Local Reporting Network Archive
The Director of Florida’s Program for Brain Damaged Infants Has Resigned
The head of NICA, or the Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Association, resigned following a report from ProPublica and the Miami Herald detailing families’ struggles as they sought — and were often denied — support they’d been promised.
Help Us Understand Pacific Northwest Salmon and Treaty Rights
Dozens of people have told us about the decline of wild fish in the Columbia River and the U.S. government’s failure to uphold treaty rights. Now, we’re interested in hearing from you.
“A Complete Failure of the State”: Authorities Didn’t Heed Researchers’ Calls to Study Health Effects of Burning Sugar Cane
Health officials in Florida’s sugar belt failed to act on recommendations to study the health impact of cane burning, despite decades of internal research and complaints from residents.
Audit Confirms That a Program for Brain-Damaged Kids Arbitrarily Denied Claims and Overspent on Perks
A new report validates many of the findings of an investigation published by the Miami Herald and ProPublica about Florida’s Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Association, or NICA.
School District That Employed Principal Despite Sex Abuse Complaints Will Pay $3.8 Million to His Victims
An Alaska school principal who abused young girls kept his job despite years of complaints. Now the district will pay millions to his victims. His conviction is part of a series of failures by the state’s schools to protect students from educators.
We Reported on Pollution From Sugar Cane Burning. Now Federal Lawmakers Want the EPA to Take Action.
Citing a Palm Beach Post/ProPublica report on the burning of cane fields, leading members of Congress have called for the EPA to investigate air monitoring in Florida and to change national pollution standards.
Alaskan Law Requires DNA From Accused Criminals, but Officials Failed to Collect Samples From 21,000 People
Alaska authorities neglected to collect DNA swabs from nearly a quarter of qualifying arrestees since 1995, the state said. The requirement was supposed to help solve sexual assault cases and put serial offenders behind bars.
Fatal Crash Renews Concerns About Safety of Alaska Aviation
A sightseeing flight near Ketchikan, Alaska, crashed last week, killing the pilot and five passengers. So far this year, 13 people have died in three crashes of small commercial planes.
Hay humo todos los años. Las compañías azucareras dicen que el aire es saludable.
Para cosechar más de la mitad de la caña de azúcar de Estados Unidos, empresas multimillonarias prenden fuego a los cañaverales, una práctica para ahorrar dinero que está prohibida por otros países. Algunos residentes dicen que les cuesta respirar, así que comenzamos a estudiar la calidad del aire.
Future of Program for Brain-Damaged Children Now Rests With Powerful Florida Official
Florida’s chief financial officer must name new board members for the Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Association, as his office undertakes an audit and an investigation prompted by our reporting.
Tax-Funded Forest Institute in Oregon Misled Public, May Have Broken State Law, Audit Finds
State auditors found that an agency intended to educate the public about forestry presented biased information favoring the timber industry and possibly violated state law. The audit was prompted by our investigation last year into the agency.
Testing the Air to Tell a Story: How We Investigated Air Pollution Near Florida’s Sugar Fields
A look at the community engagement and citizen data-collection that made our major investigation in the Florida Glades come to life.
Facing New Complaint, South Carolina Magistrate Removed as County’s Chief Judge
Magistrate Angel Underwood was removed from her post after court officials sat on a complaint for years. Underwood has been accused of failing to remain impartial toward the local sheriff’s department, which her husband used to run.
The Smoke Comes Every Year. Sugar Companies Say the Air Is Safe.
To harvest more than half of America’s cane sugar, billion-dollar companies set fire to fields, a money-saving practice that’s being banned by other countries. Some residents say they struggle to breathe, so we started tracking air quality.
Sugar Companies Said Our Investigation Is Flawed and Biased. Let’s Dive Into Why That’s Not the Case.
ProPublica and The Palm Beach Post published an investigation into the air quality in Florida’s heartland, where more than half the country’s cane sugar is harvested, often by burning the fields. Sugar companies challenged our reporting. We respond.
