The Scoop

Yesterday I wrote about the Fresno Bee’s story on heat-related deaths this summer; today comes Hank Shaw of the Stockton Record, who did a similar story with a focus on the whole Central Valley. “A Record investigation involving dozens of county coroners’ reports, published accounts as well as state and local data shows most of [...]

Thomas Goldsmith of the Raleigh News & Observer used state records to find that “more than 50 people living in adult-care homes in North Carolina died recently after preventable mistakes … inattentive care, medication errors and poor maintenance of the homes contributed to the deaths over a five-year period.” Fines for violating state laws on [...]

Matthew Doig and Todd Ruger of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reviewed local court records to find “a dozen civil court cases in Sarasota County that have disappeared in the past five years, put on a secret docket that prevents the public from knowing the cases exist.” The court clerk’s computer system “that keeps track of every [...]

Charlie Savage of the Boston Globe used FOIA to obtain documents showing that “the Bush administration is quietly remaking the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, filling the permanent ranks with lawyers who have strong conservative credentials but little experience in civil rights … only 42 percent of the lawyers hired since 2003, after the administration [...]

Kevin Corcoran of the Indianapolis Star reports on the expansion of the city’s Central Library, which “is two years behind schedule, more than $50 million over budget, mired in expensive lawsuits and rife with allegations of mismanagement, fraud and conflict of interest.” The paper’s review found that “the root of these problems was an ill-fated [...]