Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year!
Last December, I shared that 2023 was shaping up to be a busy year and it turns out I didn’t know the half of it.
To date, we have published 779 news stories and 74 investigations, reached more than 31.2 million impressions of our publication, and earned an average of 11 new subscribers, every day. We also welcomed new donors, subscribers, tipsters, whistleblowers, and partner newsrooms who have helped us grow by 229% in 2023.
This success doesn’t happen in a bubble. We thrive because you, our readers, make our work possible through your support. When you send us a tip, make a donation, or refer a friend to become an email subscriber, our capacity to root out corruption grows.
The year ahead is looking bright. We will be hiring another reporter onto the team in early 2024, continuing to expand our capability to serve the people of Connecticut, and, as always, we will be delivering you news and investigations you can’t find anywhere else. This is deeply meaningful work, and we’re having fun along the way.
For your consideration during the holiday: Here are our top five investigations from 2023.
Grave Concern: A DCF-funded shelter for teen girls loses control
Grave Concern is the fifth in Marc E. Fitch’s series on mental health, which recently won a national award for powerful storytelling. This investigation shares how a shelter intended to provide a haven for at-risk teens instead became a nightmare for residents and those associated with the home. There have been missing girls, stolen vehicles, burglaries, physical and sexual assaults, sex trafficking and injuries to both residents and state troopers responding to melees within the home.
This investigation led to dozens of media outlets providing continuing coverage, a still unfolding series of hearings in the legislature, continued calls to ensure mental health is a priority in a post-COVID world, and the closure of the troubled home in November 2023. Read More >>
Sunk: Connecticut’s Growing Flood Risk
In Connecticut, around 61% of the state’s population lives in an area threatened by coastal flooding. This investigation by Tricia Ennis has been one of the most popular articles we published in 2023 and takes a closer look at the impact flooding has and may continue to have on infrastructure, businesses, and homes across the state.
The investigation also examines what efforts are underway to mitigate damage, how much those measures cost, and the tension of responsibility at the state, local, and municipal levels. Read More >>
Vexatious Requestor: Testing the limits of Connecticut’s FOI laws
Investigative Reporter Katherine Revello joined the CII team in April 2023 and brought with her a deep knowledge of the tools available to journalists and the public to uncover information through Freedom of Information (FOI) channels.
In Vexatious Requestor, one of her first investigations with CII, she explored the stories of local transparency advocates who have taken sometimes extreme measures to challenge attempts by government officials to redact, withhold, or refuse to share information. Read More >>
Hush Money: One special education mom’s fight against the Brookfield Board of Ed.
Just a few weeks after speaking during the November BOE meeting Denise Rice received, through her lawyer, a contract offer from Brookfield’s administration potentially worth millions to move her son out of the school system he had come to know as his “second home.” The contract was lucrative, but included a catch: She had to shut up.
In this investigation, Marc E. Fitch examines the efforts of a local school board to silence a mother as she seeks the best educational options for her severely autistic son. Read More >>
In the wind: The escalating cost of Connecticut’s State Pier
Delivered 14 months after the initial Freedom of Information Act request, Tricia Ennis received more than 14,000 documents explaining how the State Pier project has progressed and the various pitfalls along the way.
This investigation takes a narrower look at project costs and scandals as the price tag increased from an initial projection of $93 million to $157 million and then again to $255 million. The total cost now sits at an estimated $303 million. Read More >>
From each of us at Connecticut Inside Investigator, thank you for your support. We’re excited for 2024 and the continued work of bringing you news and investigations you can trust. Our commitment to you is the same as it has been since day one: trustworthy, credible journalism to help you live a better life.
We’re just getting started.
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Thank you very much to Tricia Ennis for including the East Haven residents’ concerns of environmental impacts from airport expansion in a vacuum of town government information! The flooding risk report was illuminating to many in a CT DEEP designated Environmental Justice town that needs solutions.