Transparency

ConAgra to Label All Products with Genetically Modified Ingredients

The list seems to grow daily. The multinational ConAgra now joins General Mills, Mars, and Kellogg’s as a company which will label its products if they contain genetically modified ingredients. With Vermont’s mandatory GM labeling bill going into effect this summer, this is a decision more companies will have to make, and soon.

Louisiana Cops Arrest TV Reporter For Questioning Mayor’s Salary and Benefits

“This is what White Castle residents have to deal with.”
Chris Nakamoto is a true professional journalist, giving a deadpanned story lede to his videographer as he was being perp-walked by a burly cop for uncovering small town government corruption.
He’d just uncovered an un-legislated pay raise costing each resident in small town White Castle, Lousiana – each man, woman and child – stuck paying an additional $11 per year in tribute to the elected offical.

Massachusetts Police Department Caught Lying to Bury Public Record

Co-authored with PINAC writer Andrew Quemere
For a year and a half, the Quincy Police Department in Massachusetts has cited dubious and flat-out false reasons to deny a resident access to a police report she made about her neighbor urinating in public. In spite of the police department’s best efforts to block the request, however, we obtained a copy through unofficial means and are publishing it.

Florida Town Clerk Calls PINAC Reporter “Asshole” for Making Public Records Request, then Lies About Photos She Took

PINAC reporter Jeff Gray conducted a public records audit at the town hall of Penney Farms last month, a tiny town in North Florida known more for its retirement community than its farms that describes itself as “one of the best kept secrets” in the state.
And judging by town clerk Anita Cooper’s refusal to comply with one of his request, it’s certainly living up to that promise.

Manslaughter Charge Dropped for Ex-Con Son Of NYPD Cop Accused of Killing Activist Before Fleeing

Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance this week dropped the manslaughter charge against the ex-con son of a well-connected NYPD family who was caught on video driving onto a sidewalk while texting before striking and killing an outspoken civil rights activist, then fleeing the scene on foot and evading police for more than two months, all while he was on parole after serving a three-year prison stint on drug charges.

Arizona Senator Withdraws Bill That Would Have Criminalized the Recording of Cops

The Arizona senator who was trying to pass a law that would have made it illegal to record police from within 20 feet withdrew his bill after a national backlash that anybody could have predicted.
Anybody except John Kavanagh, the retired cop turned republican legislator who failed to do his research before proposing such a preposterous law.

Rookie Delaware Police Officer Fired for Threatening to Kill Victim for Helping Citizen File Complaint Against Police

Less than a year into the job, a Delaware cop was arrested for making terrorist threats against a citizen, who was only trying to help another citizen file a complaint against police.
“I’m going to call my boys and have them come and lock you up,” Wilmington police officer Julian Michel told the victim, threatening to arrest him for disorderly conduct.
“I’m going to kill that motherfucker,” Michel threatened, pointing at the victim. “I’m going to shoot you.”