Investigative Journalist in Houston, Texas
A look at enterprising journalism at the San Antonio Express-News and how it’s done.
Glenda Wolin, who edits a pair of medical writers for the San Antonio Express-News, wrote a useful blog post debunking a viral e-mail about the swine flu that originated in New Braunfels, Texas, which is in our backyard. Wolin wrote: With something as unknown and frightening as swine flu, many people send e-mails and post … Read more
The San Antonio Express-News put together a good collection of resources to track cases of the swine flu and to learn more about it: Medical Writer Don Finley has a story about the closure of Steele High School in Cibolo outside San Antonio. Three students who attend the school are sick; “You’ve got swine flu … Read more
Last week, state Rep. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio, and Mayor Phil Hardberger announced an effort to fix a city ordinance that was meant to protect San Antonio’s diminishing tree canopy from urban sprawl. A loophole in the ordinance allows real estate developers to bulldoze trees for ranching and farming. For those who want to learn … Read more
Last week military reporter Scott Huddleston and I covered the story of Capt. Michael Fontana, a nurse who has been charged by the Air Force of killing three patients at Wilford Hall Medical Center in San Antonio. This is Military City, USA, and there’s lots of interest in the case and concern about it. Here … Read more
Environmentalist Fay Sinkin died last week at the age of 90. There’s a rich archival resource available to the public for anyone who wants to learn about her life and the decades-long battle she fought to protect the Edwards Aquifer, San Antonio’s main drinking supply. The University of Texas at San Antonio established an archive … Read more
Express-News Reporter Guillermo Garcia broke a story last week about a confidential city plan to sell La Villita and Market Square. The plan disturbed some city councilmembers, who told Guillermo about a closed-door meeting in which the deal was discussed: Inner-city Councilwoman Mary Alice Cisneros was put on the defensive this week after revelations that … Read more
Journalists vacuum up all kinds of information when they work on a story. Many times the interesting documents we’ve gathered end up in filing cabinets, forgotten, as we move on to the next thing. In his guide Journalism 2.0, Mark Briggs argues that the modern age of the Internet emphasizes sharing — not hiding — … Read more
A fire that engulfed the San Pedro Apartments on Tuesday was probably caused by an overloaded electrical outlet. But tenants complained the old building wasn’t well maintained, which raised questions about any past Code Compliance violations issued by city inspectors. San Antonio’s Code Compliance Department has a Web site where you can plug in the … Read more
Reporter Greg Jefferson wrote a story in today’s paper that examined how taxpayer money is being spent on salaries and overtime for San Antonio’s 10,000 city employees. The story looks at the city’s highest-paid employees, and explains why $13 million in overtime went to the Fire Department and many of its dispatchers. This information was … Read more
View Larger Map I made a quick Google map of the data we analyzed for this story about fire response times in San Antonio. Many residents of the exclusive Dominion, home of the San Antonio Spurs’ David Robinson and other celebrities, aren’t happy about a slow response to a recent fire that destroyed a $1 … Read more