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Prescription drugs linked to seventy percent of Milwaukee overdoses
In an analysis of prescription drug deaths in the Milwaukee area, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Tom Kertscher found of the 1,200 overdose deaths in an eight-year period, some 70% involved prescription drugs. Kertscher created the database himself by reviewing the medical examiner reports for each of the counties in question. Additionally, Kertscher reviewed hundreds of…
Read MoreEight deaths reported by homeowners with toxic drywall
Homeowners with toxic drywall have reported eight deaths to federal consumer safety officials, though no direct linkage has been found. That’s according to a Scripps Howard News Service analysis of almost 2,700 drywall complaints to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and 467 follow-up inspections by the CPSC, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act…
Read MoreTips for investigating campus assault
After 12 months of reporting, the Center for Public Integrity reached some troubling conclusions about how some colleges and universities collect and report sexual assault statistics, and how sexual assault cases are handled through the campus judicial system. The Center’s Kristen Lombardi and David Donald recently spoke about this project and how you can conduct…
Read MoreLeaking underground tanks leave legacy of contamination in Pennsylvania
An investigation of leaky underground storage tanks in the Lehigh Valley by Christopher Baxter and Tim Darragh of The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) found spills left lingering for years or even decades, homeowners kept in the dark about nearby problems and inconsistent tracking and enforcement by the state Department of Environmental Protection. The project includes…
Read MoreCalifornia state employees pile up millions in vacation time
Amid a crippling fiscal crisis, managers throughout California’s government have routinely allowed their employees to amass unused vacation time, enabling hundreds of workers to end their public-service careers with payouts topping $100,000, a California Watch investigation has found. One worker combined vacation and compensatory time to walk away with more than $800,000, records show.
Read MoreFew touch sanctions imposed in New England campus sexual assault cases
Officials at the University of Massachusetts Amherst acknowledge that they allowed a student who confessed to raping a friend on campus last fall, a felony, to remain enrolled and avoid significant discipline, according to a report by the New England Center for Investigative Reporting at Boston University. Newly obtained Justice Department data show that reports…
Read MoreEducation Deparment’s enforcement of campus sexual assault cases is lacking
The Education Department is charged with enforcing laws on how schools deal with sexual assault, but its Office of Civil Rights rarely investigates student allegations of botched proceedings. When cases do go forward, the civil rights office rarely rules against the schools, and virtually never issues any sanctions against institutions, according to an investigation by…
Read MoreDeveloping a ‘document state of mind’
By Doug Haddix IRE Training Director Journalists can dig deeper and produce high-impact stories by developing a “document state of mind.” Get practical advice in this short video featuring Brant Houston, the Knight Chair in Investigative Reporting at the University of Illinois. Houston is the former executive director of Investigative Reporters and Editors. Houston spoke…
Read MoreAgencies in New Mexico impeded fraud and elder care investigations
An ongoing series in The New Mexico Independent explores allegations that state agencies interfered with fraud and elder abuse investigations. The Medicaid Fraud Division stated that Human Services Department and the Health Department had “withheld, ‘filtered’ and ‘sanitized’ information and documents requested by investigators, hindering numerous investigations.” Medicaid Fraud The series led to an attempt…
Read MoreDeadly military aviation accidents on the rise
“U.S. soldiers have been twice as likely to die from aviation accidents as they were from ground mishaps or incidents over the past two and a half decades, according to an Aerospace DAILY analysis of U.S. Army data.” An increased reliance on aviation has contributed to the increase in these deadly air accidents. There have…
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