Behind the Investigation with Atlanta News First

Paul Lowe was 93, but the husband and grandfather was still living independently and making plans for the future. He often left notes for his wife to read around the house.

“One of the last notes I have [from him] is, ‘Putting this in writing, ‘Do not buy more ice cream,’ said Betty Lowe. “Because he knew, if I brought it home, he would eat it.”

Paul Lowe died in May at Piedmont Eastside Medical Center in Snellville, Georgia, while being treated for pneumonia. When he passed away, his family said the hospital initially told them he died from natural causes.

But a lawsuit filed in Cobb County on Monday claims the hospital fatally overdosed him with morphine, and then failed to save him, despite knowing about the mistake for hours.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/03/26/family-claims-georgia-hospital-euthanized-father-through-overdose/

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/04/01/emory-launch-study-after-anf-investigations-into-forever-chemicals/

According to an Atlanta News First investigation, metro school districts have faced teacher shortages in the triple digits.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/04/04/metro-atlanta-schools-facing-teacher-shortages-triple-digits/

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/04/09/alleged-home-security-bait-and-switches-popping-up-after-anf-investigations/

 AT&T’s recent disclosure about a security breach compromised more than 70 million current and former customers. That means online criminals may have access to your personal information on the dark web, which could give them access to your credit.

What does that mean? It means there’s enough information available on the dark web for someone to open a credit card or take out a loan in your name. They run up the charges; your credit takes a hit; and then it’s up to you to prove you are a victim.

Identity theft isn’t fun, and if you can’t get it removed from your credit record, the debt will follow you for seven years. If the debt ends up in collections, it could prevent you from getting better rates or taking out a future loan.

Most people have heard about freezing their credit, but most don’t realize how easy it is to do.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/04/03/lock-your-credit-doors-now-before-you-fall-victim-fraud/

According to state repair logs, of the 370 defective guardrails identified in a December 2023 GDOT report, more than a third of the repairs, or 33%, took longer than the required 21-day time frame.

Some of the repairs took more than 100 days.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/03/07/unguarded-gdots-failure-repair-road-safety-barriers-put-lives-risk/

A Georgia man detained more than a decade behind bars and never convicted of a crime is now home with his family.

Maurice Jimmerson’s pretrial detention is believed to be one of the longest such detentions in American history. His release comes nearly a year after an award-winning Atlanta News First investigation, The Sixth, uncovered him languishing in the Dougherty County, Georgia, jail without a court-appointed attorney or a scheduled court date.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/03/20/georgia-man-behind-bars-10-years-awaiting-trial-is-finally-free/

Roseanne and Richard King knew they were in a bad situation when a hospital doctor in Puerta Plata, Dominican Republic, told them they’d be there for a very long time.

The two left their cruise ship on Thanksgiving Day after a ship’s doctor diagnosed Roseanne King with double pneumonia.

The hospital in which Roseanne King was admitted charged the couple $5,100 before she even stayed one night.

“And if I didn’t give my card, we don’t know what would have happened,” Richard King said.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/02/20/dominican-hospital-charges-atlanta-couple-7100-refuses-give-itemized-bill/

Elfreda Parks said she’s lost sleep over a mountain of private parking violations on her kitchen table. Each violation is $87, and she worries she’ll get more every time she goes to her mailbox.

The violations began arriving in September 2023. Parks said she first received a few violations, but it got much worse over the following months. She began receiving large envelopes filled with dozens of citations at a time.

“I don’t need this extra stress,” she said. “I’ve got my own stress.”

Parks has counted 292 citations totaling $25,404, but many violations were duplicates. According to Parking Revenue Recovery Services (PRRS) and the billing company’s website, Parks’ grand total was $10,764 in fines.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/02/28/metro-atlanta-woman-mistakenly-receives-10500-parking-violations/

Alexis Jones’ water bill is astronomical, and she can’t afford to pay it. 

She rents the house she lives in with her sister and two kids, and they’ve been without water since DeKalb County shut it off in November for nonpayment.

Jones and her family didn’t use the water; rather, it was a ghost leak in the front yard that wouldn’t be fixed for nearly two and a half years.

DeKalb County records show water usage at 896,000 gallons over a one-month period. The leak was large enough to fill a swimming pool daily, but the county left the water on because it determined it was on private property.

The county held Jones responsible because her name was on the bill.

“I’m in panic mode,” Jones said. “First off, I don’t have this money. Second, how did it get to this, because again, I’m using my water as normal.”