Local Reporting Network Archive
We Reported on Corporate Tax Breaks in the Rust Belt. Now Officials Want Tougher Enforcement.
Ohio officials are calling for stricter regulation of corporate tax breaks after a Business Journal and ProPublica investigation found half the projects that received tax abatements in Youngstown since the 1990s failed to deliver the jobs promised.
Trapped at Sea, Alone With Her Assailant, He Told Her “You’re Mine for the Week”
Cathleen was raped five hours into a multi-day fishing trip, where she and the captain who assaulted her were the only ones on board. She begged to be taken back to shore, but he said no, they had work to do.
I Cover Cops as an Investigative Reporter. Here Are Five Ways You Can Start Holding Your Department Accountable.
Police culture can be insular and tough to penetrate, but the public can hold law enforcement accountable. Here are important methods and context you need to know.
These Hospitals Pinned Their Hopes on Private Management Companies. Now They’re Deeper in Debt.
At least 13 hospitals in Oklahoma have closed or experienced added financial distress under the management of private companies. Some companies charged hefty management fees, promising to infuse millions of dollars that never materialized.
The Only Hospital in Town Was Failing. They Promised to Help but Only Made It Worse.
Rural Oklahoma communities are desperate to protect their vulnerable hospitals and hand the reins to management companies that say they’re turnaround experts. Instead some companies failed the hospitals, bled them dry and expedited their demise.
Giving Voice to Alaska’s Unheard Sexual Assault Survivors
We’re publishing our most ambitious effort yet to give voice to those who have been sexually assaulted in Alaska. We have talked to hundreds of survivors over the past year who have shared their stories.
Unheard
Alaska has the highest rate of sexual assault in the nation. Yet it is a secret so steeped into everyday life that discussing it disrupts the norm. These women and men did not choose to be violated, but they now choose to speak about what happened.
Here’s What Experts Say to Do After Experiencing Sexual Assault
We consulted six professionals in Alaska who work with survivors of sexual assault, including a therapist, a law enforcement officer, advocates for survivors, a nurse and a prosecutor. We compiled their guidance on the choices survivors can make.
How Photographers Sought to Redefine the Image of Alaska’s Sexual Assault Survivors
In capturing these photographs, the aim was to portray the underlying courage and strength of each person and to focus on who they had become.
How We Worked With Survivors of Sexual Assault in Alaska to Tell Their Stories
Journalists from ProPublica and the Anchorage Daily News spent months hearing from, and listening to, dozens of survivors about how they processed their trauma. Here’s how we told these stories fairly and accurately.
Nursing Homes Fought Federal Emergency Plan Requirements for Years. Now, They’re Coronavirus Hot Spots.
The long-term care industry resisted a federal mandate to plan for disasters including pandemics. About 43% of nursing homes have been caught violating the requirement, including facilities that have now had deadly COVID-19 outbreaks.
This Billionaire Governor’s Been Sued Over Unpaid Bills. A Judge Just Ordered Him to Pay More.
On Wednesday, another company owned by Gov. Jim Justice was ordered to pay nearly $2.8 million in a judgment over unpaid bills. The ruling comes just weeks before West Virginia’s primary election, where Justice is campaigning for a second term.
The Billionaire Governor Who’s Been Sued Dozens of Times for Millions in Unpaid Bills
Gov. Jim Justice is West Virginia’s richest man. Over the last three decades, lawsuits over unpaid bills have cost his constellation of companies more than $128 million in judgments and settlements.
See Who’s Taken Gov. Jim Justice to Court Over Unpaid Bills
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, a billionaire and the state’s richest man, has a long list of debt-collection cases. In the most complete analysis of his legal record to date, ProPublica found dozens totaling more than $128 million.
Nike Turned Away a Public Health Official From Its Warehouse Days After a Worker With COVID-19 Died
The Health Department received a complaint that a Nike warehouse wasn’t being cleaned thoroughly or allowing for social distancing. Its inspector wasn’t allowed inside. Twenty-one workers have tested positive for COVID-19 at Nike’s Memphis locations.
The Big Empty: How Corporate Headquarters Have Abandoned America’s Suburbs
As companies increasingly relocate to urban centers, sprawling, once-trendy corporate campuses like Sears’ and Kmart’s have been left crumbling in the suburbs.
Sears Helped Build a Giant Entertainment Arena. Now, a Suburb Pays Millions to Keep It Running.
A Chicago suburb is on the hook for millions to operate the Sears Centre arena — an amount that in some years accounts for as much as 14% of its budget.
Nearing Bankruptcy, Sears Claimed Fast-Food Workers and Baristas as Employees to Keep Tax Breaks
Politicians who helped draft Sears’ tax deals said they were designed to retain thousands of corporate jobs. Contractors, landscapers and temporary employees who worked in Sears’ buildings were never meant to help the company qualify for tax breaks.
The Sears Headquarters Deal Cost Taxpayers $500 Million. 30 Years Later, There’s Little to Show for It.
Was the multimillion dollar deal to keep Sears in Illinois worth it? An economic study commissioned by ProPublica and the Daily Herald suggests it wasn’t. Here’s why.
How We Reported on the $500 Million Sears Deal
To investigate the Sears deal, ProPublica and the Daily Herald reviewed thousands of pages of records, court filings and internal Sears documents. We also commissioned an economic study to examine the long-term effect of the tax deals.
