New-Indy Pollution

Since homeowners first began complaining of a local paper mill's foul odor, I've been investigating the ongoing problems of New-Indy Containerboard from every possible angle, literally.

From inside a plane 1,000 feet over the mill to the shores of the Catawba River to hundreds of pages deep into lawsuits and scientific reports, I've become the community's go-to source for news in this ongoing environmental story.

​Besides uncovering new details and breaking new developments before my competitors, I also pushed for the creation of a section of our website devoted exclusively to our ongoing coverage, including an interactive timeline. Two of my reports can be viewed to the right.

Colonial Pipeline Spill

​This investigation into a little-publicized spill at a Colonial Pipeline tank farm began as a "fishing expedition" of federal public records.

This story ultimately came together following a review of hundreds of pages of inspection reports, scientific field studies and government emails.

​To broaden this story beyond documents and scientific jargon, we spoke to neighbors who had a front-row view of the spill clean-up.

RESTRAINED IN CLASS

What began as a viewer tip led to a multi-month investigation into the practice of teachers physically restraining elementary school children.

This Investigation involved interviews with parents, experts and a local school system as well as the extensive use of public records requests.

This story Is the first in a still ongoing investigation into the practice of physical restraints in local school systems.
PROMINENT CHARLOTTE PIANO TEACHER ARRESTED
​A popular Charlotte piano teacher is accused of inappropriate sexual conduct with her daughter. This quick-turn investigation began as a viewer tip. As part of our reporting, we reviewed dozens of pages of court documents from North Carolina and Oregon, utilized open-source tools to obtain information recently scrubbed from the internet and conducted an exclusive television interview with the daughter in this case.
WHERE'S THE MONEY? GASTONIA GRANDMOTHER HELPED
​A Gastonia grandmother's plans for her family's dream home nearly got derailed after the state of North Carolina wrongly demanded she pay back nearly $10,000 in unemployment benefits. After we got involved, the state's Division of Employment Security admitted its error, wiped away the debt and paid her more than two-thirds of the amount of benefits she was still owed. We're working to get her the rest of the owed amount from the state.
GASTON COUNTY JUDGE COVID-19 INVESTIGATION
​This investigation revealed a potentially serious flaw in how a local courthouse notified people who were possibly exposed to COVID-19 in a courtroom. The story began as a viewer tip, which claimed a Gaston County judge showed up to work even though he was awaiting the results of what turned out to be a positive COVID-19 test. After we confirmed and broke the initial story, a viewer reached out to us with new information, which necessitated a deeper investigation into how the decision of one judge affected several people's lives. This investigation utilized a combination of internal courthouse emails, court documents, courtroom audio recordings and information from five courthouse/legal community sources. Our investigation prompted the county's chief district court judge to change the courthouse's notification procedures in the event of a future COVID-19 exposure.

"TOP GUN" FIREFIGHTING

Twice a year, firefighters from across the country come to Gaston County, North Carolina to take part in a one-week training course dubbed the "Top Gun" of firefighter training. When 60 firefighters, some from as far away as Washington State, arrived for the North Carolina Breathing Equipment School's spring session last year, none of them expected their class would make history.

SILICON FOOTHILLS

Silicon Valley is universally known as the home of the world's largest technology companies. While the "brains" of Apple, Google and Facebook reside in California, the "hearts" of these companies, the infrastructure that keeps their technology running, reside in North Carolina's foothills.

In this two-part, EMMY-nominated series, WCNC Charlotte explored why "big-tech" is pumping billions of dollars into rural areas in the Carolinas region and how the area's economy benefits from this presence. We also shined a light on those who are suffering: the homeowners living next-door to these massive complexes who face numerous challenges from non-stop construction. As a result of our reporting, the contractor overseeing construction at one complex committed to addressing complaints from neighboring homeowners.

Eastern Lincoln County Growth

Eastern Lincoln County, which is located just outside Charlotte, has been experiencing explosive growth with several new subdivisions being built in the last decade. I examined the impact of this growth from different perspectives of long-time residents, but with a unique twist.

WNCT-TV

RED LIGHT RUNNERS

An in-depth story on one city's problems with drivers running red lights and how its police department is using social media to combat the problem.

The story resulted in an unexpected and ironic ending.

LENOIR COUNTY SWEEPSTAKES

This multi-part investigation examined why a local sheriff and district attorney allowed "sweepstakes" cafes to continue operating in their jurisdiction even though the North Carolina General Assembly outlawed them.

Less than two weeks after this investigation aired, the district attorney sent out a cease-and-desist letter to all cafes in the county.

TANNING INSPECTIONS

This investigation revealed serious lapses in North Carolina's tanning bed inspection program which could put people at risk for injury.

This investigation led to a promise from a state lawmaker to look into the issues.

Traffic Light Timing

This multi-part story examined the issue of traffic light timing in two of North Carolina's fastest growing cities. My reporting uncovered how one of Greenville's main arteries has deficiencies built into it that cause congestion and prevent efficient traffic light timing.

LENOIR COUNTY STANDOFF

On a crisp November night, I was sent to cover a standoff in Lenoir County. I happened to be on-air when the standoff reached its conclusion. Keep in mind I was doing this live shot by myself in the midst of a chaotic scene. The second video was shot, written and edited by me the very next day to broaden the impact of this seemingly singular event. I received 2nd place for "Spot News Coverage" from RTDNA of the Carolinas.
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