Investigative Reporter for https://nitter.cf/t.co/XF9vyqqySb
Atlanta, GA
Joined September 2014
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Johnny Edwards retweeted
A daycare operator claimed 40 locations across California. State officials identified only one licensed facility.
Johnny Edwards retweeted
Louisiana has chosen a firm for work tied to SpaceX, but key details remain unclear: What will it do, what is the contract worth, and how was it picked?
ALT Group of suited men at a press event with text overlay discussing donations and state work.
ALT Text about a state contract involving a firm called Royal.
Johnny Edwards retweeted
Beyond its departing CEO, six executives at The MITRE Corporation, a federally funded science and technology nonprofit, received over $1 million each in 2024. How are pay and family-employment decisions reviewed? MITRE cites board oversight and conflict-of-interest policies.
ALT US dollar bills with text 'Federally funded nonprofit paid departing CEO $5.9M'.
ALT Text explaining CEO's compensation and family employment at MITRE.
Johnny Edwards retweeted
What does it take to find out where taxpayer money went? The Center Square requested grant records, emails and internal discussions. The response came with a four-figure fee estimate.
ALT Headline about missing $1M, agency requests $2,400 for records.
ALT Text about allegations concerning a $3.4 million grant by the Michigan Economic Development Corp.
Johnny Edwards retweeted
A nonprofit daycare reported a $540,000 executive salary for 2024, before it opened its first facility.
Its only revenue that year: $1.05 million in government grants.
The Center Square followed the money.
ALT Banner reading 'Daycare now enrolling' with accompanying QR code.
ALT Text about William Law Foundation's daycare opening and enrollment issues.
Johnny Edwards retweeted
INVESTIGATION: When taxpayers fund a nonprofit, who checks the CEO's pay?
Minneapolis says contractors determine employee pay.
A city spokesperson declined to say whether officials review public tax filings to verify how taxpayer money is spent.
ALT Person in a white shirt and cap speaking energetically to a group.
ALT Tax filings reveal increased compensation for Muhammad Abdul-Ahad and audit findings.
Johnny Edwards retweeted
A Michigan nonprofit receiving government funding is facing questions about its financial reporting. The Center Square found additional discrepancies after an accounting firm amended the organization's tax filings.
Johnny Edwards retweeted
Companies with business before Los Angeles City Hall made large donations to third parties at the mayor's request.
The Center Square found missing or late disclosures. Now the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) is investigating.
The California Fair Political Practices Commission is investigating three separate complaints filed against Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass for issues exposed by @thecentersquare in an investigation last month.
Bass has been accused of using California's behested payment system to solicit large companies for donations while they have pending business before the government. The practice is only legal if the donations go to a third party of Bass' choosing with payments being disclosed properly to the public.
Last month, The Center Square's @AdamHerbets uncovered multiple instances of pending contracts or city business that were not disclosed by Bass at the time of donation. In some cases, Bass failed to disclose multimillion-dollar contract proceedings that were decided within days or weeks of some donations.
Story link below ⬇️
Johnny Edwards retweeted
JUST IN: Georgia's child welfare agency bought a $954,578 SUV with a cell phone surveillance tool.
Eight days after The Center Square reported the purchase, state investigators took possession.
ALT Government building dome with text overlay on a blue sky.
ALT Text on the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's cell-site simulator acquisition.
Johnny Edwards retweeted
A former Colorado judicial discipline official is taking his cover-up allegations to court, seeking a civil protection order against attorney general Phil Weiser.
ALT Person in glasses and blue shirt standing outdoors with text overlay about Colorado official and attorney general.
ALT Text on a black background about judicial misconduct allegations and contract issues.
UPDATE ON GEORGIA'S $1 MILLION CHEVY: Georgia's child welfare agency no longer has its Chevrolet Traverse spy vehicle, bought with nearly $955,000 in taxpayer money and equipped with a powerful cell phone surveillance tool.
On Tuesday, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took the keys, a spokeswoman confirmed for @thecentersquare.
State officials will not explain the reasons for the handover, or who ordered it. And what few pieces of information The Center Square obtained on Wednesday conflicted.
🧵and story linked below ⬇️/1
OTHER SURVEILLANCE TECH WAS BOUGHT TOO: Based on other records, @thecentersquare reported in September that Human Services spent $639K on four other police-grade technologies that surveil web activity, extract the contents of cell phones and track cell phone locations. A cell-site simulator was not among them.
Following that story, Human Services responded to written questions about the other surveillance tools. A statement authored mostly by Commissioner Candice Broce, explained, "Search warrants can be necessary, and those are certainly pursued by partner law enforcement. It is my preference that (Human Services) officers not directly apply for search warrants." /6
thecentersquare.com/georgia/…
The purchases have some lawmakers raising Fourth Amendment concerns.
"Because we have the right not to be illegally searched or our property seized," state Rep. Beth Camp, R-Concord, who chairs the House Judiciary Juvenile Committee, said earlier this month. "This is the reason people don’t like Flock cameras."
The Georgia legislature's Joint Study Committee on Evaluating Escalating Costs in Georgia's Foster Care System, which has been asking questions about Human Services spending, is scheduled to meet again Thursday morning. Rep. Camp co-chairs that committee. /End