"Fracking" draws little oversight in California

Michael J. Mishak, Los Angeles Time, reports that "energy companies across California are injecting a mysterious mix of chemicals into the ground to tap oil deposits while frustrating attempts to regulate the controversial process, known as hydraulic fracturing."

"So far, nine states require energy companies to disclose what they put into the ground but the Brown administration, which has been trying to ease regulation of the energy industry, has yet to draw up any rules on the extraction method."

"An investigation by the Orlando Sentinel found that police cars in Florida are crashing at the astonishing rate of 20 a day, resulting, over a five-year period, in thousands of injuries and more than 100 deaths. The findings led to a three-part series, “Collision With the Law,” which began Sunday, Feb. 12."

"Rene Stutzman and Scott Powers used Florida crash data to identify more than 37,000 police car crashes from 2006-2010. The data, crash reports, traffic homicide files and interviews helped reveal officers were at least partly at fault a quarter of the time, but rarely faced tickets or prosecutions."

In a three-part, eight-story series, The Post, found that underage drinkers on Ohio University's campus were safer drinking at the bars than they were at a house party. It also broke down a three-year Ohio Liquor Control Commission oversight; allowing a bar to remain open for three-years under an intended suspension. The series also looks at drinking in dorms, which are the location of the most underage drinking citations.

"A USA Today investigation reveals that seven decades after scientists came to the US during World War II to create plutonium for the first atomic bomb, a new generation is struggling with an even more daunting task: cleaning up the radioactive mess.

Several senior engineers cited design problems that could bring the treatment plant's operations to a halt before much of the waste is treated."