Thread by @joey_cranney

Local journalism of 2019 in review: Throughout the U.S. this year, local reporters aimed to expose wrongdoing in their communities. Here’s just some of what they found:

In Alabama, @ConnorASheets reported a sheriff pocketed $1.5 million in U.S. government funds that were supposed to be spent on food for federal inmates in a county jail al.com/news/2018/12/h…

In Alaska, @kylehopkinsAK reported one in three Alaska communities has no local law enforcement, including in regions with some of the country’s highest rates of poverty and sexual assault adn.com/alaska-news/la…

In Arizona, @justinJprice reported Phoenix police officers routinely purge their own files, erasing more than 600 acts of misconduct azcentral.com/story/news/loc…

In Arkansas, @EricBesson_news reported a top aide at an Arkansas crime lab has profited from more than $150,000 in contracts from the taxpayer-funded agency arkansasonline.com/news/2019/jun/…

In California, lax laws allow cops who commit crimes to stay on the beat. So a group of newsrooms scoured the state and found more than 80 officers working despite a criminal record desertsun.com/story/news/201…

In Colorado, @csgazette obtained video showing a black man who appeared to be unarmed and running away from police when officers shot him fatally in the back gazette.com/news/gazette-o…

In Connecticut, @JNCWriter & @Kelan_Lyons pressed officials who shielded records on the year-old case of an inmate who gave birth on a toilet in her locked cell ctmirror.org/2019/07/03/sta…

In Delaware, @ChristinaJedra & @eparra3 reported that before three firefighters died in a blaze, officials for years sat on recommendations for increased training that could have saved their lives delawareonline.com/story/news/201…

In Florida, @romyellenbogen obtained video smuggled out of a prison revealing brawls, shanks, inmates on drugs and mold covering the walls of the kitchen miamiherald.com/news/special-r…

In Georgia, @AlanJudd3000 in a yearlong investigation found Georgia’s harsh juvenile justice system ignores the underlying contributors to crime, disproportionately imposes tougher sentences on black teens and has for years failed to curb violence ajc.com/news/crime--la…

In Hawaii, @StarAdvertiser found unregistered massage parlors that only accept cash, raising concerns about sex trafficking and tax evasion
staradvertiser.com/2019/11/10/haw…

In Idaho, @EmLoweJourno found treatment center employees who kept their jobs despite claims they falsified records and failed to check on a resident who later died idahopress.com/news/local/swi…

In Illinois, @thesouthern reported a public university president hired and promoted his friends, forgoing competitive job searches and raising salaries to more than $150,000 without board approval thesouthern.com/news/local/siu…

In Indiana, four women said the Attorney General touched them inappropriately at a party, @indystar reported, prompting a state investigation and calls for his resignation
indystar.com/story/news/pol…

In Iowa, @JasonClayworth obtained records from the state’s 99 counties and found no fewer than four instances when a child died at daycares that had been flagged for overcrowding desmoinesregister.com/story/news/inv…

In Kansas, @KatieJ_Bernard found college students reporting sexual violence who have been brushed off, told assaults happen to women who experiment in college and in one instance prosecuted for making a false report kansascity.com/news/local/cri…

In Kentucky, @adwolfson analyzed more than 130,000 traffic stops and found black motorists were disproportionately stopped and searched courier-journal.com/story/news/cri…

In Louisiana, @aegallo & @johnsimerman reported judicial misconduct is a well-kept secret, including shielded grievances against a judge who was later appointed as a state Supreme Court justice theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/ne…

In Maine, @TuxTurkel reported the state’s largest utility company wrongly billed thousands of people, then tried to hide the problem and downplay the issues centralmaine.com/2019/06/23/cmp…

In Maryland, Baltimore’s mayor pleaded guilty to federal charges after @baltimoresun exposed how she used her position to enrich herself through the sales of a self-published children’s book
baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-…

In Massachusetts, @EvanMAllen revealed people dying in unregulated sober homes, which are often overcrowded and unsafe bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/08/…

In Michigan, a man was freed from prison following an investigation by @elishaanderson that called into question the integrity of the conviction
freep.com/story/news/inv…

In Minnesota, @kare11 reported police have sat on potentially several thousand untested rape kits, leaving crucial DNA information out of a nationwide database meant to catch serial predators kare11.com/article/news/k…

In Mississippi, @JMitchellNews reported a prison is short on guards and overrun with violence so brutal that one prisoner set another on fire
mississippicir.org/prisons/inside…

@JMitchellNews In Missouri, judges ordered public defenders to violate ethics rules in order to move cases along, @KCStar found in an examination of the state’s underfunded public defense system kansascity.com/opinion/articl…

