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Reposted by Ryan Gabrielson

Byard Duncan @byardduncan.bsky.social · 6d

Whoa.

Looks like Exeter Finance, the subprime auto lender I investigated with @ryangabrielson.bsky.social for @propublica.org, is under investigation by 42 state AGs. www.propublica.org/article/tom-...

Portland Trail Blazers Buyer Tom Dundon Built His Fortune on Subprime Loans

In 2020, the state sued Santander Consumer USA for allegedly preying on Oregonians through high-interest car loans they couldn’t afford in a case involving more than 265,000 borrowers nationwide.

www.propublica.org

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Peter Aldhous @peteraldhous.com · 9d

Congrats to my former student @susien.bsky.social for investigating how a flawed estimation tool leads to victims of California wildfires being under-insured businessjournalism.org/2025/09/2025...

Public-health focused investigations take top awards in the 19th annual Barlett and Steele Awards | The Reynolds Center

Promoting the importance of business journalism among journalism students, giving journalists tools to improve their business coverage, and helping

businessjournalism.org

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Matthias Gafni @mgafni.bsky.social · Aug 26

In 2000, rookie Oakland cop Aaron McFarland wrote report saying he arrested man w drugs.

His probable cause for stop: the man had crossed a solid red light.

The problem: At that time of night the lights blink red.

Katey & I obtained new records:

www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...

An FBI agent killed a man after the Boston Marathon bombing. Oakland PD had helped hide his past

A trove of internal police files provides a more complete accounting of the early episode that could have jeopardized Aaron McFarlane’s career before a high-profile shooting.

www.sfchronicle.com

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Ken Schwencke @schwanksta.com · Aug 13

Texas is about to give more than $1 billion in public money to private schools. We found that they routinely engage in nepotism and enrich insiders in ways that would be illegal for public and charter schools. Just out @propublica.org @texastribune.org:
www.texastribune.org/2025/08/13/t...

Texas private schools hire relatives and enrich insiders. Soon they can do it with taxpayer money.

An investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found more than 60 instances of nepotism, self-dealing and conflicts of interest among 27 private schools that likely would have violated state law...

www.texastribune.org

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Sophia Bollag @sophiabollag.bsky.social · Jul 24

A shuttered Oakland school was slated for affordable housing. Then squatters moved in, @maggieangst.bsky.social reports: www.sfchronicle.com/eastbay/arti...

Shuttered Oakland school was slated for affordable housing. Then squatters moved in

The former Oakland school was to be redeveloped into affordable housing, but years of delays and inaction have made the campus susceptible to illegal encampments, drug dealing and fires.

www.sfchronicle.com

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Ryan Gabrielson @ryangabrielson.bsky.social · Jul 3

"Trevor, who asked to be identified by his first name only while acknowledging illegal conduct ..." Fun read via @stjbs.bsky.social
www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...

A Bay Area man’s trip to Nevada explains why local skies are about to burst with illegal fireworks

On a recent day, Trevor made the same drive he’s made every year for the past decade. Four and a half hours later, he pulled into Bad Jack’s Fireworks in Schurz, Nev.

www.sfchronicle.com

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Susie Neilson @susien.bsky.social · Jul 2

New:

Beryllium, a metal so toxic that breathing in a minuscule amount over time can cause a chronic & fatal illness, is being found in homes after the LA wildfires.

Nobody knows where it's coming from. Few are testing for it.

w/ @meganmunce.bsky.social @sfchronicle.com

tinyurl.com/4pkefbfx

Toxic metal found in L.A. air after fires. No one knows where it’s coming from

A little-known and highly dangerous earth metal used to craft spaceships has been found in wildfire-ravaged homes and in the air in Los Angeles. Experts are shocked — and alarmed.

www.sfchronicle.com

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Sara Libby @saralibby.bsky.social · Jul 2

Must read: A dangerous, little-known substance has been found in dozens of homes in the Eaton and Palisades fire zones, test results obtained by the Chronicle show. www.sfchronicle.com/california-w...

