Mapping
Solving a health gap
After a report was released by Spokane’s regional health district, the newspaper mapped life expectancy for each neighborhood in Spokane – showing the differences in well-being among its many neighborhoods: People in the county’s wealthy neighborhoods can expect to live longer than those in the poorer ones, by years and years.
Read MoreWisconsin forestry tax break program gives taxpayers bill, landowners benefit
There are more than 1 million acres in Wisconsin open to the public through a forestry tax break program. Good news for hunters and hikers … if only they could find it. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Raquel Rutledge found while taxpayers pick up the tab, it can be nearly impossible for anyone other than the landowner to…
Read MoreIt’s all about location for disabled vets in limbo
A Bay Citizen investigation has found that “veterans waiting for decisions on their disability claims wait longer than the Department of Veterans Affairs has acknowledged, especially if they come from larger urban areas. Solutions tried in four locations have not helped so far, as the backlog continues to grow.”
Read MoreOne photo highlighted international web of child pornography network
In a report filed The Boston Globe, it has been revealed that “federal agents working out of Boston, are heading an investigation into child pornography that so far has resulted in at least 40 arrests around the world and the discovery of 140 children who were sexually exploited. And it all began with a single…
Read MoreThieves and gamblers given control of disabled vets’ assets
“A Houston Chronicle/Hearst series on disabled veterans ripoffs nationwide found convicted thieves, inveterate gamblers, the bankrupt and the mentally ill were repeatedly handed control of disabled veterans’ assets and estates by the VA – and then stole from them.” “The findings of this investigation of more than 100 prosecutions and decades of audits of this…
Read MoreEPA fails to warn families of lead contamination where smelters once stood
“USA Today’s investigative team found the EPA failed to tell people about or take action on hundreds of former lead smelting sites they’d known about for years. Alison Young and Pete Eisler tested the soil around former plants in 13 states and found potentially dangerous levels of lead remain in people’s yards and in parks.”…
Read MoreBeer tax money in UT not always used accordingly
“A review by The Salt Lake Tribune has found that perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars of Utah’s beer tax money have been diverted to other causes or rolled into everyday city or county activities in. In some cases, the recipients seemingly stretched the interpretation of the statute to justify how they spent the money.…
Read MoreConstruction halted for independent schools in south Dallas-closings may not be far behind
Matt Haag from The Dallas Morning News reports that several schools (most in southern Dallas) in the Independent School District (ISD) have halted their construction projects. One school, Pearl C. Anderson, already paid $400,000 for renovations before the construction was called off, said District spokesman Jon Dahlander. But he said some of the money went…
Read MoreSatellite monitoring of sex offenders under attack
In a two-part story on North Caroina’s satellite-based monitoring of sex offenders program, the Winston-Salem Journal newspaper found that technological limitations create a system that some say does nothing more than create a false feeling of security. Additionally, legal challenges may reduce the number of offenders who will have to enroll. The Journal built an…
Read MoreThe Hidden Life of Guns series
The Hidden Life of Guns, a year-long investigation by The Washington Post, traced guns recovered in crimes in the region. The Post‘s analysis found a small number of gun stores in the region were linked to a vast majority of the guns recovered in crimes. “Since 1992, more than 2,500 guns recovered by police and…
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