Profile picture
, 9 tweets, 3 min read
My Authors
Read all threads
1/ We have reported story after story about “Opportunity Zone” tax breaks going to white millionaires and billionaires.

Today, Trump cited them as an example of him doing "more for the Black community than any president.”

Let’s go through some key instances...
2/ Opportunity zones were meant to draw investment to lower-income areas, but wealthy GOP donors Wayne Huizenga Jr. and Jeff Vinik successfully lobbied for a break for a superyacht marina in Florida:

propublica.org/article/supery…
3/ Cleveland Cavaliers owner and Quicken founder Dan Gilbert, whose company donated $750K to Trump's inaugural fund, scored opportunity zone status for wealthy parts of Detroit where he owns billions in property:

propublica.org/article/how-a-…
4/ In Baltimore, Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank got a huge tax break — at the expense of the city's poorer neighborhoods — for a plot of land under a highway but near a development project he owns:

propublica.org/article/trump-…
5/ The billionaire Republican governor of West Virginia, Jim Justice, (Who gets to decide where opportunity zones go in his state) awarded himself one for his own resort.

propublica.org/article/west-v…
6/ The relevant section of that story:
7/ Last October, @nytimes reported that Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin had personally intervened to designate a Nevada opportunity zone that benefited junk bond king Michael Milken, the man who inspired “Wall Street”’s Gordon Gekko:

nytimes.com/2019/10/26/bus…
8/ The Treasury Department's Office of the Inspector General said in February that it was investigating alleged manipulation of opportunity zones, but has not yet released its findings:

propublica.org/article/treasu…
Don't miss our next investigation. Get The Big Story newsletter.
go.propublica.org/bigstory-social
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh.

Keep Current with ProPublica

Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @propublica see all

Profile picture
ProPublica
@propublica
1/ The federal government used to take an active role in holding local police departments accountable for brutality and wrongdoing.

Then came the Trump administration. Here’s a quick history of “consent decrees” and why they’re so important...
2/ To address local police reform, Congress gave the Justice Dept. authority in 1994 to use court-monitored agreements that included reform plans negotiated by federal and local officials.
3/ These agreements are known consent decrees. They are effectively settlements where the local authorities agree to conditions without admitting guilt.
Read 8 tweets
Profile picture
ProPublica
@propublica
Meet Dr. Foluso Fakorede.

He’s the only cardiologist in Bolivar County, Mississippi. He runs what's called the Amputation Prevention Institute.

@lizziepresser spent months unpacking why black diabetics lose their limbs at three times the rate of others. Here's what she found.
2/ Diabetic amputations are largely preventable.

Take a look at where amputations are happening across the country and the enslaved population before the Civil War.

Fakorede sees amputations as a form of racial oppression, dating back to slavery.
3/ Despite the great scientific strides in diabetes care, the rate of amputations across the country grew by 50% between 2009 and 2015. Diabetics undergo 130,000 amputations each year, often in low-income and underinsured neighborhoods.
Read 11 tweets
Profile picture
ProPublica
@propublica
1/ “I do not want to die here,” Ren Cheeks, who is incarcerated, wrote in a letter.

We have collected a series of letters from incarcerated individuals who are fearful as authorities watch the coronavirus spread in jail facilities.

See them for yourself...
2/ Matthew Cole writes that he was diagnosed with asthma and scar tissue on his lungs as a child, and that he has an inhaler and takes Singulair, a breathing medication.

“I don’t know if my lungs could make it through COVID-19,” he wrote.
3/ The letters come from Houston’s jail, a 7,500 inmate-facility with a fast-moving COVID-19 outbreak.

They shed light on a window in time during which the coronavirus gained its foothold inside. Some detainees agreed to use their names, others are identified by an initial.
Read 11 tweets

Embed code for your website

×
Follow Us on Twitter!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!