Toxic metal found in L.A. air after fires. No one knows where it’s coming from

A little-known and highly dangerous earth metal used to craft spaceships has been found in wildfire-ravaged homes and in the air in Los Angeles. Experts are shocked — and alarmed.

www.sfchronicle.com

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Ryan Gabrielson @ryangabrielson.bsky.social · Jun 18

How the Fed decides its highly influential "dot plot" rate projection (basically).
www.wsj.com/economy/cent...

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Matt Pearce @mattdpearce.com · Jun 9

Polite request to please credit the photographers whose L.A. photos you’re sharing. They’re out there risking getting their shins exploded by police munitions to get those shots.

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City Nolan @ndhapple.bsky.social · Jun 10

“One day before the Trump administration deployed U.S. Marines to confront protesters in Los Angeles, [DHS Sec] Kristi Noem asked Defense [Sec] Pete Hegseth to direct the military to detain or arrest “lawbreakers,” a move one expert called “a grave escalation.’” www.sfchronicle.com/us-world/art...

Exclusive: DHS secretary seeks military arrests in Los Angeles in leaked letter

The military is generally barred from domestic law enforcement. Kristi Noem’s request may be a step toward the Trump administration sidestepping those laws by invoking the Insurrection Act.

www.sfchronicle.com

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Ryan Gabrielson @ryangabrielson.bsky.social · Jun 10

One day before the Trump admin deployed U.S. Marines to confront protesters in LA, DHS Sec. Kristi Noem asked Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth to direct the military to detain or arrest “lawbreakers.”
by @mgafni.bsky.social, Cynthia Dizikes, @sophiabollag.bsky.social

www.sfchronicle.com/us-world/art...

Exclusive: DHS secretary seeks military arrests in Los Angeles in leaked letter

The military is generally barred from domestic law enforcement. Kristi Noem’s request may be a step toward the Trump administration sidestepping those laws by invoking the Insurrection Act.

www.sfchronicle.com

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Matthias Gafni @mgafni.bsky.social · Jun 9

EXCLUSIVE:

CA National Guard troops sent by Trump to LA amid immigration protests are sleeping on concrete floors. No fed funding for food, water, fuel, equipment or lodging.

Source: “Currently, there is no plan for where everyone is sleeping tonight”

www.sfchronicle.com/california/a...

‘Wildly underprepared’: National Guard troops seen sleeping on floors in exclusive photos

State troops sent to Los Angeles by the Trump administration, without the approval of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, were expected to sleep on floors or outdoors, a source told the Chronicle.

www.sfchronicle.com

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Sara Gaiser @akrazia.bsky.social · Jun 6

It turns out that overall, the academic disparities between the lottery and merit students were relatively small.

While the lottery had little impact on academic markers, it did have an impact on student demographics, ... significantly increasing the number of Black and Latino students.

San Francisco Chronicle @sfchronicle.com · Jun 6

The two years of lottery students at Lowell High School could help answer a burning question: What if the SFUSD randomly admitted students to one of the top-performing high schools in the country?

These graduating Lowell students were called ‘lottery kids.’ The stigma never went away

The two years of lottery students at Lowell High School could help answer a burning question: What if the SFUSD randomly admitted students to one of the top-performing high schools in the country?

bit.ly

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Susie Neilson @susien.bsky.social · Jun 6

New from me and @meganmunce.bsky.social: Three major insurance companies have been accused of systematically under-insuring LA wildfire victims via flawed software, following our @sfchronicle.com investigation into the issue.

Gift link: tinyurl.com/4dmpcb25

3 big California insurers accused of underinsuring L.A. fire survivors

These allegations come after the Chronicle published an investigation into how flaws in software and the way insurance companies use it have left California homeowners underinsured after wildfires.

tinyurl.com

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Ryan Gabrielson @ryangabrielson.bsky.social · May 30

I can't recommend this #ire25 class highly enough, taught by two of the best investigative storytellers in the biz!

