Local Reporting Network Archive
When Falling Behind on Rent Leads to Jail Time
Evictions in Arkansas can snowball from criminal charges to arrests to jail time because of a 119-year-old law that mostly impacts female, Black and low-income renters. Even prosecutors have called it unconstitutional.
Maine Officials Propose Doubling Budget for Agency Charged With Defending the Poor
Lawyers proposed opening Maine’s first two public defender offices and a substantial pay raise for court-appointed counsel in a $35.4 million budget approved by the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services.
To Reclaim Ancestral Land, All Native Hawaiians Need Is a $300,000 Mortgage and to Wait in Line for Decades
A 100-year-old program created to provide Native Hawaiians — especially poor ones — land to live on after the U.S. annexed the islands is failing. Thousands have died waiting in line and even more can’t afford the mortgages they’d need.
How We Found Low-Income Hawaiians Were Left Behind by the Homesteading Program
ProPublica’s first-of-its-kind analysis showed that a Native Hawaiian housing program left behind much of the community it was supposed to help. Here’s how we did it.
Alaska’s “Him Too” Moment: When Politicians and Allies Come With Accusations of Their Own
As scandals force Alaska politicians to resign, nowhere have the accusations been more severe than this remote rural district, where male leaders are proving to be part of the very problems they’re supposed to be solving.
The Elk, the Tourists and the Missing Coal Country Jobs
A proposed wildlife center got a $12 million federal grant after promising to bring millions of dollars and thousands of tourists to eastern Kentucky. Four years later, residents are still waiting for the jobs they were promised.
Maine Hires Lawyers With Criminal Records to Defend Poor Residents. The Governor Wants Reform.
Gov. Janet Mills publicly called for a bipartisan effort to reform Maine’s defense system for poor people accused of crimes in response to an investigation by The Maine Monitor and ProPublica.
Help Us Investigate Collection Practices at Virginia Colleges and Universities
Academic institutions are sending students’ unpaid tuition bills to collection agencies and courthouses. Has this happened to you or anyone you know?
Four Types of Scandals Utility Companies Get Into With Money From Your Electric Bills
When power companies across the country fight for favorable legislation, sometimes their efforts cross the line and customers pay the price.
Electionland 2020: Florida Felon Voting, Election Websites, DOJ Policies and More
This week’s headlines on mask-wearing at the polls, ongoing litigation and misinformation.
Inside the Utility Company Lobbying Blitz That Will Hike Electric Bills
Democrats who campaigned against Virginia’s largest public utility, Dominion Energy, swept into office. Then the company’s lobbying efforts kicked into high gear. Here’s how it fought against legislation meant to lower residents’ electric bills.
ProPublica to Launch New Regional Units in the South and Southwest; ProPublica Illinois to Expand to Midwest Regional Newsroom
Nonprofit Newsroom Also Launches Distinguished Fellows Program to Support Local Investigative Journalism
She Was Afraid of Her Lawyer. Then the Text Messages Started.
Leah Kerwin started receiving daily texts and videos explicitly requesting oral sex or intercourse. They came from her court-appointed attorney, who had already been suspended for other misconduct.
Maine Hires Lawyers With Criminal Records to Defend Its Poorest Residents
Maine is the only state in the country with no public defender system. Instead, legal services for the poor are left to private attorneys, who face disproportionately high amounts of discipline, and an office that doesn’t supervise them.
What Happens After a Debt Collection Machine Grinds to a Halt
One year ago, Methodist Le Bonheur hospital system erased nearly $12 million of medical debt after an investigation from MLK50 and ProPublica. We checked in with two women who have new jobs and a new optimism about their future.
Ohio Just Ordered GM to Repay $28 Million in Tax Breaks for Closing the Lordstown Auto Plant
General Motors received more than $60 million in tax credits to operate a massive assembly plant in Lordstown until 2040. But after the facility closed last year, the state says GM must pay back roughly half of those tax benefits.
The Federal Government Promised Native American Students Computers and Internet. Many Are Still Waiting.
Native American students in BIE operated schools were forced to start the school year without adequate technology, sometimes sharing a single computer among siblings, because the agency disbursed funding late and failed to purchase equipment in time.
Gov. Gavin Newsom Says California Is Cracking Down on Oil Spills. But Our Reporting Shows Many Are Still Flowing.
After we reported oil companies are making millions from illegal spills, California’s governor defended his administration’s record on oil regulation.
