Mar 20
2014
A federal court judge Wednesday fined Tonawanda Coke $12.5 million and ordered it to underwrite studies that will cost the company up to an additional $12.2 million. The plant’s retired manager was sentenced to a year in prison. Some criticize the punishment as lenient. A report from The Buffalo News.
Mar 18
2014
The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota is moving towards legalizing marijuana. Morgan Pehme of City and State NY wonders aloud if tribes here might follow suit. “Growing and selling marijuana on Indian reservations could provide a massive windfall for New York’s economically depressed tribes,” he writes.
Mar 17
2014
The Associated Press confirms what many working reporters already know: the federal government is using the pretext of national security to deny a growing number of requests made under the Freedom of Information Act. Secrecy at the federal level is part of a trend throughout government to thwart the public’s right to know.
Mar 12
2014
Asian carp found breeding in the Upper Mississippi. That means they are spreading much faster than any scientist had originally thought. The biggest fear is when these voracious eaters with no known predators will reach the Great Lakes. A story from National Geographic.
Mar 4
2014
Residents breathing air by Tonawanda Coke were put at risk for years because the company released dangerous amounts of toxic chemicals. Preliminary residential soil tests also turned up contamination. The company and an employee were convicted last year. Residents, some with cancer, want a portion of the fines for comprehensive studies. A story from WGRZ.
Feb 25
2014
“Intercept,” the first online publication produced by the partnership involving Pierre Omidyar and Glenn Greenwald, serves up this troubling report: “Western intelligence agencies are attempting to manipulate and control online discourse with extreme tactics of deception and reputation-destruction.”
Feb 19
2014
Sen. Chuck Schumer is good with Comcast’s pending purchase of Time-Warner. Would it have something to do with the fact his brother helped put the deal together? A report from our friends at Little Sis.
Feb 14
2014
“Trump very badly wants to be taken seriously as a potential political candidate and not be written off as a man-boy who cried wolf. But, at the same time, he plainly has no interest in actually running for office,” reports BuzzFeed in an interesting profile.