Publication Items

Pa. Radio Host Says Criticism of Shale Fracking Got Him Fired [1]

Robert Foltz, host of the "Let's Talk" show on WMBS in Uniontown for 10 years, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette he was fired just moments after a local municipal official said on his show that drilling for gas in the Marcellus shale formation had contaminated the local groundwater supply with bromine.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Energy & Fuel [3]
Economy & Business [4]
Region:
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [5]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Pa. Radio Host Says Criticism of Shale Fracking Got Him Fired [1]
Plastic Bag Industry Tries To Silence Critics [7]

The New York Times' Felicity Barringer tells the story of Andy Keller, 38, who dresses up in bags as "Bag Monster" to promote his reusable "ChicoBag," invoking the ire of three plastic bag manufacturers in South Carolina.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Economy & Business [4]
Region:
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [8]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Plastic Bag Industry Tries To Silence Critics [7]
EPA Outs 150 Chemicals Claiming Trade Secret Status Under TSCA [9]

The chemicals, the identities of which had been withheld up till now based on companies' "confidential business information" claims, are used in products like oil dispersants, air fresheners, non-stick and stain-resistant materials, fire-resistant materials, nonylphenol compounds, perfluorinated compounds, and lead.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [10]
Government [11]
Chemicals [12]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about EPA Outs 150 Chemicals Claiming Trade Secret Status Under TSCA [9]
Communities in 40 States Get EPA Grants To Redevelop Brownfields [13]

On June 6, EPA announced a new round of grants going to nearly 200 communities in some 40 states and 3 tribal areas. Most of them go to poor and minority areas with high unemployment rates.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [14]
Topics on the Beat:
Pollution [15]
Planning & Growth [16]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Communities in 40 States Get EPA Grants To Redevelop Brownfields [13]
41 New Trails Span About 650 Miles [17]

Just in time for summer, 41 new segments of the US National Recreation Trails system in AL, AR, CT, FL, IL, IN, KS, MA, MD, MI, MN, NJ, NM, OK, PA, TN, and WV, covering about 650 land and water miles in 17 states, are open for business. These are part of a much larger system of about 1,100 trails spanning 13,000 miles.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [14]
Topics on the Beat:
Natural Resources [18]
Region:
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [19]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [20]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [5]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [21]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [8]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [22]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about 41 New Trails Span About 650 Miles [17]
Several Tools Available To Check Drinking Water Quality [23]

EPA has updated its Enforcement and Compliance History Online database so that federal standards violations through 2009 can be quickly identified. For example, pick a county and quickly get a customized listing of systems that fall into categories such as serial violators, or occasional violators of things such as health-based standards or monitoring requirements.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [14]
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans [24]
Pollution [15]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Several Tools Available To Check Drinking Water Quality [23]
Major Update of Local U.S. Climate Data Due by June 30 [25]

Each decade, NOAA's National Climatic Data Center updates its data for 30-year averages for a range of climate indicators. The most widely used "normals" for the period 1981-2010 (including temperature, precipitation, snowfall, snow depth, and heating and cooling degree days) are scheduled to be released at the end of June 2011, with the rest by year end.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [14]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [26]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Major Update of Local U.S. Climate Data Due by June 30 [25]
For FOIA-Phobic: MuckRock Will File It for You [27]

If you find using the Freedom of Information Act daunting, try this open government tool conceived by journalist Michael Morisy and start-up guru Mitchell Kotler. It will embargo a journalist's request before story publication.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [11]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about For FOIA-Phobic: MuckRock Will File It for You [27]
House OKs Secret Contributions from Govt Contractors [28]

The vote came on an amendment by Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) to the defense authorization bill, in response to a draft executive order from President Obama that would require federal contractors to disclose their campaign contributions. The matter remains unresolved.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [11]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about House OKs Secret Contributions from Govt Contractors [28]
Budget Cuts Will Mean Scrapping Open-Government Sites [29]

Washington Post reporter Ed O'Keefe reports that White House negotiators from both parties substantially slashed the Electronic Government Fund which "helps finance government sites that track federal data, government contracting, government information technology and overall performance."
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [11]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Budget Cuts Will Mean Scrapping Open-Government Sites [29]

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