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The Burden of Lead: West Dallas deals with contamination decades later
“The low-income neighborhood of older wood-frame homes in West Dallas is a far cry from the suburb of newly built brick houses in Frisco 30 miles to the north. But the two North Texas communities share a bond: Both were contaminated by industrial lead for nearly half a century.”
Read MoreWhen politicians gamble on developers with taxpayer money, who ends up paying?
“Public agencies often use tax-based resources to partner with private developers. Those deals can help transform blighted areas, but they also can become costly projects with dubious results. In a two-day series, the Statesman Journal explores local examples of how public-private partnerships have worked.”
Read MoreHooked on Opiates: More legal use leads to more addiction, crimes, deaths
“Last year, enough of the two leading painkillers — oxycodone and hydrocodone — was distributed in the state to provide 18 pills for every man, woman and child. That’s up from two pills per person in 1997.”
Read MoreDoctors face quandary of relieving pain, without feeding addiction
A growing number of health care groups in the Twin Cities are investing in strategies to make sure doctors don’t serve as unwitting spigots of medications for addicts. But there’s also concern that increased regulation could prompt physicians to stop prescribing medications to patients with legitimate pain-control needs.
Read MorePrognosis: Profits, The rising fortunes of Charlotte hospitals haven’t always helped patients
“In the latest installment of their ongoing investigation into nonprofit hospitals, the Charlotte Observer and News & Observer of Raleigh reported Sunday that N.C. patients are likely to pay more for routine health care if their doctors are employed by a hospital.”
Read MoreGun sales booming in Nevada
“State officials said 2,383 firearms transactions were recorded statewide last weekend, Friday through Sunday. It’s unknown how many of those were assault weapons, like the kind used in the Connecticut shooting, because new laws – backed by Nevada’s influential gun lobby – prohibit the state from collecting specific details on gun purchases.”
Read MoreGaps in gun laws a boon for felons in Florida, experts say
“Permissive in some respects, Florida firearms laws unequivocally aim to prevent gun ownership by convicted felons. But that prohibition is faltering.”
Read MoreEvaluation of UC Davis Medical Center’s handling of neurosurgeons is scathing
“Investigators found hospital staff repeatedly failed to intervene or raise questions about three highly unusual surgeries on brain cancer patients, according to a Bee analysis of the findings, released earlier this month by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In its 92-page report, the federal watchdog agency detailed the secrecy and inaction that enveloped…
Read MoreBehind the Story: A source comes forward in the backlog of veterans’ disability
In April, Jamie Fox contacted reporter Aaron Glantz after losing her job at the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Oakland office in 2008. Credit: Michael Short/Center for Investigative Reporting. Aaron Glantz of the Center for Investigative Reporting was reporting on delays in veterans’ disability claims in Oakland, Calif. when a reader reached out to him. Jamie…
Read MoreVA support coming too late to veterans
“The VA’s inability to pay benefits to veterans before they die is increasingly common, according to data obtained by the Center for Investigative Reporting.” “The data reveals, for the first time, that long wait times are contributing to tens of thousands of veterans being approved for disability benefits and pensions only after it is too…
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