clips
Take a look at some of my projects, from breaking news to deep-dive investigations.
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting, 2018
Trouble in the VA health care system
A controversial doctor, a troubled Navy SEAL
Mismanagement at a renowned rehab center
After this project published, county officials cut off referrals to the program pending corrective action and the state put the facility’s license on probation.
How an antisemitic extremist in San Diego evaded hate crime prosecution
inewsource and KQED
Tracking the activities of this neo-Nazi helped prosecutors investigate and ultimately extradite the man to Amsterdam for displaying an antisemitic message on the Anne Frank House.
inewsource
This two-part investigation examines the COVID-19 crisis in San Diego’s prison that led to 18 deaths of incarcerated people.
Two years after Prop 47, addicts walk free with nowhere to go
The Desert Sun/USA TODAY
In 2014, California voters freed about 13,500 low-level offenders from crowded prisons and jails. But many ex-inmates have traded incarceration for a cycle of homelessness, drug abuse and petty crime.
These officers committed misconduct. But what were the consequences?
inewsource and KPBS
By gathering and analyzing data, I was able to show the lack of recorded disciplinary action for San Diego Police officers in this three-part series.
Problems plague COVID-19 hotel after county pays company millions to run it
inewsource
This rolling investigation into the multi-million dollar program to help unhoused San Diegans during COVID-19 resulted in an independent audit corroborating my reporting’s findings. It also led my colleague and I to have our photos put up on wanted posters around the hotel.
The Desert Sun/USA TODAY
Emails sent to the federal government, obtained via a public records request, highlight a confusing border wall bidding process that may have overlooked qualified candidates for the sake of speed.
A San Diego nonprofit’s historical antiques landed in Mississippi. A bitter conflict followed
inewsource
My investigation into this San Diego nonprofit uncovered serious ethical violations and breaches of trust that have splintered the prestigious board of directors and nonprofit’s staff.
UCSD has not told women with HIV of data breach, despite researchers’ pleas
inewsource
University of California San Diego officials stonewalled attempts to notify women in an HIV research study that their confidential data was breached more than seven months earlier.
Democrats spent 37 times the contribution limit on Nathan Fletcher. And it’s legal.
inewsource
How did Nathan Fletcher get nearly $1 million in support from the local Democratic Party when the contribution limit is so much smaller than that?
How San Diego fueled California’s gas tax repeal effort
inewsource
It started as a few phone calls to a local radio station, and now could become the second taxpayer revolt in state history.
Salt Lake Tribune
Thousands of Utah’s American Indian students are barred from federal programs designed to help them succeed in school. Native Americans who aren't tribally enrolled are often prevented from joining them.
Campus Sexual Assault Can Cost Universities Millions
Forbes
As universities face increasingly intense scrutiny for their handling of sexual assault, the cost of accusations, formal charges and prevention measures is skyrocketing.
Another former employee sues the Pa. Attorney General's Office
Philadelphia Inquirer
Another former member of the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office is taking the office to court, in the sixth lawsuit brought by former state prosecutors, agents and administrators.
Busting barriers, Penn's top cop celebrates 20 years
The Daily Pennsylvanian
Maureen Rush was one of Philadelphia’s first 100 female police officers on street patrol in 1976. She climbed her way to the head of one of the largest university police forces in America.
Push For Campus Safety Means More Guns, Officers, Security Spending
Forbes
Tasers, laptop locks and security cameras don’t automatically come to mind when most people think of the college campus. But these devices are now present in quads and dorms across the country.
Behind the glass, a contested history
The Daily Pennsylvanian
When a representative of the University of Pennsylvania archaeology museum visited a Native American clan in September of 1995, members broke down at the sight of objects sacred to their clan, which had been lost to them for decades.
34th Street Magazine
An exploration of drug culture at the University of Pennsylvania. While some students turn their backs on cocaine because of its consequences, others embrace its associations with wealth and exclusivity.
The Daily Pennsylvanian
An analysis of university course review data, a project led by me, containing articles and interactive graphic breakdowns to guide students. Click "all articles" to see features I wrote for the project.
Mom-to-be pushes through blizzard to deliver
Philadelphia Inquirer
When expectant mother Brittany Gillette, 21, felt her water break at 5 a.m. Saturday, howling wind was stacking snow in front of her house and she feared she wouldn't make it to a hospital. And she wasn't the only one.
Who says civil servants can't make good money?
Salt Lake Tribune
The number of city, county employees earning $100K in Utah has jumped 64 percent in the past years. Here are the top members of the so-called $100K club and some things about them that may surprise you.
Bronx man needs funds to save basketball tournament to honor late grandmother
New York Daily News
The tattoo that Gabriel McCabe had etched on his shoulder to honor his grandmother six years ago isn’t enough — now he’s asking for help to honor her on the basketball court.