Welcome to the latest installment of the Texas watchdog journalism roundup, a showcase of investigative stories that uncover hidden facts, hold officials accountable and demonstrate why journalism matters.
Immigrant who sued, won back pay, now in hiding for his life | The San Antonio Express-News
Trapped between the Rio Grande and border checkpoints, Sandro Garcia Moreno is among thousands of undocumented immigrants being ripped off by unscrupulous employers. The Express-News analyzed a database of federal wage-theft investigations and found the Rio Grande Valley is a prolific source of worker complaints.
“Since the Labor Department began keeping public records in 1984, three of the five cities with the highest number of wage theft investigations are in Texas. And eight of the top 20 ZIP codes in the country with the most investigations are in South Texas. Five of them are in the Rio Grande Valley.” Story by Luke Whyte
This morning, the Chronicle launches the first installment of Out of Control, a months long project by @DugBegley, @godovasquez and myself into why Houston's roads are so deadly.
HERE IT IS: https://t.co/ji62dUMIaq
— St. John Barned-Smith ⚔️ (@stjbs) September 5, 2018
Out of Control | The Houston Chronicle
Traffic deaths kill hundreds of people every year in the Houston area, which leads the nation in fatal crashes involving drugs and alcohol, but little is done to stop the carnage. The Houston Chronicle analyzed traffic data and police records and interviewed scores of experts and victims to put the staggering problem in perspective.
“The death toll is the equivalent of three fully-loaded 737s crashing each year at Houston’s airports, killing all aboard. Losing that many planes and passengers would lead to federal hearings, but the Houston roadway deaths are met largely with silence, other than the occasional warning from public safety officials to drive safely and be careful crossing the street.” Story by Dug Begley and St. John Barned-Smith
Time Bomb: How and why some Texas homes are blowing up. Can this really be all lightning strikes and soil conditions? | Fm @hollyhacker, @caryaspinwall https://t.co/pRl3sHjMoT
— Dianne Solis (@disolis) September 23, 2018
How Atmos Energy’s natural gas keeps blowing up Texas homes | The Dallas Morning News
A review of thousands of regulatory records, lawsuits and news reports by the Dallas Morning News revealed that more than two dozen homes across North and Central Texas have blown up since 2006 because of leaking natural gas, killing nine people and injuring 22 others. The investigation focused on old, corroded gas pipes owned by Atmos Energy. Story by Cary Aspinwall and Holly K. Hacker
Three years ago, @ebruenig began investigating a story that had weighed on her since high school: Fellow student Amber Wyatt reported that she was raped in a storage shed off a dirt road in their Texas hometown. https://t.co/OTQEWQfGi9 pic.twitter.com/9zekC0KdyU
— Washington Post Opinions (@PostOpinions) September 19, 2018
What do we owe her now? | The Washington Post
Elizabeth Bruenig visited her old high school in Arlington, Texas, to learn the real story behind an ugly memory — rumors of a student who was raped, ostracized and forced to leave the school. Bruenig reviewed police documents, interviewed witnesses, and talked to the victim, Amber Wyatt, to find out what really happened and why the case was never prosecuted.
“Making sense of her ordeal meant tracing a web of failures, lies, abdications and predations, at the center of which was a node of power that, though anonymous and dispersed, was nonetheless tilted firmly against a young, vulnerable girl.” Story by Elizabeth Bruenig
Inside Texas State’s year of hate:@JinATX (a former @statesman San Marcos bureau reporter) gets emails showing how @TxSt leaders dealt with neo-Nazi propaganda proliferating on campus.https://t.co/8c09Vn04hv #txlege
— Sean Walsh (@sbcmw) October 8, 2018
Inside Texas State’s year of hate: neo-Nazi propaganda fight | The Austin American-Statesman
Internal emails obtained by the Austin American-Statesman reveal how Texas State University struggled to respond to dangerous hate speech spreading across campus. The emails, which the university tried to withhold from the newspaper, showed the problem wasn’t entirely coming from outside agitators as school officials claimed — students were actually behind some of the inflammatory fliers being posted on campus and inside dorms. Story by Jeremy Schwartz
Breaking all the rules: Lax oversight undercuts Houston housing program goals https://t.co/cwMlOIIPgP
— Mark Collette (@chronMC) September 4, 2018
Breaking all the rules: Lax oversight undercuts Houston housing program goals | The Houston Chronicle
An investigation of the Houston Land Bank revealed there was “little to no oversight” from city officials who said they had no idea how many reduced-prices homes actually went to low-income buyers.
“It was not until the Chronicle started asking questions last year that housing department leaders grasped the rules surrounding the program, and it took them a year to take steps to begin enforcing them, undercutting Houston’s housing goals at a time when rising prices are putting homeownership out of reach for an ever-growing share of families,” the investigation found. Story by Mike Morris
1/ Immigrant children have been forcibly injected with powerful psychiatric drugs at one of the U.S. gov't shelters, Shiloh Treatment Center outside of Houston, according to court documents and interviews. https://t.co/Ve4XSyRw5N
— Reveal (@reveal) June 20, 2018
Federal agency sent immigrant kids to dangerous youth facility, despite warning signs | Reveal from the Center for investigative Reporting
Despite multiple deaths and complaints at the Shiloh Treatment Center south of Houston, the federal government has signed lucrative agreements worth $33 million with the center to hold immigrant children.
