Emilie Munson

Data and Investigations Reporter at Times Union (Albany)

@timesunion data reporter. Former DC correspondent for @hearst newspapers in CT and NY. Email: [email protected]

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Articles

32,000 voters use New York’s most controversial voting machine

1 month ago | timesunion.com | Emilie Munson

ALBANY — Last week, roughly 32,000 people cast their ballots in school board elections in Monroe County using a controversial voting machine that’s been a source of controversy in New York for years. It was the largest number of votes cast on an ExpressVote XL machine in New York to date. And in Monroe and other counties, the device is gaining a growing foothold in the state, even as a movement to stop its use is brewing.
Former Yankee Hideki Matsui speaks in Greenwich

1 month ago | middletownpress.com | Emilie Munson

GREENWICH — Baseball legend Hideki Matsui considers when the New York Yankees won the 2009 World Series as the moment when he became a champion. The powerful hitter batted three home runs and six RBI in Game 6 against the Philadelphia Phillies, earning the World Series Most Valuable Player Award, the first Japanese-born player to do so. Article continues below this ad“I had probably the ultimate experience of joy getting to that pinnacle,” said Matsui.
Democrats made public money for campaigns even more generous than expected

1 month ago | timesunion.com | Emilie Munson

ALBANY — A state budget bill passed by the New York legislature Wednesday included unforeseen changes to the public campaign finance system that could help candidates collect more taxpayer money for their campaigns while also leaning on bigger donors. The numerous changes were hammered out in private with no public input. The day after the bill passed there was still confusion among many lawmakers about what the changes will mean.
State budget likely to give candidates more public money for campaigns

1 month ago | timesunion.com | Emilie Munson

ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Legislature are planning to use the state budget to allocate more taxpayer money for candidates running for public office. The tentative deal, reached in private by state Democratic leaders, is expected to be included in budget bills voted on by lawmakers next week, sources with knowledge of the conversations told the Times Union. Article continues below this adNew York’s public campaign finance system was used for the first time in the 2024 election cycle.
Parents sue alleging Rensselaer school staff assaulted and injured student

2 months ago | timesunion.com | Emilie Munson

RENSSELAER — A former Rensselaer City School District Board of Education vice president and her husband filed a lawsuit against the school district on Sunday alleging staff at the elementary school improperly restrained her autistic son in an act amounting to assault, resulting in injuries and trauma that she said continue to affect him more than a year later.
Legislators propose new bills on shelter for dogs, animal cruelty and bestiality

2 months ago | stamfordadvocate.com | Emilie Munson

A pit bull named Coraline waits to be adopted at the Bridgeport Animal Control Center on Evergreen Street in Bridgeport, Conn., on Saturday Aug. 6, 2016. Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticut MediaState Rep. Brenda Kupchick in Fairfield, Conn. Dec. 21, 2016.
Surgeons continue to mistakenly leave objects in thousands of patients

2 months ago | sfchronicle.com | Emilie Munson |Leila Darwiche

For a week after her surgery, 26-year-old Emily Abney-Acosta’s abdomen swelled. It was so tender that a tight shirt was too much pressure. She couldn’t stand up straight from the pain or lift her young children. In September 2018, she rushed to an emergency department in Frisco, Texas. She was evaluated and assured her incision would eventually heal, she said. Then, Abney-Acosta woke up to find the inch-long wound had burst open and was oozing fluid. She changed the dressing every day for months.
See which Houston hospitals mistakenly left objects inside patients

2 months ago | houstonchronicle.com | Leila Darwiche |Emilie Munson

MethodologyHearst Newspapers surveyed all 50 states and the District of Columbia on whether their health departments required the collection of data on the retention of surgical items after surgery in hospitals and other health care facilities. In 20 states and the District of Columbia, states mandate reporting of retained surgical item cases. Of those with mandated reporting, 16 states and the District of Columbia. had publicly available data for at least one year.
Surgeons mistakenly left objects inside patients in thousands of cases since 2015

2 months ago | houstonchronicle.com | Emilie Munson |Leila Darwiche

For a week after her surgery, 26-year-old Emily Abney-Acosta's abdomen swelled. It was so tender that a tight shirt was too much pressure. She couldn't stand up straight from the pain or lift her young children. In September 2018, she rushed to an emergency department in Frisco, Texas. She was evaluated and assured her incision would eventually heal, she said. Then, Abney-Acosta woke up to find the inch-long wound had burst open and was oozing fluid. She changed the dressing every day for months.
5 things to know about items accidentally left in patients after surgery

2 months ago | timesunion.com | Emilie Munson |Leila Darwiche

Roughly every day in the U.S., at least one patient leaves a surgery with an object, such as a sponge, needle or broken tool fragment, unintentionally left inside them. A Hearst Newspapers investigation identified thousands of cases of surgical items left in patients that were reported in national and state health data between 2015 and 2023. It’s likely the true number of cases nationally is much higher. There’s no national entity that keeps track of all incidents.