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Investigations & Narratives

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At Gopher Resource in Tampa, workers recycle 50,000 used car batteries a day. Their safety equipment doesn’t always protect them, an 18-month Tampa Bay Times investigation found.
Hundreds of workers are exposed to poisons inside Florida’s only lead factory
At Gopher Resource in Tampa, workers recycle 50,000 used car batteries a day. Their safety equipment doesn’t always protect them, an 18-month Tampa Bay Times investigation found.
OSHA inspectors haven’t been inside Gopher Resource in five years, even as mechanical breakdowns plagued the Tampa plant and made conditions worse for workers.
Federal regulators have been missing in action at Florida’s only lead factory
OSHA inspectors haven’t been inside Gopher Resource in five years, even as mechanical breakdowns plagued the Tampa plant and made conditions worse for workers.
Pasco’s sheriff created a futuristic program to stop crime before it happens. It monitors and harasses families across the county.
Targeted
Pasco’s sheriff created a futuristic program to stop crime before it happens. It monitors and harasses families across the county.
Pasco’s sheriff uses grades and abuse histories to label schoolchildren potential criminals. The kids and their parents don’t know.
Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco built a controversial approach to policing. He also built a wide circle of powerful friends who don’t question his tactics.
From its headquarters in Boca Raton, GardaWorld has put unsafe trucks on the road, and its workers and unsuspecting motorists have suffered the consequences.
This major armored truck company took dangerous shortcuts. Mayhem followed.
From its headquarters in Boca Raton, GardaWorld has put unsafe trucks on the road, and its workers and unsuspecting motorists have suffered the consequences.
Big banks entrusted money to GardaWorld. It secretly lost track of millions.
Federal agency knew Garda was “really bad” at safety. It took little action.
To beat coronavirus, herd immunity is the goal. Can Florida get there?
Apr. 22• Health
State canvassers Cynthia Hollinger, 64, standing on right, and Sunni Schappacher, 67, talk with a family as they work to re-register them in a state database for a coronavirus vaccine on their front porch Wednesday in Brandon. From left is Curtis Lanier, 65, holding his 2-year-old daughter Lena Jean, along with his father-in-law Paul Bedat, 76. The canvassers are going door-to-door to speak with people who are hesitant about the vaccines. It's part of Florida's effort to reach herd immunity.
Florida turns the other way as demand rises for police transparency
Apr. 22• Florida
Charles Fowler and Doris Floyd visit the grave of their biological son Dominique Mulkey, 26, who was shot to death Oct. 20 by two Tampa police officers. The names of the officers have not been made public. A recent Florida appeals court in an unrelated case said they don't have to be under provisions of Marsy's Law, a voter-approved amendment to the Florida Constitution.
A tribute to the Floridians taken by the coronavirus
Apr. 10, 2020• Health
Hundreds of workers are exposed to poisons inside Florida’s only lead factory
Mar. 24• Investigations
A worker inside Gopher Resource passes through a cloud of dust laced with the neurotoxin lead. The factory recycles 50,000 used car batteries a day. It is the only factory of its kind in Florida.
How did coronavirus overwhelm this nursing home so quickly?
Dec. 3, 2020• Long Reads
An outbreak. Evacuations. Forty families shattered.
An energy efficiency finance program is trapping Florida homeowners in debt
Sep. 10, 2020• Investigations
Solar panels on Ruskin homes purchased with PACE loans.
How Scientology doubled its downtown Clearwater footprint in 3 years
Oct. 20, 2019• Investigations
Scientology’s international spiritual headquarters in downtown Clearwater is anchored by the Flag Building, on left. An elevated walkway connects the building to the Fort Harrison Hotel, the church’s first purchase in the city in 1975.
You’re trapped. This Florida hospital is cashing in.
Sep. 18, 2019• Investigations
Michael Jenkins spent seven days at North Tampa Behavioral Health last July. Since then, he says his three children have been afraid he’ll leave and not come home.

LATEST

  1. County will provide testing for neighbors of Florida’s lead smelter
    Apr. 22• Investigations
    Neighbors who live near Gopher Resource, Florida's only lead smelter, showed up for a community meeting at Kenly Park on Wednesday to hear from local leaders. Health officials say they will offer lead testing for local residents. Wednesday, April 21, 2021 in Tampa.
    Residents who live near Gopher Resource gather in Tampa to hear from county officials in wake of Times investigation.
  2. Tampa Bay Times investigation wins Scripps Howard Award
    Apr. 22• Investigations
    Reporters Neil Bedi, left, and Kathleen McGrory have won the Scripps Howard Award for their investigative reporting. (Boyzell Hosey | Times)
    The project exposed a controversial police initiative in Pasco County.
  5. Hillsborough County commissioner to hold town hall for community around lead smelter
    Apr. 20• Investigations
    An aerial view of the Gopher Resource on Tuesday, April 6, 2021 in Tampa.
    The meeting will be held at Kenly Park and include information on the neurotoxin.
  6. Feds investigating Pasco schools giving student data to sheriff
    Apr. 19• Investigations
    U.S. Rep. Robert C. Scott, D-Virginia, called for the U.S. Department of Education to investigate the Pasco school district's data-sharing arrangement with the Sheriff's Office.
    The Department of Education will look into whether the school district violated federal law by sharing personal student information without consent.
  7. A look inside Florida’s only lead smelter
    Apr. 12• Investigations
    A collage of videos and images from inside Gopher Resource.
    Workers shared photos and videos chronicling long-standing problems at the Tampa factory.
  8. Florida’s only lead factory finds itself in damage-control mode
    Apr. 10• Investigations
    Photos taken by workers at Gopher Resource in Tampa show a factory plagued with problems.
    Gopher Resource had been working to clean up and fix problems before inspectors arrived. After a five-year absence, regulators finally showed up.
  9. Federal OSHA regulators begin inspection of Tampa lead factory
    Apr. 6• Investigations
    Gopher Resource is seen on Tuesday in Tampa. On Monday regulators with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration began inspecting at the company.
    After five years away, inspectors arrived Monday at Gopher Resource. The visit follows a Times investigation that found hundreds of workers exposed to high levels of poisons.
  10. Castor and Crist call for U.S. justice department to investigate Florida lead factory
    Apr. 1• Investigations
    A worker inside Gopher Resource passes through a cloud of dust laced with the neurotoxin lead. The factory recycles 50,000 used car batteries a day. It is the only factory of its kind in Florida.
    The U.S. representatives urge the Department of Justice to open a probe into Gopher Resource after Tampa Bay Times series.
  11. Castor and Crist call for expedited OSHA review of Tampa lead smelter
    Mar. 31• Investigations
    A worker inside Gopher Resource passes through a cloud of dust laced with the neurotoxin lead. The factory recycles 50,000 used car batteries a day. It is the only factory of its kind in Florida.
    In the wake of a Tampa Bay Times investigation, local representatives urge fast action.
  12. Times project exposing lead dangers at Florida factory cost about $500,000
    Mar. 31• News
    Eric Telemaque, who now lives in an assisted living facility, is one of the workers featured in Poisoned, a Tampa Bay Times investigation that examined the dangers inside Florida's only lead factory. Telemaque ended his last shift at the factory on the locker room floor after suffering a stroke.
    Poisoned, which spun off from earlier reporting, took 18 months. Reporters found that hundreds of workers have been exposed to extreme amounts of the neurotoxin.
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