San Marcos apartments where inferno killed five people lacked fire sprinkler system | San Antonio Express-News

A week after flames engulfed a building in the Iconic Village apartment complex in San Marcos, killing five people, a team of reporters examined how the tragedy unfolded and why the units lacked a fire protection system, which can save lives:

“From 2005 to 2016, 144 people died in fires in multifamily residential buildings in Texas that lacked automatic extinguishing systems, the state fire marshal’s office reports. Just two deaths occurred in buildings equipped with such systems over the same period.” Story by Peggy O’Hare, Austin Horn, Emilie Eaton, Patrick Danner and Krista Torralva

Pain and Profit | The Dallas Morning News

In a yearlong investigation, the Dallas Morning News found Texas’ Medicaid system is “protecting a booming multibillion-dollar industry while the most vulnerable Texans wait in vain for wheelchairs, psychiatric drugs and doctors’ appointments. That system has failed countless disabled adults and sick children who can’t advocate for themselves.” The newspaper reviewed 70,000 pages of documents, including material that state officials and companies tried to keep secret, and interviewed hundreds of families, doctors and policy experts.

Within days of the series’ publication, Texas lawmakers began calling for change and more regulators were hired. Story, photos and videos by J. David McSwane, Andrew Chavez and Tom Fox

Separated migrant children are headed toward shelters that have a history of abuse and neglect | Reveal and the Texas Tribune

A team of reporters covering the Trump administration’s controversial “zero tolerance” immigration policy found that taxpayers paid more than $1.5 billion to private companies operating immigrant youth shelters accused of serious lapses in care, including neglect and sexual and physical abuse.

“In nearly all cases, the federal government has continued to place migrant children with the companies even after serious allegations were raised and after state inspectors cited shelters with deficiencies, government and other records show.” Story by Aura Bogado, Patrick Michels, Vanessa Swales and Edgar Walters

Plutonium went missing in San Antonio, but the government says nothing | The Center for Public Integrity

Two security experts travelling to San Antonio lost equipment that contained small amounts of radioactive plutonium and cesium in March 2017, but authorities kept the theft secret until it was revealed by the Center for Public Integrity more than a year later.

The lack of transparency is not a new phenomenon.

“Unlike civilian stocks, which are closely monitored by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and openly regulated — with reports of thefts or disappearances sent to an international agency in Vienna — the handling of military stocks tended by the Department of Energy is much less transparent,” the investigation found. Story by Patrick Malone and R. Jeffrey Smith

Flood Games: Manipulation of flood insurance leads to repeat disasters | The Houston Chronicle

Cities across the country are failing to enforce a central pillar of the taxpayer-subsidized National Flood Insurance Program: Making sure severely damaged properties are elevated or removed from flood plains.

“Thousands of such homes get rebuilt and then flood again, often for more than they are worth, costing taxpayers more than $1 billion in repeat losses,” the Houston Chronicle reported. “Seven of the nation’s 10 most frequently substantially damaged properties are in Houston. Those seven have had 107 damage claims totaling $9 million, even though the combined value of those buildings is just $426,000.” Story by Mark Collette

Decades later, mercury still poisons parts of Lavaca Bay | The Victoria Advocate

A popular fishing destination near an Alcoa aluminum refinery and plastics producer in Lavaca Bay is a federal Superfund site that has struggled for years to reduce toxic mercury in the ecosystem. Levels of mercury in red drum are twice as high as levels considered safe to consume. But some residents are still fishing in the bay and eating what they catch. Story by Jessica Priest

Trustees spending fire and police pension funds on expensive travel | WOAI

Taxpayers pay millions each year to make sure San Antonio firefighters and police officers have a secure retirement. But records obtained by the News 4 Trouble Shooters show the trustees in charge of the pension fund have spent more than $193,000 since 2015 on dozens of trips to places like Las Vegas, New Orleans and China for investment conferences.

“Of the nine pension fund trustees, the ones who traveled the most still work for the police and fire departments. When they travel the city says it often has to pay their salaries AND the salaries of people to replace them while they’re gone.”

City officials limited the travel expenses after the television station’s investigation aired. Story by Jaie Avila

Is Austin training police to be too aggressive? 10 ex-cadets say yes | The Austin American-Statesman

Interviews with nearly a dozen former cadets at the Austin police training academy reveal instructors referred to homeless people and prostitutes “cockroaches,” demeaned suspects, and said anyone who resists arrest “just earned a legal ass-whooping,” raising questions about the academy’s methods. Story by Tony Plohetski

Four Texas prison guards fired, major resigns after allegedly planting evidence in inmate’s cell | The Houston Chronicle

Prison guards are out of a job after the Houston Chronicle revealed a short-lived quota system that required them to discipline prisoners twice a day or face punishment. A grand jury later indicted some guards accused of planting screwdrivers in an inmate’s cell.

