10/21/2017
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Today
Good morning! Today is Saturday October 21, 2017.
Here is a sampler of some of the latest investigative news from around the country and across the world.

RealClearInvestigations' Picks of the Week
Oct. 15to Oct. 21

Editor's note: Beginning next week, the RCI Today newsletter will be scaled back from daily to our weekend "Picks of the Week," as presented here.

Featured Investigation

There's a less-sunny side to the solar dream, a desire for that rousing feeling of virtue and vindication that should kick in after a storm hits and your eco-friendly house is humming away as your less visionary neighbors swelter in the dark.

But most solar homeowners in Florida and Texas were denied that moment of triumph after hurricanes Harvey and Irma ripped across their states. Most of them lost power too because, as Erin Clark reports for RealClearInvestigations, going green is not the same as going off the grid.

For a host of safety, technical, and regulatory reasons, solar customers are often as dependent on non-renewable energy sources as traditional power company customers if they want to keep the lights on around the clock.

Most states make it difficult to live off the grid, and Florida bans it outright. But regulatory compliance aside, keeping a home on the grid ensures a dependable source of power regardless of whether or not the sun's shining. And as long as the house is tied to the grid, it makes sense for a homeowner interested in solar to install grid-tied panels and take advantage of so-called "net metering." These policies, which have been adopted by most states, require utilities to allow homeowners to receive credits on any excess energy produced by their grid-connected systems.

While solar owners are not obligated to do this, net metering is one of the big economic selling points of the technology. It helps solar owners to further lower future energy bills and slowly recoup the high up-front cost of installation, which can be a long process.

There is a solution, but it, of course, expensive:

Some individual storage systems exist that operate separately from the grid, but they're costly — for example, the new Tesla Powerwall 2.0 system, which operates as more of a solar-powered home battery, starts at $11,700 for a medium-sized home. Any homeowner with this type of home technology would have had power during the hurricane outages.

"I would like to, down the road, purchase two to three batteries for storage and emergency power," said Damian Davis, 39, a solar homeowner in Miami who lost power after Irma. "If I had the batteries done with the panels then post-Hurricane Irma wouldn't have been a problem for my family. But I'm doing these upgrades in stages."

The hope is that one day such systems will store far more power and cost far less money. Maybe then, we'll all be living the dream.

Read Full Article

Other Noteworthy Articles and Series

How 'Liberal' Became 'Not Far-Left Enough'
RealClearInvestigations
When did seeking a "kinder and gentler society" become "fighting hate with hate"? In RealClearInvestigations, Ashe Schow explores the ideological sea change on the left pitting traditional liberals against much less tolerant progressives.

Before Nuke Deal Tied to Clintons, FBI Found Bribery
The Hill
Before the Obama administration approved giving Moscow control of a large portion of American uranium, the FBI had evidence that Russian nuclear officials had routed millions of dollars to benefit former President Bill Clinton's charitable foundation. This was during the time Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presided over a panel that ruled in favor of Moscow. Another twist: Justice Department officials who investigated then play a key role now in the current Trump-Russia investigation.

Clinton Foundation Internal Audit: Quid Pro Quos Expected
Daily Caller
An independent "governance review" concluded in December 2010 that the Clinton Foundation had a weak, rubber-stamp board and that many of its donors had "an expectation of a quid pro quo benefits in return for gifts." The blistering review — commissioned by Chelsea Clinton and made public by WikiLeaks — described a tax-exempt public foundation with no independent oversight as required by federal charity law.

How Pharma Derailed DEA's Opioid War
Washington Post, "60 Minutes"
At the height of the opioid crisis, Congress effectively stripped drug enforcers of their most potent weapon against large drug companies making prescription narcotics widely available, an investigation by the Washington Post and "60 Minutes" found. Lobbying resulted in a more industry-friendly law, they report. The impact of their work was immediate: A supporter of the legislation, Rep. Tom Marino of Pennsylvania, withdrew from consideration for the post of President Trump's drug czar.

Blowback Against More 'Harvey Weinsteins'
Vanity Fair
In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, Hollywood and major media are taking allegations of sexual misconduct more seriously. Nickelodeon went from suspending to outright firing a show-runner accused of sexual harassment. Vox Media fired an editorial director for alleged misconduct. And magician David Blaine is under investigation after a model alleged he raped her in 2004. Meantime, Peter Bart, editor of Variety, was described as one of Weinstein's greatest protectors, for years allowing no stories critical of Harvey Weinstein or his company, Miramax.

Prosecutors Putting Innocent Witnesses in Jail
New Yorker
Across America, some prosecutors are jailing innocent victims and witnesses to secure their testimony in court using "material witness" statutes. The provisions were intended to make sure that criminals were held accountable even if witnesses were reluctant, but their use has expanded since 9/11. Crime victims—especially poor ones—are being put in jail in order to get swift victories in court, sometimes, puzzlingly, in minor cases.

PBS Airs Anti-Pruitt Doc Funded By Activist Backers
Washington Free Beacon
A new PBS Frontline documentary that paints Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt as a tool for the fossil fuel industry received major funding from a group that has given hundreds of thousands to environmental advocates like the Sierra Club.

Investigative Classics: MGM Destroys a Rape Accuser, 1937
Vanity Fair
This week's Investigative Classics feature looks at a case with echoes of Harvey Weinstein today -- that of a woman whose life was destroyed in a smear campaign after alleging rape at an MGM party in 1937. David Stenn investigated for Vanity Fair in 2003.

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