Typically, MuckRock tries to follow the old maxim, “Report the story, don’t be the story,” but today I wanted to share some good news: The Freedom of the Press Foundation has graciously chosen us as one of four organizations to receive funding through its inaugural crowdfunding campaign.

During the Occupy LA protests last year at City Hall Park, activists expressed anger at the nation’s increasing economic inequality and the financial policies that led to the Great Recession. While Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa publicly credited the protesters with helping to “awaken the nation’s conscience,” records from inside City Hall reveal that the administration was preoccupied by the protest’s costs to the city.

The sheriff in Mesa County, CO is one of the few law enforcement agencies in the country authorized to use drones in the field, documents from the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) indicate.