Local Reporting Network Archive
Sexual Misconduct Allegations Prompt Another Alaska Attorney General to Resign
Ed Sniffen stepped down as the Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica were preparing an article about his relationship with a 17-year-old girl three decades ago. The state has now launched an investigation into the allegations.
Air Quality Regulators in “Cancer Alley” Have Fallen Dangerously Behind
An audit found that the time it takes the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality to issue penalties to polluters has doubled. Some companies that have been known to violate air quality rules were able to keep at it for years, or even decades.
“The People We Serve Are Paying Too Much for Energy:” Virginia Lawmakers Are Targeting Dominion Energy
A bipartisan group of Virginia lawmakers are pushing a legislative package to strengthen oversight of the state’s largest utility, Dominion Energy. The effort could return millions in refunds to customers.
Has Your Family Paid Fees or Fines to a Juvenile Justice System?
Has your family faced financial hardship as a result of a delinquency case? We’d like to hear from you.
How the CARES Act Forgot America’s Most Vulnerable Hospitals
COVID-19 relief was meant to give a lifeline to hospitals, especially the small, rural facilities that struggled to stay open before 2020. But in states like Oklahoma, problems created by confusing guidelines could cause harm long after the pandemic.
A Woman With Developmental Disabilities Was Abused in Arizona. The State Promised Changes. It Has Not Made Them Yet.
A woman with DD living in a state home was raped and had a baby. A task force was made to come up with changes to protect people like her. Most of those changes have not happened yet.
Memphis-Area Residents Without Internet Must Wait Days for Vaccination Appointments, While Others Go to the Front of the Line
The county’s decision to prioritize vaccinations for internet users — and its failure to set aside any appointments for callers — raises issues of equity and access, say experts.
South Carolina’s Governor Addresses Magistrate Judge Controversy by Urging Changes
An investigation from the Post and Courier and ProPublica found that most judges had no law training and some accepted bribes, stole money and ignored constitutional protections. Now, South Carolina’s governor says he wants change.
Magistrate Judges Took Bribes, Stole Money and Mishandled Cases. South Carolina Officials Now Want Reform.
South Carolina lawmakers are eyeing reforms to strengthen oversight of magistrate judges after ProPublica and The Post and Courier found some had been appointed and reappointed despite ethical and professional lapses.
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.
