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Star Watch Investigation: Vectren’s costly coal deal is a profit for company, pain for ratepayers
“At a time when coal prices were at record highs, Vectren locked into expensive, multiyear agreements to buy almost all of its coal supply from its own wholly-owned mining subsidiary, Vectren Fuels. And ratepayers paid the price. Experts say Vectren disregarded the common industry practice of staggering its coal purchases through shorter-term contracts to hedge…
Read MoreAdvair boomed amid health risks
“A Journal Sentinel/MedPage Today investigation found the growth in Advair sales followed new asthma treatment recommendations that were written largely by doctors who received money from GlaxoSmithKline and other companies that market the drugs.”
Read MoreKnight-Mozilla OpenNews announces 2013 fellows
Knight-Mozilla OpenNews yesterday announced its 2013 class of fellows, who will work as developers and technologists embedded in newsrooms around the world. Fellows spend a year writing code along with reporters, designers and newsroom developers to create new tools for journalism. Fellows for 2013 and their placements include: Brian Abelson, The New York Times Manuel…
Read MoreHundreds of millions of dollars spent on election in CA alone
“Now that Tuesday’s election is over, CaliforniaWatch did an analysis to find out how much money was pumped into the political battles over California’s eleven propositions.” “The total they found was $363 million or $20 in political spending for each of California’s 18.2 million registered voters.”
Read MoreHMDA data updated in the Database Library
The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data have just been updated in the NICAR Database Library — and we’ll help you turn it into a story. WHAT’S IN IT?This Act requires all banks, savings and loans, savings banks and credit unions with assets of more than $33 million and offices in metropolitan areas to report…
Read MoreBehind The Story: Comparing databases on bullying
Students head to lunch at Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Council Bluffs. The school district reported 58 alleged incidents to the state in five years, arguably a low rate for an urban district of 9,000 students. David Purdy/The Register In reporting, timing is everything. For Des Moines Register reporter Kyle Munson, the topic of bullying in…
Read MoreThousands of CA parolees may be let off the hook
“A KCRA investigation found that the California Department of Corrections quietly began a “review process” that could effectively let nearly 10,000 people who ran away from parole off the hook.” “Using sourced internal memos and lists of parolees KCRA was able to determine that the 3-phase program would review everyone from minor offenders to those…
Read MoreAdding depth to coverage of election results
For help in the scramble to provide instant results and analysis — all while sorting through close decisions on the local and federal level — check out these resources for adding depth to your election night coverage, the day after stories and long range post-election stories. Also, check out our look at data-driven stories leading…
Read MoreOklahoma jobs program may not be so cut and dry
In an investigation by Alex Cameron, director of the Oklahoma Impact Team, “it has been found that a job incentive program that has created tens of thousands of good-paying jobs in Oklahoma has also rewarded companies that cut jobs and even exported jobs overseas.”
Read MorePreviewing election day with data
How has data been used in advance of the election season? We’ve been looking for good data visualizations and data-driven reporting centered on the upcoming elections. Below is what we’ve found. Help add to our list by emailing suggestions to tony@ire.org or tweeting us @IRE_NICAR. The Washington PostThe Post’s 2012 election map shows what’s still in play…
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