Investigative Journalist in Houston, Texas
A look at enterprising journalism at the San Antonio Express-News and how it’s done.
The home page of the San Antonio Express-News looks different today: Here’s the old version: Eric Braun at mySA blogged about the tweaks. The main difference is the removal of the centerpiece where readers were supposed to click on tabs to pull up a new photo and links to stories and resources. In reality, few …
More food for thought about the South Texas Project nuclear plant, which has applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build two new reactors: Read more about CPS Energy: Tracking the safety record of a nuclear plant Express-News Reporter Tracy Idell Hamilton revealed Sunday the city could be on the hook for $400 million in …
Express-News Reporter Brian Chasnoff uncovered a serious paperwork problem at the San Antonio Police Department in his front-page story today: 2,300 police reports documenting a wide variety of crimes have gone missing. Read more about SAPD: Does risk of police chases outweigh benefits of capturing suspects? Brian wrote: The San Antonio Police Department has misplaced …
Investigative Reporter Karisa King continues digging into the property tax system in Bexar County. She’s been examining how homeowners and businesses try to find ways to lower their property appraisals, which in turn lowers their tax bill. Her Sunday story disclosed how the owners of the PGA Tour golf resort, which was built after years …
As South Texas deals with a seemingly never-ending drought, San Antonio Express-News Environmental Reporter Anton Caputo teamed up with Austin American-Statesman Reporter Asher Price for a story about the water supply that cools nuclear reactors at the South Texas Project in Matagorda County. The utility companies of both cities own a stake in STP, which …
Interesting letter-to-the-editor today in the San Antonio Express-News written by Linnea Schlobohm, who sums up one of the main themes of this blog better than I ever could: After reading Brian Chasnoff’s beautifully crafted story on the San Antonio River, “Paradise Lost to Progress” (Front Page, Sept. 6), I remembered a recent TV comment predicting …
Two years ago, on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, my colleagues Karisa King and Scott Stroud wrote a story that went beyond the platitudes of politicians and pundits. Karisa and Scott checked to see if Texas was actually safer after receiving more than a billion dollars in Homeland Security grant money: …
During the hottest summer in recorded history, many San Antonio residents turned off their sprinklers and watched their lawns turn the color of hay as they followed water restrictions enacted by the San Antonio Water System. But what did SAWS require of businesses that consume millions of gallons of water in a single month? While …
Express-News Reporter Scott Huddleston, who’s been covering the turmoil within the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, wrote a follow-up story about a discussion to prohibit the nonprofit’s employees from talking to the media — even after the employees no longer work for the group: Read more: How much did it cost to save the …
Kiddie Park, the troubled children’s attraction that I wrote about in June, is under new ownership. Reporter Elizabeth Allen covered the reopening yesterday of the remodeled park. There’s also a neat slideshow by photographer Lisa Krantz of kids having a blast. The decades-old rollercoaster, which suffered structural failures on at least two occasions and knocked …