@JMitchellNews @KCStar In Montana, @SeabornLarson reported a prosecutor agreed to dismiss a case against a sheriff’s deputy accused of strangling a man in handcuffs without ever speaking to the victim missoulian.com/news/state-and…

@JMitchellNews @KCStar @SeabornLarson In Nebraska, @HenryCordes revealed how a group of inexperienced trustees made risky bets that wrecked one of the country’s best performing public pensions, saddling taxpayers with more than $700 million in debt
omaha.com/news/education…

@JMitchellNews @KCStar @SeabornLarson @HenryCordes In Nevada, @ArthurMKane & @JGermanRJ exposed tourism officials who used taxpayer money to cover travel, meals and show tickets on the Strip for British Airways executives and their spouses
reviewjournal.com/investigations…

@JMitchellNews @KCStar @SeabornLarson @HenryCordes @ArthurMKane @JGermanRJ In New Hampshire, @LeahMWillingham reported a school district told families their principal was on leave while he was under investigation, then continued to let him work concordmonitor.com/Cost-of-report…

@JMitchellNews @KCStar @SeabornLarson @HenryCordes @ArthurMKane @JGermanRJ @LeahMWillingham In New Jersey, @AndrewFordNews reported the state shields its records of cops who lie to investigators, allowing problem officers to stay on the streets and jail people for potentially dubious charges
app.com/story/news/inv…

@JMitchellNews @KCStar @SeabornLarson @HenryCordes @ArthurMKane @JGermanRJ @LeahMWillingham @AndrewFordNews In New Mexico, @edwradio reported Albuquerque school staff routinely physically restrain students, flout state law by failing to inform parents, and then lie to the federal government about it
searchlightnm.org/restraint-secl…

@JMitchellNews @KCStar @SeabornLarson @HenryCordes @ArthurMKane @JGermanRJ @LeahMWillingham @AndrewFordNews @edwradio In New York, a bishop resigned in the wake of a clergy abuse scandal exposed by @JayTokasz. A priest told the reporter he had molested “probably dozens” of boys. The Diocese has now paid more than $17 million in settlements to more than 100 victims. buffalonews.com/2019/12/04/vat…

@JMitchellNews @KCStar @SeabornLarson @HenryCordes @ArthurMKane @JGermanRJ @LeahMWillingham @AndrewFordNews @edwradio @JayTokasz In North Carolina, @fayobserver sued to unseal court records revealing a car dealer paid $1.9 million to three teen boys and several others to settle a sexual misconduct lawsuit fayobserver.com/news/20190914/…

@JMitchellNews @KCStar @SeabornLarson @HenryCordes @ArthurMKane @JGermanRJ @LeahMWillingham @AndrewFordNews @edwradio @JayTokasz @fayobserver In North Dakota, @gfherald audited the open records practices of 10 small towns and exposed clerks who flouted transparency laws, denied requests or suggested officials preferred information remain shielded
grandforksherald.com/news/governmen…

@JMitchellNews @KCStar @SeabornLarson @HenryCordes @ArthurMKane @JGermanRJ @LeahMWillingham @AndrewFordNews @edwradio @JayTokasz @fayobserver @gfherald In Ohio, @Enquirer exposed a small town’s politically connected sex trafficking ring. Reporters spent a year interviewing women who said they’d been trafficked, and others about the town’s secret.
cincinnati.com/in-depth/news/…

@JMitchellNews @KCStar @SeabornLarson @HenryCordes @ArthurMKane @JGermanRJ @LeahMWillingham @AndrewFordNews @edwradio @JayTokasz @fayobserver @gfherald @Enquirer In Oklahoma, even though out-of-hospital births are untracked, @_lucysherman found no fewer than seven babies died last year and most of the deaths were deemed preventable
gatehousenews.com/unaccountable/

@JMitchellNews @KCStar @SeabornLarson @HenryCordes @ArthurMKane @JGermanRJ @LeahMWillingham @AndrewFordNews @edwradio @JayTokasz @fayobserver @gfherald @Enquirer @_lucysherman In Oregon, @_Brad_Schmidt exposed public housing officials who refused to find and remove radon gas from homes, leaving many children and other tenants exposed to a leading cause of cancer
projects.oregonlive.com/radon/

@JMitchellNews @KCStar @SeabornLarson @HenryCordes @ArthurMKane @JGermanRJ @LeahMWillingham @AndrewFordNews @edwradio @JayTokasz @fayobserver @gfherald @Enquirer @_lucysherman @_Brad_Schmidt In Pennsylvania, @PhillyInquirer reported a police commander was repeatedly accused of sex crimes, while prosecutors and officials looked the other way and charged taxpayers more than $1.3 million in settlements
inquirer.com/crime/inq/carl…