“In the weeks after news of the scandals was first reported in the Chronicle, five officials were fired, another resigned under investigation, several others — including a warden — were demoted or transferred, more than 600 disciplinary were cases tossed out, and the prison system set out to review its disciplinary policies,” the Chronicle reported. Story by Keri Blakinger

Why do Bexar County judges keep releasing domestic violence suspects on the honor system? | KSAT

A months-long investigation by the KSAT 12 Defenders found that more than 32 percent of Bexar County domestic violence suspects were rearrested after being released from custody without posting bail. Victims advocates say the findings are concerning because it’s already been a record-setting year for domestic violence-related fatalities in Bexar County. Story by Dillon Collier

Atmos’ gas leaks go far beyond one northwest Dallas neighborhood | The Dallas Morning News

A sharp increase in natural gas leaks has plagued neighborhoods across North Texas after three explosions and fires in February, including one that killed 12-year-old Linda Rogers. The Dallas Morning News analyzed public data to create a map showing areas where leaks have been detected since then.

“Our data analysis reveals potential widespread problems with aging and wear and tear in the gas delivery system running under customers’ homes and businesses all over Dallas County,” the newspaper reported. Story by Holly Hacker, Allan James Vestal and Cory Aspinwall

How a natural gas group pushed for new energy curriculum in Texas | The Austin American-Statesman

The Austin American-Statesman revealed how a politically connected Texas natural gas industry advocacy group developed classroom materials for teachers that cast fossil fuels in a softer light, avoid any mention of climate change, and raise questions about “perceived” renewable sources of energy, such as solar and wind power. Story by Asher Price

Federal officials investigate loss of potential habitat for endangered species | The San Antonio Express-News

After residents complained to the Express-News about a real estate developer bulldozing up to 38 acres of trees on a picturesque hillside, the newspaper discovered the developer may have mischaracterized habitat studies when he told city officials that his project wouldn’t harm any endangered species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a federal agency that enforces the Endangered Species Act, is now investigating. Story by John Tedesco

Did I miss a good story? Contact me or leave a comment below. Don’t forget to sign up for blog updates and check out more watchdog journalism from the great state of Texas.

The post Must reads: Texas watchdog journalism roundup for August 1, 2018 appeared first on John Tedesco.

City of San Antonio awards developers $10 million in incentives for luxury condo tower — $173,400 for each unit | The San Antonio Express-News

A city program to encourage people to live in downtown San Antonio is spending $10 million in tax incentives and fee waivers on the Arts Residences and Thompson San Antonio hotel, a 20-story luxury tower of hotel rooms and condos. One City Council critic calls it a “ludicrous” amount of money to spend on housing that few residents can afford. Story by Richard Webner

Standoff: How the Dallas SWAT team cornered and killed the July 7 police shooter | The Dallas Morning News

Hours of interviews with Dallas SWAT officers revealed new details about how police cornered and eventually killed gunman Micah Xavier Johnson, who was on a mission to kill police on July 7, 2016. Told in a narrative that puts readers in the shoes of SWAT officers engaged in a deadly, close-range shootout with Johnson, the story shows what they dealt with and how they came up with the idea to put a bomb on a remote-controlled robot to take out Johnson. Story by Jamie Thompson

Caught on Camera: TxDOT dumping roadkill, waste and more | KXAN-TV

A hidden-camera investigation by KXAN revealed that Texas Department of Transportation employees used state equipment to dump roadkill and debris near a state highway. KXAN also discovered oily sludge seeping into the soil and running down the back of the dump into a drainage area within the sensitive Edwards Aquifer recharge zone. The station’s findings sparked an inquiry by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Story by David Barer, Jody Barr and Josh Hinkle

‘They’re just setting those babies up for the penitentiary’: How minor offenses feed overcrowding at Houston youth jail | The Texas Tribune

Kids across Texas are getting in less trouble with the law — yet Harris County is locking up more juveniles. The Texas Tribune analyzed county data and found that a rising number of offenses were for minor violations that shouldn’t have landed kids behind bars in the first place. Story by Neena Satija

