This is the first of what will be many entries on this new blog. It’s about the stuff that I dig up as I poke around places, meet interesting folks and live the life of an ever-curious journalist.
Oh, my name is Don Ray.
I’m funded by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, http://www.grassrootinstitute.org. My title is “Transparency Correspondent”. My task is to report on all levels of government in Hawaii. I’m looking specifically for juicy examples of government waste, misuse of the people’s hard-earned tax dollars, corruption, cronyism or just plain poor performance on the part of our public servants.
I hope you’ll check in occasionally and watch “the new guy” as he finds his way around a world that’s new and different for him.
I’ve been involved in investigations for more than 40 years — 30 years as a journalist. I’ve spent most of my time in Southern California. I was born in Hollywood. But I’ve done in-depth reporting in many of the United States and in dozens of other countries on five continents. I’ve also trained hundreds of journalists in Third-World countries and other developing democracies. My specialty is the kind of watchdog journalism that ferrets our corruption, election fraud, consumer fraud and incompetence within government.
Indeed, I’m going to need a lot of help, so I hope that you’ll feel free to post comments on this blog or e-mail me at donray@donray.com. Yes, I do accept anonymous phone calls. You can reach me at (808) 450-2009.
The Sunshine Chronicles 