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Accused killer had history of arrests, parole violations
The accused killer of Los Angeles teenager Lily Burk “was set free in June 2009, despite failing to report to his parole agent for weeks, being a wanted fugitive on two different arrest warrants, and being arrested three times on drug charges and testing positive for cocaine — all in a matter of six months,…
Read MoreGovernor’s former staff skirt law through indirect lobbying
Jeremy Finley of WSMV-Nashville, Tenn. tracked the former staff of the governor’s office and found many of them active in “indirect lobbying” for special interests. A state law says no members of the governor’s staff can lobby for a year after they leave office.
Read MoreRon Campbell: Untangling a collapsing financial empire
By Ron Campbell, Orange County Register Orange County restaurant king John Gantes was a very wealthy man with 110 restaurants. And then, quite suddenly, he was bankrupt. His declared net worth sank from $215 million at the end of 2007 to a negative $374 million in mid-January 2009 – a $600 million reversal of fortune…
Read MoreMilitary suicides a mounting problem
An article by Erica Goode of The New York Times reports on the mounting number of soldiers committing suicide, detailing the stories of four soldiers from the 1451st Transportation Company. “The four suicides, in a unit of roughly 175 soldiers, make the company an extreme example of what experts see as an alarming trend in…
Read MoreRigged Privilege series
A three-part investigation by the East Valley Tribune (Mesa, Ariz.) looked at Arizona’s Private School Tuition Tax Credits program. “The tuition tax credits law was supposed to revolutionize school choice for disadvantaged children. Instead it fostered a rigged system that keeps private education a privilege for the already privileged.“
Read MoreReport shows missteps by Army left troops vulnerable in Afghanistan
Hal Bernton and Cheryl Phillips of The Seattle Times reported on an unreleased study that concluded Army missteps directly contributed to one of the bloodiest battles in the Afghanistan war. Army historian Douglas Cubbison “noted suspect decisions by commanders, who allowed an understaffed platoon to plant itself in hostile territory without adequate support.” Nine soldiers…
Read MoreMany bad bridges not receiving stimulus funds
“Tens of thousands of unsafe or decaying bridges carrying 100 million drivers a day must wait for repairs because states are spending stimulus money on spans that are already in good shape or on easier projects like repaving roads, an Associated Press analysis shows.” An interactive map gives details state-by-state on bridge projects funded by…
Read MoreSome rape victims failed by Violence Against Women Act
A report co-published by ProPublica and the Huffington Post Investigative Fund found that “15 years after Congress passed a law to ensure that rape victims would never see a bill, loopholes and bureaucratic tangles still leave some victims paying for hospital expenses and exams, which can cost up to $1,200.“
Read MoreProjects get stimulus funds despite limited economic impact
A report by Michelle Breidenbach of The Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) shows that in many cases stimulus funds funneled through the National Institutes of Health are going towards previously unfunded proposals with no regard for job creation or economic impact. In one example, a formerly wait-listed grant for $500,000 was awarded to Cornell University for the…
Read MoreRecords cast doubt on money manager’s claims
Claims by Bo Beckman, a Twin Cities investment manager, to be among the top money managers in the United States led to an investigation by Dan Browning of the Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minn.). Among other things, he found that Morningstar says it never rated Beckman, and his own mother sued him twice.
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