Sheriff media consultant works without contract | The Victoria Advocate

The Victoria County Sheriff’s Office paid media consultant William Ward Wyatt more than $68,000 in fees without any contract or document laying out his duties. The payments occurred during a period when the sheriff’s office failed to get timely information to the public about serious crimes. Story by Jessica Priest

Assisted living facility hit with violations after Trouble Shooters begin investigating | News 4 San Antonio

State officials investigated Amber Oaks, an assisted living community for the elderly in San Antonio, after New 4 San Antonio obtained photos and video from inside the facility. The TV station learned that a rat had bitten one resident, and another elderly woman had resorted to squashing bed bugs herself. Story by Jaie Avila

Dallas City Council candidates accepted $78,000 from people tied to bus agency bribery case | The Dallas Morning News and KXAS-TV

The FBI is investigating a company that pumped $78,000 into the campaigns of 15 Dallas City Council candidates, some of whom said they didn’t know who was writing the campaign checks. Story by Miles Moffeit, Tristan Hallman and Holly K. Hacker

New Details Alleged in Scheme to Make Millions Off First Border Wall in Texas | The Texas Tribune and ProPublica

Court records are revealing new details about a $232 million project to build a fence on the Texas border and rehabilitate aging levies — while paying companies tied to Godfrey Garza Jr., Hidalgo County’s drainage director. Story by Kiah Collier and T. Christian Miller

Did I miss a good story? Contact me or leave a comment below. Don’t forget to sign up for blog updates and check out more watchdog journalism from the great state of Texas.

The post Must reads: Texas watchdog journalism roundup for Feb 5, 2018 appeared first on John Tedesco.

The post ‘I’m an investigative reporter. And you’re busted’ appeared first on John Tedesco.

State officials are citing the company with nearly 50 violations and proposed a fine of $62,000.

Related: Attorney General Greg Abbott sues the Texas Highway Patrol Museum in San Antonio

Who says journalism is dead?

The post WOAI story about towing company’s aggressive tactics leads to $62,000 fine appeared first on John Tedesco.

This story by WOAI’s Jaei Avila about aggressive tactics by Bexar Towing has a little bit of everything — outrage, irony, humor, good information, and, at the end, a satisfying conclusion.

Buckle up and enjoy the ride.

The post WOAI exposes aggressive tactics by Bexar Towing at Greyhound station appeared first on John Tedesco.

This was an interesting fact, considering how Christian and Garcia were rumored to be a romantic item.

In 2002, the Express-News and other San Antonio news organizations scrambled to keep up with Collister’s bombshell coverage of Christian and Garcia. But for this more recent court story, Collister did something weird — the hyper competitive TV reporter asked if the Express-News wanted to team up.

How the heck did that happen?

It turned out Collister was working on his courthouse story around the same time Express-News reporter Brian Chasnoff was also digging into the issue. Last month, Chasnoff wrote a story about Bexar County’s erratic method of appointing defense lawyers to low-income clients. The story was based on a state report by the Texas Task Force on Indigent Defense, which determined that Bexar County was violating the Texas Fair Defense Act.

It was an important story. If you’re poor and accused of a crime in Texas, you’re entitled to a court-appointed lawyer. That lawyer is supposed to be randomly appointed to your case from a rotating pool of eligible lawyers. But in Bexar County, judges were appointing hundreds of lawyers who weren’t even on the approved list, and a small number of lawyers had amassed the most work and income.

The state report obtained by Chasnoff did not identify the lawyers who got the most work. But Collister had already obtained a county database that named names. It identified the lawyers receiving court appointments; how much they were paid; and the judges that gave out the work. A handful of attorneys were making hundreds of thousands of dollars.

This is where things get interesting.

In the old days, Collister would have done his own story in an effort to compete with the Express-News. But times have changed in journalism. There are fewer warm bodies in newsrooms, and while there’s still heated competition between news organizations in Texas, there’s also a new willingness to pool resources, collaborate on stories, and reach wider audiences.

So Collister approached the Express-News and asked if it wanted to team up for a detailed story about court-appointed lawyers.

“The idea was, ‘You have a piece of the puzzle, I have a piece of the puzzle. Let’s work together and make a better story,'” Collister told me. “The days of there being cutthroat competition, to a point, are over.”

It was an odd sight watching Collister hanging out in the Express-News, hovering over Chasnoff’s desk and collaborating like it was the most natural thing in the world.

