Susan Merriam
@semerriam
Data / Visual Journalist, Enterprise and Investigations, @mcclatchy. Co-founder @politicsndesign. Alum @columbiajourn @risd
🎧 On episode two of the Killer Train podcast: Taxpayers are on the hook for hundreds of millions in costs related to Brightline, despite the company’s initial claims that the train would be fully funded by private investment. wlrn.org/wlrn-investiga…
1/ Our new Floods Above series has launched! For our first installment, @sarahkaplan48 @kcrowebasspro @NaemaAhmed and @BenNollWeather unpack why those hit hardest by Hurricane Helene and the July 4 Texas floods were so vulnerable. #climate washingtonpost.com/climate-enviro…
🇺🇸 Brightline Death Toll Surpasses 180 ▫But safeguards are still lacking ▫@BrittanyWallman @aaron_leib @semerriam @JoshCeb, Shradha Dinesh & Daniel Rivero ▫is.gd/nI7eDb #frontpagestoday #USA @MiamiHerald
Killer Train: U.S. transportation chief commits to reducing Brightline deaths miamiherald.com/news/local/art…
NEW: Alligator Alcatraz isn’t meant for minors. A 15 year old ended up there anyway. State and federal officials initially deflected questions about the boy being held at the facility, but eventually acknowledged he had been there. w @clurhealy miamiherald.com/news/politics-…
Shonda Bambace heard the whistle. She was about to catch a glimpse of the new Brightline train on a test run. It was the summer of 2017. Then she saw a young woman walking toward the tracks. Bambace heard a thud. The train went by — and the girl was gone.
He held his arms out, “as if he was welcoming the train to strike him." The Brightline train's stunning death toll. 182 dead, mostly pedestrians. Presenting Killer Train, a collaboration of @MiamiHerald and @WLRN Story 1 and Podcast 1 dropped today MiamiHerald.com/killertrain
Brightline officials say those who were hit are at fault. But that doesn't tell the full story. Speed, frequent crossings, quiet zones and a route through dense neighborhoods set it apart. There is little fencing. Local governments have resisted closing dangerous crossings.
Have you witnessed or had a close call or crash with a Brightline train? Let us know miamiherald.com/news/local/com…
Brightline death toll surpasses 180, but safeguards are still lacking miamiherald.com/news/local/art…
NEW: The @MiamiHerald has obtained a list of hundreds of people detained or scheduled to be at Alligator Alcatraz. The government isn't realizing names. Families and attorneys are having trouble finding people at the site We're publishing the list here: miamiherald.com/news/local/imm…
NEW: The calls from Alligator Alcatraz’s first detainees brought distressing news: Toilets that didn’t flush. Temperatures went from freezing to sweltering. A hospitalization. And little or no access to showers, much less confidential calls w/ attorneys. miamiherald.com/news/local/imm…