Politics & Government

TEDx Talk by Journalist Martha Mendoza

The Santa Cruz TEDx talks from last week are being posted. Here's the opener, a real inspiration for journalists and concerned citizens.

AP reporter Martha Mendoza has done big and small stories using the Freedom of Information Act to find truths that were being obscured.

She uncovered federal employees who were supposed to be protecting wild horses, but ended up selling them to a meat packing plant. She found hazardous lead levels in school lunch boxes that the government ignored and covered up.

In Haiti, none of the billions of government money from the U.S. has been used to build a house. She found that U.S. military recruiters have been accused of sexual misconduct with the people they were recruiting 80 times in one year.

Find out what's happening in Santa Cruzfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

In the U.S. she found that water companies were finding disposed pharmaceuticals in the drinking water system.

Learn more: check this video.

Find out what's happening in Santa Cruzfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.