Journalism

Investigative

Issa Was Charged In San Jose Car Theft
Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, founder of Direct Electronics, was prosecuted with his brother in San Jose in 1980 for allegedly faking the theft of his Mercedes Benz sedan and selling it to a car dealer, according to court records.
Lance Williams, Carla Marinucci
San Francisco Chronicle 2003 PDF

Health – Loud Music Lung Collapse Warning
Loud music can do more than damage your hearing – it can also cause your lungs to collapse. Experts writing in the Thorax detail four cases where loud music fans experienced the condition, known as a pneumothorax.
BBC News 2004 PDF

Motorcycle Noise Called Hearing Threat
The noise from a motorcycle is as intense as that from a loud rock concert and can permanently damage hearing, new scientific research has found.
Joyce Howard Price
The Washington Times 2004 PDF

Is Your Life Too Loud?
You won’t believe just how loud everyday sounds really are and what kind of toll they’re taking.
Tom McGrath
MSN / Men’s Health 2006 PDF

Health – Now Hear This – If You Can
Americans are amazingly tolerant of the noise that engulfs them at work and play. They shouldn’t be. The din causes millions to lose their hearing, slowly but surely.
Anastasia Toufexis
Time 1991 PDF

Health – Just Too Loud
Car alarms! Boom boxes! Leaf blowers! If the noise isn’t making you crazy, it may be making you sick.
Jeffrey Kluger
Time 2004 PDF

A Little Bit Louder, Please
More than 28 million Americans have some degree of hearing loss, a number that could reach 78 million by 2030. The latest science, new treatments – and how to protect yourself.
David Noonan
MSNBC Newsweek 2005 PDF

Turn It Down!
The Gulfport Police Department in Mississippi announced a campaign to raise public awareness of the city’s noise ordinance, which sets a penalty of up to $1,000 for disturbing the peace of others. The campaign slogan is “Turn it down or pay up. Your music. Your money.”
Robin Fitzgerald
The Sun Herald 2006 PDF

Oakland Cars Gone Wild
Auto sideshows are an exhibition of urban street-driving and doing what are called “donuts.” With music in the background, audiences watch screeching tires and burning rubber. The crowd passes judgment on good or bad execution. Sometimes crowds get too close, and sometimes people get into accidents.
Josh Mankiewicz
MSNBC Dateline 2005 PDF

Making Bikers Pipe Down
Armed with a decibel meter, a Laguna Beach police officer works to rid the city’s streets of noisy motorcycles. He’s a hero to some, an irritation to others.
Hector Becerra
Los Angeles Times 2005 PDF

The Biker Question: To Roar or Not to Roar
More and more American bikers are telling dealers to replace the factory exhaust pipes with aftermarket high-performance exhaust systems, plunking down as much as $1,000 in the process. The noise they let out is often in excess of the federal maximum for motorcycles of 80 decibels.
Ann Ferrar
The New York Times 2003 PDF

Clamoring for Quiet: New Ways to Mitigate Noise
New technologies are providing innovative ways to reduce sound levels in many areas.
Environmental Health Perspectives; National Institutes of Health 2005 PDF

Keep It Down! Euro Noise Assault
A program in Europe is mapping levels in 25 nations. The program requires noise maps for all European Union cities with more than 250,000 people, as well as around major roads, rail lines and airports by 2007.
Associated Press
Wired 2003 PDF