The ExxonMobil Near-disaster You Probably Never Heard of: An in-depth look at the 2015 near-miss accident at the Torrance refinery that registered as a 1.7-magnitude tremor and sent industrial ash raining across parts of Southern California. The story examines the dangers of hydrofluoric acid in oil refining and takes a critical look at the company that purchased the refinery in the months following the near catastrophe. This was a collaboration with KPCC, or Southern California Public Radio.
READ: Grist
READ: The Huffington Post
LISTEN: Southern California Public Radio
State Cutbacks, Recalcitrance Hinder Clean Air: Congress promised Americans the guarantee of safe air, but federal and state cutbacks combined with political pushback have weakened enforcement of the landmark Clean Air Act. This national investigation looked at declining environmental regulator staffing across the country, as well as the EPA’s difficulties with reining in polluter-friendly state policies.
READ: The Huffington Post
READ: The News & Observer
WATCH: Forgotten in the South End
Hot Mess: A multi-state investigation exploring inconsistencies across the Marcellus Shale when it comes to tracking, handling and disposal of radioactive waste from fracking. This story launched the Ohio Valley ReSource, a new 7-station radio consortium focused on the environment and energy issues, which created interactive graphics and a complementary radio piece. Story was also co-published with Grist.
READ: Ohio Valley ReSource
READ: Grist
Science for Sale: A four-part series co-published with VICE News highlighting industry’s growing influence on science. Wrote and reported the final installment, which profiled two prolific journals criticized for playing down chemical risks. Also contributed general reporting and research for the series.
READ: Brokers of Junk Science?
READ: Ford Spent $40 Million to Reshape Asbestos Science
Unequal Risk: An ongoing series on toxic exposure issues for American workers. My story focused on protracted asbestos depositions, including a sidebar, and was co-published by the ABA Journal.
READ: Dying Depositions
READ: Lengthy Depositions Not Widely Regulated
Housing the Unwanted: A deep dive into New York’s statewide residency restrictions for sex offenders on parole, which mean extended prison stays and questionable housing assignments. Offenders statewide are clustered in low-income areas where they fill homeless shelters, motels, and sometimes even illegal rooming houses–often on the taxpayer dime.
READ: The New York World | PDF
LISTEN: WNYC’s All Things Considered | PDF
In New York, Padlocked Jumpsuits: A records-based look at a unique and little known program in New York for inmates who expose themselves: a neon green, padlocked jumpsuit and yellow signs that read “EXPOSER.” The program, still in pilot mode, has been cleared for use on inmates with serious mental illness or those serving solitary confinement.
READ: The Marshall Project | PDF
READ: The New York World | PDF
In Pursuit of Open Records: An exhaustive look at the state of open records compliance in New York State. We partnered with MuckRock–a digital news site–to send, track, and assess 344 requests to a mix of 86 municipal, city, and state agencies. Story highlighted multiple barriers to obtaining open records and emerging alternatives to filing a freedom of information request. Package included several types of interactive elements and an animation to help readers understand the FOIL process.
READ: The New York World | PDF
READ: MuckRock | PDF
WATCH: Animation by Mariana Palau
City Struggles to Protect Vulnerable Adults: An investigation using various public records and interviews found a city agency tasked with protecting and serving vulnerable adults has been saddled with high caseloads and other problems that have put clients at risk, including deaths tied to staff. We partnered with City Limits, an investigative, non-profit outlet that highlights urban issues.
READ: The New York World | PDF
READ: City Limits | PDF
LISTEN: WNYC’s All Things Considered | PDF
Access Denied: An investigative series detailing the decline in use of two nursery programs for pregnant inmates in New York state. Improper denials of applicants have spurred lawsuits and some correctional reform.
1. Pregnant Inmates Struggle to Gain Entry into Nursery Programs | PDF
2. One Woman’s Story, Two Nurseries | PDF
3. Records Confirm Rikers Island Nursery Little Used | PDF
4. State Can’t Find Own Records on Landmark Nursery | PDF
5. State Reverses Itself, Records Confirm Decline | PDF
WATCH : PBS MetroFocus
When Judges are Judged: A look at how judicial misconduct in New York state has largely remained under wraps, including an analysis of a decade of decisions by the state agency tasked with investigating and penalizing wayward judges.
READ: The New York World | PDF
READ: The Albany Times Union | PDF
The Vaccination Debates: Why some parents are opting out of vaccines for their children in New York State and what that means for other children. An analysis of statewide vaccination trends used data obtained from the state health department through a records request.
READ: The New York World | PDF
Ambulance Coverage: Full series on the political debate over a countywide contract for ambulance service. Contractual talks highlighted disparities in ambulance service to rural areas.
1. York County Council Set to End Racing Ambulances | PDF
2. Critics Speak Out Against Ambulance Plan | PDF
3. York County Looking to Raise Ambulance Standards With Revised Hospital Contract | PDF
4. York County Pulls Back on Plans to Overhaul Ambulance System | PDF
Mines, Gullies, & Landfills: Select environmental enterprise pieces include a delayed federal cleanup site, a protracted legal battle over a landfill, a land use plan gone stale and a couple sacked with the cleanup of a tire pit.
1. Catawba Superfund Site Threatens Local Water 30 Years Later | PDF
2. State Orders Couple to Clean Up Tire Gully | PDF
3. SC Supreme Court Hears County Dispute Over Proposed Landfill | PDF
4. NC Company Eyes Clover for Mining Operation | PDF
5. York County Group Dedicates Land, Falls Short of Preservation Goal | PDF
Cost Overruns & County Politics: A sampling of enterprise coverage that stemmed from my daily county politics beat. Stories dug into issues of municipal overspending and delayed projects as well as local legislative impacts.
1. Road Could ‘Ease’ Worst Intersection, But Some Question Price Tag | PDF
2. York Courthouse Renovation Doesn’t Meet Growing Needs | PDF
3. County Decision Blocks Municipalities from Housing Funds | PDF
4. York County Leaders Tout New Law Allowing Guns in Restaurants | PDF
5. Longtime Councilman Leaves Behind Loyal Following, Some Friction | PDF
→ ‘Seaport City’ Proposed By Mayor
→ Early Summer Sizzle in New York
→ N.J. Man to be Tried in Pennsylvania
→ Students Get Taste of Living on Food Stamps
→ Family of Slain Woman Offers Reward
→ Folk Singer Aids Bone Marrow Donor Testing
→ Mortgage Settlement Leaves New Yorkers On Hold | PDF
→ NYC’s Social Adult Day Cares | PDF
→ Yes, We Have (No) Local Strawberries | PDF
→ Stand By Your Assemblyman? | PDF
→ In Gerritsen Beach, Fighting the Flood | PDF
→ Gluten Danger Puts Schools to Test | PDF
→ Lawns, the Quiet Victims of Recessions
→ Excedrin Production Resumes
→ Why Your Tomato Has No Flavor | PDF
→ Cutting the Cost of Cacophony in Hospitals
→ Lawmakers Looking To Close Legal Loopholes on Bath Salts
→ Last Look Until 2117: Transit of Venus
Contributing Bylines:
→ Retail Sales Cap Sluggish Quarter
→ Housing Stirs, but Economy Slows
→ Poor Children Drive City’s Asthma Rate
→ Health-Law Guessing Game Grips The Capital