Publication Items

Lake Charles Newspaper Staff Persists Against Rita's Fury

By JEREMY HARPER
When I went to sleep Wednesday, Sept. 21, Hurricane Rita was threatening the Texas coast, promising to pester Louisiana with no more than a quick bout of tropical storm conditions. I was prepared to ride out the fringe of the storm in either my apartment on the second floor of a sturdy historic building in downtown Lake Charles, La., a city of 75,000 about 40 miles inland of the Gulf of Mexico, or in the newsroom of the American Press, the city's daily newspaper where I have worked for four years as a reporter.
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters
Region:
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN)
Visibility:
Public
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'Carbon Black' Report Shows Impacts On Native Americans

By MIKE DUNNE

An effort to document the lives of Oklahoma Indians introduced reporter Vicki Monks to a story that begged to be told: how a carbon black plant affected the health of a neighboring Ponca Indian community.

Carbon black, made by the burning of waste oil, is used primarily to strengthen the rubber in tires.
Topics on the Beat:
Pollution
Region:
National (U.S.)
Visibility:
Public
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Rockefeller Introduces Bill To Outlaw Bayer Chem-Secrecy Ruse

Rockefeller's bill keeps FOIA exemptions for real security information, but forbids using the "sensitive security information" stamp.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals
Disasters
Laws & Regulations
Region:
National (U.S.)
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV)
Visibility:
Public
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High Court To Rule on Whether "Animal Cruelty" Is Exempt From 1st Amendment

This case may make it illegal for journalists to cover animal cruelty cases like the Michael Vicks dogfighting prosecution — or even to shoot investigative video of out-of-season fishing.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations
Journalism & Media
Region:
National (U.S.)
Visibility:
Public
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Bills Seek Disclosure of "Fracking" Chemicals That May Threaten Drinking Wells

Proposed legislation would repeal a provision allowing secrecy over chemicals injected underground during high-tech gas drilling — such as benzene and toluene, which are known to be toxic.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals
Energy & Fuel
Water & Oceans
Region:
National (U.S.)
Visibility:
Public
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Coal-Waste Impoundment Database Offers Journalists a Tool

A cooperative effort of federal and state agencies, coal companies, and environmental groups, the database lists coal-waste impoundments in West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Energy & Fuel
Pollution
Waste
Region:
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV)
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI)
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN)
Visibility:
Public
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EPA Relents, Releases List of 44 High-Hazard Coal-Ash Ponds

FOIA requests and Congressional pressure got the Obama administration to reverse its decision to withhold key information about dangers to communities from coal-ash ponds operated by electric utilities.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals
Disasters
Energy & Fuel
Region:
National (U.S.)
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about EPA Relents, Releases List of 44 High-Hazard Coal-Ash Ponds
Beach Nourishment: Supreme Court To Decide Who Owns the New Sand

When governments or communities pay to replenish beaches along privately owned beachfront property — or create new beaches by trucking in sand — what does that mean for the landowners' waterfront rights and property value?
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Planning & Growth
Laws & Regulations
Water & Oceans
Military
People & Population
Region:
National (U.S.)
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN)
Visibility:
Public
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Feds Continue Compensation for Lost Local Tax Revenue

The fiscal year 2009 allocation of Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) is up about 4% from last year, and is being distributed to about 60% of the nation's counties and other local jurisdictions.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Economy & Business
Government
Region:
National (U.S.)
Visibility:
Public
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US Vulnerability To Heat Waves Varies Substantially by Location

A new analysis of about 40,000 census tracts in the larger US metropolitan areas can help you cover how well your community is preparing for heat-related risk.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change
Health
People & Population
Region:
National (U.S.)
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about US Vulnerability To Heat Waves Varies Substantially by Location

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