Two men digging for a water line Saturday afternoon struck a gas line and blew up a house in Fairborn. This was what was left of the duplex they were working on. Photo by Brandon Smith-Hebson. MONDAY A.M. UPDATE: A 75-year-old man was found dead in the rubble on Sunday. It was my day off, … Continue reading Home explosion leaves bloodbath in its wake
My work
Pollution hasn’t invaded drinking water wells, testing in response to our article shows
Today's paper features the results of health district tests of private drinking water wells near pollution seeping from a New Carlisle landfill. Good news: the comprehensive VOC test returned negative results, so people aren't drinking vinyl chloride. The landfill is a U.S. EPA Superfund site, and is leaching the carcinogen into … Continue reading Pollution hasn’t invaded drinking water wells, testing in response to our article shows
Deconstructing a bill: on the education beat
Allie Conley, a high school student at Emmanuel Christian Academy, qualified for the Ed Choice program, getting what is sometimes called a private school voucher. If HB 136 is signed into law, Ohio's voucher system stands to grow significantly larger. Photo by Marshall Gorby, used courtesy of the Springfield News-Sun. I was an education reporter … Continue reading Deconstructing a bill: on the education beat
A dose of science disguised as news
Despite a question about smoking added to the state's death certificate form in 2007, it's wildly unclear just how many deaths can be attributed to smoking — or any disease — because of error in determining cause of death. Photo by Bill Lackey, used courtesy of the Springfield News-Sun. I was told to find out … Continue reading A dose of science disguised as news
Two months and four hundred handwritten pages later…
Larry Shaffer, health inspector for the Clark County Combined health district, washes his hands before starting his inspection at Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken. Clark County health inspections reveal some dire situations in the area's commercial kitchens. Photo by Bill Lackey, used courtesy of the Springfield News-Sun. Here's my front-page story today on restaurant inspections. It … Continue reading Two months and four hundred handwritten pages later…
New Carlisle landfill on ODH’s watch list
An employee speaks with the owner of Scarff's Wholesale Nursery. Scarff's drilled four wells in an attempt to avoid pollution seeping from a nearby landfill, and still had to be connected to city water. Photo by Marshall Gorby, courtesy of the Springfield News-Sun Big splash on the front of today's News-Sun: my story on a … Continue reading New Carlisle landfill on ODH’s watch list
A setback for the truck-maker in Navistar v. EPA
International trucks on display at a show in China, April 2011. Creative Commons-licensed photo by Flickr user SimonQ. In a followup to my story last month, I just wrote about a development in Navistar v. EPA, the lawsuit that the truck company with the local manufacturing arm filed against the environment agency. How this setback … Continue reading A setback for the truck-maker in Navistar v. EPA
Mosquito story has legs!
A U.S. Army officer separates male and female mosquitoes to test for the presence of disease in the South Pacific. Creative Commons-licensed photo from the Flickr account of the U.S. Army's Korea outpost. Hey everyone. This is the story with the greatest traction I've had so far in my career: At least five newspapers and … Continue reading Mosquito story has legs!
Pill Mill story
Springfield Psychologist Owen Ward says he now spends most of his time trying to find doctors who will prescribe his patients pain medication for their physical injuries. Doctors say the former House Bill 93, a copy of which Ward holds, has had a chilling effect on the prescription of pain medication. Photo by Marshall Gorby, … Continue reading Pill Mill story
Full story on Navistar v. EPA
While it made the lead story on the front of the local page today, my piece on Navistar suing the EPA got cut because of length. I'm posting the whole story here. Navistar's new engines recirculate a larger amount of exhaust back into the cylinders than has been done before, which cools combustion, limiting the … Continue reading Full story on Navistar v. EPA
Mercury poisoning saga
Joel Hogue tests mercury vapor in bags containing clothes removed from the Moore family home. Some bags tested around 100 times the limit considered safe. Photo by Barbara J. Perenic, courtesy of the Springfield-News Sun. Hey everyone. Check out my initial article and followup to the story of the family that had to leave its … Continue reading Mercury poisoning saga
Ohio EPA called out U.S. EPA — at *my* meeting!
The time I had to write this report could have been rounded to zero. The space I had to write this report was 1/4 what I would have written if I had all the space I wanted. But it turned out beautifully, as my editors kept all the needed details, which, frankly, were astounding. I … Continue reading Ohio EPA called out U.S. EPA — at *my* meeting!
My first decent Springfield piece
I wrote a couple easy pieces since I've been at the Springfield News-Sun, which has been about a week and a half now. But this one was on a decently important subject, and I got some good information for it. The problem was that all my good information didn't fit in a 10-inch story. I … Continue reading My first decent Springfield piece
Chicago: the greenest city *snicker*
Based on the frequency of news coverage about polluted soil or buildings in Chicago, you might think there really isn't much of that here. After all, only a single EPA National Priorities List site exists in Chicago. But it was tough to get listed because the city would rather not have those blemishes on its … Continue reading Chicago: the greenest city *snicker*
Protected: Hand washing advocates find doctors are people, too
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Protected: For decades, Pullman man cleaned up others’ messes
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Protected: CPS sends kids to look at pollution
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Protected: The Toxic Dump Next Door
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
New “resume reel”
Even though it's on the newly-revamped About the Author page in the right sidebar, I couldn't help but post this front and center. It's just so pretty. A big thanks to Steve and Badryyah for their years of hard work and their several months with me. I'll never forget it.
Muralist’s newest work, open today, connects us all in distress
Note: Wrote this story for a class. It's been through one edit by a friend of mine. Try to paint bright colors outdoors in Lincoln Park and you'll be accosted by either a community association or the police. Visit Pilsen and you'll see painting after painting of people working, laughing, crying. On outdoor walls. With … Continue reading Muralist’s newest work, open today, connects us all in distress
Brandon Smith 