From Steve Fisher for New America Media, the story of an element needed for cell phones, weapons, and hybrid cars – available to be mined in Alaska. Its discovery brings hope to the unemployed, but concern for the environment: “Dysprosium, a “rare-earth” element, is essential in the production of technologies as varied as iPhones, wind turbines, smart bombs and predator drones. China currently ...
From Lee van der Voo, for InvestigateWest and the New York Times, the investigation of a federal anti-poverty program for Alaska fishing communities, which finds that lavish salaries for program leaders and a lack of oversight has undermined progress. Some villages still lack basic necessities such as sanitary toilet facilities for its public health care clinic. An excerpt: “..the results on the ground, ...
From Susan Greene for The Colorado Independent and Huffington Post, the story of the devastating impact of the wide scale use of solitary confinement in US prisons. Her article draws a connection between the recent murder of the chief of Colorado prisons and an inmate who was released after being confined for years in solitary. An excerpt: “Combing through Colorado’s data, [the ...
From San Francisco Public Press, a series on cap-and-trade, California-style. Among the findings: car pollution will increase, carbon offsets could mean pollution-as-usual, low-carbon power in California could increase emissions elsewhere, and plans to replace forest with tree farms could backfire. But there is good news in some areas, where carbon credits provide incentives for preservation. Start reading the series here. Photo credit: ...
From Hella Winston for The Jewish Week, the Brooklyn DA’s office says it needs more time to prepare its prosecution of an Orthodox Jewish whistleblower who reported sexual abuse. An excerpt: “With the Brooklyn district attorney’s case against chasidic sex abuse whistleblower Sam Kellner seemingly falling apart amid mounting evidence that Kellner’s main accuser may have been manipulated and paid to lodge ...
From Alexandra Robbins for Washingtonian Magazine, the story of a critical shortage of nutrients needed to keep children born prematurely alive. An excerpt from the article: “Doctors and pharmacists say that because of nationwide shortages caused by a combination of factors – manufacturing problems, a market with few incentives for companies to produce low-profit drugs, and the government’s delayed and inadequate ...
From the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, an investigation by Kate Golden of chemicals used on Wisconsin farms and feed lots that run off and pollute natural bodies of water. An excerpt: “Despite growing evidence of risks, state and federal governments have issued little guidance on how much of these suspected endocrine disruptors in our lakes, streams and groundwater constitute danger ...
From Emma Jacobs of WHYY – Philadelphia, the story of traffic checkpoints used to catch undocumented immigrants. An excerpt: “Thomas Decker, the head of ICE’s regional enforcement and removal operations, said that during operations such as those in Norristown, immigration officials exercise independent judgment in each case. ‘Once we determine alienage, then is it somebody that falls into a priority. ...
From City Limits, a report on New York campaign consultants who help elect, then lobby their candidates. An excerpt: “The firms that both consult and lobby turn the typical pay-to-play concerns of government watchdogs on their head. The issue here is not who’s giving money to a campaign, but who’s receiving candidates’ money—in exchange for valuable help. Consultants are, according to ...
From D.B. Grady and Marc Ambinder, an investigation into secrecy and leaks, based on thousands of recently declassified documents and interviews with more than one hundred officials. From the book jacket: “Real secrets can’t be kept, trivial ones are held forever, and sensitive ones are far too susceptible to political manipulation.” An excerpt from Chapter One: “With so many secret keepers, ...