I asked Chasnoff what it was like working with Collister. Chasnoff said he was pleasantly surprised. He didn’t encounter the heavy handed reporter on TV who shoves fuzzy microphones in people’s faces during ambush interviews. Collister had good ideas, and his court data saved Chasnoff a lot of time. Before they teamed up, Chasnoff had requested similar data from the county, so partnering with Collister meant Chasnoff didn’t have to waste time waiting for the information. “He had the goods,” Chasnoff said.

Chasnoff wrote a long news story that ran in the Sunday paper and WOAI produced its own version of the story. They identified the top lawyers and how much they were paid and posted the data online:

The top earner, lawyer Hilda Valadez, earned more than $400,000 in the past three years, hundreds of thousands of dollars more than the average court-appointed attorney.

In at least one courtroom, the inequity appears rooted in cronyism. Attorney Edward Adams, who contributed the most in the past year to the failed re-election campaign of County Court Judge Monica Guerrero, also was appointed the most cases and earned by far the most money in Guerrero’s court in the past three years.

Both news organizations brought different strengths to the table. WOAI told the story with pictures and audio, while the newspaper story went into greater depth and detail. Collister said he was pleased by the long, nuanced newspaper article. In most TV stories, he has to leave a lot of good material on the cutting room floor — that’s the nature of the beast in TV news, which is always crunched for time. So it was nice to have the newspaper story include points that he didn’t have a chance to air.

“To see it all get out there is just really gratifying,” Collister said.

I like news scoops as much as the next guy. But I’m starting to warm up to the notion that there’s a benefit to teaming up, every once in awhile, with other news organizations to pool resources and reach a broader audience.

Even after the stories ran, the teamwork between Collister and Chasnoff continued. The stories generated interesting tips from readers and viewers. Chasnoff said he and Collister have been sharing tips, and they might work on follow-up stories together.

“His attitude is, we stay unified,” Chasnoff said, “and we push the story forward.”

The post Express-News and WOAI team up for story about court-appointed lawyers appeared first on John Tedesco.

WOAI featured a unique, data-driven story last week about the high number of accidents caused by inattentive drivers talking on their cell phones. Journalists at the television station analyzed an accident database kept by the Texas Department of Transportation that tracks contributing factors for all vehicle crashes in Texas.

To get the story, WOAI had to fight a lengthy open-records battle with TxDOT. During their legal dispute, TxDOT took the unusual step of asking a state senator to write a bill that, in its original form, would have kept the entire database private.

The dispute between WOAI and TxDOT is a telling example of how difficult it can be to get important information out to the public. In some cases, it’s a long, expensive slog — it took nearly two years for WOAI to get its hands on the data.

WOAI Reporter Brian Collister of Trouble Shooter fame asked for the accident data on Jan. 5, 2008. Collister told me he wanted to analyze it for patterns, like the main factors that cause accidents in Texas, and where dangerous roadways are located. The database is called CRIS — Crash Records Information System.

In response to Collister’s request, TxDOT asked the Texas Attorney General’s office whether it was required to release the data. TxDOT argued that Texas has a law on the books intended to prevent ambulance chasing lawyers from getting easy access to hardcopy accident reports. Anyone asking for an accident report in Texas has to provide some identifying information, such as the location and date of the crash.

But in a March 31, 2008 letter, the attorney general determined the database didn’t fall under the anti-ambulance chaser law, so most of the database was open to the public.

TxDOT turned to the courts in an attempt to withhold the data — the agency sued the attorney general. Collister said WOAI joined the suit to get the database from TxDOT.

Related: Road rage in Texas: Find accidents in your neighborhood with this interactive map

“We got into a big fight with them,” Collister told me. He said WOAI and TxDOT began negotiating a way to resolve the lawsuit. According to Collister, WOAI wasn’t really interested in the personal information about the drivers — their names and dates of birth, for example. The television station wanted the data that detailed what caused the accident and other factors. Collister said WOAI had agreed to allow TxDOT to release the data with the personal information removed.

Then lawmakers got involved.

By chance, Collister learned that TxDOT had asked state Sen. John Carona to write a bill that, in its original form, stated that TxDOT’s entire database fell under the anti-ambulance chaser law. The move would have essentially kept the database private, because there’d be no way for someone like Collister to provide all the identifying information of every single accident in the data. Carona’s bill said TxDOT would be allowed to provide statistical information to the public.

Collister learned about Carona’s Senate Bill 375 on a Friday, and found out TxDOT had requested the bill. “It was so freagin’ infuriating, I couldn’t relax that whole weekend,” Collister said.

