This piece began as a traffic report about a cyclist injured by a driver in a horrific crash. It became a story about how and why human psychology endangers cyclists on the road. Later, Gary Suydam won $52.5 million in a jury verdict. Lisa Suydam waited just before 5 p.m. on a warm winter Friday, wondering […]
This is my first cover story for Westword, Denver’s alt-weekly, published in December 2015, a few months after my arrival here. The regulars on Stoner Hill tell legends about the place. They say the gentle mound’s grassy curve conceals garbage or haunted graves — maybe both. It’s the kind of spot discussed with some reverence […]
This story was my last investigation for The News & Observer. It began late in 2014, when Renee Pinkney showed me evidence that her son, Dontay Jones, was living in unacceptable conditions. Jones has a disability and is a “ward” of Wake County, meaning the government is his legal guardian. Thanks to his mother’s diligent efforts, […]
Tablet Magazine ran this story about my retracing of part of my grandfather’s youth. This summer I stood with some 80 people on a hilltop outside Madrid, listening as our guide narrated the movements of fascist troops and Republicans through the olive groves and crumpled tan valleys below. Our number included a high-school teacher, a documentary crew, a […]
I write often for Walter Magazine, a glossy pub about life in Raleigh. A few of my stories have been about sports in which I’m not an expert, for better or worse. In this case, a certain degree of removal allowed me to focus on the social structure and bonds that brought a decades-long series […]
This miniature documentary piece is the first product of a new model I tried out at The News & Observer. Basically, I found experienced videographers who wanted to explore journalism, and together we looked for efficient and striking ways to tell visual stories. “The Last Unicorn,” is about a man at the end of an […]
This ran in Our State in August 2013. I’ve edited it a bit from their version. If you want to know the story of the Dixie Drive-In in Lumberton, it’s best to ask George Stevens before the burgers hit the flat-top grill and carhops hustle the day’s first orders out a stubborn front door. George […]
This story ran in Walter Magazine in February 2014. The hawk tenses on Bill Davis’s glove, eyes focused and brown-feathered wings wrapped tight around her body, and launches into flight. Her wings rear up, flashing the bird’s white underside, and her red tail feathers flare as she pulls herself through the air, quieter than a […]