Impact
Journalism in the Public Interest
Latest Stories
Alaska Charges Former Acting Attorney General With Sexual Abuse of a Minor
Ed Sniffen faces three counts of sexual abuse of a minor for having sex with a 17-year-old girl he coached in high school in 1991.
Lawmakers Demand Action on Child Welfare Failures
Calls for improved access to mental health and substance abuse treatment follow reporting by ProPublica and The Southern Illinoisan on the large number of parents investigated repeatedly by Illinois’ Department of Children and Family Services.
Lawmakers Approve $600 Million to Help Fix Housing Program for Native Hawaiians
State legislators passed landmark legislation to help buoy a long-troubled program for making reparations to Native Hawaiians. The move follows a ProPublica and Star-Advertiser investigation.
Maine Will Soon Hire Its First Five Public Defenders. Most of the State Remains Without Them.
The only state in the country with no public defenders will still need an estimated $51 million to provide the service to indigent defendants in all 16 of Maine’s counties. It’s “not a solution, it’s a patch,” says the agency’s director.
Conditions at Mississippi’s Most Notorious Prison Violate the Constitution, DOJ Says
“The problems at Parchman are severe, systemic, and exacerbated by serious deficiencies in staffing and supervision,” the report said.
Detroit City Council Calls on Michigan’s Largest Utility to Pause Shut-offs, Explain Its High Electricity Rates
The council resolution follows revelations by Outlier Media and ProPublica on the high number of DTE customers whose accounts were disconnected during the pandemic.
Lawmakers Approve Payments to Parents of Children Who Died of Catastrophic Brain Injuries
A year after reforming a program for children who suffered devastating brain injuries at birth, Florida lawmakers voted to extend help to families whose children died.
Washington State Budgets $1.6 Million for Study and Removal of Toxic Lights
Responding to a Seattle Times and ProPublica investigation, state lawmakers set aside funds after fluorescent lights leaked PCBs at a Seattle-area school for several years. But legislators say it’s only a first step.
Representatives Introduce $500 Million Air Quality Bill, Citing ProPublica’s Investigations
Lawmakers introduced a House bill to fund air monitoring after ProPublica highlighted pollution in its “Black Snow” and “Sacrifice Zones” investigations. The bill is nearly identical to one introduced in the Senate last summer.
Lawmakers Propose $600 Million to Fix Housing Program for Native Hawaiians
Hawaii legislators are seeking to infuse $600 million into the state’s native land program. The move follows a Star-Advertiser/ProPublica investigation that found that the state wasn’t returning many low-income beneficiaries to their ancestral land.
Tennessee Judge Who Illegally Jailed Children Plans to Retire, Will Not Seek Reelection
Since 2000, Judge Donna Scott Davenport has overseen juvenile justice in Rutherford County. Following reporting from Nashville Public Radio and ProPublica, public outcry and a bill seeking to oust the judge, Davenport announced her retirement.
After Years of Complaints, Florida Improves Pollution Monitoring Near Burning Sugar Cane Fields
Regulators updated air-monitoring equipment following a ProPublica/Palm Beach Post investigation that found shortcomings in the way authorities police air quality during the cane burning season in Florida’s heartland.
At Last, Florida Families Hit Hard by Their Children’s Birth Injuries Are Promised More Help
The chairman of Florida’s NICA board gave parents of children born with brain injuries the message some of them waited decades to hear: “You have been heard.”
LA Inspector General Looks Into Allegations of Racist Policing by Sheriff’s Deputies on School Grounds
Citing a LAist/ProPublica report that sheriff’s deputies disproportionately stopped and cited Black students, LA County’s Inspector General said he will look into allegations of racial discrimination in California’s Antelope Valley high schools.
Florida Program to Aid Brain-Damaged Kids Often Told Families No. It’s Promising to Change.
The program promised support while taking away parents’ right to seek justice. Instead, NICA often forced parents to go through the state’s Medicaid safety net first — including appeals. Now, a proposed set of rules could change the approach.
Louisiana Deputy Who Slammed a Black Woman on the Pavement Was Named in Multiple Suits, Records Show
Julio Alvarado, a Jefferson Parish deputy who was seen on video violently dragging a woman by the hair, has been named in nine federal civil rights lawsuits, all involving the use of excessive force. This is the most of any deputy currently employed.
Tennessee Children Were Illegally Jailed. Now Members of Congress Are Asking For an Investigation.
Government officials called Rutherford County’s juvenile justice system a “nightmare” that “boggles the mind.” They are demanding answers about why children were “unjustly searched, detained, charged, and imprisoned.”
Rich Homeowners Have Endangered Hawaii’s Beaches With Sand Burritos. The State Is Cracking Down.
Coastal officials in Hawaii are taking action against residents who lined their oceanfront properties with sandbags. A Star-Advertiser/ProPublica investigation last year found that lax enforcement of these protections was threatening beaches.
Outrage Grows Over Jailing of Children as Tennessee University Cuts Ties With Judge Involved
In the days following a ProPublica and Nashville Public Radio report on juvenile justice in Rutherford County, the president of Middle Tennessee State University told staff Judge Donna Scott Davenport “is no longer affiliated with the University.”
Head of California Utility Regulator Resigns Less Than One Year Into Six-Year Term
President Marybel Batjer’s resignation comes after numerous controversies and a ProPublica and Bay City News Foundation report on $200 million in missing funds.
