Local Reporting Network Archive
These Judges Can Have Less Training Than Barbers but Still Decide Thousands of Cases Each Year
South Carolina’s system for magistrate judges is unlike any state in the country, creating fertile ground for incompetence and corruption. Most aren’t lawyers, but their decisions can have lasting effects on the vulnerable people who come before them.
Health Officials in “Cancer Alley” Will Study if Living Near a Controversial Chemical Plant Causes Cancer
Louisiana officials will knock on every door within 2.5 kilometers of the only plant in the country that emits chloroprene, which the EPA calls a likely carcinogen. An analysis said the airborne cancer risk near the plant was the highest in the nation.
Separated by Design: Why Affordable Housing Is Built in Areas With High Crime, Few Jobs and Struggling Schools
Connecticut’s approach to affordable housing creates pockets of poverty, where low-income people are locked out of opportunities that are just around the corner.
New Jersey Political Boss Defends Tax Breaks, Denounces “King George” Critics
George E. Norcross III, facing a panel of friendly New Jersey lawmakers and a room of boisterous demonstrators, said the tax breaks had laid the groundwork for a “rapid and stunning renaissance” in Camden.
What Could Happen if a $9.4 Billion Chemical Plant Comes to “Cancer Alley”
In St. James Parish, Louisiana, a Taiwanese industrial giant seems likely to be granted a permit to build a billion-dollar plastics plant. Its proposed emissions could triple levels of cancer-causing chemicals in one of the most toxic areas of the U.S.
New EPA Rules Aim to Reduce Toxic Emissions. But Many “Cancer Alley” Chemical Plants Won’t Have to Change.
The proposed rules reducing emissions across the country would not apply to many of Louisiana’s chemical plants. These facilities release tons of dangerous, cancer-causing chemicals like ethylene oxide, and more plants are on the way.
We Investigated the Crisis in California’s Jails. Now, the Governor Calls for More Oversight.
Gov. Gavin Newsom wants the state to have more power to scrutinize local jails. This comes after a McClatchy and ProPublica investigation found the agency meant to oversee the jails is toothless and that some jail conditions are inhumane.
“They Want to Be Treated Like Men and Women, Not as a Subhuman”
A corrections overhaul sent thousands of inmates to local jails, where some advocates say conditions can be “subhuman.” A panel at Stanford Law School examined potential solutions.
NPR Illinois Journalists Can’t Report Freely on University of Illinois Sexual Misconduct. These Organizations Want that to Change.
The ACLU of Illinois, press freedom groups and victims’ rights advocates urged the university to alter a policy that requires reporters to tell campus officials about sources’ sexual harassment complaints.
A Jail Increased Extreme Isolation to Stop Suicides. More People Killed Themselves.
The Kern County, CA Sheriff’s Office places hundreds of people into suicide watch each year. They’re held for days or weeks in rooms without mattresses and sometimes toilets. The state can’t stop it.
Even Louisiana’s Wealthier Neighborhoods Can’t Escape Toxic Air in “Cancer Alley”
Industrial development usually targets poor communities, but Ascension Parish is one of the richest, and most toxic, places in Louisiana. Some residents say the financial benefits of living there outweigh the risks.
How We Found New Chemical Plants Are Being Built in South Louisiana’s Most Polluted Areas
ProPublica and The Times-Picayune and The Advocate investigated the potential cancer-causing toxicity in the air. Using EPA data, public records requests and more, we found that some of the country’s most toxic air will likely get worse.
Why Louisiana’s Air Quality Is Going From Bad to Worse, in 3 Charts
Welcome to “Cancer Alley.”
I’ve Investigated Industrial Pollution for 35 Years. We’re Going Backwards.
Decades ago, Mark Schleifstein and his colleagues exposed environmental threats coming out of industrial plants all along the Louisiana section of the Mississippi River. A lot of those plants never went away, and even more are moving in.
Welcome to “Cancer Alley,” Where Toxic Air Is About to Get Worse
Air quality has improved for decades across the U.S., but Louisiana is backsliding. Our analysis found that a crush of new industrial plants will increase concentrations of cancer-causing chemicals in predominantly black and poor communities.
In a Notoriously Polluted Area of the Country, Massive New Chemical Plants Are Still Moving In
Data from an EPA model indicates that communities along the lower Mississippi River corridor already face severely elevated cancer risks from industrial activity. Massive new chemical plants are slated to be built there anyway.
Alaska’s Uneven Rural Law Enforcement System Often Leaves Remote Villages With No Cops
A tiny Alaskan village got a police officer. He’s never had to make an arrest. Meanwhile, larger communities with more crime have often been left behind as the state’s two-tiered policing crisis gets worse.
After the Last Cop Killed Himself, All the Criminals Have to Do Is Hide
Days before his death in 2005, Simeon Askoak told officials how an Alaskan rural policing program was broken. His village hasn’t had another permanent cop since.
How We Identified the Frat Brothers Holding Guns in Front of an Emmett Till Memorial
We searched through property records, tips from Instagram users, and dozens of Instagram and Facebook photos and videos to figure out their names.
A University Committee Urged Changes to the Handling of Sexual Harassment, but Leaders Haven’t Said When They’ll Adopt Reforms
A new report from a University of Illinois panel on faculty misconduct seeks a broader definition of sexual harassment and more transparency. But a university spokesperson couldn’t say when the reforms would be adopted or how much they would cost.
