Fund for Investigative Journalism Santa Susana Project
The California Report, 4/21/17 - 5/16/17
In a series of web and radio reports, I investigated the long-stalled cleanup of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory near Los Angeles. The project describes how NASA and the Department of Energy failed to fulfill their legal commitments to remove the contamination they and other federal agencies caused, including the radiation from a partial nuclear meltdown a half century ago. A final segment examined similar regulatory failures by California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control.
Relaxed Rules at Center of Debate Over Underground Fuel Leaks
The California Report, 3/6/14
25 years ago, California legislators established programs to clean up spills at gas stations and fueling sites. Since then, more than 37,000 contaminated sites have been stabilized and ruled no longer a threat to drinking water. But critics say the state has gone too far in relaxing cleanup standards.
Simple Solutions Elude Cedar Glen
The Press-Enterprise, 6/6/08
This is a project on rebuilding efforts in the aftermath of the Old Fire, which burned 993 homes in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains.
As lead writer, I based the story in maps developed with the ArcGIS geospatial mapping program and government records. I collaborated with the newspaper’s graphic artists in preparing an interactive presentation, recorded and edited the audio for two online interviews and narrated the online slide show.
Seismic Safety on Shaky Ground
The Press-Enterprise, 3/31/08
Older buildings across Inland Southern California could crumble in a major earthquake, but money to fix them is hard to find. Experts say unreinforced masonry buildings are most dangerous in San Beranardino, where the soil is sandy and the terrain is laced by the San Andreas and San Jacinto Faults.
In reporting the story, I used the ArcGIS geospatial mapping program to point out the buildings most at risk.
Sports College Plans in Doubt
The Press-Enterprise, 8/25/05
A man who vowed to help revitalize downtown San Bernardino with a sports-centered private university is a felon with a record of failed business ventures, unpaid debts and government sanctions for delinquent taxes, records show.
Linked for the Long Haul?
The Daily Breeze, 05/10/98
Ties between a trash company and city officials raise questions over high rates.