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Charles Pekow on Muck Rack

Charles Pekow

Verified
Bethesda, Maryland, Washington, D.C.
As seen in: AXS, The Hill, Mongabay, Truthout, The Wire (India), NewsBreak, Washington Monthly, Craft Beer, Eco-Business, Utility Dive and
Covers:  alcohol, bicycling and alternative transportation, environmental issues, etc.
Doesn't Cover: Don't do anniversary journalism. Don't write a lot of personality journalism or list journalism but will occasionally.
Independent journalist who covers outdoor recreation, government, the beer industry and whatever.

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Charles Pekow’s Biography

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I am an independent investigative journalist who has constantly reinvested myself to keep up with the times. I've written extensively on education from preschool to higher ed, government and social issues as well as environmental and legal matters. In recent years, I have written mainly but not exclusively about the alcohol industry, outdoor recreation and active transportation. I have also written book and music reviews and contributed to several books.

I am based in Washington and while I ha…

Charles Pekow’s Journalist Portfolio

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Covering the Midterms

Covering the Midterms

Horse race. Polls. Who said what today. Who picked up what endorsement. A soundbite. A gaffe. Even an occasio…

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As world drowns in plastic waste, U.N. to hammer out global treaty

As world drowns in plastic waste, U.N. to hammer out global treaty

A February U.N. meeting will address the urgent need for a treaty to control plastics pollution, but whether …

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The US Still Doesn't Know How and Where It Will Store Its Growing Nuclear Waste

The US Still Doesn't Know How and Where It Will Store Its Growing Nuclear Waste

A year-and-a-half after a scathing Government Accountability Office (GAO) repor t revealed that the US Depart…

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Rising postal rates (again) prompt publisher concerns

Rising postal rates (again) prompt publisher concerns

It's not as though community newspapers aren't struggling enough these days: declining advertising and circul…

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As the rest of world tackles plastics disposal, the U.S. resists

As the rest of world tackles plastics disposal, the U.S. resists

The United Nations Basel Convention regulates international transport of hazardous waste, which in 2021 expan…

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Forest Magazine article "Wrestling with Rec Fees" Winter 2010

Forest Magazine article "Wrestling with Rec Fees" Winter 2010

Fees are collected at many developed sites, such as the wildlife viewing area, above. Photo courtesy U.S. For…

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Articles

Study: Bike Fatalities Drop in Cities but Rise in Suburbs

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By Charles Pekow Verified
| Cycling West
By Charles Pekow — Bike fatalities are declining in urban areas—but rising in suburban communities.
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The Great Lakes piping plover is making a comeback

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By Charles Pekow Verified
| Rewilding Magazine
The Great Lakes piping plover (Charadrius melodus) likes to live along sandy beaches in, of course, the Great Lakes in North America. In the past, its population is estimated to have been 500 to 800 pairs. But habitat loss, nest destruction, high tides and predators took their toll and the population fell to between 10 and 20 pairs by the 1980s. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service placed the bird on its endangered species list in 1985.
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America’s Bike Lane Survives Last-Minute Trump Administration Threat

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By Charles Pekow Verified
| Cycling West
By Charles Pekow — America’s Bike Lane survived a last-minute threat because cyclists pushed back hard against a Trump administration plan to remove the two-way cycle track across the National Mall in Washington, D.C. In March, the White House, the Department of the Interior, and the U.S. Department of Transportation decided, with virtually no public warning, to remove the well-used bikeway and replace it with a motor-vehicle lane.
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Interview

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What was your first job as a journalist?

Interned at the Hyde Park Herald, a community newspaper in Chicago.

Have you ever used a typewriter?

Grew up with them.

How is social media changing news?

The nine-second soundbite is turning into the 280-character tweet.

Awards

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National Press Club Award

1989 - news story

Awarded best news story in the nation for an expose' on how the Wolf Trap Foundation used its inside connections to get federal money.

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Washington Writing Prize

2002 - Best reported story

Won the best story award for an article in the Washington Monthly about the dangers of oil and gas pipelines and the government's inability to police them.

Best Investigative Reporting

1982 - investigative journalism

Three times won the national award for investigative reporting (two first place, one 2nd place) for articles for Day Care Information Service, a news service for child care professionals. Won the award in three separate years.

Best Analytical Reporting

1989 - News analysis

Earned the national award for best news analysis for explaining why the child care lobby failed in its push for national legislation for subsidies.