“The federal Office of Refugee Resettlement continued to send immigrant children to Hill’s care after another teenager was killed during a restraint and the state of Texas shut down one of his facilities, deeming it unsafe for children,” the investigation found. Story by Will Evans, Lance Williams and Matt Smith
I’ve been trying to get to the bottom of why the Calhoun Port Authority would hire Blake Farenthold as a lobbyist for a while. Here’s what I found: As a congressman, Farenthold tried to steer federal contract to Calhoun port chairman https://t.co/MyFhkg3TMr via @vicadvocate
— Jessica Priest (@jessica_priest) August 19, 2018
Farenthold tried to steer federal contract to Calhoun port chairman | The Victoria Advocate
Records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request show that former Texas Congressman Blake Farenthold tried to steer a federal contract to a business owned by the chairman of the Calhoun Port Authority. The authority later hired the former congressman after Farenthold resigned amid a sexual harassment scandal. Story by Jessica Priest
Wait, MORE corruption at Dallas City Hall???? Say it ain’t so!!
City housing agency gave deals worth at least $50,000 to board members https://t.co/HYg4pXgXVH— Brett Shipp Media (@brett_shipp) September 25, 2018
Dallas housing agency gave deals worth at least $50,000 to its board members | The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas City Council stopped the Dallas Housing Finance Corporation from awarding contracts to its board members after a newspaper investigation revealed the obscure city housing agency had been awarding thousands of dollars to members of its board. Story by Sue Ambrose
1/ Crashed squad cars. Naps on the job. Big paychecks.
Welcome to the El Paso Police Department’s dangerous overtime habit.https://t.co/PtXg8jzO7P
— Reveal (@reveal) September 13, 2018
El Paso police overtime policy doesn’t stop dangerous shifts, big payouts | The El Paso Times and Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting
An analysis of El Paso Police Department overtime data shows that some officers worked dangerously long hours and dramatically increased their taxpayer-funded salary. The officers have crashed cars and at least one was accused of being asleep at the wheel. Story by Elida Perez
In Texas prisons, if you don't have teeth they don't give you dentures. Instead, they blend up your food.
I spent the past year talking to inmates and looking into TX denture & dental policies. Some of it's kind of shocking. Give it a read.https://t.co/hN1ps8uPtn— Keri Blakinger (@keribla) September 20, 2018
Texas prisons often deny dentures to inmates with no teeth | The Houston Chronicle
The Texas prison system is changing its policies after the Houston Chronicle revealed that prisoners with few or no teeth are routinely denied dentures and must eat pureed food.
“In 2016, prison medical providers approved giving out 71 dentures to a population of more than 149,000 inmates, many of whom are elderly, have a history of drug use or came from impoverished backgrounds with sub-par dental care to begin with.” Story by Keri Blakinger
Nearly a year after Hurricane Harvey, many of the workers who helped with the cleanup effort say they haven't been paid. https://t.co/bY00tEJX71
— Reveal (@reveal) August 18, 2018
Unpaid: Inside the ‘lawless jungle’ of worker exploitation after Hurricane Harvey | The Dallas Morning News and Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting
In the blitz of construction and rebuilding after Hurricane Harvey, state officials were ill-prepared to handle claims of wage theft from workers who said they were shortchanged or never paid by their employers.
“Texas’ process for investigating unpaid wages is ill-suited to tackle the problem,” the investigation found. “Over the last nine years, the commission investigated an average of 13,180 wage claims annually. Splitting the claims among the 19 labor law investigators on staff gives each one nearly 700 cases a year.” Story by James Barragan
DPD sergeant collected millions for fallen officers. A fraction went to the families https://t.co/2rcGMFhxnN via @NaomiMartin
— Cary Aspinwall (@caryaspinwall) August 17, 2018
Dallas police sergeant collected millions for fallen officers. A fraction went to the families | The Dallas Morning News
After a gunman killed five Dallas police officers in 2016, millions of dollars were raised in donations for the fallen officers’ families. But most of that money instead went to telemarketing companies and obscure charities overseen by a Dallas police sergeant named Demetrick Pennie.
“Last year, for every $100 donated to Pennie’s Texas Fallen Officer Foundation, just $5 went to families, while $74 went to telemarketers, $15 to cash reserves and $6 to travel, meals and expenses for Pennie and his team,” the Dallas Morning News reported. Story by Naomi Martin Ariana Giorgi
New = Even after Harvey, Houston keeps adding new homes in floodplains https://t.co/az9rtWm6P5 pic.twitter.com/Mmen0F8HHu
— Mike Morris (@mmorris011) October 6, 2018
Even after Harvey, Houston keeps adding new homes in flood plains | The Houston Chronicle
An analysis by the Houston Chronicle shows that one in five new homes being built in Houston in the year after Hurricane Harvey is in a flood plain — even as new rainfall data showed existing flood maps understate the risk posed by strengthening storms. “The city just lets it happen over and over again,” one resident complained. Story by Mike Morris and Matt Dempsey
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