Bethany Barnes @betsbarnes.bsky.social · May 30

There are still spots in our Writing The Investigative Narrative class at @ire.org!

Come talk craft with me & @rwoolington.bsky.social ✨📰

Sign up here: www.ire.org/product/ire2...

Image advertising the IRE master class mentioned in the post with headshots of the instructors

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Insurance Fairness Project @insurancefairness.bsky.social · May 20

Remember: underinsurance isn’t unique to CA—most major insurance companies operating in the U.S. use the same flawed software. Time for other states to follow suit and investigate to make sure their policyholders are protected 🔎

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Susie Neilson @susien.bsky.social · May 28

After every major wildfire in California, vast numbers of survivors have found themselves underinsured & unable to rebuild their homes. I'm here at a California Board of Equalization hearing discussing the issue and exploring solutions. Watch the meeting here: boe.ca.gov/meetings/

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Ryan Gabrielson @ryangabrielson.bsky.social · May 22

I've always wondered where "bought the farm" came from. Turns out we don't know, beyond this:
www.snopes.com/fact-check/b...

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Anthony Edwards @edwardsanthonyb.bsky.social · May 20

UC San Diego maintains 1,000+ fire-monitoring cameras across CA. The footage is typically publicly available. That was until the Palisades Fire, when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives intervened.

@sfchronicle.com fought for months for this footage. See it for the first time ⬇️

Exclusive footage: Deadly Palisades Fire may have grown from this Jan. 1 blaze

YouTube video by San Francisco Chronicle

youtu.be

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Julie Johnson @jjreport.bsky.social · May 20

See for yourself: Side-by-side footage shows the start of the Palisades fire in Los Angeles and small fire that broke out in the same area six days earlier. Did it rekindle?

An exclusive, with @mgafni.bsky.social

www.sfchronicle.com/california-w...

Exclusive footage: Deadly Palisades Fire may have grown from this Jan. 1 blaze

Footage obtained by the Chronicle shows the deadly Palisades Fire in the Los Angeles area may have grown from earlier blaze.

www.sfchronicle.com

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Megan Fan Munce @meganmunce.bsky.social · May 20

Another entry in the breaking State Farm saga:

A new filing submitted this afternoon reveals State Farm is pursuing its original 30% rate hike request at the full rate hearing slated for this fall. That would cumulatively be an 11% increase on top of the emergency 17% they were granted last week.

State Farm asks for another double-digit California home insurance rate hike

Under State Farm’s new request, its condo rates in California would soar, and homeowners rates would jump an additional 11%.

www.sfchronicle.com

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Jaya Saxena @jayasaxena.com · May 19

Imagine being Thomas Keller and thinking this was a normal way to behave!!!!!! www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaur...

This is what happened when Thomas Keller asked me to leave the French Laundry

Thomas Keller is a legendary chef. Chronicle critic MacKenzie Chung Fegan hadn’t met him, until she went to the French Laundry and he asked her to leave.

www.sfchronicle.com

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Ryan Gabrielson @ryangabrielson.bsky.social · May 19

A superstar chef, a diligent restaurant critic and an unnerving encounter at the French Laundry. Just a phenomenal profile of Thomas Keller through the lens of reviews and his reactions to them, by MacKenzie Chung Fegan
www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaur...

This is what happened when Thomas Keller asked me to leave the French Laundry

Thomas Keller is a legendary chef. Chronicle critic MacKenzie Chung Fegan hadn’t met him, until she went to the French Laundry and he asked her to leave.

www.sfchronicle.com

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Demian Bulwa @demianbulwa.bsky.social · May 19

MUST-READ:

Thomas Keller asked me to leave the French Laundry. It turned into my most extraordinary night as a critic

By MacKenzie Chung Fegan www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaur...

This is what happened when Thomas Keller asked me to leave the French Laundry

Thomas Keller is a legendary chef. Chronicle critic MacKenzie Chung Fegan hadn’t met him, until she went to the French Laundry and he asked her to leave.

www.sfchronicle.com

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