A Critical Look at Maine’s Wind Act
A 2012 deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars to expand wind energy projects across the Northeast was dealt a blow Tuesday by the Maine supreme court, which ruled that a state agency's approval of...
View ArticlePain Killers
In Rhode Island, easy access to prescription pills has fostered what health officials call an epidemic of drug abuse. Click here to read the series
View ArticleWhen Addicts Come Calling: Police Tackle a Spate of Opiate-Fueled Burglaries
A great deal of media attention of late has been on the reported rise in heroin overdoses across Massachusetts. In February, police in Lawrence, Methuen and Haverill conducted sweeping heroin-related...
View ArticleConsumer Advocates Urge Banning ATVs From Roadways, Citing Crash Hazards
A leading consumer group is warning that the increasing use of all-terrain vehicles on the nation’s roads poses a “growing public health crisis” and is calling for immediate action by U.S., state and...
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DCF workers say rising caseloads, poor technology putting children at risk
DCF Commissioner Olga Roche speaks at a press conference. (Photo Credit Sarah Birnbaum / WGBH News) By: Jenifer McKim New England Center for Investigative Reporting This is an update of a previous...
View ArticlePolice top list of highest-paid Worcester employees
Two regular police officers jumped into the ranks of the city's top 10 highest-paid employees last year, joining police commanders and top leaders at City Hall and Worcester public schools, according...
View ArticleWhy heroin is spreading in America’s suburbs
Ana was a good student in middle school. She got above-average grades, seemed poised and self-possessed, and, like many of her friends in her charming coastal town north of Boston, was on a probable...
View ArticleHospital mergers raise concerns over patient costs
Hospital administrators in Connecticut who have been involved in the unprecedented streak of mergers and consolidations often tout the financial benefits and efficiencies of such moves. But as the...
View ArticleWatertown shootout: Paying homeowners to repair damage
After police announced they had caught the surviving Marathon Bombing suspect, after the shrill sound of police sirens receded into the distance, and after the car horns ceased honking in celebration,...
View ArticleFORMER JUNKYARD OPERATOR FOUND GUILTY, SENTENCED FOR NOT REPORTING RELEASE OF...
WORCESTER — The former owner of a large parcel of land in Leominster and Sterling was found guilty and sentenced for failing to report the presence of environmental contamination on his property to the...
View ArticleTWO CHARGED FOR ALLEGEDLY COLLECTING MORE THAN $56,000 IN UNEMPLOYMENT...
BOSTON – Two individuals have been charged in connection with collecting a combined total of more than $56,000 in unemployment benefits while continuing to work, Attorney General Martha Coakley...
View ArticleDrug-plagued families struggle to make it clean
By: Jenifer McKim New England Center for Investigative Reporting Tammy Minard, a long-time heroin addict now in recovery, is determined to turn her life around for her newborn son. The 41-year-old...
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Explosion of drug-dependent infants reveals weakness in Mass. child protection
The grave site of Mya Barry in Pine Hill Cemetery, Quincy, Mass. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe) By: Jenifer McKim and Michael Bottari New England Center for Investigative Reporting MARSHFIELD – Mya...
View ArticleFor Jared Remy, leniency was the rule until one lethal night
Jared Remy had glided through his first five criminal cases, but prosecutors thought the sixth one would be different. Compared to what he had been charged with in the past — beating and choking his...
View Article$3m settlement reached in Bridgewater hospital death
The parents of a 23-year-old mental health patient who died at Bridgewater State Hospital five years ago will receive $3 million to settle a civil rights lawsuit alleging that prison guards were...
View ArticleSpecial Report: Charting implementation of the Affordable Care Act in New...
In this article, VTDigger assesses the impact of the Affordable Care Act in the six New England states. Our analysis is based on spending and enrollment data for federally qualified health plans. The...
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Conn. city may eliminate job that helped with post-Sandy damage, sea level rise
An aerial view showing some of Milford's vulnerability to the sea. (Photo courtesy city of Milford) By: Beth Daley New England Center for Investigative Reporting The numbers speak volumes about...
View ArticleThe inside story of MIT and Aaron Swartz
The mysterious visitor called himself Gary Host at first, then Grace Host, which he shortened for his made-up e-mail address to “ghost,” a joke apparently, perhaps signaling mischievousness — or...
View ArticleBridgewater restraints use rose, even after patient’s death
For more than a decade, officials at Bridgewater State Hospital have been promising to cut down on the increasingly discredited practice of restraining mentally ill men, strapping their wrists and...
View ArticleCranston to fire police captain in ticket blitz
Months after the NBC 10 I-Team revealed a parking ticket blitz in Cranston, Mayor Allan Fung on Thursday called for the firing of one of the city's top police officers. "Today we are announcing a...
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