@JMitchellNews @KCStar @SeabornLarson @HenryCordes @ArthurMKane @JGermanRJ @LeahMWillingham @AndrewFordNews @edwradio @JayTokasz @fayobserver @gfherald @Enquirer @_lucysherman @_Brad_Schmidt @PhillyInquirer In Rhode Island, @LynnArditi revealed 911 operators failing to instruct callers in CPR, which resulted in the death of an infant propublica.org/article/rhode-…

@JMitchellNews @KCStar @SeabornLarson @HenryCordes @ArthurMKane @JGermanRJ @LeahMWillingham @AndrewFordNews @edwradio @JayTokasz @fayobserver @gfherald @Enquirer @_lucysherman @_Brad_Schmidt @PhillyInquirer @LynnArditi In South Carolina, officials released little information about what exactly transpired during the deadliest U.S. prison riot in a quarter century. So @postandcourier pored over thousands of documents and interviewed more than 150 people. postandcourier.com/news/how-flaws…

@JMitchellNews @KCStar @SeabornLarson @HenryCordes @ArthurMKane @JGermanRJ @LeahMWillingham @AndrewFordNews @edwradio @JayTokasz @fayobserver @gfherald @Enquirer @_lucysherman @_Brad_Schmidt @PhillyInquirer @LynnArditi @postandcourier In South Dakota, @Shelly_Conlon in a seven-part series revealed lawmakers have repeatedly ignored the needs of deaf and hard of hearing children, leaving many of them at risk of failing to get free and fair public education usatoday.com/in-depth/news/…

@JMitchellNews @KCStar @SeabornLarson @HenryCordes @ArthurMKane @JGermanRJ @LeahMWillingham @AndrewFordNews @edwradio @JayTokasz @fayobserver @gfherald @Enquirer @_lucysherman @_Brad_Schmidt @PhillyInquirer @LynnArditi @postandcourier @Shelly_Conlon In Tennessee, officials invested years and millions of dollars in closing the racial gap in Nashville schools. But the disparity in school discipline between white and black students increased, @mreicher & @anitawadhwani reported.
usatoday.com/story/news/edu…

@JMitchellNews @KCStar @SeabornLarson @HenryCordes @ArthurMKane @JGermanRJ @LeahMWillingham @AndrewFordNews @edwradio @JayTokasz @fayobserver @gfherald @Enquirer @_lucysherman @_Brad_Schmidt @PhillyInquirer @LynnArditi @postandcourier @Shelly_Conlon @mreicher @anitawadhwani In Texas, @JinATX exposed lawmakers who chipped away at protections for low-income homeowners who ration their air conditioning during the summer. Stricken by the heat, more than 100 people died.
gatehousenews.com/hostagetoheat/…

@JMitchellNews @KCStar @SeabornLarson @HenryCordes @ArthurMKane @JGermanRJ @LeahMWillingham @AndrewFordNews @edwradio @JayTokasz @fayobserver @gfherald @Enquirer @_lucysherman @_Brad_Schmidt @PhillyInquirer @LynnArditi @postandcourier @Shelly_Conlon @mreicher @anitawadhwani @JinATX In Utah, a student’s death revealed flaws in police’s handling of complaints from women. Then @CourtneyLTanner uncovered other cases of officers ignoring victims or downplaying reports of domestic violence
sltrib.com/news/education…

@JMitchellNews @KCStar @SeabornLarson @HenryCordes @ArthurMKane @JGermanRJ @LeahMWillingham @AndrewFordNews @edwradio @JayTokasz @fayobserver @gfherald @Enquirer @_lucysherman @_Brad_Schmidt @PhillyInquirer @LynnArditi @postandcourier @Shelly_Conlon @mreicher @anitawadhwani @JinATX @CourtneyLTanner In Vermont, officials opened a probe after @paulheintz uncovered allegations of sexual harassment or assault against more than a dozen officers at the state’s only prison for women sevendaysvt.com/vermont/guarde…

@JMitchellNews @KCStar @SeabornLarson @HenryCordes @ArthurMKane @JGermanRJ @LeahMWillingham @AndrewFordNews @edwradio @JayTokasz @fayobserver @gfherald @Enquirer @_lucysherman @_Brad_Schmidt @PhillyInquirer @LynnArditi @postandcourier @Shelly_Conlon @mreicher @anitawadhwani @JinATX @CourtneyLTanner @paulheintz In Virginia, @GaryAHarki uncovered a corrections policy that allowed prison officers to strip search an eight-year-old girl. Almost immediately, the governor put an end to the policy.
pilotonline.com/government/vir…

