Local Reporting Network Archive
Timber Tax Cuts Cost Oregon Towns Billions. Then Polluted Water Drove Up the Price.
Rural communities in Oregon paid millions of dollars for clean, safe drinking water because the state didn’t protect their watersheds from logging-related contamination.
Hawaii Officials Promise Changes to Seawall Policies That Have Quickened Beach Destruction
Seawalls erode Hawaii’s beaches, but the state has been lax about approving them and disorganized about enforcing the law. Officials now pledge action, after a Honolulu Star-Advertiser and ProPublica investigation.
Officials Let Hawaii’s Waterfront Homeowners Damage Public Beaches Again and Again
Everybody knows that seawalls cause beach loss, and Hawaii law forbids building them. But Honolulu County officials have granted exemptions to 46 homeowners over the past two decades even as a quarter of Oahu’s beaches have disappeared.
Alaska Requires DNA Be Collected From People Arrested for Violent Crimes. Many Police Have Ignored That.
By failing to collect DNA samples when they arrest people as the law requires, Alaskan law enforcement left the state’s DNA database with crucial gaps, allowing at least one serial rapist to go undetected.
After 3 Years and $1.5 Million Testing Rape Kits, Alaska Made One New Arrest
In the state with the highest rate of sexual assault in the nation, testing the backlog of rape kits may not be enough. Many were from cases where the identity of the suspect was already known, or were opened only to find no usable DNA.
Hawaii’s Beaches Are Disappearing
Major islands have lost nearly a quarter of their beaches in the last century. The culprit? Seawalls and other barriers erected by wealthy homeowners.
After a Violent Crime, Arizona Promised Reforms for People With Developmental Disabilities. It Has Yet to Deliver.
After a woman with developmental disabilities was raped and gave birth to a child in a state home, a task force recommended changes to improve care for some of Arizona’s most vulnerable residents. Only a third of them have been fully implemented.
Hawaii’s Big Fix to Its Housing Shortage for Native Hawaiians? A Casino.
The state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is pushing a plan to build a casino on ancestral land to raise money for more housing. This happened just after the Star-Advertiser and ProPublica found chronic problems in the state’s native land program.
She Noticed $200 Million Missing, Then She Was Fired
Alice Stebbins was hired to fix the finances of California’s powerful utility regulator. She was fired after finding $200 million for the state’s deaf, blind and poor residents was missing.
A Temp Worker Died on the Job After FedEx Didn’t Fix a Known Hazard. The Fine: $7,000.
FedEx workers at the Memphis World Hub said they were pressured to work faster than they felt was safe. The company faces its busiest season ever, but experts worry about safety practices after the “extremely preventable” death of a temporary worker.
The Government Promised to Return Ancestral Hawaiian Land, Then Never Finished the Job
Native Hawaiians are still waiting for state and federal officials to fulfill the promises of land legislation that was signed into law 25 years ago. “Justice delayed is justice denied,” said one former governor.
They Made a Revolutionary System to Protect People With Developmental Disabilities. Now It’s Falling Apart.
Arizona’s Independent Oversight Committees helped it become one of the best places in the country for the care of people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. But now members say the state hasn’t provided necessary resources.
Join Us for an Event About Our Investigation Into Arizona’s Intellectual and Developmental Disability Services
Hear from people featured in our investigation into services for people with developmental disabilities living in Arizona, at a free, virtual event on Dec. 16. The event will also feature people who were instrumental in making the project accessible.
Join Us to Talk About the Stories We Wrote About People With Developmental Disabilities in Arizona
There will be a free event on Zoom on Dec. 16. You can hear from the people in our stories and the people who helped make them.
This System Is Supposed to Protect People With Developmental Disabilities. It Is Falling Apart.
Arizona’s Independent Oversight Committees helped make it one of the best places to live as a person with DD. But now they say the state isn’t giving them what they need.
Federal Regulators Are Rewriting Environmental Rules So a Massive Pipeline Can Be Built
Federal regulators and West Virginia agencies are rewriting environmental rules again to pave the way for construction of a major natural gas pipeline across Appalachia, even after an appeals court blocked the pipeline for the second time.
How Famous Surfers and Wealthy Homeowners Are Endangering Hawaii’s Beaches
Hawaii’s beaches are public land, which officials are obligated to protect and preserve. But a state agency has repeatedly allowed homeowners, including surfer Kelly Slater, to use tactics that protect property while speeding up the loss of beaches.
Nonprofit Hospital Almost Never Gave Discounts to Poor Patients During Collections, Documents Show
We reported how Memphis’ largest hospital system sued thousands of poor patients. Now, new data shared with Sen. Chuck Grassley shows the system collected $169 million in past-due bills, but only 1% received financial assistance during collections.
A Coal Company Owned by This Billionaire Governor Has Pledged to Stop Breaking Pollution Laws
Gov. Jim Justice's Bluestone Coal Corp. will stop violating water pollution rules, according to a settlement. The company benefited from actions by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, whose secretary Justice appointed.
The Way Prisoners Flag Guard Abuse, Inadequate Health Care and Unsanitary Conditions Is Broken
Prisoners rely on grievances as an early-warning system for dangerous conditions, from poor medical care to abuse. But in Illinois, experts say the system is sputtering, with little oversight, resulting in injuries to prisoners.
