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BALCO saga continues: The SF Chronicle held in contempt
Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the paper has agreed to be held in contempt of court for refusing to disclose its reporters’ [Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams] sources of grand jury testimony in the BALCO case. This could result in fines of over $500,000. “The Chronicle’s editor, Phil Bronstein, said, ‘While…
Read MorePhiladelphia Inquirer child welfare investigation leads to firings
In response to The Philadelphia Inquirer investigation on the failures of DHS to protect children from abuse — and death — two officials have been dismissed. “Mayor Street forced out two top officials at the city’s child-welfare agency Friday, acknowledging that his administration had not done enough to protect children from being killed by child…
Read MoreFamily connections pave inside track to lobbying dollars
An investigation by Matt Kelley and Peter Eisler of USA Today shows that “lobbying groups employed 30 family members last year to influence spending bills that their relatives with ties to the House and Senate appropriations committees oversaw or helped write…combined, they generated millions of dollards in fees for themselves or their firms.” USA Today…
Read MoreDespite reports of abuse, DHS fails to protect child welfare
An investigation by Ken Dilanian and John Sullivan of The Philadelphia Inquirer shows gross failures by the Department of Human Services (DHS) led to the brutal deaths of children at the hands of their parents – parents who had been referred to DHS for abusive behavior. “Three years after a string of blunders by DHS…
Read MoreLein sales a quick fix with dire consequences
Over several months, Tom Meagher of the Herald News examined the records of a bulk sale of property tax liens that the city of Paterson, N.J., conducted to raise the revenue needed to balance its budget. While this resulted in a quick influx of cash for the city, the short-sighted plan cost the city millions…
Read More“Caltrans: Road to Nowhere”
A watchdog report by Kimberly Kindy and Natalya Shulyakovskaya of The Orange County Register looks at how the California Department of Transportation “has repeatedly displaced property owners for highway projects that went nowhere — from the abandoned widening of Pacific Coast Highway through Orange County to Hayward
Read MorePower of money
John Cheves of the Lexington Herald-Leader examined Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell’s career, based on thousands of documents and scores of interviews, to show the nexus between his actions and his donors’ agendas. “He pushes the government to help cigarette makers, Las Vegas casinos, the pharmaceutical industry, credit card lenders, coal mine owners and others.”…
Read MoreLax regulations for contractors a recipe for trouble
McNelly Torres of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that loopholes state regulations allow corrupt business owners to continue defrauding their customers. Citing the example of John T. Pluto and his company All American Driveways and Pool Deck Inc., Torres documented how countless complaints have not impeded Pluto’s business enterprises in Broward County. “State regulators and…
Read MoreAt what cost? A look at CA community college football programs
Brent Schrotenboer of The San Diego Union-Tribune looks at the cost of community college football programs in the state of California. There are 72 community college programs in the state of California versus 68 in the rest of the US. Some argue that they cost the state at the expense of academics. “For those that…
Read MoreNonprofits helped Abramoff clients for cash
James Grimaldi and Susan Schmidt of The Washington Post present details from a new Senate committee report that says former power lobbyist Jack Abramoff paid conservative nonprofit groups to use their influence to benefit his clients. “The report includes previously unreleased e-mails between the now-disgraced lobbyist and officers of the nonprofit groups, showing that Abramoff…
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