I report on public system and institutional failure and who absorbs the consequences.
Selected Work
Ellettsville looks for answers to persistent flooding issues – 2016 – Ellettsville Journal
Description: Explores how years of piecemeal decisions, overlapping authority and geological limits left a small town repeatedly flooded with no clear path out. The reporting shows how problems compound over time, leaving residents and local official stuck managing damage instead of fixing the cause.
Reports find increase in rape and dating violence at IUPUI – 2019 – Campus Citizen
Description: Uses public safety reports and federal disclosure records to show a sharp rise in reported sexual violence on campus and how those numbers are tracked and presented. The story explains how different reporting systems can reveal serious problems while still leaving students and the public with an incomplete picture of what is happening.
Hendricks Regional Health and Anthem in disagreement over definition of “hospital” – 2018 – Hendricks County ICON
Description: Explains how a dispute between a major insurer and a county hospital suddenly put patient access to care at risk. The story shows how unclear rules and unequal negotiating power allow health care decisions to be made behind closed doors, with residents absorbing the fallout.
Server strain, pollbook issues lead to election delays in Johnson County – 2018 – Southside Times
Description: Documents how technology failures at polling places caused widespread delays on Election Day and prompted a state investigation. The reporting shows how fragile election infrastructure can interfere with voting and how accountability becomes murky when private vendors and public systems collide.
Drug court, not jail, helped Hendricks County man break a 16-year addiction – 2017 – Hendricks County ICON
Description: Uses one man’s experience in drug court to show how jails, treatment programs and sentencing laws collide when addiction drives repeat incarceration. The story explains how state reforms meant to reduce prison populations instead shift strain onto county jails, forcing local courts and communities to take on the cost of addiction with limited resources and uneven outcomes.
The rec effect: Parks benefit businesses and taxpayers but can curb own expansion – 2017 – Hendricks County Business Leader
Description: Examines how investments in parks and public amenities can boost local economies by attracting businesses, residents and higher property values. The story also shows how that success can work against communities, as rising land costs make it harder for parks departments to expand or preserve space over time.
Monroe County Income Tax Council passes public safety tax second time, per state rule – 2016 – Ellettsville Journal
Description: Covers the re-passage of a local public safety income tax after a state timing rule invalidated the original vote, even though officials broadly supported the funding. The story shows how state law created a nearly all-purpose tax that gave current officials temporary control, allowing future councils to legally redirect the money to spending categories unrelated to its original passage.
For this Puerto Rican student, FFA convention in Indy was welcome escape from home – 2017 – Indianapolis Monthly
Description: Follows a Puerto Rican student attending a national agriculture convention in Indianapolis while his family and community deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. The story uses his brief time away to show how large-scale disasters continue to shape daily life long after headlines fade, especially for people far from the centers of power and aid.