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Articles by Julie Putnam
Silicon Valley’s “Body Shop” Secret: Highly Educated Foreign Workers Treated Like Indentured Servants
A year-long investigation by NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit and The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) raises questions about a well-known visa program setup to recruit foreign workers to the US: Is it indentured servitude in the high tech age? Or is it a necessary business model to compete in a quickly changing high tech economy?
SF Elected Officials Sit at Stick for Free
All you die-hard 49ers fans- to see your team at Candlestick, you’ve probably paid hundreds. But if you get elected in San Francisco- you can see the action up-close for free. Season tickets, parking passes and luxury boxes are all part of the package deal for influential San Francisco leaders. The tickets are a perk that dates back decades and puts politics and power at an ethical crossroad.
Surgeons’ Performances Scored for the First Time
Medical mistakes during and after surgery kill more than a hundred thousand Americans every year and experts say many of those mistakes can be prevented. Now, post-surgical Medicare data showing surgeons’ performances is being made available for the public to see. ProPublica, a non-profit news organization in New York, has published five years of data linking 17,075 surgeons nationwide to the outcomes of eight different common elective surgeries the surgeons performed on Medicare patients.
Is San Jose Airport Ready for a Major Crash?
San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC) ranks 41st on the list of busiest airports in the country, but an NBC Bay Area Investigation found the airport falls behind other similar sized airports in staffing and hydrant placement. More than a half-dozen critics say those shortcomings in SJC’s emergency response plans needlessly put air passengers at risk in the event of an accident.
Congressman Calls for Emergency Funding for Bridge Fixes
Local congressman Jared Huffman is calling for emergency funding to fix Bay Area bridges. Huffman spoke at a public forum on transportation infrastructure today in San Rafael. The call comes just a week after the Investigative Unit exposed 472 bridges and on-ramps in the Bay Area that are in need of replacement or repair.
San Jose Clinic Ties Up 911 Responders with Non-Emergency Calls
The hundreds of non-emergency 911 calls to a hospital building in Santa Clara Valley Medical Center has some insiders saying calls are a waste of resources. The clinic apparently used 911 to transfer patients from one part of the campus to another. An audit on response times last December identified the problem, expressing concern that these non-emergency calls could be taking emergency responders away from other more urgent calls. No action has been taken toward finding a solution.
Sacramento Tries to Fix California's Wage Theft Problem
California state lawmakers are calling for new penalties for companies that don’t pay workers. Since 2010, California courts have identified $273,952,366.15 in stolen wages in California. However, workers have to get an attorney and file a lawsuit to collect those stolen wages.
472 Bay Area Bridges: "Structurally Deficient"
About a tenth of the Bay Area’s bridges need major fixes, according to ratings by the Department of Transportation(DOT). Of California’s 24,955 bridges, overpasses and on-ramps, 3,935 of them are in the Bay Area and carry an average of 125 million cars each day. DOT Engineers use a formula that rates these bridges across the country from 1 to 100, called a "Sufficiency Rating", taking into account essential structural elements.
Bay Area's 150-Year-Old Water Pipe Problem
The drought has Californians feeling the pressure to conserve water, but some century-old pipes may be thwarting these efforts. The government’s bank account is also running dry trying to fix it. Leaking water pipes lose an estimated ten percent of the bay’s potable water every year. Many of the system’s pipes have aged well beyond their expected retirement, causing an average of three breaks every day in the entire Bay Area and tens of millions of gallons of water lost.
Private Health Info Lost, Law Provides No Recourse
Even though online hacks and security breaches have become regular headline news, other, more traditional data privacy issues are still a threat. The NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit has found when it comes to workers’ compensation, holding companies accountable for information security can be challenging. When Don Thorvund unexpectedly got hurt on the job, he went through the proper channels to get treatment through a workers’ compensation claim.
California’s Wage Theft Problem
Priscilla Soriano managed to recover more than $64,000 in unpaid wages and fees Priscilla Soriano worked 10 to 12 hours a day, six days a week as a caregiver at a residential home for mentally ill clients in San Jose, but never got paid overtime. “I’m really angry,” she told the Investigative Unit. “Why did they do this to me? I don’t deserve it.” So Soriano filed a wage complaint and the courts ruled she was owed $64,904.66 in unpaid wages and fees, which she collected.
Will California's Levee System Hold up in an Earthquake?
A recent state report calls into question the state levee system’s ability to sustain an earthquake or other natural disaster. The state’s levee system runs 13,000 miles: a distance equivalent to driving from San Francisco to New York City and back, twice. The complex chain of channels and dirt mounds is responsible for delivering more than two-thirds of the clean drinking water to California homes and protects nearly $47 billion of property from flooding in the Central Valley.
California Leads Nation in Drone Close Calls
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), often called “drones”, are becoming increasingly controversial, as the federal government has not yet completed regulations for them. In fact, California pilots had the most "close calls" with drones between January and November of 2014, according to FAA data. NBC Bay Area Investigative Reporter Stephen Stock reports.
Big Changes for California Day Care Oversight
In response to an NBC Bay Area/CIR joint investigation, state lawmakers have fundamentally changed the way parents can access information about day cares in California: The information is now available online and federal lawmakers have passed stricter requirements as well. Stephen Stock reports in a video that aired on Dec. 22, 2014.
CA Hospitals Make Hundreds of Errors Every Year, Public is Unaware
Chris Canevaro suffered from an infection in his brain after surgery. Medical errors like Chris’ take place in hospitals all over California. Medical mistakes, or “adverse events” are the leading cause of death in the US after heart attacks and cancer. According to a new study from the Journal for Patient Safety, up to 400,000 people die each year from "adverse events" or medical mistakes.
Pot Farmers Steal Water Amid Epic Drought
A mature marijuana plant requires eight gallons of water per day. The water that flows through California’s public lands and state parks is the life blood of the forests’ ecosystems. But in the midst of a water shortage, the Investigative Unit has found some criminals are disrupting nature’s course and stealing massive amounts of water meant for public lands. The Investigative Unit spoke with a rancher who noticed the water levels in his lake drop a dramatic six feet in just three weeks.
Silicon Valley's "Body Shop" Secret
Investigative Reporter Stephen Stock hears about "body shops" first-hand from an H1-B worker whose identity we have disguised with makeup. He says he has worked for more than half a dozen "body shops." A year-long investigation by NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit and The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) raises questions about a well-known visa program setup to recruit foreign workers to the US: Is it indentured servitude in the high tech age?
Mayor's Fuzzy Math Claims San Jose Gang Crime Down
San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed says gang related crimes have dropped 70% this year, but what he's not telling the public: he's just comparing two months of the year. Reed spoke about the decrease in gang crime Friday morning at his gang task force meeting. "It's a national model for a reason, because it works," said Reed about San Jose's gang task force reducing crime.
Santa Clara County Department Director Fired After NBC Investigation
The Santa Clara County Director of Child Support Services is no longer in charge. The Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to remove John Vartanian from the position in A closed session yesterday. The county announced the decision in today’s public board meeting. It comes just weeks after NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit exposed Vartanian gained personal travel rewards from county-funded trips.
Ash Kalra to San Jose PD: Explain Gang Crime Stats
San Jose Councilmember Ash Kalra wants the San Jose Police Department to explain and update its gang crime statistics. The District 2 councilmember submitted a request to the Rules Committee today asking the item be put on the city council’s agenda before the year's end.
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