Bee special projects index

April 13, 2008

Investigative Report: Nail gun safety under fire as injuries soar

With a 2 1/2-inch nail deep in his chest, construction worker Manuel Murillo slid into a pickup truck, bracing himself for a desperate seven-mile drive down a snowy Sierra road.
See how a nail gun works
Map of nail gun-related injuries
Keeping Them Safe
Just Driving Down the Street
Death in the Sierra
Hitachi model dominates market, injury reports
Decades of research and calls for more nail gun safety

Additional coverage
April 18: Feds prepare to publish warning on dangers
April 30: Bee investigation prompts nail-gun maker to halt production

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September 2007 - January 2008

A darker shade of green

A fellowship from the Alicia Patterson Foundation allowed Bee reporter Tom Knudson, shown on assignment in Borneo, to explore the often-hidden costs of America's growing hunger for eco-friendly products and alternative fuels. Established in 1965 in memory of Alicia Patterson, editor and publisher of Newsday for nearly 23 years, the foundation selects six journalists each year to pursue independent projects.

• January 20, 2008: Dark side of a hot biofuel
• December 7, 2007: Grubbing for oil
• September 23, 2007: Promises and poverty
• Photo gallery: A darker shade of green
• Video: Orphaned by the thirst for oil

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November 2007 - February 2008

Riverfront Rising

An ongoing series on the future of the Sacramento River.

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August 12-14, 2007

Tackling Life

The Bee set out to track down members of a 1992 youth football team from south Sacramento. Statistically, boys like them - minorities from poor neighborhoods - were destined for hard times. In the end, some of the teammates would beat those odds while others would not.

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Ongoing

Paving the Way

Read stories in The Bee's occasional series on the Sacramento region's transportation future.

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July 9-12, 2006

A Mother's Journey

When you look into the face of someone with cancer, you may have no idea what is going on beyond chemo and radiation. It's human nature to turn away. But it is real life, and it is going on in homes all over this country, where more than 1 million people are diagnosed every year. Cyndie French and her son Derek opened their lives for a year to share their story.

• Dec. 6, 2006:
  Follow up: A mother's journey
  Photo gallery

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April 22-23, 2007

Wastes of war

Time bombs lurk beneath California, from the Mexican border to the Oregon state line, under hills, valleys and coastlines -- poised to contaminate wells, pollute waterways, jeopardize property values and endanger human lives. Hundreds of locations already have been polluted, and how much more of the state is at risk, no one really knows.

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Ongoing

The new chiefs

California Indian Country has 107 independent, sovereign nations from the Mexican border to the Oregon state line. They range from tribes of just a few members to those with several thousand. Each is ruled by a chairman or woman elected by the tribe, and they form a diverse collection of leaders that includes former welfare moms, college professors, recovering alcoholics, activists and novelists.

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March 24-25, 2007

SPECIAL REPORT: LONGEST ODDS

In the last school year, poorer local high schools lost more than two of every three games they played against wealthier public and private schools, according to a Bee data analysis of more than 12,000 games played by more than 20,000 athletes from about 180 schools in the Sac-Joaquin Section of the California Interscholastic Federation, stretching from Nevada County to Merced.