How a Green Tech Startup With No Climate Experience Secured Millions of Dollars in Government Contracts
Founded by lobbyists, NZero convinced Nevada government officials, including administrations from two political parties, to pay more and more money despite its struggles to deliver promised real-time carbon emission data.
Reporting From the Southwest
ProPublica’s seven-person reporting unit based in Phoenix covers the Southwest, including Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah. Many of these states are among the fastest-growing in the country, and the region is experiencing rapid changes to the climate, economy, demographics and other trends that will shape the nation’s future.
Oklahoma’s Oil Industry Touts a Voluntary Fund to Clean Up Oil Wells. Major Drillers Want Their Contributions Refunded.
Oklahoma’s oil industry pays into a voluntary fund to clean up oil wells, but many drillers opt out. The money that has been refunded to these companies in recent years could have restored an estimated 1,500 orphan well sites.
California Isn’t Enforcing Its Strongest-in-the-Nation Oil Well Cleanup Law on Its Largest Oil Company
State regulators could have asked oil companies California Resources Corp. and Aera Energy for an estimated $2.4 billion to guarantee wells are plugged but decided they didn’t have the authority to do so.
School Vouchers Were Supposed to Save Taxpayer Money. Instead They Blew a Massive Hole in Arizona’s Budget.
Arizona, the model for voucher programs across the country, has spent so much money paying private schoolers’ tuition that it’s now facing hundreds of millions in budget cuts to critical state programs and projects.
Southwest News Staff
- Southwest Editor
- Michael Squires
- Reporters
- Anjeanette Damon, Eli Hager, Mary Hudetz, Mark Olalde and Nicole Santa Cruz
Local Reporting Network Partners
ProPublica is supporting local and regional newsrooms as they work on important investigative projects affecting their communities. Some of our past and present partners in the region:
- Arizona Daily Star
- Tucson, Arizona
- Arizona Republic
- Phoenix, Arizona
- New Mexico In Depth
- Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Searchlight New Mexico
- Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Santa Fe New Mexican
- Sante Fe, New Mexico
- Rocky Mountain PBS
- Denver, Colorado
Utah Supreme Court Rules That Alleged Sexual Assault by a Doctor Is Not “Health Care”
The decision revives a lawsuit filed by 94 women who said their OB-GYN sexually abused them. Previously, a lower court determined that the actions they alleged had to be treated as medical malpractice.
Utah OB-GYN David Broadbent Charged With Forcible Sexual Abuse
More than 100 women have publicly accused the doctor of touching them inappropriately, but this is the first time he has faced a criminal charge.
How America’s “Most Powerful Lobby” Is Stifling Efforts to Reform Oil Well Cleanup in State After State
In New Mexico, oil companies agreed to work with regulators to find a solution to the state’s more than 70,000 unplugged wells. After months of negotiations, the industry turned against the bill it helped shape.
When Therapists Lose Their Licenses, Some Turn to the Unregulated Life Coaching Industry Instead
Despite past misconduct, some former therapists have continued their careers as life coaches. Now, after a high-profile conviction in Utah, legislators are asking whether it’s time for more oversight.
Judge Lifts Order That Mandated Albuquerque Stop Throwing Away Homeless People’s Belongings
A district judge stood by his previous finding that the city has seized and destroyed personal property during its homeless encampment removals but said a pending Supreme Court ruling could make his order “unworkable.”
Albuquerque Is Throwing Out the Belongings of Homeless People, Violating City Policy
The city has violated a court order and its own policies by discarding the personal property of thousands of homeless people, who have lost medications, birth certificates, IDs, treasured family photos and the ashes of loved ones.
New Utah Law Prioritizes Child Safety in Custody Courts
The legislation, which limits the use of reunification therapies and increases scrutiny of expert witnesses, follows ProPublica’s reporting on courts’ handling of custody cases involving allegations of violence.
I Moved to Rural New Mexico to Report on the Aftermath of a Massive Wildfire. My Neighbors Were My Best Sources.
Reporter Patrick Lohmann has lived in New Mexico for most of his life, but covering the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire required building trust in a divided community. Here’s how he did it.
Utah Child Care Providers Are Struggling. Lawmakers Haven’t Helped.
Legislators ended their session without making a direct investment in child care. Instead, they loosened regulations on unlicensed care, a move that operators, parents and other advocates say is unsafe.
An Expert Who Has Testified in Foster Care Cases Across Colorado Admits Her Evaluations Are Unscientific
Diane Baird labeled her method for assessing families the “Kempe Protocol” after the renowned University of Colorado institute where she worked for decades. The school has yet to publicly disavow it.
A Utah Cleft Palate Team Says Its Approach Is Innovative. Others See a Pattern of Unnecessary Surgeries on Children.
At Primary Children’s Hospital in Utah, pediatric surgeons are taking controversial risks with how they care for kids with cleft lip and palate. Outside doctors found that some parents weren’t told their child’s care was different from the norm.
The Rising Cost of the Oil Industry’s Slow Death
Unplugged oil and gas wells accelerate climate change, threaten public health and risk hitting taxpayers’ pocketbooks. ProPublica and Capital & Main found that the money set aside to fix the problem falls woefully short of the impending cost.
Nevada Republicans’ Caucus Adds Chaos and Confusion to the State’s Presidential Primary
While legal, the party’s decision to host a competing contest to the Feb. 6 primary election has angered GOP voters and provided fertile ground for misinformation to take hold, experts say, undermining voters’ trust in the process.
Medicare Certifies Hospices in California Despite State Ban on New Licenses
The agency has rolled out sweeping changes to target end-of-life care providers that were billing for unneeded services, but some fraud hot spots continue to evade scrutiny.
FEMA Leader Overseeing $4 Billion Fund to Pay Victims of New Mexico Wildfire Steps Down
Longtime agency official Angela Gladwell has overseen the fund to pay victims of a wildfire accidentally started by the federal government. Her departure comes amid criticism of FEMA’s handling of payments for damages.