@JMitchellNews @KCStar @SeabornLarson @HenryCordes @ArthurMKane @JGermanRJ @LeahMWillingham @AndrewFordNews @edwradio @JayTokasz @fayobserver @gfherald @Enquirer @_lucysherman @_Brad_Schmidt @PhillyInquirer @LynnArditi @postandcourier @Shelly_Conlon @mreicher @anitawadhwani @JinATX @CourtneyLTanner @paulheintz @GaryAHarki In Washington, @asiakmfields revealed the University of Washington quietly parted ways with an executive accused of sexually assaulting a star athlete, and didn’t alert police that an investigation found the claims credible seattletimes.com/seattle-news/u…

@JMitchellNews @KCStar @SeabornLarson @HenryCordes @ArthurMKane @JGermanRJ @LeahMWillingham @AndrewFordNews @edwradio @JayTokasz @fayobserver @gfherald @Enquirer @_lucysherman @_Brad_Schmidt @PhillyInquirer @LynnArditi @postandcourier @Shelly_Conlon @mreicher @anitawadhwani @JinATX @CourtneyLTanner @paulheintz @GaryAHarki @asiakmfields In West Virginia, @heralddispatch & @wvgazettemail sued in federal court to obtain a list of tens of billions of opioid shipments. The records exposed how distributors flooded vulnerable communities across the country with pills.
herald-dispatch.com/_recent_news/m…

@JMitchellNews @KCStar @SeabornLarson @HenryCordes @ArthurMKane @JGermanRJ @LeahMWillingham @AndrewFordNews @edwradio @JayTokasz @fayobserver @gfherald @Enquirer @_lucysherman @_Brad_Schmidt @PhillyInquirer @LynnArditi @postandcourier @Shelly_Conlon @mreicher @anitawadhwani @JinATX @CourtneyLTanner @paulheintz @GaryAHarki @asiakmfields @heralddispatch @wvgazettemail In Wisconsin, @mariajpsl exposed dairy farmers who bait-and-switch Mexican veterinarians to end run immigration law and fill the industry's lowest paid, most dangerous jobs jsonline.com/in-depth/news/…

@JMitchellNews @KCStar @SeabornLarson @HenryCordes @ArthurMKane @JGermanRJ @LeahMWillingham @AndrewFordNews @edwradio @JayTokasz @fayobserver @gfherald @Enquirer @_lucysherman @_Brad_Schmidt @PhillyInquirer @LynnArditi @postandcourier @Shelly_Conlon @mreicher @anitawadhwani @JinATX @CourtneyLTanner @paulheintz @GaryAHarki @asiakmfields @heralddispatch @wvgazettemail @mariajpsl In Wyoming, @SethKlamann obtained records showing special education instructors traded messages mocking students, sharing a nude photo of a child and calling them “filthy.”
trib.com/news/local/edu…

@JMitchellNews @KCStar @SeabornLarson @HenryCordes @ArthurMKane @JGermanRJ @LeahMWillingham @AndrewFordNews @edwradio @JayTokasz @fayobserver @gfherald @Enquirer @_lucysherman @_Brad_Schmidt @PhillyInquirer @LynnArditi @postandcourier @Shelly_Conlon @mreicher @anitawadhwani @JinATX @CourtneyLTanner @paulheintz @GaryAHarki @asiakmfields @heralddispatch @wvgazettemail @mariajpsl @SethKlamann If you find value in these examples of local reporting, then pay for it. Buy a subscription to one or some or all of the news organizations on this list. They deserve it, and could use your help.

@JMitchellNews @KCStar @SeabornLarson @HenryCordes @ArthurMKane @JGermanRJ @LeahMWillingham @AndrewFordNews @edwradio @JayTokasz @fayobserver @gfherald @Enquirer @_lucysherman @_Brad_Schmidt @PhillyInquirer @LynnArditi @postandcourier @Shelly_Conlon @mreicher @anitawadhwani @JinATX @CourtneyLTanner @paulheintz @GaryAHarki @asiakmfields @heralddispatch @wvgazettemail @mariajpsl @SethKlamann This list was compiled by this year’s Local Matters team: @BrettMmurphy @BetsBarnes @katemshepherd @luluramadan @MelissaGomez004 @bcrodriguez. To keep up with the best local investigative reporting, sign up for our free weekly list: bit.ly/2gpfiww