analyzed California campaign finance data to find that the top 100 donors gave more than $150 million to candidates and political committees in 2003 and 2004. Donors also helped put California in the stem-cell business. “Some 26 wealthy couples and individuals contributed more than half the campaign money…
Read MoreLack of inspection data raises concerns for Utah school safety
Nate Carlisle and Jessica Ravitz The Salt Lake Tribune report on the state of fire inspections in public schools, following a fire that destroyed Wasatch Junior High School. The school was old and did not have modern fire safety features. “Yet state records show the last time inspectors examined the school was four years ago.”…
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