First Amendment & FOIA
City pays private attorneys millions
Steve Neavling of The Bay City Times has a six-part series on Bay County government spending on private attorneys. “Between 2001 and 2004, the county paid private lawyers nearly $1.13 million — more than twice the amount spent by each of four other Michigan counties with similar populations. And that does not include the more…
Read MoreHate crimes rise in Los Angeles school district
Naush Boghossian and Lisa M. Sodders of the Los Angeles Daily News use data from the Los Angeles Unified School District police to investigate an increase in hate crimes in the district. “Hate crimes in Los Angeles’ public schools have surged more than 300 percent over the past decade…” They found that almost all of…
Read MoreExperts cast doubt on cause
Jason Method and James W. Prado Roberts of the Asbury Park Press raised questions in the airplane death seven years ago of a pilot who was about to buy Marlboro Airport, now the center of a massive political bribery scandal. The NTSB ruled the 1998 crash death of Lino A. Fasio an accident due to…
Read MoreAccident-victim law saves lives
Suzanne Hoholik of The Columbus Dispatch used state data to show that a 2002 Ohio law intended to direct accident victims to trauma hospitals was working as intended: “More injured people are being taken to trauma centers, and fewer are dying in small, rural hospitals. Trauma experts believe as many as 900 lives a year…
Read MoreSchool police accused of profiling
David Tarrant and Paula Lavigne of The Dallas Morning News investigated allegations of racial profiling by campus police at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, finding that “police search minorities more often than Anglos after traffic stops.” In addition, there have been complaints about pedestrian stops, which campus police do not keep…
Read MoreMore firefighters being disciplined
Jason Kandel of the Los Angeles Daily News used documents obtained under a California Public Records Act to show that 13 Los Angeles city firefighters were disciplined for inappropriate behavior last year and nine others remain under investigation. “Last year, seven firefighters were disciplined for horseplay or hazing; two for creating a hostile work environment;…
Read MoreCongressman’s sale of home to contractor questioned
Marcus Stern of the San Diego Union-Tribune investigates a defense contractor’s relationship with U.S. Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham and how the contractor “took a $700,000 loss on the purchase of the congressman’s Del Mar house while the congressman, a member of the influential defense appropriations subcommittee, was supporting the contractor’s efforts to get tens of…
Read MoreStreet gun dealers go to jail, while licensed dealers get a free pass
Susan Schulman, Lou Michel and Dan Herbeck of The Buffalo News uses public records to investigate gun dealers in a four-day series. The investigation found that while street gun dealers go to jail, licensed gun merchants get a free pass. “Gun shows are a prime source of crime weapons in many states…Despite those concerns, the…
Read MoreHispanic organization evolves into a political powerhouse
Mark J. Konkol, Scott Fornek, Fran Spielman and Art Golab of the Chicago Sun-Times used local payroll and voter registration data to show the clout of Chicago’s Hispanic Democratic Organization: “1,173 men and women are certified to register people to vote on HDO’s behalf. And 482 of those HDO deputy registrars — or 41 percent…
Read MoreSexual harassment claims inconsistent
Brad Schrade of the Tennessean asked state officials to provide documentation on their response to claims of sexual harassment, identified by Gov. Phil Bredesen as a problem. “When Bredesen’s office becomes involved in a complaint, as it did when the governor’s top lobbyist was demoted last month, notes are purposely not taken or are shredded,…
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