Florida requires no training for executioners

Kevin Begos of The Tampa Tribune reports that executioners in Florida "aren't required to have training, certification or any qualifications other than being at least 18 years old, according to Florida's interpretation of lethal injection guidelines." The Tampa Tribune received a copy of the state's execution guidelines through a public records request. The protocol is under review, and executions have been suspended since December, after it took over 30 minutes for prisoner Angel Diaz to die "because the lethal chemicals missed his veins."

Eric Nalder and Lewis Kamb of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer expose an explicit email and Internet scandal within the Port of Seattle Police Department. The reporters used public records requests to obtain internal investigation documents and personnel records showing that nearly one-third of the Port's police force sent, received and exchanged racist, sexist and explicit emails over a 16-month period. Through other documents and interviews, the P-I discovered the inappropriate use of public computers and similar questionable actions by officers has remained unchecked and part of the department's culture for years.

Brent Schrotenboer of The San Diego Union-Tribune looks at the cost of community college football programs in the state of California. There are 72 community college programs in the state of California versus 68 in the rest of the US. Some argue that they cost the state at the expense of academics. "For those that did provide football budgets, expenses exceeded revenue by an average of about $70,000 per year. If that average held for all 72 schools, it would put the cost to the state in excess of $5 million a year." While the football programs continue to be subsidized by state funds, the same schools are having to rely on part-time faculty "who get paid less and are classified as temporary." Advocates argue that the football programs actually make money for the schools because "each full-time student equivalent brings in about $4,000 to cover the cost of his or her education...A football team of 100 could bring a community college $400,000 in public subsidies, mostly from local property taxes and the state general fund. "

A.C. Thompson of SF Weekly reports on a scandal within the San Franciso Police Department, "a cloak-and-dagger investigation that may have transgressed the department's own rules - and definitely torched the careers of a pair of ethical police officers who dared to air their criticisms of the SFPD." Following the 2003 leak of an internal memo pertaining to a highly publicized police scandal, officers within the department responded by "covertly opening a vigorous criminal probe dedicated to discovering who leaked the Stansberry memo to the media. And during the course of the probe, a secret team, helmed by Morris Tabak, then head of the Special Investigations Division, gathered up a fat stack of documents: the records of more than 2,400 phone calls to and from journalists working in the Hall of Justice press room. "

Sharon Theimer of the Associated Press reports that recently released Secret Service visitor logs reveal extensive "inside access" to presidential aides by Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed, both of whom are linked to Jack Abramoff. The records indicate at least 115 appointments since 2001, some lasting upwards of 12 hours. The release of the records came about in a settlement of an open records lawsuit brought by the Democratic National Committee. "Questions about Norquist's and Reed's access to the Bush White House surfaced after congressional and criminal investigations of Abramoff found evidence suggesting the lobbyist and his team gained White House access through the conservative activists."

Mike McAndrew of The Post-Standard used Empire Zone records obtained through Freedom of Information Law requests to show that New York's program to attract new business spent $84 million in recent years on out-of-state power companies with old and dirty facilities and little or no job growth. For instance, taxpayers paid $22 million to NRG Energy for one year, and it did almost nothing to deserve it. "The New Jersey company added one-half of one employee. It operated Upstate electric plants built decades ago by someone else. Two of these plants are the state

Jenifer B. McKim of The Orange County Register writes about lost
opportunities to save a 10-month-old foster child who was returned to his
mother and brutally murdered. "The investigation found that nearly two dozen abused or neglected children who had been under protection of the Juvenile Court in Orange County have died over the past six years. Most died of illnesses or accidents, but some could have been saved. " The Orange County Register litigated for more
than a year in Juvenile Court to get details of 23 children under court
protection who died.

Associated Press reporter Martha Mendoza reports on a probe into sexual misconduct by military recruiters. In a six-month investigation, the AP found "at least 35 Army recruiters, 18 Marine Corps recruiters, 18 Navy recruiters and 12 Air Force recruiters were disciplined for sexual misconduct or other inappropriate behavior with potential enlistees in 2005, according to records obtained by the AP under dozens of Freedom of Information Act requests."

Kevin Begos, of the Tampa Tribune, reports that Florida has a plan in place to handle the potential influx of Cuban immigrants into the state. The Tribune obtained the state's Mass Migration Response plan through a public records request. Plans include "setting up long-term detention sites across the country" to help defray the logistical stress placed on Florida communities.

Richard Willing of USA Today reports that
"The federal government will pay a Texas law school $1 million. . .to produce a national "model statute" that state legislatures and Congress could adopt to ensure that potentially dangerous information 'stays out of the hands of the bad guys.'" The grant was included in this year's budget for the Defense Department by Congress, and will be administered by the Air Force Research Laboratory.