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PCE contaminates costly problem in Colorado
Spills releasing PCE, the cancer-causing chemical used in dry cleaning and metal degreasing, have produced at least 86 underground plumes across Colorado that are poisoning soil and water and fouling air inside buildings. Cleaning up this chemical is a nightmare — a lesson in the limits of repairing environmental harm. The best that Colorado health…
Read MoreCalifornia database shows water consumption disparities between coastal and inland areas
The historic drought is making average residents think twice every time they turn on the tap, despite the weekend rain. But there is nothing average about the way Californians consume water: A little-known state database that measures water use in every community shows huge — sometimes shocking — differences between California’s water sippers and guzzlers.
Read MoreConnecticut casinos use home liens to recoup gambling debts
Two Connecticut tribal casinos have placed dozens of liens on homes across the state since the early 2000s, for amounts as small as a few thousand dollars, according to a Globe review of land and court records. Experts interviewed by the Globe — including current and former casino executives, academics, problem gambling counselors, and a…
Read MoreFederal government reduces fines for deadly “gas blow” incident, still no ban against practice
After six workers were killed in a massive gas explosion at the Kleen Energy plant in Middletown four years ago, federal investigators tallied hundreds of violations at the site and issued $16.6 million in penalties against more than a dozen companies — the third-largest workplace-safety fine in the nation’s history. But in the years since…
Read MoreFederal program aimed at dangerous criminals, used to deport nonviolent immigrants
Although President Obama maintains that federal officials are focusing deportation efforts on violent criminals, a Baltimore Sun analysis revealed that a high percentage of the cases in Maryland and some other states involve immigrants with no criminal record. In Maryland, for example, more than 40 percent of the immigrants deported under a sweeping federal program…
Read MoreMilitary inconsistent with handling of service members accused of sexual assault
The Associated Press originally sought the records for U.S. military personnel stationed in Japan after attacks against Japanese women raised political tensions there. They might now give weight to members of Congress who want to strip senior officers of their authority to decide whether serious crimes, including sexual assault cases, go to trial. The AP…
Read MoreResidents distrust police and their efforts in Harvey, IL
Experts say it’s not unusual for impoverished places to have more crime and tougher cases to solve. But the Tribune found that those two factors alone don’t explain what has happened in Harvey, where the competence and integrity of the department frequently come under fire. It’s a suburb that commissioned an audit that ripped its…
Read MoreSeeking ideas for 2014 CAR Lightning Talks
Lightning Talks are back for CAR 2014 in Baltimore! Got an idea for a talk? Submit it here: http://ire.aronpilhofer.com/ Lightning Talks are 5-minute presentations on topics wide and varied. If you’d like to submit a talk, please use the form linked above. We ask that only folks who are attending NICAR vote on the submissions, and we’ll hear…
Read MoreFlorida’s unemployment benefits website was not ready for launch and state can’t explain why
Florida’s new unemployment benefits website, CONNECT, “launched so riddled with technical glitches that it has left thousands of unemployed Floridians without the money they need for food, rent and bills,” according to the Tampa Bay Times. “The problems are so bad that the (Department of Economic Opportunity) began fining the contractor $15,000 a day and federal…
Read MoreTo speed up ‘FOIA slowpokes,’ journalists mix praise and shame
When I was a reporter at a daily newspaper in Virginia, few things frustrated me more than slow responses to Freedom of Information Act requests. I’d put in my request and wait the allotted response time only to receive a handful of excuses. Sometimes, after weeks of nagging, I’d get the documents. Other times my…
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