Carona is chairman of the Senate Committee on Transportation & Homeland Security, and a legislative hearing for the bill was scheduled for March 18, 2009. Media organizations such as the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas opposed Carona’s bill, and Collister also drove to Austin to testify against it.

At the hearing, state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, a member of the committee and an open-records advocate, said he wasn’t quite sure why Carona’s bill was necessary. Carona explained he was concerned that the media was “overreaching” by asking for the accident data.

“To me, the mere notion that the broadcast community would come and request an entire database of that type of information is overreaching,” Carona said.

Wentworth asked to hear from TxDOT on the issue. He said taxpayers paid for the data, so why shouldn’t they get access to it?

“It’s the public’s information,” Wentworth said. “They paid for it.”

TxDOT’s Carol Rawson, deputy director of traffic operations at the time, testified that the agency was concerned about personal information being released.

“That’s why we came to Senator Carona to try to help us a little bit,” she said.

After Rawson testified, it was Collister’s turn. Introducing himself as “a nosy investigative reporter,” he told the senators: “I’m the reason this bill was filed. I filed the open records request.” He pointed out that WOAI had already agreed with TxDOT to take the personal information out of the data.

“No one wants to open the door to ambulance chasers,” Collister said. By making the rest of the database public, the records could be analyzed to show where the most dangerous highways are in a community, for example, or where the most drunk driving incidents occur.

“That’s what folks like me use this data for,” Collister said.

Carona told Collister: “We think you’ve got very legitimate points,” and the bill’s language was later changed to withhold a laundry list of personal information like names of drivers. The legislation made the rest of the data public. The bill became law on June 19, 2009.

I talked to Rawson this morning to get her perspective on the open-records dispute. She insisted that TxDOT wasn’t trying to be sneaky and win its lawsuit with the attorney general and WOAI by asking for Carona’s help. She said Carona’s bill was very helpful in making clear what information in the accident database was public, and it addressed the agency’s concerns about personal information.

I pointed out that Carona’s original bill would have blocked the release of the entire database. “The bill did start off a little stronger,” Rawson said. But she said she understood where Collister was coming from. And she agreed that the data could be a very useful tool in making roads safer for the public.

“It wasn’t that I wanted to be stingy and withhold the data,” she said, adding: “I could see Brian’s point, and I think he could see my point.”

She laughed when I asked what it was like to deal with Collister. “He was like a bulldog.”

I also spoke with Angie Cervantes, a policy analyst for Carona who worked on the legislation. Cervantes said the original draft of the bill that withheld the entire database was too strongly worded.

Related: How to reach an investigative reporter in San Antonio, Texas

“It was really about protecting the personal information and figuring out how we can do it,” she said. Even though WOAI had been negotiating with TxDOT to weed out the personal info, the legislation was still needed to deal with ambulance chasers who might demand the entire data, Cervantes said.

Collister told me he received the data in November. It includes contributing factors for accidents such as cell phone usage, road rage, and drunk driving. WOAI crunched the numbers, and also asked TxDOT to conduct its own analysis to make sure the agency didn’t dispute WOAI’s research. The station plans follow-up stories.

This case shows why an economic model is vitally needed to support in-depth journalism. It would be very difficult for a part-time blogger to pursue this kind of story. It costs time and money.

Anyone who does this kind of work, whether they’re bloggers, newspaper reporters, or nosy broadcast journalists, deserves a pat on that back — and financial support.

The post WOAI fought long battle to obtain TxDOT’s auto-accident data appeared first on John Tedesco.

One of my favorite stories by Brian features a skillful interview he conducted with Christine Torres, the disgraced executive director of the Bexar County Housing Authority. It’s a good example of how to handle a public official who is trying to hide the truth.

Brian found out the housing authority was giving mortgage assistance to only one person: Torres’ daughter-in-law. In this news video, Brian interviewed Torres.

Notice how Brian simply let Torres talk.

Related: Will blogs replace newspapers? Only if blogs actually make money

At first she denied the housing authority gave mortgage assistance to anyone. Then she acknowledged one person was receiving assistance, but refused to say who it was. Then Brian demonstrated he already knew who it was, and asked why Torres’ daughter-in-law deserved taxpayer help to own a house.

One of the best things journalists can do when confronted with someone who is lying or trying to hide something is to get the falsehood on the record. Don’t interrupt. Don’t get indignant. Let them dig their own hole.

Then go back and pick apart their story.

What happened to Torres? She resigned and later pleaded guilty to a felony.

The post Reporter’s notebook: What to do when someone tries to hide the truth from you appeared first on John Tedesco.