Bullhead Bonanza
Chuck Neubauer and Tom Hamburger of the Los Angeles Times have dug up some interesting dirt about Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's dealings in the desert. In Sunday's paper, their "A Deal in the Desert for Sen. Reid?" reveals that the Nevada senator paid $10,000 to a pension fund for 160 acres of land near Bullhead City, Ariz., that was assessed at more than 10 times that amount. A half year later, Reid introduced legislation that benefited the business of the longtime friend who controlled the pension fund. Neubauer and Hamburger do a nice job of explaining the intricacies of the land deals and legislation. They are careful to note that Reid and his friend deny any wrongdoing. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-reid28jan28,0,5893951.story?track=tottext
Also in Sunday's Times, Kurt Streeter has a wonderful profile of Shawn McDonald, a deaf 18-year-old who unexpectedly finds himself captain of his football team. In "A Leader whose Actions Resonate," Streeter uses tight, crisp sentences to propel his narrative:
The night before, the Cubs celebrated homecoming. In the gym, hip-hop music pumped through speakers so loudly that every beat threatened to bend the floor. Balloons hung from the ceiling. Dancers took them down and held them close so they could feel every rattle and thump. The Fremont players were already in town. A knot of them walked in. They had a cocky step. They wore their caps backward. Their jeans were slung low.
The speech that Shawn makes to his teammates at the end of the season puts the icing on a great story. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-shawn28jan28,0,7099733.story?page=1&track=tottext