Number of highly paid transit employees triples

Mike Adamick of the Contra Costa Times used salary data obtained after a legal battle to show that "the number of BART employees making at least $100,000 nearly tripled since 2000. During the same time period, overtime payments surged by 147 percent for the transit district's highest paid employees." The transit agency originally resisted the paper's request for data, saying releasing the names and salaries of employees would be "overly intrusive." BART turned over information on employees making at least $100,000 after the paper won a similar suit against the City of Oakland.

Jason Method and James W. Prado Roberts of the Asbury Park Press raised questions in the airplane death seven years ago of a pilot who was about to buy Marlboro Airport, now the center of a massive political bribery scandal. The NTSB ruled the 1998 crash death of Lino A. Fasio an accident due to a probable bird strike, but five experts who reviewed the report and new photographs of the wreckage for the Press said there is no evidence to support the government's claim. "There have been six known fatal accidents involving birds in civil aviation in the United States in the last 15 years. But in every case - except Fasio's - investigators found solid evidence of birds or bird remains." The series includes 14 chapters, ranging from a bird theory to sabotage claims.

Suzanne Hoholik of The Columbus Dispatch used state data to show that a 2002 Ohio law intended to direct accident victims to trauma hospitals was working as intended: "More injured people are being taken to trauma centers, and fewer are dying in small, rural hospitals. Trauma experts believe as many as 900 lives a year are being saved statewide." The paper found that "the number of injured patients transferred from community hospitals to trauma centers increased 22 percent from 2001 to 2004."

Bruce Golding, Jorge Fitz-Gibbon and Dwight R. Worley of The Journal-News used state and federal data to show that "safety ratings for the Tappan Zee Bridge have dropped back to some of the lowest levels in a decade despite an infusion of at least $316 million." The span is New York's most profitable, generating about $45 million in "excess revenues" a year, but is nearing the end of its planned 50-year life. "In addition to the drops in the deck and structural ratings, federal records show the Tappan Zee's guardrails have not met acceptable standards in three of four categories since at least 1994."

Andy Nelesen of the Green Bay Press-Gazette used county data to show that driving after losing your license (known as OAR) isn't uncommon: "In 2003 and 2004, more than 250 people racked up more than one OAR case in one year." In one extreme case, a man has been arrested for driving without a license at least 52 times since 1993.

Lyndsey Layton and Jo Becker of The Washington Post obtained and reviewed documents and data on the performance of the DC-area subway system, finding that "trains break down 64 percent more often than they did three years ago, and the number of daily delays has nearly doubled since 2000. Although the vast majority of trains are on time, more than 14,400 subway riders a day are inconvenienced by a delay or a mechanical problem that forces them off broken trains." The second piece of a four-part series revealed that "time and again, records show, the public transit agency has disregarded the advice of experts and failed to address safety issues."

Michele McNeil of The Indianapolis Star used state data to show that "at least 30 motor vehicle license branches do as little business as those in the 12 small towns already scheduled to close." In addition, the paper found that the number of cars and trucks processed by branches fluctuates wildly. "For example, the average number of transactions handled per employee last year was 2,966 at the Virginia Avenue branch in Indianapolis, compared with an average of 9,777 at the Plainfield branch."

Eunice Trotter, Tom Spalding and Mark Nichols of The Indianapolis Star built a database of reports on police chases, showing that "police are virtually unrestricted when they chase suspects. They pursue fleeing vehicles at high speeds and usually for traffic infractions." One of five chases resulted in an injury or death, and state police chases averaged 88 mph. The paper analyzed records from nearly 1,000 chases in 2003 and 2004.

Eric Eyre and Scott Finn of The Charleston Gazette continue their investigation of Neal Sharp, West Virginia's former homeland security chief, reporting that "Sharp purchased gasoline with his state credit card at least 30 times on days he wasn't working." In all, Sharp charged $6,764 to his state-issued credit card between July 2003 and March 2005. "On a single day in October 2004, he purchased 38 gallons of gas during three stops at service stations in Charleston and Beckley. Another day later that month, he bought 24 gallons of gas during two stops near his home in Poca."

Pat Stith of The (Raleigh/Durham, N.C.) News & Observer reports on how the state relaxed laws to allow overweight trucks to destroy roads, while the enforcement of heavy trucks has also declined in the past five years. "... [S]tate lawmakers voted 10 times for bills that benefit trucking interests at the public expense." Fines for overweight trucks have dropped by half since the last legislation on the issue in 1981 and "about 100 fewer officers prowled the state's back roads to weigh trucks with portable scales or were available to work at the weigh stations on North Carolina's interstates." The series includes an interactive calculator that calculates how an overweight truck can damage the road.