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First Amendment & FOIA
Mercury levels in fish may mean more advisories
Mike Dunne of The (Baton Rouge, La.) Advocate uses state date on fish containing “action levels” of mercury to “show that about 19 lakes and streams in Louisiana may need advisories to warn pregnant women and children under 7 to limit their fish consumption.” Last year the state offered to test residents who ate fish…
Read MoreExtreme speeders get off easy
Scott Powers of The Orlando Sentinel used county traffic ticket data to show that “last year Florida Highway Patrol troopers, Orange County deputies and police ticketed 342 high rollers for driving at least 100 mph.” Those who are caught typically are young, white men and many were traveling on the Central Florida GreeneWay. “And though…
Read MoreThousands erasing convictions due to murky law
Jason Riley and Kay Stewart of The (Louisville) Courier-Journal used Kentucky court records to show that “thousands of Kentuckians are erasing their arrests and convictions every year by taking advantage of expungement laws that make it cheap and easy to bury their past mistakes.” Variances in the process and the lack of a tracking systems…
Read MoreMany to blame for social programs mess
Karen Augé of The Denver Post used state records to show that “nearly every agency, contractor and department that touched the state’s new $200 million computer benefits system in some way contributed to its debacle.” Colorado’s new system was a year late when it came online last fall, and the contractor and state officials have…
Read MoreN.C. judges influenced by local lawyers
Ames Alexander of The Charlotte Observer, working with database editor Ted Mellnik, investigated the relationship between lawyers and judges in the North Carolina’s judicial district that is most lenient on drinking and driving. “District judges there acquitted suspects in more than 87 percent of the DWI trials in which they rendered a verdict. Statewide, the…
Read MoreIncentives pay millions, while companies fall short
Mike McAndrew and Michelle Breidenbach of The (Syracuse) Post-Standard report on how New York Governor George Pataki’s administration gives millions of dollars to businesses that promise to hire people, but often don’t. The Post-Standard uses the state’s Freedom of Information Law to obtain financial accounts, as well as records on companies’ penalties. “The newspaper’s review…
Read MoreDetroit mayor spends on city’s dime
M.L. Elrick and Jim Shaefer of The Detroit Free Press continues their investigation into personal expenditures made by Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick on the city’s credit card. Numerous Freedom of Information Act requests uncovered expenditures including an $850 steakhouse dinner and $11,644 he spent on Super Bowl hotel rooms. On the mayor’s first day on…
Read MoreReview finds hundreds of deficient bridges in Utah
Lee Davidson of The Deseret Morning News used federal data to review deficient bridges in Utah. “Federal data, based on state inspections, show that 256 bridges in Utah were considered structurally deficient in 2004. Another 250 were functionally obsolete.” Despite the high number of deficiencies, Utah’s bridges are rated Ninth best among states, federal data…
Read MoreLack of inspectors lead to unsafe trucks on highways
Ginny MacDonald and Brett J. Blackledge of The Birmingham News used federal data to show that “thousands of big trucks travel Alabama’s highways with bad brakes, bad tires and bad drivers … Many of those dangerous trucks in recent years have been involved in accidents that have killed hundreds, injured thousands and cost millions in…
Read MoreBad bridges plague Oklahoma
Steve Lackmeyer and John Perry of The Oklahoman used state and federal data to find that “fixing Oklahoma’s bridges — the nation’s worst — would cost taxpayers billions of dollars. All proposed remedies fall woefully short.” The state has had the highest percentage of structurally deficient bridges for at least three years. The bulk of…
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